James Ross’ analysis has me puzzled. Crushing irony is the norm here. Both the CFMEU and the Tasmanian Labor Party have followed the policy of the late, deregistered BLF of Gallagher and Bacon in hitching their wagons to the corporate gravy train, in this case Gunns’. With over half a billion in public welfare plus a much greater amount in free wood, the woodchip industry has had little risk to manage.

As those hardy enough to digest the local rags know, Bryan and Paul have been toying with the idea of paying the Gunns contractors off with federal funds earmarked for conservation. I don’t know why they don’t pay them by diverting the Health and Education budgets. The uproar might last a fortnight, tops.

It would appear that our machinery of governance and justice are unlikely to pose any risk to them, either.

John Hayward

John, your cutting to the core of the public corruption entrenched Tasmania has that element of “Je ne c’est quoi” about it!

Can I ask, do you also receive emails from politically partisan Tasmanian public servants asking you to ‘get a life’; or telling you, ‘no wonder you have little respect around the place’?

I hope I am not alone. Please reassure me John,  that such reactions are quite commonplace.

In my experience, these flattering emails arrive a few nano-seconds after there’s a posting on Tasmanian Times attributed to the authorship of David Obendorf. Say no more!

Last time I woke up I thought we lived in a free-speech democracy. Maybe Tasmania is only a ‘notional’ democracy.

Perhaps you and I might consider doing a ‘users guide’ to dissentors on blogs. It could cover various approaches to overt and covert bullying and attempts to silence alternative opinion in the Natural State of Tasmania!

“Are you a man or a mouse?”

“I like cheese!”