Retired infantry officer. Conservative by nature and politics; Happily married and father and grandfather of eight. Loves V8 powered Range Rovers, Golden Retrievers, good books and technology and think there should be open season on Greenies.
Born in the mid forties and overdue for servicing but most parts still work.
Indigenous Australians are more likely to die young than people in Nigeria, Bangladesh or India, a report by the Fred Hollows Foundation says.
Fair enough.
The fact that indigenous Australians have an income stream most probably has some bearing on the subject. Money and idle time lead to
some of indigenous Australian’s health issues. Troubled people in Nigeria, Bangladesh and India have a different sort of problem. They have no money to buy anything, let alone substances to abuse.
ATSIC say the average income for Aborigines is $14,000, 30% less than other Australians, but it sure as hell takes Nigeria, Bangladesh and India out of the formula. Let’s compare apples with apples.
Foundation chief executive Mike Lynskey said the poor health of many of Australia’s indigenous people was an indictment of our society.
I agree wholeheartedly and we have a lot of work to do but the indictment doesn’t read ‘maliciously disadvantaged their health’, it’s more along the lines that money has been wasted on projects by ATSIC, and others, that have more to do with grandiose dreams than practical help.
ATSIC has directed a lot of effort towards home ownership and whereas that has merit, I’m not sure we shouldn’t fix the endemic alcohol and drug dependency that exists in many groups and impacts on poor health, low birth-weights and short life-spans, before we just move the problems into white picquet fenced bungalows.
From Geoff Clark, Chairman of ATSIC. (quoting the last figures I could find)
We acknowledge the Federal Government will outlay about $2.5 billion dollars in the 2002-03 financial year on Indigenous Affairs but less than half is administered by ATSIC.
Three Points.
1. The $2.5 billion dollars does not include mining royalties or individual and business income, so all in all, quite a significant sum for 400,000 plus Australians,
2. The ‘less than half that is administered by ATSIC’ needs auditing – quickly, and
3. $2.5 billion dollars indicate it is not the amount of money that is the problem.
The Fred Hollows Foundation does a good job but we all know on which side Fred’s politics lay and I think it’s disingenuous to keep on bringing up these half arsed facts without raising some coalface issues.
Let?s hope ATSIC’s replacement is better advised and audited than has been the case in the past and that they work at grass roots levels as well as pursuing high and lofty ideals.
Update: A comment from a reader who lives at the coal face states Where I live substance abuse is not the issue…It has everything to do with poor personal hygiene, gambling away welfare payments and a total lack of willingness to take responsibility for their own lives.
I know different problems occur at different communities including those with little or no problems but something needs to be done overall and I don’t think ATSIC is the answer.
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I received this email from Defence.
Minister for Defence Media Mail List
Monday, 29 March 2004
AUSTRALIA AND VIETNAM DEFENCE MINISTERS MEET
WHAT: Photo opportunity
Defence Minister Robert Hill will today meet with his Vietnamese counterpart, Senior General Pham Van Tra. It is the first time a Vietnamese Minister for Defence has visited Australia.
I have advise for Robert Hill
Control your breathing,
Remember to take first pressure, and
Aim for the centre of the seen mass.
After firing shout Dung Lai! (Halt!) At least I think that’s how we used to do it.
Brisbane City Council, the biggest city council in Australia is now Liberal led with Campbell Newman the new Lord Mayor. That?s the good news. The bad news is Labour still hold a majority in wards and after Jim Soorly’s reign, I can only imagine there is a lot of left wing influence. The Labor councillors, the Labor State Government and the unions are all gearing up to make Campbell’s reign very difficult.
If you didn’t know, Campbell is son of Kevin and Jocelyn Newman. Newman won the Bass by-election in June 1975 with a 13.8% swing, giving the first hint of the unpopularity of the Whitlam government and a portent of its eventual electoral fate in December 1975. Kevin was my Commanding Officer in 1972 and after noticing the difficulty I had walking, arranged for a soft posting for me in Army Recruiting to give me time to recover from patrolling in Vietnam. Jocelyn was a competent Senator for many years but, I think, lost some of her zeal when husband Kevin died.
Breeding is everything and coming from such a good family I can only imagine Campbell will have plenty of fight in him.
He will need it and I wish him well.
Latham, all hat and no cattle, sets himself up for another backflip. Surely by now, voters are getting his measure.
I wonder if Gough had any input into his latest ‘We will bring the troops home by Christmas” line. Gough used just that line in 1972, notwithstanding the fact that troop withdrawal was already set in train by the Libs. Another of the great ALP lies of those days was born as even today there are plenty of ‘Maintain the Rage’ devotees who believe Gough brought the troops home.
With todays hounding by the press Latham will have to think a bit harder about policy on the fly and maybe run his ideas through Caucus first.
Shades of Gough and the punters are starting to notice.
Don’t think the troops aren’t reading the Australian press and wondering what’s the go. They shoudn’t be pawns in any debate but the media are quick to head that way. Watch them find a recalcitrant digger saying ‘I want to be home as well – we shoudn’t be here’ or better still, his wife complaining about his absence whilst holding a stressed toddler to appeal to every mother in Australia.
He is still all show and no substance. Downer made a big call when he said
…Mr Latham’s remarks were made without consulting his shadow cabinet and seemed to be influenced by Greens Senator Bob Brown.
But it is the stupid type of statement Brown would make, but then Brown isn’t a contender for the Prime Ministerial crown. Latham is and it’s a worry.
Warning. Emotive blackmail post
Now into my third week of helping set up an auction for Brisbane Legacy time to blog has been at a premium. One of the staff stalwarts at Legacy had the temerity to fall ill and I’ve had to double as data entry chick person. All involved agree I’m far from an improvement and wish her well and back at work soon, as do I. If your into collectables and antique militaria you are invited to Legacy House Merrival Street, South Brisbane on Saturday for viewing and Sunday at 9:00 for viewing and auction start at 10:00.
600 lots of history. A Japanese Officer’s Samurai from the surrender ceremony at Singapore, uniforms from the Boer War, 18 century cutlasses, Light Horse webbing and equipment from the famous Beersheba stoush. Photos, documents. medals, bayonets, commando daggers, trench art and first edition books. Something for everyone with an interest in Australia’s military history.
20% of proceeds go to Legacy helping widows and children of Australian servicemen killed in defence of Australia.
No politics here, just doing the Australian thing and helping those in need.
Stories of gallant deeds of men never seem to mention the gallant deeds of the widows left to ‘soldier on’ with little Government help. Not being a voting block, the 120,000 war widows in Australia seldom get a mention in the media.
Telephone bidding and catalogues can be organized by ringing 07 3846 4299.
What about some of you armchair warriors pitching in? If you do I undertake to give you a full brief on whatever you buy.
The crowded beach
Good house, good wheels
Locals stop by looking for a handout.
Why did I come back?
Niall forcing me to think. Legacy want more work. The phone hasn’t stopped ringing – damn.
I take a week off to help at Legacy and the country goes mad.
We’ve been fighting Terrorism for a long time now and people still think it’s about cause and effect. The so called intellectuals think it’s all about scoring cheap points against John Howard – Jesus Christ, bloody well wake up!
It?s about our lifestyle, about our religion, our enjoyment of life, about their lack of education and resulting acceptance of myths as fact.
They may or may not have won in Spain but it doesn’t matter who’s in power there. From the Terrorists point of view, Spain is their country and was stolen from them 600 years ago. They don’t accept any umpires decision, let alone the voices of democracy. It’s theirs and they want it back. They want East Timor back in the fold as well and Australia will ever be a target for helping democracy overcome tyranny in that neck of the woods.
So we helped in Iraq – so bloody what. The media, the ABC and SBS all seem to think that the whole debate is about WMDs – Oh my God, there’s no WMD’s – Howard lied, Bush lied, Butler didn’t, Wilkie is a hero, we shouldn’t have gone in without UN sanction.
None of that matters
Get over it you dipshits. It’s about Moslem extremists trying to kill us Infidels and have their Shari law take precedence over our laws.
As Bush tries to get a democracy up and running in Iraq every left wing intellect and fool are trying to pull it down. Well, you had better start hoping he pulls it off. A democracy in the middle of the cauldron that is the Middle East is what the world needs and extreme Moslems dread. Holy Moses, they are thinking, if these people are educated and have a vote, we’ll never get a look in. They are fighting to maintain their power over the illiterates.
They are not fighting for Iraq, the point is not that just that the US are there. It’s the fact that the US still exists.
Jones on Late Line spends all his time missing the point – blaming everything on what Howard ever done or didn’t do. Jonesy, it might have escaped your notice but the problem is extremists are killing innocents and they are not, repeat not, doing it because Howard is a conservative.
Watch tonight?s SBS show on Hicks, the idiot at Guantanamo. There are lawyers around spruiking about human rights when the facts are, he was caught fighting for a foreign power. He abrogated any rights an Australian might enjoy when he enlisted with the enemy. There is no lengthy discussion needed here. If he actually was doing that then he stays incarcerated until the war is over. Were the fathers of these lawyers up in Thailand trying to get Aussie POWs released during WW2 because of human rights – no.
Let him rot there until the war is over – like all POWs have had to do.
Taxpayers should be very peeved that their taxes have paid for this pro-terrorist propaganda. Why didn’t the ATO just send the money over to the Taliban Propaganda Corps and leave out the SBS middleman – could’ve been cheaper.
We are at war and too many are aiding and abetting the enemy.
Last week I posted on the demise of the Huey and now the bloody C130 Hercules is under threat.
Airbus A400 new Military Spec Aircraft
Looks good but it has a long way to go beat the Herc’s record and of course Lockheed may have something to say about sales. They are not going to roll over without a fight.
My career covered Herc modes ‘A’ though ‘H’ and while business executives notched up air miles in 707s, 727s, 737s and 747s I did it in Hercs. Few creature comforts but we could smoke and drink (mostly) and a hammock always beats an airline seat.
The ingenious amongst us could get comfortable but poor insulation made it very cold and the noise made conversations difficult for days.
I flew from Townsville to Perth when I was stationed in the West and we set some sort of record for slowness. 11 hours beating into a 200 mph headwind. An example of why soldiers get hard lying allowances
In Thailand with US forces during the Vietnam War, the Commander gave us an Easter leave pass. A Colonel offered me a seat in a Herc to Sydney and back and I felt compelled to ask him if he had done such a long haul in a Herc before. He answered in the negative and so did I.
You’ll spend most of easter in the air, Sir – Jesus had a better deal than that. The Colonel had one day of the four at home but he did bring back some ‘four and twenty pies’ and VB so at least some of us benefited.
Which brings to mind the senior Aussie Sergeant Major who stated he was staying in Bangkok for the break while the rest of us took of to Pattaya.
I said ” four days and four walls’ is not good for a man. He replied ‘Four days, four walls and
four legs!
Silly me!
More>>> (on the A400)
FRIENDLY rivalry is fine, but a distinct chill has come over Australia’s closest friendship, warns New Zealand opposition leader
Don Brash.
Picture is the entire NZ Infantry Regiment on a parade called to see who’s turn it was to defend New Zealand.
Our Kiwi cousins are feeling out of the defence loop and well they should. With Helen Clark thinking 1% of GDP being a reasonable amount to pay for an insurance policy she is now discovering that her no-claim bonuses are useless.
Since being elected in 1999, the Clark Government has closed down the air force’s combat wing and reduced the navy to a two-frigate fleet. Clark refused to join the US-led invasion of Iraq, and Washington expressed its displeasure through some unusually sharp diplomatic comments about New Zealand’s attitude, and by pointedly refusing to include New Zealand in talks on the Australia-US free trade deal. Since then, Clark has committed both troops and money to reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Can you imagine Australia closing down the RAAF? No way. Even if times are bad, to close down a complete system means you have no national inventory should a need arise. You can’t say ‘Oops we have a war coming up – lets start an Airforce. Stupid – which is why no other country has ever done it.
Except New Zealand.
Except Helen Clark.
However, I stopped feeling sorry for them when they voted her in. Sure they have been with us though thick and thin but often cousins mature at a different rate – swing left – dance by yourself.
Sure – go all warm and fuzzy, give all your money to social services and beach access to the Maoris but don’t whinge when the more mature people in the family don’t invite you to our parties, or don’t tell you what is going on.
And if you don’t want US nuclear powered and (maybe) nuclear armed ships to darken your ports then they can come to Sydney to spend their R & R money.
Nuclear free port, nuclear free suburb – what a joke. Even in the bad old ‘Cold War’ days no Russian Officers, that I was aware of, kept a list of left-wing , nuclear free city and state institutions so they could check that they weren’t being targeted.
Yes, it is only an opposition leader doing what he should, but the problem has been around for years and the longer New Zealand is out of the loop the less use and help they are to us and the world.
They don’t contribute any more and we don’t care anymore.
This is your money, Taxpayers.
While good men with good intentions try and help the aborigines, ATSIC stifles the debate with red herrings.
You thought ATSIC was there to help our indigenous brothers. Wrong. They are there to help themselves. Clark, an accused rapist and thug receives $85,000 of taxpayers money for legal costs in cases that clearly have nothing to do with protecting commissioners from frivolous claims from actions whilst conducting ATSIC affairs.
Sugar Ray Robinson cashes $4,000 cheques at a pub for his mates and then loses a million dollars of taxpayers money via suticase diplomacy
A senior legal person who worked with QSRB said it was common for cheques up to $40,000 to be cashed and the money put in a suitcase and taken to native title claims, where it was distributed among those present as “travel allowance and accommodation”. No receipts, no details.
Sack ’em – start again. Run courses on behavior and public accounting as a pre-requisite to becoming a commissioner or just pick proven quality with standard audit regulations.
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