"I will not have cats in the cathedral!"

The Dean thumped the table. He had tried before and nobody had taken any notice of him. He had claimed to be allergic to the wretched things but they had humiliated him. He still wanted to know who had hidden two of the little demons in the pulpit before he had begun his sermon one Sunday. They had apparently known just the right moment to jump out so his lie could be seen in front of the entire congregation. Even the two known ailurophobes had sided against him.

"They are God's creatures too," old Brother Philip told him quietly.

"God did not intend them to come into a place of worship!" the Dean snarled.

"They keep this place clean," Brother Mark said.

"Those cats don't do any cleaning. If we need more volunteers to clean then I will call for more volunteers."

The Verger thought of the stained glass windows. He was not climbing up there to clean.  Brother John thought of the dust which would gather under the pews and make everyone sneeze. Brother Andrew thought of the gutters which would fill with leaves and Brother Simon thought of accidents caused by other careless humans climbing ladders. Tom, the organist, thought of all that and the organ pipes and the mice who needed the cats to help to clean them. Was the Dean even aware of the mice? They got on so well with the cats. Brother Mark thought of all those things and the precious library books and how much he depended on Decani's expert help in caring for them.

"The cats have to go. If you have a cat you will find somewhere else for it by the end of the week or I will have it caught and put down," the Dean told them. He held his hand up to halt any disagreements. "I am not opening this to discussion. The matter is settled. 

"And your dog?" Brother Anselm asked. He loved all animals even the bad tempered dog belonging to the Dean. 

"Don't be ridiculous. Bosco does not enter this place. I have him under my complete control." 

That was a ridiculous statement but those present at the meeting were too upset to take issue with the Dean. He looked at his watch,  gathered his things together and walked out. 

"He can't do this!"

"How can we get him to change his mind?"

"We need them."

"Has the Bishop heard about this?" (The Bishop was supposedly on some much needed leave but seemed to be visiting churches anyway. They all thought it was just like the Dean to try this again while the Bishop was away.)

Brother Mark went back into the library. One look at Decani told him the little cat had heard everything. He always thought the little cat understood everything.

"Oh little one, I need you! How can the Dean be so foolish?"

But it seemed the Dean would have his way. Reminder notices went out. The Dean went around each morning reminding people of the need for the cats to be gone by the end of the week. It did not matter to him in the least that he was unpopular. He just kept reminding him that it was their Christian duty to obey.

Bach went to meetings too, meetings of the cats. He even went to talk to Bosco. Bosco thought life would be very dull without the cats.  Bach growled and grumped his way around the cathedral and the close houses. He consulted Cadenza about the removal of yet another litter of new kittens. He sent Matins and Vespers further afield to make sure that all the cats immediately outside the cathedral close knew what was going on. He sent Constanzia and Cantori on various errands together.  

Decani and Mouse, who was Tom's cat,  and the Head Mouse made plans. Bach left them to it. They would have the move organised. Decani reported in morning, noon and night. 

The cats had left the cathedral once before. Now they were reminded of how to do it again, of the importance of keeping together, of keeping quiet. They were told of the importance of being on their very best behaviour because, this time, their homes and their tuna depended on it. Now, for the second time, the cats left the cathedral at night. It was strange the way every cat flap had been left open that night. Anyone watching would have seen very little as the cats left in two lines. None of them made a sound.

Next morning the Dean was delighted. There was not a cat in sight. He ignored the silent looks of disapproval as he inspected everything. There was nothing anywhere to suggest there had ever been a cat anywhere in the cathedral or the close. All the banana boxes used as cat beds had gone. There had been a recycling collection that morning and he assumed the beds had gone with the other rubbish. Tom and Lizzie had moved those while the Dean was at the meeting after Matins.

The next week was quiet apart from the fact the choir boys did not seem to be able to sing in tune. The choirmaster said he thought they "might be coming down with something". 

"They can't all go down with something. There is the special thanksgiving service on Sunday," the Dean told him furiously. He had organised it but the reasons for it were rather vague. The choirmaster and Tom looked at each other but said nothing.   

At Evensong on Tuesday the Dean saw some leaves on the floor of the narthex. The hymn books were not as tidy on the shelves as usual.  He ordered both things to be dealt with but, although he had seen it done, the problems returned on Wednesday.

On Thursday there was a dust storm. The usually glistening windows of the cathedral were covered in fine brown dust. It seemed the excavations for a new building had not been kept sprayed as required. The Dean complained but the building site manager and the Mayor told him there was "nothing much to be done about it now".  Nobody was available to clean the windows. It needed special equipment. Again nobody mentioned the cats could have done this without any special equipment and their Sunday tuna for a year would cost less.

On Friday the Dean was aware the altar rail had been polished by the Brass Cleaning group but somehow it did not look right. Nobody mentioned how the cats finished that task. He looked at the flowers. They had just been put into the big vases with no thought to their usual fine arrangements. The Flower Team was apologetic but they did not have time to do it. They did not mention the help they always had from the cats. 

On Saturday the Dean went to the vestry to see all the necessary garments had been cleaned and laundered as he had ordered. There was nobody there. The choirboys ruffs and surplices were nowhere to be seen. His own items hung crookedly on a hanger. He straightened them and went into the cathedral feeling extremely put out.

The choirboys were supposed to be having a last rehearsal. The Dean was not particularly musical but even to him they sounded dreadful. There was definitely something wrong with the organ too. Everyone stopped when the Dean arrived.

"Just what is going on here?" he demanded. "Your singing is appalling and just what is wrong with the organ?"

The choir boys just stood there. It was very difficult but they all managed not to look guilty and not to smirk. They had actually had to work quite hard to sound so dreadful. The choirmaster just shrugged and said, "Everyone has an off day now and then."

"They have been off all week and so have you. As for the organ, what is going on?"

"The pipes need cleaning," Tom told him but did not mention the paper the mice had stuffed inside some of the pipes.

"Then get them cleaned and do it before tomorrow."

"That's not possible. It's a specialist job. Getting the cleaners in will take time and it will cost a great deal."

The Dean glared at him. "Let me know the cost but get it done." He turned to the choirboys, "And don't let me have any more of these off days or there will be no Christmas party."

The choirboys just went on standing there. They were not concerned. It was the Bishop who organised the Christmas party. Cadenza and Bach and any new kittens always lived with the Bishop and his wife. 

The Dean went off and dictated a great many letters at top speed. Most of them made very little sense. He was too upset. His Secretary decided to ignore most of what he had said. She had an important message to send anyway. 

Meanwhile the cats were having a wonderful time. They worked very hard for Tom and Lizzie in the mornings.  All Tom's music notes had to be cleaned and put back in their right places. They untangled a lot of knitting wool for Lizzie to make new socks for Tom cleaned the leaves of the Leaf Music tree. Tom taught them a new purring carol too and a couple of songs he had adapted for purrs. In the afternoons they would play hide and seek all over the house or soccer with their miniature balls out in the garden. Bach watched them and occasionally hit the ball back. The newest litter of kittens spent most of their time asleep in a box in the kitchen where Cadenza and Lizzie could watch them but Mouse, helped by Matins and Vespers and Cantori, taught the next litter up to climb the Leaf Music tree. The tree did not seem to mind and it was good training for climbing up the cathedral windows.  

Yes, they knew they would be going back. The Dean's Secretary, who was also the Bishop's Secretary, had sent off a message, "Chaos without cats." 

A response had come back almost immediately, "Calm with cats."  

Everyone except the Dean knew about that. 

 

 

 

    

What else could the PM have done?

I was asked this question following more comments in the media and a column written by a journalist known for his outspoken views and then another column written by a former Foreign Minister. Both of them, along with an increasing number of other people, are saying we should have a Royal Commission. Yes, we should. 

But what else could the Prime Minister have done to combat the rise in anti-Semitism in this country? What else could he have done to deal with a very definite increasingly radical pro-Islam group who are influencing the young in their community? What else could our Prime Minister have done to try and save our supposed "multi-cultural" society?

Our Prime Minister has been portrayed as weak and indecisive - and he is. He has always been portrayed this way and I believe it is a fair portrayal. He does not come over as a leader. There are things he could have done and has not done.

After the October 7th attack in Israel there was a rally on the steps of the Opera House. What was said at that event is still debated but the rally was not in support of the Jews. It was in support of "the people of Palestine". This rally was held before the Israeli government even went into Gaza. It must have been planned well in advance. The organisers were asked not to hold the rally. It went ahead anyway - and the Prime Minister did not speak out against it. He should have. 

There have been weekly "pro-Palestinian marches" for many months now. The media has given them endless publicity. They are disruptive and divisive. There has been an immense cost to the taxpayer as they need to be policed. Those who are unfortunate enough to own a business along the routes chosen find themselves losing business. Any of us going about our legitimate business along those routes are disadvantaged. Our Prime Minister has not spoken out against those marches.

Our Prime Minister informed us that, as a country, we would "recognise Palestine" - a country which does not exist. He did so against the advice given him and claimed this was "leadership". It is the very reverse and a move that has the potential to do far more harm than good. Leadership would be acknowledging the aspirations of others and supporting legitimate moves towards their goals. 

Leadership would also involve questioning our so-called "multicultural" country. Our Prime Minister knows that we have gone from being a country which has accepted migrants and helped them to integrate to a country where division and difference is accepted as a "right". 

In May this year the government was handed a report by the "anti-Semitism envoy". There were forty-nine recommendations in that report. None of them were controversial. Some of them could have been implemented immediately, others quite quickly, a few over time. The government under this Prime Minister has done nothing at all to implement or even accept any of them.

Of course the government is looking at the next election and the election after that. They know that their huge majority will, even with our ridiculous compulsory preferential voting system, be cut. For them that is not the point. Their worry is that there are now sufficient voters in some seats to bring in other candidates who want something radically different. If the balance of power changed to a dependence on a small handful of members with a very different view from the present Judeo-Christian one on which are laws and society are based then we could find our country changed forever. Our Prime Minister needs to show some leadership and address that issue - and address it now.  

Our police force needs recruits

and they are not going to get them. They will certainly not get good recruits under the present system.

I often wonder why people want to enter the police force. It seems to be a very negative sort of job. You are there to "serve and protect" as they say in another country but you are also there to enforce the law.

Last week an eighty-eight year old friend of mine was stopped by the police as she drove home from her daughter's house. W... was not doing anything wrong. The police were simply breathalysing people who were driving past. W... did not mind. As she is teetotal she was almost amused by it. I was reminded of the occasion on which the same thing happened to the Senior Cat. One of those doing the breathalysing recognised him as a fellow magician and knew the Senior Cat was strictly teetotal. When the Senior Cat asked if he had to blow into the bag he was told, "No, don't bother. It would be a waste of time." That sort of thing does not often happen.

Police are more likely to be dealing with people who are, at best, irritated by being stopped at a breathalyser unit. There will be people who will try to avoid the unit. There will be people who will get agitated because they have had some alcohol and there will always be the fools who have been drinking and are over the limit. It is one of the essential but largely negative tasks they do. 

They are dealing with speeding, with road accidents, with theft, with arson, with domestic violence and other forms of violence. They have to give death messages. There are occasions on which they need to try and get through traffic where drivers fail to give way to emergency vehicles. They have to deal with "protests" and try to put a halt to trouble before it even starts. 

I have had occasional dealings with them. Those who were fellow magicians or members of Neighbourhood Watch groups and came to visit the Senior Cat sat around the kitchen table with mugs of tea or coffee. I have made sandwiches for them because they have not eaten for hours and this is a short break before going back to all the negativity. 

They do all this and get poorly paid for it. They do all the paper work and go into court hoping that someone will really get punished this time. The guidelines given to the courts mean that nothing happens or there is a meaningless "good behaviour bond". 

Is it any wonder they cannot get recruits to the force? They have dropped the entry standard twice in this past year. Some police are not what I would consider "literate". They cannot cope with the roles they are placed in but there is nobody else to do the job. 

Perhaps if those who demand so much "understanding" of the law breakers would get out of the way and let the courts actually punish the law breakers then policing might not be so difficult. 

Royal Commissions are

powerful tools. They have the same powers as the courts and they are very expensive to conduct. Royal Commissions can compel people to attend and give evidence. Failure to do so can result in contempt proceedings.  They can make orders, not just recommendations. To choose to use that tool is therefore a decision which should not be taken lightly.

There are times however when they should be used. They should be used to ensure that what is investigated is investigated freely and fairly and without favour. The information obtained from them should be used to inform and, where necessary, direct. They can take evidence "in camera" and restrict access to some of the information they are given.

That the present government wants a narrow, internal inquiry into the intelligence services of this country and what led to the failure to prevent the appalling events at Bondi should therefore cause alarm.

There are several things the government is almost certainly trying to do here. One is cover up the failures of the intelligence services. These failures are almost certainly not nearly as great as being made out. Our intelligence services are almost certainly no better and no worse than those of many similar countries. The next is that the government does not want any failures to listen to any warnings to be shown up and laid bare. There will be some of those, possibly rather a lot. This is already public knowledge. The head of ASIO is on public record as giving warnings - and that is just a start.

The other major issue is perhaps the one which should cause the most concern. The government is acting in its own interest here. They do not want these matters discussed. They do not want their own failures to be acknowledged. The next federal election is not due until 2028 but the government is already working towards winning it - and winning the election after that. A great deal of harm to their chances can be done before that and they know it. There are already calls for the Prime Minister to resign over his weak handling of the current events. An internal "inquiry" could sweep a great deal of unwanted information away which a Royal Commission could not.

I am reminded here of the "Bringing Them Home" report in 1997. This was conducted by Human Rights Commission. It is sometimes referred to as the "Stolen Generations Report" and it refers to the inquiry into the alleged practice of forcibly removing indigenous children from their families. That inquiry did not have the powers of a Royal Commission. Perhaps it should have because the information in it might have been much more powerful. As it is, although a compensation fund was set up, there was no widespread demand for reparations. The state I live in was said to be one of the worst for forced removals but just one claim has been made despite support for making a claim and a widespread information campaign about it. A Royal Commission might have brought about different results - but the findings may not have been as acceptable.

This time however the results of any inquiry will affect all of us and affect us into the future. It will affect our national and international relations. That the government believes a weak inquiry will suffice where a Royal Commission is needed suggests they are more interested in retaining power than our future safety and well being.    

"He doesn't even sound upset!"

A friend called me yesterday. I was surprised I had not heard from her earlier because I knew she would want to show her frustration at our Prime Minister.

"He doesn't even sound upset! What's wrong with him?" she asked me, "Doesn't he know people are angry? Doesn't he know he has to do something?"

J...gets upset quite easily. She will cry over any sad story, even the sort with a happy ending.  That there might not be a quick or happy ending to the current crisis is something she does not want to recognise.

But, she is right. The Prime Minister is worried. He's concerned. He is agitated and alarmed. He is not upset.

He is not upset - except at the possible loss of votes for his party at the next election. That sounds harsh but it is the message I am getting from all sides of politics. 

"We can't afford to take responsibility for any of it," a many years member and former candidate for Labor told me, "If we do then we will lose votes."

Really? Is that all that matters? This is the party, state and federal, which has not opposed the weekly "protests in support of the Palestinians" on the grounds that people should have the "freedom" to protest. That the protests might also have been stirring up anti-Semitic sentiment is apparently beside the point. That their demands to "globalise the intifada" might actually be encouraging the same anti-Semitic sentiment has not been a consideration until now. That the chant of "from the river to the sea" might encourage ill informed young protestors to recognise support for a terrorist organisation had not been a consideration either.  No, this is about preserving the ever growing, ever more powerful vote of a section of our society which is becoming more isolated. 

Our so-called "multicultural" society has provided us with some rich and diverse experiences. When the first wave of post-war migrants came in the fifties they were different but also sufficiently similar to integrate and do it well. Most of them learned English and did so quickly. They worked hard. They saw it as a chance to rebuild their own lives after the horrors of the war. They did not blame their new country for the war. They accepted the legal system and the laws which go with it. Many of them volunteered in their immediate and then the wider community. There are many of them in leadership roles even now and their children are too.

The migrants from the last twenty years or so have come from different cultures. They are not mixing in the same way. The women are often isolated from the mainstream community by the way they dress and the roles they play. Their relationships are more limited and can even relate to only their own group. Their leaders want their own legal system to prevail in some matters, not the laws of their adopted country. Women outside their community are criticised for the way they dress and the way they rear their children. Education beyond school years is not seen as desirable. Men control their lives and this is seen as right and proper.

No, I am not exaggerating. I will say it is not everyone who feels this way but there are enough of them who do, enough to make a difference.

Our Prime Minister is aware of all this. He is desperately anxious not to upset that. He cannot afford to lose that vote. It could go to a new political party, a more radical one. He knows that the landslide win at the last election is unlikely to be repeated. He sees it as his job to save as many votes as possible so that the next parliament still has that easy majority in the lower house and can work with the left and the so-called "independents" in the upper house. His party is almost certain to win another term in government but it is the term after that which matters now. Our Prime Minister knows he has unleashed something dangerous and he knows it has to be hauled in and under control before it is too late. That is what he is concerned about. It is not the victims of last Sunday's murderous rampage at the beach.  

We cannot have Christmas

anymore. It might upset some people. How dare you even consider putting up a Nativity scene during the festive season!

There was an incident in the children's hospital yesterday. Someone had complained about a simple, knitted Nativity scene being put on display. 

The hospital has a good reputation for trying to give their young patients something to enjoy if they are in hospital over the festive season. There are visits from Santa Claus, from sportspeople and other celebrities. Gifts are given, especially to those whose parents are not able to be with them.  The wards are decorated. 

For many years the Senior Cat taught the "clown doctors" the sort of "close up magic" that delights children. They would take their "tricks" back into the hospital and give individual children a few minutes of happiness. Over the seemingly endless mugs of tea and coffee in our kitchen I came to know how hard those entertainers worked and what a drain it could be on them. It was even harder around Christmastime. They needed all the support they could get.

That is why decorating the hospital, having a Nativity scene and more is so important. This is not done just for the "fun" of it. There is something very serious about all this. It all assists in the recovery of the patients and it supports their families.

Anyone who gives any thought to these things would realise that but someone complained about the Nativity scene and it was removed. It would be interesting to know who the complainant was but we are unlikely to be told. An appeal went up to the Minister for Health and he made an order the Nativity scene be returned. Then there was a statement by the hospital's director that the hospital did celebrate Christmas.

But what are most people really celebrating? The vast majority of people will not attend any form of church service or even stop to really consider what Christmas is actually about. They will give each other gifts they cannot really afford and eat more food than they actually need. There will be tears and tantrums and fights that are far removed from the real meaning of Christmas.

With all that and the fuss about the Nativity scene at the hospital it was a relief to go into the local library and see the decorations. On the front desk there is a lit Nativity scene and, standing in front of it, there were two small children staring up at it with expressions of pure joy.  One of the staff told me quietly, "I think we got it right this time."  Yes, you did. 

Car parking spaces

will always cause problems but particularly so when there are limited spaces for residents.

Yes, we have a problem here. Yesterday someone visiting me very briefly parked in the space designated for use by another resident. She should not have done that. Unfortunately that resident came home and has complained not to me but to the chair of the residents' committee. I have been given a "warning" that only cars belonging to residents can be parked on the property - in their designated spaces.

I do not have a car and have frequently found cars parked in the space designated for my car if I had one.  When I first came here there was a policeman living next door. He occasionally used the space but only after asking if it was convenient. Nobody else has bothered to ask. They have simply used it. On more than one occasion cars have been parked there overnight.

As I do not own a car I have accepted this. On the occasion that a car was left there for two nights I did leave a polite message to say that the space had been needed by one of my visitors. I suggested that the owner of the car might come and ask if it was convenient. I have not complained to the residents' committee. 

Anyone visiting me who stays any length of time tends to be elderly or disabled. Some of them use walking aids and the space designated for my unit is convenient for them to use. It seems this does not matter to other residents. They would prefer to use it themselves without asking if it is convenient or it not be used at all. 

I would have been more than willing to apologise if the person complaining had come to me but she was apparently willing to escalate the matter to a formal complaint. Now it is likely that I will be held responsible if the rule about "no visitors" even in your own designated space is enforced. That there is an exception for people with disabilities will not matter to them.  It is just sad that some people are so ready to make trouble. 

There has been a lack of leadership

in this country. We have a Prime Minister who appears to be more concerned with placating the trouble makers than supporting those in need. We have a media which supports him and his ministers. 

Perhaps the previous government was also lacking in leadership too. It was not good either but I do not believe it was as bad as the present one. Even given the event of the past weekend, an event which can only be described as a terrorist attack, our Prime Minister is still not coming out and making the statements he should be making. He is not going where he should go. He is not speaking to the people he should be speaking to. He is not making the decisions which should be made. 

Our Prime Minister is also being supported in this lack of action by the media, a media which seems fearful of upsetting some but not others. It seems it is impossible to get anyone to speak about the problem which is "multiculturalism" and the way we allow people to live here but not even attempt to integrate.

Today is forecast to be very hot - 39'C. I needed milk because I had unexpected visitors yesterday so I went down to the supermarket. It opens at seven in the morning and I was there shortly afterwards. I saw a man I know there. I do not know him well but I do know his wife and the children. He was pushing a trolley around with a list in his hand and a worried expression on his face.

"Is everything okay?" I asked him when he looked at me. He hesitated and then shook his head.

"M... does not want to go out right now. She's frightened."

M...covers her head and dresses traditionally. She is a nervous woman anyway. I suspect her husband is fairly controlling but this morning he seemed genuinely concerned for her. He then said something which surprised me,

"You are very tolerant of us. Tell me please, in all honesty, is it the way she clothes herself?"

I wondered how on earth I was going to answer this. He was watching me very closely. An honest answer? How could I give this man an honest answer and not make him angry or embarrassed? 

"I would wish an answer from you," he told me.

So, I answered him and said, "I think the way we clothe ourselves can sometimes divide us."

He nodded slowly and said, "Perhaps you are right."

I am certain I am right but I also doubt I am as tolerant as he believes.  

The "Marches for Palestine" have to stop

and stop now. There must not be a "halt for now" but a "stop now". Those organising the "protests" have been permitted to hold march after march at enormous cost to taxpayers. Yes, it does cost taxpayers. The police presence costs. The disruption to business, to traffic and more all cost all of us. 

The organisers have been permitted to spew their messages of "support" for over two years now. They have encouraged the anti-Semitic views that so alarm many others. 

Please do not misunderstand me in any way. What has happened in Gaza is wrong, very wrong. It amounts to war crimes. Those crimes have been committed by others. They have not been committed by the Jewish people here. My own (and very reliable) sources tell me that the vast majority of Jews here do not support what Netanyahu and his government are doing. The few that do support him are apparently keeping very quiet about it. They would be condemned by the local Jewish community and that view is reflected in all such communities across the country. 

The present vile mess in the Middle East arose out of a group of terrorists using the most horrific means at their disposal to do harm. They were seeking power for their own ends. They are still attempting to do that. They are now doing it with the support of the international community.  Yes, I know many of you will argue with that but Hamas wants control. It has two aims as far as I can see. The first of these is to wipe Israel off the map and all Jewish people everywhere with it. The second is to have complete control over the area that would then be called "Palestine".  

The leaders of Hamas will then see themselves as being rich and even more powerful than they now are. They "care" for the people of Gaza by force. A truly free and fair election would see them lose control. They cannot afford for that to happen.

And perhaps things are not much better on the other side. Netanyahu is facing serious corruption charges. He has somehow managed to delay and delay his trial. He has openly demanded it be permanently halted. His hold on power is fragile. He relies on a group of religious extremists who make demands that breach not just the laws of Israel but international law. 

Yes, all those things are cause for deep and serious concern. We should be concerned by them but asking people who live here, who were born here and live, work and pay taxes here to be responsible for that is wrong. To hate them so much you turn a gun on them is despicable. It harms all of us. 

These are the same people who often quietly volunteer in the community, who mow the lawn of an elderly neighbour, who take another shopping, who mind the children and who share excess produce from their gardens. They may or may not go to synagogue but, in this country, you can be almost certain they know someone who is a survivor of the Holocaust. They have to live with that in the past. They do not need it in the future.

When some of our politicians are foolish enough to join marches across one of our iconic landmarks in support of "Palestine" and our government "recognises Palestine" we need to ask what they are really doing. Palestine does not yet exist. It may one day but a country needs recognised borders. There are none. It needs a single stable government. It has none. It needs a single army to defend itself. It has none. There need to be recognised means which provide the services people need for day-to-day life. There are none. 

Those things may come and it is the right of people to aspire to those things. They will not come about by protesting in marches that cause more anger, hatred and distrust.  

  

Is it time to revisit "multiculturalism"?

We are told Downunder is a "multicultural" country. We are told this frequently and we are also told we should be proud of it. We are told it makes us tolerant of differences. We are told there are benefits and advantages in being multicultural.

Is it time to revisit this? Is it really true?

I was born some years after WWII. Until then this country had been made up mostly of the original inhabitants and settlers from Europe. Many of the Europeans came from the United Kingdom. There were a few hardly Muslim cameleers in the "outback" and scattered Chinese who were miners, gold prospectors and pearl fishers. There were also some islander sugar cane workers in the north. This state had a good many German migrants and some Italian ones. Perhaps we were a reasonably mixed lot.

Yes, I knew some migrants as a child and not all of them spoke English. My earliest memory of a non-English speaking migrant is the woman who lived over the back fence in the small town I lived in until I was almost five. The family was Polish. Her husband worked as an electricity linesman. How they came to be living there I have no idea. All I remember is her kindness. More than once she dealt with knees and hands scraped by falls. She gave us hugs and told us off in Polish if we fought. How or why they came to be there I do not know but now I can recognise she had been through some sort of very traumatic experience. My parents taught her and her husband English in the evenings.

When we moved back to the city more migrants were arriving from post-war Europe. In my family they were simply accepted. My paternal grandfather was an Elder in the local Presbyterian church and they worked at sponsoring a number of families from Holland. We had neighbours from Italy and Yugoslavia. School registers were being filled with names other than Susan and Peter. 

These migrants had come to work and almost all of them did. Their English might sometimes sound strange to us but they possibly already spoke some and they were learning more. They were "fitting in" even if they spoke another language in their own homes.

Gradually migrants started to share their food traditions. Our Yugoslav neighbour would give us red-dyed eggs at Easter and syrup cakes with an almond on top. It took much longer for the first pizza shop to appear.

It was not until later still we had the first flow of non-European migrants. They came from Vietnam. Some of them spoke some French but most of them spoke no English. Special classes began to appear for them and most of them made the effort to learn English. Those who did not were often too traumatised to cope. Their children became their interpreters. 

Then something changed. There were migrants coming from many countries. Many of them did not speak English. Interpreting services appeared. We now have a "special broadcasting service" which covers more than ninety languages. Some people do not see the need to learn English and may even be actively discouraged from doing so. They can mix in what they see as their own communities. It is especially true of some of the women who come from cultures where their roles are seen differently. We actually encourage this when we "celebrate" their "national" days and other traditions. It is as if they wish to live "here" but keep living wherever "there" is too.

Does all this really make our lives richer or does it divide us? I can stand in the local supermarket with my eyes closed and hear Greek, Italian, Arabic, Vietnamese and Chinese being spoken. People are speaking only to a few, not the many.  Is it really what we want?  

 

Do you even know a Jew?

I have tried to write this several times but perhaps I should just ask that question. How many of you who read this today even know a Jew - or know that you know one?

I have Jewish friends, good friends. They work. They pay taxes. They are law abiding citizens. They help their neighbours. We could stand in the middle of the supermarket aisles and chat like everyone else. Nobody else would even know they were Jewish.

I have been into their synagogues and been made welcome, indeed very welcome, there. They have come to marriages and funerals for my family too. More than once we have joined hands around a table laden with food and given thanks for being there. I have worked with them on complex humanitarian emergency projects where those in need are people of another faith altogether. 

The Jews I know are quite simply good, ordinary citizens attempting to get on with their lives like everyone else. Why anyone would want to harm them is beyond all reasonable comprehension. So why are sixteen people now dead when they should have been enjoying a party on the beach to celebrate Hanukkah? It makes no sense at all. 

Am I surprised this has happened? No, not at all. I am angry, very angry. I feel physically ill. I am trying not to cry. State and federal governments have been allowing "marches for Palestine" for many months now. The demands of the organisers have become greater as time has gone on. Politicians have joined the marches, including the one across the iconic bridge on the east coast. Such marches cost a great deal to police and control so that participants can safely attend. We are asked to be tolerant of all this.

There has also been harm done to synagogues and Jewish businesses and a Jewish school has been targetted. These acts have been "condemned" but they do not receive the same news coverage. There is the curious assumption made that all Jews support the actions of the Israeli government. They do not. The Jewish population is also considered to be too small, too insignificant for it to matter very much.

But, it does matter. Sixteen people have now lost their lives because, despite the warnings given, two people were able to open fire on a group of people they had almost certainly never met. That level of hatred is beyond comprehension. 

There are people of all faiths and no faith at all who will condemn what happened yesterday. It is worth remembering that we will pass them in the street and never know who they are or what they believe.  

 

  

"Who is paying for that?"

Is a question we should probably all ask more often. 

The water supply in this group of units is "communal". In other words we all pay an equal amount per unit. It does not matter if there are one, two or more people living in the individual unit.

I am water conscious anyway and I can take very short showers. I can wash my hair under the shower faster than most people take a regular shower. I can do it because I have spent much of my life living in places where there has been very little water available.

There is no garden to speak of here. One or two people have pot plants and one person has a patch of "lawn" as opposed to the grass the rest of us deal with. No, she does not pay any extra for the extra water she uses to water her patch of lawn. I have not spoken to her about this and I doubt I ever will. 

Why? It probably is cowardice and a belief that it is better to get on with your neighbours, especially if you barely know them. I recognise her in context but would I recognise her in a crowd? It is unlikely. 

But what about our politicians and their expenses? Those expenses are in the news right now. Yes, I know we have a big land mass and that our federal government is a long distance from this state. It is considered "tough" on politicians to be away from their families when parliament is sitting. There are "perks" relating to their roles which allow them to see family at times other than when parliament is not sitting. These are seen as important, especially if they have young families. Yes, it is a complex issue.

But I do not believe that taking your family on holiday at taxpayer expense or flying your partner in for a sports match at taxpayer expense is right. Nor do I believe that "first class" everything is necessary on all trips. Even if it is essential for you is it also essential for your family?

I have been "wined and dined" so to speak by people who might be considered "VIPs". It is not something I have ever sought or wanted. The occasions have varied from lunch in the dining room of parliament house to a sandwich in a tiny private garden at the rear of a courthouse to a grand dinner at which we were all expected to dress in our best. I have had afternoon tea in a palace and breakfast in another one. 

All the occasions have produced useful results or useful contacts but the sandwich occasion was perhaps the most useful. What is more the sandwich did not go on any sort of expense account. I am sure it could have done but my host did not see that as necessary. We were simply there to do some work. 

There are undoubtedly occasions for "first class and fine dining" but I often wonder if there are times when a sandwich might produce more results.  

An extra three days of paid leave

can now be accessed by aboriginal staff at one of this country's major universities. It is to "help them cope with the perceived ongoing impacts of colonisation". The university introduced the new "colonial load" leave days to "recognise the 'unique' contributions of Indigenous staff" and said these staff members carry "an often invisible workload that is deeply impactful".

Aboriginal staff at that university already get an additional five days of paid leave not available to others. They can also take an additional ten days unpaid "ceremonial" leave without penalty so they can prepare for and attend cultural events. 

In order to do this staff only need to state they are "indigenous". There is no proof required.  

Apparently there are additional workplace pressures placed on indigenous staff and this helps to overcome those pressures. If that really is the case then perhaps the university in question is to be commended for the response.

There seems to be a belief that everything the university now does in all departments has to be done with "indigenous culture and heritage" in mind.  This is how "systemic change" is achieved "with recognition, respect and action".

But where does this stop? This is the same university which demands all students, no matter what they are studying, complete a unit which covers indigenous issues. That may also sound like a good thing but is it really?  Surely it depends on what that unit covers? Is it fair and balanced? 

The university is in a state which has just signed a "treaty" between indigenous people and the government on behalf of the other residents of the state. I watched some of the "indigenous" people being interviewed and heard their claims and their hopes for the future. Yet again I was left worried that I am "racist" because I could not see that everyone involved was "indigenous". I could not see how they could be so disadvantaged by events that may or may not have happened more than two hundred years ago. Their own ancestors on both sides of the issue must have been involved but it seems I am being asked to disregard this.

Is there something wrong with me or is there a whiff of a benefit in being some sort of "victim" here? 

 

Indigenous deaths in custody

 were a news item on our SBS news service last night. For those of you who do not live in Downunder I need to explain that SBS is a slightly different news service. It has a greater focus on international, multicultural and indigenous affairs. It partners with NITV - the National Indigenous Television network - and such news items are quite frequent.

This particular news item however bothered me. Any news item about deaths in custody bother me but I sensed something wrong with this one. I was right.

The item gave the very strong impression that indigenous deaths in custody far exceeded the rate of other deaths in custody.  There were the usual interviews with people who told us how wrong this was and how there needed to be more support services, especially mental health services, for indigenous people in custody. How the laws needed to be changed to prevent incarceration was also mentioned.

What was not mentioned was the fact that indigenous people are actually less likely to die in custody than non-indigenous people. Yes, the rate of death is too high because any preventable death in custody is too high. The rate of indigenous people in custody is too high too. 

I spoke to my friend M... He dealt with indigenous offending for most of his working life. Although now retired he keeps himself informed. Yes, he had heard the news item and, like me, did not like the impression it conveyed. He had also seen the latest statistics from the Institute of Criminology and sent them over to me.

Indigenous people make up almost forty percent of the prison population. They make up about thirty percent of deaths in custody. There were one hundred and thirteen deaths in custody last financial year. Of those thirty-three were indigenous deaths in custody. 

The number of people who identify as "indigenous" has been rising quite rapidly. Yes, there are advantages to identifying as indigenous. Yes, there are people who are abusing that. People who identify as indigenous or "aboriginal" or "islander" make up around four percent of the population. They should make up about that proportion of the prison population too but they are heavily over represented in it. The reason they are heavily over represented is because of the rate of offending. The rate of incarceration is high despite the fact that, by identifying as indigenous, people have access to special legal representation. There are different guidelines involved in their sentencing. There is even their own court system for many offences where "cultural" and other issues can be taken into account.  

With all that the rates of offending and incarceration are still higher. Activists keep telling us this is a "national crisis"  because of our colonial past and a lack of support services, including mental health services.  That an increasing number of repeat offenders are now being held on domestic violence and other violent crimes is, we are told, due to external failures and not a result of the actions of those in custody. We are being told they are victims too.

The news item gave this impression. It gave the impression that there are many more indigenous deaths in custody and that all these deaths might have been preventable. It again suggested there was a need for special consideration of this group of offenders and that more funding was needed to deal with the issues. 

Nowhere was it suggested that the behaviour of some of these offenders might be the issue. Nobody mentioned the harm some of them have done, harm not against the "white" community they claim is responsible but the harm done to their own community particularly their partners. 

All this makes it so much harder for indigenous youth who are trying to be law abiding and make something of themselves. I know one young indigenous man who has spent the past year working very hard. He will shortly get his Year 12 results and I hope he does well. He is not "brilliant" but he is intelligent. It has been a tough year for him. He has had to live away from his family to finish school. There has been a lot of pressure on him to "succeed". His immediate family are law abiding citizens but he knows this will not bring about personal success. 

We talked about the offending issues earlier this year. He was troubled by them and acknowledged some of the issues but he also told me, "It is up to us though. It doesn't have to be like that."  

 

I have done nothing about Christmas

apart from make Christmas cake. That was actually done a few weeks ago.

Yesterday my cousin shamed me by handing over a lovely Christmas card. (It was a winter one with a robin on it.) Cards? I will need to send electronic cards and an electronic letter. Sigh!

The time I had set aside for all these things has been taken up with things like sending the "bikies" off to Aceh with their updated communication board and spending a day at the Youth Court with the little idiot who lost his temper and did so much damage. Now I need to spend some time cleaning. (My little abode does not look too bad but I will feel more comfortable knowing I have cleaned it properly.) 

I am also awaiting more parcels. "Cat, you are mostly at home. Can I get the parcel delivered to you so the kids don't know?" Yes of course they "may" and I dutifully agree to be in so this can be done. I know how important Christmas surprises can be for small children.

I saw a former neighbour's eldest child in the shopping centre several days ago. She starts secondary school next year. "Cat! It's holidays next week!" was all she was interested in as she told me how they were heading off to the beach shack they have rented for most of the summer. I was reminded of how we looked forward to days at the beach as much as we looked forward to Christmas. Now I will be lucky to get to the beach at all. It is not just the algal bloom along the coast but finding a free day to get there.

If Middle Cat and I can go off to the hardware store before Christmas it will solve most problems. It is just a matter of both of us being free at the same time.  

Brother Cat is having ankle surgery today. While not looking forward to that he informed me, "At least it gets me out of all the Christmas fuss. I can get some reading done." He might. I hope he does. His "to be read" pile is not as high as mine but it is still in danger of falling over. Still, it does seem a rather drastic way of finding time to read. 

  

"Dot art" from the

desert is not "traditional" indigenous art. 

I had the difficult job of explaining this to someone yesterday. He very proudly showed me something he claimed was "aboriginal and done before white settlement". He paid a great deal of money for it. He has also been nicely conned.

"Aboriginal dot paintings" are now so widely believed to be traditional indigenous art it is unlikely most people will ever believe anything else. It is sold to tourists as being traditional. People are led to believe it has been tradition for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. They are also led to believe that the patterns created are of special significance, that stories are being told and much more.

None of this is true. It is not true but people are still paying thousands of dollars for the paintings in the belief that these things are true. They are paying in the belief they are getting something more than an original art work.

Yes, some of those pieces are beautiful in their own way. It takes considerable skill and patience to do them. Those things need to be recognised. It also needs to be recognised that this is not a tradition which goes back thousands of years. There are no mysterious beliefs and stories attached to these works.

Their origin goes back to 1971 when a young teacher named Geoffrey Bardon went to work in Papunya, a small indigenous community in the desert. It is about three hours by road from Alice Springs. 

Bardon was interested in the way the elders told stories. They were drawing designs in the sand with their fingers and then wiping it over again. The designs were simple but Bardon realised they were illustrating the story. He set about getting the children at the school to paint a mural on the walls of the school. It was a success and he went on encouraging the children to draw in the same simple way. The elders began to do the same but they quickly realised the more permanent nature of these things meant they could not include some information, There were things those outside their own tribal group simply should not be told. Bardon was aware of that and he  encouraged them to put dots in the picture instead. 

This is where the "art" started. Pictures which consist entirely of dots, like the one I saw yesterday, are not "traditional". They do not tell a story and, even if they did, it would not be told to a "whitey". Many of the stories now told are not traditional either. They may sound as if they are and they may have their roots in traditional stories but the traditional stories are not there for the ears of those outside the group. 

What the person showing me the picture has bought is about a hundred years old.  If you like that sort of thing then it is a fine example of it. It is not however some hundreds of years old and, at almost $10,000 he has paid too much for it.  

The Most Travelled Government Funded

Frequent Flyer Award is apparently likely to go to the Ambassador for First Nations People. He is paid $400,000 a year for what seems to be a role which has, in two and a half years, required no less than forty-six overseas trips. In that time has been absent from the country for two hundred and sixty one days. The trips are funded in addition to that very handsome salary. That has come in at around $340,000. The Ambassador also has a staff of ten at a cost of $13m over four years. They also need to do some travelling. That has cost another $750,000 to date.

All this is apparently necessary to "progress Indigenous rights globally and help grow First Nations trade and investment". An Advanced Diploma of Business Management is apparently what qualifies the Ambassador to do this work.

There is also another fund he can dip into for others to attend meetings to "lift the participation of First Nations people in international meetings". That is a mere $1.25m. 

The article in this morning's paper was written by someone who is clearly not impressed by all this. The writer then goes on to talk about the expense sheets of the Energy Minister and the Communications Minister. We apparently do not need to be told about the Prime Minister or the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Their taxpayer funded absences are frequently mentioned in the media.

Then there is the "creative" mob - those who are supposed to provide grants to "artists, creatives and organisations, including large investments like the Creative Futures Fund (Development & Delivery streams), music-focused grants (Record Label Dev, Marketing & Mfg), international travel/market funds, and specific streams for First Nations artists". While you are at it toss in a tiny amount of support for deaf and disability projects.

I suppose all this has come about because there are no longer "lords of the manor" who fund the arts and see to it that those starting out in business gets some help when they first need it - to later be paid back via their taxes.  

The writer of the article then asks about Zoom meetings and more. I know a thing or two about Zoom meetings. No, they are not the same as face to face meetings but you can get a lot of work done - often at odd hours of the day. Even so there is a lot to be said for Zoom meetings. They are much cheaper to run - and there is no need to catch a plane. 

  

There was such a simple solution

to implementing the law banning under 16s from social media. All it would have taken was a ban on owning a phone which could access it. 

Yes, there are phones which allow you to do no more than make and receive calls, make and receive text messages and even get alerts or alert others for reasons of safety. Just as the government has provided many young people with other devices on which to do their schoolwork they could have seen to this. 

What if they had provided young people with bright yellow, lime green, orange or pink phones that could do only these things? It would have been easy to see if a young person was using a phone that only had the capacity for these things. 

Yes, there would be a cost involved but the cost of implementing the law would have been placed where it should have been placed. It would have been on parents and the government, on us as taxpayers. Those young people who already have phones could have been required to hand them until that magical sixteenth birthday and provided with the lesser device.

There is a growing belief that the new law is not simply about protecting young people from the harm of social media but about something more sinister than that. I have talked at length with two politicians who admit that the idea of being able to monitor everyone all the time would be very valuable if you want to remain in government. It would provide an excellent control mechanism if news could be filtered out or in on all electronic devices.

We already have a compliant media, indeed the major news sources are claiming credit for having the ban brought in. They are saying it is about "safety", as if lack of access to social media will prevent bullying. It won't of course. It may even cause greater harm to be done to some. It won't stop predators either. They will find other ways to ply their vile trade - as they have done for centuries.

The size of the fines if the "big tech" companies do not comply is perhaps the clearest indication that the law is about more than the safety of young people. This is about the government trying to wrest back control, about them being able to view everything we do. 

I have no time for the likes of Elon Musk but the fine the EU has imposed should be ringing alarm bells...particularly when they went ahead and tried to use the very system they were complaining about to their own advantage.   

A "Christmas Tree Festival"

as a fundraiser for the hills community fire service and other charities has proven to be a success again.

It was held yesterday and is on again today.  I caught the train up into the hills behind me so I could give the friend running it some support. J... is one of the most hardworking and community minded people I know. She also gets very little recognition for her efforts. 

The little festival consists of about fifty trees decorated by community groups. Santa Claus is there - with the reindeer made from environmentally sound logs of fallen timber. There are some trees for sale as well as some plants. There are activities for children (and I saw some lovely "hats" made by them). When you are exhausted by all this there are inevitable tea, coffee and scones. 

I am not really into the business of decorating my own establishment with trees and lights. It is just me. Why bother? But.... another friend and I put our heads together and thought we might be able to contribute something. We have done it twice before. Each time we have tried to think of something different.

This time several people in the knitting and crochet group at the library contributed crochet circles. I made about thirty of these, all about 12cms across.  G...embroidered them and turned them into "smiley" faces. They have been hung on a tree. The circles I made were all in brilliant neon colours. I knew the room would be dim (to give the illusion of night) and I wanted the circles to show up. They looked good. I am glad we did it because I watched children's faces light up as they saw the "smiles". G...had made a few with the extra addition of ears so that they could be bears (or koala bears or mice)  and the youngest children really seemed to like those best. On being given one of the bears one fractious toddler clung tightly to it and fell asleep!

There should be more of this sort of thing. The tree decorated with tiny houses made from scraps of timber and another decorated with paper people made by a junior primary class showed there is still plenty of skill and imagination out there. We need more of that sort of thing.      

"I need to go to Aceh"

the voice at the other end of the phone told me.

I suppose I should not have been surprised - except that the caller is now closer to eighty than sixty. He has been up there three times now. The first was just after the 2004 tsunami. 

I don't think I will ever forget my first contact with the small group of men who went off to help rebuild a shattered community in a remote Indonesian area. They were about the most unlikely volunteers possible. 

I thought they were being utterly irresponsible. I sat down to talk to them to try and dissuade them from going. At the end of the conversation I was ready to help. They had thought things through. They were taking everything they needed, not just tools but food and shelter. They were strong and healthy. They had the skills to do what they planned to do. They had a specific goal they wanted to achieve - and then they were getting out again. 

These men did the job they planned to do and then they left. They have been back since and done similar work. They have always gone and returned quietly. The last thing they want is publicity and I will respect their wishes except to say, "I wish there were more like you." 

All of them looked like members of the toughest sort of motorcycle gang. Those who remain still look rather like that. I saw two of them yesterday and got some rather odd looks from passers by as we sat in a cafe and talked about their plans. Yes, their communication boards need a bit of updating but there are people there now who speak some English and that will help. 

They are going up to help with the repair of an essential building that can be used as accommodation while other things are repaired.  It is a testament to their earlier work that this is one of the buildings which is still standing. They built it from debris in 2004. They will also show some of the young people there how to repair a footbridge over one of the many rivers. That was built on another visit. It will allow aid to get across much more quickly even if it has to be done by handcart. 

I ask about how long they plan to be there, about their other arrangements. This time I know they will have all these things organised. Their flights and other travel plans have already been arranged. Who is paying? They are - with some help from their families. This is their Christmas gift to each other and a community they have come to know. 

No, I cannot contribute anything else. I am, according to them, "doing (my) bit". Perhaps I am but it is nothing like their contribution.

The cafe owner brings my trike in from where he has put it safely "out back". It's a rather rough area of the city. They walk back to the station with me. Their handshakes are firm as they see me safely on to the train.    

Yes, some of the most unlikely looking men from rough backgrounds but I admire them.  

 

  

Holding water in a sieve

is not possible is it? You might catch a drop or two. The sieve might appear to be damp. That will be about it. 

The "age verification" process for removing under 16s from social media looks like being about as useful. It has more holes in it than a Swiss cheese - and Swiss cheese is a great deal more useful. 

The onus for removing young people from social media has been put on the "big tech" companies. They have been warned they will be hit with massive fines if they do not comply.

But is it possible to comply? Is it really possible to comply? The answer of course is that it is not possible. This morning's paper contains a story of a boy who went through the "age verification" process. His face was scanned. He is fourteen and the verification process tells us he is twenty-five. 

Last night there was a fifteen year old interviewed on the news. He was quite frank about the fact that he intends to lie about his age. It is likely he has already done so. 

He won't be the only one. I overheard a bunch of giggling girls telling each other how they have already bypassed the ban by using make up to "look older". I imagine it was very easy to do. 

Teenagers will not meekly give in to this ban. They will find ways around it and there is a major problem with that fact. If they are using social media then they will now be doing it in contravention of the law.  Bullying won't stop. Telling others about bullying is going to be more difficult if it also involves the illegal use of a device.

Rather than put the onus on the tech giants it should have been put on young people and their parents. It should have been made illegal for under 16s to own a phone which can do more than make and receive calls and text messages. 

Fake claims about being

"aboriginal" were raised yesterday. They came at the same time as I was watching a small girl running and rolling in the grass at the park next to the library. Her adopted grandmother stood there holding a bag of library books while her adopted grandfather pretended to chase her. It was a game and they were all enjoying it.

"She's having a wonderful time," I said to her grandmother who had given me the sort of smile which says,"This has to stop soon."

"It ends all too soon," she told me, "I wish they did not have to grow up and find out about the world."

I knew what she was talking about. The small girl is an inter-race placement. She is also disabled. There was an attempt to place her in an "aboriginal" family but it did not work. Nobody wanted to take on a child with two limbs missing. They did not want to deal with the many hospital appointments and other issues that will arise. 

This family has taken her on. She is starting school this coming year and is excited about it. I have often talked to her "mother" in the library. They are regular visitors there. 

"Time to go," her adopted grandfather said and there was a sigh but no argument. She eyed my bike seat longingly though. There have been several occasions on which she has been allowed to "ride" it - with me pushing her while she sits on the seat. If she learns to ride a bike it will be one she uses her arms to "pedal". 

After looking at me her adopted grandfather lifted her on to the seat and we set off to the car park. Then he took her off to put her in her child seat. 

"M...and A... have been told they could get some sort of bike for her to use but they don't want her to think she can have something for no effort. Not everyone agrees of course. They keep saying if she is aboriginal she should be able to get it. We keep being told "at least she looks aboriginal" but what is that really supposed to mean?"

"She just looks like a little girl to me," I said. It is true. She does. There is definitely some "aboriginal" heritage there and perhaps some Chinese too but she also has European ancestry. She is a very attractive child and, at present, a very happy one despite her problems. I doubt she is more than average intelligence but she loves stories and drawing and talking to dogs.  The idea that she should somehow be given something extra because of the colour of her skin seems wrong to them. If she needs a "bike" of some sort to keep up with her friends at school then that seems to be a more reasonable thing. It is an interesting point of view.   

A $2.4m payout made

as compensation to someone who would "never be able to work again" because she was allegedly raped has now dwindled to $50,000 after just three years.

Before anyone who know who I am talking about starts screaming at me "she was raped and she deserved every cent" let me say that, in law, it is still an allegation. It has not been "proven" in a court of law. It is unlikely it ever will be. 

There are two "standards of proof" here. One is "on the balance of probabilities" and the other is "beyond reasonable doubt". The first applies in civil cases and the second in criminal courses. It is much more difficult to reach the latter standard and rightly so. Once reached it can incarcerate people and could once have involved the death penalty. Get it wrong in the latter instance and you could end up putting an innocent person to death.

The criminal trial in this case was aborted twice. On one occasion it was because of juror misbehaviour but on the second it was said to be because of the distress it was causing the alleged victim. (Again I am using "alleged" because of lack of an outcome.) Then, quite suddenly, there was the huge payout in "compensation" for what had happened. It was paid because the alleged victim would no longer be able to work. She was said to be in a very fragile state. There were suggestions of suicidal thoughts and more.  We were told she did not get any support from her employer or one of her employer's staff. They were cast as uncaring and guilty of trying to cover it up. 

The saga has now dragged on for more than three years. It has been shown twice to be wrong but her employer is still being cast as the "bad guy". To do otherwise would bring into question that payout. It was made not by employer but by the present government. There has never been anything like it done before.  The payout was given with no strings attached and that alone should have rung alarm bells.

At very least the payout should have been put into a trust fund and spent very differently. It should have been conserved as far as possible until all matters had been resolved in the courts. When the alleged victim took up some employment then the funding should, at very least, have been reduced. She had shown herself capable of returning to work and returning in a very public role. She has married and done other things which suggest that her alleged fragile mental state has improved dramatically. 

On the other side people have been subject to serious defamation. They have had to fight their own battles with no financial support and, until now, no support in the media.There are still far too many people who are saying "serves her right" for allegedly failing to support the alleged victim. Even when the court has come down in their favour they are still being held responsible. 

They will go on being held responsible because the government of the day needs to be able to justify that payout. Some of those involved hold the highest positions in the land and to admit wrong doing could have extreme consequences.   

The whole episode stinks of corruption. There has been too much harm done. Whatever the consequences there needs to be an inquiry. We were the people who paid the compensation with our taxes.