Category: media

Follow the Money.

Again we hear and see America do its best to show the world what not to do in regards to its gun laws but more importantly the acceptance and its ability con its people that one day all will be well and trust us to fix it.

They have successfully dumbed down its population to accept the fact death can come any where any time and its up to you as an individual to protect yourself and family as government find the issue just too hard.

This apathy spreads and I too am not as shocked or incensed today as I was say when Sandy Hook happened so we can assume we too are being dumbed down and that should never occur.

Blame is important and strategic and the gun lobby and its puppets are playing the people the same song after every massacre and anyone who challenges it will never be elevated to a position of influence.

So could this happen here?

We have stricter laws yes but we have the same influences pushing and prodding our politicians to relax them and it would not take much to dilute the legislation in our present political kindergarten where self promoting trade offs are more valued than the national interest.

Personally I feel if limited donations to all political parties and prospective parliamentarians and made all donations “live” we the punters could see who is attempting to buy influence in real time and we can monitor performance with that knowledge and make judgments accordingly.

Class War is exactly What it is.

It’s pretty clear the present federal government is in a position it never thought it would be and all its past would be forgotten and would have been quite happy to be in opposition watching Labor cope with a crumbling economy on the verge of recession, retail and wage stagnation accompanied by increased poverty and working poor and don’t start me on health.

All of the above in their eyes is acceptable as long as that phantom surplus is announced with the one and only policy of the ends justifying the means.

In ipswich alone we have destitute people living out of charity food trucks and barns feeding families and many not on the streets yet but just surviving in any accomodation they can.

This government has to think if giving a person food and a shower to get them off New Start will impact on their mantra of achievement. What a mantra to carry, watching its own people starve and die in squalor, yet having the power and resources help but choosing to give cash to people who are quite comfortable.

It seems to be a crime not only here in Australia but in America too to have a social conscience or empathy with the fear of being branded a socialist yet it is politically and socially acceptable to give money and incentives and hand outs to high end tax evaders who can afford to manipulate the system, call them astute, while we see wage theft becoming a minor inconvenience when caught and not a civil crime.

If the politicians have difficulty or fear backlashes by calling it Class War then so be it but I will call as I see it.

The Three Stooge Act now Complete

It would be totally inappropriate to describe what has developed a three stooge act.

The three stooges were a deliberate comedy act but what we have been dealt with is far from a comedy.

The team sheet we have been dealt with could not be less impressive in regards to Trump, Morrison and now Johnson reeks of the toxic masculinity of baseball cap wearing thumbs up, “how good is this” antics of coal hugging ,fish kissing and female groping males who’s skills in schoolyard bullying have amplified in their political careers.

These bozo boys are now in charge of our nations and we must ask how we allowed this to happen. Look at leaders, great leaders regardless of political slant that have gone before. Former men and women had charisma,, intellect, and decorum of whom I will not name as a mark of balanced opinion but stand unchallenged at home and worldwide.

This present crew doesn’t make the reserve bench, and in times when leadership, political astuteness and world financial and military astuteness is critical to world peace none of these come equiped as their focus is on internal political survival and popularity stunts.

I’m sure our competitors Russia ,China, and other merging superpowers are watching on with great interest and looking for opportunities to manipulate the present political players and landscape and I live in hope that other world leaders outside this boys club maintain the standards expected to keep us away from world unrest where no one wins.

Keeping Council Under Watch

First rule of the change process is to inform the people involved what is the new direction intended and listen to the usually negative arguments as they usually highlight underlying often personal reasons of why change cannot be achieved. The council debate has achieved in that trumps.

For too long ipswich has been culturally divided by areas and demographics and it’s time we matured into a city of one direction where transparency of the our ratepayers rates distribution should be seen as fair and calculated.

The days of “look at me what I have done in my patch” mentality was highlighted when none of the old councillors allegedly knew what was going on across the entire council and run to their bunkers when the hammer fell. That’s pathetic corporate governance, and undeniable.

As stated by the administrator the new elected councillors will have to have broader skills and adaptability, and as a resident I too have to adjust. From a place where our one streetlight was a cause for a party to a place where our population is increasing that much the infrastructure cannot cope, the days of town and country reluctantly but factually are over. The city expansion and all its ugly traits are here and we not only need good councillors on the ground we need good competent administrators to provide ongoing advice and support across the entire spectrum of our local council areas.

Like it or not, local governments are not stand alone entities and are arms of state governments and when the dust has settled we will still need the oversight of statutory authorities like the CCC and the press freedom and vigilance to ensure we never revert to our previous state of disfunctuallity. .

Some One Had To Fight.

Another person did not make it home after a days work as the toll rises.

Cast your mind back to when this government was screaming for minister resignations when the pink bats issue was the issue yet the rise under their watch goes unspoken.

Fact is they have to make a decision on who to support. The profit of the coal magnates or the Safety of the Workers.

They cut the red tape on industrial laws and regulations, legislated against union protection deeming it as militant so expecting this government to support the CFMEU in its role to protect workers is beyond its political ethic let alone it moral ethic.

Blame however is not one sided. Union and non union workers too have traded off conditions, hard fought conditions by previous workers for the mighty dollars and here too the chook has come home to roost.

This industry and many others need a reset, but it will take workers to wake up the unions have a extremely important role in making sure the family unit is protected when you go to your place of employment and that is about to be challenged on the floor of Parliament.

No other business or company is required by law to protect people and conditions in their industry without any contribution. Unions have role yet the non members still get the benefits the payers have won. . Fair? You be the judge but remember when your in your lunch room, or on holidays or on sick or compensation or pension some one had to fight for you to have that.

Sorry silly me , it’s all about you in today’s society isn’t it?

Workplace Safety is Government Red Tape


Another workplace death and ho hum and it hardly raises a eyebrow in today’s all about me society. 

To date in 2019 we have lost 67 people nation wide yet in today’s times we we just accept the fact some people will not come home after going  to work.  

Safety standards across the “hands on” industries are supposed to have improved but standards have eroded as governments have found its politically opportunistic to play the cutting the “red tape” game which is code for dropping standards and proven processes that safeguard not only workplaces and work practices, but has infiltrated into engineering and construction practices. 

Not only are we seeing humans lost or under threat we are witnessing buildings falling to pieces, as they  rush to finish projects at all costs, walk away and hope it will stay up until after the guarantee has expired. 

Once this was unheard of. We had the worlds best tradesmen, not fast tracked but trained fully, and construction watch dogs, checking, monitoring quality workmanship supported by the trade union movement who ensured work place safety all now regarded as “red tape” . We laughed at other countries who treated workers as expendable but now we have joined that fraternity and  adopted their work ethical standards. 

I do not expect the shiny seat sitters in political power to do anything other that look for more standards to erode, as they and their families will rarely be seen in hi vis other than for media opportunities. They will come home after a tough day in the Parliamentary dining room, but if those militant unions do anything to alter that profit margin by way of looking after the workers they will demonise them and pursue them to their death. 

No WIN for those in the Bush.

As I travelled around western Queensland in my former career it was vital for me and the locals to keep across area issues usually through WIN TV and ABC local news. Those services galvanise communities and are critical to the outlying properties so obviously that fact is ignored when the decision was taken to close WIN Tv in some rural and remote areas.

This decision has repercussions across the entire spectrum of the rural way of life where councils, essential services had a medium to directly contact its population in times of need.

Secondly it also provided employment and training for journalists, advertising and promotion for businesses, and more importantly a local platform for diverse news and opinions locally and nationally.

My fear is the major conglomerate news outlets will narrow the news feed focussing on major city issues that really the rural sector has no interest but get ratings on the coast.

When conglomerates gain control dollars for the shareholders is always the driver and service is secondary and we do not want monopoly’s controlling what you can or cannot hear or see.

From Baby Boomer to the Social Elite?

For us early risers it was a pleasure to get up every morning and turn on the radio and get the world news on our much loved ABC and discuss how lucky we were not to be where the nastiest things were happening in the world.

Today I’m more hesitant to even turn on the radio or tv as daily reports of crime, death by guns, knives, gangs, abductions, domestic violence and child abuse, racial hatred pouring out of the electronics, and we have to ask ourselves why or what have we let our society get to this state in Australia.

After the election I’m in the category of the self interested/ money hoarding baby boomer who only cares about me and my immediate family and the franking credits. Me not I assure you, but obviously many are and the reason we got to where we are is we were fortunate to have governments that saw things like superannuation, health care, 9 day fortnight’s, annual leave loading, employment, pension, and many other perks today we take for granted.

Our society was based on helping up those who were less fortunate, ie. returned war service personnel, TPI’s, widowed women and families all of us in the same boat struggling to get their families a feed let alone a house or property, that come later with the housing commission, another social incentive to get us established.

We were blessed wen we look back, no money but things were simple and we made sure our kids got it easier.

Today we have a greedy society all about “ME”. And we look down on people who’s demographic we were. They now born into poverty have a really tough time getting out and crime becomes a choice, never or rarely thought of back then but for some the only salvation to survive.

Increasing jails, fines are fruitless until we can get the social injustices addressed if not everyone will be living in gated communities scared to take your kids to the park or beach.

This idea of this government of giving only the ones who “have a go” help and thinking the ones on New Start or no start will look after themselves or die is actually playing out in our streets daily.

Looking back we got it pretty right in the early part then we forgot from where we come and must ask ourselves where we got it so wrong, and my answer is when greed outweighed our social responsibility.

Media and Public Servants under Attack.

Since the federal election one has to look at history to try and gather what is happening to Australian democracy. When this government entered office the first order of business was to raid union offices, and indite former Prime Ministers. That agenda continued although its leadership changed all with the knowledge of ministers and department heads and all in the name of transparency and in the end with little or no charges but millions of dollars of taxpayers money in the pockets of the legal profession.

Fast forward to the election they weren’t going to win, we find within a day boats arriving which we were told stopped, then even more boats we now know did come and public servants were forced to lie or conceal truth as the politicians blatantly lied about the situation.

We now know we have our parts of navy fleet on blocks for years because we can’t staff it. No public announce there but we have to man submarines somehow as we have committed billions on the never never.

The well managed economy spin has fallen over, the surplus evaporated, as the reserve bank has played is last card to try to kick start a economy, and if the trade war continues we will go into recession, and this government has no idea or plans how to get us out. Good luck with your franking credits but the public servants who knew the real truth are gaged.

But there’s more, these attacks on journalism are a direct result to silence or intimidate anybody who is a threat not to the country but to the government and it has made it clear in all cases it will use military style tactics to stamp out non complying journalists who protect whistleblowers and sources that could expose misdemeanours at all levels of security.

I can’t help thinking that this government set political land mines thinking they would embarrass a incoming government Hence the Chinese Warship surprise, but they are blowing up in their face daily and my real concern is if our ethical media is silenced and our public servants who know the truth are jackbooted out we will be no better that some banana republic under authoritarian rule.

Boring Baffoonery Cartoonery

The Queenslland Times cartoonist will never be accused of deep thinking when it comes to his trade. Being possibly the shallowest and slanted In the world of cartoonary may I suggest it’s presence in the location of editorial and public content does nothing to enhance that surrounding product.

Be I as bold to suggest also that space could be allocated to up and coming local talent from our schools, colleges mainly young people who can give us fossils their view on how they see the world, after all it will be theirs in the future.

For one I will not be offended if told we stuffed up, and if indication was the day the youth hit the streets I think they deserve a place to vent/praise on a regular basis.

This may also increase readership of our rag if the schools/families took up the challenge and encouraged our adolescents to partake in general awareness of what the world is all about away from their mobile phones and gaming screen.

If we are expect young people to take part in our democratic processes we must make the aware there is a process and giving them a platform instead of bland repetition must be a step in the right direction. Mrs Editor.

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