After a while, I joined an insurance company as a self-employed agent. I covered all my own expenses and was paid solely on commission. The situation seemed to suit me, I made more money than I had ever seen before and progressed with this company to area sales management level. After 5 years, I'd had enough of this too, maybe the story of my life.

My next long term venture was a sub-contracting business in the building trade, where I was also a manufacturer. The men who worked with me were also self-employed sub-contractors and were paid on price-for-the-job basis. I also worked alongside them on building sites and anyone who was prepared to work at my level [and I've never been a workaholic] was very well paid indeed. I would have been ashamed to have done it any other way.

During this time, I became appreciative of the building trade unions. As I negotiated my own contracts, the unions couldn't get me better pay or fringe benefits, but they were in a position to look after site safety, something they generally did very well. When the unions were influential, safety standards improved and the opposite obviously applied. As far as I am concerned, workplace safety is non-negotiable, but many employers don't see it this way. And I would suggest that any govt [like Howard's] which has a policy of locking out the unions doesn't give a high enough priority to workplace safety either.

cont

I am a believer in the "safety net" principle. Just like almost any other concept, there are differences of opinion as to where to draw the line and at least some aspects will be open to abuse and manipulation. But, to me, safety nets are a necessary part of a fair and civilised society.

Some pride themselves on "standing on their own feet" something I've generally done anyway. And some believe in the "user pays" principle. But we can't fairly apply user pays to health, to name just one concept, and then claim to have any concept of compassion for those who are suffering through no fault of their own, can we?

I see the current IR legislation as deserting the necessary principles of the safety net, as it applies to working conditions, wages and collective bargaining. Just one more example of dishonesty on the part of Howard and his hypocritical, moralising stooge, Kevin Andrews

Rex,
remarkably good read, well said.

I suspect you are not in the least interested in a job in politics but if you got together with Tapp I think I'd be inclined to vote for you! :-)

Any chance? I'm sure you could not be any worse than those doing the job already and maybe the country could benefit for your personal sacrifice?

Col(while back),
Betrayal, Nation: examples.

More times than i can count where Bonsai has had the chance to stand up for Australian values (other than purely economic) and declared our independent ideas rather than caving in to the wishes of Bush Jr. (Kuwait, Hawke and Bush Sr - we had an obligation to defend a sovereign nation from an illegal invasion by Saddam. Completely different to current Iraq occupation).

Massive betrayal of Aussie values of a fair go by not seeing the blindingly obvious (as many had attempted to get them to see) that AWB was selling out Aussie farmers to Saddam to the tune of $300 million in bribes when they had an obligation under the UN sanctions embargo to check the contracts AWB gave copies of to our DEFAT, to ensure no sanctions busting was going on (which included the kind of bribes the UN knew were likely to be paid by businesses wanting easy dollars from the Iraq Sanctions fund), even while our troops were preparing to invade Iraq.

Betrayal of national desire (70% of Australians wanted a republic) by forcing the referendum to decide between two differing republic models (divide and conquer the will of the people) instead of whether or not we should retain the constitutional monarchy system of Government Bonsai owes his prosperity to.

Refusing to claim the same rights for our nationals that the UK, Afghanistan and even the US gave to it's Guantanamo captives.

Just because you choose to turn a blind eye to the government policies that supports your lifestyle choices at the expense of many who for numerous reasons do not make the same choices you have, does not make you right in all cases, if any.

For the discussion post,
(I have to say i feel a little uncomfortable because i find myself in the main agreeing with much of what Yebiga wrote and that is causing an alarm bell to go of in the back of my mind for some reason?)

My personal hope is that Rudd does not win in 2007, not because i want to enjoy another four years of cringing every single time Bonsai makes some announcement or comment, or because i relish the prospect of him resigning before the economic faeces hit the fan and letting Costello (or Downer?? Eeyucchh) take the fall for him, but because when the current bullish economic upcycle does finaly reverse, as it is likely to before the 2011 election, most mug voters are cynical enough to blame Labour for the downtrend and ensure we never get another Labour Government for twenty or more years and the 1980's inflation rate boogeyman will ensure a 'mandate' for the further moral destitution of this great nation until at least 2030.

That is a prospect that truly frightens me.

Once again, Fear is the primary factor in Australian politics.

All Hail Bonsai the Fearmeister!

After reading all the contributions to this thread, it gives me no lasting comfort to find my original entry proven so intuitively accurate.

The many expert economic contributors have entirely missed the point. What is the cost of this real or imagined economic success? What have we sacrificed?

I maintain, that even a hard core "neo conservative" must be amazed how far and fast we have travelled to the right. By way of graphic contrast, not long ago, I could have reasonably hoped for the government to fully fund my sex change (should I have desired one). Today, I can go blind from cataracts, deaf, and toothless whilst on a 2 year waiting list. But of course we have never had it so good.

I have even heard of an Australian citizen detained in an overseas prison for 5 years without charge. There are persitent rumours the Howard government knows about it too!

There was another case, where Immigration officials reportedly mistook an Australian citizen aimlessly wandering around rural Queensland and locked her up for a year. Apparently, they feared she was the first of a new wave of desperate German backpackers eager ditch their decadent lifestyles for our longer working hours and smoke free-environment.

I know, I try to believe Howard is a good leader. After all, he took us to Iraq to fight for democracy. He has defined for Australia an independent foreign policy against worldwide criticism he has stood alone. He has shown similar insight with his stand on Kyoto. I know, I know.

I am embarassed, when I consider how I have doubted him, when he has already solved all our future energy problems - who would have ever thought : all we need is 35 Nuclear Power Plants. Whilst the lunatics are still talking aboutn solar energy.

and of course, If I only understood marco-economics and the power of self reliance I would never have any doubts.

Yebiga,

Now i can use sarcasm as well as the next man to emphasise my points, so don't get me wrong here, But saying Bonsai put 500+ Aussie soldiers on the front line of a war in two different countries for DEMOCRACY?

Can anyone actually fall for that bull?

I challenge anyone here to prove to me otherwise that the main reason we have troops in Afghanistan five years on and Iraq three years on is the FEAR that America had that there would be another terrorist attack on the US if we did not join in the 'War on Terror'. Bansai Bonsai just had to support his good friend George's little war for economic crumbs that never came. Anyone notice how much better all our lives are since we got our 'Free Trade' agreement? Don't we all feel so much more relaxed and comfortable in Oz now we're alert-but-not-alarmed that the good muslims of Iraq have accepted democracy with open arms? (See? I told you i could use sarcasm).

RedNeck (lets call a spade a manual digging implement, many here don't parlez-vous Francais),

'That we place emphasis on holding to a position of reason and logic over Kyoto when the Europeans have already decided how to engineer the process to best suit themselves,'

Reason and logic huh?

How clever of the Europeans to carefully manipulate the UN's Kyoto Agreement program to reduce climate damage of unrestricted fuel consumption by ensuring they must reduce their own CO2 emissions by 8%, thus harming their economy's, while ensuring Australia, who refuses to ratify it, is granted a 10% INCREASE in CO2 emissions over 1990 levels, ensuring we gain on them economically! (IF we had chosen to ratify it. Seems Bonsai thought it irrational to gain such a cruelly mastered advantage unfairly)

Such a masterstroke of rationality by both the Europeans AND Bonsai; one can only wonder what dastardly plan for ensuring their own diminuition they have in store for us next?

(Yep! Sarcasm again. But I do make a good point there, don't i? In a backhanded complimentary kinda way) :-)