1. Morwellian. noun. A term used to describe the way the Australian authorities treated the citizens of the town of Morwell in East Gippsland, the state of Victoria, following an out-of-control fire in the Hazelwood Open
Cut Mine.
The mine supplies
brown coal to the nearby Hazelwood Power Station. Following the fires, the town of Morwell and its surrounding villages were subjected to a thick
cloud of smoke, which contained dangerous amounts of small particles. The local residents and brave fire fighters tackling the blaze were forced to inhale this smoke for days whilst the
government authorities repeatedly lied to the public and the press - refusing to declare a state of emergency & instead stage managing the disaster and using it for political grandstanding.
2. Morwellian. verb. A term used to describe a
government when they frequently
lie to the public about the health risks and dangers of an event, such as a open-
cut coal-mine fire, refusing to evacuate residents from the presence of danger and instead using the suffering of the people as an opportunity for political grandstanding.
1.
Dr Rosemary Lester gave an Morwellian speech to the press & media in hope of deliberately misleading the public to the dangers smoke from the fire at the Hazelwood Open-
Cut Mine for the residents Morwell & other
local towns and villages. “This is not an evacuation,” she said. “It is an advice for a temporary relocation until the
air quality improves.”
The following are examples of the desperate outcries given by members of the public following Morwellian behaviour from the governing authorities:
"We are in the dark, we
don't know what's going on,"
"No one knows what it's going to do to our
long-term health."
“We can’t sleep, we can’t go outside, we can’t breathe,”
“There’s people in the street wearing masks every
day."
“You can’t continue to allow this to happen.”
2.
Dennis Napthine was feeling a little Morwellian after his visit to the town of Morwell.
"Mr Napthine wasn't always a very nice man. On days when he was feeling Morwellian he would call press conferences and
lie to the public." - from Mark Twain's 'It's all gone Morwell'
"If you want a picture of the future imagine a
boot stamping on a human face, forever." -
George Orwells response to the Morwellian treatment of the residents of Morwell.
"He who controls the past controls the future, he who controls the present controls the past." - George Orwell summarising the Morwellian behaviour of the Australian Media as they speculated about the possible date the fire in the Hazelwood Mine would end.
