A friend of mine asked me the other day why I seem to only criticise the Liberals. My answer was that they have been in power for six years now, so if anything is conspicuously wrong with the country, it is probably their fault. And also they appear to be generally a callous lot. I remember when Liberals with a social conscience were dubbed ‘wets’. … Continue reading The Conservatives In Australia
When you buy a television you have an expectation that the thing will work, and that it will fulfil the purpose for which you bought it. In Australia we have a robust Consumer Law, which is quite exemplary, and quite differently from many of our human rights practices, actually elicits praise internationally. There is one ‘product class’ excluded from its coverage, sadly – politicians, and … Continue reading Buyer Beware – Politicians
We have become accustomed, in Australia, through long adherence to a shared system of values, to governments which would always put ‘the people’ first. We Australians, it was understood, would always adhere to international norms and standards, and we would conduct our day to day political affairs according to equality and fairness. That was until Tony Abbott ascended to the Prime Ministership, and he let … Continue reading Unfunded Empathy
Can we trust Scott Morrison to govern for all of us? Continue reading Is Scomo Fair Dinkum?
Sticky post
When a politician speaks we should be able to decipher what he or she is saying. Most of them, at least these days, have an education of sorts, and presumably when they use words they use them in a way that their listeners understand. So “no” should not have a special meaning; and neither should “yes”. They should mean what most people think they mean. … Continue reading Words Have Meaning
How good’s Dutto? Continue reading Peter Dutton Brings Us All Down (To His Level)
When the last tree is cut, the last river poisoned, and the last fish dead, we will discover that we can’t eat money. Like most non-scientists I defer to science, which is derived from the Latin “scientia” meaning knowledge. So when serious groups of scientists join together, almost unanimously, (97.1%) and tell us that the earth’s climate is changing, for the worse, I believe them. When I … Continue reading The Climate is now Personal for All of Us
