Category: Lifestyle

Springfield Succession Question Needs to Be Asked.

I may be slightly paranoid but I’m getting the distinct signal that Springfield and its surrounding developing metropolis is making noises that indicate at the most opportune time it will succeed from the Ipswich City Council, and to be quite honest it has developed into a autonomous entity with hospitals universities ect.

My question to the council is have we any risk management plans in place if and when that separation occurs?

They have in the past threatened going to Brisbane as saw that demographic a higher end marketable opportunity but we’re assured at the time Ipswich would look after them. What deals were stuck by the former council is unknown but as we see massive developments being heralded while inner city and country residents have been waiting kerb channeling for 40 years and estates like mine still with the original hot mix laid by the developer in the 70’s.

Yes their will be revenue loss, and that is what Risk Management role is, but so is the spread of equatable expenditures to the ratepayers who like us get our bins picked up and that’s about it.

To be fair the new age conditions put on developers, basic service provision are part of the deal but for those who reside in older suburbs pre those agreements are falling behind which should be accounted for by the new developments springing up well inside the old Ipswich/ Moreton areas.

It goes without saying Springfield is a new age community with a distinct business and community ideologies built on its original concept of a satellite city but we now have a distinct divide between them and the rest of the Ipswich Council area and older areas need equal attention and that equality will not occur while the uncertainty of that succession hangs over all current ratepayers.

The first job for our new man is to sort that out pronto.

The Youth 16 Vote Comes with Conditions.

With the suggestion of the voting age being dropped to 16 I’m sure we will hear the arguments of maturity and political awareness be put to suit the whoever think they will profit or loose from its expansion.

Looking back in my life as a baby boomer I was a apprentice bat 15, a union member at the same age and yes with the education from my parents I was pretty well versed on both sides of the divide and it was up to me to decide and like many our kitchen table became great parliaments at times..

Fast forward to today how we have changed and I was part of the problem we have with todays youth.

Like all boomers we put our kids first when it come to our family priorities and Parents we secondary unlike the our parents who struggled through the war and depressions with nothing other than survival in mind. We had to share when we acquired, our parents were the most important for our survival and we knew that and respected it.

We thought we were doing the right thing changing the family priorities for the kids sake but we did them and our culture a terrible injustice. We lost that respect we gave to our parents over time and now we cry our kids have no respect, they know nothing about life, government,or they live in a technological bubble.

We boomers took our eye off the ball, handed them everything we never had, sparing our youth the experience of working and waiting, and in many cases handed over parenting to schools and our protective services.

So yes if we can use this voting age change as a catalyst to claw back self responsibility earlier, if we can encourage big picture dialogue and civic responsibility then it must be a debated, but we as the grown ups need to improve our parliamentary behaviour as that example again does nothing for the case of maturity by example.

Russian Diversion Smokescreens Home Woes?

It seems quite amazing that when everything that’s happening in the world the western media and politicians is pointing the finger at Russia.

The ongoing saga of the Trump election, the bombing of Syria, the poisoning’s in England all yet to prove hard evidence yet we are only hearing from political spin which I feel has a agenda to smokescreen what is happening in the particular nations home fronts that are the loudest.

Trumps issues are a daily circus in progress where if he can keep diverting attention from accountability personal and political his thinks he can dumb down the world as he has Americans.

Theresa May with her government struggling on Brexit and other fronts needs diversion to take the heat off her government and performance.

Now the Syrian catastrophic situation as descended into a blame game that suits the political ideological philosophy of insinuations being carful not to include allies like Israel who are sending planes and bombs allegedly.

Meanwhile here in Australia we got on the bandwagon and expelled a few Russians but not after a very interesting presser from the Russian Ambassador in which he exhausted the media contingent of questions, forcing Bishop into a counter presser never seen before in diplomatic protocols in this country.

It’s important we do not sleepwalk into thinking our allies have Australian interests as a core value. We are a political tool to the crumpling former world dynasties and we are expendable as Trump, May,Turnbull and Assad struggle keep relevance and political survival on their respective home fronts leaving Russia not a cleanskin but a great diversion..

Football Is Not a Political Weapon.

Julie Bishops Dialek type of attire when announcing Wold Cup 2018 could be used as a political weapon got my attention.

Right in the middle of the outrage of sport being the pinnacle of Australian culture and the priceless values our organisations and personnel representing our nation she says Australia could withdraw if her government felt it was politically beneficial to show support to USA and England.

As a foreign minister I would have thought her knowledge would tell her England would never relinquish a World Cup opportunity and as the USA failed to qualify it sees political advantage in destroying a event that will give the world a chance to make up our own minds about about Russia and its people. Obviously it’s beyond her comprehension that this game goes beyond her bubble and millions of Australians and billions around the world young and old wait 4 years for this event and the fate of the game in Australia factors on our performance as some funding is allocated according to our results.

So Julie I would be pretty confident if the Turnbull government or any other political movement choose to use the Wold Cup a a political weapon we the sporting public will respond accordingly at the ballot box and will quickly learn what own goal is all about.

Southern Stars now carry Australia’s Cricket Benchmark.

In sure every sportsperson in Australia has made its decision on the Australian Men’s Cricket team disgrace but with the tv and sponsorship deals in under way I am very concerned about those repercussions .

The men’s team behaviour has been overlooked and even sanctioned by the Cricket hierarchy and the media for years for the sake of the glory of winning and rewarding them with massive pay increases while our Women’s team has held our nations reputation at the highest level and treated as second class.

When the hammer falls and funds distributed the women’s game share should be considerably increased to a point equal to present men’s and all shortfalls should come from the men’s allocation.

The women’s benchmarks are what we expect in behaviour, dedication, skill, and ethics throughout its inception and if performance based salaries and performance are a factor no one can dispute the Southern Stars should be the Nations cultural cricket benchmark for the game.

Council Amalgamations have Collateral Damage in Moreton Shire.

How quickly we forget.

Maybe Council Amalgamations may have consolidated administration but when it comes down to what the actual ratepayer gets their certainly is collateral damage.

Moreton Shire Council ratepayers are still suffering.

Facts were Ipswich Council was broke, machinery and equipment in disrepair while Moreton fully financial and progressing then came the amalgamation and Moreton got the Mayor and surrendered its autonomy and assets to Ipswich as a trade off.

Since that day we old Moreton ratepayers have played second fiddle to its Ipswich counterparts.

Our money has been redirected to the “Big Picture” fantasy while the only thing we have have gained was a recycle bin.

Our roads are a patchwork quilt, little or no kerb and channeling outside townships, while entire suburbs and towns and communities are being created brand new from our contributions while our rates in the old shire have tripled.

Sounds fair doesn’t it?

Whatever spin you put on it today will not negate the fact that Moreton ratepayers were dudded in the name of progress and that debt has not been repaid unless we count that very expensive recycle bin.

Let’s Get Apprentices Earlier

Discussion Paper. Subject Apprenticeships

As a kid who left school in Junior level, that is 15 years or about’s and started a trade in the January of 1966 I was a naive, scared, and totally oblivious to anything other than not upsetting anyone in my workspace.

Plucked from the schoolroom I knew nothing about life skills other than those I had learned on the sporting grounds and family discipline.

Looking back that was not a bad thing as I listened and consumed everything my Master, my Tradesman, and technical teachers imparted sometimes to the letter.

Being a kid in a mans world can be confronting but as you mature you you learn quickly how the world really works.

My Boilermaking trade at the Shipyard and Kangaroo Point gave me a understanding of other cultures, customs, from all walks of life as it was within walking distance from Yungabah Hostel a entry point to migrants to Australia and often a job for those men and women starting a new or escaping their past.

My eyes and ears were open to their experiences, expectations, good and bad from their homelands and often was privileged to their cultural traditions, broadening my education in life.

All this was happening before I was old enough to get a car licence at 17, have a beer legally at 21, or go to war at 19.

I was lucky but the system was such that when you are at a age, naive or not you can start to shape a personal profile of experience where maturity comes a dam site earlier that today’s youth.

Today kids are encourage to stay in the school system even though they may not be suited. In school apprenticeships have pluses and minuses but basically protect the kid from reality of the real workforce where it’s get to work yourself and learn your trade, please your Master and employer.

That position of Master has been disposed of as he or she was totally responsible to ensure the apprentice was not exploited, learned ever aspect of his trade, and respected his superiors status.

Yes my Master was not backward of putting a smart arse on his arse with a backhander or straight left if you misbehaved, and was supported by the union rep if it was warranted.

Imagine that today!! Mummy and Daddy delirious with uproar for someone doing what they should have done earlier in childhood.

Apprenticeship today on a 4 year time delivers 22 to 24 year olds specifically trained only on what phase of the trade they have been in contact. Often employers see cheap labour till they get too expensive then flick them, and the system allows that, where before employers and the boards were legally bound to find a apprentice a job at his or her level if the firm went broke.

Some 4th year apprentices can be married with kids and expected to live on those wages, no wonder they are leaving.

Mid life apprenticeship are a result of the system not doing its job earlier, selling the trades, and paying the wages. Yes the Unions must share the blame proportional but the fact the culture of subcontractors has destroyed the standards of all trades for the magic dollar.

I know a few tradesmen that have kept their contract and turned out magnificent tradesmen, fully equiped and experienced to handle any job set before them but sadly on completion they must expand their knowledge and move on.

This often causes bad blood as often they will go out in opposition to their former boss.

In my case on completion I was handed my indentures and told to move on or get sacked and would be welcomed back after about 3-4 years somewhere else.

I did, moved to structural steel and finally left the trade about 8 years later.

Cutting to the chase what I’m saying is we need to get potential apprentices early, when they can absorb everything, in a environment and culture where they see they can have a future, and prepared to cop a little pain early in the game to reap the benefit on completion.

We need to have manufacturing industries and start building things here, as it’s cheaper in the long run to have them paying tax, buying stuff than keeping them on the dole or in part time farcical jobs that make the working poor poorer.

The crunch is coming and believe me infrastructure will be our way out and the shiney arses will be the first casualty.

Is Amberley playing Games with our Weather?

I try to look at the facts, then look for reasons why when things are outside what I regard as normal occurrences.

Yesterday 15/02/2018 a series of storms appeared on the BOM radar around Warwick, Toowoomba and slowly progressed towards the IPSWICH. While that was progressing individual cells appeared in the Harrisville area all heading towards Rosewood Thagoona as the warnings were issued by relevant authorities.

As I watched intently on my device I witnessed entire fronts disappear the closer they got to Amberley Base, then reappear somewhere else. ( please check BOM history if in doubt if it’s available).

My question is “is Amberley Base using a device or system that deflects incoming weather for operational purposes?”

I’m sure many residents who have lived in the area for some are seeing this occurrence more frequently and questions need to be asked.

I don’t expect the military to confirm or deny as protocol, nor do I expect any politician to respond, and I expect to regarded as a conspiracy peddler but when a occurrence continually occurs someone has to ask.

We all knew when we moved here Amberley is what it is, and we are privileged to have it to boost our economy and bringing families and mates to our towns, but I’m not sure I know enough about side effects as we didn’t in the fire retardant cover up but I do know my bit of dirt around Thagoona is in some sort of shadow and maybe the pioneers that placed the base where it is knew that but when you see dramatic inconsistencies we must question.

Check our the times on the screen shots..

Edited version

Double Standard Applies in Barnaby Reports.

I’m struggling trying to get to truth accompanied some logic.

At the start of 2018 our nation was dragged through the ringer with the Gay Marriage referendum with the sanctity of marriage being aspoused buy the religious sector, how vital it was our society and beliefs and the damage that would happen if same sex was permitted wedlock.

Enter this Barnaby balloon and all of a sudden the same people are saying that sanctity is not all that important, as it’s just happens it’s one of their most outspoken supporters have a affair outside the sanctity.

Yes the double standard applies depending on who is playing the power game.

Playing private life vs public life cards have conveniently been played by the same people who attacked Gillards partner, her bathroom , her barrenness, and a royal commission, not discounting the burning the bitch by these great keepers of our moral standards.

Yes it’s all politics, but what about ethics, does that get a shirt.?

Like America we are being dumbed down by constant deceit and spin and transparency and truth are the casualties if we choose not to question or challenge.

That was the job of the media but that too failed as it knew of the Banarby deception months ago and sat on it even through a bi election, so is that corrupt or if it was Gillard would they have been so quiet?

Answer NO.

I live in hope that thing called journalistic ethics apply where truthfulness, accuracy,objectively, and impartiality is reborn or maybe I’m just dreaming.

Israel/USA Alliance goes Unchecked. 

I finding it very hard to accept that a foreign country can change the capital of another country without the population having a say one way or the other. In saying that Israel has suppressed, deported, jailed any media/journalist who dares to speak a different line to government propaganda so it’s not surprising this issue has not been given alternate coverage from within, leaving it to outside news outlets to pirate stories as if they are inside a fascist dictatorship. 

Australian and overseas journalists who have worked the Israel Palestinian sectors have had equipment seized and smashed yet there has been no outrage in fear of political repercussions back home here in the electorate. 

Couple this with Trumps war on any media that questions his agenda makes this strengthening alliance detrimental to world stability not only in the Middle East but worldwide which could reset established alliances that may well turn out to be detrimental to our security in Australia and as the United States has not appointed a full time ambassador our alarm bells should be ringing.

 

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