A government that so readily attacks and impugns independent office holders and organisations without ever admitting any fault of its own is not really a symptom of a healthy democracy.
If you are still planning on voting liberal at the next election that is your right, but I would be curious as to why. This government has been a disaster economically, slashing funding for many important programs while still overseeing ballooning debt, well and truly debunking the myth that Coalition governments are better economic managers.
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Have you considered publishing your own thoughts?
I am building up a pretty big backlog of articles I want to write- and it is growing quickly. If you think there is an issue that deserves some attention and I have missed it, I invite you to write your own post and I will publish it on the new guest blog page I have added to the website. I am happy to publish posts that disagree with my position or that take positions I don’t agree, with as long as points are made respectfully and arguments are not based on demonstrably false premises. Let’s clarify, Gillian Triggs admitted that her testimony to a senate hearing about her relationship with the government was incorrect and as a result misled parliament. It was a bad mistake for someone so permanently in the government’s cross hairs, but let’s keep it in context. There is no implication or evidence that any of her statements about our offshore gulags (you can’t call them processing centres when no one seems to actually get processed there) are in any way incorrect.
Pauline Hanson and her surrogates’ default ‘freedom of speech’ defence is practically an involuntary reflex whenever they are called out for their bilious public statements.
So it is kind of ironic that Hanson herself reacts with such venom to Professor Warner’s use of her own freedom of speech, with the Senator going so far as asking the Governor to consider resigning her position. I have made the comment last year that I am not much of a fan of free agency in the AFL system. This most recent trade period has done little to change my opinion. Admittedly there were less high-profile free agency moves, but the spectre of free agency still distorts the trade period, making it about as unfairly weighted as the Australian tax system.
It is highly challenging for advocates of social change to get their issues much traction with a largely disinterested and apathetic populace. I get that. I would love to see a number of issues such as abuse in offshore detention, climate policy and political corruption taken far more seriously.
You can look forward to things too much (I still haven’t got over my disappointment over the latest Jason Bourne movie), but this is rarely the case with Solemates events. I had been ignoring some persistent feedback that something was wrong with my foot or ankle (kind of like the government with the plebiscite and the need for a banking royal commission), but had finally had to take it seriously in the last month (unlike the government unfortunately). Due to these injury concerns I hadn’t been to many group runs in the last few weeks so I was stoked when I got physio approval to run in Handicap XXVI. It was a cold, windy morning too. Cold enough for Malcolm Roberts to use as ‘evidence’ to try to refute Climate Change, but that didn’t stop a healthy turnout. Once registration was complete we were underway with Christine leading us off amidst loud encouragement. The event wouldn’t be complete without everyone having a cheerful whinge about the handicap they have been awarded and employing George Brandis-like honesty in trying to convince Chris to take some time off. If your idea of fun involves making other people feel threatened, frightened or uncomfortable, perhaps you should be writing a screen play for a horror movie.
But if you decide to dress up as a clown or anything else and lurk around like a creep for the specific purpose of scaring non-consenting people, maybe it is time to rethink some of your life choices. It's not original or quirky. Harassment and intimidating behaviour dressed up in a clown suit are still just that. I seriously did not expect the government to double down on this nonsense, but since the first four letters of their name spell ‘coal,’ perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised. At least they are dropping any pretence of credibility over climate policy and are revealed as the cheerleaders for the fossil fuel industry they are.
I have never been much of a fan of Anthony Mundine and I don't really agree with his call to boycott the national anthem, but I do see where it comes from. Issues of inequality for indigenous Australians are not being addressed with any urgency, despite repeated shocking findings by NGOs, government committees and the UN. And aside from a momentary outcry over youth justice facilities in the Northern Territory, it does seem difficult for these issues to get much cut through with mainstream society.
It would be a good gig being Luke Beveridge’s agent about now.
The guy seems to have a Midas touch, combining the courage to make tough choices and the intelligence to know which tough choices to make. Having only taken over at the Bulldogs two years ago, with the club reeling from a string of high-profile exits, to oversee such a dramatic turnaround was quite incredible. |
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