A sign of things to come?
Warren Truss. Agriculture Minister again. And now that his party has control of both houses (well, the nats do look like taking out senate seat 6 in QLD), I surely hope that this isn't a sign of government policy to come in the next three years:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...0/s1228393.htm
:(
I wrote him a letter on October 10 (he was comfortably reelected) congratulating him on his success - and reminding him that now that the election period is over, he can put his attention back on to things like... why he didn't respond to the petition calling for an end to live export, and why he doesn't consider animal welfare to be a legitimate part of his portfolio, and why he doesn't ever release media statements on industry practice whenever animal welfare issues come to public knowledge...
Keep an eye on him. He has responded personally to my letters in the past, and he is not totally closed to public opinion.
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/...ate=Wide%20Bay
But he is a national party line tower through and through, so it takes people outside the parliament to keep him accountable (well we can't exactly expect Labor to do it, can we? And unfortunately the dems and greens don't have a house of representatives presence).
The more people contact him about current animal welfare issues, like live export, mulesing, etc, the more his office will take notice.
Please keep this in mind for the next three years... as a member of the Australian voting public, we have the right to our say, and the right to approach MHRs with our opinions. Don't leave it to lobby groups (who are, on the whole, not entirely successful), and never underestimate the difference one letter or one email can make.
R
