Author Credits: [show_post_categories parent="no" parentcategory="writers" show = "category" hyperlink="yes"]
Your Say This Week
By
Posted on
pat synge
April 16, 2005 at 13:21
It’s been quite a week for locking away high profile liars and crooks.
The highest profile liars, however, remain in power. They get away with using dishonesty to get elected and spent millions of dollars of our money promoting their lies.
The Medicare ‘safety net’ was a stupid idea in the first place and the Government knew full well when they introduced it that it was inflationary . Once introduced (and they got themselves elected) they could at least have had the decency not to tamper with it for at least this term of Government. So what if it ‘blows out’ to a billion dollars over 4 years? There appears to be a multi billion dollar surplus this year anyway and it was, after all, one of the key promises of their election campaign. Decency might be a bit too much to expect from this bunch.
Is it any wonder we become distrustful of our political leaders? Not only dishonest but stupid as well. Mind you, those who voted for them must be pretty stupid too!!
Pat Synge
http://www.buyselltrade.com.au
tasmania’s free advertising website
Dave Groves
April 19, 2005 at 01:12
Split Rock
It began with that smell. It is a musky eucalypt smell that feels wild. It takes me away from the hustle and stress of the day to day.
I am just out of Meander, about to walk to “Split Rock†for the first time.
The roar of the river below makes this a noisy place. I walk down toward the river and my first vista is breathtaking. It is the forest going about its business. I am alone yet I feel most welcome. The walk over the suspension bridge is great. I am about 15 to 20 feet above the water. The river is flowing well and the roar has me daydreaming. I imagine it is mid summer because I would love to be in that water. Over the bridge it is a steady climb to “Split Rock†which takes about an hour. My knees quickly show their lack of fitness. I find a small eucalypt branch on the ground which becomes a tool for my balance. The ground has roots of Myrtle and Sassafras everywhere, some providing marvellous steps, while others provide a quick way to sit down.
There are man ferns near the river nestled in their own micro climate.
They average over 10 feet tall, some are joined- there is one I noticed that was four, now together as one.
There is mulch that carpets the forest floor, mostly Myrtle, once deep green, but now autumn gold and full of tiny creatures. This place is alive! I am sure there are many “locals†watching my progress through their world.
I arrive at â€Split Rock†fairly knackered.
I spend a little while reflecting on this awesome pocket of Tasmania before making my ungainly descent. Some walks are boring if you have to retrace your steps, but I reckon you could do this walk a hundred times and never see the same thing twice.
If you are feeling the pressure of the modern world and need to connect with nature, treat yourself to a few hours at “Split Rock†and enjoy the wonder of one our sacred places.
Deboxer
April 19, 2005 at 02:58
Those Who Voted Them In Must Be Pretty Stupid Too.
Yep, that’s us. Mankind they call us. Still haven’t got it right. Bring back indigenous Australia, just keeping a little of our building and technology. But there’s nobody who could stand the blast of entrenched Western mediocracy in the political realm to bring it on. The so-called leaders are only job holders. Real leaders relate to real daily life and we rub shoulders with them on the bus. As daily life improves so does politics. There’s a lot of work to be done on the ground before we can say that;
Those Who Voted Them In Are Glad Because They Move With The Same Spirit.
editor
April 21, 2005 at 07:49
Pulp Mill talk
University of Tas, Hobart Campus, April 27th 12pm Lect theatre C2 Chem. Building
A talk regarding Pulp Mill Chemistry
Ph 62262167 for more info
This is a great opportunity to ask questions re the intricacies of the pulp mill guidelines just released. For public comment and to ask 2 world experts Karen Stack and Doug McLean questions regarding the proposed new mill’s structure.
Please come along.
Angela Strk
editor
April 22, 2005 at 03:02
“Self-perpetuating oligarchies are the norm for preferment within most [political] parties around the world…”
And in the Australian context:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/04/20/1113854257655.html
…What is the portrait of the modern Labor Member of Parliament? She is cased at university where she is achieving less than academic greatness. He will have demonstrated a willingness to follow a leader, not to step out of line. She will join an ALP branch where the postage and the mail-out is met by an MP. His first serious employment is with an MP. Or a Minister where she will know nought of the subject area of the Minister’s portfolio. Or a union where he will not have worked in the industry covered by the union employing him. Or her.
She is preselected perhaps for where she lives, perhaps for somewhere she has no association; he has minimal or zero community record. Her campaign is managed by people supplied by Head Office, it is paid for by Head Office, its strategy is determined by Head Office.
Having been elected, he enters the caucus of the faction to which he owes everything; she votes as the leadership instructs, he confirms for another parliamentary term the hegemony of the processes that made her possible. When she delivers her Maiden Speech, it is probable that the staffer of a Minister will have written it. Someone who hopes to walk in her or his footsteps.
The processes of such advancement obviate the humanising essential for a successful adult life – what we call maturing in response to personal experience, intellectual growth, changes subtle in objective response to change in the world. When your outlook on politics is determined for you and your continuing advance depends on adhering to that determination, maturing does not come to pass.
In the natural world the equivalent is the cossetted existence of creatures born in a zoo, knowing no other environment. The cannot survive in the world. They lack the skills to hunt and kill their own. The most obvious consequence is how Federal Labor has lost the faculty of persuasion. Holding a poll to find out what the punters are thinking and then promise that finding as your own best thinking may be the core of what passes for philosophy in modern politics. It is the opposite of leadership… A party does not have to be democratic to survive or prosper. The ALP for much of the time since 1916 is living proof of that. Self-perpetuating oligarchies are the norm for preferment within most parties around the world. ”
Brenda Rosser
nudger jones
April 22, 2005 at 07:05
This letter in The Australian today should not just be mandatory reading for every Australian brother, sister, mother, father, son or daughter. It should be the start of a movement.
Most of what the author says is true. But he makes one mistake. Howard has encouraged us to eschew Government help in all we do – from hospitals to education to the arts. We don’t need Government help on this either. Simply, all Australians should cease to deal with Indonesia. Cancel the holiday to Bali, got to Strahan instead. Don’t fly Garuda. Don’t buy anything on the supermarket shelves marked “made in Indonesia”. This will be a statement in support of Schappelle Corby and against barbaric regimes that execute people by firing squad.
If McClintock has got the mood of the nation, and I believe he has, what are we waiting for? We’ve been told to help ourselves, not rely on Government. So let’s do it and then watch gutless Johnny and dithering Downer try and explain democracy to the butchers of Jakarta.