Author: Kev

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.

Back on deck

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I spent yesterday driving up the Newell Highway on the last leg of driving back from Melbourne and a Regimental reunion. I note in today’s The Australian Melbourne claiming the most livable city in Australia status. I might agree if it wasn’t for the abysmal weather we had to endure.

My bride and I had intended to tour the Great Ocean Drive but locals kept on saying “if you don’t like this weather then be aware it comes from the West – it will simply be worse. We compromised and went down to Phillip Island – bad call. A sudden Western Port Bay/Great Southern Ocean combination storm dislodged the tent on the second night and let some rain in. At 0500 the Princess decamped to the car and I packed up vowing to drive north until we reached civilization. It wasn’t so much the zero Celsius, it was the unquantifiable ‘wind chill factor’ that detracted me from my normal chipper demeanour.

Yesterday morning we left Coonabarrabran with another zero on the car readout. Along side the zero was a little icon on the Climate Control display I hadn’t seen before – looked like a crystal snow flake. We had to look up the manual to read that it was a warning of the potential of ice on the road. It comes up whenever the temp hits zero.

Things just got better all day as the temperature on the road climbed while I listened to the ABC scrabbling to get activists on line who still believed that the boat people are actually refugees. They found them abundance and I listened spell-bound as they rattled on about torture, assassinations and deprivations that existed in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and every where from whence our current crop of ‘better life with generous handouts’ mob came from.

Chopper Driver Houston’s recommendations were being picked apart looking for any basis to classify them as being of the ‘cruel Howard’ variety and there was some basis. The chattering class hated the thought of those who abuse our generous nature should be housed in tents in the tropics – oh the inhumanity of it all and then they might be housed in such an inhumane manner for as long as it would take to process a real refugee through UN channels.

I thought it was a great idea but then that’s just me, and I suspect, most of the country.

The debate is not over as the ALP appear not to be taking up all of the Coalition’s policies. We have to be very careful that Gillard’s about turn isn’t quite 180 degrees. Once on Narau or Manus Island the ‘better life with generous handouts’ mob need to be aware that the Government are really trying to stop them or they will reason that they can still achieve a better life by just enduring life on a tropical paradise for a year or two and then they can still win lotto.

The people smugglers and their clients will be very aware of this government’s incompetence in previous dealings with boat people and may well gamble on more of the same and that the government really don’t want to stop the boat people anyway, they just want the country to stop talking about them. Most boat people will vote for the weaker party and I simply don’t trust Gillard’s motives.

Still, it’s a start and gives Abbott something to work on.

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Border Control

On Leave

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Heading down to Melbourne tomorrow to attend a Regimental reunion followed by a run through the Great Ocean Road, Bendigo, Bathurst, Griffith and back home.

See you in two weeks

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General Musings

Jobs to go in Queensland

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PUBLIC servants are preparing to unleash industrial mayhem on the state next month to protest against job cuts by the Newman Government.

A vote taken by public sector union members yesterday backed a “significant industrial campaign” involving more than 30,000 people at 1000 work sites, including hospitals, prisons, schools and transport service centres.

I sympathise with the public servants (I have a daughter worried about her long term prospects) but really, what is Newman to do?

The Beattie/Bligh governments have simply left us with a bloated public service as witnessed by the fact the Anna had to borrow money to pay their salaries.

Newman has to claw back billions of dollars to even approach financially responsible levels and we are going to have to pay. It will hurt us and services will be downgraded until he has a grip on the problem.

If the public servants wan’t to vent their spleen then they should go find Anna Bligh and tell her ‘thanks for screwing us over and having us live in a fools paradise’

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Qld Politics

Closing the stable door

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The ALP/Earthian Greens are having a lover’s tiff. Personally I think it’s all spin as the ALP look to justify their behaviour over the last couple of years and struggle to pick up votes from the left….or anywhere for that matter.

Gillard knowingly got into bed with these guys and the played the beast with two backs to guarantee her holding onto the treasury keys. It’s no good suddenly discovering that the Green Earthians are a dangerous, radical left wing bunch of tossers because we know, by her behaviour, that Gillard is all that and more.

The ‘more’ of course, refers to her incompetency.

Apparently the ‘blame Abbott‘ protocol isn’t working so Labor leaders are lining up to take shots at the Greens and confront their influence on the government.

GREG Combet, the man in charge of negotiating the carbon tax with the Greens, says Labor does not share the same values as its partners in minority government.

Mate! How can you say that when you negotiated the carbon tax with them.

Paul Howes has lots to say, up to and including, calling them ‘loopy‘;

They have got away with their grab-bag of loopy and out-there policies for years. They’ve got away with it by being passed off as a group of eccentric but basically harmless hippies.

People assumed that the Greens might have some weird ideas, but they are never going to run the show, so we don’t need to worry about them.

Well, we can no longer afford to be so complacent.

But apparently it was OK to be complacent when you and your mob turned back the covers and got into bed with them

Paul also mentions the Green Earthian’s idea of sport, just in case some rugby league guys read the front pages of the newspapers;

There probably wouldn’t even be a State of Origin – we’d just sit around with Queenslanders and play pass the parcel. After all, the Greens in NSW have a policy of promoting “non-competitive sports” such as yoga, dance, trampolining and tai chi over the traditional sports that Australian children enjoy playing.

As their policy explains, the Greens “believe too much emphasis is placed on full body contact sports often causing unnecessary physical damage and confining opportunities for participation to the athletic elite.”

Leader Gillard has suddenly discovered the green Earthians don’t share everyday Australian’s values;

“The Greens will never embrace Labor’s delight at sharing the values of everyday Australians, in our cities, suburbs, towns and bush, who day after day do the right thing, leading purposeful and dignified lives, driven by love of family and nation,” she said.

“The differences between Labor and the Greens take many forms but at the bottom of it are two vital ones. The Greens wrongly reject the moral imperative to a strong economy.

A picture of the Greens and ALP not sharing values;

Lots of Green Earthians said things but nothing they say is worth repeating so I wont.

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Politics

Glass half full or half empty

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The Australian Headline: Ashby conspiracy claims backfire
The Age Headline: Ashby facing prospect of criminal charges, court hears.

The Australian quotes Justice Rares;

….Justice Steven Rares in the Federal Court this morning said that the allegations of a criminal conspiracy from Mr Slipper and senior ministers meant that Mr Ashby could no longer be forced to make a submission against the allegations in the civil case because he may incriminate himself.

“You have raised the stakes, now in raising the stakes you cannot just pull back a bit . . . You don’t know how somebody might use that information in a criminal investigation,” Justice Rares told Mr Slipper’s lawyer David Chin.

“He does not have to give his name if he is involved in and suspected of a crime . . . If we do not uphold those rights in our society we live in a police state.”

The Age does quote Justice Rare but only just. Buried deep within the article that concentrates on quoting ALP senior minister’s seemingly interfering with due process (Albanese and Roxon) they finally mention the relevant point;

Justice Steven Rares said Mr Ashby could not be forced to incriminate himself.

Gina attacking, shares spiralling down and next year a likely conservative government…you have to feel sorry for The Age

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General Musings

State of Origin

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A great Game

I think its always best when we win in the last minute by just a kick. It gives the Blues and the state of NSW the whole game to live in hope only to have their hopes dashed at the last minute.

Makes the victory all the sweeter particularly when 4.8 million witnessed the game.

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General Musings

Arafat to be exhumed

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Good! We get to celebrate his death again. Who cares how he died, the important thing is he is dead and gone.

The ABC reports the Palestinians already know who killed him….The Israeli Mossa and the American CIA..of course.

Bookstore owner Iyad Muna, 42, told ABC News, “Arafat was killed and we knew that. And we know more than that. We knew that Israel killed him, but there was a lack in evidence. Yesterday we got the evidence.”

Well, not really but it doesn’t matter as Israel will be blamed by the Palestinian people and the Western media well before any evidence surfaces.

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Politics, War on Terror

Just looking for a Fair Go

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I received a letter from the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation(DFRDB) informing me I have a CPI increase of .01% for the six months Sep 11 to Mar 12. This gives me an increase of $1.12 per fortnight. I thought of taking my Bride out to dinner to celebrate but the Power bill that is forecast to increase by up to 7.6% % is due and the rates notice is around the corner with a 4.9% increase although the Mayor had promised to keep the increase below the 3.6% inflation rise.

What’s that – 3.6% inflation? How is that related to .01% CPI rise?

I note Pensioners get an increase of $6.70 (6 times my increase)for the same period based on the total pension that is about two thirds of my income.

Why is this so? The money I receive is literally a return on my paying superannuation to the government for 25 years. If I hadn’t paid super, and in retirement relied on the public purse, it appears I would be better off.

I’m not one for conspiracy theories but sometimes it is hard to rid myself of the thought that the current mob in power simply don’t like us old Diggers. Maybe my earlier career choice of killing communists has actually come back to bite me – I know several members in both the House of Reps and the Senate would wish that I just fade away.

But Fade Away doesn’t feature in the role of infantry so it ain’t going to happen.

I’m not the only one concerned about this apparent anomaly. The website Fair Go is dedicated to the ex serviceman’s fight against disinterested politicians.

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Defence
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