Further to my previous post on "Penny Wong: Passion and Principle" by Margaret Simons, I'm finding a stack more quotes I would love to give, but I have to watch the copyright conditions, as I'm not doing a review - yet (that will have to wait until I finish the book).
However, there is one set of words in a few passages that has encapsulated for me the concerns I've had over the Greens for a while, and that is (a) the concept of "moral purity", which I've written about previously, and (b) their lack of engagement (I'm putting this nicely) with economic matters.
I am of the view that Senator Richard di Natale has been trying to move the Greens towards being a genuine contender for power, but supporters want to see the table-thumping outrage (and sometimes that is necessary). Their previous idiotic hardline on Australia's proposed carbon reduction scheme (CPRS) that they blocked in 2009 is an example of both problems - and there are some very telling passages in the book about their leader's reaction when it became clear that Copenhagen was going to fail.
None of that directly helps Australia or the world, but I think the insight gives me a way of "framing" (I learned that term from the book - which, incidentally, I recommend very highly) issues to gain broader support. As Senator Wong says (in words to this effect), it's not enough to hate something - just hating it doesn't change it: you have to work at it.
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