The latest 'tradie' package is totally misdirected and ill-thought out.

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With apologies to Lewis Carroll aka Charles Lutwidge Dodgson:

“The time has come,” the PM said,
“To talk of many things:
Of jobs—and pay—and work for dole—
Of billionaires—and flings—
And why the sea is boiling hot—
And whether pigs have wings.”

“But wait a bit,” the Oysters cried,
“Before we have our chat;
For some of us are in poor health,
And none of us are fat!”
“No hurry!” said the leading man.
They thanked him much for that.

“A loaf of bread,” the PM said,
“Is what we chiefly need:
Pepper and vinegar besides
Are very good indeed—
Now, if you’re ready, Oysters dear,
We can begin to feed.”

“But not on us!” the Oysters cried,
Turning a little blue.
“After such kindness, that would be
A dismal thing to do!”
“The night is fine,” the PM said,
“Do you admire the view?

“It was so kind of you to come!
And you are very nice!”
The Treasurer said nothing but
“Cut us another slice.
I wish you were not quite so deaf—
I’ve had to ask you twice!”

“It seems a shame,” the PM said,
“To play them such a trick.
After we’ve brought them out so far,
And made them trot so quick!”
The Treasurer said nothing but
“The butter’s spread too thick!”

“I weep for you,” the PM said:
“I deeply sympathize.”
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size,
Holding his pocket-handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes.

“O Oysters,” said the Treasurer,
“You’ve had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?”
But answer came there none—
And this was scarcely odd, because
They’d eaten every one.

Even before we were thrown into total disarray by the COVID-19 pandemic, our economy was grinding to a halt.

The wealthy were either using their money to make money, or salting it away into tax havens.

The dwindling members of the middle class were nervous of using savings because they were unsure of what the future held.

And an increasing proportion of the rest were either in casual employment, deeply in debt, or dependent on government assistance, which was being reluctantly given with one hand and rapaciously withdrawn by the other.

Such hand outs as were otherwise available, were selectively going to that part of the community which could be encouraged to ensure that the Coalition retains power at the next and subsequent election.

We have long needed tax reform – as well as an effective ICAC! –  and we have created a bewildering maze to be navigated by those who need support, through an array of ‘welfare’ policies, grudgingly allowing an increasing number of disadvantaged groups to obtain a pittance while being made to feel like criminals.

Out-sourcing has compounded the problems, by diverting available funds to pay the salaries of inadequately trained people, putting the jobless and disabled through increasingly difficult hoops, and withdrawing the allotted benefits on an ill-judged whim.

Europe has seen the light! They are seeing a clear path to recovery. Check it out!

Here, the number of job seekers pre-pandemic, far exceeded positions available.

Now, whole groups of workers will struggle to find work, following the shut-down which has destroyed many businesses.

These include members of the arts and entertainment and hospitality industries, and workers in businesses which have contracted, if they have not gone to the wall, because the economy has collapsed so viciously.

On the other hand, the caring professions, particularly in health, have borne a massive burden for totally unrealistic levels of reward, bearing in mind they were living in a daily minefield of risk. They look likely to be pushed aside, as urgent need for their services reduces, yet they have given far greater service to this country than those being fawned on by the government for advice on how to recover.

The latest ‘tradie’ package is totally misdirected and ill-thought out. We should be building social housing to meet a need which has been ignored for too long.

Just how warped can our ‘leaders’ become?

An enlightened government would see a UBI as a panacea, to both boost the economy now and buy time for industry to get back on its feet.

Yes – we need manufacturing initiatives to be supported – but they MUST be supported by renewable energy.

The way to encourage people to seek work is not to beat them when they are down, but to restore their self-confidence and assist them to be able to present well at job interviews.

I know! I am being unrealistic to expect our existing elected government to recognise that it has been responsible for much of our present problems by using the stick, not the carrot.

Scott Morrison went to the 2019 election with only one policy.

Since then, I venture to claim, all the policies he has announced have been suggested by State and Territory leaders.

The only positive thing he has done is to decide to extend the life of the National Cabinet.

Now we need to allow Parliament to resume its urgently needed role, of ensuring transparency and integrity in government, because they are sorely needed and have long been lacking!

The time has indeed come to decide whether humanity can be revived!

I end as always – this is my 2020 New Year Resolution:

“I will do everything in my power to enable Australia to be restored to responsible government.”

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7 comments

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  1. New England Cocky

    Excellent offering Rosemary, very enjoyable.

  2. Kerri

    And the PM said “ Nev I need you to your country?”
    And Nev thought “bewdy! A chance to make a motzah!”

  3. andy56

    we have a bigger hole to dig before this mob understands what their doing

  4. Kaye Lee

    As soon as I read the headline, Midnight Oil came into my head….

    The time has come to say fair’s fair
    To pay the rent, to pay our share
    The time has come, a fact’s a fact
    It belongs to them, let’s give it back

  5. Terence Mills

    There is a glimmer of hope in the “Black Deaths in Custody” issue that is so topical at the moment.

    A report commissioned in 2019 by the Australian Institute of Criminology twenty five years after the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody shows that, whilst overall deaths in custody are still at an unacceptable level , the National Deaths in Custody Program (NDICP) data show Indigenous people are now less likely than non-Indigenous people to die in prison custody, largely due to a decrease in the death rate of Indigenous prisoners from 1999–2000 to 2005–06.

    Make of it what you will, the full report is here :

    https://aic.gov.au/publications/sb/sb17

  6. Vikingduk

    Tracey Chapman . . . Talking about a revolution . . . sounds like a whisper . . . poor people gonna rise up take what’s theirs . . . finally tables turned.

    An epic moment in time, the murder of one more person to police brutality charges around the world, galvanises unprecedented examples of people power, the people rise up, stand up, no more they say, no more they cry, we cry no more. All of the images, both here and in America, of this brutal, thuggish behaviour enacted by racist police will not and has not stopped the people denying this cruel reality.

    Is this the end and the beginning of a new reality? The dividing line has been set. What do you stand for as the American empire falls, as the Roman Empire fell, the division so stark that, some think, a civil war is a possibility, as some police support the cowardly thugs whilst others join the protesters, whilst the republicans continue to enable a seriously deranged president, though some republicans are totally opposed as can be seen in the Lincoln project anti trump ads.

    In the past several months we have seen unprecedented (there’s that word again) fires, a global pandemic and now this. What next, I wonder, as climate change rolls on relentlessly, as protests gather pace, as China and Russia sit back and laugh as Putin’s Puppet destroys the American dream, as the liar from the shire continues his bullshit ways. You know, I wonder some times, does Morrison’s arsehole get jealous at the shit that comes out of his mouth, or, conversely, that amount of shit needs two arseholes.

    Time for choosing, time for waking up, time to remember that these thugs are our employees, elected to represent all of us equally, they exist because we enable them. We can remind them all now, people gonna rise up.

  7. RosemaryJ36

    Join Extinction Rebellion in your State or Territory and train for non-violent (on the part of XR) action to force change in government policy. The lack of scientific understanding which underpins failure to act on global warming is the same blindness to reality which drives neoliberalism.

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