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Dear onthebeach,

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You wrote :

« Struggle Streets? Let them eat cake and pretend they don't exist, eh?
Do try that out on the Parisiennes you waft by in the street.
You are frivolous, putting your 'progressive' idealism ahead of the very real and serious challenges (I listed a few) that confront Australia. »
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That assertion is a rather discourteous, peremptory and largely false projection you are making there, onthebeach.

I have no idea what prompted your scathing remarks and can only imagine that either you have misread my comments or completely misinterpreted them.

I wrote that Piotowski, the author of the article you posted, declared that the controversy over Struggle Street was “really a load of rubbish” because, he (Piotowski) considered that “the stories of its subjects were sensitively told and shed light on confronting problems”.

My comment on that was: “I suspect he (Piotowski) is right”.

I went on to observe that Piotowski’s ensuing explanation of what had probably triggered the controversy seemed “eminently plausible to me” because I understood it was not unusual for the best of intentions to sometimes backfire (unexpectedly) and produce exactly the opposite effect to that which one seeks to achieve. I cited, as an example, the attempt of the French to eliminate rats in Indochina.

Perhaps you would be kind enough to read my previous post once again - very carefully - and let me know if you maintain your position.

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Banjo Paterson,

"I have no idea what prompted your scathing remarks and can only imagine that either you have misread my comments or completely misinterpreted them."

Unfortunately it's the case that onthebeach doesn't really need an overt prompt to respond with scathing remarks. It's often sufficient that he merely gleans that you hold an opposing view - (or display the tell-tale signs of holding one)

He appears to delight in deliberately misinterpretting them - after which he will go on to misrepresent them with glorious gay abandon.

But I look forward to his response - it'll give him a chance to employ his Shortenesque zinger - the red nappy line.

Hi Poirot and Banjo,

Beach displays a typical hard right conservative attitude, opposing all progressive ideas, never seeing any merit in change. Even our gay friends are not obsessed with gay marriage, no more than we progressives on the forum are obsessed with the concept of Australia becoming a republic. The obsessed ones are those like Beach who fear that today's ideas will become tomorrows reality.

I ask you Beach, what measures/actions has the conservative Baird in NSW and Abbott, and now Turnbull, at a federal level taken to tackle the problems of 'Struggle Street' after all Mount Druitt is in their back yard and they hold the political sway at the moment.I can only assume as a conservative voter you have as much concern for these people on 'Stuggle Street' as does the politicians you support. None!

@Paul1404,

'Struggle Street' in the Mount Druitt area is getting a new multi billion dollar international airport with capability of flights transporting 80 million passengers by 2030.

Things change.
I think otb is well up to date in DV debate.

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Dear Poirot and Paul 1405,

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Thank you for sharing your impressions of onthebeach with me.

I grew up in a bush town on the Darling Downs in Queensland and as long as I can remember, just about everybody always voted for the Country Party which later became the National Party and then The Nationals before joining in the Liberal National Party (LNP) coalition.

The president of the LNP is Bruce McIver, a truck driver from a small town called Bell not far from where I lived. Bruce has a reputation of being a pretty hard-nosed conservative and rules the LNP with an iron hand though I understand he is due to retire sometime this year.

I like Bruce. He doesn’t waste words but he is the sort of person who gets things done. You can count on him.

I never discussed politics with my mother and was a bit surprised when I realised, many years after I left home, just how hard right she was. She worked as a shop assistant, raised two sons on her own, taught ballet and did a lot of community work. She had an iron will, was extremely demanding on herself, took no nonsense from others, but had a soft heart and was always willing to help those in need. She was a gentle and loving mother to me.

I have no doubt that all my family and friends back home have always voted for what, in their mind, is still the Country Party. They are all good people.

Our local LNP representative used to be the family butcher, pretty straight forward and a really nice guy.

However, Leslie Diplock, the father of my primary school teacher, Miss Diplock, was headmaster of the school and later became the Minister for Education for Queensland. He was an exception - a member of the ALP. I was Miss Diplock’s favourite pupil and acted as a go-between for her and the local Church of England Bush Brotherhood minister before their marriage. I was his altar boy.

Whether conservatives or socialists, they are all good people.

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@Banjo Paterson, Sunday, 25 October 2015 8:43:57 AM

Excepting for the 'Postcode racism' Hipster hyperbole and your odd rats reference I do agree with you that Struggle Streets presented real social problems and is reflective of many streets in many suburbs and country towns in Australia. That is after all why I linked to it.

Accordingly I am happy to withdraw if I did read you wrongly as you say.

However, the essential points remain as covered before. For instance, that many of the senior politicians who are now spruiking for the republic have served in Parliament since the first Rudd government (2007) at least. Would it were that they had showed anywhere near the same enthusiasm for the 'Struggle Streets' as they do for gay marriage and the republic. The same applies to the human headlines of the media.