Tony Kevin's Write Stuff

I LAUNCHED this blog with a tribute to one of my personal heroes, Tony Kevin, who has found the time to write a note of appreciation -- and to clarify one of my comments. It seems that Tony is not sure if an Australian Navy ship left the SIEVX survivors to drown, but he now suspects that it was an Indonesian vessel. Either way it seems a small difference. The Indonesians were quite clearly acting on Canberra's instructions and it is Australian dollars that fund their navy and military. If your butler stabs the Mormon who comes knocking at your door and does so at your instruction, we all know where the real blame resides!

Tony could also use some help moving the unsold copies of his fabulous "Crunch Time" expose of mainstream politics' -- read "Labor's" -- refusal to come to grips with the looming catastrophe of climate change. Three peer-reviewed leaders in the field were featured last night on the 7:30 Report and how anyone can ignore their warnings is quite beyond me. Congratulations to the ABC by the way for sticking to the facts and not inviting a denier to spread more lies at taxpayer expense.

In any case, and to get back to the point of this post, Tony, could use some help moving the last, unsold copies of his fantastic book "Crunch Time." As he laments in his lovely note:

"Climate change advocacy is a crowded field, Most established people are too busy pushing their own organisations' barrows to be interested in what a newbie might have to contribute. In all kinds of ways, Crunch Time was patronised and sidelined. Not a pleasant experience for a writer. Which makes your essay all the more appreciated by me"

Now here, I think, we really need to stop and think. Team Gillard  today announced that Tim Flannery will chair the People's Climate Change Commission, which is fair enough. Tim has done wonderful work popularising the threat to us all and he has put millions of dollars on the line developing his geothermal approach to clean, green, ready-when-needed energy.  He is also a favourite commentator at the ABC, where he is now working on his second series of environmentally themed TV shows. All very well, and best wishes to Tim.

But...but...but... when a crusader like Tony Kevin is reduced to penury and about to be dropped by his publisher it seems to me that a fairer, more equitable and altogether appropriate way of supporting the leaders of the climate change community is needed. Clearly we could use a panel of experts who could dispassionately allocate the funding available to promote the responsible approach to curtailing Australia's obscene carbon pollution, the worst in the world.

More particularly, in Tony's case, wouldn't it be lovely if Canberra authorised the purchase of his unsold copies of Crunch Time and distributed them in schools, perhaps as end of year prizes to the best and brightest students.

Just an idea. Now here is Tony's lovely letter in its entirety:

Dear Alene,

I am touched and honoured by your essay. It is all pretty right as to facts about me except for one or two discrepancies as to my SIEV X book - I do not think I alleged the grey boat had to be Australian, my stated hunch was that it was probably Indonesian.

Crunch Time was an undervalued book when it came out. It only sold 2000 of its initial print run of 3000. The remaining copies are on Scribe Publishing's warehouse backlist as far as I know. It is likely to be my last book published with Scribe Publishing, who stood by me loyally on my first book on SIEV X, to their great credit.

I am now asking comparable public questions about why SIEV 221 was not safely detected and intercepted at sea like its 220 predecessors, that were so detected and safely intercepted. There is a curious but predictable lack of publicd interest in asking this question.

I put at least as much work into Crunch Time as into the SIEV X book, but it did not attract anything like the same degree of public interest and support. Climate change advocscy is a crowded field, Most established people are too busy pushing their owm organisations' barrows to be interested in what a newbie might have to contribute. In all kinds of ways, Crunch Time was patronised and sidelined. Not a pleasant experience for a writer. Which makes your essay all the more appreciated by me.

Maybe after the major natural disasters this year in every state of Australia except SA and Tasmania a few people might go back to my book. My final Dystopian chapter has interesting resonances with the Queensland floods and Yasi. Under pressure of natural disasters on this scale, Australians respond ib many ways as predicted in this final chapter. The SES, police and army come to the fore as social leaders, and our selfish competitive society is replaced by a far more cooperative society. Under the exiatential stress on Australia to be caused by more than 2-3 degress of global warmimg, I believe Australia will move permsnently to that kind of better society.

Regards

Tony Kevin

I am going to print off a copy and have it framed!