Monthly Archives: October 2020

Sport

Footy – A Richmond Tale

3 Comments

I have a confession to make. I was an Essendon supporter until I was fourteen. My maternal grandfather starred for Essendon in two premierships in the 1920s, so I was a ‘sworn’ Bomber. But then I went to the 1967 Grand Final with my father, who was a Tiger tragic. I blame the drama of the day, but by nightfall I had changed my allegiance. I was now a Tiger. Just like that! No-one does that, at least not in Melbourne.

Tigers’ first golden era

The game was the 1967 Grand Final, and Richmond won. I was taken into the players’ rooms after the game (an extremely rare honour, even then), and I was introduced to the players. Most of them were just out of the showers, but those were curiously decorous times. The players, to a man I think, tolerated the social task of shaking a teenager’s hand, as I was led through the room. They were mostly wearing towels.

This incident, though slight to my reader, changed the world for me. The Richmond Tigers went on to win another four premierships over the next thirteen years. Did I look back over my shoulder to re-consider my decision? Never. I gloried in the Richmond way, the ruthless Tigers who gave no quarter, who trained harder and played harder, with an assurance that they had no friends, just opponents.

View Post

Carlton was our natural enemy, later to be Collingwood, but they were all loathed, except for Footscray, who were everyone’s second, other team. That’s because they were never a threat.

My commitment never really wavered, though there were times when footy was not ‘top of mind’. Life sometimes intervened, but the Tigers were dear to my heart .

The wilderness years

After 1980 there was less to be interested in. As the years rolled on, Richmond stopped being a power, and became something of a joke. Years and years of power struggles within the club drained momentum. Beloved figures from the past ran nasty, personal campaigns to wrest control back from whomever; sometimes they were outsiders, sometimes they were old team-mates.

These were the years when the enemies of the club prospered. Even the Bombers, discarded so many years ago, won several flags with an ex- Tiger champion coaching them. Essendon’s 2000 season was probably the greatest season ever played, where they were virtually unbeaten, and unbeatable. And coached by Kevin Sheedy. Oh, the horror, the horror.

But I found an interest again. As my children arrived, they were inducted. We suffered the slings and arrows of the Tigers’ outrageous fortune. We heard Collingwood touted as the club with the biggest membership, but I knew the Tigers were a sleeping giant.

Even Hawthorn, latecomers to the big dance, came to shine. And shine again, many times over. If Richmond gloried in its proletarian beginnings, the Hawks represented Middle Melbourne. They even played at Waverley, bang in the middle of Middle Melbourne.

The new century brought no relief. Richmond gained a reputation for finishing ninth, just out of the final eight, stranded. The others jeered, but redemption was close, perhaps. There are many riffs able to be played on finishing ninth. Ask me, I’ve heard them all.

The Tigers have always been distinguished by their supporters. No matter how dire the season, or the game, there was always someone in the crowd, or the bar, who could spot reasons why the latest performance was showing positive signs. Green shoots could be determined in the ashes of another unsuccessful season. And once a true-blue Tiger, you are doomed to share their fate. One of my children cursed her luck, to be born with the Richmond stain.

Gradually, however, the new five year plan began to take shape – finally spelled out by club President Brendon Gale, it stated:
”By 2020, we aspire to have won our 13th premiership; consistently provide the most exciting and powerful match-day experience in the competition; once again have the strongest support base in the nation, and enjoy the strongest emotional connection with our members and fans”. Spooky.

Redemption

The 2017 season started auspiciously. Five wins, no losses. Then a run of four losses. Adelaide crushed us by 76 points – another blighted birthday for me, but who’s counting? I’ll cut this scintillating tale of redemption short; Richmond became a frenzied football machine, tackling and passing the ball, tall players and short suddenly as good as, and then better than, their opponents. Richmond pressure, ninety percent chaos, was suddenly the blueprint for success. Goals were expected now, rather than prayed for.

The finals were absolutely nerve-wracking. Geelong had had a particularly successful period when they had routinely sent us back to Richmond in the foetal position – not any more. Crushed comprehensively. Next, to the Giants, seen as young, but hugely talented. They were tossed aside the following Saturday. That game left us only one mountain to climb – the Grand Final, the first since 1982. It was against Adelaide, the power side, the raging favourites.

Suffice to say, chaos ruled. Richmond won by 48 points. The crowd was 90% Richmond. Delirium took over, after 37 years in the wilderness. Adelaide had come to the MCG, feared for their skill and confidence. They were reduced to a rabble.

So the hordes took to Richmond to celebrate. Our first stop was to a back street in Richmond, where a giant mural of Dustin Martin had appeared, as if by magic. We joined a queue, to be photographed standing in front of Dusty. My daughter Lucy (an innocent child I had introduced to a lifetime of watching Tiger teams crash) and I then went to the All Nations Hotel, to celebrate the life – changing premiership. The night was completely and absolutely mad, but no-one was hurt. Except for the staff, whose faces were a sight to see, as every forty seconds the Tigers’ theme song was sung, and they were exhorted to sing it, again, and again.

The streets were awash with hysterical fans. Young men danced on the roofs of taxi cabs, Bridge Road was blocked by thousands. A drought of 37 years had broken. Caroline Wilson wrote an article in the following days explaining how, although only a game, Richmond’s win had elevated our spirits and reaffirmed our love for life. We weren’t to be pitied any more, because we had won a premiership.

Melbourne is seen as the serious city in Australia, where people take great issues seriously, and where political passions run on the slightly puritanical, progressive path. But a serious Melbournian can be distracted. Just ask them who they barrack for.

Australian Politics, COVID-19

Melbourne’s close to success

4 Comments

Most Victorians are thrilled by the results obtained by lockdown, which was imposed by Daniel Andrews. You might call our original assent grudging, but it gradually morphed into gratitude, as long as the Trump-lite knuckle draggers in the Federal Government allowed us to deal with the second wave, our own way – a hard lockdown. Victoria is alone in suffering through a second wave, so our experience and our success are worth celebrating.

Victorians defeat 2nd wave

Comparisons with the United Kingdom are of interest here. On July 30 Victoria had 723 new cases of Covid-19, the U.K. had 763. Today (October 19) we have 1 new case, the U.K. has 16,982.

Since then the second wave has been crushed in Victoria, with new cases in single digits almost every day, and a decreasing death rate. Take a good hard look at Boris Johnson’s pathetic leadership, and the deadly cost of having a neoliberal idiot in charge.

We were on similar case numbers on July 30, and because of the lockdown we are almost 17,000 cases better off today. At a 1% death rate from overall infections, that looks like 170 deaths from one day’s cases.

So this is where you have to wonder whether these liberals and the other right wing folk have been perhaps giving the Scotch bottle a bit of a nudge between meals. Because they seem not to understand the situation, or perhaps they really believe money is more important than human life.

Not everyone has been helpful

Jeff (I feel so useless, and foolish) Kennett is whinging about Grand Final celebrations. Two points: your team is not even in the big dance, and secondly, my team (the Tigers) is, and I am happy enough to miss out on a party in the short term, as long as my family and I are safe from the pandemic in the long term.

That is called playing the odds, and planning for the future. The opposite of your government, which sold half the state’s schools to real estate developers back in the ’90s. Of course we had to re-build them later, but Jeff had already moved on.

What about Josh (the boy-treasurer) Frydenburg? I believe that he has found his people, the hard-right fat-cat warriors, who unashamedly put the nation’s economy before public health, but they are too dishonest to say so. He is either particularly insensitive, or just stupid, to rabbit on about mental health in such dangerous times.

His sanctimonious words will come back to haunt him, as the Jobseeker cliff looms. That little gift to the Australian people will cause a giant spike in mental health cases, when over 6 million people are thrown into poverty, again. Poverty, with hunger and homelessness thrown in.

Morrison was always keen to not be seen putting economic concerns before the public health dilemma. That kept him relatively quiet for a few months, but his tiny neoliberal soul would not let him rest. When you are steeped in market-based ideology, it is difficult to let go. And so he has unleashed his minions.

And what a group they are. Frydenburg, Hunt (I am the Health Minister), Tudge (locks up detainees illegally), Kennett (desperately seeking relevance), Dutton (not prejudiced, he hates all Laborites, Victorians and Queenslanders) Tim Wilson (please take a photo of me) with the evil Scotty from Marketing, still trying to put daylight between himself and his Victorian attack dogs.

Steady as she goes

Many of us have been separated from family, limited in our social lives, many are in fear for their finances; but most of us are alive, and the fear of contagion is receding. For a reason that I cannot fathom, Scott Morrison has decided that he is willing to continually wage war on Daniel Andrews, pressuring him to re-open the state and to remove restrictions.

Victoria might be considered a lost cause to the Coalition, but we all have memories. We can still punish you at the next election, by removing the remaining duds from your team. And although Dan has had some uncertain moments, I still stand with him, and the rest of Victoria.

Australian Politics

Homeless? Bad luck, this Government won’t help

3 Comments

When I was growing up there were almost no homeless people in Australia. If you were homeless then, you were probably an ageing male who drank too much, and you had been caught out between shelters, or in some cases, you chose sleeping rough over the sometimes stifling rules in those shelters. They were often run by ‘Christian’ organisations.

Seven years of this Coalition Government has exacerbated the problem. Greatly. There has always been an economic argument for ending homelessness, but really it would take this Government a collective brain-transplant to recognise the benefits. As we have come to know, they all seem to have been infected by the neoliberal virus, which deadens the mind.

Would ending homelessness be good for us?

Recent reports into homelessness by the McKell Institute concluded that ending homelessness delivers on several fronts. Some of the benefits would be improved health and employment outcomes, and a greater sense of safety, independence and social connectedness. “However, the economic co-benefit of the investment is sizeable.” PwC

In many cases support services are required, the most expensive of which is crisis housing, in hotels, motels, caravan parks etc. The McKell Institute cites modelling by PwC that “moving each person from crisis accommodation will save $11,935 per year, per person, through reduced use of government services including health services, welfare, police and prisons”. So, it is not only beneficial to society, but it saves money.

What causes homelessness?

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) is an independent statutory agency. This is a part of their latest report on homelessness in Australia:

“On Census night in 2016, more than 116,000 people were estimated to be homeless in Australia-58% were male, 21% were aged 25–34 and 20% identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians (ABS 2018). Around 51,000 (44%) were living in severely crowded dwellings. Over 21,000 (18%) were living in supported accommodation for the homeless and 8,200 (7%) were rough sleepers.”

That is a roll-call of the neediest Australians. There are a number of reasons why the numbers are going up: women and children fleeing family violence, young people unemployed and unable to afford rent, debt, disability, the scourge of methamphetamine use. Add the casualties of the Covid-19 recession and those numbers have swelled.

As noted, the Coalition continues to reduce funding for many support services. One wonders if it is a sneaky way to further punish those who are not thriving. Not worthy enough?

How do we fix it? Let’s dream for a moment.

There is a solution. And the Federal Governments is wilfully ignoring it. Build public, low-cost housing, and most of the problem will go away. Public housing provision, by state and federal governments, both Labor and Liberal, has fallen to its lowest level in 40 years. However, the issue of cost has always seemed to be an insurmountable issue.

Things are different now. The Government has signalled that it is ready, and keen to provide substantial stimulus. And there is a perfect destination for all that stimulus. Additional to the social benefits of alleviating homelessness, there is the opportunity to build something, to re-build self-esteem and social cohesion, to undo the decades of neglect. There is an opportunity to re-build Australia as a fair place, where the strong make sure the weak are looked after. You know, the reason we pride ourselves on being Australians.

Imagine employing small suburban construction companies, with all the under-employed builders standing by, the timber and brick manufacturers aglow with anticipation, apprentices saved by the promise of work, how good is a building-led recovery?

Allied to the fact that building is so local, there is no need to employ the mega-builders, or multi-nationals. The local shopping strips will reap the benefit of the tradies buying their lunches. They might even need a new ute, with all the work … Go hard, go local!

How did Morrison use the stimulus?

Of course you would be wrong if you thought Morrison and his Government chose the humane and intelligent solution. They would rather give the stimulus in tax cuts, which may, or may not, be used. Companies might buy another piece of capital equipment, but why should they? They are not sure they will have customers on the other side.

The wealthy, who will also enjoy the benefits of very generous tax cuts, will pocket the cash. Their lives are already fully upholstered, and so their consuming will not achieve anything at all. How many yachts can one boatshed hold?

In a country of such wealth it is an absolute disgrace that children are living in cars and under bridges, while we provide million dollar tax-cuts to billionaires and their ilk. Throw in a billion or two to fossil fuel companies, and you have a recipe for a future disaster. The Coalition will never learn. They talk the Keynesian talk, but they can’t manage the walk.

It also knows that those less well off spend their stimulus the minute they receive it; so by going quickly, to those who need it most, they would have helped those most in need of it – small businesses, and their customers. So cutting benefits to those most in need is not only miserable and cruel – it is dumb economics. When will we all wake up to this crooked Government, and throw them out of office?

Australian Politics

Morrison’s economic plans reflect his lack of life experience

8 Comments

While he plans to line the pockets of his mates and the wealthy with ridiculous tax-cuts, we have all read the reports that, with the cuts to Jobseeker and Jobkeeper, Morrison and his sorry acolyte Frydenburg, will be throwing millions of Australians into poverty, and even hunger.

Poverty seems more palatable, pardon the pun, but hunger? Are we really being led by people who think it is in any way acceptable to deny children, single mothers, the unemployed, (whether it is their own fault or not) the disabled, and even those who do not own a house to go hungry? Let us not forget homelessness, either. The pandemic economy will not be kind to the poor, deserving or not.

Scott Morrison lacks the intellect, the life experience and the character to lead this country, during a time when we need to rely on government.

It has already started to bite

I volunteer for a food-bank type operation in regional Victoria. During the short period when the Jobseeker payment was double its previous amount, the food-bank saw a drop in demand. It has now shot up again, because of the cuts; people have had to ask again for help, if they want their children, and themselves, to eat properly.

If we picture Morrison we see a man who has apparently never missed a meal in his life. We see a man so pleased with himself that the smirk may well be permanent. Criticise him for a lack of empathy, and he wants to know who will fund it. Ask how his supposedly Christian faith allows him to visit cruelty so casually on the weak, and he answers that the Bible is not a policy handbook.

Have you ever wondered if he ever had a real job, where he maybe made things that people wanted? Did he start at the bottom, or was it all handed to him? Did he develop a range of skills which would prepare him for running a country? Let us investigate.

All his jobs have been meaningless

Morrison seems to have been a manager all his life. He may have been born wearing a suit and tie. His list of jobs is interesting. He seems to have gone into every job at the top, or if not, just close enough to make the boss nervous. The jobs were not connected to making anything. He has not run a business, nor has he risked an investment in his own business. He is a classic member of the managerialist class.

So he has worked for the Property Council of Australia, a lobby group for property developers. He then moved into tourism, here and in New Zealand. When working in that sector, he left a string of disappointed colleagues behind him, amid stories of ruthless ambition and endless politicking. He has made something of a habit of causing trouble with the organisations which employ him, while relentlessly scheming to advance his career. He then departs, abruptly.

Next stop the Liberal Party, where he became the State Director. Such a meteoric rise, from leadership position to leadership position, without learning anything about co-operation, or collegiality, or even about that funny old thing, our society. When you run with wolves, there is little time for empathy.

Of course there were unsavoury tales surrounding his next step up the ladder. His pre-selection to Parliament was fraught. His opponent won the contest, outpolling Morrison by 80 votes to 8. The organisational wing of the Liberal Party disallowed the result, and a re-run was ordered. This had never happened before. They clearly recognised a managerialist of class, when they saw one.

How will this play out?

Back in some far off ‘golden old days’, the Liberal Party boasted members who had some form of decency, a social conscience even. The so-called Liberal ‘wets’ have been hunted out of the organisation, however, and it is now filled with neoliberal spivs. They cultivate a type of objective disdain for the less well-off, and dress it up as economic rationalism.

If you ever see the job title ‘policy director’ run away. Morrison was a policy director once, for a lobby group. Tim Wilson was a policy director for the IPA. So that is the sort of job many of the Liberal Party did before they got their big chance. And you can see how policy directors turn out!

Think tanks like the IPA don’t actually think. They import their silly ideas from the U.S. – all they have to do is unwrap them. Right wing think tanks provided Trump with his playbook. Pretty well all populist governments follow the same agenda. Increase inequality at the expense of the 99%.

Cut regulations, no matter whatever the cost. Cut welfare, except to corporations and the wealthy. Cut services, especially to indigenous communities and the aged care sector, privatise everything you can get your hands on. Ruin the environment, gut the public service while enriching multinational cartels, let the poor starve.

The worst part is that Morrison has amassed all this power at a point in history when Australia, and indeed most of the world, need real leaders. Not tin-pot dictators like Trump, Johnson and Morrison. Look at the way Morrison’s heroes have handled the pandemic. Scotty from Marketing has followed public opinion so far, but you can see him chafing at the bit to sacrifice ordinary people in the interests of business and commerce. We need to tell him that we won’t stand for being a smaller version of the failing American Empire.

As Oscar Wilde said, a cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.