US tycoon Donald Trump's plans for a huge construction project that will result in a golf resort and a large number of luxury housing developments in Aberdeenshire were said to represent the "excesses of casino capitalism".
That's according to Patrick Harvie, Co-Leader of the Scottish Green Party, who said at the party's weekend conference in Dumfries, that global market failures, climate change and inequality means the world is changing and countries need to adopt green thinking to prosper.
Mr Harvie urged delegates to work for a society which "values the wellbeing of all people more highly than the material wealth of the richest few".
He said: "For years Greens have argued that the market-dominated economic policy of the old parties could only end in failure."
He added: "Over the course of this year we've seen that failure played out in appalling fashion. It has been a failure of the market, but also a failure of politicians who have supported, celebrated, and even courted the excesses of casino capitalism.
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"Labour, Tory, SNP and Lib Dems alike have all spent years making speeches about supporting the risk takers - until those risks failed to pay off and the taxpayer was landed with a bill of historic proportions."
Mr Harvie also said: "The Green movement stands as a challenge to all those parties, opposing the idea that vast sums of taxpayers' money must be committed to re-establish the same failed economic model, which left half the world in poverty and precious natural resources plundered or squandered."
The weekend-long conference - which has the theme Green - the Colour of Money - was also to hear from former Liberal Democrat councillor Martin Ford, who chaired the committee that originally rejected Donald Trump's plans.
The application was later 'called in' by the Scottish government and approved, although the massive construction project continued to be dogged by problems.
However, work on Donald Trump's £1bn golf project in Aberdeenshire began last Wednesday after councillors finally accepted a revised planning application.
Aberdeenshire's Formartine Committee accepted the application for work including grass planting at the dunes at Menie, north of Aberdeen.
Mr Trump said they were pleased work could start ahead of schedule.
He said they would build the "greatest golf course in history".
Mr Trump added: "I want to thank Aberdeenshire Council, the business community and the residents of Aberdeenshire for their ongoing support."
Workers are currently clearing rocks and other debris from the site after the developer won permission to build the resort featuring a five-star hotel, 1,200 homes and two international-standard golf courses.
Grass will be now planted from November to March on an environmentally sensitive stretch of sand dunes to stabilize the beach for development into a championship golf course.
In spite of the contractors moving in, some local residents who still oppose the project have threatened legal action, claiming violations of environmental laws and planning procedures.
(BMcC/KMcA)
