My New Year Resolution: Goodbye, Morrison
I seldom make New Year resolutions, but this year cries out for an exception.
So – here it is:
“I will do everything in my power to enable Australia to be restored to responsible government.”
That is a big ask for an individual, but I know I am not alone.
My head is currently in a total jumble because of anger and frustration at the lies, ignorance and hypocrisy of the current collection of f-wits who claim to be governing us – but whose inability to see that expansion of population is exceeding growth in available jobs, that working for money for one hour a week is not being in employment, that living in poverty hampers the ability to find work and that we need to find solutions to a global crisis – so I hope you can eventually distil a coherent message out of the incoherent ramblings which follow.
I have tertiary and post graduate qualifications in mathematics, education and law, but make no claims to being a great scholar. However, thanks to a very catholic (in a non-religious sense) education, I have a broad understanding of the importance of emotional intelligence – which appears to be totally lacking in our current politicians.
We hear constantly of the importance of the economy – but it is seldom expressed in any way that accepts that it is important because it is intended to benefit us. Economic growth is very obviously only benefiting a select portion of our population, as well as a great many international corporations and political parties!
Just this morning I was hearing the results of an investigation of the current job providers network – which was positively chilling in its revelations of private providers profiting from offering a third world service to desperate job seekers.
Sadly, not a surprise, given the revelations about Robo-Debt, which the government has been forced to put on hold.
‘Brave New World”, ‘1984’ are ominous portents, and, together with our rapid progress towards a police state, are clear evidence that those in charge do not see their job as making life better for us, but using us as pawns in some monstrous bid for overall power.
The man whom the Coalition have chosen to lead them has a very unsavoury history, gained as a marketer and salesman (you can readily find reliable sources to substantiate this claim) – which gives him no relevant qualifications to formulate policy for a country in a period when we are facing an existential threat.
He is a religious nutter of particularly stubborn nature, who refuses to seek, let alone accept, advice from experts on issues on which he lacks both knowledge and understanding.
A major thread of Coalition policy is privatisation. At a minimum, a privatised service will necessarily be more expensive for those receiving the service, because their fees not only have to cover the cost of the service, but also provide a healthy income to shareholders. And the latter do not care how poor the service provided is, as long as a profit is being made.
It must be nice to be able to sit back and let your money, invested in shares, earn money for you! That helps to support a case for paying part of the wages for workers in a publicly-owned company by way of shares in the company. It would be a very incentivising strategy, don’t you think? After all, they do it for directors, so it must be good.
That aside – the current, ever-increasing gap between the truly wealthy and the poor is becoming ever more massive, and government policies are accelerating the rate at which it is increasing.
I still have not even provided any detail about the elephant in the room.
We are at war with a friend turned foe, which has much more powerful forces at its disposal than we could ever muster.
Greed, addiction to convenience and refusal to recognise facts have led us down a cul de sac, and the road is narrowing behind us, threatening to block off retreat.
The warnings have been there for over a century. Vested interests have worked assiduously to extend the period during which massive profits can be made.
It says something about the sheer stupidity which accompanies greed, that those raking in the profits have not lined up a Planet B, so the fate which now threatens the world – catastrophic weather events like floods, inundations, storms, fires and droughts – accompanied by failure of crops and severe fresh water shortages – will challenge even the most forward thinking to maintain a viable lifestyle.
If – and it is a very BIG IF – we clear the Parliamentary benches of the current riff-raff and install an emergency government, comprising knowledgeable experts and competent business managers – we might be able to bring to the fore the solutions which are currently being ignored.
This IS a global crisis.
We need to work with every other government which accepts the need to put aside insularity and private gain and concentrate on solutions for mutual benefit.
And we need to try to persuade the other governments to join us.
Look round the world and you will see that the most peaceful countries are the ones where the least able are helped and protected and the wealthy give a greater share of their wealth to assist others.
Was not that what Christ taught?
In desperation, I have bought my Extinction Rebellion t-shirt because desperate problems require desperate solutions and since reason is failing, civil disobedience is the last resort.
Once more – this is my Resolution:
“I will do everything in my power to enable Australia to be restored to responsible government.”
Will you join me and get out on the streets – maybe Australia Day would be appropriate? – and tell those whom we rashly elected that they need to go because they are not governing for us!
The clock is ticking.
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Return to home pageRosemary, you say it, ‘the clock is ticking’, nobody knows for sure, for how much longer we may be able to ignore that our way of life cannot be sustained for ever. Nature is going to force us to adjust to more and more changes.
Thank you for this well written post!
I seldom make New Year resolutions, but this year cries out for an exception.
So – here it is:
“I will do everything in my power to enable Australia to be restored to responsible government.”
So Rosemary J36
Do tell what you have in mind that is everything in your power ?.
I dunno Rosemary, you appear to be well enough qualified to form an opinion on just about anything you choose. Certainly it is terribly disappointing for broadly educated persons to see self-serving idiots rorting our political system for their personal pecuniary benefit. But in a democracy, you get the politicians you elect, and Oz got the very untalented short straw this time.
But all is not lost because we can take heart in the fact the the Happy Clappers and their fake Christian adulterous mates will protect the kiddie fiddlers of similar persuasion so that churches of all persuasions may continue to benefit from preying upon the disillusioned, desperate and down trodden.
Does anybody have time for another fairy tale?
I have been doing everything in my power for the last few years but in a limited way: petitions, posting on Ministers’ and Senators’ Fb pages, most of whom have now banned me, emailing MPs plus maybe half a dozen protests. Plus being an active member on left wing Fb pages. But mostly, it feels like I’m just preaching to the converted. We need to get out on the streets more, risk the ire of the police who now seem to believe that peaceful protest is illegal in this country. We need to be “Loud Australians.” We need to take more risks…because they are simply ignoring us, as they send us over the abyss.
Oh that’s right you are going to wear a t shirt nd protest in the street.
Very good.
One more should make all the difference?
Australia day is an insult anyway so go for it
What people do not realise is that nothing short of total civil disobedience- nothing is going to change.
Nothing is going to change untill the average earner realises they have returned to the Dickenson era.
Because everyone – yes everyone is mocked up to the eye balls and cannot afford to be anything bit a good compliant citizen.
What people do not realise is that nothing short of total civil disobedience- nothing is going to change.
Nothing is going to change untill the average earner realises they have returned to the Dickenson era.
Because everyone – yes everyone is in debt up to the eye balls and cannot afford to be anything but a good compliant citizen.
There is nothing we can do until the next election – except talk to everyone you know and persuade them NOT to re-elect the LNP. If we all convert 1 person, we will get rid of them.
No point grizzling about it till then, no point at all. The GG can do nothing in spite of all the requests, no-one can do anything.
Maintain the rage for another 2 years people.
The Folks in the Red Corner do not seem any more capable (mainly privately educated lawyers with limited vision)
We are on our own. Grassroots intervention is all we can do. Good luck and God bless all who sail on her.
I have no time for the neo-liberal ideology which is responsible for the mess we are in. The rampant individualism underpinning neo-liberal and libertarianism is unhelpful in assessing major problems which have a number of facets. Neo-liberalism also displays greed and a disregard for others. While numerous people could see the need to provide financial support for the fabulous firies, Morrison had to be pushed hard to acknowledge the situation. Then, it was a half hearted response only for the NSWs firies, displaying a silo mentality.
When people discuss drought, bushfires, and high temperature being factors accentuated by climate change, the PMs response has been to say that opinions cannot be formulated on single events. It also represents a silo mentality. Except, Internationally the changed climate is creating terrible situations constantly. For example, at present Russia is not receiving the usual amount of snow this winter according to the Daily Mail, maybe not a horrendous event, though extremely unusual.
We have been told over and over about needing to be paranoid about terrorists; yet, by far the greatest upheavals will be experienced in the future through climate change. We are already experiencing unprecedented situations. Already Greenland and Antarctica have lost huge amounts of melt water in 2019. There are a number of towns in Australia where fresh water is becoming a scarce commodity, already experienced in a number of countries. So while Morrison might say he believes climate change is happening he is stubbornly taking no action.
Promoting new coal mines and pushing for gas power stations displays just how out of touch Morrison and the LNP are.
Their actions fan further climate change and display a huge disregard for their own children and young people generally. Not only are they fanning climate change, but are among those creating a dystopian world where terrorism can thrive.
The children’s March4Climate activities have generated considerable interest and debate – and plenty of adults got involved, too.
We can all sit on our bums at home and complain while waiting for the next election or we can get out there on the streets and make politicians aware of our concerns – and uncomfortable.
Alone I can do little, I agree. With all of you, and your friends, with some coordination, we could hit the headlines.
Are we wimps, or what?
We need to pressure the Opposition to get more vocal.
We need plans prepared and put in action.
We don’t have time to hang around, twiddling our thumbs.
Civil disobedience of a non-violent type is the only tool I see currently available. The power of the ballot box is laughable – a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea. And let’s expand the list to include removing the tax-free status from churches, starting with Hillsong!
Morrison is unfit to govern. The G-G should take a leaf from Sir John Kerr’s book and sack him. Kerr sacked Whitlam for less.
The looneys (evangelicals) are running the asylum.
Jon Cocks, methinks your solution (re the GG) is a very large part of the problem.. Perhaps it’s why ‘loonies’ of any and various types can run the place.
If protests are your thing see the website http://www.climatechangeprotests.net.au for planned gatherings around Australia. One that needs to be big is at Parliament House Canberra on 4th February as part of a week of climate action based around the opening week of the Federal Parliament. This event is called ‘on the steps’ starting at 8 am till 5 pm -BYO food, drinks, placards etc
Protesting is important to show politicians that there are real votes in the issue. They need numbers to get media reporting on the issues as well.
These gatherings also allow participants to meet and exchange ideas
Thank you Rosemary. The mainstream media need to be ridden over and largely ignored, as they are the propaganda machine with their quasi authoritarian voice and emotionally charged imagery. It’s all about us as individuals and as a whole, so we need to expand the verifiable information and the important blog replies to a much larger audience and so duly, I have pasted a site for everyones perusal and digestion. Thanks.
Sorry! Old Farts disease! A little more interesting information that I would like to share as a general reply…
https://larryhannigan.com/voice-of-the-constitution/
March 13th, I will be there. Hope it is a huge one.
If we did have new elections today, would we vote in anyone that much better? I think we, the whole electorate, have to revise our thinking about our lifestyles, our commitments, what we can do for the environment and how to get better candidates we can vote for. If the community is not willing to work on this, we will only get the same again!
The tipping point of electoral change must surely be soon. We need to encourage and motivate the 16 and 17 year olds to push the ‘old white men’ out and sweep in a refreshing diverse parliament at the next election.
Let’s extinction the Liberale-Nazionale Partei. That will be a start.
I will help get a demo going in our small town on 4 Feb. Let everyone do the same in their town or village, not just in the cities, where the mindless assume latte sippers dwell. It is a class war in part, so we need to get the farmers more involved and visible. Drought and floods mean less food for sale, and also less rain for home veg growers too, obviously. Turf out the rice and cotton magnates, sugar too. Priority fruit and veg.
Too late? Possibly. Use the promised desalinated water facilities then. Might buy us humans a few more years.
My New Year’s resolution is not to use automated retail checkouts any more.
It has become clear, going by our local Woolies, that to accept this technology has a clear and immediate impact on the future employment opportunities of checkout staff in our supermarkets and other retail outlets.
They did this to us at service stations and then banks. They did it to us with customer service at Telstra by transferring ‘support services’ to India and the Philippines.
This is not being done for our convenience or to save us money. It is being done to avoid employing Australians.
If I’m a modern day Luddite, I wear that badge with pride !
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/30/you-have-utterly-no-clue-why-climate-emergency-is-australias-ultimate-outrage-trigger
‘You have utterly no clue’: why ‘climate emergency’ is Australia’s ultimate outrage trigger
At any level of Australian government, there is little so divisive as suggesting that a climate emergency be declared’
The following is some of what Ben Smee writes. He is Guardian Australia’s Queensland correspondent. Email: ben.smee@theguardian.com
“Earlier this year, Trudi Beck, a general practitioner from Wagga Wagga, wrote to councillors across New South Wales urging them to acknowledge the climate crisis and declare a local emergency.
Some responses were positive. Others less so.
Mark Hall, a Lachlan shire councillor and Baptist pastor, told Beck: “Stick to medicine – you have utterly no clue about climate science. Your email intrusion is truly not welcome.”
So far, 84 jurisdictions in Australia covering about a quarter of the population – mostly cities and local government areas – have declared a climate emergency. The first elected body in the world to act, Darebin council in Victoria, is credited with starting a movement that is now supported by governments representing 800 million people worldwide, including the European Union and Bangladesh.”
RJ36, youmake a valid point about the emphasis on fighting Terrorism, it is a distraction designed to allow the egregious Mr Gestapotatohead to expand his desired police state. One of the problems is that the situation the world faces is bigger than individual governments. The multinationals act with impunity and even governments which see the issue are powerless to change it. Those, like or government, are willing dupes or active participants.
The United Nations should be the forum for recognising the need for change and acting on itbut is hamstrung by the veto powers of some countries. Witness australia’s Shameful role in the recent climate change fiasco in Spain.
Last night I watched a film called “The Laundromat” (available on Netflix) starring Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas among others. Given the bland title it is unlikely a lot of people will see it, yet it is important for the fact it shows how the wealthy avoid taxes in shonky deals that ultimately defraud ordinary people. It is about the way shell companies in offshore tax havens, though also many within the US, are used by both the wealthy and organised crime to launder money, hence the title.
I don’t recommend it as a good film, because it isn’t, but the subject matter is informative in helping show us just how big are the problems we face. Even the ATO is powerless to stop this. Sorry, I have strayed from the subject.
I fear it is already too late. The other day I read somebody (forget who now) describe this country as possibly the first part of the developed world to become inhabitable and I get the feeling that they could be right. Rest assured those in charge and supposedly making decisions on our behalf already have their plan B somewhere else in the world. Personally what I saw at the last election convinced me that a significant part of the population is not smart enough to make good (or should I say ‘less bad’) choices either through ignorance or believing everything they see on the idiot box.
Do we really believe that the 1% will give up their pursuit of wealth for the greater good? To save the masses? They won’t, not even a little bit. Call me cynical but I could see mass human population culls being a thing before that. Actually, why are the elite ignoring the scientists! Probably something like this is already planned. Either that or Barnaby is right and the great happy clapper in the sky will fix it 🙂
I’m not going to waste my time protesting, I’m going to plan my own plan B. Selfish? Maybe, but as they say you can lead a horse to water….. and by the time that so called horse wakes up it will way too late.
2020 is the time to stop trying to think for everybody else and start thinking of yourself.
Australia’s future is suffering, poverty, death and misery. Time to jump ship?
Good piece of writing, yes?
We should also be preparing for the future by working out what type of a Republic we want to be and how our votes will translate into representation..
In the last election, the four parties that make up the Coalition got 41.44% of the first preference votes compared to 43.74% for Labor and the Greens combined. Because of our voting system, this resulted in 77 seats for the Coalition but only 69 for Labor and the Greens. The majority of people do NOT want these turkeys in power. The system sucks. Let’s change it.
Look to the US for what NOT to do – Trump having sole executive power is ludicrous. No leader should be allowed to make decisions alone.
Open your damn eyes and look. Prepare for a future living in an absolutely devastated ecosystem, an environment totally rooted by our ignorant actions, our greed, our fear, our hate. Those that think politics, a different pack of arseholes in charge, waiting for a new election, are part of the delusional many, sitting on our fat arses twiddling our thumbs, swallowing the many diversions thrown up. This is a climate emergency, the entre for catastrophic global warming. You know, the one those scientists have been warning us about. Yep, Somebody else, I’m with you.
I think the primary problem is the people that vote for the current rabble. They seem to believe what they say, which is backed up by the Murdoch press. And the fact that they repeat their lies continuously whenever one of them gets in front of a camera. You know what they say – tell people something often enough and they will start to believe it.
Perhaps Labor should start a long term media blitz, do exactly what the Lying Nasty Party are doing, quote the facts, explain in simple terms why they are bad, give them a taste of their own medicine. If not in the printed press controlled by Murdoch, then on TV, internet, social media, etc.
We can truly beat these grubs, bu t we have to get our hands dirty and play the same game.
Kaye Lee, the figures you cite put me in mind of another destructive split in the non tory vote back in the fifties of last century that had the nation cursed with more than two decades of tory rule. That time it was the right, this time it is the left in the form of the Greens, but how long do the siblings continue the scrapping in the back seat before the driver gets fed up and prangs the car (so to speak)?
There is noway the country should have been subjected to the last eight years of complacent and probably corrupt government and imho, I wonder if it has become too late, as pride precedes forbearance and pragmatism.
Pete Petrass: “Perhaps Labor should start a long term media blitz, do exactly what the Lying Nasty Party are doing, quote the facts, explain in simple terms why they are bad, give them a taste of their own medicine. If not in the printed press controlled by Murdoch, then on TV, internet, social media, etc.”
Nice idea. How on earth will Labor do this? It costs money, while the coalition have this service for free, because the “free press”, including TV, actually belongs to the oligarchs. Haven’t you noticed this already? How many leftie “shock jocks” are there in existence? None. Watched how the ABC now gives the coalition a free pass on everything? Budget cuts if you don’t behave.
And finally, when the election comes around Clive Palmer can outspend everyone else with a 60 million advertising blitz, which actually convinces 3% of voters to vote for his “party”. Look up the AEC statistics. His party didn’t get a single seat, but guess where all the 2nd preferences went.
Please inform yourself. I know things are not simple, but if we want to sort things out, we need to spend time and energy understanding how things work.
I want to again point to this article in The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/30/you-have-utterly-no-clue-why-climate-emergency-is-australias-ultimate-outrage-trigger
When you do read this article in The Guardian you’ll find that
“Earlier this year, Trudi Beck, a general practitioner from Wagga Wagga, wrote to councillors across New South Wales urging them to acknowledge the climate crisis and declare a local emergency.”
This is what she says: “. . . to acknowledge the climate crisis and declare a local emergency.”
Further on in this article by Ben Smee it says: “So far, 84 jurisdictions in Australia covering about a quarter of the population – mostly cities and local government areas – have declared a climate emergency.”
Maybe we should all write to councillors in our area for we definitely already have a climate emergency and the climate crisis ought to be acknowledged now!!!
Did you know that about a quarter of Australia’s population have already declared a climate emergency? I reckon it should be possible to increase this number by quite a lot. What is the Federal Government going to do then? Hopefully go along with the majority!!
RosemaryJ36
You sure provoked some good commentary, well done.
Civil disobedience and “PEACEFUL” protest will get the attention of local MPs both State and Federal.
A “Green New Deal” is a worthy objective,
A green vest movement
Whilst we all may feel impotent alone, thousands of people have read your article Rosemary (over 11,000 shares and counting). You ARE making a difference.
And over 23,000 shares for your previous post, Rosemary.
You’re getting pretty good at this. ✊