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Archive for the ‘Government’ Category

You probably recognise this woman. And I reiterate WOMAN.

Of late she has copped a bunch of stuff that was inappropriate. Assessments of her appearance. Typical Liberal party sexism. And questions from a red neck radio presenter about her partner’s sexuality.

Was any of it appropriate? Of course not.

But you know what, Julia? There’s a more fundamental issue here. And that is that you are an absolute dud. The Age made it pretty clear today what you should do for the country’s benefit (click here). And I agree. Get out.

Unfortunately, the other options are just as bad. Kevin Rudd, bizarrely considered to be a more appropriate option for the Labor Party by the general public, is just as big a dud. And Tony Abbott? Worse unfortunately.

I cannot recall a sorrier time for Australian government. I never thought I’d ever find myself saying this, but if the prime ministership of this country was by popular vote right now, I’d be going with Malcolm Turnbull.

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It’s local government election time again. Gosh I look forward to trawling through the policy statements for all the people, many of whom, one suspects, would really struggle to run a major city.

And guess what. In our ward this year, there are 28 of them. Yep, 28. If I am going to register a formal vote, I have to write numbers from 1 to 28 on the ballot paper. You should see the ballot paper by the way. With policy statements attached, it’s the size of half a football field.

“I have lived in the Kingston area my entire life”

“My family and I have lived in Cheltenham and Heatherton for the past 23 years”

“As a Parkdale resident for 22 years”

“A resident in Kingston for over 20 years, what a lovely place to live.”

I’ve actually taken the time to read all 28 policy statements. Does that make me a sorrier specimen than some of the candidates? Yeah, probably. Truth is, the Adelaide v Western Sydney game last night was so bad, I needed something better to do. And that was all that was on offer.

Anyway candidates, you know what? I couldn’t really give a rat’s bum where you live or how long you’ve lived there. What I’m interested in is what you are going to actually DO for the community. There’s a lot of waffle in there about your interests. Don’t care. I’m interested in the beach as well. Why don’t you tell me what you are actually going to achieve?

And while we’re on that subject, I’m keen to hear from any of you who is going to promise funding for our new SES unit at Mordialloc. Because I don’t want to make a big deal about it , but I, and about 50 other volunteers (and great people) actually do do something for the community. We get out there every time there’s a weather-related emergency and sort it out. And we’ve grown out of our existing LHQ because there is a groundswell of people of like mind, who actually want to do something about that sort of stuff, rather than just talk about it.

So I’m keen to hear which of you is going to jump on board with us, and PROMISE the funding to get it built. And then keep that promise.

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Each Australia Day and Queen’s Birthday, I enjoy reading through the list of people who have received honours. I don’t always agree with the reasons people have been honoured and also get frustrated with the way the politicians look after themselves and their mates. However, I always admire people who commit to a cause and give it their all.

So today, I went to The Age web site to check the list. It could be my failing eyes, and I didn’t have my glasses on, but nowhere could I find reference to the list. Hmm, is this the same newspaper that wants to make a return to quality? Good call I’d say.

I then searched for “queens birthday honours” in my browser and the first hit was for www.itsanhonour.gov.au. Ah, that’ll be it. No, firstly you get to click on a database link for all recipients, ever. Not quite what I wanted.

Next you get referred to the Attorney General’s web site, to try and find the copy of the Government Gazette where they are listed. Too hard!

Finally, you get referred to the Governor General’s web site. I’m assuming that’s where they’ll be, but I won’t know just now – the web site’s down.

So to all those who received honours, congratulations. It’s just a pity it’s so damn hard to find you.

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So what’s the extra Connex people on the platforms at Parliament station achieving?

The cynics amongst us might say it gives the company more visibility close to where key contract decisions get made. Wouldn’t it be better spending the money on having more suburban stations manned and making the service safer at night?

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I don’t think I’ve ever had anything to do with Brimbank Council. I worked with a lot of councils when I sold local government software for Fujitsu and Infomaster. I swore that, if humanly possible, I’d never sell into local government again. Why? Because they procrastinate over the most insignificant amounts of expenditure and it seems half the council needs to get involved in the decision.

It’s a pity, because the majority of people that work at the coal face in local government are fantastic people. The people I’ve come across in my emergency services activities are generally fantastic.

But for some reason, local government councillors persist in getting involved in their ridiculous petty politics. I absolutely pissed myself laughing when I saw this cartoon in The Age this morning – it’s so relevant to many local governments across Australia.

The Age Cartoon

Ladies and Gentlemen. For goodness sake, recognise that your little part of the political world is simply that. Little. And insignificant. Get on and provide the services that we elected you to do and for which we pay our rates every quarter.

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