Support The Voice to help Indigenous Australians be heard

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There is broad support for the Indigenous Voice To Parliament within Australia. A majority of the population know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have been less than well served by the nation over the journey. We can all do a lot better if their voice is heard at the heart of parliament when decisions are made affecting their lives and future. It is a no brainer really. Support The Voice to help Indigenous Australians be heard in the halls of power and right around the country. Decades of ineffectual leadership and waste are on record in this space at the federal and state levels. There has been a lack of real commitment within governments to facilitate the substantial improvements required for first nation’s people in terms of health, quality of life, education, economic wealth, and life expectancy. Lip service has been paid to the problems but not much else.Continue Reading

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a man in blue jacket wearing sunglasses

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The rise of cybercrime: The widening gap between rich and poor is in direct correlation. We have been warned that the continuing divide and expanding inequality within our societies will spawn a violent breakdown of law and order. The proliferation of scams and identity theft is the forerunner of this societal upheaval. Scammers and hackers depend upon there being plenty of dissatisfied folk ready to cross the line to better their lot. If we continue to allow the wealthy to feather their nests, at the expense of the majority, via manipulation of our democratic governments things are only going to get worse.Continue Reading

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empty cathedral hall

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Ding dong the witch is dead! Cardinal George Pell has fallen from this mortal coil. George Pell is dead. A convicted sex offender, who was later released from prison after having his conviction quashed by the High Court. Where there is smoke, however, there is usually fire. Pell had been the hard man of conservative Catholic values over many decades in high office within the church. He had overseen a period of revelation within this religious institution. The Catholic Church in Australia and elsewhere was revealed to be a sewer of sexual perversion and exploitation of innocent children. Continue Reading

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paper map of australia placed on wall

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Australia has set the bar too low, when it comes to societal expectations around things like civic responsibility. Decades of neoliberalism infecting our governments on both sides of politics has seen a huge slide in respect for the role of government in managing our social contract. The late Kerry Packer was lionised for his tough talk to the senate on tax minimisation and its merits in Australian life. We now face an impending tax revenue crisis, as corporations continue to dodge their taxation responsibilities through clever accounting practices. Wealthy Australians think that it is OK to avoid paying tax wherever they can. Packer told his audience that smart people don’t pay tax where possible and that government’s waste their money anyway. This has become an established narrative in the Aussie cultural canon.Continue Reading

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flag of australia

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Australia has been locked into a cycle of inaction around the major issues facing the nation. Manipulation of the political system by vested interests on climate change and inequality has seen little progress achieved on these important matters affecting the nation. Conflicts of interest in Australia are entrenched within media and government. A lack of transparency around political influence within the two party preferred system remains the elephant in the room. On top of this, the loudest voice in the room via media interest is the Murdoch news organisation with its monopoly of newspapers across the land. Murdoch is a rabid right wing media mogul, as seen by the content on his Fox News and Sky News Australia TV networks. Objective coverage of the news is so far from what viewers get via the Murdoch press it would be laughable if it wasn’t such a serious concern for the country.Continue Reading

paper map of australia placed on wall Stuart Roberts robust defence of Robodebt

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We are living at a time of rapidly rising costs of living driven by spiking inflation and its consequent interest rate increases. The economy is like a dog chasing its own tail right now. Those many Australians who live on the wrong side of the poverty line are sinking further into dire financial trouble. It is in light of these circumstances that it is important to have an understanding of the Wellbeing Budget. Conservatives have derided the concept as branded by hippy yippy fringe concerns and un-Budget like. The Budget, in their eyes, should be about cold, hard economic facts with no room for sentiment. The woman that the hard right despises most, Jacinta Ardern the NZ prime minister, has had a wellbeing Budget and that is proof of its unsuitability for them. Continue Reading

person about to catch four dices

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I have been approached by someone working for a digital marketing company to write an article about a sport of my choice. Yes, they will pay me reasonably generously according to the marketing representative. Further investigation revealed that it is part of a campaign funded by a gambling entity. What a surprise! Gambling and all things sport have become as close as close can be. Indeed, gambling companies are heavily invested in this symbiotic relationship. Gambling feasting on sports mad Australia. Sporting events have always been gambled upon by those who think they can afford to do so. In Ancient Roman times, the circus and gladiatorial arenas were fiercely bet on by punters seeking to back the winning chariot or fighter. Continue Reading

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red framed eyeglasses on newspapers

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The results of the recent federal election surprised an out of touch Australian media. The success of the Greens and the Teal tidal wave bowled over a largely conservative media in this country. The ABC has been cowed by 9 years of LNP governments and their threats to gut their organisation. Those who make up the members of the Australian media are largely conservative in their own views and professional behaviour. The Greens were pretty much ignored by the mainstream media in the lead up to this election. The Teal independents were challenged on their status by a media driven by conservative attitudes and strategies. Continue Reading

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The Australian federal election has finally been called for May 21. Who will you vote for on May 21? Aussies are now gearing up to make a big decision. For some it will be a no brainer. For others it will be an unwanted hassle to go where they would rather not bother. The media will move into overdrive with reality TV like coverage of a personality competition at the top of their agenda. Elections soon become beauty contests and tests of personal charisma. The psychology of these races pit one candidate against another in a bid to become a nation’s leader. The disinterested voters generally choose the least offensive or the one who fits their type somewhere in the mist of imprinted archetypal strongmen or women.Continue Reading

Scott Boland

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The recent lauding of indigenous cricketer Scott Boland for his bowling performance at the MCG during the Boxing Day Ashes test match was wonderful. However, the Australian cricket community patting themselves on the back for his selection is fairly sickening. The real story is that Boland was only the secondContinue Reading