“There is no doubt that, with increased clout, The Greens will push for lessened access to some of the areas that are now regularly used by trail bike riders and four wheel drivers.”
Isn’t it refreshing to see the Covid Travelling Circus wobbling its tired way out of town. Yeah, it’s about public health, I know it makes sense. It’s certainly a bunch better than putting your cue in the rack, so I best suck it up. Or not.
I’m about to get a little political here, so if you are at all against that, Go Directly To Spannerman, Do Not Collect $200. My guess though, is most of us feel pretty much the same way, in varying degrees. The good thing is, I’m pretty much equi-disgusted with the entire cast of Politics, the Musical, so they’ll all get a bit. Oh yes, there’s enough brow-frown for all sides of Australian politics.
Let’s serve up The Greens.
It’s nice to see that the Greens have arrived at a point that sees them rid of those itchy jumpers they used to wear. You know, the ones that look like the maker had sat directly behind the sheep and knitted from the fleece. A sort of ‘knit-one, dag-one’ arrangement.
These days The Green people wear ill-fitting suits and drive Prius’. They are just as uncomfortable, slightly more bewildered and still just as vague.
The main difference is there is no longer one there for whom you hold a secret hankering. I remember coming over all anti-nuclear back in 1977 when I discovered lacey little Annie Harris. My political stances were almost totally based upon their effects on my chances of tearing one off.
Nowadays, there are no little cuties that, with a shower, could come up. And I’ve grown up to resemble a nasty industrial accident, so it’s a moot point anyway.
Back to the politics. ‘Hurrah’, I hear you say…
I guess the Greens have a few good things to say, the environment does need a bit of a watchdog, that’s more than fair. Let the other mobs loose, and it’d be chainsaws at ten paces.
My real worry is that they will push for more land closures, as they have done in the past.
The Greens hate trail bikes – it’s as simple as that. Mainly because they were never shown a good time as youngsters, they’ve never seen a spanner and it’s very hard to ride a trail bike in front of a terrace house, three easy kilometres’ bicycle from the Central Beluga District of one of our major cities.
There is no doubt that, with increased clout, The Greens will push for lessened access to some of the areas that are now regularly used by trail bike riders and four wheel drivers. Some of it will be warranted, after all, there are sensitive issues at stake – pristine environment preservation, endangered flora and fauna, erosion, salinity… Yep, I get all that.
Anyone that has spent time in forests in Europe will tell you that trail riding is all but verboten over there and motorcyclists salivate when told of what we get up to over here.
‘Hey The Greens’. You listening? Trail riders are not going away (unlike Donald Trump, who, thank goodness, is). The simple fact is, riders want to use their bikes, and track closures often result in overcrowding of adjoining areas. Riders simply move, until there is too many of them. That’s when you start to see real land degradation – all caused by track closures.
So… The Greens. A bit like an unstable relative that you love. You are glad they are there, but you know if you take your eye off them for one second they’ll wander off and cause trouble in the neighborhood.
Right. Now… I wonder if time has been good to little Annie Harris. I’m still just as happy to drop all principle in the tiny hope of getting one away. Can you hire dreadlocks…?
See ya, Snaggy.
Snag’s career in motoring journalism spans 29 years with stints at major bike mags Australian Road Rider, Motorcycle Trader and AMCN along with contributions to just about every other outlet worth a hill of beans. He was editor of Unique Cars magazine and hosts his legendary podcast ‘Snag Says’ when he gets off his date.
Are you talking about the political party? You know they aren’t in power anywhere in Australia right.
Yes. The capital T and G gives that away. Agreed, they are not in power. But, they advocate strongly against 4wds and trail bikes in State Forests. We are apolitical, but roads are being closed at the behest of lobbying elements of the legislative process. The old, ‘give and get’. You are aware of how it works, are you not? –Snaggy.
Dave, Obviously you have no idea how Australian politics work, here’s a little explanation, We have 2 major parties, with the current amount of seats held Labor and Liberal are close to even, Labor wants something like more art centres built, Liberals naturally disagree, so along comes The Greens and say to Labor, if you put forth to close down State Parks for us as well as build more Art Centres we will give you our vote in the house so you get your Art Centre.
And alas there you have The Greens holding the balance of power and getting exactly what they want.
So, has anyone legally visited the fire affected areas? Nat Parks have still got a lot of closure signs up in the Sth East, claiming fire affected areas….this means areas closed to ALL……doing the greenies work perhaps?
Nat Parks also don’t have the manpower to clear all the fallen trees, & there are shitloads. It also means access for emergency services is difficult……