We already live in Trump’s vision
Donald Trump is so behind the times I am surprised that Pauline Hanson hasn’t called him a piss-poor copycat.
The Donald pretends his immigration laws aren’t targeting Muslims. Our politicians have no such hesitation with many of them openly calling for a total ban on Muslim immigration.
Due to amendments to the Migration Act in 2014 conferring special executive powers on the Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton could ban Muslims tomorrow. He already has Trump powers. Parliament is considering a Bill to give him even greater power to cancel any visa he chooses without having to justify himself.
Donald wants to build a wall and use the National Guard to keep illegal immigrants out. We have a constantly patrolling ‘ring of steel’ manned by our military, and customs and immigration have morphed into a black-uniformed armed quasi-military force.
The Donald has declared he thinks torture works and is reportedly preparing to bring back “black site prisons”.
Our government quite openly advertises that any asylum seeker caught on a boat anywhere within cooee of our country will be indefinitely locked up on an island hell-hole and subjected to never-ending torture, so don’t even try it.
Our juvenile justice system employs the same tactics here with troubled youth. Subject them to violence and humiliation and strip them of any sense of identity – that’ll learn ‘em to be better citizens.
Trump is having a hissy fit about his inability to control the press. Here we just change the media ownership laws to give Murdoch a monopoly and neuter the ABC by slashing its funding, appointing conservatives to the board and former Murdoch employees to the executive, cutting fact checking and demoting to spokesmodel any interviewer with more gumption than jelly, and having representatives of the IPA on every panel and current affairs program.
The courts are frustrating some of Trump’s agenda. Not so here. Any state that has the temerity to introduce marriage equality or voluntary euthanasia or trained counsellors instead of school chaplains will very quickly find themselves instructed by the courts to stop that silliness.
Trump wants to overturn the marriage equality laws. We have never given in to such degeneracy.
Trump is trying to pretend climate change doesn’t exist be removing all reference to it from government web sites and replacing it with his energy policy. Here they don’t even bother denying it, they just tell us all that coal is good for humanity and that they will be giving our money to foreign companies so they can keep mining it. They talk about energy security while allowing nearly all of our gas to be exported, hugely driving up domestic prices.
Trump wants to reduce regulations particularly those pertaining to the environment. Here we just combine the Ministries of Energy and the Environment and make it illegal to challenge development. We didn’t pussy foot around tinkering with the previous administration’s clean energy efforts. We abolished the carbon tax, replacing it with subsidies for polluters, and destroyed the renewable energy industry by slashing targets and subsidies, though fossil fuel subsidies remain alive and well.
Edward Snowden revealed to the world the extent to which the American government spies on its own people. Here such an invasion of privacy was passed into law with the support of both major parties using the justification that it was necessary to protect us from terrorism.
Aside from the fact that insects and furniture pose a far greater threat, let alone violence from a family member, it has not been metadata collection keeping us safe. Our law enforcement agencies learn far more from Facebook and the Muslim community than any communication intercepts. There was ample evidence that Man Haron Monis was becoming increasingly unhinged, including a letter to George Brandis asking if it was legal to contact IS, but the justice system did nothing to stop him.
Trump wants to increase military spending by a paltry $50 billion. We are spending $400 billion on our new war toys and have increased the defence budget above and beyond projections every year including in the 2014 budget from hell.
Trump wants to cut foreign aid. Been there, done that.
Trump has vowed to spare middle-class social programs such as Social Security and Medicare from any cuts. What a wuss. Scott Morrison could show him a thing or two about defunding the ‘lifestyle’ of the poor and vulnerable.
Trump wants to reduce company taxes. Well hell – we said that ages ago and ours are heaps lower than his right now anyway so there! He has state taxes as well. There’ll be none of that.
Republicans see labour organising as a major impediment to their electoral prospects. So they have done everything in their power to dismantle the ability of unions to organise workers and bargain collectively on their behalf. We just have royal commissions that brand all unionists as thugs and criminals, establish a body with draconian powers beyond that of the police, and stack ‘independent’ bodies with people who will cut pay to the lowest paid workers while recommending pay increases for politicians, judges and senior public servants.
So the next time you gasp at Trump’s reckless audacity, have a look around you. We already live in Trump’s vision.
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22 comments
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helvityni -
zoltan balint -
Freethinker -
Michael -
Möbius Ecko -
Kaye Lee -
Möbius Ecko -
helvityni -
wakeupandsmellthehumans -
Peter F -
stephengb2014 -
Freethinker -
Roswell -
Greg -
Harquebus -
Freethinker -
Sandra Smith -
Jagger -
helvityni -
Kaye Lee -
Divergent Aussie -
Kate Ahearne
Return to home pageOut of those three pictured above, I have to say that I find Dutton the worst, the most vicious. Trump jumps from one issue to another and will not manage to do much. I can’t believe that Hanson will last, her voice will scare the possible followers off, and she a bit dumb-dumb….
It’s pretty bad here already, no need to go to USA, when looking for the worst..
Dear Kaye – all the above points highlight the diference between statutory law and common law. Common law protects everyone in equal measure and is based on logic and experience. Statutory law (legislation) protects the action and interest of a few and in most cases the politicians that make them
On the top of that, now, he signed an executive order aimed at unraveling one of Barack Obama’s signature environmental policies designed to protect American waterways from pollution.
Depressing!!!
My 70 year timeline observation = before TV, TV, real to increasingly unreal TV, “reality” TV, to now “unreal” reality – all in the quest for for someone else to give us promise of “freedom” (without responsibility) by steadily anesthetising the human.
In brief, greedy exploitation of communication power.
Freethinker. Yet again something Trump is well behind Australia in.
Federal and successive State governments have watered down or got rid of acts that protect waterways and native vegetation. Look at Queensland, both LNP and Labor, what Baird did to NSW, the Labor government in Victoria and it goes on, let alone the environmental destruction of the Murray, food basins and major aquifers the Federal government has allowed.
Who says we follow the US?
Feb 3, 2017
On Friday, President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive action to scale back the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial-overhaul law, in a sweeping plan to dismantle much of the regulatory system put in place after the financial crisis. That likely includes a review of the CFPB, which vastly expanded regulators’ ability to police consumer products — from mortgages to credit cards to student loans
Trump will also sign a presidential memorandum Friday that instructs the Labor Department to delay implementing the so-called “fiduciary rule” – an Obama-era rule that requires financial professionals who charge commissions to put their clients’ best interests first when giving advice on retirement investments. The “fiduciary rule” was aimed at blocking financial advisers from steering clients toward investments with higher commissions and fees that can eat away at retirement savings.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-02-03/trump-sign-executive-orders-scaling-back-financial-regulation
20 Jun 2014
The Federal Government is pressing ahead with its plan to wind back Labor’s financial advice laws aimed at protecting investors. The Government will proceed with scrapping a legal obligation requiring financial advisers to take “any reasonable steps” in their clients’ interests.
Industry Super chief executive David Whiteley is worried the changes will enable major collapses like Storm Financial and Timbercorp to happen again.
“The way to stop these scandals occurring is to ban all types of commissions, incentives and kickbacks to ensure you have an iron clad, watertight, best-interest test and to make sure that financial planners can’t just deduct ongoing fees from people’s super and investments,” Mr Whiteley said.
Labor financial services spokesman Bernie Ripoll says scrapping the requirement is wrong.
“This is what the big banks and institutions want, not what consumers want, not what clients want,” he said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-20/government-pushes-ahead-with-wind-back-of-financial-advice-laws/5537504
Trump stated he was going to cut the State Department (diplomacy), Labor Department and Education to pay for his increase in Defence spending.
Sorry Donald, way behind Australia again. We’ve been there, done that and are still doing it.
Note. He’s since retracted somewhat on his statement of cutting areas to pay for Defence after a backlash from Republicans and one of his own appointees. Instead he has stated that his management to improve the US economy will pay for it. He uses the latest good figures that apparently were his doing after one month in office, and having not tabled a single economic policy nor dismantled any of Obama’s. Even gave himself a score of “A”.
Mem Fox, Muhammad Ali’s son, and Norwegian PM were questioned on their arrival to USA.
Yesterday I heard on 7.30 that Dutton has put some bloke in detention (Christmas Island ?) for drunkenness and drink driving; the plan being: he’ll be deported back to London ( he came here as a two year old)….
I’m not good on detail here, but I believe he was part of some infamous motorbike club for two months…he does not own a motorbike…
How blind are we here in Australia to what is really going on? Thanks for putting the spotlight on it, Kaye.
@helvityni: In that program,Dutton said ‘we are going after the leaders of the motor cycle gangs.’ this was clearly a lie, but was not challenged.
Hevityni
Your remark about the 7:30 report – “Yesterday I heard on 7.30 that Dutton has put some bloke in detention (Christmas Island ?) for drunkenness and drink driving; the plan being: he’ll be deported back to London ( he came here as a two year old)….”
As a dual citizen from UK (Aug 1978) this puts me very much in the position of a second class citizen. It also reminds me that my position is precarious if I make noices about government policy and have the bad luck to be caught speeding or having had a drink too many.
Fortunately as a pensioner I cannot afford to be caught speeding, and as a motor yclist I believe drinking and driving is shear stupidity so I have chosen never to drink and drive at all, and I don’t.
But clearly I am less a citizen of Australia, because a citizen born here has no such matters to fear or such punishment possibly imposed on them because of the fact that they are not an immigrant.
Yes I could, as stated to me, by a “WELL MEANING” Right Wing Australian born citizen, that of I don’t like it I should leave (actually the words ‘p*** off’ were used and return to UK!
Thanks a whole bunch – to do so would see me and my Australian born wife become somewhat poorer, probably homeless if not impoverished (its most likely that if I were to be deported (because I commited some obscure or minor infringment) I would also lose my pension). This is without the fact that I would be removing myself from my son and grandchildren and my Australian born Daughter in law.
So guess what yes, I am in reality a second class Australian citizen after 37 years contributing to the wealth of this country my Right wing fellow citizens see it justified to hold the threat of deportation over me for some minor infringement if the Minister of immigration or his delegated underlings so decide?
Redress, None
Australia you have become a despotic nation of scardy cats.
wakeupandsmellthehumans, Australians are not blind, there hunderd of thousand voters that approve Dutton and One Nation policies and will support what Dutton would like to implement in this case.’
That it is the reality
Kaye Lee, a real eye opener, this one.
normally I would write a long speech with links to back up my case , but this time … well what is there to say .
Freethinker you are right an no matter what proof and evidence comes up against these people there are those who would vote them back in regardless of what happens . It’s just a sad fact that Australia has lost it’s way , but as long as there are people out there that wont give up and keep finding the evidence against public figures then there is still hope we can find our way back again to a country we can be proud off ….since it is out of character of me not to post a link i’ll leave you with this
Anarchy is starting to sound good.
Cheers.
Greg, our hope is in the next generations, in educating and making aware the high school students so when they go to university they will no be brainwashed with macroeconomics “textbooks” and other theories that will influence them to continuing with policies that are based only in materialist ideologies which brings greed racism and separation of classes in the name of progress for few at the cost of many.
At the present time I cannot see any movement within the Universities students to reverse the present trend.
This is what I don’t get about Australia.
In America there is a large backlash against trump and the republican policies and it is growing and getting more organised and I believe now backed by Obama (if the media can be believed, lol).
Meanwhile here in Australia we just bumble along while our rights, services and lifestyle are eroded daily with barely a peep. They would have to ban beer and football before Australians would protest in large numbers. Its so frustrating.
Our toxic parliment is beyond horrible and needs a good clean out. Is there a way for this to happen without a large scale revolution? I hope so but fear perhaps it will be too late for any other choice by the time Australia wakes up.
Australians used to ride ” on the sheeps back” now they are just sheep.
Spot on, Sandra Smith.
Sandra,
Life in Australia has been pretty good for most of us which has led us to be apathetic – I’m alright jack or she’ll be right mentality. For those for whom it hasn’t been so rosy, the daily struggle of just trying to exist makes political activism a luxury that doesn’t enter their consciousness. They are largely disempowered, disenfranchised, disengaged and under attack.
Scott Morrison is out crowing about the growth in GDP whilst ignoring the fact that saving went down and wages went backwards whilst business was enjoying increased profits. Cutting penalty rates will only add to the ever-increasing divide as the owners of capital pocket more and more of any growth and the number of people living in poverty increases. The idea that giving them more profits will increase jobs and wages has been proven wrong yet again. Company tax cuts will just make foreign shareholders richer.
Nice flick by dutton on the 457 visas, BTW, 500 jobs versus several hundred thousand penalty rate workers. Yet another dead cat flung on the table. Mainstream media is not calling it out. Oh, yes, GDP. A meaningless figure unless it’s translated into GDP per capita growth which it isn’t.
Thanks, Kaye. This is the clear and concise comparison we needed to have. We’re not following Trump – He’s following us! Horrible.