METHOD IN THE MADNESS?



Call it IRONIC or just what it is -- "MADNESS" -- but, no matter how you look at this current closing down and selling off of local Police Stations, it is just another nail in the coffin for not only this ALP state government but also the people of News South Wales and in particular the growing crime capital of Australia, SYDNEY !

Clearly no Policing operational gains can come of this and it is my belief that the Rees Government is doing anything that they can to increase revenue so that when the big sell comes in 2011 (the next election), that they will have the money on hand to splash about and fool the punters into thinking that they have the cash and the answers. A kind of "Let's make it worse, hurt the folks, then come in as the Knight in Shining Armour ".

Forget it Nathan, most people are aware of this trick and really you are only hurting the voters in your own electorate of Toongabbie (where a massive increase in crime has recently been reported) among many other Labour seats. That's right, they are mainly taking the stations away from the blue ribbon Labour areas because they know that no matter how bad it gets the Labour faithful will still tick ALP on the voting paper.

The fact that most people polled no longer feel safe to walk the streets of Sydney in the day time, let alone at night, is that not enough to illustrate that when it comes to law and order, this government hasn't got a clue?

Unions: Starving for the attention that they so needed and paid for



"A leopard never changes its spots" -- and how true that is when we talk about the far left of the current federal government and in particular our current Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for EVERYTHING, Julia Gillard.

The so called "NEW" Fair Work legislation that takes effect now, is nothing new at all. It is the pay off for the Unionists who sacrificed so much of their own wealth to fund the ALP campaign to get this Rudd Government over the line.

The Work Choices SCARE campaign in the lead up to the 2007 Federal Election was funded by Unions and is what toppled the Howard Government to the cheers of the traditional Labor base. What we have now is a resurrection of the zombies of the past.

Unfair dismissal laws, which were never abolished by Howard, rather only adjusted so that an employer could sack a lazy, inept and or dishonest worker, are now back.

This will slow employment down incredibly, combined with the new/old emboldened push for unions to pressure employers into unrealistic wage rises at a time when all Australians needs to pull in the belt, work harder and smarter, and think a little more about the future of Australian business viability at home rather than the "I need a new plasma TV now or beer and smokes are going up, I need more money for them" type of mentality that has in my opinion been dragging this country backwards for decades.

They are called tough times for a reason, the difference here is that the chardonnay sipping left want the tough times visited only on the employers of people! How does that make any sense at all?

Understand this about me, I do believe that the union movement has its place in our working lives. There are employers out there that will rip off the young and naive employee and these cases must be addressed with some protection for workers -- but when these checks and balances are replaced by an oligarchy that want to run the businesses and in a sense turn fairness into a strong arm movement of corruption to suit their own socialist agenda, then it's time to speak up.

I was a union delegate during the 80's and 90's and have witnessed both sides of this coin.

Unions are currently saying that workers around the nation are celebrating the return to this industrial landscape. I wonder how many will be truly celebrating when the businesses can't afford to employ Aussie workers or when simply no one is hiring or rather putting workers off as the third world outbids and out-exports this nation's manufacturers?

Gillard has called for restraint from workers but she knows as well as I do that this will mean nothing and thus her words are just more rhetoric.

Turnbull and Rudd (The Movers and Fakers)



I am sure that these poll results (again I state that I put very little trust in any poll, good or bad) are not and never are ignored by the politicians -- and in this case the Federal Liberal Party will not be happy with this one.

Good to see that the backbenchers as well as the front line are showing solidarity against the stone throwers of the left in media and the ALP, to force Malcolm Turnbull to resign for the good of the Libs... Ha that's laughable. No this time I believe the party will stick by their leader and the up and coming seasonal break will provide enough time for the Ute Gate debacle to leave the collective memory of the punters when the next approval poll comes along.

The genuineness of the email (???) is still not the question here and I am sure in hindsight the leader of the opposition would have taken more time to check the validity of the claim. However this oversight will prove to the incumbent government that they can not so easily dislodge Malcolm Turnbull, and again in the minds of the voters there will certainly be a sense of a united opposition party. Wayne Swan still has a case to answer.

Talking about fakes, did you see the great pretender on Rove again last night? Another staged and contrite attempt again by the Prime Minister to appear to be an average sort of knock about bloke who is in touch with the common folk. Well Kevin's attempt at ad-lib humour was as thin as the G-String worn by his newest admirer, Bruno. Maybe Rudd should employ Bruno or Borat or Ali G as a speech writer?

This is the sort of stunt that I hope will be remembered by the voters as a clear character flaw in a man that has so many public faces, one would not be wrong if they compared him to someone with a split personalty disorder or at least a severe identity crisis. Basically the public are very confused as to who the real Kevin Rudd is and that is his fault for not ever appearing honestly, in a "take me as I am" approach as his predecessor certainly did.

It would be nice to think that our leaders were beyond such shameful displays of insincerity as the Rove stunt was and were actually more interested in addressing the woes of the nation and building a better future for our children!

WHO'D HAVE THOUGH THAT KEVIN 07 WAS A BIG WHACKO JACKO FAN!




Michael Jackson has left the building!

Well I am sure everybody has an opinion on the late Michael Jackson. I certainly do but I will reserve my comments for another time, after all the man has just died and his family are deep in grief.

One thing is for sure today, down here in Australia, the Telcos are popping champagne (imagine just how many extra text messages will be sent today and of course the obligatory jokes). I can also hear the sighs of relief from the politicians, especially our very own federal thrillers. Talk about pushing the pollies off the front page and out of the talk back chat. This celebrity death will not fade quickly and the muck racking and media examination and saturation has only just begun. I guess the Canberra mafia can now enjoy the holidays.

UTE GATE or just another SWAN DIVE !?!



(For any American readers: A "ute" is a pickup truck; For any South African readers, a "ute" is a bakkie)

Talk about a big news day in federal politics ............... OK I'm waiting. More like another round of political gaming and diversions from the real issues that effect us all. What I see here with this and I'm sorry to quote it again but the "UTEGATE" affair should focus on two clear issues.

Firstly the incriminating email, who wrote it and why was it written? If it is really a fake as the AFP so quickly declared today just an hour after raiding Treasury employee Godwin Grech's home today, then it stinks on a whole new level. It would be naive of any one with a passing interest in politics to think that this type of cloak and dagger stuff is beyond any political party. Of course the conspiracy theories are already out there and I believe it will be a generation before we get the death bed confession/book relating to the truth of this matter.

Secondly, we still haven't heard a genuine explanation as to just what role Treasurer Wayne Swan really had in this and that he like many of his counterparts and colleagues is just as likely to be guilty of that age old "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" type of arrangement that IS done between politicians and business. Once again the credibilty of our elected leaders is damaged again and this will only add to the antipathy that many Australians have toward all politicians, especially at election time, resulting in the wrong people being elected.

What we do need to find out is if the Parliament was actually deceived and if so what is the PM going to do about it?

I don't think that politically speaking Rudd will ever admit any wrongdoing therefore he will not be falling on his sword over this. It may be that Swan will need to be the fall guy in this and really what benefit will that be to the country? I see no-one in the Federal Labour Party that comes close to being qualified to fill the current Treasurer's boots. Love him or hate him he is still the best man for the job whilst the current government remains in power.

Personally, I am having trouble following all of this and I am sure most punters have given up and see it for what it is, another diversion and a perfect media storm. Malcolm Turnbull is in no way guilty here. He rightfully assumed that the email was genuine because you can not expect every email that a politician sees to be suspected of being a fake, communication would simply not be possible without the AFP checking every hard drive in the country.

What needs to happen now is beyond this cartoonist because the waters are so muddy and I believe it will take a long time for the muck to settle and the picture to be clear again. The pollies go on their winter break shortly and I believe that this time away will be enough for this one to slip out of the media cycle and off the radar of most folk.

By the way, what has happened to the OZCAR plan? I didn't read the last budget paper but I am sure it was in there somewhere.

Life Imitates Art Again!

(As Oscar Wilde would say)



Well another one bites the dust -- or Biblically speaking: "As ye sow, so shall ye reap".

To see another "GANGLAND" (If that is really what this is about?) killing on the streets of Melbourne is unfortunately for many a source of excitement , entertainment and as we well know, absolute fodder for the script writers from the UNDERBELLY TV SERIES team.

Many would say that the victim got what he deserved and it's hard to argue with that point except that it normalises this type of "criminal instant justice", ignoring the fact that this public execution could so blatantly occur in broad daylight with dozens of witness who will unfortunately now have to take the image of a person being murdered with them through their lives.

Sure you've heard it before and seen it re-enacted on your TV screens but can you just imagine the horror of seeing such a crime live and in your face?!

So the media are salivating, the TV executives are anticipating, the Police are investigating and the drug dealers are denying and hiding... whilst the rest of us are starting to live with something that is becoming so common that it will soon be a skit on The Chasers. I hate to say it but I think we have already become so desensitised to such public murder that we will simply read about the "tell all" in the local gossip mag and then move on to crossword with nothing more than a yawn.

Where has the Australia that we knew gone ? And can we ever get it back ?

The MEAT HEAD slur on us all!‏



I trust you have all heard of this latest brain snap from the man who still thinks that he unjustly lost his birthright to be our Prime Minister (strewth! talk about the country dodging a bullet!) and is still sucking lemons as he prepares to write his weekly piece of poison only to publicly display just how much of an angry man he really is.

I feel nothing but pity for this bloke called Mark Latham, pity that he can not use his brains (and he is a very intelligent fellow) to do more than attack those who stood up against his class war revolution and his hatred of the institutions and heritage that has given him the safety and opportunities to actually become the former leader of the Australian Labor Party.

It seems amazing that any Australian of any political persuasion would hold such disrespect for our men and woman of the Australian Defence Force and even more surprising that they would so publicly and baldfacedly call these heroes, past and present and future, both unintelligent and MEAT HEADS? because they choose to serve their country and are prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice.

It is obviously to me that the man is suffering from a mental disorder which blinds him to the basic truth, that the freedom that he has to publish such words without the threat of imprisonment or even death is because of the very people that he defames.

Yes Mr Latham I too am using the freedom of speech that so many have died for so that I can tell you that: "Freedom isn't FREE and that the cost of such a privilege is constant vigilance against those who would take it away in an instant and an understanding that freedom comes with responsibilities and accountability for how it is used"

If I were you Mark, I would be doing everything to admit that you were wrong and remorseful for your comments about Australia's defence personnel so that you are not remembered as a man who spat in the face of the very people who gave you the Australia that you and your children enjoy this very day. To slur our diggers is nothing less than an attack on us all.