Happy Same OLD NEW Year



Now far be it for me to be lazy, because I am not! I really love my craft, I love to draw and I was thinking for a while today what I would draw (say) to mark the end of this year and to see the new one in.

I am a complete optimist and I will always hope and believe that the next day will be a better one than the last. I, like most people, believe that one learns from their mistakes and that this simple wisdom will go a long way to improving the future for us all.

I thought to myself, "what did I say on last years NYE toon?". I checked and as I read the cartoon I realised that this is virtually the same cartoon that I was going to draw this year. All of the issues that plagued our society back in 2009 are still there!.

Therefore I think that the most relevant lesson to be learnt this year is we understand that we do have short memories and if we do not remember the mistakes of the past then we can be assured that those mistakes will still be repeated year after year after year.


Thank God we here is New South Wales will not be repeating the mistake that we made back in March 2007 and as a result we will see a return to a conservative and fiscally sensible governance in this state (I hope so anyway, tic).

Also, that if we are given the chance later in the new year, we may be able to remove the dangerous ALP/Greens Federal coalition, anything that should have happened a few months ago.

So dear reader, Happy 2011 to us all, I hope the year ahead will bring prosperity, happiness, good health and wealth (in whatever form that wealth comes to you) and that we will never forget that the mistakes of the past and never be forced to repeat them due to our LAZINESS!!!

The Real Grinch of Christmas



Well, hasn't this been an interesting year as far as the local and national political scene was concerned. I guess you can say that "the beat goes on" and no matter who is banging the drum they are still out of rhythm and not playing our tune.... generally speaking of course.

Political cartoonists like myself have had a gift all year, with a plethora of fools and bad policy to lampoon. I am sure nothing will change next year but still I am looking forward to the show and to making my satirical comments stick and amuse.

Here's to you all having a very safe, happy and holy Christmas and a prosperous 2011. Godspeed and thanks for your support in 2010.

It's a matter of FREEDOM OF SPEECH, that's all



I must admit that when I first heard of this man, Julian Assange and his WikiLeaks website, I thought here we go another anti establishment lefty who has nothing better to do than to hack into government websites and realise confidential military information that will soon be in the hands of the enemy.

I guess it is true that some of the information that has been released has caused genuine concern relating to the safety of some individuals who are or were involved in activities that they would be better placed to remain anonymous....... or so that is what the US Government told us all!

I guess that is the main sticking point for me but after that I can gladly join in with the chorus of millions of people throughout the world who value our very freedom of speech, as I certainly do, and say that this man should be set free and made a hero of the public for having the guts to expose diplomatic cables and other so called confidential papers that clearly point to corruption and deception by leaders, ministers and diplomats globally.

Incidents ranging from involvement in corporate/government rorts to war crimes.

The fact that several government leaders have condemned the man so quickly and many have called for his immediate imprisonment for just exposing the truth, would have you think that the entire first world has become a huge Stalinist state...........

Hmmmmmm, looks like the Fabians really did get want they wanted for Christmas, ONE WORLD SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT!

If Assange was nothing more than a journalist, doing his job to expose corruption and deceit then why would a government either the US or UK or Sweden and even Australia be so quick to condemn him and cook up some charge of sexual assault as a way to get him behind bars.

I guess the truth is just a little toooo scary for many first world government leaders to cope with and the solution to their fear is to shut down the voice of dissent and freedom. Sorry I am with Assange now because I will not stand by and watch as a man (regardless of his ideology) is made a pariah and political prisoner. It certainly doesn't change my support because he is also an Australian either.

Sorry Oprah, there is someone a little more important than you, so off the front page now. Let's hope that the granting of bail will lead to an acquittal from any crime and this Aussie doesn't become a political prisoner in any country. This story is far from over.

Our Greatest National Pastime‏



You have to admit it that our greatest Aussie pastime these days is the good old game of Bank Bashing. Do they deserve it? Maybe or maybe not, but my favourite pastime is and will always be Pollie bashing because I can see the Federal Opposition taking great strides to gain political mileage from this greedy rate rise and certainly Wayne Swan, the worst Federal Treasurer by far in my opinion, loves the attention that the "Big Banks" are getting and the redirection of public anger that should still be focused at a Government that has put this country in a huge fiscal black hole that will take a generation to fill in.

See:

Banks

Deficit

THE BIG CONCERNS‏



I have decided to take some advice and take a new direction regarding my random social comments and observations in writing.
I am a cartoonist, not a journalist and although both professions have very close ties in making social commentary, literally speaking they are worlds apart.

I have had several people comment that my writing was good and informative, also valid at times and I have had just the opposite response also.

The truth is that I do work too hard and sometimes sigh when I have drawn a cartoon and then know that I need to write about it. I just do not enjoy writing about what I have just drawn and really see no need to continue doing this.

Basically, life is to short and one must always focus on what they do best and enjoy best, if they are ever to excel and that is why I will no longer be offering a few paragraphs of my opinion on a subject but rather just let the cartoon tell the story.

I will assist my loyal followers by adding a news report link so as to assist any one out there who has just been to busy to know exactly what the cartoon is referring too ....... and really that is most of us these days......

Big Banks

Hillary Clinton Down Under

Q and A - Question and Attack.

John Howard says Q&A shoe attack 'all in a night's work'



if you haven't heard yet or seen the footage then click on this link for the full story and the update....

I say the full story but really is it? OK here I go again, delving into conspiracy theory but really you can't blame anyone for not thinking that just maybe this was a deliberate stunt that had the full blessing of the national broadcaster. Again I state clearly that this is not fact but just opinion and I base my suspicion on the following observations.

1. I have never seen the camera angle from above and behind the panel used on the show before, I mean really it is almost believable to think that the camera was placed where it was for the maximum effective shot of this clown throwing his shoes at J.W. Howard.

2. This bloke had a virtual front row seat. Coincidence maybe, but still he was in the perfect throwing position to launch his attack. I have never attended an audience of this show before so just maybe someone can answer this question. Do you get directed to a seat by the ABC staff and or are you self seating, first in best dressed?

3. This protester, Peter Gray, is a well known serial pest ( sorry protester ). This left wing radical from the central coast of NSW has performed more than a few public protest stunts before and I am sure that the good folk at Auntie would have recognised him if not his name. Here's another question, do you have to give your name when attending the studio audience, is there any sort of ID checking at the door or screening at all? I mean can I just be walking past the Ultimo studio on the night and walk straight into this audience?

4. The ABC digital moderator who receives the hundreds of text, email messages and twitter comments during a show and who decides to let what go to air, suddenly there's a twit post that appears "Will someone through a shoe at this guy NOW". Within a minute of that comment appearing on our screens at home, we had a man throwing his shoes at the former PM. Was that the prompt that he was waiting for? can someone tell me if the audience can see these on-screen comments as we in TV land can?

Well there you have it, just a few reasons why I think this may be a set up. Not because he is a conservative PM, because we all know that there is a strong leftist bias on this show (I will not even bother to argue that truth), no it is more likely that it would just make very exciting viewing and will certainly (and has) draw attention to the show from foreign media outlets. Oddly too this wouldn't have hurt sales for the new Howard memoir but to suggest Howard , the ABC and Gray were working together on this is even too far out there for me.

After all is said and done, I say no harm was really done, I mean the reputation that Mr Gray already has will not be damaged by what he has done and certainly John Howard was and is not the sort of man to go weak at the knees because a protester decided to emulate a few Iraqi protesters. I am sure he (Howard) has had his share of real scares in public life and this one was water of a duck's back but this does bring me to one real concern and that is, just how safe are the panelists or the host of this show.

I mean what if the man had a gun? is there any airport security type screening before you get in the studio? Probably not, I too would not like to go through that but just think about it. We could have witnessed a live to air assassination of a political leader. Does this mean now that people will be screened? I mean I doubt they (Q&A) could get Salman Rushdie in for a live audience let alone someone who is only slightly disliked for their world views but now who would want to go on the show knowing that from the darkness of the audience a projectile with their name on it may just come hurtling at them, prime time.

Hmmmmmmm a bit of head scratcher really but I can envisage the next conservative heavyweight appearing on the panel (sic) wearing a Kevlar Vest and a riot helmet!?!

Moore Madness



Everyone has their little pet peeves and I for one have quite a few. From Big Government, High Taxation, Massive Debt to the fall of our Australian Sovereignty. So you might think that this next gripe is really quite small in the scheme of things!?!

If you live in any other city of this great land of ours you would not be aware of the massive daily grind of the local Sydneyite, as they struggle for HOURS a day to get to work and to get home.

Congestion on the roads is not an unexpected side effect to living in a metropolis such as Sydney but then again you would expect that the local government bodies and the State government to be doing all that they can to relieve the pressure of driving in this over populated town and to ensure that future generations will see the benefit of their infrastructural vision.

Alas we are taking about the NSW Labor Government, just one in a string of governments in this state that have not come close to the vision of a better future for Sydney and surrounding areas since the days of Bradfield and his Harbour Bridge and Highway.

Locally we have a Lord Mayor. Her name is Clover Moore and as many commentariats have commented for years now, she does lives in a leftist/Marxist world of big government and wet ideological dreams of a Utopian Sydney that to her own design will resemble something of the Garden of Eden with bicycles for all and no reminders of our past colonial or British heritage.

She would like to impose a new congestion tax on us all, just because we have the nerve to live here and drive a motor car.
From her 200 or more kilometres of bike only lanes now throughout the CBD causing even more traffic mayhem and business closure, to her great "Artistic endeavour" called "Art and About" ... where she has commissioned like minded "artists" to basically deface and decry the memory and statuesque beauty of the likes of Governor Macquarie, Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, just to name a few of the iconic statues that now bear a resemblance to the characters from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, throughout our once great city.

When will we be able to vote as an entire city or state for a Lord Mayor who is actually not about stamping his or her ideology in the pages of history but more about fixing the many neglected local and state infrastructure and business issues of Sydney?

"Clover NO Moore!" I say.

Time to Feed the Beast‏



Well, it hasn't been more than a week since the new "paradigm" Parliament has commenced and already the Greens are clearly showing us all, including the so called leader of the country, Julia Gillard, that they are calling in the shots and setting the agenda. How has this minor party of radical Marxist warriors achieved so much power in such a short time? Clearly the answer is because of the stupidity, hubris and arrogance of Independents such as Wilkie, Oakeshott and Windsor combined with the "whatever it takes" to hold on to power ideology of the Australian Labor Party.

The debts are being called in and already the secret deals that were done prior to the election that Tony Abbott should never have lost, are being exposed and the biggest lie ever told to the Australian people outed. Along with the deal done with the certain Mining Magnates, aka Dr Marius Kloppers ( the only one to put his hand up so far) and Bob Brown's ideological wet dream to tax us all back to the stone age.

The newly formed Climate Change Committee, which will meet every month is no more a committee of ideas, real science and free thought than a polite politburo meeting during Brezhnev's Kremlin days. In fact the speed at which the Green wish list.....read this ABC report ..... is being rolled out, would make the march of Hitler's Brown Shirts and Armies through Europe in 1939, look nothing less than a casual doddle.

Oakeshott has now joined the coalition of the criminally insane by becoming a card carrying member of this Ponzi Scheme Sham Committee, a committee that will never allow any dissenting voice to be heard. Remember, even though the science is still far from accurate or proven, in fact it is being decried louder and louder as laughable rubbish every day by real scientists, we are being told now that the debate ( which never happened) is over and the time for action is upon us.

So what I would like you to do prior to any coming election is every time you look at your ever increasing power and utility bills and then go to the shop to buy the ever increasingly expensive groceries in a car that you can no longer afford to run, stop for a moment, get angry and remember who put the Greens in power and who betrayed your Australian and your children's Australian way of life. Remember who wants you to live in the third world and remember that they are not Conservatives.

I would also like to draw your attention to a brilliantly humorous piece of satire which is strangely very close to just what may be!. Enjoy the following:

The Future of Climate Change: Tim Humphries takes a satirical look at the future in a post-climate change debate world.

THE VULTURES OF WAR



Having served in an Australian Army Regiment myself for nine years, there is one thing that I know that is inherent in the minds of all Australian soldiers, from combat veterans to weekend warriors, and that is that you must always look after your mate! This simple Aussie philosophy is why we have one of the most successful and respected Defence Forces in the world.

No doubt you have heard the story from the media: Commandos face court over civilian deaths in Afghanistan

And understandably, like most, you are probably fuming because you cannot stand the thought of Australian combat soldiers who are risking all for our and others greater good, being prosecuted for doing what 99.9 percent of us could only imagine doing.

War is hell and in that hell we can only imagine that there would be split second decisions needed to be made in order to not only get the job done successfully but to simply survive the battle. We are all human, including diggers and Generals and because of that we can make errors.

Was there an error made here and if so was there any other option but to fight to save your mates and yourself? Although I was not there and have no idea of exactly what happened and the circumstances leading to the TRAGEDY (only what I have read of course), the ins and outs of the tactical details and the minds of the soldiers under fire and the danger that made up this terrible event, I can count on this simple fact and that is there will always be casualties in a physical conflict such as this the war against the Taliban and Al-Al Quaida in Afghanistan and to the greatest regret of any Australian involved or not, there may well be civilian casualties.

These casualties are never an seen by decent human beings as an acceptable event or "collateral damage" and are not seen this way by our diggers (and I believe those concerned especially) or the ADF.

The one important thing that is being overlooked here, in my opinion, is that if wrong doing was done then it will be exposed by our military legal code and always justly dealt with. This cannot be said for this enemy, who take no pain in using children and woman as human shields (knowing that we are civilised soldiers and follow the civilised conventions of warfare) and it is the enemy that will always profit from any negative propaganda that can be stirred up by such western media attention.

I will stick my neck out and say here now that I believe the soldiers will be acquitted and that this will be seen for what I believe it is, a tragedy of war. I just hope that the issue does not stir up or give ammunition to the enemy without (the Taliban) and or the other front line and that is the enemy within: The usual "peacenik" activists and fools who cannot see that their way of life, including their right to be fools and side with the enemy's cause, is itself in jeopardy if we lose this war.

The effect that this will have and always has had on troops currently in the field is not only sobering for them but also just as concerning and destructive to the successful outcome of our military endeavours, This is a matter that needs to be dealt with "in house" and should not be a matter of such public debate until the facts are known and the the verdict is in. Even then, should it not be the right of a fighting army, fighting a war to win, to be able to keep that information to itself at least until the war is over? Or are newspaper sales just that much more important?

THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!



As I type this rant, the so called independent minister, Rob Oakeshott, is in a meeting with his new overlord, and the PM will no doubt be making him an offer he probably couldn't refuse, even if he wanted to.

As a back bencher he would be earning approximately $132,000.00 a year and if he takes up the offer of a front bencher in the Gillard/Brown government then he stands to make an extra $102,900.00 extra per annum.

As a family man, with young children and as a man who faces electoral suicide due to his anti-conservative vote for the ALP last week, can I be excused for believing that he may well cash in his chips this way and take either a ministerial posting and maybe a cabinet position.

Hmmmmm a cabinet position, well that would certainly oblige him to confidentiality with the ALP and thus turns his claim as an "Independent" into nothing more than a joke.

I believe that if Rob Oakeshott really does want a future in politics then he should follow his leftist heart, take an ALP/Greens appointment and do it sooner than later as well as joining the ALP. Not sure what union he would need to sign up for but I am sure there would be a few looking for another paying member.

I say sooner than later because I agree with the likes of former ALP power broker Graham Richardson and former Liberal Leader, John Hewson who both stated today that this minority ALP/Greens government has no more than 18 months left to live:

Now that is certainly something worth hanging out for, another election, you beauty! and I am sure Oakeshott has considered this eventuality.

VALE DET SNR CST WILLIAM CREWS‏

(A NSW police officer shot and killed by Vietnamese drug dealer during raid)



It would be most remiss of me to not pay some kind of tribute to a man who is no doubt be extremely missed by many, many people in this country right at this moment and for many years to come. My heart goes out to his family, friends and colleagues and to state the obvious he is a hero in my book. Anyone who puts on the blue uniform, especially these days, has my utmost respect and obedience.

There is not much good that can come from such a tragedy except to say that the scum responsible will meet their just reward in the end and I have faith that Detective Senior Constable Will Crews will be standing before his maker with a sense of true pride, purpose and worth. A job well done officer, thank you for protecting us all.

OUR VIOLATED DEMOCRACY‏



I DON'T NEED TO SAY ANYTHING, THIS DRAWING SAYS IT ALL FROM ME AS FAR AS MY FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS ARE ABOUT THIS ILLEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT.

Australia, the land of Minority Rule!‏



Condolences Australia, your democracy means b*gger all! Why do I say this? simply because I have always and I believe most of us agree that it is generally understood that the basic principal of democracy is that the MAJORITY DECISION RULES. Well in our case of late, this is clearly not the case.

The Liberal National Coalition received more votes and more seats with the message to the Australian Labor Party, "we are not happy with your government!". Seems that message was heard but clearly thanks to our ridiculous electoral system of preference voting, we now have the most left wing and DANGEROUS SOCIALIST alliance in Canberra today.

I have tried to look for the method in the madness of the two so called "Independents" (what a joke that word now is!), Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott, and I can not see any reason for their backing of the ALP/Greens other than for personal gain.

The real truth that these two men need to realise is that they have spat in the eye of their constituency,a massively Conservative constituency, as well as the majority of voting Australians, by siding up with some of the most crazy and anti capitalistic people in the country.

There is no stable government at present, a minority federal government just cannot deliver such a thing. Therefore that argument holds no water with me and if these two "progressive trendsetting" MP's think that there will be any real parliamentary reform or economic success or have any of their issues dealt with in accordance with conservative ideology of their respective electorates, then they clearly do not understand the nature of the beast. They have laid down with dogs and will get up with fleas.

Tony Abbott is a Liberal hero and will be the next PM of Australia and I am sure that will be as a result of a real election and one not so far off as people think.

This is not sour grapes, this is a statement of fact and of reason and only those two things will get us out of the hell hole that we have just entered.

ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT‏



We have been told that this weekend will be the last one we need to wait through before we will know just who will be running our country and economy for the next three years.

We have been listening to the undecided king or queen makers (Oakeshott, Windsor and Katter) tell us that it is all about stable government and that installing a stable government regardless of its ideology will be the marker for their choice?

Well in places like China, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, just to name a few, they would be considered as "stable governments" or as I would describe them, BIG GOVERNMENTS with Totalitarian/ Dictatorships as their base. So my point is that stable government sounds good but clearly it is not always what a healthy Western style democracy requires -- and with the most leftist incumbent government since Chifley, the new ALP/Greens coalition will certainly prove to be a big taxing socialist government as compared to the alternative, a more Conservative, small lower taxing government on offer from the Liberal/National Coalition.

Gough Whitlam would be very proud of the Communist progressive movement in this country and I am sure that even the former National Party Independents would not be unaware that the majority of their constituency did vote for a conservative member. Therefore you would think that an Abbott government would get the balance of power by a just a few seats. Alas I am really not convinced of that anymore.

I just hope that what I saw on a Sky news program a few nights ago, a round table interview with all three rural independents, will not lead to an ALP/Greens minority government being elected.

The body language, especially from Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor, along with all that was discussed, was certainly leaning to the left as the choice. I suspect that the deals have already been done and that this weekend is just a rest period and a regrouping for these blokes to work out just how they are going to break the bad news to the country.

God I do hope that I am wrong but I do think that the country will fall back into the socialist hands of power and it will be another three years of rape and pillage for our economy and our social way of life.

Trust your government to our safe hands!‏



Well here we are again NSW, this latest event in the long line of scandal and disgrace that is the New South Wales Labor government certainly gives new meaning to the old adage "idle hands are the devil's work".

Well it seem that this saying may take on a new meaning after we all found out yesterday of the disgraceful behaviour of NSW Ports Minister, Paul McLeay.

Clearly he did the right thing by resigning but then again what choice did he have? You couldn't cover up this one. Let's not forget that he still holds his seat and is still being paid our tax dollars to serve as a Minister.

WRONG, by-election or not, this character should be fired -- and isn't it about time that Premier Kristina Keneally stopped the madness and took a walk to the Governors office to request an election? At least she would then be remembered in the pages of our political history as a politician who wasn't anybody's GIRL -- or puppet -- rather as a person of courage and a sense of independence.

This indulgent MP, McLeay (he is married you know) can gamble online and surf the net for as much porn as he can get, it is not illegal and who am I to say that he should not?

Well I'll tell you who I am, I am one of the millions of fed up, over-taxed workers of New South Wales and this bloke's wages comes from my efforts and yours, everyday. When is it ever acceptable that a Minister of the Crown in one of the most important portfolios of government, Ports, is spending his duty time checking out the sexual explicitness of the Internet or gambling online when clearly this is not the mandate given by us the taxpayers, the people.

I do not except his apology (that is for his family to forgive) and neither will I accept the weak-kneed response from this Premier, for yet another of in a long laundry-list of failures, corruption, incompetence and scandal that is clearly business as usual for the NSW ALP.

Get your dirty hands of my state! ... Can you believe that we have to put up with this band of boneheads until March , 2011?

PLEASE HOLD THE LINE



These are interesting times to say the least but still it is very healthy and good for democracy and a reminder to all why we must be vigilant to protect it at all costs.

I am sure you feel like I did on Saturday night, it was like watching the grand final, your team was playing and there was a tied result with the decision as to the winning score remaining on the shoulders of a faceless video referee to get around to making his mind up. In our case the video ref will be a handful of ex-Nat Independents and a Green (the Green who will side with the Labor party of course).

It won't be good for business confidence, though, and with the Greens now set to cause policy paralysis in the Parliament I believe we can expect to see the value of our dollar start to fall very soon.

The good news is the national swing against Labor and the strong message that this sends to all. This swing wasn't all due to incompetent ALP state governments and the political execution of Kevin Rudd but I believe was in part to the last 3 years of waste and mismanagement -- not to mention the massive debt and deficit that we all face now -- and also in part due to Gillard's abandoning her party's leftist support base regarding climate change and the ETS back flip and her anti gay marriage stance (I applaud her there) thus resulting the huge Green vote.

One thing is for sure, that from now on the pollies will learn a lesson by this and be more careful about taking us all for granted in the future.

I do think that the remaining independents will do a deal with Abbott as they are former Nats and probably still hold to a conservative ideology. This will depend a lot on just how accommodating Abbott will be though, so it is not a lay down misere and certainly it would only be wise to keep the Nationals out of the negotiations.

This is a great result for rural Australia as the independents in questions do hold constituencies in the much neglected regional areas of Australia.

Parliamentary reform may be on the cards and a few bills that Abbott hadn't considered may be passed without too much opposition as a result of any deal with the Indies -- but then again the Greens will have some real power in the Senate now and this will paralyse any real Conservative protection bills for the next 3 years but should nullify the madness and chaos that the Greens are no doubt determined to unleash on us all.

Seems to me that regardless of the leadership outcome, assuming also that we do not get called to hold another election by the Governor General, that things will remain at the status quo and hopefully the blockage to the ETS and the reintroduction of the "Pacific Solution" will still make it through.

We are on hold to the rest of the world and this hasn't happened in 70 years and I am sure your call is actually important to the Canberra Cronies this time around. I would like to state that the Canberra press gallery really do have some real egg on their face and the media cheer squad is very quiet in its Gillard support since Saturday's historic election outcome.

Can I draw your attention to a new political magazine that has hit the national scene in the last week. It is the Next Strategy and although I am a regular contributor and obviously biased in my praise, I would ask you to check it and consider making it a part of your monthly news read. This magazine along with The Spectator Australia (weekly) are about the only non-left alternatives when it come to the freedom of speech choice in the Australian press.

FUTURE HANDBAG CALLS IT



Strewth, can we be original..... just once!

A 'psychic' crocodile has predicted a Gillard victory

Didn't a flamin European Octopus do all this stuff before and it ended up as an entrée?

I think the truth behind the Paul the Octopus phenomenon, had a lot to do with an attractant chemical that was used to lure the creature to the correct team. I could be even more cynical and say that this would have helped the bookies and those with vested gambling interests in the results of the 2010 World Cup, thus was used to set the odds.

There is no doubt that there are a few bucks on this political race and maybe someone wanted to improve the odds for a Gillard win. hmmmmm?

Anyway, all of that is pure hearsay and of course I do not have a shred of proof, but I can bet that one day, Dirty Harry the Croc, will end up in a museum, probably stuffed and propped up in the back of a famous ute or end up as a lovely bag, belt and shoe ensemble for Julia to wear when she looks for another job..... Ohhh, now PETA will be after me too.

How to catch a sloth



Tony Abbott wants to reward people for getting off the dole

Well I guess it's time to show you all that I am not that biased that I can't see an error in judgement when it faces me -- and in this case that error is coming from the Conservative side of politics. Conservative? well not this policy anyway. Abbott's welfare reform plan stinks of socialism in my book.

I understand his desire to get the capable person who has chosen to be unemployed as a career choice, off the dole and who wouldn't agree with that but really is this the way to do it.

I really do not think that he has thought about this one at all. Firstly, if a person is happy to remain on dole payments for 6 - 12 to even 24 months then I dare say that a few thousand dollars at the end of 12 - 24 months of work, will never be enough incentive for them to change their lazy ways. Think about it....., these bludgers are not interested in working for anyone at any price if it involves a commitment to responsible behaviour that most of us except and obey everyday of our lives.

Many of them live at the family home and many of those live in a house full of terminally unemployed. A lot have worked out a way to pool their welfare payments to cover the cheap rent (And in the case of the housing commission: Well, that's nothing is it?) and a lot do legal and probably illegal tasks part time for cash money.

No Tony, a good intention but a bad plan. It is not my way to see anyone rewarded for living on welfare and in fact if you want a policy that works then the answer is obvious to me. If you are genuinely unemployed for six months and can prove active searching for work, then your dole should continue for another 6 months, with regular fortnightly checks to ensure that you are applying for work, and if you fail then you are taken off the payments. If at the one year mark you are still unemployed and can show no real reason why you can not get a job, then the payments stop and you will be required to work in a job that the government puts you in, say cleaning streets, or graffiti removal or some kind of work that no one wants to do but must be done. This work will be paid of course but still at the dole rate.

I am sure that after a few weeks of that work you will find a better job or you will choose the fools way out and join the criminal world or the street. If either of those become your choice then we have a little system called the Police Force to deal with the criminally minded and the charities can carry the rest and I am sure that if someone is that deranged then they probably had a mental issue to start with and really that is a system that must also be heavily addressed for its deficiencies.

Possibly the reason why someone isn't looking for work is due to a minor mental issue and that during the checking process, if this can be somehow tested for, then a treatment program to build confidence and skills could be undertaken as well. I am sure there are quite a few long-term unemployed that have lost confidence in themselves after a few rejections in the job hunt and this can manifest into a vicious cycle that makes the next job interviewer not see the potential of the candidate before them.

There is also the social engineering issue, that if you want to be a Rock Star, a Super Model or a Movie Director or some glamorous dream career then you can do that, no worries at all. This idea and the idea that everyone's a winner all the time, has been placed in our kids heads for many years and thus has set them up as young adults who cannot deal with the realities of the real world. So I guess the problem with long term unemployed can stem from the school and home life and the values taught within. It is not wrong to want to prescribe a cure for the cause rather than the symptom but the social engineers (the Marxists) will shout you down as an old school flat-earther if your dare to let your kid lose a race and not let them feel as if they won it and not reward every little mediocrity.

It has been a generational problem in this country since the sixties and especially since the Whitlam days, that the Australian psyche has become one of a welfare dependence and this is all a part of the socialist dream and plan to ensure that the public is always dependant on the state. This is what needs to be reversed now if we are ever to truly progress.

MEDINET MADNESS‏



The ALP offers medical diagnosis from afar. Dealing with real live human beings face to face is icky to them. Sweeping generalizations about people are all they are good for. The Leftist motto: "I love humanity. It's just people I can't stand"

There is no doubt anymore good reader, these ALP fraudsters and spivs are running scared from Tony Abbott, and the proof has to be in the announcement of rubbish policy like this.

Apart from the physical impossibilities of performing an accurate "physical examination" via a two dimensional medium such as the Internet and the obvious disadvantage this service would be to anyone who does not have such technology at home, what about the costs to the practitioner and then the patient?

Yes, just imagine your next medical bill tripling in cost, because now the medical insurance premiums that your good doctor has to pay to ensure against a malpractice litigation are sure to go through the roof (as if they weren't through the roof already!) due to the HIGH RISK nature of providing accurate human diagnosis via a computer screen.

No folks, this election is a no-brainer and hopefully the faster they run the more they will trip over and fall. I just hope that Tony Abbott and his conservatives will pick up on this fact soon and get an anti ad out about this fraud today!

After 3 years in government we are still dealing with amateurs, come on Tony, save us all please!!!

Pork Barreling 101‏



Yet another glaring example of just how much contempt the Australian Labor Party has for the basic intelligence of the Australian and in this case, New South Wales voter.

On August 1st, in a letter from NSW Transport Minister John Robertson to Parramatta councillor Chiang Lim, Mr Robertson says the“Parramatta-Epping rail link is not a project in the 10-year horizon of the Metropolitan Transport Plan.”

Then just a few days later Premier Kristina Keneally along with her Federal counterpart, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announces that this much promised and much lied about piece of vital infrastructure, will go ahead because of a $2.6 billion dollar pledge by the federal government (borrowed money) to make it happen if the Gillard regime is returned in the coming federal election. See here.

A multibillion dollar bribe and a classic case of pork barreling to win over the affected marginal Labor seats that this rail corridor runs through. Give me a break please! This bloody political football has been kicked around by both sides since the late seventies and all of a sudden if we vote Labor this miracle will finally appear, this time!

Sorry but I don't need to be cynical, just possess a fully functioning brain, to realise that this is another electoral LIE. Clearly the state ALP government was told much earlier that they would get this funding from the feds but had to wait until the last weeks of the election campaign before it would be announced.

If Gillard and the state Alp Government really think that the NSW voters will fall for this rubbish just one more time then I am sure that if either government is re-elected, that the public truly do deserve the government that they get.

THAT meeting


Julia gave her pet journalists only a brief and stage-managed look at the meeting between her and Kevvy

It seems that the Prime Minister would have been better off leaving her campaign in the hands of those who put her in the job in the first place rather than claiming that the real Julia will now be running the show from now on because if the last week is any example of just who effective a campaign manager Julia Gillard is, then who could honestly concede that she will be a good Prime Minister for this country?

Her approval rating is low and this last week has shown her up on several levels of incompetency again especially in her decision to convince the still very angry Kevin Rudd into joining her camp.

Rudd is clearly not a well man and this will only go to fuel his disdain for the very person that he felt he could trust to be at his side during this election. Every time we see Rudd on the TV and especially at Julia's side (if he actually does do that, I doubt it!), will so many people simply be reminded of the recent assassination of his place in office and will be reading the body language that even the clever Rudd can not seem to hide.

The other question is just why she would want a failed PM/politician, that the party was forced to remove, at her side let alone the front bench. Reminding the voters of the very disastrous policies that lead to the internal blood bath in the first place? Talk about allowing the enemy within, to attend your garden party! MADNESS!!!

I mean, just who is running the federal Labor Party of Australia? and more importantly, who will be running the party after the election? Is the new Julia or the new Kevin or the faceless king makers in the party room? Too many question marks!

I have been watching the new 24hour NEWS channel that was launched only a few weeks ago on the ABC. That in itself is no coincidence in my opinion. Even the true sceptic or lefty would not deny that the ABC has been for many decades the media cheer squad of the Australian Labor Party and I believe quite unashamedly has co-ordinated the new 24 hour news channel to offer that much more support for Julia or Kevin during this campaign.

If the Abbott Coalition Government is elected then the new 24 hour government support channel may just have to watch itself very carefully because if Abbott is true to his word of cutting public money waste, then I am sure that the channel may be amongst the first of the Rudd/Gillard Big Government bodies to get the axe.

Like they say, a week is a long time in politics and this week has been the longest in Julia Gillard's political life, I wish her many more.

VENGEANCE IS MINE SAITH THE LATHAM!



Revenge is sweet! well it would certainly appear so in the case of previously deposed ALP leader Mark Latham. It's no secret that Latham has a huge disdain for the Australian Labor and his 2005 book "the Latham Diaries",which slams his former colleagues and party was no doubt a masterpiece of vengeful sour grapes.

He did also slam the media in the book, so it seem a little weird that he has now become a member of the main "Lame" stream media as a journalist for Channel Nine.

I recently heard that polling had labelled him as a hated figure by the general public, but I can't really believe that. He brings back to the boring political scene a touch of Keating antics and hard hitting that we all needed to spice things up a bit.

His recent doorstop approach on PM, Julia Gillard..... was a spectacular return to "that handshake" moment that he will always be remembered for during the 2004 Federal election when he virtually manhandled former Liberal PM, John Howard.

I think it stands to reason that Latham would choose the media that he has so publicly berated in the past, as his missile launching platform for the "get even bomb" and really it is the best way to expose both sides of government for all of their failings.

I am glad he can't draw, he would certainly put a few editorial cartoonists out of work with his dry humour and cynical nature. For all of his ideological failings, in my opinion, he is one of the more intelligent writers on the current scene and this is evident in his regular column in the Australian Financial Review, simply brilliant writing and a true insightful understanding of the machinations of politics and in particular, the Labor Party machine.

You would think that a conservative like myself would have no praise for this left wing Whitlam worshipper but it seems to me that he has seen the light on a few levels and let's face it , although he will continue to attack the Liberals on policy, at least he is doing just as good a job on the other side, his former side and all for the right reasons, "Sweet Revenge". I think deep down the man's heart is still breaking, but I won't lose any sleep over it, how about you!?!

Walking with Dinosaurs‏



"Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to science", well isn't that a bit rich coming from this source: An ABC report.

After all, it's the same organisation that is completely leading the cheer squad of some of the most ignorant science-talking people in the world. Yes I am talking about the mad AGW mob.

Nevertheless the results from this study/poll that was done by the Australian Scientific and Technological Societies, as amusing as they may seem to some, are to me very concerning indeed.

I am in my early 40's and I never forgot the lesson that put the myth of cavemen and dinosaurs living on the same plain back in the bull dust box. I think I was about 9 when they taught us that. So you really have to ask, what the hell has gone wrong with the education system?

Is it all going to be blamed on Jurassic Park and video games and vivid imaginations? I hope not. I recall having a just as vivid an imagination as a kid as my children now and I certainly can remember TV movies that had stone age people being chased by Tyrannosaurus Rex etc. Is it the the food kids are eating, is it the lack of traditional family environments? What is it that has made so many Australian so bloody ignorant of basic science and history?

You know the answer don't you? Yep, it's the selective teaching of history and science that has been the silent methodical plan of social editing for the last 30 years. Now as we can see the result of this head messing in basic studies like this.

It's commonly known as "dumbing down" because folks, that's how the Marxists want you and I and most importantly our children to be, thus making us easier to con and be controlled.

There is however one thing that the Marxists of the 60's didn't count on! Thank god for a free and uncensored, unmonitored Internet, is all I can say. At the end of the day, as long as we have it as it is now, they cannot completely program us all.

As for the cartoon, well, there is an example of real dinosaurs walking among us as the Sussex Street Mafia [NSW Labor Party] go about their business of undermining and controlling just what is to be known and what is not to be known about our new Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.

If any more leaks keep flowing as they are from the ALP, then Julia will drown and hopefully Abbott will be victorious so I guess I am on the side of the left for once. If she does drown the Greens will blame it on Global Warming and rising seas. Yep, everyone is happy!

Another Clunker of an Idea



And yet another CLUNKER of an idea from this idea-bereft ALP Government. The Cash for Clunkers scheme is not only another example of a socialist big government nanny telling you what to drive and using your tax dollars to instigate the regulation but also is an obvious way to appease the extreme left arm of the Labor Party, the Greens.

Clearly not convinced by the recent wishy washy Gillard "climate change" policy that was spouted out just a day earlier to this announcement, the Greens and in particular Senator Christine Milne who very vocally upset with Julia about that lack of commitment, will no doubt be slightly amused by the thought of more hybrid cars on the road.

Anyone (and many motoring experts agree) who have looked at this expensive and unproven technology already knows that the hybrid car solution is a complete waste of time and has no real effect on carbon emissions. As if that is a problem anyway!

I agreed, when unleaded fuel was introduced, that removing lead from the air around us is obviously a wise thing to do but to think that the few major cities in Australia are now living under clouds of smog, aka LA or Beijing, is a fanciful thought -- and let's never forget that Julia Gillard has promised us all that she doesn't want a "BIG AUSTRALIA" thus the population in our cites will never reach the levels they are in America, China or Europe.

Apart from the fact that the current city infrastructures could never cope with such an increase in vehicle numbers it seem quite academic to assume that by removing only 200,000 pre 1995 model cars from our nations roads will make a damn bit of difference to any pollution levels at all.

Why is it also assumed that if a car is 15 years old, or older, that it is emitting more pollution than a car that is younger? Is it also not a fact that if a car owner takes personal responsibility for their vehicle and makes sure that servicing and maintenance is regular, then that vehicle should emit no less smoke than it did when new?

This is the nanny state that they want us to accept, to believe that we are not capable of personal responsibility and that the state will run all matters of our life, including in this case, the car that we drive and its age. What next, no more cars for the general population, pushbikes and rickshaws for all?

There is something also incredibly obvious to me and I am sure to you also, and that is that the car dealers will certainly see an opportunity here to capitalise on this rebate by upping the price of these so-called Eco compliant models, when the scheme is introduced.

So if you are looking for one of these Eco buzz boxes and you want to feel warm and fuzzy about your great contribution to mankind by falling for this bit of pork barrelling then you will have to pay extra for it. Come to think of it, if Gillard is reinstated as the Prime Minister, then we will all have to pay for this one in the end.

At this rate many of us won't be able to afford the new car or the E10 petrol that we put in our dirty old one and Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore's destructive 200 kilometres of bike lanes won't look that bad.

Rudd's Big Reward



Well I was far from knocked down with a feather when I heard this not so unexpected news............. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is considering creating a role for Mr Rudd as a top-level adviser on climate change, according to a diplomatic source with knowledge of the plan. In fact it was confirmed that Rudd will take the appointment.

As Gomer Pyle would say " Surprise, surprise". Hasn't this always been this man's true agenda? Why was he spending more time overseas, courting the internationals rather than dealing with domestic issues? Was it because of security issues? clearly not, he often missed National Security meetings.

No Kevin was just networking. That is why Kevin Rudd wanted the platform of PM. Sure, it suited his ego but as a true one-worlder and visionary (for himself ) the office of Prime Minister of Australia would never be enough. K. Rudd's only desire was to end up at the UN table -- and where better to put him but as a top end advisor for climate change. A fictional product made up by himself and many other one-worlders in order to introduce massive Marxist social change and as a way to fund the entire operation with this great taxing false economy.

Sure he looks peed off at the moment, and why wouldn't he be! -- watching his trusted apprentice do a Brutus on her Caesar, and now running naked in his palace. He may even be ready to plan her execution somewhere down the track, just as a get even (which he could very well do). I mean he's playing in the big school now and one day Julie Rulia will have to ask him for a favour (assuming she wins government that is).

Mr Rudd spent several days in New York last week meeting UN officials and in true Ruddy form, wasting tax payer funds on his own personal goals. Not in the best interests of the country or the ALP.

I guess Gillard now, at least has a great excuse for not appointing him to a ministerial portfolio if she is elected PM soon. She can just say, that his UN gig is far too important and he would not have the time to be a Minister..... and that is not only true for Kevin Rudd but also a good thing.

Reds under, in and above the bed!



The Labor Party will be given Greens' preferences in most lower house seats, in exchange for Labor giving its preferences to the Greens in the Senate

Clearly Senator Bob Brown was not that sincere with his previous statements about just how much he hated preferential voting deals because now he has grasped this opportunity with both hands because he thinks that he and his loony Green Party are on a winner with the Gillard Government retaining power.

The pay off for him and his party of left wing maniacs is ofcourse nothing more than power in the Senate to get through laws that will legitimise the continuing madness of anthropogenic climate change and the cure to this lie being an Emissions Trading Scheme, that will tax us all back to the stone age.

"This Greens preference deal is probably one of the sleaziest and shonkiest deals," Mr Abbott told Macquarie Radio today. And he is correct. The combined ideology of Bob Brown and Julia Gillard is very sinister indeed and will result in far left, anti christian, anti family and anti Australian sentiment in everything that their government will consider.

The back room deal down between the Reds and the Watermelons needs to be transparent to all voters and the fact that it is not will be warning enough to all voters that this is a very important election and dangerous time in our history.

Seems that the old Richo line of " Whatever it takes" applies to not just the ALP anymore, eh Bob!

The National IQ Test is on again!



Australians will go to the polls on August 21, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced

"This election, I believe, presents Australians with a very clear choice," Ms Gillard told reporters in Canberra on Saturday. "This election is about the choice as to whether we move Australia forward or go back."

"Moving Forward"..... so this is the best catch cry/slogan that the incumbent government of Australia could come up with?

I read not so long ago, that the phrase "Moving Forward" was one of the top hated business cliches ever trotted out. So what more does this tell us as voters? It tells me that not only has this government run out of good governance planning and money but that it has also run out of imagination and is trying to sell their Gillard magic elixir and cure-all by spinning the most shallow of phrases -- even worse than "Working Families" -- on the public that they feel will fall for it all again.

She says... "I believe in hard work. I believe in the benefits and dignity of work. I believe in what comes as an individual when you do your best and you earn your keep."

OK then, so what is your policy on generational welfare? you know the social engineering that your old comrade in socialist/marxist revolution, Gough Whitlam, imposed on us all? Will you be tough on the ever growing bludger drain on the economy? of course not! these are the people who always vote ALP and she knows it as we all do.

She continues with... "So in this, the forthcoming election campaign, I'll be asking the Australian people for their trust," she said, "I'll be asking Australians for their trust so that we can move forward together."

Trust, what is the PM talking about? Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard have had our trust since 2007 and look at what they have done with that trust. Literally selling the future prosperity of Australia away, Big Government, higher taxes, failed policy after policy, lies, spin, symbolic rhetoric, a 90 billion dollar deficit and counting!....

Please don't talk to us about trust Julia or a fair go because you and your government have had that from Australia for too long and now "it's time" (There's a slogan I thought she may have recycled) for a change back to true fiscal conservatism, true education and tax reform, true health services and border protection, all of which will only come again from a Coalition Conservative Party.

It's an national IQ test folks, and I believe that the people of Australia no matter their station in life, will pass this time.

PHOTO FINISH!

New speed cameras to be a bonanza for both the NSW government and the private operators of them?



I was thinking the other week, when I heard about the move to re-establish mobile speed camera traps on New South Wales roads, that just maybe there was some merit in this move and that quite possibly this lame duck ALP government was attempting to at least leave us with one achievement to be proud of and wouldn't saving lives be that! Well that delusion moment was soon crushed when I read this.

Yes, our old mates, those good old clever boys and girls of the capitalist oligarchy, those who will never own or have enough money, had their fingers in this pie too.

What is it with failing Premiers and this group? As soon as there was a sniff that former Premier Bob Carr was on the way out, BANG! The BIG MAC comes to the rescue for Bob. Cynical as I am, I assume there is more to the history of that than we will ever know. Now it appears that business is rushing in for their HUGE slice of this HUGE REVENUE RAISING CASH COW that these mobile cameras will become and again this at the end of another Premier's term.

With all of that said, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised but then the biggest surprise was yet to come.

Did you hear hear an interview (14/07/10) between 2GB's Alan Jones and the NSW opposition leader, and let's face it, most likely the next NSW Premier, Barry O'Farrell? He was asked by Mr Jones if he would abandon this useless concept if he becomes Premier next year. I'll be b*ggered, he didn't commit to it! In fact he said that he will be keeping them and he will use them as the Police see fit.

I know it's a lay down misère that the Liberal Party will win this next NSW state election but surely if you wanted to secure, without doubt, absolute victory, would you not be be dropping this most unpopular policy like a bad joke? Of course you would, so why isn't he?

Has the deal already been done between Government and the Private interested parties, and will committing to breaking such a deal be an enormous litigation risk? Or is it that Barry sees this, as do so many in the private sector and the ALP, as a major provider for the NSW Treasury and a virtual river of gold. Either way, it appears that money in NSW is that addictive, no matter how good a chance you have of winning all in the end anyway.

It wouldn't change my vote but it will be a thorn in the next Premier's side that will eventually have to go.

MY SORRY BOOK



With the election call at any moment now ....

.... PM Gillard's support base is still quite strong and she is still a force for opposition leader, Tony Abbott, to contend with. Although she has a popular appeal to the less politically engaged punters, it wouldn't be too big a stretch that say that her media honeymoon is on the wane, considering recent events.

With the incalculable and inconclusive deal done with the mining magnates on the super profits tax and her so-called answer to the disastrous Rudd border security policy, now dubbed the "Dili Solution" set to be the failure and back flip that it started out as, the shine on this clever politician is fading fast.

Next she promises to attend to the "greatest moral problem of our time", anthropological climate change (non existent, in my humble opinion), that she is convinced is a reality, and she has given us all her rock-solid determination to set a carbon trade price (that's the Emissions Trading Tax again) if elected.

Hmmmmm, if elected? let's see, if we vote for Julia Gillard we will get a mining tax that will go nowhere to settling the massive billions of dollar debt that Kevvie set up for our children, along with a loss of jobs and industry.

We will also get another failed border security policy or the same one that worked when John Howard was PM (as long as it doesn't look the same and doesn't involve the introduction of temporary visa)

And we can also expect a massive rise in the costs of living due to the feel-good tax (ETS) that will be imposed on us all so as not to upset those good folk in the Green Party (who are providing preference votes to the ALP at the election). Seems like a no brainer to me then.......

Hand me the how to vote Liberal Party card please.

More of the Same



in April this year I was reading a piece in the Oz by Political Editor, Dennis Shanahan entitled "Tough stance on boat people all talk" ......

........and it was interesting at the time to think that in November 2007 the clear rhetoric that was coming from the mouth of the then opposition leader, Kevin Rudd, was that he would be tough and that there was no room for unfair and inhumane treatment of these arrivals but that he would continue (in the tradition of John Howard, my words) to send a strong message to the people smugglers that Australia's border are not a soft touch.

Fast forward to today and 4000 asylum seekers and 143 boat arrivals later and we are still hearing the same spin.

PM, Julia Gillard, has jumped from what she believes is a face saving and election winning back flip with regards to the massive new tax on mining (watch that space folks, this is not over yet) to all of a sudden having a solution to the problem that we have faced as a result of her governments border and immigration policies over the last 3 years.

Ms Gillard advises us all now that she will turn back the new arrivals from Afghanistan and prove that she has the balls and the brains that her predecessor obviously lacked. Although up to 60 per cent of Afghan asylum-seekers have had their claims rejected, only two have been returned home since the surge in boat people started in late 2008. More of the same, just more spin over substance,

John Howard's "Pacific Solution", the introduction of exclusion zones and the introduction of temporary protection visas, was a master stoke of border protection and still allowed us to comply with the agreed United Nations Refugee Charter. What it did was simple, if these were genuine refugees and they were suitable to live within our society then they would be accepted (within the UN quota also agreed) and if not then they would be deported without delay.

Now what we have is what Rudd and Gillard introduce to pacify the bleeding heart liberals and doooo gooders, of whom he promised, for a vote, a more human and compassionate approach.

How compassionate is it to send hundreds of men, woman and children to a watery death somewhere in the oceans around Australia after they had just paid some people-trading scum more money than their family earns in a decade (in most cases) for a chance to get to this great Southern Land of Welfare. Where, in this land of second chances, they will, thanks to Rudd and Gillard, be allowed the opportunity to appeal the governments recommendation to deport them (right up to the High Court of Australia), whilst siting back in well maintained, 3 meals a day accommodation, with free Internet and phone along with all the medical benefits bestowed on any Australian citizen and all paid for by you and me.

Meanwhile the legitimate place that should have been for a more suitable and productive immigrant, someone who has worked hard and waited in line, has now gone to that so-called refugee

If the PM was fair dinkum about reversing the disastrous Rudd policy that she so supported, then the first thing she would do is bring back the system that actually worked, and bring it back now before the election, not make it another ALP promise that will be broken.

I cannot see how the PM can kick these people out of the country whilst they still have access to so many avenues of appeal and free legal services. This would require an act of Parliament legislation, which will get passed and although appearing as a back flip, will actually start to send the correct message to the smugglers and their customers.

Alas this will not happen as they are just too proud and too bloody pig headed on staying in power for another 3 years. The song and dance show that Gillard puts on now is just that and haven't we all seen this show before!