Wholesale theft in the name of carbon
By Jo Nova
Imagine a third world nation was mired in corruption so deeply that the ruling class were able to stealthily steal the rights to vast acreage of private property from landowners without paying any compensation.
Imagine that one of the victims of this injustice had approached every court of the land and had not even had his case heard, even after more than 200 attempts. In desperation, and with no other avenue available, having officially “lost the farm”, he starts a hunger strike, which has now gone for 28 days unbroken, threatening to starve to death if he has to.
Welcome to Australia — right on track for Third World Status.
Get ready to be shocked. This is an moving example of why “policy by accident” is a dangerous way to govern. In this case, innocuous feel-good laws end up crushing upstanding citizens. Peter Spencer is still alive (though he may only have 12 – 20 days to go) but how many other farming men were put through the environmental-ringer, and drowned themselves in brandy, picked up a gun, or crashed the car into the only tree near the road? None of these deaths would be recorded as victims of bureaucracy.
Peter Spencer bought a farm south of Canberra in the early 1980’s. In the mid 1990’s new laws rolled into action that prevented land clearing. That meant, even though the land belonged to him, Peter could no longer clear the regrowth. Eighty percent of what he paid for was effectively confiscated. He received nothing in return and there was no way out. He couldn’t sell the property — who would buy a piece of land they have no right to use?
But Peter still had a mortgage to pay, and no way of earning the money to do it. Recently, his last legal avenue was exhausted, and the sherriff gained a warrant to take the farm off him. That was the final straw…
Peter Spencer has issued the Prime Minister of Australia with a letter of his demands. He wants a Royal Commission and compensation for all the farmers who have lost the right to use their land.
Compensation would cost billions. But Kevin Rudd’s “stimulus package” (spend-for-the-sake-of-spending), was 42 billion dollars big.
This is what happens when big government gets your money. It gives a “free” handout of $950 per tax-payer to randomly “stimulate the economy”, and uses the rest to build school halls, even in schools which already had a hall, or in schools which desperately needed a library.
…
Spencer points out that the land-grab by the Australian Government meant the nation met it’s Kyoto commitments, a target that would otherwise have been blown away. The carbon stored in confiscated land amounts to about $10.7 billion in carbon credits. Probably the total value lost (with interest) from the productive use of that land would be many times higher.
Read the rest of this tragic story here at Jo Nova’s website.
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Here’s the most important question: How does the Australian Government account for sequestered carbon when much of this land is prone to bushfires? Do they reset their Kyoto carbon sequestration tally for that land back to zero when all that carbon goes back into the atmosphere?
I’m reminded of this story, also from Australia, where even clearing land to save your home from imminent fire is met with fines and legal issues by the government:
“We’ve lost two people in my family because you dickheads won’t cut trees down…”
The whole carbon scheme is insane.
NOTE: I’ve made a change to the title, based on some commenters objection to the use of the word “retarded”. While some saw it in the context of “mental retardation”, that was not my intent. I was thinking of the use of the word in the context of retarding enterprise and freedom. They have certainly “retarded” the ability of people to use their land. I’ve changed the word to “restrictive”. I apologize if this offended anyone. It was a poor word to use. – Anthony
UPDATE: News just in this evening via WUWT commenter “helvio”: ABC Australia says the Mr. Spencer has ended the hunger strike. Details here
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jerry (10:04:53) :
I’m not sure this story can totally be put down to to climate change policy. There is a lot of back-story here that is not reflected in the post.
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If you have any information that would justify the government essentially taking control of this man’s land then let’s hear it!
“Police extremist unit helps climate change e-mail probe”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/8453117.stm
“The National Extremism Tactical Coordination Unit (NETCU) promotes a coordinated response to domestic extremism by providing tactical advice to the police service, and information and guidance to industry and government.”
http://www.netcu.org.uk/default.jsp
OT but thought you might be interseted.
A criminally disgusting result of policy based on post-normal science, pushed through by bandwagon-jumping politicians, and heralded by politically correct media and anti-human environmental groups. Lovely. Unfortunately, I fear that there is more to come.
I love Rudd bashing as much as anyone but in my experience land clearing is a council (local government) regulation. On top of that as I pointed out earlier, John Howard who opposed Kyoto, was in Government in the mid-Nineties onward.
So what you are saying is that in the 200 times he tried to go to court to have his case heard, nobody told him he was arguing the wrong case or to the wrong level of government? Colour me skeptical.
What is amusing is that Mr. “Let’s Give It Back” Peter Garrett is presiding over mass takings. He’s Australia’s white Mugabe.
I find this story heart renderingly shocking. In the UK we have the absurd situation of government paying farmers not to farm. In extreme circumstances they can make a compulsary purchase of land at market value, but such an outrage as this, has not yet occurred here.
It is shocking that even in a democracy, the power of the state can crush individuals just as completely as totalitarian regimes under dictators such as Stalin. Stalin said, “one death is a tragedy, but a million is a statistic,” before launching his war against the kulak class. In both cases, the power of the state, motivated by ideological fanaticism, sets out to impose a radical solution on the land owning class.
It is shocking that one of the most basic functions of government – to protect private property rights – is being destroyed, or ignored, in a cynical attempt to comply with a supranational treaty. If this is indeed the case, then we have much to fear, as Lord Monckton has indicated, from imposition of world governance, and rule by decree. Democratic institutions, become little more than commisars enforcing the will of their political masters, who remain unaccountable.
Democracy in the form of universal suffrage, is not even 100 years old, yet took millenia to win. This was handed to us by our parents and grandparents, but with are loosing it. We have screwed up.
FREEDOM’S ON THE WALLABY
(Henry Lawson)
cho: Australia’s a big country, and
freedom’s humping bluey
And Freedom’s on the Wallaby, oh, can’t you hear her cooey?
She’s just begun to boomerang, she’ll knock the tyrant silly
She’s going to light
another fire and boil another billy.
Our fathers toiled for bitter bread while loafers
toiled beside them,
For food to eat and clothes to wear, their native land denied
them.
And so they left their native land in spite of their devotion
And so they came, or
if they stole, were sent across the ocean.
Then freedom couldn’t stand the glare of
royalty’s regalia
She left the loafers where they were and came out to Australia.
But now
across the mighty main the chains have come to bind her
She little thought to see again the
wrongs she left behind her.
Our fathers grubbed to make a home; hard grubbing ’twas and
clearing
They wasn’t troubled with the lords when they were pioneering;
But now that we
have made this land a garden full of promise
Old greed must crook his dirty hand and come to
take her from us.
So we must fly a rebel flag as others did before us
And we must
sing a rebel song and join in the rebel chorus.
We’ll make the tyrants feel the sting of those
that they would throttle,
They needn’t say the fault was ours if blood should stain the
wattle.
Victims of governmental abuse need to direct the pressure back on the government officials, not harm themselves. It’s a much better publicity stunt to camp out at the politicians’ doors until they solve the problem. And if they arrest you then they have to take care of you anyway. For them, any “solution” that doesn’t fix your problem will be a loss for them and great motivation for moving them toward your goal.
There may be more to this story. The environmental component to it appears to be merely a minor distracting side-show.
The website Australian Climate Madness http://www.australianclimatemadness.com/ – has covered this story in detail a few times.
http://www.australianclimatemadness.com/?p=2753
http://www.australianclimatemadness.com/?p=2773
All those pointing out that “Howard was PM during Kyoto” are polishing door knobs on the Titanic. Get your heads out and reread the article.
The point is that, regardless of when Kyoto went into effect, the 80% no-clear regulation by the Australian government (of any stripe, by the way) has lead to Mr. Spencer being unable to pay the mortgage on the land HE PURCHASED. And who is there to confiscate the land? THE GOVERNMENT WHO TOLD HIM HE COULDN’T EARN A LIVING OFF OF THE LAND HE PURCHASED.
The real story is the exact story that was told.
ClimateProgress is having a tizzy over your diction:
http://climateprogress.org/2010/01/12/wattupwiththat-labels-australias-government-retarded/
Anthony, I’ve got a brain damaged member in my family. The term ‘retarded’ really bugs me. You are free to express yourself however you choose. I’m just saying, as one of your loyal readers: dude…
REPLY: I was thinking in the context of retarding enterprise and freedom – A
Even the Chinese government compensates its farmers when they decide to do a land set aside for ecological purposes like they did when they set up the program return of farmland to forest land to protect the rivers and dams from excessive siltation. The farmer should be compensated.
ClimateProgress has a problem with the use of “retarded”.
Of course it’s tougher to get a post to show up there than RC.
I would have said.
What is the problem?
Retarded is not a four letter word or inappropriate.
And goverment can certainly be retarded.
verb (used with object) 1. to make slow; delay the development or progress of (an action, process, etc.); hinder or impede.
–verb (used without object) 2. to be delayed.
–noun 3. a slowing down, diminution, or hindrance, as in a machine.
I think I’m right in saying that he could still appeal to the Queen – though Aussies may wish he couldn’t, she is still Head of State. I wouldn’t blame the Aussies if they broke off all ties, though we in the UK wouldn’t want them to (despite the cricket and the rugby we actually do like them! – and feel a close bond with them, NZ and Canada), but in circumstances like this it’s his last option.
Bob, my very sincere sympathies, but words are there to be used and are perfectly valid. There’s a campaign to reject words we don’t like, and it’s a very backward (see!) step. It annoys me intently that people are so sensitive to what is just a word. Substitute it if you feel the need, but the new word you use means the same!
“jerry (10:04:53) :
I’m not sure this story can totally be put down to to climate change policy. There is a lot of back-story here that is not reflected in the post”
“John Hooper (10:23:07) :
I see a lot of knee-jerk posturing on this site. Perhaps we should think before we react.
There is a story of possible injustice here, but it’s not the one being told.”
Would you two like to enlighten us all?
It’s the man’s land.
He bought it under certain conditions.
Those conditions were taken away from him by the government.
The government did not compensate him for it.
Jerry Haney – my thoughts exactly. If I’m gonna be put down for good, the man who puts me down is coming along for the ride.
[Reply: This is a reprint of Jo Nova’s article with the original title. ~dbs]
The title of the Jo Nova post linked to in this piece is : ‘Wholesale theft in the name of carbon.’ :\
BarryW (10:52:47) :
Good one Barry W
FREEDOM’S ON THE WALLABY
(Henry Lawson
That old Henry Lawson poem sums up the real Aussie character that we still see in all their sportsmen – sheer guts, determination belligerence, determination and bloody mindedness. But above all, fair-mindedness. l believe that the ‘fair go’ attitude of most Aussies is still there and will overturn this insane requirement.
Just a small observation here.
It would seem that the Euros and Aussies are much more law abiding than the Americans. Pretty much when we encounter a stupid law, we either ignore it or willfully flaunt breaking it. Examples : Prohibition and the 55 mph speed limit.
Fire would be a good thing to rid his property of snakes and other vermin.
Accidental of course. Perhaps with a little kerosene.
As far as I understand the CO2 will eventually be released when trees, foilage etc. rots away. Clearing land does not really make any difference as it would be immediately replanted with CO2 eating plants. As such, by adhering to the Kyoto rules the Australian govt’ only postpone the CO2 release. The carbon cycle WILL go on. Only CO2 from fossil fuels make any real difference to the amount of airborne CO2 – not that it really matters anything major in regards to climate.
What is really shocking is not politicians’ lack of insight into the science. It is the utter disregard of citizens and the law. F..k the law and let the citizens die seems to be the motto of the political class nowadays. We have not (in the western world at least) seen such contempt for both people and the law for the past 70 years or so. But in the name of holy AGW anything seems possible now.
bob (11:01:30) :
My beautiful son is severely learning disabled. When I hear the term “retarded” and it’s pointed at someone who is not truly disabled (which obviously an entire government cannot be) , I think “abject stupidity”. That way I’m not offended, and given that definition, it certainly applies in this case.
Besides, my son is an Eagle Scout, so I think he’s far smarter than the people making these decisions.
OT, but I just came up with an acronym to use /replace/describe the term AGWer’s –
BORG – Bent On Reducing Growth
Brainwashed.ORG
Bent On Replicating Gore
Believe Only Recycled Garbage
Mod – snip if you think its crap