From my stuffed political armchair; just when I thought it was safe to consider PM alternatives I hear the Jaws music…..

Tony Abbott (a.k.a. Dr No), a most voluble Opposition Leader hits our screens, proclaiming that workers are being ripped off again by the Gillard Government. Tax cuts (due 2015) of $1.59 pw are being deferred. This almighty annual sum of $82.68, deferred due to low Carbon price forecasts. A Big Mac will probably cost $75.00 in 2015 but at present the average family car couldn’t fill their tank for$82.68.

In his next breath he announces that he will pursue his Paid Parental Leave policy and take it to the elections. Apparently this is for real and makes the Howard Governments Baby Bonus look like small change.

His policy allows for payment of up to $75,000 to mothers over 6 months. He said that ‘women of this calibre’ earning up to $150,000.00 p.a. should be entitled to such a payment. This would be paid for by a levy on wealthy businesses, not the workers.

In one foul swoop he has insulted a huge slice of the motherly population and insulted the intelligence of the rest who know that the buck stops at the workers pay packet. In real terms he will be imposing a new tax which I think of as The Calibre Tax. The man who would be P.M.

There must be some legitimate points for such a Paid Parental Scheme but for now I can’t get my head around this stuff. I also wonder ’which comes first, the chicken or the egg?’. The making of a new human seems more like a commercial venture of convenience, necessity and maintaining status quo rather than one of traditional sentiment and choice.

Maybe Mr Abbott was upset about workers losing $1.59 pw because the total for 6mths, $41.34, could have gone towards the $75,000.00 for 6mths paid parental leave.

I hope the zillionaire in QLD is up and running for the PM job by September. Maybe he’s worth a go.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad/maiden-tonys-great-big-tax/story-fn6br25t-1226295921746

Word for today:    Status Quo – maintaining the existing state of affairs (and British band)

More to come:      same blog time, same blog channel.

This morning I went walking with my younger son; we usually walk and talk the same circuit and perhaps spot something a little different. The dirt track passes through park area, bush and beside a saltwater lake.

At the halfway point, next to water, we were lucky to hear and see part of a large sting-ray that breached the surface and hit the water again sounding like a belly-flop from a dive gone wrong.

The following words should be read with the voice of Sir David Attenborough, the naturalist;

‘As good as this was, I was keen to get back to a part of the track we had already covered. On the way we had spotted something rarely seen on sunny Sundays. A young creature, or creatures, had marked the dirt track in a distintive pattern probably with sticks. Returning to this spot, it was evident that the creatures were disturbed before their ritual of hops, steps and sizzles were to be undertaken to determine the leader of the pack. Once done, the creatures usually disappear leaving their scratchings and territory behind’.

Given that kids are said to sit inside on sunny days staring at a laptop screen, it was good to see a Hopscotch course in the middle of the track. Not that long ago, this wouldn’t have caught my attention.

Word for today:      Hopscotch

A childrens game played on numbered patterns of rectangles or squares drawn on the ground.

More to come;      same blog time, same blog channel.

From my ordinary political armchair, some extraordinary politics with elections in September, 2013.

On the 21st March 2013, final day of parliament before a seven week break, Minister Simon Crean called for a leadership spill to end the months of speculation and bad polling for the Labor Government. Prime Minister Julia Gillard agreed (probably thinking ‘Gawwwwd, not agaaain’).

As we know, Minister Kevin Rudd (the main contender and usually referred to in the press as Former Prime Minister Rudd) did not contest the leadership. He announced that he had promised to not contest the leadership again and that was that. He also said the promise only held if the numbers were not in his favour. This made sense to me but I hadn’t heard the terms before. I did therefore, find this at odds with his actions this day; suggesting a halo could be appropriate. It seems it was always a conditional promise. In any case the status quo was maintained for P.M. Gillard and Treasurer Wayne Swan.

Minister Simon Crean, apparently by his own actions, was hung out to dry in political wasteland. Did he think Kevin Rudd had the numbers, was he acting on his own or was he pushed into the brave new world of one (1) player walking the plank?

As far as Kevin Rudd, his supporters and Simon Crean are concerned, the status quo was not maintained. Those of the challenger ilk got the boot, demoted, maybe lost some perks and were sent to the naughty benches to ponder September.

For the supporters of Julia Gillard, that is the junior MP’s; their status quo also changed. Inexperienced MP’s propelled into Ministerial positions and pay packets. Talk about luck, an employer with a high turnover of staff. With the odds in favour of being voted out in six months, their golden handshakes have just received an enormous increase. They ought to buy Simon Crean a beer or two, but I think it would have to be by proxy.

Currently, P.M. Gillard is enjoying some rare success and good press over the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme). If she gets this up, she may finish before the elections on a good note and maybe, just maybe, think she has a chance of re-election.

As an average voter a few stand-outs from Labour that will be with me at the polling booth.

# PM Kevin Rudd, wheeling, dealing and dominating without consultation; acting as a know it all.

# The disgusting and undignified manner in which the Labor Party axed P.M. Kevin Rudd and shoe-horned Julia Gillard into the PM’s chair. Mr Rudd was the face voters asked for. Whoever pulled the strings here (an inside job) have outdone The Dismissal of Gough Whitlam.

# The dignified manner in which Kevin Rudd conducted himself after his rude de-throning.

#”Moving Forward”- One of the most boring, annoying, blockheaded, irritating and stinky election slogans ever.

# The asylum seeker boats fiasco. Childishly revamped from a working, fairly successful scheme (by the Libs) to an out of control free for all.

# Minority govt’s don’t work very well when shackled to other parties of different persuasions.

# P.M. Gillard being dragged to safety, one shoe on, after an incident in Canberra.

# Yet more taxes for everyone, Carbon and Mineral, but watered down to being ineffective. Medicare levy to be increased to ‘help’ pay for the NDIS. How long has the Australian public been wondering when the pollies will get to the Medicare levy?

# Bonuses being paid to compensate for taxes that didn’t live up to the Opposition forecast of doom and gloom.

#An education revolution that hasn’t yet happened. Also, PM Gillards words approx. “we are not reducing the monies spent on Universities, just spreading it out differently”. Does this revolution also mean that those educated before the successful revolution, are poorly educated?

#Even if Kevin Rudd had the numbers, would he want to be the one remembered as going down with the ship?

Meanwhile, Australia has still been ticking along and so most of the daily business of government has been proceeding. The media continues to provide sensational cannon fodder for me and these views are totally from my own armchair.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/03/22/06/27/oppn-to-push-no-confidence-motion-may-14

http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8630917

BBH Rating:   Labours Performance to date     ~    5/10

Word for today:     ILK       Of the same family, class or kind.

More to come;      same blog time, same blog channel

Last Wednesday afternoon (April 10) I was on the roof. The gutters needed cleaning and finding a fault that caused the roof to leak during bad weather, had my attention.

Well not my full attention it seems, because while scooping wet and muddy leaves from the gutter I heard a bus pull up and voices which sounded not like adults. Some other noises registered and I looked through some trees to the bus stop. A couple of kids in school uniform (white shirts I think) were laughing and taking off in a hurry. One more followed I think, running as well. From the right, hidden a little by bushes, came another school kid, blue shirt and perhaps stumbling on his feet or, to his feet. Angrily he yelled ”I’ll get youse tomorrow”. The bus, directly behind them, pulled away. This was the bus stop at the intersection of King Albert Ave and President Poincare Pde, Tanilba Bay around 4. 15pm.

I didn’t see what happened, if anything happened at all. My impression simply being that this boy in the blue shirt had been on the ground, on the footpath (sidewalk). I know he was angry because of his body language and his yelling. He stood there for a moment or two and then started to walk off. He seemed okay, not hurt that I could see.

I digested this scene, then went back to the gutter thinking about bullies. Not many seconds later I heard the same kid in the blue shirt yelling to or at someone else. I looked up to see where this angst was going.

Two kids could be seen at the corner of the next short block up the road. I couldn’t make out what they were saying but the kid in the blue shirt (now across the road) was yelling and waving for them to “come on then “. When he started to walk towards them they’d laugh and slip out of sight; then back again to keep it going. One of these kids was on a scooter, I think the other as well. The scooter kids had light coloured shirts, maybe school uniform, maybe not; but they were school age and disappeared into Rigney Rd. Whatever the first lot of kids had achieved, it appeared that these two were sticking it to the same kid as well.

After a few of these exchanges, all went quiet. I looked up shortly after and saw the back of the kid with the blue shirt walking up King Albert Ave towards Diggers Drive. He was probably going home. Even from 50 metres away he looked angry.

I wondered if he would say anything when he got home. Kids are like that, either dismiss or bottle it up. He would have been angry for sure. Would his behaviour be off that night, maybe get into trouble? Would he share some of his misery? And of course, would he be on Facebook later where cyberbullying can continue the taunting? I hope he speaks up so that I’m not the only who watched a little of his misery. The other kids probably all went home laughing and told their parents they had a pretty good day.

From what I know of this area, these kids probably came from high schools at Raymond Terrace and travelled on Hunter Valley Buses. Maybe they all went to the same school, maybe not. They all seemed to be around 14-16yrs mark. A genius wasn’t required to see that the boy in the blue shirt was the object of bullying by around 5 kids, maybe others on the bus. He was on his own. He was solid enough and could probably hold his own, one on one, if he could handle himself a little.

Did I mention that the boy in the blue shirt appeared to be of Asian descent? No. Well, to me he clearly is. He also sounds just as Aussie as myself and the bully boys, probably 2nd or 3rd generation or whatever. I hope that wasn’t a factor in the bullying but it may have been.

Anyway, I’m for the underdog in this story and I hope the kid in the blue shirt stays strong and tells his parents.

The other five bullies are yet to learn that part of being an okay kind of person is to give someone a fair go and not be cowardly little turds.

Word for today:   Bully – one habitually cruel to others weaker that himself.

More to come;    same blog time, same blog channel.