There haven't been many posts on this site for a while. I have been very busy getting the house organised for sale, selling it and then packing it up. We had thought it might take a while to sell but within a week of the place finally going on the market it was all done and dusted.
So we now on the road officially. So far we are still in Australia - Brisbane at the moment - but in pretty short order we will be on our way to NZ and, after a short time back in Australia for Christmas and New Year we will be away to the real overseas. That is not to suggest that NZ is not overseas but it really feels like ducking next door for a while.
I may occasionally put a post on this site but I think for the most part we will be posting at our travel blog site which is at www.mytb.org/slowfeet
We intend to be on the road around the world for a year or two. Initially, it will be overland to the UK going through countries that are not actually engaged in hostilities if possible. After that it could be anywhere but we will, sooner or later, wander through many, many places. The real trick at the moment is to try to move a little, or more precisely, a lot more slowly than we have tended to in the past.
Sunday, 26 October 2008
Thursday, 28 August 2008
The Right to Know
I guess I am easily bemused but what precisely is wrong with people knowing what the price of petrol is in their general area, how retailers of groceries in the area compare on price or how the local schools are performing against some agreed criteria?
Sure, it is not the government fixing things. The government wont be fixing the price of petrol at a more reasonable level - let's say at less than $1.00 a litre. Nor will it be going through all of the items on the supermarket shelf fixing prices.
I am becoming very tired of people telling me that I shouldn't have the chance to compare prices across Coles and Woolies - they are our only options here - or to compare unit prices on articles - without a using a calculator or TWOMDs brilliant mental arithmetic (her way of warding off Alzheimers). I am not suggesting that we are desperately poor, but the habits of a lifetime of trying to get the best value for money are still strong and unit pricing will make that much, much easier.
For us fuel is an important purchase. I know it says something about our carbon footprint but we use a lot of things with motors - ute, tractor, quad bike, ride-on mower, generator, chain saw and various pumps - and they all need to be fed. Our fuel bill is significant. Add to that the fact that the most competitive retailers are over 100 kms away and you should appreciate that it would be very useful for us to know where the best price is on a particular day. Infuriating to check prices on the trip in to find that they have changed on the way out.
I was prepared to ignore the various scoffings and sundry other criticisms of some on the fuel and grocery schemes but the education issue has brought a wider range of paternalistic comment into the open.
I appreciate that it is critical to the success of any scheme to measure the performance of schools that the measurement system properly take account of a wide range of factors and that appropriate balances be achieved. This is a matter for the governments and system adminstrators. My issue is to do with the principle.
As a parent I went to considerable effort to avoid any involvement in the School Councils of the schools that my children attended. My strong preference was to trust the system to deliver a quality education to my children letting me know how the kids were going from time to time. I am embarrassed to admit that I was successful in this avoidance while they were at primary school.
Things changed in high school. Against my better judgement I was convinced to go to a meeting to be involved in an action planning exercise. We received a lot of information, had a strong debate and came to some pretty reasonable conclusions. Then the representative of the Department thanked us for our time and, basically, said that while our approach was interesting it was not what was going to happen. The experts had a different idea of where the school would go over the next 5 to 10 years. Along with others from that meeting, I spent the next 7 years on the School Council.
Once our community had information and the opportunity to discuss it, we were able to make decisions about the direction that our school should take. We were also in a position to make the rest of the community aware and to use that grunt to take on the Department of Education. We succeeded, but not without the promise of bringing 200 4WDs complete with pig dogs to town for a chat.
It would have been an option, of course, for some parents to simply send their children to another school. Perhaps not so comfortable for the children who would have had to travel some distance or to board but it was an option that was taken up by some parents in the area.
The point of this little yarn, in case it is not clear, is that without information we would have had no chance. No chance to move to change the school and no chance to make a decision to send our kids elsewhere.
The experts may also have been right. The though never crossed my mind at the time but it is possible. But they could not convince the parents. They could not provide information or analysis that was compelling for a reasonably competent community.
Of course, even the provision of full and accurate information about the outcomes that schools achieve will be of limited value. It will provide us with 'league tables' and might inspire some to get stuck into their local school and try to improve their outcomes. If the money was to go to those on the top of the table then the poorer schools will slowly become worse and worse. And if you are in a place where there are very limited options and your local school is on the poor end of the table then you are in deep trouble.
The trick is to use the 'league tables' to focus on the bottom schools with money and other resources so that they don't stay at the bottom of the pile while providing enough incentive to the 'top' schools to do their best to stay there.
Julia Gillard seems to be singing that song strongly at the moment. If she is serious then she has a winner and perhaps there will be an education revolution.
And about time!
Sure, it is not the government fixing things. The government wont be fixing the price of petrol at a more reasonable level - let's say at less than $1.00 a litre. Nor will it be going through all of the items on the supermarket shelf fixing prices.
I am becoming very tired of people telling me that I shouldn't have the chance to compare prices across Coles and Woolies - they are our only options here - or to compare unit prices on articles - without a using a calculator or TWOMDs brilliant mental arithmetic (her way of warding off Alzheimers). I am not suggesting that we are desperately poor, but the habits of a lifetime of trying to get the best value for money are still strong and unit pricing will make that much, much easier.
For us fuel is an important purchase. I know it says something about our carbon footprint but we use a lot of things with motors - ute, tractor, quad bike, ride-on mower, generator, chain saw and various pumps - and they all need to be fed. Our fuel bill is significant. Add to that the fact that the most competitive retailers are over 100 kms away and you should appreciate that it would be very useful for us to know where the best price is on a particular day. Infuriating to check prices on the trip in to find that they have changed on the way out.
I was prepared to ignore the various scoffings and sundry other criticisms of some on the fuel and grocery schemes but the education issue has brought a wider range of paternalistic comment into the open.
I appreciate that it is critical to the success of any scheme to measure the performance of schools that the measurement system properly take account of a wide range of factors and that appropriate balances be achieved. This is a matter for the governments and system adminstrators. My issue is to do with the principle.
As a parent I went to considerable effort to avoid any involvement in the School Councils of the schools that my children attended. My strong preference was to trust the system to deliver a quality education to my children letting me know how the kids were going from time to time. I am embarrassed to admit that I was successful in this avoidance while they were at primary school.
Things changed in high school. Against my better judgement I was convinced to go to a meeting to be involved in an action planning exercise. We received a lot of information, had a strong debate and came to some pretty reasonable conclusions. Then the representative of the Department thanked us for our time and, basically, said that while our approach was interesting it was not what was going to happen. The experts had a different idea of where the school would go over the next 5 to 10 years. Along with others from that meeting, I spent the next 7 years on the School Council.
Once our community had information and the opportunity to discuss it, we were able to make decisions about the direction that our school should take. We were also in a position to make the rest of the community aware and to use that grunt to take on the Department of Education. We succeeded, but not without the promise of bringing 200 4WDs complete with pig dogs to town for a chat.
It would have been an option, of course, for some parents to simply send their children to another school. Perhaps not so comfortable for the children who would have had to travel some distance or to board but it was an option that was taken up by some parents in the area.
The point of this little yarn, in case it is not clear, is that without information we would have had no chance. No chance to move to change the school and no chance to make a decision to send our kids elsewhere.
The experts may also have been right. The though never crossed my mind at the time but it is possible. But they could not convince the parents. They could not provide information or analysis that was compelling for a reasonably competent community.
Of course, even the provision of full and accurate information about the outcomes that schools achieve will be of limited value. It will provide us with 'league tables' and might inspire some to get stuck into their local school and try to improve their outcomes. If the money was to go to those on the top of the table then the poorer schools will slowly become worse and worse. And if you are in a place where there are very limited options and your local school is on the poor end of the table then you are in deep trouble.
The trick is to use the 'league tables' to focus on the bottom schools with money and other resources so that they don't stay at the bottom of the pile while providing enough incentive to the 'top' schools to do their best to stay there.
Julia Gillard seems to be singing that song strongly at the moment. If she is serious then she has a winner and perhaps there will be an education revolution.
And about time!
Saturday, 16 August 2008
How to Bugger It Up
The analysis of the major scare that the Northern Territory Labor Government had last week has focused almost entirely on what went wrong with the election. But some, perhaps most, of the reasons for its smack in the mouth, started a long time ago. If they are to get their act together then they need to make a few changes. So I thought that I would get back into my blog and provide a bit of advice.
A large majority is something that feels good on election night. Everyone is happy. After a while though the groups start to form up, positions are allocated, noses go out of joint and aggravation grows. So it did with NT Labor. We had members crossing the floor and no resultant penalty. A Minister resigns on principle and the reaction is not much more than a shrug of the shoulders. A popular Chief Minister became isolated from the troops and was eventually removed. The new CM was someone who had been around but who was not as well known as some may have thought. That large majority allows for indulgence.
The larger problem with the Labor Government, however, is on the policy front. Every government, over time, gathers baggage. It is not the job of government, contrary to the apparent view of some of the media minders around, to make people happy all of the time.
The decision making, governing job, necessarily means that some people are going to be unhappy with some decisions. Of course, people are not silly. They know that it wont always go their way. They balance things out over time but the unhappiness can build up.
Up here, with mobile polling, we have election week or two rather than election day. Time on the booths here, and with not too many in a smaller community that turn out to work on the booths, means that you spend a long time in the sun. The great thing is that you get to meet all of your neighbours from around the community and you have time to chat. My survey of the people who passed through the booths I worked on was not in any way scientific. It was just talking to people who wanted to talk about what had crept up their noses and was causing them to think about how they might vote.
The calling of the election a year early was an issue along with the lousy strategy of having a go a Terry Mills. A nice bloke. OK he is useless and hopeless but kicking him wasn't necessary. The other issues varied:
So, what should they do about the situation?
First, make decisions based on the evidence and after consulting with interested stakeholders. Don't delay and don't duck the tough ones. Take a line from the pool fencing decision. Unpopular with a lot of people and a strong anti line taken by the media but, 6 years down the track, it is part of the furniture and, based on the average number of deaths in the previous 10 years, there are now at least 14 children alive who would not have been around.
Secondly, get the process right. Talk to people. Explain, consult and negotiate. Don't duck the tough meetings and don't let public servants duck them either. For instance, local government reform had the potential to be a winner but forcing people was just stupid. At the cost of a little more time and more attention to meeting the needs of people, rather than the government, there could have been a lot of positive outcomes.
Thirdly, be a Labor Government. If the public had wanted a tough on crime, lock 'em up, government they would have put the other mob in. Certainly, they want the problem of anti-social behaviour fixed but not by following the policies promoted by the red neck letter writers to the NT News. Labor Governments should care about people. They should have the courage to look at problems holistically and maybe even the intelligence to find innovative solutions to difficult social problems.
And finally, don't be continually conned on the big projects. We all know we need them and they should never be ignored but they are not going to make people vote for Labor. You see we all know that the other mob can do that stuff too. They are not what sets Labor apart from the CLP.
How about not trying to steal the clothes from the CLP for a while and, instead, try to pinch some of the clothes from the Greens? Not all of them, just enough to let people know that you actually do care about the environment and that you aren't just reacting to an election cycle.
That will do for now. Get on with it and I will provide some more advice later.
A large majority is something that feels good on election night. Everyone is happy. After a while though the groups start to form up, positions are allocated, noses go out of joint and aggravation grows. So it did with NT Labor. We had members crossing the floor and no resultant penalty. A Minister resigns on principle and the reaction is not much more than a shrug of the shoulders. A popular Chief Minister became isolated from the troops and was eventually removed. The new CM was someone who had been around but who was not as well known as some may have thought. That large majority allows for indulgence.
The larger problem with the Labor Government, however, is on the policy front. Every government, over time, gathers baggage. It is not the job of government, contrary to the apparent view of some of the media minders around, to make people happy all of the time.
The decision making, governing job, necessarily means that some people are going to be unhappy with some decisions. Of course, people are not silly. They know that it wont always go their way. They balance things out over time but the unhappiness can build up.
Up here, with mobile polling, we have election week or two rather than election day. Time on the booths here, and with not too many in a smaller community that turn out to work on the booths, means that you spend a long time in the sun. The great thing is that you get to meet all of your neighbours from around the community and you have time to chat. My survey of the people who passed through the booths I worked on was not in any way scientific. It was just talking to people who wanted to talk about what had crept up their noses and was causing them to think about how they might vote.
The calling of the election a year early was an issue along with the lousy strategy of having a go a Terry Mills. A nice bloke. OK he is useless and hopeless but kicking him wasn't necessary. The other issues varied:
- Local government reform. Had to happen but badly handled and arrogant. The government seemed to be hiding something and could never get its story about the need for reform sorted out;
- The Daly. We need a proper plan to protect the river - and the fishing - but at the same time to give certainty to the farmers. They have had time to come up with a proper plan and make a decision. Probably just holding off until after the election;
- Animal welfare. It has been on the agenda for a long time and they keep saying they will do something. Had a review but nothing has eventuated. They have had time;
- Litchfield Park. It needs a proper maintenance schedule. Not good enough that sites are not opened for months after the Wet. They have had time to sort it and don't seem to care. All the money is in the bloody Waterfront;
- Gamba. Great grass. Should be banned. It is time that a proper plan was put in place.
- Mimosa pigra. Government doesn't seem to care that it is getting out of control again.
So, what should they do about the situation?
First, make decisions based on the evidence and after consulting with interested stakeholders. Don't delay and don't duck the tough ones. Take a line from the pool fencing decision. Unpopular with a lot of people and a strong anti line taken by the media but, 6 years down the track, it is part of the furniture and, based on the average number of deaths in the previous 10 years, there are now at least 14 children alive who would not have been around.
Secondly, get the process right. Talk to people. Explain, consult and negotiate. Don't duck the tough meetings and don't let public servants duck them either. For instance, local government reform had the potential to be a winner but forcing people was just stupid. At the cost of a little more time and more attention to meeting the needs of people, rather than the government, there could have been a lot of positive outcomes.
Thirdly, be a Labor Government. If the public had wanted a tough on crime, lock 'em up, government they would have put the other mob in. Certainly, they want the problem of anti-social behaviour fixed but not by following the policies promoted by the red neck letter writers to the NT News. Labor Governments should care about people. They should have the courage to look at problems holistically and maybe even the intelligence to find innovative solutions to difficult social problems.
And finally, don't be continually conned on the big projects. We all know we need them and they should never be ignored but they are not going to make people vote for Labor. You see we all know that the other mob can do that stuff too. They are not what sets Labor apart from the CLP.
How about not trying to steal the clothes from the CLP for a while and, instead, try to pinch some of the clothes from the Greens? Not all of them, just enough to let people know that you actually do care about the environment and that you aren't just reacting to an election cycle.
That will do for now. Get on with it and I will provide some more advice later.
Friday, 9 May 2008
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
Every year in the early part of the Dry there is the question of burning. Do you burn or not? Every soil test says that there is no organic matter in our soils. That means that they are lower in overall fertility, water and nutrient retention etc, etc. We burn it. Often every year.
On our bush block we don't burn. This year I was able to put in 10 metre breaks around three sides. The fourth is pretty swampy until about mid June but we have cattle on it and they are keeping the gamba down to about a meter.
Day before yesterday on the brushcutter in the citrus orchard smelt smoke. Looked around. Nothing I could see. Carried on. Again. Definitely smoke. On the quad and off to have a look. Through the bush prettly smartly. Eastern boundary is OK. Coming in from the South and has crossed the boundary and the break - 20 metres. Going to need help on this one.
No walkie-talkie. Forget the Next G. Less than 10 kms from town but doesnt work. Quad flies back to the house. Phone the firies. Drop the slasher off the tractor. Ute wont handle the swamp. Put the water tank and pump on the carry all. Get the bore going. Head for the fire.
Firies arrive and have a look. You do what you can here. It is going to go North. We will go around the wet area and try to stop it going into the other blocks.
Need to pull it up on the break - but the grass there is still pretty high. With the wind bearing north we can handle it. Changes. Comes towards the West. Tractor can only work on the higher spots but grade a break there anyway. TWOMD arrives on the quad. Properly dressed for a fire. Unlike me.
Use the quad with its 75 litre tank and little spray - seemed to get smaller as the day went on - to put out the fire on the break, after it comes out of the 4 metre gamba lining the break.
Up and down the line. Only 800 metres but feels longer. Fire has crossed our northern boundary and is in to the Kngarakan block. Wont stop until the road now - if then. That is 3 kms away. Only a couple of skinny breaks in that country. This fire wont even take a breath.
Theo arrives. Off the plane only hours earlier and jet lagged but if it gets across our western break it will take his place. Theo and Pat handle the tractor. Pipe comes off the tank. Need a better connection. Works OK but not in these conditions.
Under control so I head around to see how it is going on the Southern boundary. Neighbours are back burning and the Firies are there. Under control.
Theo sprinting through the swamp. Fire has jumped over 300 metres into his block.
No time. Need to stop it before it gets into the high gamba, then the mangos and then the house.
Only one way - through the worst of the bog. Didn't know the quad could do that. Through and around the fire. Not high grass but burning well. Bloody wind is changing from East to South at whim. Willy-willys are creating havoc. Hot. Smoke pretty bad. Pat and Theo bring the tractor around. Quad buggered. Work along the line. Getting there. Fire truck arrives and we start to get it under control.
Cattle and goats are frantic but they huddle. Fire gradually coming under control. Work the tractor along the line and back with Theo holding the connection and me on the hose and driving. Good team.
Under control again. Go for a run on the quad - working again - along the main break to have a look. A sneaky fire has come across the break and is a metre from the main orchard block. Put it out. Almost an anti climax but lucky that I am a worrier.
Time for a beer. Now 5.30. It started at 10.30. Time flies when you are having fun.
Where did it start? Don't know but it came from the neighbours on the South side. They had a tough time pulling it up burning back against the wind. It made the road and crossed it but was stopped pretty quickly after that.
Early burns are good - so they say. Not a blade of grass left. Big trees burning and down. Dead animals. Smoke makes your eyes water.
On our bush block we don't burn. This year I was able to put in 10 metre breaks around three sides. The fourth is pretty swampy until about mid June but we have cattle on it and they are keeping the gamba down to about a meter.
Day before yesterday on the brushcutter in the citrus orchard smelt smoke. Looked around. Nothing I could see. Carried on. Again. Definitely smoke. On the quad and off to have a look. Through the bush prettly smartly. Eastern boundary is OK. Coming in from the South and has crossed the boundary and the break - 20 metres. Going to need help on this one.
No walkie-talkie. Forget the Next G. Less than 10 kms from town but doesnt work. Quad flies back to the house. Phone the firies. Drop the slasher off the tractor. Ute wont handle the swamp. Put the water tank and pump on the carry all. Get the bore going. Head for the fire.
Firies arrive and have a look. You do what you can here. It is going to go North. We will go around the wet area and try to stop it going into the other blocks.
Need to pull it up on the break - but the grass there is still pretty high. With the wind bearing north we can handle it. Changes. Comes towards the West. Tractor can only work on the higher spots but grade a break there anyway. TWOMD arrives on the quad. Properly dressed for a fire. Unlike me.
Use the quad with its 75 litre tank and little spray - seemed to get smaller as the day went on - to put out the fire on the break, after it comes out of the 4 metre gamba lining the break.
Up and down the line. Only 800 metres but feels longer. Fire has crossed our northern boundary and is in to the Kngarakan block. Wont stop until the road now - if then. That is 3 kms away. Only a couple of skinny breaks in that country. This fire wont even take a breath.
Theo arrives. Off the plane only hours earlier and jet lagged but if it gets across our western break it will take his place. Theo and Pat handle the tractor. Pipe comes off the tank. Need a better connection. Works OK but not in these conditions.
Under control so I head around to see how it is going on the Southern boundary. Neighbours are back burning and the Firies are there. Under control.
Theo sprinting through the swamp. Fire has jumped over 300 metres into his block.
No time. Need to stop it before it gets into the high gamba, then the mangos and then the house.
Only one way - through the worst of the bog. Didn't know the quad could do that. Through and around the fire. Not high grass but burning well. Bloody wind is changing from East to South at whim. Willy-willys are creating havoc. Hot. Smoke pretty bad. Pat and Theo bring the tractor around. Quad buggered. Work along the line. Getting there. Fire truck arrives and we start to get it under control.
Cattle and goats are frantic but they huddle. Fire gradually coming under control. Work the tractor along the line and back with Theo holding the connection and me on the hose and driving. Good team.
Under control again. Go for a run on the quad - working again - along the main break to have a look. A sneaky fire has come across the break and is a metre from the main orchard block. Put it out. Almost an anti climax but lucky that I am a worrier.
Time for a beer. Now 5.30. It started at 10.30. Time flies when you are having fun.
Where did it start? Don't know but it came from the neighbours on the South side. They had a tough time pulling it up burning back against the wind. It made the road and crossed it but was stopped pretty quickly after that.
Early burns are good - so they say. Not a blade of grass left. Big trees burning and down. Dead animals. Smoke makes your eyes water.
Friday, 14 March 2008
Bogabilla Economy
It would take a hard or a sick heart to fail to be saddened by the story on Lateline last night about Aboriginal girls at Bogabilla who are prostituting themselves to truckdrivers. A sad, sad story that makes people angry and frustrated. All over the media this morning we have people saying that something should be done about it.
Something should certainly be done about it - but what?
Do you target the truck drivers? Possibly.
You might be able to convince them that they shouldn't pick up girls for sex at Bogabilla or anywhere else. You might be able to have the police or transport inspectors harrass them so much that they are scared to pick up girls. You might even be able to convince them that they should remain at all times faithfull to their partners - if they have one. All things are possible and they could be one target but do you hold out much hope? I don't.
Do you target the girls? Probably.
Maybe you can convince them that they don't need money or the things that it can buy. Alternatively, you will need to convince them that there are other ways to get some money. Perhaps there are jobs for them? Perhaps they need some education and skills so that they can get jobs? Perhaps they will need to move from Bogabilla to the city so that they can get a job, leaving their family and friends behind and taking their chances?
You might even try to convince some of them that they shouldn't prostitute themselves because it is the 'wrong' thing to do, that it is dangerous to their health or that it could lead to pregnancy - although I suspect that they know that one well.
Should the parents and community be the target? Definitely.
Practices such as those described on the Lateline program are not new. The same story could have been told about mining camps and towns, construction camps, station work camps. In fact, almost anywhere that there are reasonable numbers of young men, mostly single with access to plenty of money and some young women who don't have access to money to buy the things they want.
Before we start to rush about targeting people and trying to fix the problem it makes a lot of sense to work out what it is that we are actually trying to fix. Do we want to stop all prostitution at truck stops, mining camps etc? Do we want to stop prostitution involving young or underage girls? Or do we really want to give all of these young girls other options for raising the money they want and need along with the chance for a better quality of life in the long term?
I find it hard to believe that anyone would prefer to climb into a truck in the middle of the night and be screwed silly rather than work in a job that provides some reasonable satisfaction and a good wage. If I am right for at least some of the girls then a primary target has to be the development of a culture in the community that values work and the education, training and attitudes that you need to be able to get and hold a job. To do this you wont just be talking to the girls. You will be talking to old men, old women, middle aged and the kids. You will be engaging with everyone and working with those who respond to develop strategies that they see as sensible to achieve the outcomes they want.
Over time, you will be trying to change the culture of every Bogabilla so that the people have options for participation in the mainstream economy in addition to ducking down to the truck stop to raise a quick $50 off some randy trucker.
It will, of course, take time to make the changes required and there will continue to be failures along the way. It wont meet the need of the media or even the hand wringers. It will need politicians and bureacrats that are able to both communicate and to hold the line in the face of tabloid criticism. There will still be the chance that some girls will take the truck stop option but, with a sustained, practical and sensitive approach positive change is a chance.
With a rush about, shock horror, reactive approach there will be no change and the truck stop will remain the only realistic option for young girls for a long time.
Something should certainly be done about it - but what?
Do you target the truck drivers? Possibly.
You might be able to convince them that they shouldn't pick up girls for sex at Bogabilla or anywhere else. You might be able to have the police or transport inspectors harrass them so much that they are scared to pick up girls. You might even be able to convince them that they should remain at all times faithfull to their partners - if they have one. All things are possible and they could be one target but do you hold out much hope? I don't.
Do you target the girls? Probably.
Maybe you can convince them that they don't need money or the things that it can buy. Alternatively, you will need to convince them that there are other ways to get some money. Perhaps there are jobs for them? Perhaps they need some education and skills so that they can get jobs? Perhaps they will need to move from Bogabilla to the city so that they can get a job, leaving their family and friends behind and taking their chances?
You might even try to convince some of them that they shouldn't prostitute themselves because it is the 'wrong' thing to do, that it is dangerous to their health or that it could lead to pregnancy - although I suspect that they know that one well.
Should the parents and community be the target? Definitely.
Practices such as those described on the Lateline program are not new. The same story could have been told about mining camps and towns, construction camps, station work camps. In fact, almost anywhere that there are reasonable numbers of young men, mostly single with access to plenty of money and some young women who don't have access to money to buy the things they want.
Before we start to rush about targeting people and trying to fix the problem it makes a lot of sense to work out what it is that we are actually trying to fix. Do we want to stop all prostitution at truck stops, mining camps etc? Do we want to stop prostitution involving young or underage girls? Or do we really want to give all of these young girls other options for raising the money they want and need along with the chance for a better quality of life in the long term?
I find it hard to believe that anyone would prefer to climb into a truck in the middle of the night and be screwed silly rather than work in a job that provides some reasonable satisfaction and a good wage. If I am right for at least some of the girls then a primary target has to be the development of a culture in the community that values work and the education, training and attitudes that you need to be able to get and hold a job. To do this you wont just be talking to the girls. You will be talking to old men, old women, middle aged and the kids. You will be engaging with everyone and working with those who respond to develop strategies that they see as sensible to achieve the outcomes they want.
Over time, you will be trying to change the culture of every Bogabilla so that the people have options for participation in the mainstream economy in addition to ducking down to the truck stop to raise a quick $50 off some randy trucker.
It will, of course, take time to make the changes required and there will continue to be failures along the way. It wont meet the need of the media or even the hand wringers. It will need politicians and bureacrats that are able to both communicate and to hold the line in the face of tabloid criticism. There will still be the chance that some girls will take the truck stop option but, with a sustained, practical and sensitive approach positive change is a chance.
With a rush about, shock horror, reactive approach there will be no change and the truck stop will remain the only realistic option for young girls for a long time.
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
What is it about whales?
I have been known to kill things. Never humans but a variety of other animals have met their end at my hands. Cows, sheep, dogs, chooks, ducks, turkeys, snakes, rats, mice and even a bird or two.
I don't enjoy killing things. Most of the animals I have killed have been eaten by me or mine. Some have been in great difficulty and needed to be put out of their misery and a couple have been a threat to me or mine that couldn't be dealt with any other way.
The point is that I have nothing against killing animals provided that there is a purpose, the animal is given proper respect and there is no threat to the species. I can understand that others don't share this view and will abhor killing of animals or, perhaps, some animals.
I know that some will react with horror but what precisely is the difference between a whale and a cow, or a dog or any other animal? Why are whales sacrosanct? Certainly those that are threatened or endangered should be protected along with every other animal that is similarly under threat but what of those that are not?
I have seen many whales in their natural state. I have enjoyed watching them leap out of the water, slap their tails, look after their calves and generally swim about. I have also enjoyed watching cows with their calves mooching about the paddock, chooks scratching about in the gravel and dogs playing in the floodwaters.
Is it that we don't like the idea of eating whales? Certainly, we seem to be offended by people who do eat them and seem to enjoy doing so. Japanese, Icelanders, Inuit, Norwegians and Jamaicans all cop a flogging because they like to eat the flesh of whales. Do Indians who regard cows as sacred get upset with us? Do we get upset with Chinese who eat dogs - and a raft of other things that we don't?
Or are we simply demonstrating our insensitivity for other people's cultures? We don't do it so no one else should. Are we cultural imperialists? It sounds like it to me.
I don't enjoy killing things. Most of the animals I have killed have been eaten by me or mine. Some have been in great difficulty and needed to be put out of their misery and a couple have been a threat to me or mine that couldn't be dealt with any other way.
The point is that I have nothing against killing animals provided that there is a purpose, the animal is given proper respect and there is no threat to the species. I can understand that others don't share this view and will abhor killing of animals or, perhaps, some animals.
I know that some will react with horror but what precisely is the difference between a whale and a cow, or a dog or any other animal? Why are whales sacrosanct? Certainly those that are threatened or endangered should be protected along with every other animal that is similarly under threat but what of those that are not?
I have seen many whales in their natural state. I have enjoyed watching them leap out of the water, slap their tails, look after their calves and generally swim about. I have also enjoyed watching cows with their calves mooching about the paddock, chooks scratching about in the gravel and dogs playing in the floodwaters.
Is it that we don't like the idea of eating whales? Certainly, we seem to be offended by people who do eat them and seem to enjoy doing so. Japanese, Icelanders, Inuit, Norwegians and Jamaicans all cop a flogging because they like to eat the flesh of whales. Do Indians who regard cows as sacred get upset with us? Do we get upset with Chinese who eat dogs - and a raft of other things that we don't?
Or are we simply demonstrating our insensitivity for other people's cultures? We don't do it so no one else should. Are we cultural imperialists? It sounds like it to me.
Sunday, 10 February 2008
Public Servants Beware
The apology to the Stolen Generation has been discussed by so many that almost every point that could be made has been. There is one area that hasn't had much coverage though and I think it is worth putting down a few words.
First though, I am very pleased that the apology has finally been made by the Australian Parliament. It will draw a line under a history that we can not be proud of and let us start to deal with the outcomes in a serious and respectful way - with any luck.
But, just for the moment let me put the people who were taken to one side and focus on the takers.
I had the task some years ago of preparing a submission to the inquiry that generated the Bringing Them Home report. It was a formal document and had to be accurate. I had access to a range of material including a lot from the Australian Archives. A lot of what I found has been talked about, some of it is available to the public but I don't think that is the case with it all. I guess, if I felt that I could speak frankly, I could put the lie to a lot of the rubbish that I have seen in the commentary. The habits of 37 years are hard to break though. And people wouldn't believe me anyway.
It was interesting as a sidelight in this work to consider the position of the public servants involved. These people were mainly police and welfare workers although a few nurses were also involved on occasion. I was able to talk directly to some of the people that had been involved during the 50's and into the 60's and even to one bloke who had been involved before WWII.
The law that was in place at the time and the policy on which it was based required that children of mixed race marriages be taken and placed in care. Public servants were required to do the job and, pursuant to the same requirements that exist today, they carried out their duties.
I came across a file that dealt in some part with policy issues. On it I found a document that had been prepared by a group of patrol officers working for the (then) Native Welfare Branch in the early 50's. These men were arguing that the policy was wrong and should be changed. If I recall the argument properly, and I have no copy - that would be illegal - the men put forcefully that the basis of the policy was completely wrong, that race was not and should not be an issue but that if children, any children, were in danger then they should be taken. The submission included examples of mixed race families who cared well for their children.
The submission did not get much of a run in the large Commonwealth Department. However, these blokes were obviously fired up so they eventually sent it direct to the Minister. There ends the story on the file.
I did get a chance to talk to one of the men who was still alive and prepared to talk.
They were not all sacked or disciplined but, in those days, and possibly in these, this type of behaviour is at least 'courageous', particularly when carried out by officers who are a long way down the pecking order. They were, after all, operational people far removed from the seat of power in the Commonwealth. They were not 'expert' and nor could they be expected to know all of the nuances of academic thinking that supported the policy position that they were required to enforce.
Not all of their colleagues supported the stand taken. Most of their colleagues in the system did what they were told. It is interesting though that, increasingly, purely race based seizures began to stop. Children were still removed but the cases for those removals were based on the needs of the child and the lack of care it was receiving in its home rather than on the race of the child. This had the effect of seeing a greater proportion of 'full blood' Aboriginal children taken whereas previously it was primarily mixed race children taken.
It wasn't until 1984, shortly following self-government for the NT, that the old Commonwealth Ordinance was overtaken by legislation that required that any Aboriginal child taken by welfare officers by fostered or adopted by Aboriginal families wherever possible.
The issues in this area are a minefield for those who make the laws but, I respectfully suggest, are much more so for those who must administer them. We now have welfare officers that are so worried about being labeled 'child stealers' that they leave kids in what can turn out to be dangerous situations. Where they do take kids they have great difficulty finding places for them where they will receive necessary care. Seventy percent of the population in the NT should not be fostering or adopting Aboriginal kids. Maintaining families is a priority.
If you are a public servant in the system working in the community at close to the bottom of the pecking order and you believe the system is wrong today then what are your options? Put your views up through the system, go public in the media, write to a politician or simply walk away. Not too different to the options 5o years ago.
I was a public servant for a long time. Over that time I was often in a position where I objected to or disagreed with a decision made although, as time went on, I had more opportunity to put my views and have them given a hearing. My job was still on the line on occasion and I can empathise to a degree with the position that those patrol officers were in back in the '50s.
The way to fix the system of course is to have legislators make better policy. That, in turn, requires that the community be better informed about issues and consequences.
Better get on with it.
First though, I am very pleased that the apology has finally been made by the Australian Parliament. It will draw a line under a history that we can not be proud of and let us start to deal with the outcomes in a serious and respectful way - with any luck.
But, just for the moment let me put the people who were taken to one side and focus on the takers.
I had the task some years ago of preparing a submission to the inquiry that generated the Bringing Them Home report. It was a formal document and had to be accurate. I had access to a range of material including a lot from the Australian Archives. A lot of what I found has been talked about, some of it is available to the public but I don't think that is the case with it all. I guess, if I felt that I could speak frankly, I could put the lie to a lot of the rubbish that I have seen in the commentary. The habits of 37 years are hard to break though. And people wouldn't believe me anyway.
It was interesting as a sidelight in this work to consider the position of the public servants involved. These people were mainly police and welfare workers although a few nurses were also involved on occasion. I was able to talk directly to some of the people that had been involved during the 50's and into the 60's and even to one bloke who had been involved before WWII.
The law that was in place at the time and the policy on which it was based required that children of mixed race marriages be taken and placed in care. Public servants were required to do the job and, pursuant to the same requirements that exist today, they carried out their duties.
I came across a file that dealt in some part with policy issues. On it I found a document that had been prepared by a group of patrol officers working for the (then) Native Welfare Branch in the early 50's. These men were arguing that the policy was wrong and should be changed. If I recall the argument properly, and I have no copy - that would be illegal - the men put forcefully that the basis of the policy was completely wrong, that race was not and should not be an issue but that if children, any children, were in danger then they should be taken. The submission included examples of mixed race families who cared well for their children.
The submission did not get much of a run in the large Commonwealth Department. However, these blokes were obviously fired up so they eventually sent it direct to the Minister. There ends the story on the file.
I did get a chance to talk to one of the men who was still alive and prepared to talk.
They were not all sacked or disciplined but, in those days, and possibly in these, this type of behaviour is at least 'courageous', particularly when carried out by officers who are a long way down the pecking order. They were, after all, operational people far removed from the seat of power in the Commonwealth. They were not 'expert' and nor could they be expected to know all of the nuances of academic thinking that supported the policy position that they were required to enforce.
Not all of their colleagues supported the stand taken. Most of their colleagues in the system did what they were told. It is interesting though that, increasingly, purely race based seizures began to stop. Children were still removed but the cases for those removals were based on the needs of the child and the lack of care it was receiving in its home rather than on the race of the child. This had the effect of seeing a greater proportion of 'full blood' Aboriginal children taken whereas previously it was primarily mixed race children taken.
It wasn't until 1984, shortly following self-government for the NT, that the old Commonwealth Ordinance was overtaken by legislation that required that any Aboriginal child taken by welfare officers by fostered or adopted by Aboriginal families wherever possible.
The issues in this area are a minefield for those who make the laws but, I respectfully suggest, are much more so for those who must administer them. We now have welfare officers that are so worried about being labeled 'child stealers' that they leave kids in what can turn out to be dangerous situations. Where they do take kids they have great difficulty finding places for them where they will receive necessary care. Seventy percent of the population in the NT should not be fostering or adopting Aboriginal kids. Maintaining families is a priority.
If you are a public servant in the system working in the community at close to the bottom of the pecking order and you believe the system is wrong today then what are your options? Put your views up through the system, go public in the media, write to a politician or simply walk away. Not too different to the options 5o years ago.
I was a public servant for a long time. Over that time I was often in a position where I objected to or disagreed with a decision made although, as time went on, I had more opportunity to put my views and have them given a hearing. My job was still on the line on occasion and I can empathise to a degree with the position that those patrol officers were in back in the '50s.
The way to fix the system of course is to have legislators make better policy. That, in turn, requires that the community be better informed about issues and consequences.
Better get on with it.
Thursday, 7 February 2008
Much of a Muchness?
For better or worse the presidential election in the USA is importance to Australians. Perhaps not quite as important as it would have been if JWH was still in the seat. We wont necessarily have all of our foreign policy decisions made in Washington any more but the Americans will continue to be our 'close friends'. We will still watch a lot of their TV programs, listen to their music and suck up some of the sillier elements of their culture.
The question then is which one should we support? It might not matter all that much given that we don't have a vote but I shouldn't let that bother you too much - on past form the majority of citizens who have the right to vote wont bother anyway.
Those of us used to the nice little short cut of party politics need to get used to the system in the USA. They do have parties and these parties have broad policy positions but no discipline. Unfortunately, they are so broad as to be pretty much useless as a method of determining a preference, unless your level of interest is pretty basic. If that is what you are after then the most progressive mob are the Democrats and the Republicans (or the GOP) are the right wingers.
For more precise policy positions you need to go to the candidates.
This is where it can get tricky. You would be forgiven for concluding on the basis of most of the coverage that policies are really not what this is all about. Barack is young and black, Hillary is a bit older, white and a woman and John is even older, a Vietnam vet and POW and very long term legislator. It is really all about the race between these three. Their policies aren't apparently all that important. Whether they stumble, speak well, act like leaders and say the right things about God are all important.
In the way in which we sometimes set up tests for others, I have had the view for some time that the USA might just be starting to grow up when it has the courage to elect a black or a woman as President. With Condoleeza Rice as Secretary of State there has been the chance that the Republicans could get the double up. That possibility didn't do a lot for my test but I still like the idea that the President may not be an old, white man.
It looks as though there are now three viable candidates - John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. I have checked out what seem to be their policies against some criteria of my own.
Propensity for War Mongering
John is the son and grandson of admirals and was a navy man himself. After he experienced a bombing - friendly fire - on an aircraft carrier where over 130 people were killed he said that we wondered whether he should keep dropping these things on the North Vietnamese. He was able to put that view behind him and now supports the Iraq War, jokes about 'Bomb, bomb, bomb - Bomb Bomb Iran' (to the tune of the Beach Boys tune). He suggests that the US could be in Iraq for 100 years.
Barack didn't support the invasion of Iraq - but he generally doesn't mention that he wasn't in the Senate when the decision was taken so didn't have a vote in any case. He wants to get out of Iraq but he doesn't really put up much of a plan for doing so. Curiously, he has said that he would invade Pakistan if it was necessary to get at terrorists.
Hillary voted to allow the invasion of Iraq. She now wants out but her plan for getting out doesn't seem to be much more coherent than Barack's. She does have the benefit of some pretty skillful policy advice on the issue.
Universal Health Care
Millions of people are uninsured with millions more under insured.
John is going to rely on private insurers to do better.
It looks as though Barack is going to require that children be insured, assuming that if they have to insure their children then people will automatically insure themselves. The logic is not strong.
Hillary is looking for a universal system - although hopefully slightly more effective than the one she tried for last time she was in the White House.
Death Penalty
John supports it.
Barack supports it.
Hillary supports it - but she has sponsored a bill that would require positive DNA results for all before execution. Not really the point but it could do some good.
Education
John thinks schools are heading in the wrong direction.
Barack and Hillary are strong on education and are supporters of public education.
Abortion
John has been a long time supporter of Roe v Wade but has recently shifted his position to say that it should be overturned.
Barack is on record as supporting Roe v Wade.
Hillary supports Roe v Wade although she is personally opposed to abortion as a form of birth control.
Firearms
John is rated by the NRA as an enemy.
Barack is rated by the NRA as an enemy.
Hillary rated by the NRA as an enemy.
Commitment to Free Trade
None seem to make any comment that gives a lead.
Experience
John was elected to the House of Representatives in 1982 and has been a Congressman or Senator ever since. Ran for President in 2000.
Barack was elected to the Senate in 2004.
Hillary was elected to the Senate in 2000. She was in the White House as First Lady for 8 years.
There are many other criteria that could be listed.
I suppose some of their positions say more about the USA than the candidates themselves.
The question then is which one should we support? It might not matter all that much given that we don't have a vote but I shouldn't let that bother you too much - on past form the majority of citizens who have the right to vote wont bother anyway.
Those of us used to the nice little short cut of party politics need to get used to the system in the USA. They do have parties and these parties have broad policy positions but no discipline. Unfortunately, they are so broad as to be pretty much useless as a method of determining a preference, unless your level of interest is pretty basic. If that is what you are after then the most progressive mob are the Democrats and the Republicans (or the GOP) are the right wingers.
For more precise policy positions you need to go to the candidates.
This is where it can get tricky. You would be forgiven for concluding on the basis of most of the coverage that policies are really not what this is all about. Barack is young and black, Hillary is a bit older, white and a woman and John is even older, a Vietnam vet and POW and very long term legislator. It is really all about the race between these three. Their policies aren't apparently all that important. Whether they stumble, speak well, act like leaders and say the right things about God are all important.
In the way in which we sometimes set up tests for others, I have had the view for some time that the USA might just be starting to grow up when it has the courage to elect a black or a woman as President. With Condoleeza Rice as Secretary of State there has been the chance that the Republicans could get the double up. That possibility didn't do a lot for my test but I still like the idea that the President may not be an old, white man.
It looks as though there are now three viable candidates - John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. I have checked out what seem to be their policies against some criteria of my own.
Propensity for War Mongering
John is the son and grandson of admirals and was a navy man himself. After he experienced a bombing - friendly fire - on an aircraft carrier where over 130 people were killed he said that we wondered whether he should keep dropping these things on the North Vietnamese. He was able to put that view behind him and now supports the Iraq War, jokes about 'Bomb, bomb, bomb - Bomb Bomb Iran' (to the tune of the Beach Boys tune). He suggests that the US could be in Iraq for 100 years.
Barack didn't support the invasion of Iraq - but he generally doesn't mention that he wasn't in the Senate when the decision was taken so didn't have a vote in any case. He wants to get out of Iraq but he doesn't really put up much of a plan for doing so. Curiously, he has said that he would invade Pakistan if it was necessary to get at terrorists.
Hillary voted to allow the invasion of Iraq. She now wants out but her plan for getting out doesn't seem to be much more coherent than Barack's. She does have the benefit of some pretty skillful policy advice on the issue.
Universal Health Care
Millions of people are uninsured with millions more under insured.
John is going to rely on private insurers to do better.
It looks as though Barack is going to require that children be insured, assuming that if they have to insure their children then people will automatically insure themselves. The logic is not strong.
Hillary is looking for a universal system - although hopefully slightly more effective than the one she tried for last time she was in the White House.
Death Penalty
John supports it.
Barack supports it.
Hillary supports it - but she has sponsored a bill that would require positive DNA results for all before execution. Not really the point but it could do some good.
Education
John thinks schools are heading in the wrong direction.
Barack and Hillary are strong on education and are supporters of public education.
Abortion
John has been a long time supporter of Roe v Wade but has recently shifted his position to say that it should be overturned.
Barack is on record as supporting Roe v Wade.
Hillary supports Roe v Wade although she is personally opposed to abortion as a form of birth control.
Firearms
John is rated by the NRA as an enemy.
Barack is rated by the NRA as an enemy.
Hillary rated by the NRA as an enemy.
Commitment to Free Trade
None seem to make any comment that gives a lead.
Experience
John was elected to the House of Representatives in 1982 and has been a Congressman or Senator ever since. Ran for President in 2000.
Barack was elected to the Senate in 2004.
Hillary was elected to the Senate in 2000. She was in the White House as First Lady for 8 years.
There are many other criteria that could be listed.
I suppose some of their positions say more about the USA than the candidates themselves.
Wednesday, 6 February 2008
Back Into the Fray
I have been essentially off the air for the last 6 weeks or so. My computer decided that it was time for a rest. Screen started to flicker uncontrollably. You could still use it - sort of - but it was difficult and even more frustrating.
Over Christmas my technologically aware son decided that he would try a fix by cleaning up the software, that is, to remove everything and reinstall. He did so and it made a bit of a difference for a while. Not for long though and back it came with a vengeance and now some of the keys weren't responding.
My normal method of dealing with equipment that is not working as it ought is to apply mild percussive pressure. If that doesn't work then I might apply substantial percussive pressure. This is a risky business occasionally resulting in the destruction of the device, but it can be satisfying and it occasionally works. I decided on this occasion that I would not use this method. Computers still have me a little bit bluffed.
Off to the computer repair firm. Told me what I knew. Keyboard buggered and screen loose but at least now it was confirmed that it was a hardware issue and now, a month and many phone calls later, I have the computer back and it seems to be fixed.
I have had access to a computer, of course. TWOMD has a nice little lap top but, while very compatible in almost every other way, we are not compatible in terms of computer set up and usage.
Anyway, I am back now although I have developed habits of work that might restrict my time on this machine. Should find a bit though.
Over Christmas my technologically aware son decided that he would try a fix by cleaning up the software, that is, to remove everything and reinstall. He did so and it made a bit of a difference for a while. Not for long though and back it came with a vengeance and now some of the keys weren't responding.
My normal method of dealing with equipment that is not working as it ought is to apply mild percussive pressure. If that doesn't work then I might apply substantial percussive pressure. This is a risky business occasionally resulting in the destruction of the device, but it can be satisfying and it occasionally works. I decided on this occasion that I would not use this method. Computers still have me a little bit bluffed.
Off to the computer repair firm. Told me what I knew. Keyboard buggered and screen loose but at least now it was confirmed that it was a hardware issue and now, a month and many phone calls later, I have the computer back and it seems to be fixed.
I have had access to a computer, of course. TWOMD has a nice little lap top but, while very compatible in almost every other way, we are not compatible in terms of computer set up and usage.
Anyway, I am back now although I have developed habits of work that might restrict my time on this machine. Should find a bit though.
Friday, 30 November 2007
Bernie. You Were a Hero
A lot has been written and said about Bernie Banton. I can't add a lot to it. I never met him and take all of my knowledge from what I have seen on TV.
I do know a bit about asbestos though and that gives me some insight into what he took on.
I knew little about the stuff until the early 80's - other than using it as A/C sheeting. Very handy and cheap stuff it was. Chopped it up happily, dust everywhere. No knowledge about danger and took absolutely no care.
In the early 80's I started to hear more about it and of its dangers but this material was routinely dismissed by the industry and all of the 'reputable' scientists of the day. It was important material, there were no effective alternatives and it really wasn't dangerous at all. People only had problems if they were unlucky. You could eat the stuff! I remember seeing photos of people working in situations like Bernie. They were having no problems.
In those days, 1983 to be precise, I played a role in union. Our mob had some grunt in the (then) ACT Trades and Labour Council but we were a public service union and not much used to industrial action.
We received complaints that 'white crap' was falling out of the air conditioning ducts at the National Library but that management wouldn't do anything about it. When we investigated we found that it was 'white' asbestos that had been sprayed into the roof cavity as a fire retardant.
Approached management. The head of the NLA was a very nice man. Distinguished and dependable. But he dealt with books and such, not asbestos spewing out of the roof cavity. Add to that the strong information from just about everyone you could find that asbestos was OK and you will see the difficulty for the NLA. Surely this union was simply being difficult.
At the time we had a brand new ALP government so we had a rather lovely, but naive, view that this might mean that they would listen. So we took the matter up a couple of levels. Didn't work.
Next step was pretty obvious. We couldn't really call a strike and couldn't use bans so we set up a picket. We didn't want to stop the public but we did want to stop services and supplies.
It lasted many, many weeks.
The poor NLA. It must have hurt them deeply. A 24 hour, 7 day a week picket on the two entrances with grubby unionists. A 5 meter scaffold out the front with a massive sign across it saying 'EVEN ONE FIBRE CAN KILL'. Unionists standing around 44 gallon drum fires in the cold Canberra winter.
The industry and their scientific backers came out of their trees. Learned articles complained that we were misleading the public (we may have exaggerated just a tad). Talkback shows were full of people complaining about us. We had Ministers telling us to back off and those of us who were on long term leave without pay from the Commonwealth Public Service received letters telling us that our leave was over and we should immediately return to full time duty or resign.
On the day they decided to break the picket we were ready. We had become used to trucks and vans charging the line and picketers were told to let them go rather than get flattened. But the word was that this particular day they would be both breaking the line and removing the picket.
A chain was provided by the BLF from the site of a new police building. We needed about 25 people to hold the chain across the road. The police came and after the routine directions etc they chopped up the chain, link by link, alongside each hand. They then arrested the picketers. We brought in more. They arrested or moved on the new picketers. We brought in more. And so it went on.
Over 200 public servants were on the line that day. None were charged. The picket continued.
Finally, a deal was done. Nine Ministers represented the Commonwealth Government. The world changed. Asbestos was removed wherever it was in an unsafe condition under strict guidelines. Programs were established and funding was provided.
This was a tough and difficult time but, to be honest, it was pretty exciting until the day I watched an old bloke be helped out of car near the union office.
He was so decrepit that it took him ages to get across the lawn to the building. Eventually, the receptionist told me that there was someone to see me. Turned out that he wasn't a particularly old bloke but rather a bloke that was just about at his end. He had worked on the Australian War Memorial where they sprayed blue asbestos under that big copper dome. He had mesothelioma. He made the journey just to shake the hands of people who were having a go.
It appalls me that 25 years after that fight it was necessary for Bernie Banton to fight for compensation. But I remember the strength and savagery of those who supported the industry and I guess that they were never going to give up easily or after just one battle.
People like Bernie are vital for a strong country. Someone who was prepared to take on a major international company that had honed its skills fighting the asbestos fight over the last 30 years. In the end their political friends deserted them and the scientific community came to its senses but, without a Bernie, most of the people who are suffering and will suffer would have quietly died without recognition or compensation.
Bernie is receiving a lot accolades. He deserves every one but most of all he did not deserve to die just because he went to work
I do know a bit about asbestos though and that gives me some insight into what he took on.
I knew little about the stuff until the early 80's - other than using it as A/C sheeting. Very handy and cheap stuff it was. Chopped it up happily, dust everywhere. No knowledge about danger and took absolutely no care.
In the early 80's I started to hear more about it and of its dangers but this material was routinely dismissed by the industry and all of the 'reputable' scientists of the day. It was important material, there were no effective alternatives and it really wasn't dangerous at all. People only had problems if they were unlucky. You could eat the stuff! I remember seeing photos of people working in situations like Bernie. They were having no problems.
In those days, 1983 to be precise, I played a role in union. Our mob had some grunt in the (then) ACT Trades and Labour Council but we were a public service union and not much used to industrial action.
We received complaints that 'white crap' was falling out of the air conditioning ducts at the National Library but that management wouldn't do anything about it. When we investigated we found that it was 'white' asbestos that had been sprayed into the roof cavity as a fire retardant.
Approached management. The head of the NLA was a very nice man. Distinguished and dependable. But he dealt with books and such, not asbestos spewing out of the roof cavity. Add to that the strong information from just about everyone you could find that asbestos was OK and you will see the difficulty for the NLA. Surely this union was simply being difficult.
At the time we had a brand new ALP government so we had a rather lovely, but naive, view that this might mean that they would listen. So we took the matter up a couple of levels. Didn't work.
Next step was pretty obvious. We couldn't really call a strike and couldn't use bans so we set up a picket. We didn't want to stop the public but we did want to stop services and supplies.
It lasted many, many weeks.
The poor NLA. It must have hurt them deeply. A 24 hour, 7 day a week picket on the two entrances with grubby unionists. A 5 meter scaffold out the front with a massive sign across it saying 'EVEN ONE FIBRE CAN KILL'. Unionists standing around 44 gallon drum fires in the cold Canberra winter.
The industry and their scientific backers came out of their trees. Learned articles complained that we were misleading the public (we may have exaggerated just a tad). Talkback shows were full of people complaining about us. We had Ministers telling us to back off and those of us who were on long term leave without pay from the Commonwealth Public Service received letters telling us that our leave was over and we should immediately return to full time duty or resign.
On the day they decided to break the picket we were ready. We had become used to trucks and vans charging the line and picketers were told to let them go rather than get flattened. But the word was that this particular day they would be both breaking the line and removing the picket.
A chain was provided by the BLF from the site of a new police building. We needed about 25 people to hold the chain across the road. The police came and after the routine directions etc they chopped up the chain, link by link, alongside each hand. They then arrested the picketers. We brought in more. They arrested or moved on the new picketers. We brought in more. And so it went on.
Over 200 public servants were on the line that day. None were charged. The picket continued.
Finally, a deal was done. Nine Ministers represented the Commonwealth Government. The world changed. Asbestos was removed wherever it was in an unsafe condition under strict guidelines. Programs were established and funding was provided.
This was a tough and difficult time but, to be honest, it was pretty exciting until the day I watched an old bloke be helped out of car near the union office.
He was so decrepit that it took him ages to get across the lawn to the building. Eventually, the receptionist told me that there was someone to see me. Turned out that he wasn't a particularly old bloke but rather a bloke that was just about at his end. He had worked on the Australian War Memorial where they sprayed blue asbestos under that big copper dome. He had mesothelioma. He made the journey just to shake the hands of people who were having a go.
It appalls me that 25 years after that fight it was necessary for Bernie Banton to fight for compensation. But I remember the strength and savagery of those who supported the industry and I guess that they were never going to give up easily or after just one battle.
People like Bernie are vital for a strong country. Someone who was prepared to take on a major international company that had honed its skills fighting the asbestos fight over the last 30 years. In the end their political friends deserted them and the scientific community came to its senses but, without a Bernie, most of the people who are suffering and will suffer would have quietly died without recognition or compensation.
Bernie is receiving a lot accolades. He deserves every one but most of all he did not deserve to die just because he went to work
Monday, 26 November 2007
A Class Act
It seemed that there would never be an ALP government in the Northern Territory. The CLP were there for 27 years - for 4 years before self government and the rest after. Incumbency in the Territory with small electorates is a powerful thing.
The CLP used the self-government package well to ensure its future. Of course, it ignored the bush but then most of the blackfellas didn't vote for them anyway. It was just a bit surprising that the CLP lost track but, when the rot set in and became obvious to all, Clare Martin was there to make them pay.
The first ALP victory in the Territory was no easy or assured thing. It took a centrist leader who could relate to people, who could convince them that there was another option, was not too frightening and who could possibly make the Territory a better place.
We needed someone who could take on the CLP and win. Clare did it and she did it where many had failed before her.
Clare took over as Chief Minister when unemployment was growing, the NT economy was dying, infrastructure spending had stopped, there was no secondary school in any Indigenous community and much, much more money was spent on fighting land claims than on supporting Indigenous enterprises. She took over a public service that had lost its enthusiasm for the task and where good governance was not given priority.
In government, Clare, and her deputy Syd Stirling, have led a government that has been careful and centrist. It has worked hard to support and build the economy using the well tried formula of getting cranes onto the skyline and mines into the ground. Unemployment is at very low levels, gas is now on-shore and the place is booming.
In social terms we are now a different place. We are no longer automatically regarded as red neck or racist. We have more Indigenous MLAs than any other parliament and now have a female Deputy Chief Minister. Who would have thought that could happen before Clare?
Social policy advances have not matched those in the economic area. The Government has struggled, I believe, to deal effectively with the law and order issue. Allegations that crime is on the increase are rubbish but the perception that things are getting worse are growing. It has taken a long time to deal with issues of alcohol and substance abuse, although recent moves appear to be in the right direction. It started out well on local government reform but has become frustrated and is now making a mess of the area (but then I am by no means a disinterested observer on this one).
The Indigenous area is one where Clare has been lambasted. The criticisms have been very unfair. She had the courage to take on the job as Minister for Indigenous Affairs and to continue with it. Any Minister for Indigenous Affairs in the Territory is on a hiding to nothing. You simply cannot win. Clare could have given it to one of her Indigenous Ministers but that would have simply meant that she was painting a target on them. Clare was always a Minister who gave strong support to any sensible proposal for changes to Indigenous policy. Her reactions and judgement were good and she had the courage to carry through on decisions.
When she came in Clare inherited a public service that both desperately wanted a new government but where some key individuals wondered whether they would survive. She guaranteed public servants their jobs, calmed them down and has worked with them ever since.
As a long time professional public servant, it pains me to say it but it could have been a different world if Clare had followed up on her removal of the (then) head of the Department of Justice with the removal of a few others. By removing the blockers and self servers she could have sent a message to all that it truly was a different world and that she wanted advice on both what she should do to make a change and how that could be done. Instead, after an initial period where the public service tried to do the job that seemed to be required, enthusiasm waned as the blockers continued to operate and the self servers prospered.
Clare was not perfect but she was just about the only way that the ALP was going to get through the CLP stranglehold. She has changed the Territory from a red neck, racist place to one where we are still optimistic and happy to have a go but where we now better recognise the value that our cultlural diversity brings.
It is often the little things that stand out. For me, two instances define Clare Martin's Chief Ministership.
Not long after she was installed the long time CEO of a major agency was pulling the pin. He was 60 and, in going that day, he was carrying out a decision he had made when he was 18. On the day of his departure a car pulled up in front of the building. Out came the CM with a bunch of flowers. She simply walked in, handed them over, gave him a kiss on the cheek, said thanks and left. Absolutely no fanfare - nothing. If she hadn't already won every vote in the department then that day she won the rest.
Many years later at Wadeye shortly after a series of well publicised riots, the CM visited to see for herself what was going on. She had appointed a Coordinator to pull together a whole of government response and develop a plan to try to ensure that this never happened again.
At the airport on that day she didn't climb into a car to travel around the community. Instead, to the concern of some of her advisors, she agreed with the idea that she walk. She visited all key locations, including the house where a major gang was headquartered.
Unfortunately, while the place was settled down and the community engaged in the development of a plan that was negotiated through the bureaucracy, much of it didn't hit the ground and Wadeye has recently exploded again.
Clare is a person with good judgement, excellent reactions and great courage. She has not been well served at all times by her advisors and public service. Perhaps if she had been just a little more ruthless she would have had more success - but then she may not have been so good.
I am sorry to see Clare go. She will be remembered with affection by most.
The CLP used the self-government package well to ensure its future. Of course, it ignored the bush but then most of the blackfellas didn't vote for them anyway. It was just a bit surprising that the CLP lost track but, when the rot set in and became obvious to all, Clare Martin was there to make them pay.
The first ALP victory in the Territory was no easy or assured thing. It took a centrist leader who could relate to people, who could convince them that there was another option, was not too frightening and who could possibly make the Territory a better place.
We needed someone who could take on the CLP and win. Clare did it and she did it where many had failed before her.
Clare took over as Chief Minister when unemployment was growing, the NT economy was dying, infrastructure spending had stopped, there was no secondary school in any Indigenous community and much, much more money was spent on fighting land claims than on supporting Indigenous enterprises. She took over a public service that had lost its enthusiasm for the task and where good governance was not given priority.
In government, Clare, and her deputy Syd Stirling, have led a government that has been careful and centrist. It has worked hard to support and build the economy using the well tried formula of getting cranes onto the skyline and mines into the ground. Unemployment is at very low levels, gas is now on-shore and the place is booming.
In social terms we are now a different place. We are no longer automatically regarded as red neck or racist. We have more Indigenous MLAs than any other parliament and now have a female Deputy Chief Minister. Who would have thought that could happen before Clare?
Social policy advances have not matched those in the economic area. The Government has struggled, I believe, to deal effectively with the law and order issue. Allegations that crime is on the increase are rubbish but the perception that things are getting worse are growing. It has taken a long time to deal with issues of alcohol and substance abuse, although recent moves appear to be in the right direction. It started out well on local government reform but has become frustrated and is now making a mess of the area (but then I am by no means a disinterested observer on this one).
The Indigenous area is one where Clare has been lambasted. The criticisms have been very unfair. She had the courage to take on the job as Minister for Indigenous Affairs and to continue with it. Any Minister for Indigenous Affairs in the Territory is on a hiding to nothing. You simply cannot win. Clare could have given it to one of her Indigenous Ministers but that would have simply meant that she was painting a target on them. Clare was always a Minister who gave strong support to any sensible proposal for changes to Indigenous policy. Her reactions and judgement were good and she had the courage to carry through on decisions.
When she came in Clare inherited a public service that both desperately wanted a new government but where some key individuals wondered whether they would survive. She guaranteed public servants their jobs, calmed them down and has worked with them ever since.
As a long time professional public servant, it pains me to say it but it could have been a different world if Clare had followed up on her removal of the (then) head of the Department of Justice with the removal of a few others. By removing the blockers and self servers she could have sent a message to all that it truly was a different world and that she wanted advice on both what she should do to make a change and how that could be done. Instead, after an initial period where the public service tried to do the job that seemed to be required, enthusiasm waned as the blockers continued to operate and the self servers prospered.
Clare was not perfect but she was just about the only way that the ALP was going to get through the CLP stranglehold. She has changed the Territory from a red neck, racist place to one where we are still optimistic and happy to have a go but where we now better recognise the value that our cultlural diversity brings.
It is often the little things that stand out. For me, two instances define Clare Martin's Chief Ministership.
Not long after she was installed the long time CEO of a major agency was pulling the pin. He was 60 and, in going that day, he was carrying out a decision he had made when he was 18. On the day of his departure a car pulled up in front of the building. Out came the CM with a bunch of flowers. She simply walked in, handed them over, gave him a kiss on the cheek, said thanks and left. Absolutely no fanfare - nothing. If she hadn't already won every vote in the department then that day she won the rest.
Many years later at Wadeye shortly after a series of well publicised riots, the CM visited to see for herself what was going on. She had appointed a Coordinator to pull together a whole of government response and develop a plan to try to ensure that this never happened again.
At the airport on that day she didn't climb into a car to travel around the community. Instead, to the concern of some of her advisors, she agreed with the idea that she walk. She visited all key locations, including the house where a major gang was headquartered.
Unfortunately, while the place was settled down and the community engaged in the development of a plan that was negotiated through the bureaucracy, much of it didn't hit the ground and Wadeye has recently exploded again.
Clare is a person with good judgement, excellent reactions and great courage. She has not been well served at all times by her advisors and public service. Perhaps if she had been just a little more ruthless she would have had more success - but then she may not have been so good.
I am sorry to see Clare go. She will be remembered with affection by most.
Monday, 19 November 2007
Not another 1961 please
It is that time in an election campaign when those closely involved are in the zone. Totally focused on not putting a foot wrong until THE DAY. Keeping those things that are going wrong to a minimum. Dealing with the daily disasters so they sound ok to everyone else and, above all, holding the line.
For those of us who are interested but not insiders it is a tough time. We think it looks good. We read all of the polls, examine all of the analysis, nervously watch the leaders for signs of panic/ disappointment/worry etc etc. It all looks good but we know it can all go very bad and get very sad, very quickly.
It may be just a case of too many scars but they were nasty ones.
Take 1969 for instance. Election late in the year - 25 October.
The previous election in 1966 was the 'khaki' election. ALP slaughtered - Holt the PM - and we were in Vietnam for the long haul. But by 1969 it was all different. The protests against the war had kicked in and I couldn't see why anyone would think it was a good idea to keep a government that was keeping us in a war like this. I also took extreme umbrage at being told to register for conscription before I had the chance to have a vote.
The Libs campaign was all about '17 Faceless Men' who ran the ALP. Union bosses telling Gough and Lance what to do and neither of them were even on the Fed Executive of the ALP. Lovely photo of Gough outside the door. All sounded pretty silly stuff as far as I was concerned. I mean as if an unelected group could tell a representative government what to do. I was young.
The ALP needed to win about 25 seats. It didn't. It did win 18 and it did get a swing of just under 7% across the nation. One of the great victories of all time.
That is, it was a victory if you really didn't expect to win, you were really interested in numbers and you were closely in touch with reality.
I was none of the above and found the whole exercise to be one of the most depressing experiences of my life.
1969 followed 20 years of conservative rule.
The thing that worries me is that the closest the conservatives came to being turfed out during the Menzies/Holt era was in 1961. Menzies was returned but only with the help of some preferences - from the Communist Party I think - for Jim Killen in Moreton. In the unkindest cut of all the ALP actually won the same number of seats as the conservatives but two were in the ACT and NT and these members didn't have full voting rights in those days. The ALP received many more votes than the LNP overall.
What makes me nervous is that they made it with 130 dodgy preferences in 1961 and we had another 11 years of them with the Vietnam war, conscription and the continuation of 1930s and 40s ideas and policies.
It doesn't look like it will happen again. It can't can it?
For those of us who are interested but not insiders it is a tough time. We think it looks good. We read all of the polls, examine all of the analysis, nervously watch the leaders for signs of panic/ disappointment/worry etc etc. It all looks good but we know it can all go very bad and get very sad, very quickly.
It may be just a case of too many scars but they were nasty ones.
Take 1969 for instance. Election late in the year - 25 October.
The previous election in 1966 was the 'khaki' election. ALP slaughtered - Holt the PM - and we were in Vietnam for the long haul. But by 1969 it was all different. The protests against the war had kicked in and I couldn't see why anyone would think it was a good idea to keep a government that was keeping us in a war like this. I also took extreme umbrage at being told to register for conscription before I had the chance to have a vote.
The Libs campaign was all about '17 Faceless Men' who ran the ALP. Union bosses telling Gough and Lance what to do and neither of them were even on the Fed Executive of the ALP. Lovely photo of Gough outside the door. All sounded pretty silly stuff as far as I was concerned. I mean as if an unelected group could tell a representative government what to do. I was young.
The ALP needed to win about 25 seats. It didn't. It did win 18 and it did get a swing of just under 7% across the nation. One of the great victories of all time.
That is, it was a victory if you really didn't expect to win, you were really interested in numbers and you were closely in touch with reality.
I was none of the above and found the whole exercise to be one of the most depressing experiences of my life.
1969 followed 20 years of conservative rule.
The thing that worries me is that the closest the conservatives came to being turfed out during the Menzies/Holt era was in 1961. Menzies was returned but only with the help of some preferences - from the Communist Party I think - for Jim Killen in Moreton. In the unkindest cut of all the ALP actually won the same number of seats as the conservatives but two were in the ACT and NT and these members didn't have full voting rights in those days. The ALP received many more votes than the LNP overall.
What makes me nervous is that they made it with 130 dodgy preferences in 1961 and we had another 11 years of them with the Vietnam war, conscription and the continuation of 1930s and 40s ideas and policies.
It doesn't look like it will happen again. It can't can it?
Friday, 19 October 2007
Quietly sitting at the lights ...
... in the ute the other day waiting for the traffic to take off from the Berrimah lights up the Highway (there is only one). I was heading for Berrimah so was side on to the traffic.
Nothing special about the line up - bike, couple of cars and a truck or two.
Lights change and, with a high pitched whirrrr, definitely not a roar, the bike took off. It was through the lights before anyone else had left the grid. No wheelspin, no dramatics, just mega acceleration.
And it was a woman - I think. Leathers and helmet made it difficult to tell but the flat, girlie type shoes were a give away.
I cheered and clapped. Looked left and right and the people on either side of me were doing the same. All joined in the appreciation of a great demonstration of power.
I know, I know. She probably broke the law, she wasn't being fuel efficient and she could possibly have caused an accident if someone had pulled around the corner expecting her to be slower.
But it was still great to see.
Maybe I am heading back to my second childhood and have hit the adolescent bit?
Nothing special about the line up - bike, couple of cars and a truck or two.
Lights change and, with a high pitched whirrrr, definitely not a roar, the bike took off. It was through the lights before anyone else had left the grid. No wheelspin, no dramatics, just mega acceleration.
And it was a woman - I think. Leathers and helmet made it difficult to tell but the flat, girlie type shoes were a give away.
I cheered and clapped. Looked left and right and the people on either side of me were doing the same. All joined in the appreciation of a great demonstration of power.
I know, I know. She probably broke the law, she wasn't being fuel efficient and she could possibly have caused an accident if someone had pulled around the corner expecting her to be slower.
But it was still great to see.
Maybe I am heading back to my second childhood and have hit the adolescent bit?
Thursday, 11 October 2007
The Eagle Has Landed
Judd to the Blues!!!!!
Wahoooo!!!!!!
Actually he should always have been playing for them. Best player in the best team and all of that. Bring on the next season
Wahoooo!!!!!!
Actually he should always have been playing for them. Best player in the best team and all of that. Bring on the next season
A Morning's Work
You need a plan. Without a plan you spend a lot of time doing things that are not useful, not a high priority or not in the most efficient sequence.
The plan this morning was to spray some foliar fertiliser on to the citrus. This would allow me to cover the whole orchard area of about 2.5 ha before about 9.30 and before the breeze picks up. On completing that and washing out the spray tank it would be about 10.00 and I would spend the next couple of hours connecting and shifting equipment into the shed. (This is the new shed. The one that I have just spent a month or so building. Thing of beauty!) After lunch it is into research on animal welfare.
A nicely planned day that ensures that I get the spray out before the temperature rises to above 30 degrees. After this it could burn the leaves. It will be on 30 degrees by about 10.00. And I am either around the shed or on the front veranda when the temp gets over 35.
Rear tyre on the tractor has a slow leak. No worries. Whack a bit of air in. Compressor - reliable and used all the time - gives a strange whirr and dies. Check all of the bits - oil, air intakes and filters, lines - all seem clean. Fire it up again. Blows the overload switch. Another look. Nothing obvious. Spray some WD40 about. Electric motor seems to be working OK. Internals are something I know nothing about. May be about to learn.
Anyway, is the tyre that far down? Maybe not. Let's go.
Tractor needs some fuel. No problem. Put 40 litres in. Start it to drive out of the shed (new, very nice shed that is) and the power steering is tight. Will need to do a lot of tight turns at row ends so better put some more fluid in the reservoir. Nuisance of a job. Hard to get at the filler and the thread is dodgy on the filler screw. Have to keep the tractor going and reach in past the fan.
Attach the spray unit. Needs to be carefully lined up because it is difficult to shift if you get it wrong. Very heavy. Got it wrong twice but eventually in place.
Fertiliser is all nicely stacked in its new home in the new shed so don't have to hunt around for that. Fill the tank and mix everything in. Nice organic fertiliser. Smells good and tastes OK - although I didn't really mean to have my mouth open when the splash hit me in the face.
Off we go. Not too bad on the time but may only get one load out before it heats up. No cloud and warming up fast.
First row, sprayer on, all the right noises - nothing. Not a sausage. Nothing coming out of any of the nozzles. Quick check of the basics. All working - or seem to be - but there is nothing coming out. A more serious issue?
Now I have a situation.
440 litres of nicely mixed, organic fertiliser all ready to go. The thing is that, if you let it settle, it can be a problem. The little solids all get together and form a sort of gel that provides a nice gluggy mass on the bottom of the tank. The tank is hard to clean. You have to get your head and shoulders inside with you ending up with your legs sticking out. Most undignified and very difficult to extricate oneself. Also a bit uncomfortable. Small children could do it. Pop them in and only let them out when it is clean. Can't find one.
Check the filters I know about and they are clean. I am going to have to start to pull things apart so I need to empty the tank. Find a 200 litre tank. There is a 75 litre tank on the back of the quad. The rest goes into 20 litre buckets. I have no idea how I will move it back into the spray tank. Siphon? Doesn't taste that good. Lift the 200 litre tank? Difficult but not impossible when you have a tractor that is a precision instrument.
Time has beaten me. Too hot and too late. Will have to happen tomorrow but I have meetings in town tomorrow - so Saturday or Sunday. I will be popular. I like the smell, my neighbours might not. Monday another appointment. Maybe Tuesday.
I will do the job properly. Take the unit off the tractor. Put it in the (lovely new) shed where it will be in the shade and start to pull it to pieces.
All nicely in place to come off, everything comes apart as it is supposed - except the power shaft. Wont move. For some reason it is jammed on significantly further up the spindle than it is supposed to be. Try a small lever to shift it back. Wont move. A bigger lever. A hammer. A crow bar. That shifted it. Finally off.
Now was that part of the problem? Don't know.
Phone ringing. Message bank picks up. Rings again. Must be important. Trek to the house. Message to call real estate agent about a rental property. A prospective tenant has decided not to move in so would we like to go to the next on the list? No - forget it, we will take it off the market. If they don't want it then no one can have it.
Now getting angry and cursing is not sensible. Doesn't get you anywhere. So answer sensibly and as if this was a reasonable question.
Phone rings again. Dive back up the stairs, race for the phone. Don't make it and no message. Rings again and this time I get there.
It is not her fault that she works for these people so it is not right that I should abuse her for wasting my time. So I simply tell her that if I want the product I will go to the shop and buy one but that I have a policy of banning any product or firm that rings me without my request.
Back to the plan.
Shifting equipment into the shed is going to increase its working life by reducing the effect of weather and allowing easier maintenance - and with me there is a direct relationship between ease and frequency.
The shifting involves connecting the items to the tractor and moving them into the shed, placing them on stands that allow one to connect them easily next time. Pretty straightforward.
And it was - pretty well anyway.
And I worked out what was wrong with the compressor. Found a drain plug that I had never located before and opened it - when in doubt pull it apart. Out came a lot of water obviously built up over time. I then checked the book to see if I had missed doing something that I should have been taking care of over time. Nothing in the book so I am both vindicated and just a little dirty on the suppliers for not telling me about it - not that I would have necessarily checked.
I haven't fixed the spray unit though. Had a look and a poke about but couldn't see anything that was going to be in any way straightforward so I decided to leave it for a day or two.
If I fix it over the weekend I will have TWOMD to help me. She can .... hold things and such I guess.
The plan this morning was to spray some foliar fertiliser on to the citrus. This would allow me to cover the whole orchard area of about 2.5 ha before about 9.30 and before the breeze picks up. On completing that and washing out the spray tank it would be about 10.00 and I would spend the next couple of hours connecting and shifting equipment into the shed. (This is the new shed. The one that I have just spent a month or so building. Thing of beauty!) After lunch it is into research on animal welfare.
A nicely planned day that ensures that I get the spray out before the temperature rises to above 30 degrees. After this it could burn the leaves. It will be on 30 degrees by about 10.00. And I am either around the shed or on the front veranda when the temp gets over 35.
Rear tyre on the tractor has a slow leak. No worries. Whack a bit of air in. Compressor - reliable and used all the time - gives a strange whirr and dies. Check all of the bits - oil, air intakes and filters, lines - all seem clean. Fire it up again. Blows the overload switch. Another look. Nothing obvious. Spray some WD40 about. Electric motor seems to be working OK. Internals are something I know nothing about. May be about to learn.
Anyway, is the tyre that far down? Maybe not. Let's go.
Tractor needs some fuel. No problem. Put 40 litres in. Start it to drive out of the shed (new, very nice shed that is) and the power steering is tight. Will need to do a lot of tight turns at row ends so better put some more fluid in the reservoir. Nuisance of a job. Hard to get at the filler and the thread is dodgy on the filler screw. Have to keep the tractor going and reach in past the fan.
Attach the spray unit. Needs to be carefully lined up because it is difficult to shift if you get it wrong. Very heavy. Got it wrong twice but eventually in place.
Fertiliser is all nicely stacked in its new home in the new shed so don't have to hunt around for that. Fill the tank and mix everything in. Nice organic fertiliser. Smells good and tastes OK - although I didn't really mean to have my mouth open when the splash hit me in the face.
Off we go. Not too bad on the time but may only get one load out before it heats up. No cloud and warming up fast.
First row, sprayer on, all the right noises - nothing. Not a sausage. Nothing coming out of any of the nozzles. Quick check of the basics. All working - or seem to be - but there is nothing coming out. A more serious issue?
Now I have a situation.
440 litres of nicely mixed, organic fertiliser all ready to go. The thing is that, if you let it settle, it can be a problem. The little solids all get together and form a sort of gel that provides a nice gluggy mass on the bottom of the tank. The tank is hard to clean. You have to get your head and shoulders inside with you ending up with your legs sticking out. Most undignified and very difficult to extricate oneself. Also a bit uncomfortable. Small children could do it. Pop them in and only let them out when it is clean. Can't find one.
Check the filters I know about and they are clean. I am going to have to start to pull things apart so I need to empty the tank. Find a 200 litre tank. There is a 75 litre tank on the back of the quad. The rest goes into 20 litre buckets. I have no idea how I will move it back into the spray tank. Siphon? Doesn't taste that good. Lift the 200 litre tank? Difficult but not impossible when you have a tractor that is a precision instrument.
Time has beaten me. Too hot and too late. Will have to happen tomorrow but I have meetings in town tomorrow - so Saturday or Sunday. I will be popular. I like the smell, my neighbours might not. Monday another appointment. Maybe Tuesday.
I will do the job properly. Take the unit off the tractor. Put it in the (lovely new) shed where it will be in the shade and start to pull it to pieces.
All nicely in place to come off, everything comes apart as it is supposed - except the power shaft. Wont move. For some reason it is jammed on significantly further up the spindle than it is supposed to be. Try a small lever to shift it back. Wont move. A bigger lever. A hammer. A crow bar. That shifted it. Finally off.
Now was that part of the problem? Don't know.
Phone ringing. Message bank picks up. Rings again. Must be important. Trek to the house. Message to call real estate agent about a rental property. A prospective tenant has decided not to move in so would we like to go to the next on the list? No - forget it, we will take it off the market. If they don't want it then no one can have it.
Now getting angry and cursing is not sensible. Doesn't get you anywhere. So answer sensibly and as if this was a reasonable question.
Phone rings again. Dive back up the stairs, race for the phone. Don't make it and no message. Rings again and this time I get there.
It is not her fault that she works for these people so it is not right that I should abuse her for wasting my time. So I simply tell her that if I want the product I will go to the shop and buy one but that I have a policy of banning any product or firm that rings me without my request.
Back to the plan.
Shifting equipment into the shed is going to increase its working life by reducing the effect of weather and allowing easier maintenance - and with me there is a direct relationship between ease and frequency.
The shifting involves connecting the items to the tractor and moving them into the shed, placing them on stands that allow one to connect them easily next time. Pretty straightforward.
And it was - pretty well anyway.
And I worked out what was wrong with the compressor. Found a drain plug that I had never located before and opened it - when in doubt pull it apart. Out came a lot of water obviously built up over time. I then checked the book to see if I had missed doing something that I should have been taking care of over time. Nothing in the book so I am both vindicated and just a little dirty on the suppliers for not telling me about it - not that I would have necessarily checked.
I haven't fixed the spray unit though. Had a look and a poke about but couldn't see anything that was going to be in any way straightforward so I decided to leave it for a day or two.
If I fix it over the weekend I will have TWOMD to help me. She can .... hold things and such I guess.
Wednesday, 10 October 2007
Do They Think We Are That Stupid?
Are we a reflection of the media or is the media a reflection of us?
Put another way - are we as stupid as they think we are or are they?
We are being treated like fools again over this issue of the death penalty for the Bali bombers.
Both major parties have long standing policies against the death penalty. Both major parties hold the basic principle of equal rights for all. Australia signed the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights in 1949 and has since confirmed that view many times.
Somehow there are those, possibly in both parties but certainly in the Liberal/National Parties, who are able to ignore logic and principle and agree that the knocking off certain people is OK.
Now I am confused. Does that mean that it is OK to kill people or not? Is it OK to kill people, for instance:
There doesn't seem to me to anything terribly complex or difficult about putting such questions but, faced with politicians running obvious lines, the media have ignored logic and gone completely to the so-called 'populist' position. They are running Alexander Downer's lines as if they mean something, not putting obvious questions to John Howard and gleefully tearing into Robert McClelland as somehow incompetent for stating the bleeding obvious.
Maybe we are fools. If we let the media get away with this sort of rubbish over and over again then it is arguably so.
Put another way - are we as stupid as they think we are or are they?
We are being treated like fools again over this issue of the death penalty for the Bali bombers.
Both major parties have long standing policies against the death penalty. Both major parties hold the basic principle of equal rights for all. Australia signed the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights in 1949 and has since confirmed that view many times.
Somehow there are those, possibly in both parties but certainly in the Liberal/National Parties, who are able to ignore logic and principle and agree that the knocking off certain people is OK.
Now I am confused. Does that mean that it is OK to kill people or not? Is it OK to kill people, for instance:
- if they are in another country?
- if they are in another country and are not Australian?
- if they are in another country and have killed Australians?
There doesn't seem to me to anything terribly complex or difficult about putting such questions but, faced with politicians running obvious lines, the media have ignored logic and gone completely to the so-called 'populist' position. They are running Alexander Downer's lines as if they mean something, not putting obvious questions to John Howard and gleefully tearing into Robert McClelland as somehow incompetent for stating the bleeding obvious.
Maybe we are fools. If we let the media get away with this sort of rubbish over and over again then it is arguably so.
Monday, 8 October 2007
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Khaled Hosseini has written two books that I have read. 'The Kite Runner' was a heart warming story set around a boy growing up in Afghanistan. A well written, well told story that gave me a very different view of Afghanis and of life there than the one that is normally provided by the media.
I have just finished the second book "A Thousand Splendid Suns". Actually, I finished it very early on Saturday morning on a plane from Darwin to Brisbane.
This book may not have the depth of 'The Kite Runner" but it had a more powerful effect on me.
The story centres around two women. Mariam is an harami, or bastard. This is definitely not a term of endearment. She is caused to marry a man many years her senior when she is 15. It starts out better than you might expect but heads down the reasonably obvious path pretty quickly.
Laila joins the household some years later. The relationship between the two women has a very rocky beginning but grows.
All the while the misery that is recent Afghan politics swims around the household. The Soviets come almost as saviours and go. The mujahadeen arrive as saviours and fall into tribal disarray soon after with terrible results for the population. The Taliban arrive as saviours and, again, soon deliver a continuing disaster for most of the population.
Don't be concerned though that this is a heavy, political book. It is, but it doesn't feel like one. We are taken into the household. We are given an insight into the reality of life. It is tough in parts but by no means without hope and there is plenty of light and love.
I have been told - by someone smarter than me - that the concluding parts could seem a little contrived but I have exercised my right to disagree, just a little.
The characters were able to get under my skin. I felt for Mariam and could empathise with the hard headed decisions of Laila. I can't say that I really understood Rasheed but I could understand some of why he might be as he was. The weakness of Jalil is something with which we are all probably familiar as we are with the bitterness of Nana.
If you read it for no other reason than that you would like a good story then you wont be disappointed. If you want to put a human face to the decisions that refugees actually have to make you will enjoy it more.
And for the young bloke in the nearby seat on the flight from Darwin to Brisbane - that old bloke had tears running down his face because some things in life make you both angry and sad and deserve a tear or two.
I have just finished the second book "A Thousand Splendid Suns". Actually, I finished it very early on Saturday morning on a plane from Darwin to Brisbane.
This book may not have the depth of 'The Kite Runner" but it had a more powerful effect on me.
The story centres around two women. Mariam is an harami, or bastard. This is definitely not a term of endearment. She is caused to marry a man many years her senior when she is 15. It starts out better than you might expect but heads down the reasonably obvious path pretty quickly.
Laila joins the household some years later. The relationship between the two women has a very rocky beginning but grows.
All the while the misery that is recent Afghan politics swims around the household. The Soviets come almost as saviours and go. The mujahadeen arrive as saviours and fall into tribal disarray soon after with terrible results for the population. The Taliban arrive as saviours and, again, soon deliver a continuing disaster for most of the population.
Don't be concerned though that this is a heavy, political book. It is, but it doesn't feel like one. We are taken into the household. We are given an insight into the reality of life. It is tough in parts but by no means without hope and there is plenty of light and love.
I have been told - by someone smarter than me - that the concluding parts could seem a little contrived but I have exercised my right to disagree, just a little.
The characters were able to get under my skin. I felt for Mariam and could empathise with the hard headed decisions of Laila. I can't say that I really understood Rasheed but I could understand some of why he might be as he was. The weakness of Jalil is something with which we are all probably familiar as we are with the bitterness of Nana.
If you read it for no other reason than that you would like a good story then you wont be disappointed. If you want to put a human face to the decisions that refugees actually have to make you will enjoy it more.
And for the young bloke in the nearby seat on the flight from Darwin to Brisbane - that old bloke had tears running down his face because some things in life make you both angry and sad and deserve a tear or two.
Thursday, 4 October 2007
The Other Kevin
Our school bus used to bring kids from the valley up to town winding around bush roads for about 30 kms on the way to pick up the kids from Reidsdale who, for some reason, were allowed on to the Araluen bus.
There were no Catholics from Araluen. I have no idea why not. But there were a few from Reidsdale. Not many though. We gave them a terrible time. All dressed up in their neat uniforms with their neat haircuts they were a lot of fun for the public school kids.
Whenever I see Kevin Andrews on TV I am reminded of excessively neat, prissy, hidebound, righteous school kids who seemed to look down their noses at everyone else secure in their knowledge that they knew what is best for everyone else and had the right to tell them.
Outside of school and the bus, those Catholic kids were actually reasonable people and we got on pretty well. And it turned out they were not always neat. They also grew up.
Unfortunately for Kevin Andrews, he never did grow up. He clearly still thinks that he has the right to make judgements for everyone else. He did it in his sponsorship of the legislation to overrule the NT Rights of the Terminally Ill. He was not concerned that the ROTI legislation was introduced and passed only after a long and pretty well informed debate. He simply knew that he was right so he introduced the bill to overrule.
As Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations he stayed true to form. He was so bad, so uncaring and so completely sycophantic to big business that, eventually, even John Howard had to shift him.
Now, where do you put someone like this? Knows he is right, has no feeling for people and knows he is better than everyone else. Immigration! What a perfect fit - that is, if you want to run an immigration policy that ensures that anyone who comes here is properly grateful and if you want to keep out anyone who is not neat.
I saw the interview with Dr Haneef the other night on Four Corners. I guess he could be a terrorist but, to me, he just looked like a young, keen, slightly naive doctor who embodied the hope of his family and gave them some financial security.
Kevin Andrews had the advantage over me - and everyone else. He has seen all of the information that we were given on Four Corners, read all of the transcripts and all of the analysis. Unless there is something that is not yet even hinted at, Kevin Andrews formed a view of Dr Haneef's character that is totally at odds with all of the information available.
You would expect him to do so though because he is, after all, right. He has a capacity to see through the reality to the darkness behind.
Now Kevin Andrews has decided to get stuck into those terrible Sudanese. The kid who was bashed to death in Melbourne brought it all on himself because he 'failed to integrate'. We should stop them coming here because they are from a war torn country and it takes them a while to learn how to live in a peaceful, compassionate country. So don't let them come here. Keep them where they are until they learn how to live peacefully. We are not the sort of country to give anyone a chance.
Kooyong is as safe a seat as the Liberals hold. Kevin Andrews will be there, I expect, for as long as he wants to be. Let us hope that, for the good of us all, he is restricted to fulminating on morality and righteousness from the Opposition benches for the rest of his political career.
There were no Catholics from Araluen. I have no idea why not. But there were a few from Reidsdale. Not many though. We gave them a terrible time. All dressed up in their neat uniforms with their neat haircuts they were a lot of fun for the public school kids.
Whenever I see Kevin Andrews on TV I am reminded of excessively neat, prissy, hidebound, righteous school kids who seemed to look down their noses at everyone else secure in their knowledge that they knew what is best for everyone else and had the right to tell them.
Outside of school and the bus, those Catholic kids were actually reasonable people and we got on pretty well. And it turned out they were not always neat. They also grew up.
Unfortunately for Kevin Andrews, he never did grow up. He clearly still thinks that he has the right to make judgements for everyone else. He did it in his sponsorship of the legislation to overrule the NT Rights of the Terminally Ill. He was not concerned that the ROTI legislation was introduced and passed only after a long and pretty well informed debate. He simply knew that he was right so he introduced the bill to overrule.
As Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations he stayed true to form. He was so bad, so uncaring and so completely sycophantic to big business that, eventually, even John Howard had to shift him.
Now, where do you put someone like this? Knows he is right, has no feeling for people and knows he is better than everyone else. Immigration! What a perfect fit - that is, if you want to run an immigration policy that ensures that anyone who comes here is properly grateful and if you want to keep out anyone who is not neat.
I saw the interview with Dr Haneef the other night on Four Corners. I guess he could be a terrorist but, to me, he just looked like a young, keen, slightly naive doctor who embodied the hope of his family and gave them some financial security.
Kevin Andrews had the advantage over me - and everyone else. He has seen all of the information that we were given on Four Corners, read all of the transcripts and all of the analysis. Unless there is something that is not yet even hinted at, Kevin Andrews formed a view of Dr Haneef's character that is totally at odds with all of the information available.
You would expect him to do so though because he is, after all, right. He has a capacity to see through the reality to the darkness behind.
Now Kevin Andrews has decided to get stuck into those terrible Sudanese. The kid who was bashed to death in Melbourne brought it all on himself because he 'failed to integrate'. We should stop them coming here because they are from a war torn country and it takes them a while to learn how to live in a peaceful, compassionate country. So don't let them come here. Keep them where they are until they learn how to live peacefully. We are not the sort of country to give anyone a chance.
Kooyong is as safe a seat as the Liberals hold. Kevin Andrews will be there, I expect, for as long as he wants to be. Let us hope that, for the good of us all, he is restricted to fulminating on morality and righteousness from the Opposition benches for the rest of his political career.
Thirty!!!
How about that? My son turns 30 today - or, more precisely, he turned 30 very early this morning. I can't remember the exact time but his mother will.
Amazing thing it was welcoming this new son into the world. It was the first time for me - and for him for that matter.
I clearly recall walking out of the hospital - the old one in Canberra that has now been blown up -and getting into the car. The news came on the radio and I was very surprised that the first item was not about the birth of this new baby boy - seriously.
Over the next few days I came to understand why people often carry on about the birth of babies, gooing over them, congratulating the parents and generally being very chuffed about the state of the world. I wandered about with my chest puffed out as if I had actually done something special.
Which of course I had.
My son has made it to 30 as a competent, confident person. He will go on from here making his own decisions and his own life.
We got him started and I am pretty proud that we did.
Amazing thing it was welcoming this new son into the world. It was the first time for me - and for him for that matter.
I clearly recall walking out of the hospital - the old one in Canberra that has now been blown up -and getting into the car. The news came on the radio and I was very surprised that the first item was not about the birth of this new baby boy - seriously.
Over the next few days I came to understand why people often carry on about the birth of babies, gooing over them, congratulating the parents and generally being very chuffed about the state of the world. I wandered about with my chest puffed out as if I had actually done something special.
Which of course I had.
My son has made it to 30 as a competent, confident person. He will go on from here making his own decisions and his own life.
We got him started and I am pretty proud that we did.
Tuesday, 25 September 2007
Feet of Clay??
I knew Bob Collins.
I had to brief him once when he was Opposition Leader in the NT on a new piece of legislation. Over 500 sections and relatively complex stuff. There was a hole in it but it had been pretty well disguised. Handed the Bill to Bob and he started flicking through it while I started the spiel. He was respectful, waited till I drew breath and then hit me with the question. Nailed me to the wall. Luckily, he agreed that we were trying to do the right thing and never raised the question again. No one else ever spotted the problem.
Driving down the highway one morning saw a Landcruiser pull up on the side of the road. Bob jumped out and headed into the bush. I thought he must have been caught short but not this time. He had spotted a bloke laying there. Turned out to be a drunk who had been trying to walk home. Bob loaded him into his vehicle. A lot of other people had passed the spot before Bob arrived.
I know some of those who accused Bob.
I wouldn't feed them bad meat.
Bob may have had feet of clay. I do know that he often developed a yearning for pizzas and champagne often late at night. His self control where food was concerned was not always evident. Did he also succumb to a yearning for young boys. I don't know and now we will never know.
He was a good man who did a lot of good. A lot of good people have feet of clay. Doesn't mean that they weren't good.
I had to brief him once when he was Opposition Leader in the NT on a new piece of legislation. Over 500 sections and relatively complex stuff. There was a hole in it but it had been pretty well disguised. Handed the Bill to Bob and he started flicking through it while I started the spiel. He was respectful, waited till I drew breath and then hit me with the question. Nailed me to the wall. Luckily, he agreed that we were trying to do the right thing and never raised the question again. No one else ever spotted the problem.
Driving down the highway one morning saw a Landcruiser pull up on the side of the road. Bob jumped out and headed into the bush. I thought he must have been caught short but not this time. He had spotted a bloke laying there. Turned out to be a drunk who had been trying to walk home. Bob loaded him into his vehicle. A lot of other people had passed the spot before Bob arrived.
I know some of those who accused Bob.
I wouldn't feed them bad meat.
Bob may have had feet of clay. I do know that he often developed a yearning for pizzas and champagne often late at night. His self control where food was concerned was not always evident. Did he also succumb to a yearning for young boys. I don't know and now we will never know.
He was a good man who did a lot of good. A lot of good people have feet of clay. Doesn't mean that they weren't good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)