going on again in government circles - or so it would seem. This time the government appears to have completely ignored a court ruling. It has gone ahead with the sale of a large parcel of industrial land to a development consortium at a much lower price than should have been paid for it.
The Supreme Court had some scathing things to say about this but it made no difference. The sale went ahead.
It went ahead despite the fact that this state is in debt and needs all the money it can get. We are getting hit with increased taxes. The government claims this is necessary because there were "cuts" in funding from the Federal government.
There were no cuts. What happened was that there was a change of government in Canberra and what the previous government had promised in its election campaign did not come into being. We could not have afforded it. It would not have happened even if they had been returned. The money simply wasn't there. It was never there. But, it makes a good excuse for the present state government. The lie doesn't matter. People are going to believe it.
So the question now has to be - why did they sell off the land for far less than it is worth?
You don't do these things without a reason. If there was a good reason for it I suspect we would have been told. The government would have been only too happy to tell us that someone had paid "X" but they had undertaken to do "Y" and that meant that there was more profit to be had in the end.
But it has all been kept quiet. Is this because someone made a blunder? Was the government so desperate for short term finance it had to agree to the sale? Or is there a more than a whiff of corruption in the air?
The last seems unlikely - or so we would like to believe. Our governments are supposed to be "clean". We aren't supposed to have the same problems as other governments. Corruption is not supposed to exist here.
That's nonsense of course. It does exist. High ranking officials do take "kick backs" and more - everything from the expensive lunch to the new car and more besides.
But there are other sorts of corruption too. The corruption of being in power for too long, in believing you can do as you like because you are in power - the sort of corruption which leads to carelessness.
It might be that and that frightens me.
Wednesday, 14 January 2015
Tuesday, 13 January 2015
So, what next?
There are pictures over several pages of the paper this morning. They show "millions" of people marching "in support of free speech". There is even a line of "world leaders" and one of a few hundred people standing in the rain in our very own CBD.
Last night those marches took up about eleven minutes of the news service on television.
This morning there is a single paragraph about children returning to school after around one hundred of their classmates were massacred. There is another paragraph about Boko Haram using a ten year old girl as a "suicide bomber". The first of these stories did rate a mention-with-interview on one news service but the second was considered "too upsetting" to get more than a mention on the same news service.
Most people won't get as far as reading the paragraphs buried pages into the paper. If they watch a commercial news programme the stories may not even have been mentioned.
So, what next? What are all these people who marched going to do? My guess is - nothing. Marching will have made them feel good, feel better, feel that they have done something. Most of them will feel no need to do anything more. They will believe it proves they are not racist and that they are not religious bigots. that they are not intolerant and that they do believe in "freedom of speech".
They will go back to their comfortable lives in middle class suburbs and expect life to continue as before.
I don't blame them. I am not even surprised. It is so much easier to do that than consider the children who will never go to school again. It is easier to march than think of the ten year old who should have had the rest of a long life ahead of her. It is easier to hold a pencil in the air than think of the toddlers living in tents in the snow because of the power struggles in the neighbouring country they once called home.
It would be better if we could use the pencils to positive effect.
Last night those marches took up about eleven minutes of the news service on television.
This morning there is a single paragraph about children returning to school after around one hundred of their classmates were massacred. There is another paragraph about Boko Haram using a ten year old girl as a "suicide bomber". The first of these stories did rate a mention-with-interview on one news service but the second was considered "too upsetting" to get more than a mention on the same news service.
Most people won't get as far as reading the paragraphs buried pages into the paper. If they watch a commercial news programme the stories may not even have been mentioned.
So, what next? What are all these people who marched going to do? My guess is - nothing. Marching will have made them feel good, feel better, feel that they have done something. Most of them will feel no need to do anything more. They will believe it proves they are not racist and that they are not religious bigots. that they are not intolerant and that they do believe in "freedom of speech".
They will go back to their comfortable lives in middle class suburbs and expect life to continue as before.
I don't blame them. I am not even surprised. It is so much easier to do that than consider the children who will never go to school again. It is easier to march than think of the ten year old who should have had the rest of a long life ahead of her. It is easier to hold a pencil in the air than think of the toddlers living in tents in the snow because of the power struggles in the neighbouring country they once called home.
It would be better if we could use the pencils to positive effect.
Monday, 12 January 2015
There are members of a religious cult
living not far from us who do not mix with the rest of the community unless they cannot avoid it. When the women go shopping they do not make polite casual conversation with the shop assistants. They never sit and have coffee with friends. They wear headscarves over their long hair. They don't buy newspapers or magazines. At morning recess and at lunchtime one of the grandparents will be there to ensure all the children of cult members are separated out from the other children at whichever school the children attend. They remove themselves as far as possible from the community.
At the same time they demand a great deal from that community. They don't vote - but they expect politicians to do their bidding. They don't take out insurance but they will sue for damages and accept money from an insurance company.
I could go on but I won't. They are, in one sense, no different from some other groups - the Amish or the Mennonites perhaps. And yes, if that is what they believe, then I have no business trying to stop them.
I have, over the years, had a little to do with them. Aside from their beliefs some of them appear to be perfectly pleasant. The life they have chosen would not be the life I would choose. I don't know that they are content or happy but they believe they will be in their after-life.
But, they are viewed with suspicion. They are generally disliked. I may be wrong but I believe the reasons for this are as simple as they are complex. If people don't mix - if they deliberately keep themselves separate - then others are going to wonder why. Is it arrogance? Is it because they have something to hide?
Sharing food with one another around the table or campfire or mat is an act as old as mankind. If people don't do this then questions will be asked about why?
This isn't about intruding on the lives of other people. It isn't saying we need to share the beliefs of those we eat with or mix with but it does, I think, say something about the essence of humanity.
We are being told we need to reach out. I hope I do. My friends and acquaintances come from many places, many faiths, many beliefs and many backgrounds. But - it's a two way thing. It won't work any other way.
At the same time they demand a great deal from that community. They don't vote - but they expect politicians to do their bidding. They don't take out insurance but they will sue for damages and accept money from an insurance company.
I could go on but I won't. They are, in one sense, no different from some other groups - the Amish or the Mennonites perhaps. And yes, if that is what they believe, then I have no business trying to stop them.
I have, over the years, had a little to do with them. Aside from their beliefs some of them appear to be perfectly pleasant. The life they have chosen would not be the life I would choose. I don't know that they are content or happy but they believe they will be in their after-life.
But, they are viewed with suspicion. They are generally disliked. I may be wrong but I believe the reasons for this are as simple as they are complex. If people don't mix - if they deliberately keep themselves separate - then others are going to wonder why. Is it arrogance? Is it because they have something to hide?
Sharing food with one another around the table or campfire or mat is an act as old as mankind. If people don't do this then questions will be asked about why?
This isn't about intruding on the lives of other people. It isn't saying we need to share the beliefs of those we eat with or mix with but it does, I think, say something about the essence of humanity.
We are being told we need to reach out. I hope I do. My friends and acquaintances come from many places, many faiths, many beliefs and many backgrounds. But - it's a two way thing. It won't work any other way.
Sunday, 11 January 2015
Downunderites get excited about
Aussie Rules football and rain - well, some of them do.
You don't want to know about Aussie Rules football. It is a dangerous game played with an oval shaped ball. Enough said.
The rain? Well that's a different story. Australia has droughts and bushfires and floods. We have all three at the moment.
There are parts of one state that are still drought declared. That may change. I hope it does.
The fires in my state are out for now but another state was battling property threatening blazes yesterday. Yes, more lovely homes built in among "natural" bush surroundings.
And then there is the rain which has flooded places that are usually dry. Someone in the weather bureau tried to explain that it was a "monsoon" which had "headed south without the heat". Mmm... I am not sure about that description.
If you look at a map of Downunder there is a town in the middle, a town called Alice Springs. (Yes, the town referred to in the title of Neville Shute's book, "A town like Alice".) There is a "river" there, the River Todd. Most of the time the river bed is completely dry. It is often used as a camping ground. They even have a "boat race" in the dry river bed.
But, if it rains, it can turn into an actual fast flowing river in an extraordinarily short space of time. It is dangerous. Sadly, a young man lost his life there a couple of days ago. He was attempting to "tube" (ride in the inner tube of a tyre) down the river.
People are warned about these things. They don't always listen. They are told "don't try and cross the creeks". They simply don't believe it is dangerous.
I do. I once experienced the power and speed of that water in a very unusual way. I was in a plane.
Plane trips are usually very boring affairs. That in-flight entertainment is there for a very good reason - even if I would prefer to read a book.
But, on this occasion I was flying on the Singapore to Downunder leg of the long trip from Upover. It was early morning as we crossed what is usually a vast expanse of desert. The pilot made an announcement and then, unusually, asked the staff to arrange for everyone who wanted to do so to take a turn looking out the windows. We would, he informed us, see something that might be a once in a lifetime experience. We would be able to see water moving across the land.
It sounded completely crazy. We were 20,000 feet in the air and travelling at speed. Nobody could see water moving at that height or speed. But, he was right. We could see the water moving. There was so much of it and it was travelling so rapidly that it was possible to see it moving even at that height. From so far above of course it appeared very slow but, on the ground, it must have been moving at a tremendous speed.
It rained here yesterday. It was a welcome relief. It helped to put the fires out even as it brought down more fire damaged trees. It has helped the fire fighters who will be monitoring the area for a while yet.
And next door I heard the Little Drummer Boy yell, "It's raining. Come out and play!" It was something to get excited about.
You don't want to know about Aussie Rules football. It is a dangerous game played with an oval shaped ball. Enough said.
The rain? Well that's a different story. Australia has droughts and bushfires and floods. We have all three at the moment.
There are parts of one state that are still drought declared. That may change. I hope it does.
The fires in my state are out for now but another state was battling property threatening blazes yesterday. Yes, more lovely homes built in among "natural" bush surroundings.
And then there is the rain which has flooded places that are usually dry. Someone in the weather bureau tried to explain that it was a "monsoon" which had "headed south without the heat". Mmm... I am not sure about that description.
If you look at a map of Downunder there is a town in the middle, a town called Alice Springs. (Yes, the town referred to in the title of Neville Shute's book, "A town like Alice".) There is a "river" there, the River Todd. Most of the time the river bed is completely dry. It is often used as a camping ground. They even have a "boat race" in the dry river bed.
But, if it rains, it can turn into an actual fast flowing river in an extraordinarily short space of time. It is dangerous. Sadly, a young man lost his life there a couple of days ago. He was attempting to "tube" (ride in the inner tube of a tyre) down the river.
People are warned about these things. They don't always listen. They are told "don't try and cross the creeks". They simply don't believe it is dangerous.
I do. I once experienced the power and speed of that water in a very unusual way. I was in a plane.
Plane trips are usually very boring affairs. That in-flight entertainment is there for a very good reason - even if I would prefer to read a book.
But, on this occasion I was flying on the Singapore to Downunder leg of the long trip from Upover. It was early morning as we crossed what is usually a vast expanse of desert. The pilot made an announcement and then, unusually, asked the staff to arrange for everyone who wanted to do so to take a turn looking out the windows. We would, he informed us, see something that might be a once in a lifetime experience. We would be able to see water moving across the land.
It sounded completely crazy. We were 20,000 feet in the air and travelling at speed. Nobody could see water moving at that height or speed. But, he was right. We could see the water moving. There was so much of it and it was travelling so rapidly that it was possible to see it moving even at that height. From so far above of course it appeared very slow but, on the ground, it must have been moving at a tremendous speed.
It rained here yesterday. It was a welcome relief. It helped to put the fires out even as it brought down more fire damaged trees. It has helped the fire fighters who will be monitoring the area for a while yet.
And next door I heard the Little Drummer Boy yell, "It's raining. Come out and play!" It was something to get excited about.
Saturday, 10 January 2015
So, they are closing the Grand Synagogue
in Paris for this Shabbat - or rather, they will have done that by now. They have not done that since WWII.
I can understand those responsible for safety there advising it be done - but it lets the terrorists win. It lets the terrorists win - for now.
We can't let that happen.
The very act of closing anything, even for a short period, sends the message, "We are frightened of what you might do next."
It is what the terrorists want. They will merely see it as another challenge, another barrier they have to scale in their filthy war. They know that those responsible for the safety of others will see that as a priority. They know that extra security will cost, that it will divert funds from other things that people need. It is all part of the "punishment" the rest of us are expected to take for not adhering to their twisted beliefs.
Even if we did adhere to their twisted beliefs it would do little good. Those responsible would simply find more and more ways to exert control. They would impose more and more "rules" and demands as to how our lives should be lived.
Charlie Hebdo, and others like it, have been criticised for being "anti-" this and "anti-" that - and even for being internally guilty of prejudice. There are people who will scream "anti-Semitic" and "anti-Muslim" even while they find "anti-Christian" cartoons acceptable. Our state newspaper has been happy to poke fun at the religious beliefs of the Prime Minister - something they would not dare to do if he was anything other than Christian. People will scream "racist" if anyone tells a joke about someone from Iraq, Israel, Indonesia or an indigenous Australian but will find a similar joke about someone from Iceland or Ireland acceptable.
We have had double standards for too long. If we are going to permit cartoons at all (and how on earth could we stop them even if we wanted to) then we have to accept that Muslims, Mormons, Mexicans, Moroccans and everyone else (including me) is likely to be a target.
I can understand those responsible for safety there advising it be done - but it lets the terrorists win. It lets the terrorists win - for now.
We can't let that happen.
The very act of closing anything, even for a short period, sends the message, "We are frightened of what you might do next."
It is what the terrorists want. They will merely see it as another challenge, another barrier they have to scale in their filthy war. They know that those responsible for the safety of others will see that as a priority. They know that extra security will cost, that it will divert funds from other things that people need. It is all part of the "punishment" the rest of us are expected to take for not adhering to their twisted beliefs.
Even if we did adhere to their twisted beliefs it would do little good. Those responsible would simply find more and more ways to exert control. They would impose more and more "rules" and demands as to how our lives should be lived.
Charlie Hebdo, and others like it, have been criticised for being "anti-" this and "anti-" that - and even for being internally guilty of prejudice. There are people who will scream "anti-Semitic" and "anti-Muslim" even while they find "anti-Christian" cartoons acceptable. Our state newspaper has been happy to poke fun at the religious beliefs of the Prime Minister - something they would not dare to do if he was anything other than Christian. People will scream "racist" if anyone tells a joke about someone from Iraq, Israel, Indonesia or an indigenous Australian but will find a similar joke about someone from Iceland or Ireland acceptable.
We have had double standards for too long. If we are going to permit cartoons at all (and how on earth could we stop them even if we wanted to) then we have to accept that Muslims, Mormons, Mexicans, Moroccans and everyone else (including me) is likely to be a target.
Friday, 9 January 2015
No, I am not going to be silenced
either. I think I have calmed down enough to write this now.
Yesterday, in the normally fairly peaceful surrounds of the library, I was accosted by a man who told me I should cease writing this blog and cease writing letters to the editor. He informed me it was "not safe" to do this.
"People like you are what make people like those terrorists kill people. You're just as bad as they are. They should lock you all up and throw away the key."
I don't know this man. I have seen him before but he had never as much as acknowledged me - until yesterday. If anyone had asked me I would have assumed he was a normal, reasonable individual. Yesterday's behaviour however was not normal or reasonable.
Obviously he knew me. He knew my Letters to the Editor activities. I admit to a little stirring there - sometimes at the request of someone on the staff. I do not set out to offend people, indeed I do my utmost not to offend - but I do try to make people think. I see the Letters page as a place for alternative views and additions to debate.
Apparently this is wrong. All such activities should cease. All blogging should cease. Twitter and Facebook and all other forms of social media would be banned under this man's governance.
And that is surely just what the terrorists who committed yesterday's atrocities (yes, there was more than one) want. They want everyone to think just one way - their way.
Well, I'm sorry but I am not going to be told how to think. I am not going to be silenced.
Yesterday, in the normally fairly peaceful surrounds of the library, I was accosted by a man who told me I should cease writing this blog and cease writing letters to the editor. He informed me it was "not safe" to do this.
"People like you are what make people like those terrorists kill people. You're just as bad as they are. They should lock you all up and throw away the key."
I don't know this man. I have seen him before but he had never as much as acknowledged me - until yesterday. If anyone had asked me I would have assumed he was a normal, reasonable individual. Yesterday's behaviour however was not normal or reasonable.
Obviously he knew me. He knew my Letters to the Editor activities. I admit to a little stirring there - sometimes at the request of someone on the staff. I do not set out to offend people, indeed I do my utmost not to offend - but I do try to make people think. I see the Letters page as a place for alternative views and additions to debate.
Apparently this is wrong. All such activities should cease. All blogging should cease. Twitter and Facebook and all other forms of social media would be banned under this man's governance.
And that is surely just what the terrorists who committed yesterday's atrocities (yes, there was more than one) want. They want everyone to think just one way - their way.
Well, I'm sorry but I am not going to be told how to think. I am not going to be silenced.
Thursday, 8 January 2015
The massacre at Charlie Hebdo
was far more than an attack on those who were murdered or on free speech. It was an attack on our very existence.
I am not religious in the sense that I go to church and believe in a "god" who is some sort of little old man sitting up in the sky working miracles and surrounded by angels. I don't believe in the other "gods" of other faiths either.
If someone asks me I will say I believe in the command that we "love one another" - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. To me, those things are just common sense. They make it possible to live with each other - and find some pleasure in doing so.
If really pushed then I will admit to a belief in something other than myself. I have absolutely no idea what that something is. I merely have this sense that to believe just in myself would be incredibly arrogant.
I do not believe that I have any right to demand that other people believe what I believe. I detest people trying to persuade me that I "should" believe anything or do anything or be anything. That does not mean I do not want to be challenged or that I want to avoid debate, discussion or argument. I do want these things. They involve me with the world.
To go out and kill people because they do not believe what you believe or because they challenge your beliefs is something I find totally abhorrent. The idea that any "god" would condone this I find appalling. This is not the sort of "god" I could believe in - certainly not if the god in question is supposed to be a creator one. It makes no sense to me.
It makes no sense to me because surely our very existence depends on our diversity? Diversity can only be protected if ideas are challenged. If we have the right to exist then we must also have the right to challenge those who threaten that existence.
Come on, talk to me...challenge me... laugh at me - but please don't threaten my existence.
I am not religious in the sense that I go to church and believe in a "god" who is some sort of little old man sitting up in the sky working miracles and surrounded by angels. I don't believe in the other "gods" of other faiths either.
If someone asks me I will say I believe in the command that we "love one another" - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. To me, those things are just common sense. They make it possible to live with each other - and find some pleasure in doing so.
If really pushed then I will admit to a belief in something other than myself. I have absolutely no idea what that something is. I merely have this sense that to believe just in myself would be incredibly arrogant.
I do not believe that I have any right to demand that other people believe what I believe. I detest people trying to persuade me that I "should" believe anything or do anything or be anything. That does not mean I do not want to be challenged or that I want to avoid debate, discussion or argument. I do want these things. They involve me with the world.
To go out and kill people because they do not believe what you believe or because they challenge your beliefs is something I find totally abhorrent. The idea that any "god" would condone this I find appalling. This is not the sort of "god" I could believe in - certainly not if the god in question is supposed to be a creator one. It makes no sense to me.
It makes no sense to me because surely our very existence depends on our diversity? Diversity can only be protected if ideas are challenged. If we have the right to exist then we must also have the right to challenge those who threaten that existence.
Come on, talk to me...challenge me... laugh at me - but please don't threaten my existence.
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