Month: August 2007

Warning!!!

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The unions aren’t going to have access to worksites….yeah right! The unions are making noises of being upset at ALP IR Policy but I can bet they have been told to make a noise and then when the ALP is in power all will OK.

Those earning over $100,000 will be allowed to stay on AWAs. Big deal – that’s only about 5% of workers.

Unfair Dismissal laws being reinstated….catastrophic.

Email doing the rounds. I don’t know for sure if it’s the final front bench but it frightens hell out of me.

Prime Minister: Kevin Rudd
Deputy prime Minister and Minister for Industrial relations: Julia Gillard, former student radical and AUS president
Treasurer: Wayne Swan, former ALP state secretary
Attorney general: Joe Ludwig, former AWU official
Minister for Homeland security: Arch Bevis, former organiser Queensland teachers’ Union
Minister for Trade: Simon Crean, former president, ACTU
Minister for Transport and Tourism: Martin Ferguson, former president, ACTU
Minister for Finance: Lindsay Tanner, former state secretary, Federated Clerk’s Union
Minister for Environment and the Arts: Peter Garrett, lifelong anti-American activist
Minister for Infrastructure and Water: Anthony Albanese. former assistant general secretary, NSW ALP
Minister for Human Services: Tanya Plibersek, former student union official, UTS
Minister for Immigration: Tony Burke, former official Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Union
Minister for Resources: Chris Evans, former official Miscellaneous Workers’ Union
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs: Alan Griffin, former official federated Clerks Union
Minister for Primary Industry: Kerry O’Brien, former official Miscellaneous Workers’ Union
Minister for Superannuation: Nick Sherry, former state secretary, Federated Liquor and Allied Trades Union
Minister for Sport: Kate Lundy, former official CFMEU.

and if that wasn’t bad enough, waiting in the wings are:
Greg Combet, candidate for Charlton and former ACTU president
Doug Cameron, NSW Senate candidate and secretary of Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union
Bill Shorten: candidate for Maribyrnong and national secretary, Australian Workers’ Union
Richard Marles: candidate for Corio and former assistant secretary, Transport Workers Union.

With unions representing 15 or 20% of the workforce they could be in a position to run the entire country.

Not good.

Politics

Turnbull under attack

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Dozens of agendas merge as the proposed Gunn Pulp Mill debate rages. The Greens who fight against any development, bad for the environment or not, have found a green Barrister to say a decision siting the mill in the Bell Bay industrial area would be invalid – whatever that means. The Greens will be against the mill no matter where it is sited.

The wine industry doesn’t want it in their back yard for obvious reasons and more pragmatic folk say it is an industrial area so what’s the problem?

Such as Susan from Launceston

HOW dare Senator Bill Heffernan and businessman Geoffrey Cousins suggest moving Gunns Ltd’s proposed pulp mill from Bell Bay, an area set aside for heavy industry for 60 years, to a rural part of northwest Tasmania. It’s ridiculous to suggest rezoning agricultural land around Hampshire and alienating it for use for heavy industry, especially so close to the iconic wilderness areas of Tasmania.

The pulp mill debate is fast turning into a farce with the intervention of these Johnny-come-lately experts who have no idea what they’re talking about. Let’s keep Tasmania’s heavy industry where it belongs _ in heavy-industry areas such as Bell Bay.

Sounds reasonable to me but then I don’t hate development.

While some see it as a environment issue others see it as a means of defeating the government

Mr Cousins, one of the most successful advertising men of the 1980s, has personally scripted a full-page advertisement to be published this week in the Wentworth Courier in Mr Turnbull’s inner-Sydney electorate.

It is signed by more than 100 people, including actors Bryan Brown, Rachel Ward and Rebecca Gibney, playwright David Williamson, director Phillip Noyce, performer Mark Lizotte (also known as entertainer Johnny Diesel), arts identity Leo Schofield and chef Kylie Kwong.

No surprises there.

General Musings

ABC Radio’s PM program sets ALP Policy

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I find this report in the Australian a bit strange

Confirmation that there would be no change to union right-of-entry rules comes as ABC Radio’s PM program claimed last night that workers earning more than $100,000 a year would be excluded from the minimum conditions contained in awards under Labor’s policy.

Following similar speculation last week, the program said all awards under a Labor government would have a “facilitative provision” allowing individual work arrangements for employees to exclude specific award conditions, providing the overall result met a “no-disadvantage test” for the workers.

The ABC’s report was disputed by Labor sources last night.

I understand that the ABC’s PM is the electronic arm of the Left of the ALP but frankly I don’t believe the ALP will actually state that they intend to deny their members worksite access.

We’ll just have to wait and see.

Politics

Stupid Letters

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Letters to the editor or why some people should be disenfranchised

JOHN Howard seems to be entirely serene in regard to the practice of the Exclusive Brethren and its religious brainwashing of young children. And yet this educational practice is no different from brainwashing in Islamic schools. How is it that Howard regards the Brethren practice as benign and the Muslim one as encouraging terrorism?
Paul Drakeford
Kew, Vic

Paul,

How would you know that Howard regards the Brethren as benign – he only met them for a chat for heavens sake.

A couple of points

Howard also meets Muslims, and
There is an element of encouraging suicide bombing, and murdering of innocents within the Islamic religion that is missing in the Brethren propaganda.

The Brethren may be weird, and I think they are, but they are a legitimate organization under the laws of the country so are entitled to chat with the PM.

Even idiots like you have that right.

OK, you hate Howard but at least come up with some rational criticism.

General Musings, Politics

I’ve been bush again

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Arguably the drought has broken – I know because I was intimately involved. As I lay sleeping in my tent at Carnarvon Gorge I heard an express train come up the valley. After gaining full consciousness the train became a gale that heralded a wet arse. With 20 plus Grade 10 boys high up a peak we were somewhat concerned and started plans to pull out before road conditions locked us in for a week or two.

We packed and left about 2.00 pm, drove through the day and got home midnight yesterday. 800 km of drought breaking rain No boys lost, hopefully no influenza cases and all home with their mothers fussing over them.

Having bad memories of striking camp with several hundred reserve soldiers under canvas it was always a Cadre officers nightmare that the event was preceded by rain. This necessitated pulling all stores back to barracks and then re-erecting all the tents and waiting for the weather to clear and dry them before we could hand them back.

deje vu again.

Today, the cleanup…maybe not, it’s still raining and little point in it…..could be dry in the bar though.

General Musings

Now we’re sure it’s not the Sydney

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Received this email from Defence Media

NAVY FINDS NO EVIDENCE THAT WRECK IS THAT OF HMAS SYDNEY II

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has concluded its investigation of the area located near Dirk Hartog Island in Western Australia that was claimed to be the site of the wreck of the RAN’s World War II cruiser, HMAS Sydney II.

The Navy Hydrographic survey ship HMAS Leeuwin was diverted from surveying duties earlier in the week and arrived in the area early on Friday morning, 17 August 2007.

The ship examined the prime location of interest with its high definition multi-beam and towed side scan sonar equipment. That work is now complete.

The Leeuwin detected a relatively small wreck that had none of the characteristics normally associated with that of a warship, particularly one the size of Sydney II.

The Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence Bruce Billson said today: “The wreck reportedly detected by the Leeuwin was about 30 metres in length and lacked the overall dimensions and features of a military vessel of the scale of the Sydney.

“The Leeuwin also examined a one-mile radius around the wreck site and found no evidence of additional wreckage or features of interest.”

The locations examined were based on coordinates provided by the Western Australian Maritime Museum, representatives of the amateur research group, which made the initial claims, and other third parties of goodwill.

Data from the investigation will now be sent to the WA Maritime Museum for further analysis. Mr Billson said he welcomed advice that the research group would also provide any imagery or other information it gathered from the wreck site.

“While all the evidence gathered points to what this wreck is not, further analysis by the museum may enable it to formally identify what it actually is,” he said.

“The Howard Government considers solving the mystery of the Sydney II an issue of national importance, particularly to bring closure for relatives of the 645 crew members who died while bravely serving their country.”

Never mind…the media has at least raised public awareness of the ship and her sad demise.

General Musings

‘We’re sure it’s the wreck of the Sydney’

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HMAS Sydney

Picture: HMAS Sydney

This report from the West Australian

The 66-year search for the wreck of HMAS Sydney on which 645 Australians lost their lives is almost certainly over.

A group of West Australians using just a grappling hook and an underwater camera last weekend found what they are sure is the Sydney, which sank after a battle with the German raider Kormoran on November 19, 1941.

Sydney was also the largest vessel of any country to be lost with no survivors during the war.

The 645 Australian’s are all shipmates of my father who was hospitalized whilst stationed on the Sydney. He and another shipmate were sent to Flinders Naval Hospital on the day prior to the Sydney sailing to it’s fatal appointment with the German raider ‘Kormoran’.

My very existence is thus based on the stroke of the ship’s Medical Officer’s pen as I was born after the war.

If it is the Sydney, then a 66 year old mystery can be cleared up and many a family can hope for closure on the death of their loved ones. It will, of course, be declared a war grave but cameras should give sufficient images to help us understand how a capital ship was clobbered by a merchant raider.

Just pause for a moment and think of the last minutes of those 645 Australians. Fathers, brothers, lovers, sons….dreams, aspirations, hopes…. all extinguished in a short 150 metre descent to the seabed.

Horror, terror, screams, cries, prayers….silence

Defence

Election stunts everywhere

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PM’s letter to Iraq is an election stunt says Kevin Rudd in an election stunt type of statement

PRIME Minister John Howard’s threat to withdraw Australian troops from Iraq is motivated by the looming federal election, Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd says

And Kevin’s statement isn’t?

Right.

Meanwhile…..a story covered by Brisbane’s Sunday Mail records another election stunt

A LEAKED letter from Kevin Rudd to Prime Minister John Howard shows the Opposition Leader backed Australia’s involvement in Iraq in the aftermath of the invasion.

And typical of Kevin, it’s full of recommendations that apparently no one else thought of

These include:

• “An immediate review of protective security arrangements for all Australian staff in Iraq”.

• “Deploying an appropriate number of trainers for capacity enhancement of the New Iraqi Army and the Iraqi Police Force.”

• Public employment measures to soak up the idleness of young men from joining terrorist groups.

• Using the Australian Electoral Commission to help Iraq stage elections.

• A smooth transition of the Oil for Food program to ensure Iraqis had proper food and medical supplies.

All of these measures were eventually adopted.

Admittedly Kevin has to calm and pay back the Left in his party with regular anti Bush/Howard/US policy statements but just what do Kevin and the ALP stand for again?

Politics

Soldiers’ binge OK: Howard

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Correct response.

It happened in my time as well. I have been involved in excessive consumption of alcohol for a number of reasons – some reasonable some not. Sometimes to bury a ghost, other times in the spirit of the moment.

The difference?

We never had YouTube and the stupid inclination to brag about it, and

The Media didn’t hang around waiting for us to prove we were human and then make it front page headlines.

Look at the politically incorrect soldiers…see how they misbehave.

My thoughts:

Look at the selective reporting media….see how they emphasize negatives.

Guys, don’t film your escapades – it’s stupid and we don’t want to read about it or see it.

A soldier involved in the party explains why one of them appeared covered in a sheet, the image that brought screams of KKK from the media.

A former soldier who appears in a video of Australian troops binge drinking, with one apparently dressed as a Ku Klux Klansman, says the footage was a bucks party prank, not a racial slur.

“We had a surprise made up for him so we went and pretty much kidnapped him and we needed a costume so he couldn’t find out who it was.

“The cheapest way to do it was to put a bedsheet over our heads. It wasn’t in any racial terms.”

Seems reasonable to me.

Defence