There's an amusing photo on The Australian website today of federal parliamentarians standing during the Apology proceedings yesterday. Most of them symbolically have their hands clasped over their crotches. An exception is the minister for environmental backflips Peter Garrett. He has one hand on his crotch and the other apparently on his backside Click here to see the pic and save it before the newspaper presses the trash button.
There was another interesting item on The Australian's website yesterday. It was only a small item, but highly embarrassing for the Prime Minister Mr Rudd. It confirmed that two of his senior staffers had been out in the crowd actively whipping up the fatuous folk to demonstrate more aggressively during the Opposition Leader Dr Nelson's response to the Apology. They were caught out and have been 'counselled' Concealed is probably a more apt word. They've been let off the hook by Mr Rudd and ordered to each write a sincere letter of apology to Dr Nelson. So many apologies.
They should have been sacked. Not only have they betrayed the integrity of the Prime Minister's office, they've betrayed the trust of all Australian peoples by nefariously engaging in personal political agendas. The nation can have no trust in Mr Rudd while he has such people working at senior levels. Maybe he was too gutless to sack them lest they became judged martyrs? Weakness is a luxury the PM can't afford, but it looks like it may become a hallmark of his term in office. Read and ponder the Australian's original article by clicking here.
Over here in the west there was a gathering of the converted to watch yesterdays proceedings via big screens set up on the Perth Esplanade. Agitators were also at work during Dr Nelson's speech and eventually pulled the plug on the TV screens to prevent his message getting across. Duh!
These are troubled times for the Western Australian Aborigines. Most of the problems come from Aboriginal people within the communities. Dr Nelson dared to mention the problems during his speech yesterday, which is why people reckoned he was a party pooper. He was speaking the unpalatable truth.
Coincidentally, running in Perth is a court case involving perhaps the most recognised Aboriginal figure in the Perth metropolitan area. He's facing sexual charges involving a young girl which allegedly occurred during the early 1990s. In those days he was widely regarded as a champion of Aboriginal assertiveness, but now his reputation in the wider community is in tatters. A few years he was convicted and did time for another sex case involving a young girl.
During the past decade there have been various other formerly-respected Aboriginal figureheads in Western Australia whose reputations collapsed because they indulged in shameful activities.
And so it goes on. Today's main newspaper carries a report that the Aboriginal residents of Hall's Creek, a northwest town infamous for violence, rapes and neglect or abuse of children, have voted not to ban the sale of take-away alcohol at the pub. It seems they prefer for life and death to continue in the way they see as normal.
In contrast, during the six months since a ban at Fitzroy Crossing, there has been a 43 percent drop in reported domestic violence and 55 percent reduction in visits to the hospital for alcohol related matters.
My rolls of grass have arrived. So it's off to work for me.
© MMVIII Paul R. Weaver.
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Check out each month's subject index on the Calendar Page for my "common-man" monologues about survival in 21st century Australia – plus a little history occasionally. An original essay is added most days as part of an undertaking to write at least couple of million words. Zzzzzzzz!