Round 2

Here is my second letter back from the leader of Australia’s department.  Only my address has been omitted for obvious reasons.

---

Australian Government
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

ONE NATIONAL CIRCUIT BARTON
Reference:C09/43828

20 August 2009

Dear Mr Webber

Thank you for your letter of 17 August 2009 to the Prime Minister regarding my previous reply about the growing of organic produce at The Lodge and Kirribilli House. I have been asked to reply on the Prime Minister’s behalf.

The Department is currently investigating various environmental initiatives including water capture at the residences. Water tanks are already in place at Kirribilli House which has reduced the amount of town water used there.

Thank you again for taking the time to write to the Prime Minister.

Yours sincerely

Suzanne de Smet
Assistant Director
Official Establishments Unit

---

Thanks for the reply Suzanne.  I do appreciate the time you take to reply on behalf of our PM.  Really I do.

So readers, what do you think?  Another fob off?  Not much detail in this letter, but at least we now know that Kirribilli House has rainwater tanks and that they use them.  I believe this response deserves an third reply asking for details of the “various environmental initiatives”.  Maybe there might be an organic vegetable patch in there somewhere even though there is not a lot of reference to it in this letter.

If at first and second you don’t succeed, try, try again and again and again!  Kev’s Patch will become a reality.  Please join the campaign and participate in this fine piece of environmental activism by sending our PM a letter.  Even if you are not Australian, still have a go at getting the leader of your country to plant their own veggie patch at their official residence.

Just as important though, please take the time to plant some vegetables of your own.  It is nearly spring, so have a look at Gardenate to see what you could grow in your area.  It currently covers climates for Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.  Growing your own food is as simple as putting a seed or seedling in the ground and watering it.  It nature can do it, I am sure you can.  Go on, give it a go because you will never regret it!  Even a balcony pot or two are a good start if that is all you have available.

Lets all lead by example, see how many of us can start our own organic veggie patches, and keep applying the pressure to Prime Minister Rudd.  Tell him in your letter how well your garden grows, with or without water restrictions in your area.

Here’s a thought.  If the PM had his own veggie patch, he wouldn’t have to borrow as much money to pay for all these handouts to big polluters that he is proposing in the CPRS.  Now that is something worth fighting for!

Cross-posted at The Greening of Gavin

New letter including water info

Little M over at Gustoso recently wrote to the PM about starting a vegie patch, and wasn’t terribly impressed with his reply that Canberra’s water restrictions were what was stopping him from doing it.

So when she wrote in, she included facts about how you can garden using very little water, and how Rudd could include a water-tank and a grey-water system. Since the government is keen on everyone having those, I don’t see why he shouldn’t give them a whirl too!

Little M is challenging herself and her family to become self-sufficient for food, by growing all of their own fruits and vegetables. If she can do it, facing the same water restrictions all Aussies have right now, I don’t see why Kev can’t get just  10% of his family’s needs from a little garden of his own.

You can see Little M’s letter on our Take Action page, or check out her gardening skills over at her blog Gustoso.

A reply

Well, if you followed our suggestion and sent a message to the Prime Minister about starting a vegie patch at The Lodge, this is the reply you’ll probably receive. Several of us have had identical letters.

It’s nice to get a reply at all – plenty of politicians don’t bother to respond to anything they think is silly or unimportant. So thumbs up for Kev and his staff. But I can’t say I’m impressed with their reason for not planting some vegies – they’re not the only ones on water restrictions, and plenty of home gardeners will tell you they manage just fine.

Have the staff at The Lodge not heard of rainwater tanks and xeriscaping? If you’re gardening with very little water, give us your best suggestion for how Kev can still grow a few vegies without depriving the rest of the garden of water.

---

Australian Government
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

ONE NATIONAL CIRCUIT BARTON
Reference:C09/32365

14 July 2009
Dear Ms Julie

Thank you for your letter of 6 June 2009 to the Prime Minister regarding a vegetable garden at The Lodge. I have been asked to reply on the Prime Minister’s behalf.

At this time there are no immediate plans to grow vegetables at The Lodge. While we acknowledge that there are many good reasons to do so, the lack of water in Canberra makes it impractical to undertake such a project. The grounds at The Lodge have already been affected by the water shortage and would be further compromised if water were redirected to the establishment of a new garden. There are however, existing fruit trees and herbs growing throughout the garden which are used in the house, as are flowers grown in the grounds.

The time you have taken to write to the Prime Minister is appreciated.

Yours sincerely

Suzanne de Smet
Assistant Director
Official Establishments Unit