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The Forum > Article Comments > Howard's agenda behind the agendas? > Comments

Howard's agenda behind the agendas? : Comments

By Judy Cannon, published 7/12/2005

Judy Cannon argues that current legislation will lead to extending centralised government.

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Judy is in a sense right and it will in the longer term - although there are cracks beginning to show now - highlight the internal contradiction of this government.

At the same time as it endorses, in principle, the notion of smaller government it has in its actions - on immigration, welfare, IR, terorrist legislation , proposed changs to the electoral act, will all give rise to greater government control.

You can still be over governed by a small government - it is not numbers that count rather the level of control they weild. And this is a government run on the principles of mannagement by getting its own way - even in the face of majority dissent or facts contradiciting their assumptions.

It keeps its own counsel and consults widely with itself - the procession of partisan appointments to various boards and senior public serice roles is testimony to that _ and yes the ALP did it too - but no where near with the finesse or to the extnet that these guys do.

THe internal dissent with in the party over Voluntary Student Unionism, Welfare reform, immigration laws, sedition and anti terrorism will grow over time because in may ways the direction of strict control and over regulation is anathema to the principles once espoused by the "broad church" of the liberal party - the nationals are slowly becoming dissafected as well - we will revisit the old Wet/Dry split of some time ago again

Many of them are seeing their party driven by a desire to stay in power rather than govern for the good of the nation - this type of hubris - a characterstic JH assured us would not be displayed by his government ( and when will the pollies learn, it is our government - not John's, or Bobs or Pauls but ours )with control of both houses.

The hubris of Howard will eventually trip our government up; its a pity so many will suffer while we have to wait.
Posted by sneekeepete, Thursday, 8 December 2005 9:30:00 AM
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Full marks to John Howard for his 19th century style statesman like appearance, with which he gives the appropriate tight smile when under duress as with the recent Gerard affair, rather than the unnattractive smirk that his treasurer Costello has been offering lately.

But behind Howard's statesman like look, we could ask why certain queries have been persistently coming from intellectual areas without forthcoming answers?

1. The earlier report through SBS Dateline re George Negus a few months ago concerning the landing in NSW of a shipment of Brazilian foot amd mouth suspected carcase meat causing an uproar from Aussie cattlemen. Yet an enquiry to SBS received the answer that things had to be quietened down?

2. The report through Dissent, an intellectual periodical that Costello much preferred to put huge government profits into a rather dubious Future Fund than use it for much needed funding for schools and medical needs as well as replacement of wornout public infrastructure.

3. Apparently our media has been warned by government not to comment on our nation, for its size, having by far the largest overseas trading debt in the world now amounting to more than 480 billion dollars.

For all John Howard's talk about his political honesty and so forth, why cannot the above queries be aired to the Australian public?
Posted by bushbred, Thursday, 8 December 2005 2:01:24 PM
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The Great Aussie Heist. (part 1)

by Amateur Gumshoe

Having thrown in their lot with the War For Profit gang, then losing their shirts in the Iraqi caper, The Kid and Gabby Cadaver hit the ground running. It was either the high road to comfort in a gated estate, or the low road to a gulag via The Hague. They were under no illusions; this was for keeps, and history would be written by the victors.

In the investigations room, I looked at the evidence. We needed to establish Means, Method and Motive to clinch the case. "Follow the money", my instincts told me. On the whiteboard I scrawled the following:

1. We had the Means in the IR Bill. This was to be the greatest shakedown of the plebs since the standover rackets of old New York City (ah, golden days).

2. The Method was in the Terror Bill. No doubt about it, the sedition provisions were the best crowd control since the blunderbuss. Mad Mick and the sly boys would make it hot for any do-gooder trying to tail the gang back to the stash.

My eye fell upon the virtual couch over in the corner. That old horsehair monstrosity had rubbed arses with Ness, Spillane and Fitzgerald. Adding a dash of absinthe to my mocha, I voyaged the recumbency to seek the council of spiritual mentors, and augur some answers.

I thought the gang's chief weakness might lie with the bat-eared galoot in charge of accounts. There had been early rumors of him going straight, but now the books were so thoroughly cooked, they were little more than a work of fiction. "Pious Pete has burned his bridges", I decided, and moved on.
Posted by Chris Shaw, Carisbrook 3464, Friday, 9 December 2005 1:31:02 PM
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The Great Aussie Heist (part 2)

I turned over the entire rogue's gallery in my mind and stopped when I came to Oppo Walrus. The faithful just couldn't comprehend that the turd had been running interference for The Kid all these years. I wondered how often he could betray the cause before the troops awoke and and dealt him the black spot. Mental note: Find out what position Oppo has been offered in the new regime. Check connections to the Chimp's gang. Concrete overshoes - what size?

Back at the whiteboard I wrote the following under Motive:

1. Instead of fixing the crooked accounts, the bastards are going to debauch society so that it fits the books.

2. Expensive fuel will ambush food production and distribution.

3. Haves and have-nots. Who chooses who's in and who's out?

4. Monetary economics has no answer to a human crisis.

5. Classical economics values money over human life.

The dots pointed only one way. The Kid had decided to leg it with his rich cronies, leaving the rest of us holding the merkin. Too bad so many opposition politicians thought they belonged in first class too.

"Me too! Me too!" Echoes around a Canberra eatery on which the sun never sets, and fine cutlery chimes with the ring of a crystal prayer-wheel. Oh, make haste!

Back on the prickly horsehair, the spirit of Fitzgerald whispered in my ear, "I've got the Chimp's balls on toast".

Thankful for that at least, I rolled over and dozed fitfully.

FIN
Posted by Chris Shaw, Carisbrook 3464, Friday, 9 December 2005 1:32:15 PM
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I would like to comment on our Governments IR and Welfare to Work Legislation as it relates to my situation. I have chronic lymphocytic leukaemia diagnosed in June of this year, I am not eligible for any Centrelink payment because of my wifes earnings. I an not eligable for Disability Support Pension because even with an incurable, terminal cancer it is deemed by those in the know that I can work 3 hours per day. (I can only walk due to high dose prednisolone - cortico steroid).

My wife asked if she could work overtime at her job and was told we will pay you as a casual. No penalties for weekend work or overtime. The IR laws will make little difference because current laws are not being enforced.

Now I am being told that if I want to keep my health care card I have to attend jobsearch training. This is ludicrous I am 51 and there are no jobs out there. And who is going to employ someone with an incurable disease.

But if I can work 1 hour per week I will not be unemployed and the statistics will look just fine. What a farce.
Posted by Steve Madden, Friday, 9 December 2005 2:58:34 PM
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Loved the Great Aussie Heist, Chris. Really brilliant writing. It deserves a much wider audience than it will find here. Hopefully it has one.

I agree, Oppo Walrus has betrayed us all. After the debacle in the senate this week, I think you should add Indy Fielding and the little gNat to your whiteboard. There's a nasty smell here somewhere. Perhaps you can ferret out the true state of their connections to the Chimp's gang. Seems like another 30 pieces of silver has found its way from Pious Pete's bottomless stash into their malleable little paws.

We can only hope that the whisper from Fitzgerald's spirit truly does materialise, and sooner rather than later.

Can't wait for the next installation of this cryptic masterpiece. Keep it coming.
Posted by Bronwyn, Saturday, 10 December 2005 1:40:57 PM
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