Gordon Aplin

A male Red-bellied Woodpecker with his ruby eyes checking out the nature trail from the far side of the tree.

Since 2019, the revenue projected from passing a wealth tax on millionaires and billionaires has doubled. That’s because the ultra-wealthy got even ultra-wealthier in those years. Workers' wages didn't double. Billionaire wealth did. It’s time to tax the rich.

You can’t have democracy without good journalism. You get the leaders your journalism produces. Pauline Hanson walked into the National Press Club — her first address in 30 years in parliament — and the press gallery proved the point in real time. No costings. No detail on nuclear. No follow-up on who funds her energy policy or why it was announced at a gas industry conference. Just “coal is good, wind turbines bad” — unchallenged. @GrogsGamut called it: “Congrats to the press gallery — you showed yourself utterly useless.” This isn’t about Hanson. It’s about the vacuum that produces her. One question. No follow-up. No accountability. That’s the journalism that’s enabled her for 30 yrs

24 000 people soak up half the capital gains tax benefits. They are also rich & powerful. Right now they are having an almighty meltdown because they have to pay the same tax rate as the rest of us.

Puffin behind the wave! 😍 #TheDailyPuffin 🐦

#PaulineHanson berates #SarahMartin from #TheGuardian BL Leans forward to intimidate, leans away to show dislike with authoritarian finger point assigning blame, hostile, aggressive rude. Then locks ankles, freeze response, emotionally withdrawing from the interaction defensive.

A beautiful male Wheatear at Martin's Haven in Pembrokeshire last week. 😍🐦😊

#PaulineHanson “Businesses..you can’t sack workers..they’re on their phones..don’t turn up.. actually are lazy. Why should people get paid when not working?” Projecting. Salary $300,000+ 88% missed Senate estimates. Voting record Parl divisions & procedural motions, 30% to 50%.

From “One Nation Decoded” on Facebook. Give them a follow. 👇🏻 “I went through Pauline Hanson’s full National Press Club speech. Not a clip. Not a headline. The whole thing. And the numbers are wild. Out of around 86 checkable claims, I counted: 12 outright false claims. 43 misleading, cherry-picked or unsupported claims. 58 slogans, attack lines or loaded catchphrases. 17 things that just didn’t logically make sense. That means the speech was not some brave truth-telling moment. It was a misinformation machine with a microphone. The scariest part is how polished it all sounds when it’s delivered confidently. Big numbers. Big claims. Big outrage. But when you actually stop and check it, so much of it falls apart. The 130,000 “sleeping rough” claim was wrong. The $200 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation claim was wrong. The overseas-born comparison with America was apples-to-oranges. The climate change “hoax” line was straight-up nonsense. The capital gains tax section was dressed up like young renters should be crying for young property flippers. This is the trick. Say enough things quickly. Sound angry enough. Blame enough groups. Wrap it all in flags, slogans and “common sense”. Then hope nobody checks the details. Well, I checked. And what I found was not leadership. It was grievance politics running on dodgy numbers, culture war panic and emotional shortcuts. Australians deserve better than a speech where the slogans do more work than the facts”

Spotted me straight away

Every June, Cedar Waxwings swarm Central Park's Pool snagging insects. I love Waxwings, and this gives me a chance to capture them in flight! I don't want to tell you how many photos it took to get one or two I liked...😂😂😂 #Waxwings #CentralPark #birdcpp

Glastonbury Tor at sunrise, another truly magical moment from Sunday morning. The hill sat wrapped in a soft veil of mist while the sky blazed with fiery oranges and delicate pinks. High above, cirrus radiatus clouds stretched in radiant parallel bands, seeming to fan out from the horizon like celestial spokes. Nestled among them, a subtle sun pillar rose vertically through the ice-crystal veil, a beautiful atmospheric touch that made the whole scene feel even more ethereal. I was completely in awe of how peaceful yet dramatically alive it felt there. Grateful for mornings like this.✨ Still more to come😊 #GlastonburyTor #SunriseMagic #SunPillar #Mist #SomersetLandscapes @PanoPhotos #PanoPhotos #Sunrise @StormHour #cirrusradiatus

A Great White Egret in flight at RSPB Ham Wall in Somerset recently. 😊🐦

Sleepy Wren! 😉😁😍🐦

Light, shade and shadows. Photo taken from St Michael's tower on Glastonbury Tor.

#auspol #NPC So Pauline Hanson will build a Nuclear Reactor on the East Coast of Australia She will STOP all Large Scale Solar projects and ALL Wind Farms She will Build A COAL FIRED power Station in Qld & SA ALL Govt Funded if Private won't fund it (& they won't)

This Sacred Kingfisher was a commission for a lovely client, kingfishers are probably my favourite birds to draw so this was an absolute delight 🩵 #birds #kingfisher #wildlifeart #illustration #art

Good morning.

Happy Wrensday Wednesday! A female superb fairywren at Mount Crawford Forest, South Australia. #wrensday

#Stefanovic calls #Wilson ‘s abusive behaviour on #Today & towards a woman #AmandaRishworth “passionate.” What happens when people enable abuse & normalise intimidation & aggression, as being passionate feeds the cycle of abuse as being normal. This behavior must be condemned.