Its time to start our campaign

We are trying to achieve several outcomes.

1. Ensuring that we keep the environment as a prominent issue on 25/11 and

2. Offering ourselves as a plausible alternative to the Greens where a protest vote is looking for a home and

3. We know the outcome we want most but we don't want it to be pushed into the minds of other voters who don't recognise our needs as a priority. We do not want to be seen to be trying to push our own agenda. Our exercise is called manipulation and that is what has kept the greens at the forefront of environmental management for the last twenty five years. Believe me, I'm fair dinkum!

We must write letters and send emails. Here is who write to or email. (We must also use talk back radio. See below)

Politicians;

Our member of the Legislative Assembly, two Members of the Legislative Council, one Member of the House of Representatives in Canberra and a share of at least one Senator. Don't worry about contacting a Federal member about a State issue. The more people aware of what is going on, the better.

Look in your Yellow pages for info on addresses. Email address for State Parliamentarians is always their firstnamestopsurname@parliament.vic.gov.au

Your local news papers.

If you know one of their reporters or the Editor, have a chat. Ask them to help with your campaign but write letters to the editor anyway. Ask questions, see below.

Your local radio stations.

Do they have talk back? If so, can you introduce the topic? If you can, talk about the state of the wilderness areas, the lack of management, the extreme fire risk next season. Talk about biodiversity and get really sad about all the high country flowers such as the Alpine Marsh Marigold that are suffering now that the cattle have gone and they haven't been replaced with prescribed burning. (This tiny flower can't grow unless all last years dead grasses that cover it are removed )

Your task between now and the 25th November. Every meeting with friends or relatives, have at least half of them write a letter or devise an email to be sent to a local politician or newspaper asking a question about the environment.

I repeat, you must ask questions about the environment. You must push that issue rather than your own cause. You will attract more public sympathy asking that the management issues are fixed rather than complaining that you want to shoot, hunt, fish, 4WD etc.etc.

Please do not try a proforma letter. If a Parliamentarian receives many 'proforma' letters they are treated as one letter. When they receive 25 different letters a month on the same subject but from 25 electors, they start to sweat. When 50 people have made the same demand with individually written letters, they press the panic button.

Use all or some of the following statistics for your letter or email and don't be afraid to use these statistics for talk back radio.

Ask these questions re National Parks. Have a look at the statistics that I have found.

The 1983 Annual Report for the National Parks Act showed that 272 rangers were managing almost 1 million hectares, i.e., in 1983 there was one Ranger per 3,600 hectares of National Parks, State Parks and Reserves. In 1983 the total number of employees was 387 of which 115 were admin staff.

In 2005, just 396 rangers managed over 3.2 million ha of land and sea. One ranger now to 7,160 ha of public land & sea. Employees had risen to 1021 but only 396 were rangers. There are now 625 admin staff.

Questions to ask.

What was the reason for this jump in employee numbers when there were only a few more Rangers taken on?

Why were there fewer Rangers per administrator in 2005 than 1983?

In 1983 there was one administrator per 2.4 Rangers. In 2005 this ratio had dropped to one administrator per .6 (point six of one) Ranger. Why was this so?

The budget in 1983 was $11.1 million which equals $25 million in today's values. The budget for 2005 was $67 million. Why the difference when the number of Rangers had risen from 272 in 1983 to just 396 in 2005? The funds were not spent on Rangers, so where did it all go?

How many Parks Vic staff compile statistics and, since only Wilson's Prom NP has a counting barrier, how do they conclude that there are now 28 million visits to our National Parks?

1985 administrative staff numbered 115. In 2005 there were 625 administrative staff. Why has that happened?

In 2005 each Ranger is responsible for 7,100 hectares. Please explain how one person can maintain and manage 7,100 hectares?

In 1983, using today's values, one Ranger represented about $92,000 of the budget. In 2005, one Ranger represented $170,000 of the budget. How do you account for this apparent discrepancy?

In 2005 there were only 396 Rangers to look after 3.2 million hectares of public land. (If the politician is ALP) When will your Government increase the numbers of Rangers to restore the ratios of 1983? (if not an ALP politician) Will your Government, if elected, restore the ratio of outdoor workers to the 1983 ratio of one per 3,600 hectares, i.e., employ another 500 outdoor workers?

Because there are now more admin staff than rangers, I have to ask what administrative tasks were not undertaken in 1983? Has the environment suffered?

Translating 1983 costs to 2005 values, our land in 1983 cost the taxpayer over $25 per hectare. The current cost of almost $21 per ha seems to indicate that the present government is running the environment on the cheap. Do you agree?

Ask about prescribed burning (Fuel reduction burning (FRB)).

Twenty five years ago the land managers achieved 350,000 ha per annum FRB This year, just 49,000 ha. Why is this? (In NSW the five year total of FRB is just over 200,000 ha - for the whole period)

Mr Politician, do you understand the significance that FRB has upon the Australian environment?

Foresters advise that fire is not a disturbance in our forests but the lack of fire must be considered as the disturbance. Do you agree with this? If 'no', ask why not.

Are you aware of any place in the Alpine National Park that does not have a problem with pest plants? If yes, ask for the GPS position, "so that I can check it out".

Will your Government stop destroying native animal habitat? If yes, how will that be achieved?

Will your Government stop the uncontrolled increase in feral animals? If yes, how will that be achieved?

Will your Government stop neglecting the public's land? If yes, how will that be achieved?

Will your Government restore good land management to the Alpine National Park and, if yes, how will it be achieved.

Foresters advise eucalypt die back is due to a lack of FRB. Do you agree with this? If 'no' ask if they have read the latest literature about it,

By all means make statements but don't stop asking questions. A question demands an answer. Many questions sound alarm bells in politicians offices. Lets keep our issues alive.

(Please note that my letter writing is based upon Amnesty International's letter writing hand book. Never let your anger show in your letters. Don't give the receiver the satisfaction of tearing up an abusive letter. Ask a couple of questions because a question demands an answer.)

If there is no answer from a politician, take a copy of your letter to the editor of your local newspaper a few days before the 25/11

I'm absolutely fair dinkum in my desire to make the environment an issue on 25/11. With a well managed environment comes the need for tracks that we can all use.