I was on my way to proudly raise the Australian flag on Australia Day. However, whilst looking at the ‘Made in China’ label on it, and thinking about all the businesses and employment which have headed overseas in the last few years, I could only raise the flag halfway in recognition of Australia’s future. To see so many great and iconic Aussie businesses head overseas to take advantage of cheap labour rates and almost non existent health and safety and environmental legislation is sad for this nation and the founders of those corporations. A couple of years ago Prime Minister John Howard told workers to buy shares in corporations, but then he ensured that workers rights and conditions were destroyed with his industrial relations regime. While he says he admires the average worker, conditions wouldn’t be much worse if he hated us.

I agree Greenrealist;
It does not seem to be recognised that there are people who just want
to go and work for a days pay in a factory and then go home to their
family. They may not be able to do better than that, its not their fault
its just the way it is.
Governments have to cater for all the people not just the clever ones
in the smaller technical industries the governments think we should
concentrate on.

Anyway, when peak oil hits the fan, all manufacturing will come back
home to just around the corner. When will that be I hear you say ?
I wish I knew, and so do a lot of other people. We will only know
looking in the rear view mirror, but it could be within a few years.

Greenrealist, you are spot on the money. I have been arguing a very similar line on the article discussion around Woolworths. We have a moral duty to pay a price for any product that allows for any workers involved to have a reasonable income, with good safety conditions, and to ensure minimal harm is done to the environment in its production. Governments, greens and unions have forced these conditions on Australian businesses (I dont necessarily have a problem with this), but we are then free to bring in cheap imports that dont have these production restrictions and criteria. I'm not advocating protectionism and trade barriers, just that if these are the ideals that we believe in, them we should be willing to support them where-ever in the world our products originate from.

I cannot but agree with the various comments made but are we really looking in the right direction?

On 6 July 2006 I published my latest book;

INSPECTOR-RIKATI® & What is the -Australian way of life- really?
A book on CD on Australians political, religious & other rights
ISBN 978-0-9751760-2-3 was ISBN 0-9751760-2-1

Politicians were referring to “Australian way of life” but did they really comprehend what it is about?

Firstly, few people understand that constitutionally “Australian citizenship” is not at all a nationality but in fact deals with political rights, such as franchise.

Did you know that constitutionally the British Union Jack is our formal flag.

Did you know that God save the Queen is constitutionally our national anthem, and the Framers of the constitution made clear this should be played at all official functions.

Well, if you didn’t know so far what was wrong, then you are in a bit of a rough ride, so to say.

The Constitution was designed as to “DISCRIMINATE” against “coloured races”. It is therefore your constitutional right to discriminate.
The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 is unconstitutional as it is not against a specific coloured race” but against the GENERAL COMMUNITY for which no constitutional provisions exist.

Personally, I object to any form of discrimination, but that is another issue, it is what is constitutionally permissible that is the issue.

Why did the Framers of the Constitution then allow racial discrimination to be part of the Constitution one may ask?

Well, cheap coloured labour were flooding Australia, before federation, and they simply desired to give the Commonwealth of Australia legislative powers to stop those coloured people to flood the labour market and take Australians their jobs.
Because at the time India (and so other colonial outposts), was part of the British Empire, and as such were entitled to enter the Australia as British nationals, the Framers of the Constitution devised a way that if you belonged to a certain coloured race then the Commonwealth of Australia could exclude your entry or make life as difficult as possible if you did enter Australia.

Part 2;
The negative of this was that any other person already in the Commonwealth of Australia, being it an alien, natural born or naturalized then also was subject to that specific coloured race legislation if you belonged to that particular race in regard of which the Commonwealth of Australia had legislated against. To overcome problems of electors belonging to such a coloured race to overturn such legislation it was made clear that the moment anyone was subjected to race legislation then this person would AUTOMATICALLY loose all citizenship rights. That way, they could not vote against such legislation later.
Again, I succeed in Court on this constitutional issue also!

Section 51(xxvi) of the Constitution was to protect Australians against cheap labour, yet the Howard government has managed to turn this around against Australians and flood the labour market with cheap labour, albeit unconstitutionally.

Why worry about flying an Australian flag made in China, when in the first place the Federal Government had no constitutional powers to substitute the Union Jack as our national flag with something else, nor so with the national anthem or for that matter the Queen.

As Edmund Barton, born in NSW, and later becoming Prime Minister on 2-3-1898 during the Constitution Convention Debates stated;

“we are all alike subjects of the British Crown.”

I challenge anyone to point out to me when was there a referendum to approve to amend the Constitution to change our nationality from British nationals to a purported Australian nationality!

See also my website www.schorel-hlavka.com.

Therefore, to get back to the loss of Australian businesses, the lost of Australian jobs, etc, why not just stick to what the Constitution provide for and hold politicians accountable for this and if we do desire to change then not un-elected judges but only the electors can vote for an amendment of the Constitution. If this process were to be followed many Australian jobs would be saved. And you know what, we would do it all within the legal framework set out in the Constitution!