Tag: Australia

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?

My Neighbourhood Stands Together.

What a unique Street we live in.

On Girral, we had a very pleasant evening at the local celebrating a rather gratifying week and a bit preparing, erecting, judging, stewarding, exhibiting, and winning, then dismantling everything we constructed.

We, I say we all helped each other in exhibits such as school work, art, the inaugural honey exhibition, bonsais, horticulture, photography, and general supervision of all of the above.

Not bad for a dead end street and a bunch of possibly the most diverse people from diverse backgrounds one could imagine all coming together for a Rosewood Show commitment.

We all live on acreage, yet our commitment to each other and families quality of life goes without saying. Even those who don’t participate in everything still are not left out. We all communicate, we all care.

Unique no not really to me, as my upbringing was exactly this. Care about your neighbour, communicate and be understanding of diverse opinions, cultures, and habits. It does not come naturally and it has to be worked on but so does life.

I like to think we are similar to the Football Club I follow who has the motto Mia SAN Mia, which translates plural and singular “We Are Who We Are, and I Am Who I Am.”

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. 

It’s All about the $$$ in the Falou case.

I’ve watched, listened, and tried to digest this Falou shenanigans go backward and forwards with little or no retreat from whatever side you choose to hang your allegiance.

Not carrying any religious allegiance other than to the human race I choose to look at the facts from the start and ask the questions, however hard they may be.

Firstly, does a person have the right to follow his or hers own beliefs? Answer Yes.

Does a person have the right to impose those beliefs on any other person ? Answer No.

Religion is a choice a individual makes, nothing more as is the choice to not follow a religious tribe, so judging a person by his or hers decision or point of view is dependant of what tribe you follow or don’t is a bias exercise regardless.

Who’s right and who’s wrong is the story of mankind, but religions do not have a mortgage on being human and believing in the rights and wrongs of hurting each other be with words or actions.

Falou hurt people with words, that’s wrong, full stop. I can’t stand outside a place of worship in the public domain and accuse people of wrong doing because of their belief or sexuality I would get arrested for persecution among other things.

The fact he was warned and then breached that warning cannot be covered up by justifying lack of free speech.. He knew exactly what the repercussions would be so he pressed the boundary and then he played the sympathy vote.

It cannot go unsaid that some still will not accept the Yes Vote in the referendum, and that’s their choice, but I cannot see why a millionaire should be publicly funded by a tax free charity with public funds when I thought a non for profit organisation role was to help the less fortunate. Those donations will also be a tax rebate, so is this entire exercise all about money right from the start?

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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