Although she presents herself as a dinky-di local farmer who was recruited by a local grassroots organisation called "Voice 4 Indi", the reality is very different.
The "Voice 4 Indi" Committee
The origin of McGowan's campaign is a small group calling itself "Voice 4 Indi" (V4I), which was formed in September 2012. The group is full of activists of the far-left.
There's Anthony Lane, a green activist who was the inaugural chair of the Wangaratta Sustainability Network. The organisation is a recipient of taxpayer's money, and advocates a 100% renewable energy mandate. They even go so far as to say "It’s criminal to keep supporting non-renewable energy".
The current legislated mandate is 20%, so imagine what your electricity bill might look like on 100%. Rowan O'Hagan is also a green activist, and was founder and secretary of the Wangaratta Sustainability Network. She believes lifestyles in first-world countries are "unsustainable" and pushes for cultural change to achieve "a more socially just global environment".
"Sustainability" is, of course, the buzz-word for Agenda 21 implementation. Alana Johnson is a board member of the ultra-feminist Victorian Women's Trust, who were vocal supporters of Julia Gillard. When Gillard was overthrown, the organisation ran full page ads in several newspapers praising Gillard's "successful government", slamming her critics, and blaming her demise on sexism and misogyny.
Johnson actually went further on her twitter account and blamed the whole of Australia for Gillard's demise, saying she was ashamed of the country.
There is also a fellow called Ben McGowan, who I presume is related to Cathy McGowan.
He is a green activist, a supporter of "sustainability" (Agenda 21), and a believer in the theory of catastrophic anthropogenic global warming. He has tweeted his support for socialism, and also his opposition to free-market economics, calling it "nonsense". He has even praised the writings of Mark Latham.
And then, of course, there is Cathy McGowan herself who, with Mr Lane, was co-convener of the organisation. That's right, the "grassroots organisation" that chose to endorse Cathy McGowan, was started by Cathy McGowan.
What an amazing coincidence!
The "Kitchen Table Conversations"
"Voice 4 Indi" claim that during March and April a series of "kitchen table conversations" took place, hosted by members of the Indi community. Apparently, feedback was accumulated at these meetings and sent back to the organisation, who would then compile it in a report.
Even V4I's official numbers (which cannot be independently verified) say they only managed to get 55 people willing to host a "kitchen table conversation" with a total of 440 participants.
To put this into context, the federal electorate of Indi contains about 100,000 eligible voters. That means, at best, 0.4% of the electorate took place in these "conversations".
Community forums with voluntary participation will inevitably attract the most fierce ideological warriors, almost invariably from the left, and several of the "conversations" appear to be organised by the family and friends of V4I members themselves.
How can V4I seriously claim this is representative of the electorate of Indi?
Then there's the particular slate of issues that were supposedly emphasised by participants in these "kitchen table conversations". Somehow I don't think the primary concerns of your average farmer in northern Victoria include things like ...
Reducing carbon dioxide emissions
Stopping coal exports to China
The compassionate treatment of boat people
Encouraging multiculturalism
A new model of capitalism with low & sustainable growth
Solidarity with gays and lesbians
Abolishing States in favour of regional councils
Recognising aborigines in the Constitution
More national parks
Increasing foreign aid
But all these points appear in a "report" about the outcomes of the conversations, including quotes from the infamous Tim Flannery containing ominous predictions about catostrophic environmental destruction within 15 years.
The report was released by V4I on May 19, in conjunction with an announcement that (surprise, surprise) they had decided to endorse Cathy McGowan as an independent candidate for the coming federal election.
News reports failed to mention that McGowan actually started the very "grassroots" organisation that was now endorsing her, with green activists, radical feminists and perhaps even her own family, among its committee members.
"... she was drafted to stand by a group called Voice for Indi. This group wanted to "rebuild the relationship between politicians and the people""
Again, no mention that she actually started the organisation that "drafted" her, and endless media outlets have reported it in this way.
Laughably, the McGowan campaign have been putting out YouTube videos claiming that McGowan was chosen "through a selection process that was quite transparent and very open ...".
Rather than scrutinise these things, the left-wing media have been putting out what look more like campaignpress releases for McGowan, than real journalism.
McGowan's Carpetbaggers
McGowan's campaign has emphasised local representation. The paradox is that McGowan's people admit that most of their donors and campaign volunteers are carpetbaggers from urban Melbourne. Indeed, McGowan has said the genesis of her candidacy was a phone call from young relatives at a Melbourne dinner party.
How appropriate that McGowan decided to become the champion of rural people after getting a call from a bunch of 20-somethings at a dinner party in inner-city Melbourne.
I think that tidbit gives you an insight into the true nature of McGowan's campaign. A foreign insurgency.
McGowan's team: Farmers or Fitzroy Flower-Children?
The Creepy Abortionist Perhaps McGowan's creepiest supporter is dogged abortionist, Pieter Mourik (pictured right), who says he's been a "close friend" of McGowan's for 35 years.
"Doctor" Mourik, a retired Albury-Wodonga gynaecologist, is so extreme in his views on abortion, he writes screeching articles attacking the peaceful protests of Albury-Wodonga pro-life campaigners, calling them "vultures" and saying that they should not be tolerated.
These "vultures" Mourik speaks of are women like Anna von Marburg, an Albury mother so dedicated to saving children from abortion that she says she'll take unwanted children into her home.
Mourik certainly doesn't appear sympathetic to freedom of speech.
According to Pro-Life Victoria, Mourik was also active in Albury-Wodonga promoting the then Victorian Labor Government's 2008 abortion law changes which made it illegal for a doctor to conscientiously object to referring women for abortion and made it illegal for nursing and auxiliary staff to conscientiously object to involvement in abortion procedures. It also effectively legalised unrestricted abortion-on-demand, including late-term abortion, partial-birth abortion and perhaps even outright infanticide for babies born-alive following failed abortions.
Mourik appears in a campaign advertisement for McGowan
Also fiercely campaigning for these abortion law changes was "Voice 4 Indi" committee member Alana Johnson, in her capacity as board member of the Victorian Women's Trust.
So excited is Mourik, about McGowan's candidacy, that he admits "this is the first time i've been involved in a political campaign".
Mourik is typical of the circles McGowan mixes in. She is liked by all the wrong people. The detestable duo, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott, think she's fantastic. Malcolm Fraser, the Liberal Prime Minister who wouldn't repeal the nightmare policies of Gough Whitlam, has endorsed her. And far-left former Sydney Morning Herald columnist, Margo Kingston has been shilling for McGowan from the beginning.
Given all this, it's not surprising that McGowan, after initially saying she had no policies, turns out to be a supporter of a carbon tax that will rip $1 trillion dollars from GDP growth, the white elephant national broadband network, and more black-hole spending on windmills and solar panels that are driving up electricity bills.
But if a green-in-disguise is what you want, then by all means, vote for McGowan. Contact me on anthony@la.org.au
THE Greens' lead ACT Senate candidate and former GetUp! chief Simon Sheikh faces calls to resign or be sacked after records at the corporate watchdog appeared to show he was still at the helm of a GetUp! subsidiary.
Mr Sheikh has repeatedly denied any links with GetUp! since becoming a candidate. Australian Securities & Investments Commission papers show he is director and secretary of a company called Community Campaigning Pty Ltd. The company is a subsidiary of GetUp! registered in February last year that shares a registered office and a principal place of business with the left-wing activist group.
***
Sheikh and bake strikes again.
Must be hard to keep track of who you're a front for after a while, it must all just run into one big glob of communist slop.
Every two years the Australian Youth Climate Coalition holds a national youth summit called Powershift. Thousands of young people from all over Australia converge to demand action on climate change. In 2011, 1500 young Australians gathered in Brisbane for the second Powershift conference. AYCC wanted a video that would capture the energy of the conference, as well as excite the next generation to get behind the climate campaign. Make Believe created a music video of epic proportions. Our fresh take on the popular “LipDub” genre starred over 1000 young volunteers dancing through the city of Brisbane. It has since become a much-loved AYCC video and acts as one of AYCC’s most powerful tools to engage Australian youth with their campaign.
That’s just scratching the surface. The Make Believe team have left their grubby eco-fingerprints over dozens of greenie campaigns, including the election of Adam Bandt, the completely fanatical Oz MP who was crucial in persuading prime minister Julia Gillard to adopt the suicidal carbon tax.
Ms Osman moved on last autumnwhen she landed the plum role as communications director for Sony Europe. Others have noted brilliantly the extent to which large corporations – in order to extend their earnings potential – now vie with each other to flaunt their green credentials and jump into bed with the obscenely rich environment ‘charities’; Sony is exceptionally keen on this front. Their website boasts:
We have joined other organisations in the WWF Climate Savers Program to work towards climate change targets. We believe setting ambitious targets will demonstrate leadership and stimulate greater action and innovation in tackling environmental challenges.
For example, Sony Europe has signed a joint business declaration with The Climate Group, The Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change and the WWF Climate Savers Program asserting that it makes economic sense for the EU to raise its targets beyond its current 20 per cent greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for 2020.
The declaration states that investment in tomorrow’s technology and infrastructure can help boost economic growth and create new jobs. Setting more ambitious targets now will help the EU to lead the low carbon economy of the future.
Chilling isn’t it? I thought Sony was a manufacturer of snazzy technical gizmos and entertainment products. In reality they are now working with unelected, unaccountable eco maniacs like the WWF to impose insane green targets on us all. You thought you were buying a piece of kit; but no, it’s actually a key token in the WWF battle to subvert and subvent democracy and dismantle capitalism.
Ms Osman – just like Mr Sambrook at Edelman – seems to have taken to this environment like a duck to water. Is she too, another BBC econut? There’s no direct evidence of her personal views – she is far too discreet for that – but without doubt, she is quite happy to earn cartloads of money working for, and being associated with, campaigning, doctrinaire organisations that have the green creed stamped through them like a stick of rock.. The BBC tentacles of bias are seemingly everywhere.
Cathy McGowan is a Greens-like candidate of the far-left, but that's not the image the "independent" candidate wants out there in the electorate.
But all these points appear in a "
Perhaps McGowan's creepiest supporter is dogged abortionist, Pieter Mourik (pictured right), who says he's been a "close friend" of McGowan's for 35 years.
