THE THIN BLUE BOTTOM LINE



Tell me anyone out there that would say that our NSW Police don't deserve at least a four to five percent pay rise, without conditions? Well I know some people that think it's a bad idea and they are the very same people that the good folk of NSW voted in again, back in 2007. Media report here

I don't care how tight the budget is and how low the coffers are, I just care that the very men and woman, who without exaggeration, do risk their very lives to keep you and me safe on a daily basis, are encouraged to stay in the career and not have to search for a separate source of income or leave the Force altogether. There is enough to deal with in this job without having the costs of living a constant concern.

Most sensible people understand that a lowly paid Police Force will eventually become corrupt, as the temptation to take backhanders in order to feed the kids or just to keep a roof over the head becomes that much more attractive.

The NSW Police Force are not just another public service, like the Ambulance or Fire Brigade or even Nurses. Their job description alone entitles them to receive a higher remuneration and although the current Minister of Police would disagree with that statement, he is clearly standing alone in his belief that these dedicated professionals are nothing more than just public servants.

I support the Police in their industrial action and it is now costing the Rees ALP Government approximately two million dollars a week in lost revenue, normally collected by these law enforcement officers during the course of their duties. It shouldn't be too long before the NSW Government come to their senses and understand that without a highly paid and less corruptible Police Force, that the money for all the Lurks and Perks that the Politicians and Bureaucrats take for granted, let alone the safe streets and neighbourhoods that we all take for granted, is worth more than the bottom line.

ONE GIANT LEAP FOR GREED AND STUPIDITY !



Wow !!!! Now that's an understatement. Such a monumental feat by just a handful of men and woman and yet they have changed the world in which we live forever ...... Oh sorry you might have thought that it was the 40th anniversary of mankind walking on the moon, that I was referring to.

Actually I was referring to the oligarchy and pure greed of the Wall Street Mafia, the movers and shakers that have managed , along with a little help from their friends in the Democrat administrations of Carter and Clinton, to single handedly cost the world more wealth in one year than the entire US space programme spent in 5 years.

Another mission is on it way to the moon as we speak, I was kind of hoping that the perpetrators of the great recession that we are all experiencing, were actually on board and were holding ONE WAY TICKETS !

Why do these people still walk the streets, whilst so many now have to consider living in them ?

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.