Correction to my previous post;

“THIS should be our bottom line or dual bottom line if you like, NOT the economy, especially when economic growth and prosperity is rather poorly correlated to these parameters!”

I meant “SO-CALLED prosperity”

Merry Christmas George, and to all OLOers.

Well said Tapp and Ludwig. Money is the focus of everything today, sadly. Government decisions are made, or forced, on the basis of cost effectiveness. Good idea but when lives are lost because we "can't afford" the prevention it's way past time for both major Parties to hang their heads in shame and toddle off into the sunset, arm in arm.

Boaz_David. Could I suggest an addition to your "Politicians, say what you actually MEAN, rather than giving spin" statement? As below :

"Politicians, do what you say and mean what you say".

This comment from Nicholas re Rudd's thoughts(?) :

"He comments on how the old timers in his branch used to greet newcomers to the neighbourhood with a box of groceries on the back step - compliments of the local ALP branch. It was good PR and good politics. Just like Rudd’s Christmas card."

I note that such a welcome was extended at the back door, not the front. Who paid for those groceries and how has anything changed? Today it's not groceries but it's still the back door, both major Parties.

Your right

but the problem is as i have said over and over againg that nobody wants to make a stand for themselves and make change

They are happy to talk about it and when the federal election comes and goes will be back complaining about why people dont stand up.

For one i can say at least i am trying.

also i hope that you all had a good christmas day.

Nick says “we might pay some attention to a huge labour market failure - namely this - you usually don’t know what it’s like to work for a firm before you start working there!” My worst example of this was when Kevin Rudd recruited me to Queensland’s Office of Cabinet, the Queensland Public Service having been far and away the worst employer I’ve had in three continents. But things are changing – my daughter had a wealth of information last year to persuade her that a particular global engineering consulting firm was far and away her best post-uni opportunity, and it has lived up to its promise, with the kind of approach I applied in isolation as a QPS manager. (KR, incidentally, had no people or managerial skills when I worked for him. More recently, his reply to a leter of mine suggested that he either hadn't read it or completely missed the point.)

As for staff questionanaires, they’ve been extensively used within the QPS, but given the appalling management standards, they were a waste of resources.

As an aside on “doing well by doing good,” I worked with Karl Christ, a physicist on the Manhattan Project (which created the WW2 atom bombs). Christ abandoned physics in remorse, and became a leading econometrician. His wife remarked to me that “He hasn’t done good, but he’s certainly done well!”

New economics cannot be built on traditional social affairs, and threats to have more not-well connected and simply not-Anglo-Australians pushed into creating the jobs for the allowed being employed in Australia at TAFEs and English courses are nothing new in Labor policies unfortunately.

unfortunately there is nobody within australia willing to stand up for those rights that we soon wont have.

unfortunately we will soon be calling this nation That what was Australia as labor and the liberal party's will still be selling off everything

unfortunately people dont care and just will tick any box

unfortunately the labor and liberal party's only interest is themselves, ever wondered why people still vote for those people dropped into electorates at election time. You cant tell me they are to represent the people, what would they know of that community.

Labor and Liberal party's know how much the people care, how much damage and pain and corrupt behaviour that the people will take.

The stupidity of the people will destroy this country and do they care not one bit, and you lot will just keep fighting tit for tat and when it is all gone that should make you all feel much better as these two pathetic, corrupt and decietful party's are happy to pay you off and sell whatever is required to keep your mouths shut.

There is no future for ourselves,our children and our country with the corruption and deciet and when you realise that this country will then turn around.