Archive for the ‘Community’ Category
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My latest blog is always available at: https://donallan.wordpress.com. To make direct contact e-mail me at: dca@netspeed.com.au
Time to rid parliament of political Noddies
According to the almost daily rhetoric of political pundits, ‘ordinary’ people are not interested in politics. I grant you that some people are not interested in politics but based on the daily number visitors to the Allan Takes Aim blog, I think the pundits are wrong. No doubt the pundits would argue that because the source of the blog is Canberra, Australia’s political capital, that’s only to be expected. I don’t agree.
A few years ago the pundits might have been right, but because the world’s political climate has changed so too has the way that people view politics and politicians, the latter in particular. In fact some citizens think political parties are fans of Caligula who allegedly put his horse “Incitatus’ in the Senate, which is why today they put a lot of ‘neddies’ in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. A point of clarification: as politics changed the Neddies became ‘Noddies.’
But Noddies are not the only thing we have to thanks the Romans for. We should also thank their descendant who in 16th Century Naples created the commedia dell’arte and gave us Pulcinella (Punchinello) the genesis of todays’ Punch and Judy Show. Now if you think this has nothing to do with politics, be aware that Punch is the manifestation of the Lord of Misrule and Tricksters, two ancient mythological figures.
When one takes a look at various Governments in Australia over the last three years the connection becomes clear. Both the Prime Ministership and Premierships have been used as if items of barter between people who want to use the power they confer without having to take the responsibility for any damage they cause. This power help these people create policies and elect ‘noddies’ that advantage them more than they advantage the community.
Sadly, many Noddies have been seduced by the fame and status that being in parliament brings them. Indeed most of their time is spent in trying to present an image in their electorate so that they can keep that power.
But who are these ‘Noddies you ask? If you can stomach it, take a look at the next TV broadcast of parliamentary business. You’ll see them sitting behind speakers nodding their heads and trying to look serious as if they were thinking about what the speaker was saying.
At this stage, and only to show how politicians abuse the electorate in their efforts to advantage themselves, the only talking heads you will see on TV are those of the contenders for the position of Prime Minister and possible cabinet posts.
Despite deposed Prime Minister Julia Gillard having announced 14th September as the date of the next election, her deposer hasn’t seen fit to tell the electorate if that date still holds and if it doesn’t, when will it be held. However, you can be sure that when the election date is announced it will be on the basis that it suits the current Prime Minister not the electorate
At the same time and until that date is announced the electorate will hear a barrage of political invective from each side. Indeed as I write the Prime Minister is on TV news saying his opponent only speaks negatively. Doesn’t he realise that in saying this about his opponent he is also indulging in the same negativity.
As a final comment I ask you to examine the conduct of government over the past three years and decide if you want to take the chance of electing a Government that might indulge in the same conduct for the next three years or choose to start afresh with a new parliamentary team? I would also ask you to heed the fact that at the election you will not be voting for a Prime Minister but a local candidate.
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- In: ACT OPINIONS | Community | Disability | Education | Government | Politics
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My latest blog is always available at: https://donallan.wordpress.com. To make direct contact e-mail me at: dca@netspeed.com.au
Australia readies for new political pantomime
Australians elect 150 people to represent them in the House of Representatives, one of its two Houses of Parliament. The other house, the Senate, has 76 Members. But today it’s the former that’s of interest because on Saturday 14th September, voters will be called on to elect these 150 representatives.
Failure to vote can lead to a fine. However despite being called compulsory voters don’t have to vote, the only thing that‘s compulsory is their need to get their name ticked off the electoral roll as having received ballot papers. If they then don’t vote they still have complied with the rules
That said, in the case of the next election if every voter gets their name ticked off the electoral roll then decide not to vote there, would be no House of Representatives, an unlikely outcome I admit, but because it is theoretically possible, it’s not an outcome that can be dismissed.
If the latter happened what a finale that would be to the pantomime called parliament which, if the voice of the voters over the past three years is to be believed, is what they think of the performance of the House of Representatives over the past three years.
The panto opened following the last election with a significant political event, the first time a female, Labor MP Julia Gillard, became Prime Minister of Australia. Unfortunately, the significant political event became the start of the worst political pantomime in the history of Australian Governments to which, sad to say a great many politicians contributed.
Because the number of seats held by the major parties, Labor and Liberal, couldn’t govern in their own right, the script for the pantomime was written when pragmatism came before principle on the question of who would become Prime Minister. The Greens a minor party anxious for power and Independent MPs cast in their lot with Julia Gillard so that she could form a minority Government as opposed to supporting the Liberal/National Coalition led by Liberal MP Tony Abbott., whom they disliked intensely.
However, as the months slipped past the Greens and Independents delighted in exercising their power over Julia Gillard to whom they had given support. They had forgotten the saying ‘uneasy lies the head that wears the crown’ applies equally to Prime Ministers who gain status by what most people consider foul means, which was the case with Julia Gillard and in doing so virtually sealed their own political fate.
Indeed the whole term of this Government has been mired in controversy with broken promises, reversal of policy, new taxes and much more, leading to voters to no longer trust her or Labor. That they don’t trust her isn’t surprising when one considers how she first became PM. This was achieved when Labor power brokers, as if replaying an act of regicide in mediaeval times proverbially stabbed Labor PM Kevin Rudd in the back and replaced him with Julia.
In reviewing the Panto, for a brief period of time, two performers, M&M – Misandry and Misogyny – the identical malicious twins, became stars. Hopefully their time has passed, never to be revived. Unfortunately, Julia’s poor performance has led to a clamour from some MPs for her replacement with Rudd, who initially was thought to be politically dead but has stayed very much politically alive and able to talk, much to the daily discomfiture of Julia Gillard and Labor.
Continuing the review, while many people think the Gonski Plan for education is good, only a minority of State and Territory Governments which have responsibility for their own education programs have, as yet, signed on to implement it. On the other hand the new Disability Care policy has been accepted though many in the disabled community remain sceptical about its likely success while many people also have doubts about the Government’s NBN policy.
At the same time, many voters are still bitter about the introduction of the Carbon Tax that Julia Gillard said would never be introduced. But credit where it’s due. Over five hundred pieces of legislation were passed by the Government although over ninety per cent was passed with the support of the Opposition.
Finally, however, it seems to me Kevin Rudd’s protestations that he does not want to become PM is given the lie – ‘accidentally,’ – no doubt, by his protestations general opinion of all the political ‘experts,’ is that Labor will lose the election in September. That being the case I think voters would rather have a majority Government than again sit through a poor the political panto for another three years.
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- In: ACT OPINIONS | Community | Disability | Education | elections | Government
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My latest blog is always available at: https://donallan.wordpress.com. To make direct contact e-mail me at: dca@netspeed.com.au
Paranoia is directing the course of the Federal election
From the behaviour of a good many of its Federal MPs clearly the Australian Labor Party now leads in the paranoia stakes because every day a new reason for getting rid of PM Julia Gillard breaks out in party ranks. In fact the only person on the surface, who seems unaffected by paranoia, is Julia Gillard herself.
Indeed suggestion after suggestion has been floated about how to cure the ills dogging Labor that even if Gillard was removed who would take her place? Bill Shorten? Not that he will admit it, but Shorten has actively stoked the fires of paranoia with his statement that if Labor doesn’t change leaders it could experience a landslide at the next election.
Much as he is promoted in the media as a straight shooter, this statement is a piece of political ambiguity which shows Shorten is still a political assassin prepared to do to Julia Gillard, whom he professes to support, what he and his cohort of assassins did to Kevin Rudd. However, to try and keep his image squeaky clean, he has, as yet, not said it would be in the interests of the Party to remove the PM. However, if her removal ever came to pass, I doubt he would choke over the words.
Another aspect the forced removal of a second PM in a very short period of time does not seem to have been considered in an allegedly stable Democracy like Australia. Could it affect the view of leaders in other Democracies? Some of these leaders might view Australia as being less stable than it seems and the words of its political leaders not to be trusted.
In any case, regardless of Shorten being an ALP Powerbroker, what seems to me is that with the exception of a few, most politicians seem more concerned with their own welfare than that of the people who elected them. And with reference to the current brou ha ha about Labor’s leadership, how many of those seeking election as Labor MPs ever mention in their campaigning who they think should be Leader? If the party observed true democratic principles this would make electing a leader a more open process.
Of course the same could be said about the Opposition except for the fact that Tony Abbot won in democratically controlled ballot, albeit by one vote. On reflection however, and considering the negativity expressed towards him by Government Members and at times members of his own team perhaps he regrets winning.
However, it must be said in his favour that like Julia Gillard he, too, has steadfastly stared his enemies in the face while his own facial expression says do your worst but I’m staying where I am. Indeed, outrageous as the suggestion might be, perhaps Julia Gillard has copied him.
The truth of the matter is that both sets of MPs are paranoid, Labor MPs at the prospect of them being washed out in the forecast landslide and Coalition MPs at the thought that with the holy grail of Government within their grasp, Mr Abbott’s unpopularity might save the Government and the PM.
There’s no use asking MPs to cease their conspiracies. By this time voters know that most of them don’t give a tinker’s cuss about what people think. Being of ‘superior’ mind they expect voters to take their word that will face a bleak future if their party doesn’t get elected.
Voters of course will have their own views on the matter. Will they think the Gonski education plan makes education better; will the NBN make their experience of computers better; and will Disability Care, a subject of great personal interest to me, make people with a disability jump for joy? As yet there no clear answers.
And so the questions remain. Do voters think that Labor has handled these policies so badly that, regardless of what might be seen as possible benefits, they will become financial nightmares that will haunt the community for many years to come.
On the other hand the Coalition must be able to persuade them that they have the answer and that a vote for the Coalition will prevent financial nightmares.
As time goes by we’ll see which of the two possibilities gain favour with the voters. I can’t wait to see the result.
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My latest blog is always available at: https://donallan.wordpress.com. To make direct contact e-mail me at: dca@netspeed.com.au
Letters to the editor
Have you ever written a letter to the editor? As a male ex letter to the editor writer, let me warn other males they should beware of taking it up as a hobby because writing letters to the editor can become even more seductive than your wife or the woman of your dreams.
Apart from being seductive, and depending on much you hope your efforts are successful, letter writing can also become obsessive with some letter writers becoming so consumed by writing them that occasionally their day passes in a daze. What they don’t know is, that if successful in getting them published could start them on the road of serious consequences.
Not that I wish to make men feel uncomfortable but, like an Afghanistan road planted with IEDs, the road of serious consequences has IEDs marked divorce, psychiatrist, murder, moneylenders, suicide and, nearest mental facility.
Although you might never trip any of the latter you’ll find out how expensive your hobby can become if you want to be taken seriously. For this to happen, you must keep up with the news from around the world. Unfortunately, the internet today, the main source of overseas news, can be expensive. Of course if you’re interest is confined to your own locality your main news source is likely to be either your local newspaper, local radio and TV stations.
And beware of addiction to a particular subject, politics for example, a fate that befalls some letter writers. A short digression: Politics is an addiction which is why so many politicians seem to think voters are there to serve them, not the other way round.
Digression over I can only add that food is not often featured on the letter pages despite it reaching epidemic levels with various TV programmes and glossy magazines with inserts designed to appeal to the glutton in us. This seems odd in an affluent society like Australia when so many newspapers run features about churches and other organisations setting up programmes to help society’s neediest keep the wolf from the door.
Other subjects prominent on the letters page are education, health, planning, science and climate change. Letters about religion are of a different kettle of fish. They are more a war of words between Christians and Muslims that looks as if it will continue for some time to come. My hope: that this war keeps being fought on the letters pages and never reaches the streets. Optimistic as I am, I am braced for disappointment.
Even though there are many letters about community issues, sadly, I have to say, the underlying theme in many of these letters is not the offer of sensible alternatives but a spruik in support of a political party.
Effectively the letter writers use the letter pages as a means of gaining unpaid (?) political advertising. While you might question this statement just start reading the letter pages and you’ll soon see what I mean.
What rescues the letters pages from these writers are letters from writers who have resisted party political indoctrination and have opinions that run contrary to those of all political parties. For me, some of these people should be in parliament.
I’d like to end by stressing that the purpose of this blog is not to discourage people from writing letters to the editor but to point out to those considering the idea that the letters page can be a great vehicle for giving community the opportunity to read about ideas that, while not necessarily earth shattering in importance, nonetheless offer the sensible solutions to problems that elected politicians fail to offer.
I can but add that if you don’t like the idea of writing a letter to the editor you can always start a blog of your own.
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Who is an ordinary man or woman
Posted on: 29 May 2013
- In: ACT OPINIONS | Community | Environment | Global Warming
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My latest blog is always available at: https://donallan.wordpress.com. To make direct contact e-mail me at: dca@netspeed.com.au
Who is an ordinary man or woman?
Much as I would like to be able to say otherwise, I am not a polymath. Truth be known, my school record was more poly than math, a condition that has remained constant during the years since leaving my schooldays behind and finding myself sitting here at the keyboard scratching my head in the hope that it will it will inspire the words needed for a new blog.
It’s not that I haven’t got the words. I have but they are all stored away in my mind in a jumble that takes a long time to unscramble. If you haven’t got this problem, count yourself lucky. And if you believe in the power of prayer I suggest you keep on the good side of the mechanic looking after the system that produces the power.
But let me add one qualification: make sure the mechanic is good at unscrambling problems, as it would be no good if in sending you an answer if it turned out to be problem that still needed answering which is what happened to me when watching Professor Ian Lowe AO, President of the Australian Conservation Foundation who has a plethora of academic qualifications, give an address at Australia’s National Press Club, Canberra, today.
Credit where it’s due: his address to the assembled throng while not stirring was eloquent. In his address he laid out the problems, as he saw them, of the problems the world was facing if his words weren’t taken seriously. Unfortunately journalists in attendance were few in number although their absence was more than made up for by conservationists.
I shall not take up your time by laying out the subjects about which Professor Lowe waxed eloquent. If you’re interested in them and you’ve got access to the internet just log on to Google and you’ll see them. Fortunately, during question time at the end of the Professor’s speech a well – known journalist asked the Professor a question which he acknowledged with smile and a suggestion that no doubt the journalist thought some of his ideas cuckoo.
Depending on your point of view about global warming and various other concerns voiced by the Professor that he labelled the GEC (Global Environmental Collapse) you might agree with the journalist. But disagree or not with the Professor, I can see the GEC phrase being worked to death by environmentalists as they paint the picture of damage allegedly done to the environment by people whose views they oppose.
Environment apart, why is that people prominent in academia, business, the bureaucracy and politics have adopted the word “ordinary” to describe most of the community. Doing so, and whether intentional or not, suggests they see themselves as people who are extra ordinary and whose views the community should accept before all others.
Without wishing to plagiarise Professor Lowe and his use of cuckoo, I’d like to suggest that when the people I’ve mentioned in the last paragraph use the word ordinary they be met with the call of the “Laughing Kookaburra.“ You can use the vernacular name if you wish.
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Politics and Public Art
Posted on: 27 May 2013
- In: ACT OPINIONS | ACT Politics | Community | Humour
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My latest blog is always available at: https://donallan.wordpress.com. To make direct contact e-mail me at: dca@netspeed.com.au
Politics and public art
Yesterday’s blog posed the question “What is Public Art?” It also said it was being claimed that the multi mammaried Skywhale balloon, launched in Canberra a week or so ago as part of Canberra’s Centenary, was being claimed as a piece of public art.
Unfortunately, calling something a piece of public art is a device commonly used by Government politicians as a means of covering up how they had been deluded into thinking the artwork they originally commissioned that would be part of their legacy that would to remind communities in the future about their time in office would, in the case of Skywhale something they might regret. Instead it might make the community perceive them as art philistines.
Contrary to any impression you might have gained yesterday that while Canberra has some public art, the arts lobby thinks it doesn’t have enough. Indeed the arts lobby constantly lobbies the ACT Government to provide more public art and because the government is always looking for of methods to capture votes it is susceptible to the pleas of the arts community. The result: Government Ministers see commissioning more public art as a means of garnering votes. A secondary result, the art community is kept in a state of permanent anticipation, the community in a permanent state of apprehension and tourists something new to look and laugh at.
But let me leave such whimsical thoughts behind and get down to brass tacks about public art. I think the ACT Government should ask the public at large what pieces of art they would like to see commissioned. And when I say the public at large I mean the public at large not just the views of a handful of members of the ACT’s political parties and art groups. In my opinion the Government might get a shock at some of the artworks the community at large might like to see commissioned.
The Government’s answer to the public’s suggestions would probably be that twenty years later the public might not like what was chosen while the public’s argument that the same could be said about the Government’s choices would be met with a blank stare, which brings me back to Skywhale.
I fact when I first heard about Skywhale I thought the Government had decided that in addition to being the Australia’s political Capital it should also be the country’s avant garde Capital. With that in mind and as a member of the public, let me put forward a suggestion for a piece of public art that will pay tribute to the Capital not only on this centenary but on centenaries ever after.
I’d like government to commission a work called “Parliament in Action” comprising a revolving metal base on which stands one male figure and one female figure representing the bureaucracy. The male figure would have its left arm outstretched and one finger pointing and the female figure would be posed with right arm outstretched and finger pointing. Surrounding the base, concrete Members of Parliament sit in static pose looking up at the two figures as if trying to give them directions.
As this is a free speech site don’t be afraid to voice your opinion about the blog but at the same time give your suggestions about what would be great public art in Canberra.
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- In: ACT OPINIONS | Community | media | Politics | Technology
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My latest blog is always available at: https://donallan.wordpress.com. To make direct contact e-mail me at: dca@netspeed.com.au
Could lack of a free press lead to totalitarianism ?
I hate saying it but I’ve come to the conclusion that newspapers themselves are partly to blame for their decline in popularity. On the other hand I believe newspapers could increase their popularity if they became less formulaic as they were when freedom of the press meant what it said.
Much of the decline is said to have been caused by Twitter, Facebook and online blogs. As to whether or not that is true seems to me to fall into the category that any excuse is better than none. Twitter and Facebook et al, allegedly are social news sites and though many people will disagree with me, I think them anti-social. In fact, I think Twitter and Facebook are sloganeering sites that are boons to the advertising industry. Any news you get on them shorthand inform.
Unfortunately, many newspapers editors also seem to be turning to these sites in search of news while more and more of their journalists seem to be writing in the required Twitter and Facebook style. While true that some remarks can be covered by 140 words – including spaces – I venture to suggest that while adequate enough for gossip I doubt 140 words adequate enough to give full depth of a story.
That apart, one would think Twitter and Facebook were new phenomena. Not so! Gossip has always been fashionable. But where once upon a time the places where gossip was retailed such as over a garden fences, cups of tea in the kitchen or, dare I say it, over a pint in the pub and thereafter repeated to the ears of whosoever was available to listen has been replaced by Twitter and Facebook. No doubt too, you’ve heard of African message drums. In a sense they were a form of internet although the stories they sent were not gossip.
And the story’s the thing although every story teller tells his/her story in a different way because they see it in a different light. What they consider the most important parts of the story will be seen by others as the least important and what some will see as the start of the story some will see as the end.
That said it is important to add that not all stories follow the mathematical principle that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Indeed for some story tellers the distance between start and finish is not a straight line but a series of diversions that add substance that add colour to the story and make it more interesting.
Once upon a time, but no longer, newspapers allowed such diversions. Today, unfortunately, stories that do not adhere to the straight line practice are unlikely to appear in newspapers. The result: newspapers seem to have lost their individuality. Having said that said, it is little wonder some blog sites are being written by journalists tired of having to toe a particular line.
Of the blogs on most of these websites the most interesting are written by people unaligned to a political party, religious organisation, union, military personnel et al, who do not write by rote but speak freely in hope of making the community more aware than at present of the limitations put on them by people in power.
The danger of journalism by rote whether online or in newspapers is that a particular online opinion site, newspaper, or group of newspapers, could wield undue influence and prevent communities from being exposed to new ideas. When communities end up as homogeneous, history shows how easy it is for them to become totalitarian. Let’s not take the chance of it happening here.
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- In: ACT OPINIONS | Business | Community | Politics
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My latest blog is always available at: https://donallan.wordpress.com. To make direct contact e-mail me at: dca@netspeed.com.au
Power overload puts Actew Chair out of action
Recently while talking casually with Canberrans interested in good government the conversation turned to Actew and to where on the ladder of influence some Canberrans had climbed. During this conversation, when the name John Mackay, Chairman of Actew came up in the context of recent revelations about the salary of Actew’s managing director, Mark Sullivan, someone said Mr Mackay should resign.
No doubt yesterday’s news that Mr Mackay had resigned was heard with pleasure by the person who made the suggestion. That apart, I think some of the others in the conversation might be surprised that despite Mr Sullivan’s decision to forego $140,000 in salary, he would continue as Managing Director.
During the conversation another remark made was that in some respects during Mr Mackay’s reign as Managing Director and later chairman of Actew, the corporation had acted almost like the Government’s private bank. It was said the remark was based on Actew’s sponsorship of various sporting teams, the Arboretum (a special project of the last Chief Minister) et al, while the Brumbies had benefitted from call in planning powers.
It was said these sponsorships were supporting activities the Government supported without the Government needing to provide more money. A further comment was that as Chairman of various organisations and a paid director on the board of others with which the Government had a close association Mr Mackay had also seemed to benefit from the arrangement.
One area that also bothered some people was the closeness to the Actew Board, of political brothers in arm Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, the shareholders of Actew on behalf of the community. It was thought this closeness could pose a conflict of interest.
To avoid such a possibility a suggestion was made that shareholders’ representation should be increased to five of which two would be two non-government ACT parliamentarians and one shareholder drawn at random from the ACT’s electoral role. I do not know if the suggestion had ever been presented to the Government.
That Mr Mackay has now indicated he will also step down in December as Chancellor of The University of Canberra will be welcomed by many. I think too, that many people are waiting with interest his intentions regarding the board positions he holds in other Canberra companies and organisations.
The media has heaped paeans of praise on Mr Mackay for his great contribution to the Canberra community, a contribution that has brought him many civic rewards. On the other hand this begs the question: would his benevolence have been the same had he not been Managing Director of Actew and later its Chairman.
Regardless of the murkiness surrounding the Actew affair, the fact that it came to light should spur the Government into making sure that future appointments not only to Actew’s Board but the Boards of all Government organisations should be subject to the closest scrutiny!
Comments welcome!
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What kind of city do Canberrans really want?
What kind of city do Canberra residents, not to mention the other twenty one and a half million Australians for whom Canberra is the National Capital, want? Indeed do they ever get asked? They don’t, so it isn’t surprising that many Australians think Canberra a city mainly of lookalike buildings and houses occupied by politicians and public servants who would make non Canberrans think Dolly the sheep was not the world’s first successful experiment in cloning.
It’s true that Canberra is home to many politicians and public servants and while various news reports suggest the former spend more time on affairs that are more personal than political it might also be true that some of the latter do the same.
It is true also that Canberra has around 350,000 residents of whom around 200,000 thousand are eligible to vote for the 17 Member Legislative Assembly which has at its disposal around 25,000 public servants (give or take a few thousand) who guide them on the management of Canberra and its institutions.
In common with most politicians, most of Canberra’s MLAs when asked why they entered politics usually say it’s because they wanted to make a difference a statement that ever trusting voters believe. Initially, too, voters also give them the benefit of the doubt about their election promises of making the city boom by creating new industry and business opportunities without disturbing its environment.
Unfortunately, as time goes by, the performance of some MLAs serve to confirm initial doubt. And voters’ doubts grow also as some MLAs seem to be seduced by the financial benefits they enjoy as MLAs thus making shams of their initial assurances to voters about their honesty and integrity. A perception also grows that they have suppressed values and become prisoners of their party in trying to maintain the good life their position as MLAs gives them.
This seems to me a good reason to support the idea that MLAs, indeed all MPs, only be allowed to serve two continuous Parliamentary terms. Such a system would weaken the party system and allow for the election of MLAs whose allegiance is to the community as a whole not to a party with a fixed political philosophy. Such as system would also encourage people who wish to advance the interests of the community not the vested interests of parties, to become parliamentarians
Party apparatchiks will cry: unworkable, the ravings of a lunatic and many other less polite indications of both my intellect and sanity. But let me remind these people that when Socrates first raised the idea of democracy he was shouted down and subjected to slander so vile that it led to him to take his own life.
That said I can also assure readers that being subjected to similar behaviour will neither lead me to take the same action as Socrates nor lessen my efforts to bring about a change to our current system of electing government. And I can also assure you that my life will end only by my body giving up naturally or by accident.
But I cannot end the blog without giving an answer to the question posed by the blog’s caption. Until a better system of democracy evolves and a Parliamentary system introduced where the voice of voters can really be heard, voters will be forced to accept the inadequacies the current system a good example of which in Canberra is the use of Call in Powers where the Government steamrollers ideas it doesn’t like.
As part of that acceptance voters will also be conforming to a system that allows self – serving politicians to employ an ever growing number of sycophants and alleged citizens of influence whose loyalty will demand even greater rewards.
Indeed, as we cast our eyes at the activities of some politicians in various Australian governments, including the Federal Government, it could be said even now that evidence suggesting the system needs to change is piling up and without change, Canberrans will never get the city they want. And it is also obvious that without change the likelihood of MPs in various governments doing shady deals to benefit friends -and themselves – will increase, as will government incompetence.
Comments welcome.
ACT Opinions
Posted on: 8 January 2013
- In: ACT OPINIONS | ACT Politics | Community | Global Warming | Politics
- 6 Comments
When will Australia learn?
No doubt you’ve found yourself in the same position as I did when I sat down to write the first of the political articles I promised in my blog of 3 January. Usually there’s no dearth of political items to write about in January particularly issues raised by politicians who rarely ever get media coverage.
But this January, not only have these politicians but also better known ones been pushed off the front pages of newspapers they have all but disappeared from the electronic media. Their places in the media have been taken by stories of the horrendous fires in Tasmania that, as I write, have wiped at least 100 houses, scores of local businesses and farm properties off the map which, when they die out will leave a landscape indistinguishable from the lunar landscape and unlikely ever again come to life. One hopes not many people will become part of that landscape.
Unfortunately many people will lose treasured possessions that tell their life story and the interwoven life story of their families. In a sense they also lose their life. Fortunately unlike much of the landscape they will recover and, albeit with sadness, start recreating a new life for themselves
Equally fortunately, the stories of the people who saved their own lives and helped save the lives of others in their community have replaced politicians whose time in the media is usually spent castigating opponents as moral frauds and themselves as the opposite. By doing so the hope the impression created makes them certain of being re-elected.
That apart and ever ready to seize the chance of showing sympathy with those who have suffered, politicians are sizing their limited opportunities for publicity by donning the mantle of care for people affected by despair, grief and sadness brought by the bushfires. At the same time some politicians have conflated the cause of bushfires to climate change to help push their own agendas. That said I find it strange that so many politicians seem to have acquired a degree in climate science since being elected.
A case in point is the story (“PM visits burnt ruin, gives grim warning” CT page 2 NEWS, 2/113) by Andrew Darby –“And while you would not put any one event down to climate change…we do know that, over time as a result of climate change. We are going to see more extreme weather events.” Later in the report Ms Gillard said” But the worst thing is if human lives are lost” so setting the stage for an even more horrendous scene that, in effect is all due to climate change.
Naturally she gives people the assurance that everything will be done to help fix any problems.
Now I know PM Gillard is a lawyer but by her collective “we” she makes the assumption as lots of lawyers do that the people at large, in this case the Taswegians affected by the bushfires agree with her. But do they? At times of great emotional distress people often rush to judgment and at the time agree with ideas they do not support.
No doubt zealots of the Climate Change church will use these statements to help lay the blame on dissenters to their climate change liturgy for not changing the world into what they think it should be. I can see it now, a world populated with signs saying: windturbines in opeartion- no low flying plane, model planes and kites allowed in this area’ or: no bathing between the flags due to wind turbines and wave motion machines in operation.
On the assurance side, let me remind people briefly about the Canberra bushfires of 2003 when the loss of four lives was attributed to the fire while just over 400 plus houses were burned to the ground. The ACT Government and senior bureaucrats were castigated in inquiries about the management of the fire fighting operation. Indeed, many bushfire victims were so outraged by the results of the inquiries they took the matters to courts.
While both Government and bureaucrats were found to be negligent many survivors still think they were not punished severely enough for their poor management skills so much so that arguments about blame for the deaths and fire are still alive.
And then take Black Saturday in Victoria 2009 when bushfires cause 173 deaths and destroyed around 2,100 houses and 2,000 other buildings. That resulted in another major inquiry with its attendant solutions. Unfortunately that did not prevent the Tasmanian fire.
Let me end with question. When will we learn that Australia as a country owes much of its prosperity to places where bushfires occur that to help ensure that prosperity continues it must deal with bushfires on a national basis?
Blog: Allan takes aim; web: https://donallan.wordpress.com; e:dca@netspeed.com.au
Cornucopia Day
Posted on: 24 November 2012
- In: ACT OPINIONS | Community | Education | Environment
- 1 Comment
A Cornucopian Celebration
AS it is being touted as one of the world’s great food bowls, it seems odd that Australia doesn’t have a national day of celebration similar to, but not a copy of America’s Thanksgiving Day. I thought of Bounty Day but dropped it because bounty in Australia has more association with the sea than with food.
Garden Of Eden Day also came to mind. However, I discarded this too, because the religious associations attached to that name attribute Australia’s creation to God. That said, I think the name would not have national appeal and nor would it appeal to atheists or agnostics or people whose religion contains no reference to the Garden of Eden.
Trying to find a suitable name was turning out to be harder than I thought although I knew there was a word lurking in the back of my mind that would fit the bill if only I could remember it. And so I continued tapping away at my keyboard all the while wishing the cloud of forgetfulness that was obscuring my thoughts would let a ray of remembrance light up that forgotten word.
However, the delay remembering the word did some good because as I was tapped away at the computer keyboard I remembered the saying: ‘be careful what you wish for’ because if your wish comes true it might bring with it a number of unintended consequences. I can testify to the apparent truth of that saying because on more than one occasion without and getting my wish, I got more than I bargained for.
But nothing ventured, nothing gained and so I carried on wishing. Although it took more than a day I am pleased to report the word did come back. I hope you like it?
The word was ‘Cornucopia,’ which I like not only because it carries the connotation of Australia as a land of milk and honey but word that in essence also described its resources such as iron ore, copper, aluminium, timber, uranium, rare earth metals and the tourism resources that are part of the Cornucopia loked up in itas vast and spectacular landscape.
And as I kept saying Cornucopia Day to myself, I liked it even more.
A second reason for like Cornucopia Day is that it would be would be a day of celebration different to Australia Day which on 26th January commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 in Sydney Cove. It would be different because Cornucopia Day would be a celebration of all the things discovered and being added to since then, and into the future, that has made Australia, and will continue to make it, a desirable country in to live in.
A third reason I like the idea of a Cornucopia Day is that it is not an imported ceremony but a home based creation based on creations of its first people and the creations of a continuing flow of migrants, whether refugees or asylum seekers. This is a ceremony that could make its home in Canberra (the meeting place) as an example to all Australians and also make them aware of the value of their bounty.
The first Cornucopia Day could be celebrated in 2013, Canberra’s centenary year.
Blog: Allan Takes Aim; Web: https://donallan.wordpress.com
Olympic thought for the day
Posted on: 31 July 2012
- In: Community | Sport
- 14 Comments
Monday 30 July
So what moments of great joy or disaster will the Olympics bring today? Will we see competitors from nations considered sporting paupers give competitors from nations that consider themselves the sporting royalty in the Olympic pond, when the former leave them behind in the quest for gold?
Not that the Chinese are sporting paupers any longer so why did the US and to a lesser extent Australia, indulge in what could only be described as malicious talk by obliquely suggesting that certain Chinese swimmers had won because they had used illegal stimulants. I can only say that both countries stand a very good chance of being seen as stone throwers in glass houses.
That apart as every gold medal winner is to be tested, it seems to me that if the inference made by the US and Australia is true, it gives rise to the suggestion that the testers are corrupt.
Let me end this brief blog by saying I wish every competitor, win or lose, will show the same sentiments as young Australian swimmer Emily Seebohm, who cried not because she didn’t win the gold medal (she won silver) but because she felt she had let her parents down.
Hopefully, other young people are competing not just for themselves but also for their parents.
dca@netspeed.com.au
- In: Community | media
- 102 Comments
From The Chronicle, Canberra. Published every Tuesday
Two years ago I wrote a column rebutting doomsayers who predicted the end of print newspapers. Indeed I think history will show these predictions are silly being of the opinion myself that newspapers like The Chronicle and Times, whether online or hard copy will be read for many years to come.
Before going on let me go back to a couple of millenniums ago when the kings of ancient kingdoms in the Middle East inscribed the equivalent of the modern press release on the shells of scarab beetles. As time passed, the kings started using scribing their message on papyrus. Doomsayers no doubt predicted that this heralded the end of the press releases. If only.
As the process of disseminating information changed over millenniums, what didn’t change was the making of prediction. In fact making predictions became such a bonanza for doomsayers that some of them turned it into a full time occupation. This practice is still practiced particularly by politicians and business tycoons: all you need do is read the papers
Whether or not one believes the predictions of either, their importance tends to be gauged by the rung they have reached on their respective ladders of ambition. But of one thing you can be sure, rarely, if ever, does the politician think the predictions of the business tycoon is right, or vice versa.
This brings me to the predictions about the death of newspapers currently filling newspaper pages. The fact is, over the centuries, newspapers have been born and died and though today prominent newspapers like the Fairfax Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age might not last in hard copy, I believe community newspapers like The Chronicle (a Fairfax paper) have a long life ahead of them. Some people might say: well he would say that wouldn’t he. But they are wrong because the job losses forecast at Fairfax might mean that I, too, will become a job loss statistic.
But being an optimist that I won’t become a job loss statistic does not change my views about newspapers shown here in a edited reprise of my column “Newspapers have a bright future” (14 Sept, 2010): “instead of being a newspaper of say 40 pages that combines news, sport, science and business etc with supplements, the Canberra Times will have a number of online papers dedicated to particular subjects: Politics, Business, Environment, Science, Sports etc. People will pay a subscription for whichever sections they want with each paper supported by advertisers keen to target the paper’s particular market.”
For example the subscriber Canberra Political Times 24, online would continually update political news and events, a format, I believe, that would lead to more work for journalists. I believe too, that this format would lead to greater competition, better journalism, happier advertisers and happier readers. There could even be a Disability Times 24 that would help everyone in the disability field keep up to date with disability news.
While the dailies will cater for particular markets they won’t cater for local communities. However by cherry picking the dailies and adding local interest pieces, The Chronicle and other free community newspapers could not only remain free and online, but also be more influential than they are today. When this happens, as I am sure it will, the complaint often levelled at The Chronicle and other free newspapers that they carry too much advertising will disappear.
You might not agree but I think the complaint of too much advertising is a bit like complaining about the weather. Many readers complain when experiencing an extended period of high temperatures then complain when an extended period of wet weather occurs. Like most of us, they would be happy if the weather could be switched on and off like an air conditioner. Well advertising is a much the same, it’s either too much or too little.
However, without advertising, how would people be made aware of special events and special prices at the local supermarket? The fact is, local community newspapers such as The Chronicle are integral to informing people about their local community. And that’s the reason, as I said earlier, that newspapers like The Chronicle will be around for a long time yet.
dca@netspeed.com.au
The Chronicle for the best of Canberra’s community news. Published online every Wednesday at: http://www.chronicleonline.com.au
Political Independents have value
Posted on: 30 May 2012
- In: Community | Politics
- 7 Comments
Also posted: http://www.chronicleonline.com.au Wednesday, May 30
Because the campaign race for seats in the ACT Legislative is starting earlier and earlier so too is the job of making an assessment of the runners. But making a difficult job even more difficult however, is the fact that runners from minor parties and Independents, handicapped by lack of resources but not necessarily ideas, won’t enter the race until shortly before it gets under way on Saturday 20th October.
The early starters are Greens, Labor and Liberal Party candidates some of whom currently sit as MLAs. However, the candidates who interest me most are new candidates because if sitting members in four years in four years and in some cases an even longer period of time, haven’t managed to project themselves as worthy representatives of the people, it would be a waste of time and effort to write about them and more importantly a waste of a vote in re-electing them. So if you think your vote is a valuable asset why squander it on someone you don’t think capable of using it wisely?
But what will be will be interesting is finding out from current MLAs how many of the hopes and aspirations they had when elected had been realised and what are their new hopes and aspirations. More interesting still will be what are the hopes and aspirations of new candidates
But perhaps some really interesting revelations will come later from old parties such as the Community Alliance if they decide to contest the election again or parties contesting the election for the first time and not to forget Independent candidates.
With regard to the latter, depending on your view of happenings in the Federal Parliament, perhaps you might think politics and the community would be better served if no Independent candidates were elected, no doubt a position the Greens, Labor and Liberals would agree with. However I doubt it would meet with the agreement of former Independent MLA Michael Moore. That said I also believe the voice of independence should always be heard.
In defence of small parties and Independents let it be said that current parties did not start as major parties but as small parties. The Labor party sprang from a small group of men and women whose ideals resonated with many in Australia’s workforce although it still took many years for it to become a major political force. Two big questions: do those earlier Labor ideals still resonate strongly within the workforce today?
The Liberal Party, a younger party than Labor, sprang from disaffected members of the United Australia Party. As a party its philosophy had much in common with the early Liberal Party in Britain. But just as I questioned whether or not the Labor Party still adhered to the ideals on which it was founded, like Labor it needs to answer the same questions: is it still a Liberal Party and are its early ideals but dim memories?
The origin of the Greens is different. It was formed when various Green Movements across Australia, decided to bury their differences and join together as one party. While of recent origin they still need to answer whether or not those differences still exist or if their ideals are also becoming dim memories.
While the old parties have already declared their starters in the election race rumours continually swirl round about new parties. I have no idea if the rumours have substance. Suffice to say, that no matter how much I feel tempted I am not inclined to indulge in idle speculation about who might, or might not, be thinking of entering the race. However let me say to those people who can often be heard saying they could make a better fist of being an MLAs than current holders of the office to put their hat in the ring and show voters what they’re made of.
Between now and October 2O candidates will be heard saying much about what should be done and given the opportunity what they will do to ensure that Canberra will be a city that continues to progress and make its residents feel confident about the future for themselves and their families.
dca@netspeed.com.au.
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