As the Prime Minister's sun seats slowly in the west, he continues to rail against the light. He is determined to explore every possibility in order to rise again, phoenix-like, even if it is at the expense of the democratic process he purports to represent.
The NT intervention legislation, all 480 pages of it, was lumped in the laps of Federal Members yesterday and an ultimatum given that they must come to work today prepared to vote on it. Any delay will see dissenters branded supporters of child abuse.
This blatant abuse of the normal conventions of the Parliamentary process is an assault on democracy and should be resisted at all costs. The Howard government has done little for Aboriginal people for 11 years. A few more days would hardly seem to count now.
Let us hope the whole thing unravels so that the better bits can be implimented and the rest consigned to the hole the PM seems intent on digging for himself and his government.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Help George, please
“Hello.”
Hello George old mate, is that you? This is Johnny ……. from Orstralia.”
“Yep, this is me, too right it is an’ all. What can I do for you, pardner?”
“Well, you know how I'm helping you out with that Iraq thing, I was wondering if you could help me out with a situation we have here at the moment?”
Well sure I can, you just tell me what is botherin’ you.”
Well George, it seems I went and opened my mouth about how I was going to fix; just like that, the problems of our Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory (it’s sort of like our Texas) but it seems that it’s going to be a little harder than I thought an’ I’m getting’ a little bit worried that it might all go pear-shaped. Then I was thinking that the situation was a little bit like that Iraq business where you said it would all be over in a week or two but then it got worse and then, after a few years you came up with the brilliant idea of sending in some extra troops and instead of calling them reinforcements, which has connotations of losing, you called them a 'surge', which is very clever because it has very positive connotations and I was wonderin' if ... er ...”
“So John, you need some help?”
“Yup, I sure do, ol’ buddy. I thought about how you had all those problems with the Apache, Sioux and Cree an’ all and I figured you’d be just the one to help me out here. ”
“Consider it done, pardner. I’ll have an aircraft carrier off the coast by next week. US Marines will be parachutin’ down all over that Terry Tory’s place by mornin’. Don’t yo’all worry about a thing now. If any of those Ab-or-ig-e-knees get uppitty, just yo’all tell ‘em your brother George is comin’.”
“Yo’all don’t know how much better that makes me feel here, Down Under, George.”
“Whoa now, let’s not get carried away, Johnno. This is strictly business. I never knew you were like that.”
Hello George old mate, is that you? This is Johnny ……. from Orstralia.”
“Yep, this is me, too right it is an’ all. What can I do for you, pardner?”
“Well, you know how I'm helping you out with that Iraq thing, I was wondering if you could help me out with a situation we have here at the moment?”
Well sure I can, you just tell me what is botherin’ you.”
Well George, it seems I went and opened my mouth about how I was going to fix; just like that, the problems of our Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory (it’s sort of like our Texas) but it seems that it’s going to be a little harder than I thought an’ I’m getting’ a little bit worried that it might all go pear-shaped. Then I was thinking that the situation was a little bit like that Iraq business where you said it would all be over in a week or two but then it got worse and then, after a few years you came up with the brilliant idea of sending in some extra troops and instead of calling them reinforcements, which has connotations of losing, you called them a 'surge', which is very clever because it has very positive connotations and I was wonderin' if ... er ...”
“So John, you need some help?”
“Yup, I sure do, ol’ buddy. I thought about how you had all those problems with the Apache, Sioux and Cree an’ all and I figured you’d be just the one to help me out here. ”
“Consider it done, pardner. I’ll have an aircraft carrier off the coast by next week. US Marines will be parachutin’ down all over that Terry Tory’s place by mornin’. Don’t yo’all worry about a thing now. If any of those Ab-or-ig-e-knees get uppitty, just yo’all tell ‘em your brother George is comin’.”
“Yo’all don’t know how much better that makes me feel here, Down Under, George.”
“Whoa now, let’s not get carried away, Johnno. This is strictly business. I never knew you were like that.”
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Time Bomb Defusing 101
A careful analysis of the PM's political tactics reveal a lot about what makes him tick and perhaps sadly, what makes us vote for him.
Blessed with an economy that is booming thanks to the sustained rampant growth of the Chinese and other Asian economies and their thirst for our raw materials, in each three year term he has worked overtime for the first two years to deliver to those who voted him in, big business, the privilged, Little Aussie Battler Rupert etc.
Some 6-9 months before the election he assesses what are the hotspots in public opinion that need hosing down and sets about doing just that, one by one.
That is not to say that he will actually fix any real problems. Rather, he will create the allusion that problems are either fixed or in the pipeline and therefore need no longer be of concern to his dear friends, the Voters.
This coming election, industrial relations, climate and water are the BIG issues.
His new 7-point Fairness Test is his attempt to defuse Industrial Relations. His sudden conversion from Climate Sceptic to True Believer is designed to lull us into the belief that something is at long last being done to stop the clock ticking re sea-level rise, global warming etc. The Government's $10 billion, back-of-an-envelope plan to save the Murray is supposed to quell voter backlash to its 11 years of neglect in this area.
One by one we are being fooled into believing that these issues are no longer likely to explode in our faces whereas the truth is that little is actually being done to tackle the problem.
We are being encouraged, via a $7.6 million allocation in the budget, to convert from incandescent to new-fluoro light bulbs. This could be achieved for no cost by simply banning the sale of incandescent bulbs from,say, the end of this year. I doubt a black market in incandescent bulbs would spring up. In any event this in tinkering at the edges of a very large problem.
The government has doubled the subsidy for solar panels, back to its once-previous level of $8000 per house. Since a decent sized system costs more than double that figure, few people are going to be in a position to take advantage of the scheme. Once again the perception is that a lot is being done when the reality is just the opposite. A better use of these funds would be to either increase the subsidy for installing solar hot water, a far more efficient technology, or give the money to organisations involved in improving the efficiency of solar panels. Australia used to be the world leader in this area but sadly now trails the field.
Of the much vaunted $10 billion Save the Murray scheme total, only $50 million will be spent in the next year.
At the same time of course, the Government will spend hundreds of millions of your dollars to tell us what a wonderful job it's doing. Just before the election; what a coincidence.
Believe that and you'll probably be silly enough to believe there are no unexploded bombs left in the PM's kitbag.
Blessed with an economy that is booming thanks to the sustained rampant growth of the Chinese and other Asian economies and their thirst for our raw materials, in each three year term he has worked overtime for the first two years to deliver to those who voted him in, big business, the privilged, Little Aussie Battler Rupert etc.
Some 6-9 months before the election he assesses what are the hotspots in public opinion that need hosing down and sets about doing just that, one by one.
That is not to say that he will actually fix any real problems. Rather, he will create the allusion that problems are either fixed or in the pipeline and therefore need no longer be of concern to his dear friends, the Voters.
This coming election, industrial relations, climate and water are the BIG issues.
His new 7-point Fairness Test is his attempt to defuse Industrial Relations. His sudden conversion from Climate Sceptic to True Believer is designed to lull us into the belief that something is at long last being done to stop the clock ticking re sea-level rise, global warming etc. The Government's $10 billion, back-of-an-envelope plan to save the Murray is supposed to quell voter backlash to its 11 years of neglect in this area.
One by one we are being fooled into believing that these issues are no longer likely to explode in our faces whereas the truth is that little is actually being done to tackle the problem.
We are being encouraged, via a $7.6 million allocation in the budget, to convert from incandescent to new-fluoro light bulbs. This could be achieved for no cost by simply banning the sale of incandescent bulbs from,say, the end of this year. I doubt a black market in incandescent bulbs would spring up. In any event this in tinkering at the edges of a very large problem.
The government has doubled the subsidy for solar panels, back to its once-previous level of $8000 per house. Since a decent sized system costs more than double that figure, few people are going to be in a position to take advantage of the scheme. Once again the perception is that a lot is being done when the reality is just the opposite. A better use of these funds would be to either increase the subsidy for installing solar hot water, a far more efficient technology, or give the money to organisations involved in improving the efficiency of solar panels. Australia used to be the world leader in this area but sadly now trails the field.
Of the much vaunted $10 billion Save the Murray scheme total, only $50 million will be spent in the next year.
At the same time of course, the Government will spend hundreds of millions of your dollars to tell us what a wonderful job it's doing. Just before the election; what a coincidence.
Believe that and you'll probably be silly enough to believe there are no unexploded bombs left in the PM's kitbag.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Two for One
In a breathtakingly bold move today the Prime Minister acted to defuse two of the major issues which were 'on the nose' with the Australian electorate.
Following the success of North Korea in gaining billions of dollars of concessions from the West in return for dismantling its nuclear program, the PM has announced that he will abandon his desire to build 25 nuclear reactors in Australia in return for one simple concession from the U.S.; the release of David Hicks from Guantanamo Bay.
"It seems our longstanding acquiescence in the torture of an Australian citizen has not gone down well with Australians," he said.
I thought we had moved on from these silly notions of a 'fair go' and 'mateship', at least for those we have been working overtime to paint as dangerous terrorists," he lamented.
Following the success of North Korea in gaining billions of dollars of concessions from the West in return for dismantling its nuclear program, the PM has announced that he will abandon his desire to build 25 nuclear reactors in Australia in return for one simple concession from the U.S.; the release of David Hicks from Guantanamo Bay.
"It seems our longstanding acquiescence in the torture of an Australian citizen has not gone down well with Australians," he said.
I thought we had moved on from these silly notions of a 'fair go' and 'mateship', at least for those we have been working overtime to paint as dangerous terrorists," he lamented.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
PM 'Fesses Up
The Prime Minister has revealed that he could have successfully pressured the US to release David Hicks from Guantanamo Bay and had him returned to Australia had he wished to do so. The reason given for not doing so is that he would return home to freedom, having not committed any crime under Australian law and the government being unwilling, on principle, to introduce such a law retrospectively.
However he is quite willing to sit back and allow the US to charge David with breeches of laws that didn't exist at the time he is alleged to have committed them. ie allow the US to do to David what the PM finds unacceptable to do to any citizen, including David, within Australia.
On the other hand US hypocracy is equally breathtaking. It proposes to do to David what it would not allow to happen to the three US nationals captured in Afghanistan, one of whom was released on the condition that he move to Saudi Arabia. Another was sentenced to 20 years by a US Federal Court and another is awaiting trial before the Federal Court. None were detained for any significant time at Guantanamo Bay.
The new military commissions currently being set up are little different to the previous version which was found by the US Supreme Court to be in breech of the Geneva Convention.
Few US citizens, or even US Senators, know of the David Hicks case. The aim of the whole exercise has been to create a home grown terrorist we can all learn to fear and loathe. A frightened electorate will vote for the party/man/woman who promised to protect them. Or so the conventional wisdom says.
Unfortunately for the PM and fortunately for David, the PM's credibility following "Childrem Overboard!" and "WMDs" is so tattered that the injustice of David's situation has seen a groundswell of public sympathy for a fellow Australian.
Guilty or not, David Hicks has been treated unfairly and the PM has allowed it to happen.
Enough is enough. Bring David home.
However he is quite willing to sit back and allow the US to charge David with breeches of laws that didn't exist at the time he is alleged to have committed them. ie allow the US to do to David what the PM finds unacceptable to do to any citizen, including David, within Australia.
On the other hand US hypocracy is equally breathtaking. It proposes to do to David what it would not allow to happen to the three US nationals captured in Afghanistan, one of whom was released on the condition that he move to Saudi Arabia. Another was sentenced to 20 years by a US Federal Court and another is awaiting trial before the Federal Court. None were detained for any significant time at Guantanamo Bay.
The new military commissions currently being set up are little different to the previous version which was found by the US Supreme Court to be in breech of the Geneva Convention.
Few US citizens, or even US Senators, know of the David Hicks case. The aim of the whole exercise has been to create a home grown terrorist we can all learn to fear and loathe. A frightened electorate will vote for the party/man/woman who promised to protect them. Or so the conventional wisdom says.
Unfortunately for the PM and fortunately for David, the PM's credibility following "Childrem Overboard!" and "WMDs" is so tattered that the injustice of David's situation has seen a groundswell of public sympathy for a fellow Australian.
Guilty or not, David Hicks has been treated unfairly and the PM has allowed it to happen.
Enough is enough. Bring David home.
Friday, December 8, 2006
Not Sinking, Water Rising
Alone amongst World leaders the Prime Minister has refused to concede that the quagmire in Iraq is going badly or to set a withdrawl date for Australian troops.
What was expected to be over in a few short weeks has now dragged on since March 19 2003, with no possible end in sight according to retired General Tommy Franks who led the initial invasion.
More than 2900 US soldiers have been killed and more than 22,000 injured. An estimated 356 Iraqi security forces and civilians have died in the first week of December alone.
In total over 100,000 Iraqis may have died. (British Medical Journal, The Lancet)
Total final cost (if there ever is an end) is projected at US$ 3 trillion.
Whilst the concept of the Captain going down with the ship is admirable, taking so many innocent others with him is inexcuseable.
What was expected to be over in a few short weeks has now dragged on since March 19 2003, with no possible end in sight according to retired General Tommy Franks who led the initial invasion.
More than 2900 US soldiers have been killed and more than 22,000 injured. An estimated 356 Iraqi security forces and civilians have died in the first week of December alone.
In total over 100,000 Iraqis may have died. (British Medical Journal, The Lancet)
Total final cost (if there ever is an end) is projected at US$ 3 trillion.
Whilst the concept of the Captain going down with the ship is admirable, taking so many innocent others with him is inexcuseable.
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