Meredith Hunter to lead the Greens

The issue on the housing ratings led to a campaign by GCC to get some enforcement of the scheme, and ultimately to a budget allocation of $486K this year to put someone on full-time for 4 years.

But the successful application only lasted a few weeks and went elsewhere. I chased this up with ACTPLA just last week and was advised that they were now considering “restructuring the role”.

In getting familiar with the policies of our new green friends I noticed this policy:

6. stronger ethical investment guidelines to ACT Government investments

Now no one would argue with that as a good policy, I have concerns about potential (real or percieved) conflict of interest.

Caroline Le Couteur’s bio states “Since 1991 I have been a director of the local ethical investment company, Australian Ethical Investment”

Energy efficient affordable housing is easy, you just need the right environment to do it. Stanhopes ACTPLA recently increased the number blocks in new estates that have good orientation to 70%, up from 50% .. WOW? Orientation is the most important thing in getting good energy efficiency and it has no cost.

Why do we have new houses in Harrison being sold with 2 stars ??,except for a breif period this year, there has not been a audit of energy ratings for 15 years.
The problem is a regime of no penalties for non compliance.

Ah… Rabid, one ‘b’ my friend 😉

Not ‘rabid’, but a word that I haven’t been able to find spelt. The following might give you some idea:

Gabby Johnson: I wash born here, an I wash raished here, and dad gum it, I am gonna die here, an no sidewindin’ bushwackin’, hornswagglin’ cracker croaker is gonna rouin me bishen cutter.

He then follows that with the word that I approximated as ‘rabbid’!

Arty said :

Sorry Overheard you are right we all get a subsidized house in Yarralumla and everyone gets a free hug! Do you feel better now?

Of course house prices will go up, just look at the extra crap they want added to the houses to start with. Try looking at their web site bonehead; the alarm bell should ring when people start talking about the whole life of house and more crap along that line.

You are a freakin idiot.

“All new housing should have clothes lines, solar hot water units, good insulation, and access to the sun. That can all be done affordably, so while the building costs are no more, the living costs are much less.” – ACT Greens website

Why not consider the whole life of the house? Why not bring more rationality to the way we build houses and consider thermal performance design principles such as orientation, size, proper glazing, proper materials, ventilation, appropriate use of thermal mass, etc? If you build and landscape a house properly it needs minimal heating/cooling and uses far less water, and over the life of the house will save large quantities of water and energy that would otherwise be wasted. And no, I’m NOT talking expensive add-ons like grey water recycling (one of the least cost-effective water saving measures), I’m talking least-cost effective design. That is the sort of thing the Greens will work towards, as they state above.

California’s minimum housing standard would rate 7 stars on our scale – why not improve? That is actually forward-looking sustainability policy.

harley said :

“If I was Stanhope, I would be offering a Ministry and the Speakers position on the principle of ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer’.
Get the Greens involved in the cabinet where they are exposed to the harsh reality of running a government.”

I agree Deano. The Greens have some (surprisingly) well educated people in their team. Give them a go in cabinet – they got the votes to warrant a minor ministry.

They might learn a few harsh realities about the compromises involved in actually running a government, rather than just sniping and floating vague ideas. And we might get to see whether there is any substance behind their rhetoric.

After all, in my opinion their presence could hardly make the management of this city any worse.

.

Skidbladnir said :

Offtopic, but originally the ACT heraldric motto was “By the King, the Law, and the Mob” in Latin, but in 1935 we changed it to something less anarchy-inspiring.

Would be a nice addition to the RiotACT tag lines… “Pro Rege, Lege et Grege”, but I can’t find any reference other than wikipedia that translates “grege” to “mob”? All latin dictionaries translate it from grex : crowd, herd, flock; or gregatim : troops, crowds.

So not a mention anywhere of a mob outside of wikipedia…
Not on the ACT Heritage Register listing for the ACT coat of arms or the listing for the City of Perth, Scotland which shares the exact same motto.

Gungahlin Al said :

I thought it was just because he had two hyperlinks in the message – happens to me too – without language.

Yep – there’s also one that catches comments with more two or more URLs.
It stops spammers, political die hards, and light rail advocates from inserting too much propaganda 😉

harley said :

Zed’s offering a ministry…

If I was Stanhope, I would be offering a Ministry and the Speakers position on the principle of ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer’.

Get the Greens involved in the cabinet where they are exposed to the harsh reality of running a government (Want more buses, better hospitals, better schools, sorry there are only funds for two, you choose). Bind them in with cabinet solidarity so they can’t go around saying ‘Oh but it wasn’t our fault we couldn’t keep to our promises’. Then come the next election say ‘Look the Greens are no different to us so you might as well just vote for us instead’ and the Liberals have no option but to campaign against the two parties.

I thought it was just because he had two hyperlinks in the message – happens to me too – without language.

It’s been in place for many years.

johnboy said :

Because your dirty dirty mouth required manual intervention to rescue your comments from oblivion.

There’s probably a lesson in there.

What there’s a flipping language filter now? Well flock that crud.

This is the ditzy inarticulate one who was primping her hair on Stateline …

areaman said :

Why am I stuck in the moderation queue?

Because your dirty dirty mouth required manual intervention to rescue your comments from oblivion.

There’s probably a lesson in there.

Areaman, I’m not going to go through the process of getting the radio transcript through media monitors, but it would still be there. It was a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday morning, the last week of the campaign. Alex had to ask Amanda twice before she gave a defintive answer and she finally responded by saying that ‘no the Greens do not support expanding the Cotter Dam’ or words to that effect.

Merideth apparently doesn’t even live in Ginninderra but at least if she doesn’t live in public houseing that’s an improvement… She sounds a bit more with it than Shane so I think will make a good LEADER.

Amanda was spotted at Scotland v France last night – I give her points for non-Green-like sports-supporting.

Is CLC the token hippy of the group? Was she boycotted after the Rainbow Warrier? I couldn’t vote for Elena after she was so nasty to those Emos…

Yes, Caroline LC probably didn’t expect to be elected, and for a long time it looked as though the fourth Green would be Elena K, so as Overheard says it will be interesting!

Clown Killer said :

To be fair the Greens certainly aren’t playing with a full deck. Caroline Le Couteur, by even the most objective assessment, never covered herself in any glory whilst empoloyed in the Commonwealth PS. “Couldn’t organise a Fu-k in a brothel” was one forthright SES assessment of he skills.

It’s a bit of a step up, isn’t it, from middle-management public servant to elected representative, a path trod by many. Or in the federal sphere, from electorate officer/ministerial staffer.

I’ll be watching with keen interest.

To be fair the Greens certainly aren’t playing with a full deck. Caroline Le Couteur, by even the most objective assessment, never covered herself in any glory whilst empoloyed in the Commonwealth PS. “Couldn’t organise a Fu-k in a brothel” was one forthright SES assessment of he skills.

BigDave said :

The Greens!
As always, full of sh!t with unrealistic views, ideas and policies to match.
Just wait for it all to fall apart!
Roll on the next election so maybe we’ll get a sensible result. I won’t hold my breath on that one. This is Canberra afterall…

Superb! Absolutely stunning in its simplisticity.

Are you a fan of ‘Blazing Saddles’, BigDave?

‘That was 100%, genuine, frontier gibberish. I agree with Abel Johnson about what Samuel Johnson said!’

Rabbid!

Why am I stuck in the moderation queue?

Amanda Bresnan confirmed that the party was against the Cotter Dam upgrade on ABC Radio in the final week of the campaign

Prove it!

It’ve got plenty of examples showing that it isn’t offical greens policy.

http://act.greens.org.au/archives/217
http://act.greens.org.au/oldsite/951

Regarding the Greens holding the balance of power. The only reason why the Hare Clark system (and the previous D’Hondt system) was introduced was because under any other system the Labor party would have won every seat. A perverse desire to penalise the Labor party for being too popular has led to the current shemozzle.

Kitchen Man said :

Amanda Bresnan confirmed that the party was against the Cotter Dam upgrade on ABC Radio in the final week of the campaign. It was on one of those cross bench/minor party talkback sessions with Alex Sloan. It doesn’t surprise me that that particular stance isn’t included on the website.

this can’t be right, the Greens are the “pro development” party, just ask areaman

The Greens!
As always, full of shit with unrealistic views, ideas and policies to match.
Just wait for it all to fall apart!
Roll on the next election so maybe we’ll get a sensible result. I won’t hold my breath on that one. This is Canberra afterall…

Amanda Bresnan confirmed that the party was against the Cotter Dam upgrade on ABC Radio in the final week of the campaign. It was on one of those cross bench/minor party talkback sessions with Alex Sloan. It doesn’t surprise me that that particular stance isn’t included on the website.

Caroline works in finance for ethical investments, so she isn’t just a happy hippie.

Shane sounds the best on telly, but I guess that isn’t reason to give him the leadership.
Meredith sounds a bit wishy washy with her soft voice, but has good background.

And she must have wanted the leadership, which is a good start.

I wonder what they’d do about an opposition party if greens and liberal had 5 seats each.

Bullshit, why are you just making shit up?

http://act.greens.org.au/archives/217
http://act.greens.org.au/oldsite/951

Strange but true:
The Greens haven’t yet announced this on their own website.

The Greens have said that they’re against the Cotter Dam upgrade. The basic gist of their water policy is ‘use less water’ !

Wide Boy Jake said :

Also, is Meredith Hunter the one who spent 11 years in a Nimbin commune?

Nope, that was never-supposed-to-have-been Green MLA Caroline Le Croissant. And frankly, if one look at the picture of the four of them together in today’s CT couldn’t help you guess which one is the former Nimbinite then you’ve obviously never spen an afternoon at the Rainbow Cafe. Everytime I see her she has that half-baked, not sure where I am vibe. Makes one wonder if she ever exhaled.

Wide Boy Jake said :

I knew it was too good to be true, The Greens having a bloke as leader. The real mystery is how Shane Rattenbury even managed to obtain preselection for The Greens in the first place. Also, is Meredith Hunter the one who spent 11 years in a Nimbin commune?

No that was La Coutoure. Personally I think she just got a lot more interesting.

Bitchy: adjective. –adjective. Slang. characteristic of a bitch; spiteful; malicious.

So that would be a ‘no’. Three times.

Personally, at this stage in my life I’m happy to live in a Soviet style spartan apartment.

I’m quite happy to see more high rises (as long as they get a better architect than the one that designed that hideous thing in Woden).

Overheard said :

Arty said :

Sorry Overheard you are right we all get a subsidized house in Yarralumla and everyone gets a free hug! Do you feel better now?

Please show me where I said this, genius. Answer: I didn’t. If you’re going to make inflammatory statements, at least TRY to go berserk at things actually said.

Arty said :

Of course house prices will go up, just look at the extra crap they want added to the houses to start with. Try looking at their web site bonehead; the alarm bell should ring when people start talking about the whole life of house and more crap along that line.

Your first spit was about nothing new being built, but now you’re defending some new statement about prices going up?!

Might be time to drag your pillow and blanky into the corner and have a little afternoon nap, princess.

Bitchy, bitchy, bitchy!

We should be so lucky

Bye bye Summernats . . .

Maelinar said :

I’ve put a worm into my permaculture plot in celebration of this wonderful event. I was thinking of buying a chicken as well, but didn’t want to overindulge such a positive time with a bastion of consumerism by using money, so I thought the worm was appropriate enough.

Just as well. What do you reckon is the first thing the chicken would do? (hint it has something to do with the worm).

Seriously, “parliamentary convenor”? Harden the F up and call yourself the bloody leader.

I knew it was too good to be true, The Greens having a bloke as leader. The real mystery is how Shane Rattenbury even managed to obtain preselection for The Greens in the first place. Also, is Meredith Hunter the one who spent 11 years in a Nimbin commune?

If she’s the Hunter I’d happily be her prey. It’s time to swing baby yeah!

“Have people been reading the Green’s policy statements or are you just assuming it’s all about getting chained to trees and saving ever blade of grass from the predations of humanity?”

I have been and can’t say I’ve seen anything along those lines at all Poptop.

I’d suggest such sentiments are more in tune with the likes of these wonderful examples of humanity (NB: strong language – NOT for playing in the office on speakers!!):
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=45007754&source=cmailer

Maelinar: They call him Dr Worm!

Have people been reading the Green’s policy statements or are you just assuming it’s all about getting chained to trees and saving ever blade of grass from the predations of humanity?

I’ve put a worm into my permaculture plot in celebration of this wonderful event. I was thinking of buying a chicken as well, but didn’t want to overindulge such a positive time with a bastion of consumerism by using money, so I thought the worm was appropriate enough.

Straight to the top of the debating class with you Arty.

Arty said :

areaman said :

the Greens are the party of “no development” or reduced development

Prove it!

Some building numbers for you, Houses

2003/04 – 1800
2004/05 – 1650
2005/06 – 1000
2006/07 – 1050
2007/08 – 1220
2008/09 – 1330 on target
2009/10 – 1380 estimate

Notice the drop in 05/06 funny thing is this happened at the same time the land shrank and doubled in price, now I own property so the the increases have been good but it has been really bad for new home buyers.

What the F$#$ does that have to do with the greens being the “party of no development”?

So basically you can’t prove it.

Gungahlin Al said :

“Notice the drop in 05/06 funny thing is this happened at the same time the land shrank and doubled in price”

That’s a crock of an argument Arty. You need reminding that the land supply shortage occurred during an ALP majority government. Just how the hell do you make the link that the Greens are responsibile for that???

Agreed I just don’t think the greens will do any better.

lol Since this thread is so off topic, I should add that “they” are Stanhope and co.

“Notice the drop in 05/06 funny thing is this happened at the same time the land shrank and doubled in price”

That’s a crock of an argument Arty. You need reminding that the land supply shortage occurred during an ALP majority government. Just how the hell do you make the link that the Greens are responsibile for that???

Worst thing they ever did was reduce the size of blocks, increase the price, and throw plot-ratio rules out the window.
What are they aiming for, a concrete jungle? New suburbs will probably be hotter, I don’t see big trees growing between those tiny gaps any time soon.

It would be nice if the Greens could/would change this but I doubt it.

Yes people want to live on top of each other.

Well said Overheard.

Arty: Four Corners may not be the highest standard of reporting but are more reliable than some poster on a blog who makes arguments out of thin air.

It says something about Australia that often a selling point for a house is that it wasn’t built by a builder -ie there was attention to detail, some quality and lack of cost cutting. Builders don’t like environmentally aware building because it usually involves a) forethought and b) someone checking the end result.

Strangely if the market won’t bear the margins that a developer thinks appropriate then developer won’t sell properties. Perhaps the recent credit crisis has escaped your attention.

JB – “dodgy deals taken out of the development equation”. How very dare you ;-)Where will the parties get their funds?

areaman said :

the Greens are the party of “no development” or reduced development

Prove it!

Some building numbers for you, Houses

2003/04 – 1800
2004/05 – 1650
2005/06 – 1000
2006/07 – 1050
2007/08 – 1220
2008/09 – 1330 on target
2009/10 – 1380 estimate

Notice the drop in 05/06 funny thing is this happened at the same time the land shrank and doubled in price, now I own property so the the increases have been good but it has been really bad for new home buyers.

Now are the Greens going to allow more land onto the market?

Public housing wouldn’t be needed nearly as much if rents were affordable.
How way to make rents affordable?
– more housing on the market, whether through land release or redevelopment into higher density apartments. Row upon row of soviet style brutalist apartment complexes if need be.

Gungahlin Al said :

“Wasn’t it the Greens who called for more investment into public housing? Regardless of the funding stream, that sounds like more houisng to me.”

And for MORE density along major transport routes. I wonder how long before the “all Greens are evil with two heads and just want to stop the world” myths die down.

I guess this is their chance to ante up and prove the naysayers wrong.

To be honest we need more density all through the inner north.
Allow developers to build multistory appartment complexes anywhere they please in Turner/Braddon and the nearby suburbs. – if they can persuade people to part with the land, let them take it up 5 stories at least.

whistle said :

He may be capable, but the Greens have judged that Meredith is more capable.

Or more advantageous, or just had the numbers.

AG says “Just because he’s the only bloke shouldn’t rule him out.” Yes but to rule him in we need to know what the strong points are.

I presume that the Greens looked at skills, life experience and leadership attributes. Presumably the new MLAs know how the contenders rate on these criteria and they have made their choice on this basis. Shayne is better known, but that’s a function of running for parliament for a fourth time. He may be capable, but the Greens have judged that Meredith is more capable.

I find that when dodgy deals to mates and friends get cut out it’s amazing how much money is left for sustainability issues which in turn pay dividends to the community for decades to come.

AG Canberra said :

Why wouldn’t it be a good look for one bloke to be leader of three women?

If he’s the best of the 4 to lead them in the Assembly then isn’t he the obvious choice. Just because he’s the only bloke shouldn’t rule him out.

I assume that the process was based on ability to lead and represent the greens – not “we need to make sure we don’t have that bloke in charge of three women…”

I’d say the reason wasn’t either of those.
More likely it was about securing the Ginninderra seat in the event this result a high water mark for the greens.

Arty said :

Overheard, the Greens are the party of “no development” or reduced development this combined with increased population will increase houses prices. C’mon give me a hug your ok.

Arty, anytime you want to produce some evidence instead of mealy-mouthed, unsupported generalities, and anytime you want to actually provide a cogent argument based on what anyone’s actually said (yourself included) rather than what you’ve dreamed up on the fly, you can have your hug. But not until then.

Why wouldn’t it be a good look for one bloke to be leader of three women?

If he’s the best of the 4 to lead them in the Assembly then isn’t he the obvious choice. Just because he’s the only bloke shouldn’t rule him out.

I assume that the process was based on ability to lead and represent the greens – not “we need to make sure we don’t have that bloke in charge of three women…”

I think Meredith is a good choice
As areaman said earlier, she is the best of the Greens when it comes to the social / community side of ACT issues. She will hopefully make sure that the Greens have more to say about issues beyond bike lanes and water tanks.

“Wasn’t it the Greens who called for more investment into public housing? Regardless of the funding stream, that sounds like more houisng to me.”

And for MORE density along major transport routes. I wonder how long before the “all Greens are evil with two heads and just want to stop the world” myths die down.

I guess this is their chance to ante up and prove the naysayers wrong.

Wasn’t it the Greens who called for more investment into public housing? Regardless of the funding stream, that sounds like more houisng to me.

the Greens are the party of “no development” or reduced development

Prove it!

Overheard, the Greens are the party of “no development” or reduced development this combined with increased population will increase houses prices. C’mon give me a hug your ok.

Good building standards are the mark of successful nations.

the savings to the community as a whole over time are immense.

water tanks are one thing, but well insulated and well sited buildings have been too long coming in this town.

Poptop, you are right about the cost of land.

Gungahlin Al said :

That’s kind of appropriate, given the propensity of swans (the ones down by LBG anyway) to go for the crown jewels…

Funny! I hate those swans, far too aggressive.

Well some clever decisions occurring so far from the Greens. Perhaps that will flow to other ideas over their term in government that will put the kybosh on uninformed knocking such as the above arguments about housing costs?

“White swan dextre (rampant) faces Black swan sinistre (rampant); supporting English crown jewels,”

That’s kind of appropriate, given the propensity of swans (the ones down by LBG anyway) to go for the crown jewels…

caf said :

Arty: Yes, “if the market can wear a price then thats what the price will be” – and since adding sustainability measures to a house won’t change the price the market will wear…

considering that the reason that i will eventually sell my house is based on my family’s growth, not making a profit, the market will be a deciding factor as to when i sell. I have to consider the flip side, what can i afford, and calculate a figure that allows my mortgage to be one that i can comfortably pay. the only people looking to make a large dividend on the sale of their property these days are people who are downsizing, or investors. for the rest of us, it is about ensuring that the new house we move into won’t force us into a position of debt that is un-payable.

The major increase to housing costs is in the land, not the dwelling. The cost of construction has been pretty consistently below CPI for some years while land prices have increased exponentially.

There was a recent scare that house values would drop because of all the land the ACT government was going to release. It seems the knack of it is to ensure the 70% of people already owning or buying their houses get their asset value protected, while people entering into the market can afford to do so.

Are these mutually exclusive outcomes?

Skidbladnir said :

Soolin said :

even if the builders ‘get really good’ at installing whatever environmentally features become mandatory, this does not cover the cost of the actual extra materials!!

Larger scale adoption increases the volume of market demand.
Per unit cost of efficient produce should come down, just not immediately.
Anyone charging greater than the new acquisition + installation labour cost would find themselves in a competed-for position, until the market found its new equilibrium.

A good example of “green economics” mandatory rainwater tanks, it adds about $2000 extra to a new house to put in a 2000 litre tank, with the cost of the tank, extra plumbing etc, etc. 2000 litres of water at the new excess rates costs $7.40 even if the tank refills every month thats only $90 per year, now I like rainwater tanks but it is a feel good thing, thats all. Oh and most are not being connected up to toliets and laundries they are just being used on the garden.

Arty said :

Sorry Overheard you are right we all get a subsidized house in Yarralumla and everyone gets a free hug! Do you feel better now?

Please show me where I said this, genius. Answer: I didn’t. If you’re going to make inflammatory statements, at least TRY to go berserk at things actually said.

Arty said :

Of course house prices will go up, just look at the extra crap they want added to the houses to start with. Try looking at their web site bonehead; the alarm bell should ring when people start talking about the whole life of house and more crap along that line.

Your first spit was about nothing new being built, but now you’re defending some new statement about prices going up?!

Might be time to drag your pillow and blanky into the corner and have a little afternoon nap, princess.

It is nice to see a woman leading a party in the ACT. Congratualations, Meredith!

Does this mean Flynn Primary will be reopened?

Reply

Zed’s offering a ministry…

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/libs-offer-greens-ministry/1343839.aspx

This seems to pre-date the report on Hunter leading the party…

caf said :

The cost of houses is entirely dominated by the scarcity of them, not the bill of materials. Do you really think the cost of bricks and steel figures prominently in the $400,000+ you need to fork out for a house?

Start with the land cost, then I will break down the other numbers for you.

caf said :

Arty: Yes, “if the market can wear a price then thats what the price will be” – and since adding sustainability measures to a house won’t change the price the market will wear…

You miss the point, people cannot save the deposit now, making it more expensive to get started in a house will keep more on the rental round about. This will be good for me I own property, bad for the poor sods trying to get a start.

Skidbladnir said :

LG said :

Black Swan indeed 😉

Well, it is on the official ACT coat of arms…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Canberra_COA.gif

White swan dextre (rampant) faces Black swan sinistre (rampant); supporting English crown jewels, portcullis over tree, shield emblazoned; sword and mace (crossed) behind crown over fortress, over white rose.

Offtopic, but originally the ACT heraldric motto was “By the King, the Law, and the Mob” in Latin, but in 1935 we changed it to something less anarchy-inspiring.

I thought that sinistre was the left, not the right? or is it the swan’s left?

Soolin said :

even if the builders ‘get really good’ at installing whatever environmentally features become mandatory, this does not cover the cost of the actual extra materials!!

Larger scale adoption increases the volume of market demand.
Per unit cost of efficient produce should come down, just not immediately.
Anyone charging greater than the new acquisition + installation labour cost would find themselves in a competed-for position, until the market found its new equilibrium.

Arty: Yes, “if the market can wear a price then thats what the price will be” – and since adding sustainability measures to a house won’t change the price the market will wear…

The cost of houses is entirely dominated by the scarcity of them, not the bill of materials. Do you really think the cost of bricks and steel figures prominently in the $400,000+ you need to fork out for a house?

Hate to break it to you Tempestas, but if it cost more to build it costs more to buy, the running cost of a house may go down but that doesn’t help you with the deposit. Small fact about developers is that they don’t care about the price, they just want to sell you a house for the highest margin they can, if the market can wear a price thats what the price will be, the problem is how many can afford it.

Tempestas said :

Hate to break it to you Arty, but Four Corners busted the furphy about environmentally sensitive houses costing more a couple of years ago.

It turned out in California, that once the local authorites had bulldozed a few new houses that failed to meet the 6 or 7 star rating the builders got really good at doing it properly without adding huge amounts to the cost. Of course some developers may have not felt as wealthy.

I suspect the development lobby will be the group with the most to lose and will therefore be the noisiest.

Well if it was on Four Corners it must be true…
The Greens policies don’t seem to list the specifics of what they want, but even if the builders ‘get really good’ at installing whatever environmentally features become mandatory, this does not cover the cost of the actual extra materials!!

Hate to break it to you Arty, but Four Corners busted the furphy about environmentally sensitive houses costing more a couple of years ago.

It turned out in California, that once the local authorites had bulldozed a few new houses that failed to meet the 6 or 7 star rating the builders got really good at doing it properly without adding huge amounts to the cost. Of course some developers may have not felt as wealthy.

I suspect the development lobby will be the group with the most to lose and will therefore be the noisiest.

Soolin said :

Arty’s right – if the Greens want to make mandatory a lot of new sustainability features for houses it’s going to cost, and that will mean house prices will have to rise.

That’s entirely different from saying the “no development party” will make sure nothing new is built. which Arty claimed to begin with.

Ditto if they just take the speakership and sit on the crossbench – the electorate will wonder why they bothered electing them.

That’s pretty much every other minority government in the ACT has worked. We’ve had cross benches of that size in the past. I’m not saying they shouldn’t be part of the government, they just need to be all in or all out, they can’t be half pregnant.

Arty’s right – if the Greens want to make mandatory a lot of new sustainability features for houses it’s going to cost, and that will mean house prices will have to rise.

jimbocool said :

Very interesting – the legitimization of the Greens continues apace. The role of Leader of the Oppositon is confined to the leader of the party with the most non-government members, and only the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Opposition get any extra pay or staffing entitlement, so it will be interesting to see what is offered to Leader Hunter in the coming horsetrading.

I also think that David McLennan is on to something in his article in the CT today – if the Greens become a legitimate part of government, instead of an all-care-no-responsibility crossbench, there are implications for future elections. If they are part of government, deliver a substantial proportion of their election policy and don’t bankrupt the ACT in the process then surely their vote will increase. Conversely, if they are part of government, but don’t deliver on their policies then one could expect a strong backlash. Ditto if they just take the speakership and sit on the crossbench – the electorate will wonder why they bothered electing them.

Couldn’t agree more jimbocool. It was easy to be Green when all you could do was criticise the government and didn’t actually have to implement any policies of your own. Now let’s see what happens…

Sorry Overheard you are right we all get a subsidized house in Yarralumla and everyone gets a free hug! Do you feel better now?

Of course house prices will go up, just look at the extra crap they want added to the houses to start with. Try looking at their web site bonehead; the alarm bell should ring when people start talking about the whole life of house and more crap along that line.

LG said :

Black Swan indeed 😉

Well, it is on the official ACT coat of arms…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Canberra_COA.gif

White swan dextre (rampant) faces Black swan sinistre (rampant); supporting English crown jewels, portcullis over tree, shield emblazoned; sword and mace (crossed) behind crown over fortress, over white rose.

Offtopic, but originally the ACT heraldric motto was “By the King, the Law, and the Mob” in Latin, but in 1935 we changed it to something less anarchy-inspiring.

Very interesting – the legitimization of the Greens continues apace. The role of Leader of the Oppositon is confined to the leader of the party with the most non-government members, and only the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Opposition get any extra pay or staffing entitlement, so it will be interesting to see what is offered to Leader Hunter in the coming horsetrading.

I also think that David McLennan is on to something in his article in the CT today – if the Greens become a legitimate part of government, instead of an all-care-no-responsibility crossbench, there are implications for future elections. If they are part of government, deliver a substantial proportion of their election policy and don’t bankrupt the ACT in the process then surely their vote will increase. Conversely, if they are part of government, but don’t deliver on their policies then one could expect a strong backlash. Ditto if they just take the speakership and sit on the crossbench – the electorate will wonder why they bothered electing them.

If leadership was about who got the most votes, Wayne Berry would have been ALP leader after the ’98 Election and then, presumably CM in 2001. What a different world it might have been . . .

The various times I have met her, Meredith seems eminently sensible and reasonably pragmatic.

They’d better get crascking and change the banner on their website.

I think she’s a good choice, she has the second safest seat but could still use the leaders bump and she comes from the social progressive side of the party rather than the environmental wing which is good if they want to expand (or at least keep their current) vote. Plus it would look a bit bad to have the three women led by the one man.

Arty said :

Good to see the Greens get up, now sit back and watch those house prices rise! the “no development party” will make sure nothing new is built.

Evidence? Rationale? A premise? A clue? Feel free to elaborate.

Good to see the Greens get up, now sit back and watch those house prices rise! the “no development party” will make sure nothing new is built.

I’d call it ‘strange’, but only because it wasn’t what I was expecting.
I like suprises like that.

At a guess, the four-way discussion amongst the Greens floated this one, but I am (and I guess everybody watching will be) interested in what their reasons were.
But, the official fiction will come out, and there will be solidarity on it, so we’ll never get to know.

Long may she reign over us.

Good tactical move to possibly shore up the Green’s seat in Ginninderra come next election. They should always get a seat in Molongolo but the five-seat electorates are much harder. Now Meredith Hunter will get the “leader’s boost” in 2012 and should be guranteed to be reelected (depending on Green performance in the Assembly).

Combined with Stanhope not standing next election might also help Green prospects of getting a second seat in Ginninderra. Black Swan indeed 😉