Newcastle/Hunter Valley Perspectives

By Sharyn Munro
My Wildlife Refuge exists to protect native animals.

We human animals seem to need protection too — from our own progress. Since we’re not quite ready to set up a refuge for humans on Mars, I think we need to look seriously at this ‘progress’. The word implies an advance towards something better, but it’s been misused as an excuse for anything to be imposed on the populace, and endowed with such sanctity and national pride that protesters are labelled mad, bad — or worse, green.

‘Standing in the way of Progress’ is a Sin.

Yet much Progress is not advancing towards anything except Profits for the few and side-benefits for the governments who allow it to happen. For the little people and the environment it is often Regress — ‘a going backwards’ to a worse state than they already had.