Things about Australia I don't get: 2010

Monday 13 December 2010

greased palmer

I was reading today that Clive Palmer wants to bring in Chinese contract workers to fill mining roles. The Australian (which occasionally deserves the title of traitor) has used this to push the propaganda of a skills shortage:

HUNDREDS of Chinese contract workers will be brought to Queensland by mining boss Clive Palmer.

The move underlines Australia's inability to provide enough skilled labour to exploit the growing resources boom

nice supposition there folks, but perhaps it underscores how obligations can be avoided: payments to workers, superannuation, training or even just repsonsiblity

I am in little doubt that part of the problem also is that workers are using this opportunity to screw the mining companies for higher wages ... but I know from my experience when the times are not so bountiful, no matter who you are, the companies don't give a shit about you.

I'm willing to bet that the contract workers are getting paid well below what their Australian counterparts are

.

Interestginly it turns out that

Mr Palmer, the biggest political donor in Australia and an active member of Queensland's Liberal National Party

Clive goes on to mention a few things:

"the only hurdle to the project going ahead was the Queensland Labor government's approvals process.
I'm sure the Premier would want to change that. Certainly the new government, when they come in, they'll be changing that."

Well, why wouldn't you expect to get what you pay for...

So much for democracy...
It may be judging a book by its cover, but Clive, you even look like a greedy so n so

Monday 6 December 2010

Fuel prices

I get tired of the agitation about fuel prices but with no real and open investigation into the prices. Occasionally after public agitation we hear some commission come up with there being 2c over charge or some such nonsense.

This morning on the radio there was a discussion on fuel, and it focused on the amount of profit margin that stations have. Assuming that its 8c as the RACQ suggested then thats a margin of 6 or so percent.

A popular phrase at the moment is to "talk about the elephant in the room" Well ok, lets look at that elephant.

the profit is a small part of the pie when it comes to the price we pay at the bowser, so how about we start dissecting that and request a little transparency in this process. I mean its not like fuel can be considered a luxury item anymore.

Sunday 5 December 2010

guns and politicans

I read this morning that the Police have intercepted a massive haul of illegal guns in NSW, excellent work guys.

Perhaps the most interesting things about the article is the public comment, all fairly much suggesting that the Federal Government had clearly wasted millions of tax payers dollars with the draconian gun laws which more or less simply took guns off sporting shooters and farmers and pushed up the profit margins for illegal gun runners. Just like the prohibition laws in the USA did nothing to stop booze the John Howard legacy of gun laws does nothing to stop illegal gun ownership.

Probably it has only made illegal gun traffic more attactive, looking at the prices those guns go for on the street and the prices they can be bought for in many places in the world it makes it a very attractive proposition for a criminal.

I encourage you to read some of the comments:

Kassim of Sydney Posted at 12:36 AM Today

So basically all the gun ban did was cost tax payers five hundred million dollars and take away the rights of the law abiding sporting shooters?

Comment 1 of 73

Mark of Newtown Posted at 12:41 AM Today

Since criminals can still get machine guns and "assault weapons" can we have our sporting rifles back now? Why did I have to hand in my guns in 1997 if the real scum still have theirs?

Comment 2 of 73

Jessica Posted at 12:51 AM Today

Just shows how misdirected John Howard was to sool the police onto law abiding clay pigeon shooters and farmers while totally disregarding criminals, drugs and violence. What is the practical use of a white elephant gun registry that treats licensed gun owners as criminals, totally forgetting that criminals don't register their guns? What a waste of taxes. Howard's gun laws and gun buy-back didn't affect criminals. No way!

Comment 3 of 73

Person sick of media bias of Brisbane Posted at 1:17 AM Today

Now do you all see its these CRIMINALS with ILLEGAL firearms that cause the problems, NOT those of us who a LICENCED firearms owners. Gun bans do nothing other then hurt those of us who already obey the law.

Comment 4 of 73

Andrew of Alyangula Posted at 1:43 AM Today

There must be some mistake. Jackboot Johnny assured us that his proudest moment was banning all those nasty scarey guns. I guess someone forgot to tell the criminal element. Can I have my sporters back now too please?

Comment 5 of 73

Frank of Gold Coast Posted at 1:50 AM Today

None of those firearms are even legal in Australia, they were banned in 1997 by Howard since they were military style semi-automatic rifles, the types used in Port Arthur. How did these idiots get their guns if they were banned and destroyed? Looks like the gun ban didn't work.

Comment 6 of 73

Dan davis Posted at 1:54 AM Today

The best thing about this story is the expensive cost of these guns. If you buy any of these guns in America , they woul cost one tenth the price. If you ask me that is a victory against criminal firearm possession.

Comment 7 of 73

Stephen Posted at 2:13 AM Today

Good to see that the gun buy back of 1996 got all those weapons off the street. The hundreds of millions of tax payer dollars were well spent....

Comment 8 of 73

Ken Vetter Posted at 2:34 AM Today

Crims can buy very dangerous guns to rob and murder inocent Australians now The Australian government has a very real obligation responsibility and duty of care to protect the citizen that they made vunerable since 1997 How about taking responsibility for your thoughtless action Aus government

Comment 9 of 73

Nick from America Posted at 3:37 AM Today

This just goes to show what banning things does. A Glock handgun is a few hundred dollars in America. I don't even know anyone who owns a Mauser. $18,000 here would buy a machine gun, the license to own it, and a vehicle to mount it on. If you take away the ban, and allow legitimate businesses (and SOME government oversight) into the industry again, the prices would drop, gun-runners would go out of business, law-abiding citizens could have sporting and self-defense weapons in their homes again, and everyone wins.

Comment 10 of 73

Les Gardner of Wollondilly Posted at 4:31 AM Today

Good to see the police service actually engaged in stopping criminal activity. Their time is wasted on gun safe inspections of registered firerams owners - they are better off engaged in protecting the citizens of NSW by targetting criminal activity. Just goes to show Howards $500 million buyback of 1996 was wasted taxpayers money.
Les

Comment 11 of 73

terry Posted at 5:20 AM Today

This shows the fault of gun laws in Australia ,Switzerland is a typical example ,everyone was armed by the gov ,they have very little crime and almost no gun crime at all and they have a standing army of every citizen 20 million and bunkers .

Comment 12 of 73

Steve of Woy Woy Posted at 5:32 AM Today

Your not saying Howard did it to be popular are you?... go wash your mouth out with soap he did it for the greater good.....

Comment 13 of 73

Bill of Punchbowl Posted at 6:25 AM Today

Go's to show that even if we ban everything these creeps will still go on doing business!
Remember that " If you ban something you loose control of it, and you move from administration to policeing..."

Comment 14 of 73

Matthew from Parramatta Posted at 6:33 AM Today

To all the people claiming that gun laws lead to the criminals being the only ones with guns. Have you ever wondered where these "illegal" guns came from in the first place? Legal gun ownership just gives a reason for guns to exist in society in the first place. These underground guns were no doubt once owned legally by someone who for whatever reason couldn't keep them securely. The law needs to be tougher on people who possess guns without a license and it should be impossible to get a license if you don't have a real need for a gun.

Comment 15 of 73

Realist of Melbourne Posted at 6:47 AM Today

So I will be getting my guns back with an apology then ?

Comment 16 of 73

Abdallah Faraj Posted at 6:47 AM Today

More to the problem is how did this amount of weapons get into the country? I think that just like drugs this is only the tip of the iceberg. The real criminals are the ones who have and these guys are just the sacrificial lambs.

Comment 17 of 73

Ziggy of Sydney Posted at 7:02 AM Today

Gun crimes have skyrocketed since the stupid knee-jerk reaction to ban firearms after the Port Arthur massacre. Now only criminals have guns because they don't care about the law anyway. Honest citizens do comply with the law and since that knee-jerk banning of guns, they have absolutely nothing with which to protect themselves. For instance, very few criminals will attempt a home invasion if they know that they run the very real risk of being shot. But now, criminals are on the rampage with firearms because they know that honest people are defenceless and hence gun crime is more prevalent than ever before. How really stupid our society has become.

Comment 18 of 73

wake up Posted at 7:10 AM Today

ALL guns should be prohibited in Australia-we should be a society that does not need to use guns.

Comment 19 of 73

Ed Wennink of Brisbane Posted at 7:12 AM Today

John Howard's gun laws cost millions of dollars to implement, are still costing millions to maintain, including the registries,and are blithely ignored by criminals!
The public are largely disarmed and helpless, while gangsters on the streets are packing submachine guns?
We need our legal right to gun ownership restored!

Comment 20 of 73

Les from Earlwood Posted at 7:14 AM Today

Tip of the iceberg.

Comment 21 of 73

John of Taralga Posted at 7:22 AM Today

If the public were serious about helping stamp out crime in this country, there would be more information about illegal activities than the Police could handle and the courts and goals would be overflowing. While this was an eyeopener into gun running it was but a small section of what is available! So come on Joe Public. GET BEHIND YOUR POLICE!

Comment 22 of 73

Mountaingoat of Warrimoo Posted at 7:27 AM Today

Lucky they weren't speeding, they could have got into real trouble!

Comment 23 of 73

Kev from the bush Posted at 7:44 AM Today

My only hope for the older military weapons from WW2 is that they end up in the Australian War Museum for showing and not destroyed as these are part of Australia's war history.
So much for Jackboot Johnny's $5000,000,000 gun buy back that has done nothing except victimise legal gun owners who have to bend over backwards to prove ownership and has done absolutely nothing to curb crime contrary to what the anti gun crowd keeping harping on about.I recently had my gun safe and gun inspection by the Police and they didn't even have 2 guns that I'd bought just recently on their list even though I've got the paper work from the Firearms Registry to prove it.The Policeman's reply was that the list he had was a couple of years old so that proves that the gun registry is way outdated and a waste of money.
Canada is trying to get rid of their registry as it's been proven that it doesn't work.
Gun crime has been on a downward slide BEFORE the 1996 stealback so it makes the lies of the anti-gun crowd even worse.

Comment 24 of 73

Time to get real of NSW Posted at 7:44 AM Today

The waste of money that is called the NSW Firearms Registry would be better spend on employing more pro-active police to hunt down the crims who deal in illigal firearms, rather than wasting it harrassing Legal firearms owners.
I also want my sporting semi-autos back from Jackboot Johnny the lying gun thief

Comment 25 of 73

Flavius Sabinus of Sydney Posted at 7:47 AM Today

The three gun runners didn't care who was buying their lethal weapons or what they were going to do with them, just as the gun manufacturers dont care, so long as they get the money.

Comment 26 of 73

Gavin of www.asho.com.au Posted at 7:49 AM Today

Gun laws on law abiding firearms owners have no affect as is proven right here, a huge supply of illegal guns.
When you make something illegal only the criminals have it and the criminals are the "don't cares" or "out for violence" sectors of society.
Law Abiding Firearms Owners (LAFO's) even that balance by having the same guns when not made illegal and can even make criminals scared as all crap to pull a gun in a crime if LAFO's are licensed for cocealed carry.
Laws have one affect and one affect only. They restrict the law abiding citizen and they give ADVANTAGE to the criminals because they are going to break the law anyway.
Big lesson in gun control and other "controls" in Australia.

Comment 27 of 73

The raccoon of Bathurts Posted at 7:56 AM Today

Lift the gun bans or only the criminals will have guns and where does that leave us.?

Comment 28 of 73

Peter Kara of Hurstville Posted at 8:04 AM Today

You guys for real??????
More needs to be done on the illegal market, however howards ban stopped us from turning out like america has with there guns, the weapons are not needed so get over it !

Comment 29 of 73

Mr. H. of Parramatta Posted at 8:04 AM Today

Lets All Celebrate!! Happy Go Lucky Australia!! It looks like these Gun Runners are getting these guns into Australia through the front door.

Comment 30 of 73

Jack of Picnic Point Posted at 8:08 AM Today

This shows how out of control the gun trade is in New South Wales. Gun buy backs and amnesties have done nothing. The recent drive by shootings in western Sydney prove that the criminals are running this state - not the police. This story should make people very scared - gun crime is rife.

Comment 31 of 73

luke Whitington of florence, italy Posted at 8:12 AM Today

guns shoot their owners eventually, in the foot first.

Comment 32 of 73

David of Callala Bay Posted at 8:14 AM Today

People saying only illegal guns are involved in deaths are propagating a myth. Check the statistics. Previously legal guns, stolen, are involved in murders. Also check out the change in suicide rates once a gun isn't available in the house when the depressed person gets drunk and thinks to end it all.

Comment 33 of 73

Gunman Posted at 8:14 AM Today

Less effort regulating and supervising the genuine shooter means more time and manhours can be spent on removing illegal firearms and those who sell them from the community. Four Billion and machine guns are still being sold!!! Through I was happy that the Australian public paid me two and three times the value of my handguns.

Comment 34 of 73

Jason of Sydney Posted at 8:16 AM Today

This is proof gun laws are a major FARSE!!!! I mean we have anti tank guns on the street with these illegal gun traders... and they are worried about banning pump action shot gun....
what a joke

Comment 35 of 73

The Professor of Keysborough Posted at 8:18 AM Today

Jail is not enough for these criminals; part of the rehabilitation should be a lobotomy that wipes their hard drive and starts them on a new path upon release.

Comment 36 of 73

Chris of Sydney Posted at 8:20 AM Today

Banning guns was never a waste of taxpayers money. Only stupid people would say that it's only the illegal guns that are a danger. Might as well make heroin, ecstasy and cocaine legal. Then they won't be a danger to anyone! I'm glad we had someone like John Howard to stand up and do the right thing, even though it was terribly unpopular with the rednecks and squirrel hunters out there. We don't need guns for play and the farmers get to register theirs. No one is taking their guns away.

Comment 37 of 73

Alex of QLD Posted at 8:23 AM Today

@the above comments: there are more important things in life than guns fellas, don't get too riled up - also, the less guns circulating the better. You only have to look to the United States to see how 'guns for all' turned out; if I'm approached late at night by threatening individuals, no way do I fear of being shot - a much different reality in the US.

Comment 38 of 73

eddie ross of sydney Posted at 8:29 AM Today

Ridiculously short prison terms for these guilty gun runners. The government must introduce mandatory sentencing, five years for anybody caught with an illegal weapon.

Comment 39 of 73

A cat of Not a cat Posted at 8:30 AM Today

Guns dont kill people, people kill people.

Comment 40 of 73

Gloucestre Posted at 8:32 AM Today

Once again we see it is criminals breaking the law in regards to guns, should be obvious shouldn't it? The trouble is that the Government wants to turn law-abiding gun owners into criminals by constantly changing or 'revising' the laws which govern our sport. It has been demonstrated with real research both in Australia and overseas that gun control doesn't work, it only increases the number of criminals by trapping the law abiding by complicated and illogical laws. The only other effect of gun control is to increase the confidence of criminals who know that they are very unlikely to meet armed resistance to their crimes.
We need to take our lead from smart countries such as Canada and NZ who have realized that registries are a failed and very expensive experiment and stop following Nanny States such as the UK as this will lead to economic and social ruin.

Comment 41 of 73

Amused of NSW Posted at 8:34 AM Today

To all those yelling about Mr Howards gun laws. Remember one thing, at the time, there were just as many murders by 'law abiding' gun owners as there was at the street level. And many of those at street level were committed using 'lawful' but stolen firearms. But I suppose you will not look past the end of your noses on this! There are laws about thousands of items but you can still get them, it is arrogant to think firearms will be any different, no matter how effective the laws are.

Comment 42 of 73

harry vanSon of wagga wagga Posted at 8:36 AM Today

Yes I want my GUNS back especially with the the amount of illegal gun use against the public. Now more than ever, while Julia lets scumbags into the country, we need to be able to defend ourselves!.

Comment 43 of 73

Fed Up of NSW Posted at 8:45 AM Today

Apparently the $500 million spent on gun buybacks, compulsory registration and law-making has worked a treat huh? What a joke our countries firearms laws are! Law-Abiding citizens can't own guns for self defense, yet these people (and many, many others) have been getting away with this for years. The Police are so tied up with doing random checks on licenced gun owners safes that they can't possibly be out catching the real crooks. It even took a tip-off for them to catch this lot....

Comment 44 of 73

proud ex shooter Posted at 8:48 AM Today

Thanks to Gun laws im sure there would be a lot more of these weapons in the hands of crims, never liked John Howard however for the safety of the community this was the best legislation he enacted.

Comment 45 of 73

Ray of Sydney Posted at 8:57 AM Today

So baddies can easily buy guns but good guys can't. C'mon. An unarmed person is a subject, an armed person is a citizen!

Comment 46 of 73

Matt of richmond Posted at 8:58 AM Today

How much proof does the public need to understand that criminals dont hand in their guns! Operations like this are the key to stopping this type of stuff. John howard should of focused on this instead of wasting millions of dollars on a buyback that didnt work.

Comment 47 of 73

Leslie of the parking lot Posted at 8:59 AM Today

Can someone please explain why farmers and sporting shooters have to jump through the hoops while crims can have what ever guns they like? No licences, no permits, no safe storage inspections, no worries.
What a joke.

Comment 48 of 73

HIM Posted at 9:00 AM Today

"Dionys got a minimum sentence of 10 years and six months, Kafizas five years and Zarakas eight years."
What the hell is with that?
Gun smugglers get 10 years when drug dealers get way more.
Yes drug dealers should be punished severaly because drugs can do serious damage to people but most of these guns are designed to do nothing except do damage to people.
That is crazy.
As to whinging gun owners complaining about the stricter gun laws, I loved that piece of legfislation.
Crazy people kill people, but crazy people with guns kill lots of people.
If a tiny minority of people not being able to sport shoot with high powered rilfes means a few less deaths I am 100% ok with that.

Comment 49 of 73

walshy of nsw Posted at 9:04 AM Today

What the, how the hell did these guns get into the country in the first place and when will the Governments stop P.R shows and actually do something real about these organised gangs and rejects instead of these P.R shows. It seems that the law abiding citizens of this country and not to mention the good people of NSW get treated worse then the criminals do, well NSW is run by criminals anyway.

Comment 50 of 73

RJ of Cabramatta Posted at 9:07 AM Today

But were they licensed firearm dealers?

Comment 51 of 73

New farmer of NSW Posted at 9:18 AM Today

We are rural on 150 acres, we need a gun for pest like foxes and to protect our animals against wild dogs. It will take us over 3 months to get this license for a gun and local farmers tell us there are rigorous laws on containing the guns and inspections, all of which you and I pay for in our taxes. When did taking responsibility for ones self and family go out the window? I see reports every day about people being stabbed to death, or hit over the head and killed by large objects, what next? Ban knives in homes? Ban large heavy items? It's all about control and our government has all of it. We need to start fighting back against the continual barrage of laws taking our rights away. We spend too much time worrying about who will win idol, and not protecting our own rights and that of our children. The biggest gun runners in this world are the U.S government. And don't forget the guns given to the U.S and our soldiers to protect the poppy fields in Afganistan so the CIA can transport back to the U.S to sell. And I have problems getting a gun to shot rabbit!

Comment 52 of 73

jimmy the westy of sydneys west Posted at 9:18 AM Today

hahaha just under the link to this page is "pistol wielding bandits rob club"
is that a coincidence or irony?
im just a dumb licensed gun owner hahaha
i guess the jokes on me

Comment 53 of 73

Steve R of Sydney Posted at 9:25 AM Today

Tip of the iceberg

Comment 54 of 73

Huskies Posted at 9:26 AM Today

Another example of the fact that the gun laws give "favourable" treatment for the criminals while discriminating law-abiding citizens. The criminals have been arming themselves to the teeth while the law-abiding citizens are stripped bare. It's time for the laws to enable law-abiding citizens defend themselves against the armed criminals. Maybe the Americans are not so dumb after all despite the vilification we often hear from the media.

Comment 55 of 73

Steve Posted at 9:37 AM Today

Once again its shown that those who have no regard for the law are not ones to follow it. Licenced shooters are not allowed to own machine guns, yet we are constantly being forced to pay for the crimes commited by those who choose to have illegal firearms. Licenced shooters dont shoot people, we dont sell guns to ciminals, we dont sell guns to bikies or use them to rob banks.
It's time to take a hard look at the sentences handed out to people caught with illegal guns, give them 10 or 15 years on the bottom, thats what a licenced shooter would get if they were to act in this manner.

Comment 56 of 73

anon of Blue Mountains Posted at 9:37 AM Today

Might be an idea to chuck out all the soft %^%^%&^ Magistrates and bring in some Hard Judges and anyone that is caught with an illegal gun gets to go to jail for every crime committed by that gun that would be a major deterent.

Comment 57 of 73

handsomerob of robert,brown@bisindustrial.com Posted at 9:38 AM Today

this is just great, as a licensed firearms owner i have to fight hard to get even the most basic of guns and all the crims need is a pocket full of cash and they can get firearms that have never ever been legal to own in australia. great effort on the gun buy back, what did that cost the australian tax payer?

Comment 58 of 73

Scott of NSW Posted at 9:43 AM Today

You've got to laugh really. Police seize 109 firearms and they're patting themselves on the back. The buyback pulled in around 650,000 guns total, but importers admit that millions of semi-auto firearms have been imported over the last 50 years. So, by my count there's still hundreds of thousands, if not millions of illegal guns out there. It shows how ridiculous our gun laws are. It's pretty simply really, criminals don't register their guns, and by banning so many types of firearms John Howard made a lot of people criminals.

Comment 59 of 73

Trigger Happy for a Safer Society of Sydney Posted at 9:44 AM Today

If you choose to live by the (illegal) Gun, then also be prepared to die by the Gun. That is, once you're caught by Law, you should then be put before a firing squad. That would send a very clear message to any potential gun slinger and runner. Granted, we don't have capital punishment in this country, but the next best thing is a minimum of 10 years in jail, without parole and without exception. But the problem is that we live in this increasingly lawless society run by the bleeding heart and profit at any cost brigades, and I can't see common sense law coming into effect anytime soon.

Comment 60 of 73

THE CURIOUS OBSERVER of CHERRYBROOK Posted at 9:59 AM Today

the one good thing Howard did was to restrict gun use....its obvious that he didnt go far enough.

Comment 61 of 73

Johnno somewhere in Paradise of Qld Posted at 10:10 AM Today

So what your saying is if you can't get a Gun licence, you can still get a gun...
How many of these guns were destroyed in the Gun buyback..?Surely they weren't smuggled through the border.. Not with ACBPS on the job,or do they let some through for part of the proceeds...Where the hell do you get a MP5 from I thought only the Police and Military had them..surely not Corruption in the forces..
Was any of the Glocks the ones that went missing from Bankstown Police station about 10 yrs ago?

Comment 62 of 73

Kurly of Narrabeen Posted at 10:10 AM Today

Well done to the NSW Police Force.

Comment 63 of 73

John J of USA Posted at 10:11 AM Today

as they say only the law abiding follow the law

Comment 64 of 73

Jethro of Canberra Posted at 10:23 AM Today

Onya, Johny H: I see the little .22 takedown Browning semi auto you took from me, and my father's Beretta 12-gauge pump he'd owned for forty years have been sacrifices worth making. It's been said before, laws only affect the law abiding. As for this scum, they're clearly well on the way to getting a suspended sentence, maybe even weekend detention. That'll show the bastards...

Comment 65 of 73

Macquarie Jack Posted at 10:36 AM Today

A very senior judge told me one day, "In this world, 10% of people are totally honest, and 10% of people are totally dishonest. And the other 80% of people would be dishonest if they got the chance." We simply have to accept that there will be a good proportion of people in our community who are totally dishonest. The Police are doing their best. Without them, our society would disintegrate.

Comment 66 of 73

Tired Camel of Sydney Posted at 10:43 AM Today

Always thought the gun laws were to stop another Port Arthur - criminals will always circumvent the laws, hence they're called criminals. Keep the laws in place, too many have died for that to change.

Comment 67 of 73

Adel Azzar of Ashfield Posted at 10:47 AM Today

Thanks to former premier Unsworth and all the firearm haters, the law abiding hobby shooters and hunters in this country were turned into overnight criminals. These people now have to go through countless hoops to follow their sport while filling the coffers of treasury through exhorbitant fees and to support the related bureaucracy. The end result has been that the psychos and crims can still obtain guns illegally while the majority of law abiding shooters are hit for a six! Are there more shootings now than 20 yrs ago? You bet!

Comment 68 of 73

Maximus of Illawarra Posted at 10:51 AM Today

Well done to the cops on this one. They cop a lot of flak by people for not going after real "crooks" - well looks like today they did.

Comment 69 of 73

Gaston Oldigs Posted at 10:57 AM Today

What pathetic sentences. they will probably continue running their empires from prison and be out in three years to continue hands on management. Crime really does pay, but well done the police in catching them and shame on the judicial system.

Comment 70 of 73

Ron of Sydney Posted at 11:00 AM Today

And how much tax payers money did we hand over in the gun buy back? Somewhere near $ 300m. That could have built hospitals and paid nurses what they should be paid.
I handed back pistols and rifles, but I see that you can quite easily obtain machine guns etc if you know the right (ie bad) people.
Its great that the Police have caught these scum bags. Now you have to continue to hunt down illegal gun traders.
There are a lot more "Don Corleones" out there, generally riding Harley's with ridiculous insignia on their backs.

Comment 71 of 73

Well_done_Guys of Sydney Posted at 11:04 AM Today

Proud of the NWS Police Force..Hit em where it hurts the most...
and Hit em Hard..

Comment 72 of 73

dave of Sydney Posted at 11:12 AM Today

People if your smart enough you'll realise how stupid the police force and the govt really are. Put it this way. What good is a gun law when criminals by nature don't follow law in the first place? All it does is make the law abiders more vulnerable to attack.

Comment 73 of 73

Wednesday 17 November 2010

the rule of law

This seems to be a part time thing here in Australia. Certainly it is applied in ways which raise questions in the mind of anyone rational.

Take for instance this case of a well heeled driver (in a Ferrari) who crosses double white lines and causes grievous harm to a motorcycle rider:

Mr Hosemans' vertebrae, sternum and right femur were fractured and he suffered a collapsed lung and ruptured bowel.

He was rushed to The Alfred hospital where he was put into an induced coma while doctors tried to flush out the toxins flowing through his bloodstream from his ruptured bowel.
"My kids came in, saw me hooked up to all the machines and were told there was no certainty I going to make it," he said.

With the driver of the Ferrari gets to make no apology to the rider, does not loose his licence and is otherwise unpunished

sound fair?

Now if it had been some lowly citizen hitting a Ferrari I bet it would not be like this

Tuesday 9 November 2010

Police as bullies

One of the things in Australia I don't get is why the people put up with the fact that many police are just bullies. Some go further than this and are plainly something else (as the cowardly shooting of a fellow armed with a butter knife in Armidale NSW demonstrates)

This morning on ABC radio I heard yet another reminder that Police are still following old habbits in Gold Coast.

A listener wrote in to report that he had been given a ticket for failing to stop at a red light while he was walking his bicycle across a pedestrian crossing. Further he was given a note reportedly saying "Happy Halloweeen" and warning him to "Don't consider taking this to court as there were three of us in the car".

While talking about this issue in the office one of my co-workers brought up this item, where Police forced a kid to let his tyres down and walk home for riding without a helmet.

The police response to this was:

Queensland police said officers used their discretion to deal with the situation in the manner they thought was most appropriate.

'By taking this course of action, rather than issuing an infringement notice and $100 penalty, they avoided a repetition of the offence, and possible injury to the juvenile,' police said in a statement.

classic ... so they have such pathetic imaginations that they could not consider any other options? Such as dropping him home to his parents house and cautioning him before his parents?

Instead they essentially stranded him.

I suppose they didn't beat him up, as happened on the Gold Coast back in the 90's ... so things are improving ...

Despite multiple investigations into Police behavior and (probably) a majority of Police doing the right thing, this soft of mess happens way way too often. The senior responsible people need to realise that public confidence in the Police is essential to our society. Police themselves are the only people who can instill this and maintain it.

This trust and confidence must be built and must be built on truth and openness ... not just propaganda campaigns.

Thursday 21 October 2010

privatization (for fun and profit)

I was reading this morning on The Australian that power company profits are on the rise. While at the same time charges are going up.

Its good that public utilities which provide an "essential service" are able to make a profit, but if that is not being turned back into maintaining and developing the infrastructure for the community benefit then are they the right organisation to be entrusted with the operation of something which is regarded as an essential service?

Privatization is often cited as bringing a more competitive edge to the market, while the reality of the UK and USA experience has been that the companies involved just run the systems down to the ground (while making a profit) and the tab has to then be picked up by the public purse.

I wonder how far it will go before enough Australians are enraged by this?

Friday 24 September 2010

if the hat fits

I was stunned recently to hear objections by the Police that members of the Yuendumu had fled the violence there "in the midst of a police investigation".

WTF?

Since when to police have the right to tell you to stay in a location where you're personal safety is threatened?

In fact since when does anyone in Australia have the right to tell other Australians that they can't move from one town to another? I don't recall a state of martial law being imposed (in which case it would be the army making the calls, not the police).

The only viewpoint which this sort of statement can fit into is one where all of the indigenous people should be rounded up and kept on reservations.

So the police just expected them to stay where they are supposed to stay and remain in a place which is in the midst of a violent clash? Can anyone imagine the outrage if white people had been fleeing some sort of similar terror and the police had said the same things?

Clearly the old colonial ways are still at work.

I had better be careful what I say, as it seems that even a Magistrate can't buck this informal (and probably denied) system and not be punished for it.

The old colonialism seems to be alive and well in Australia

Tuesday 14 September 2010

more gun madness

The government in Australia loves to ban things own things and restrict things. Despite having strong firearms laws we seem to classify things which are toys as firearms. And as if its not bad enough now, it seems in Queensland that even a kids toy will now carry a firearms ... read here

Particularly the bit: "Failure to license an imitation weapon will carry a maximum $4500 fine under the proposals and incorrect storage carries a penalty of $750."

Read more: here.

I'm starting to wonder if this is because so few Australians can actually discuss issues rationally that the Government can essentially do what it wants. Heck, next they'll sell off the railways ... but wait.... they are

Monday 13 September 2010

guns and cops

Australia has after the late 1990's adopted one of the most strict gun control laws in the world. It has not however done much to restrict the access to guns among the criminal world. While many would argue that its a good thing to make guns illegal there are many who argue the other way and say that it strips people of the ability to defend themselves.

Irrespective of this it is clear that it lowers the level of comprehension of these things in the community. Perhaps this also allows the police to be able to get away with more because they're the only (non military) ones authorized to use them.

One of the regrettable outcomes of this is that the Police seem to have less training and less scrutiny on how to use their guns.

The recent tragic shooting by a police officer in a (clearly bungled) drug raid in Sydney is a case in point. Initial reports of this indicated that the police officer had been shot by a criminal. There was much vehemence and anger invoked by this including many calls for mandatory harsh sentences for anyone "killing a cop"

Ultimately it would seem that he was gunned down by one of his own.

It does not take much searching to find story after story in the newspapers of police shooting people whom are later described as being simply mentally ill.

Its strange that in England (until recently) and in many European and Scandinavian countries that Police using firearms was taken very seriously. Reports and public investigations surround the police using such force.

One view is that we've become infected with the USA mentality of TV cop shows depicting firefights with the bad guys (using automatic weapons and assault rifles) being "taken out" by the policeman with his Glok

right ... folks that's fiction

If we can't tolerate people having access to guns personally then we should not tolerate police using them without excellent and proper training.

To return to that article above, I agree; it is not the fault of the policeman who shot his mate that his mate is dead. It is the fault of a system which does not properly train their forces.

My heart goes out to the copper who shot his mate, he must feel like dirt. But its not entirely his fault as much as it is the system.

The Police force in Australia has to overcome his colonial heritage and start being appropriate to a modern society. I recommend they send their police to Finland or perhaps Sweden to see how things are done over in a non colonial world.

Friday 3 September 2010

A Government that acts as an Autocrat not as Public Servants

Australia seems to continue to show its autocratic genetic stamp well after we have been independent. For example the ATO seems to be more and more harassing as time goes by. It seems to be acting more like stingy tax collectors from a medieval and prehistoric past where taxes were levied on the land as the autocrats spending got out of control. Looking around we see complexity in taxation to the point where even the well meaning can't be sure.

In a recent case I see a business pushed to the edge of oblivion over taxes which they paid in good faith. As the legal representative said at the end of the case:

Mr Robertson declined to comment yesterday. But lawyer Grace Collier, employed as a consultant by Pop Art, asked, "What if Colin had just coughed up the $700,000 instead of fighting the issue?

"How many other businesses have paid money when they perhaps shouldn't have. Anecdotal evidence indicates that a vast amount of inspectors are ex-union officials.

"How do we know that these people are not using their powers to simply choose the most expensive award, like it appears happened with Pop Art, to get the best result for complainants?

"All this comes back to the injustice of the situation," she said.

"If the Ombudsman can form an opinion to prosecute, why can they not form an opinion to tell employers what their obligations are?"

What hope do ordinary people have?

I guess you should ask Paul Hogan

Thursday 17 June 2010

the skills shortage and protectionism

one of the areas which seems to attract attention is the myth of the skills shortage. If there was indeed any such thing it would not be difficult for an able bodied intelligent and educated person to find a job.

I wonder why it is then that so many are unemployed while at the same time industry cries that there are no skilled workers??

Well ... perhaps the problem is that all things conspire to create the problem.

Lets take for example the electrical industry. Here we have a nicely protected little enclave which requires that you start on the long and winding path as an apprentice. There are it seems few (if any) pathways for starting as an adult (say you wished to change careers?)

From this source:

Starting out as an apprentice electrician, after paying your rent and bills, you'll have enough money left over for a can of beans and a stick of gum. Well, perhaps we're exaggerating a little, but doing your time as an apprentice on low wages will actually put you in good stead later on in life.

How much does an apprentice electrician earn?

Electrician apprenticeships in Queensland work on the following pay scales (all figures are full time weekly rates before tax):

1st Year - $281.52
2nd Year - $387.04
3rd Year - $527.80
4th Year - $632.79

it might be ok for a younger kid still living with mum and dad, but at least the first two years is essentially so low as to make it more or less impossible for anyone like an adult (with kids) to go over that way. Then there is the issue of finding places which will take an apprentice...

Even if you wanted to get into the simple stuff like:

attaching leads to stuff,
fitting electrical plugs
fitting electrical power points

you will need a restricted electrical license, which means you have to do a course like this one. Which of course requires you are either a trades person or already have a job doing that (which you could not get without having a license).

Ever read Catch 22? Milo Minderbinder could not have come up with better rules.

So it seems that with this sort of catch 22 "protecting the industry" rather than allow Australians who want to find work to train into that area we'd rather get "pre trained" people in from China to fill the jobs ... probably because they can be exploited better.

While it seems we need electrical workers (among others) the rules in place makes it difficult for anyone to get into the industry and seems to bias it to younger people only. I guess there is still an assumption that training is only for young people.

so what then is the purpose of adult education? go figga

Now I know that electricity is dangerous stuff, but really, how much training does it take to change a light plug?

Tuesday 6 April 2010

the rum rebellion: a lesson from history for politics today

Australian Colonial history is interesting stuff to study; not that I'm any great expert on it. One of the interesting points of history is the Rum Rebellion.

During this period Bligh (essentially the Government of New South Wales) was in conflict with a major "businessman" at the time John Macarthur.

It seems that John was really representing his own interests and there were quite a many of the population at the time who felt that he did not represent their interests. Accordingly there was a petition to the government of the New South Wales colony.

Complaints included that Mr Macarthur was withholding sheep to drive up prices of mutton; essentially misusing his position to his own profit.

Today we have another problem, with striking similarity to this past issue. The people of Australia are so overwhelmingly against the immigration / refugee shopping situation that both the government and the opposition are posturing to take advantage of this voting group.

We are increasingly a target for assylum shoppers that news media can regularly describe how rief the people smuggling is in our neighboring nations that they can even quote the regular spotters fees.

The people-smuggling trade through Jakarta has become such big business that spotter's fees of up to $540 a person are being offered for getting asylum-seekers on to boats headed for Australia.

And with a range of smuggling networks operating to ferry asylum-seekers through the archipelago after they have fled Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the "brokers" offering their services are thick on the ground. The flow of refugees making the perilous crossing to Christmas Island from points on Java's southern coastline is also being accelerated by the fact successful arrivals are immediately telephoning friends and relatives remaining in Jakarta and nearby, urging that they follow "while the gates are still open", one asylum-seeker told The Australian.

Mean time the Business Council is horrified that the government reaction to our democratic wishes may have some disturbance in their drive down of labor prices.

THE Coalition's plan to cut immigration numbers has thrown it on to a collision course with major business groups, which say they will fight the policy over fears it could threaten Australia's productivity.

Despite unemployment numbers still requiring fiddling (such as "you're not unemployed, you're on a course") and the difficulty of anyone over the age of 50 even with skills in getting a job.

According to one "talking head"

"We would be disappointed if they cut immigration to levels below the average of the last 40 years . . . We would face skills shortages, it would put pressure on the rest of the population and lead to higher taxes."

Skills shortage? ... as some other commenter on my previous article on denying the skills shortage exists; the only shortage is of labour willing to work at the price they are willing to pay. Even then I doubt it, because looking at the numbers of skilled unemployed looking for work I'm sure they'd work for less.

Mr Bradley said the BCA had consistently advocated strong planned population growth including immigration. "You've only got to go to states like Western Australia to see the desperate need for additional skills in our economy to take full advantage of our natural resources and the development that we can build on the back of that," Mr Bradley said.

Oh, so Western Australia is suffering from a skills shortage. With something like 5% unemployment it sounds hard to believe.

Sounds to me like another instance of Colonial Business practices.

When are the Australian people going to put their feet down on this sort of stuff and realise that when Business shoves Government around, that its bullying them too.

Now the last thing I want in Australia is some sort of soviet like social state; but shouldn't we at least try to put Australians in jobs before we start pulling in "educated" people from nations which don't even share our view of right and wrong; who don't even want to adapt to Australia.

Business today is perhaps even more soulless than people like Macarthur ... they are companies, so they don't even have a mother to sell.

PostScriptum

I read today that the gutless wonders of the opposition have backed away from the representation of the people with the above growl from the BCA

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says his comments about cutting the country's migrant intake to curb population growth do not reflect official Coalition policy.

looks like they already know that the BCA really calls the shots.

So, is it that the ALP follows tune of Unions and the Liberal / National Coalition follow the BCA?

Sounds like a scene from the movie Kangaroo

Wednesday 31 March 2010

crises and how to handle them

There is little doubt to anyone in Australia that our population is becoming an issue for us. While our (most vocal) neighbors may perhaps wonder just why this is (when looking at raw statistics) with our population being only a nudge over 20 Million.

Surely it would be possible to have more in all our space.

Well firstly I'll say maybe not and secondly I'll say why do we want to? If keeping up with the Joneses (population) gives us a neighborhood like this

then I for one don't want to live that way.

Then there is the small matter of deserts (like the Simpson) which take up a vast area of the middle of our continent.

I've marked in red on this figure the extent of desert lands in Australia.

If people could live there easily, then I guess that they'd already be doing it now ... wouldn't they?

So this leaves us with some major issues such as water and a land mass which statistically seems big but has some unfortunate facts about it which make it less livable than the environments our neighbours live in ... which of course clouds their perception of the facts.

In coping with our population problem, it would seem that the typical political response to this looming crisis is mouthed well by Anna Bligh who recently said to the effect of

"we can't stop it we can only manage it"

my words not hers, but if you read her above essay "Lets get real on population" you'll get the that picture.

Now maybe from a particular viewpoint that's true. There are other view points however.

One such viewpoint was put forward by Graham Bradley in a column in the Australian. He seems to take the view that the Australian government has had this philosophy of "grow the population" for some time, he writes:

In the early years of our nation there was strong community agreement that Australia had the potential and the need to increase its population. The idea of Australia Unlimited was embraced.[Circa 1901]

...

Later, prime minister Billy Hughes told a population of about seven million Australians in 1937 that "Australia must advance and populate, or perish".

...

The post-war years saw Australians adopt a bipartisan policy of rapid population growth supported by high immigration to enable great nation-building projects such as the Snowy scheme.

and perhaps at 7 million that may have been true. Certainly the Snowy River project was aimed at importing skilled labour.

Now however we have an interesting problem, as we seek people from anywhere and we do not wish to seem biased towards one nationality or another ... dreadfully unfashionable that right now.

A point was raised by one of the respondents to Mr Bradley (who by the way represents the Australian Business Council) that:

The BCA conveniently plays down the serious costs of high population growth - environmental degradation, water scarcity, increased pollution and congestion, and lower housing affordability - claiming that these issues can be easily managed. Yet current Federal and State Governments have failed dismally in providing for the existing population, let alone an extra 15 million citizens!

What will be the BCA's solution in 30 years time when these immigrants grow old, retire and need taxpayer support? More immigration and an Australian population of 70 million? The current population drive is nothing more than a giant ponzi scheme.

Now, if you are not familiar with what a ponzi scheme is, let me quote from Wikipedia:

The term "Ponzi scheme" is a widely known description of any scam that pays early investors returns from the investments of later investors

Of course the reason why its a scam is that the later investors (in this case our children) are always left holding the debts and depreciated values.

Wikipedia has of course multiple languages, its interesting to note the picture of Charles Ponzi in the English wikipedia article:

and in the German, Spanish, Italian and Finnish ones its this:

Looks less like a businessman in there doesn't it. There are quite a good many comments to Mr Bradley in that article, I suggest you read them and see where you sit with the.

Back to handling crises:

So, if our government is taking a Colonial holdover attitude to this problem it causes us problems in the future. We can't just exploit and grow, we need to consolidate and plan.

An interesting example of this is India.

Many suggest that England simply exploited India, that's a matter for conjecture. However what they did do is leave a great legacy of railways infrastructure.

Now that this is in the hands of the later generations (with a massive and increasing population) it is falling into disrepair because they can not afford to keep it maintained even though they need it.

You don't need to travel far in India on the railways to see stations in dreadful repair carriages which are filthy and dangerous conditions everywhere.

We are having troubles right now with our infrastructure, and it does not look like easing. Throwing more people in to the mix (to provide more taxes) will only stretch the rubber band back further. Making the snap back hurt more.

Water and power provision are but two issues facing us right now.

The current government solution to water problems in Australia is to build Desalination plants, which use huge amounts of Electricity and cost billions (of course that would be on a loan...).

When Traveston Dam, the last remaining piece of a water infrastructure package, was blocked by the federal government, Ms Bligh reluctantly proposed construction of costly desalination plants in Brisbane and on the Sunshine Coast from 2016-2020.

...

"We have a number of scenarios, and what we will do is set aside the land that is necessary for new desalination plants," Ms Bligh said, promising that the region would not be put at risk by any decision to delay the construction of the desalination plants.

take a drive to Tugun and ask any local what they think of theirs... a quick google on it will show how much of a disaster that's been ... still that's for our kids to sort out isn't it.

Well, even if they solve the water crisis with Desal plants, we are running short on power to operate them ... which of course can be fixed with spending more (of your and my) money: $100bn needed to keep power on, government warn:

The government has warned of brown-outs and national power shortages akin to the water crisis if $100 billion is not spent on generators in the next 10 years, guaranteeing steep rises in electricity bills.

Power price rises have also been linked to the cost of connecting renewable energy sources, such as wind turbines, to the national electricity grid and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said at the weekend that the investment required to avoid power rationing and increase renewable energy "can only be paid for with higher electricity prices".

interesting wording up there ... akin to the water crisis ... perhaps there's a relationship.

So ponzi scheme is starting to be a theory which fits the observable facts.

The difference between the British Colonial Government in India and us is that we don't get to pull out and leave the mess behind (as the Brits did), we (and our children) will be left holding the bag.

Getting back for a moment to the increase of population and my suggestions about preferences; I feel we have swung the pendulum the other way from the "White Australia policy days" to one where we are afraid to say "no, we don't want that" ... allowing us to not discriminate.

Discriminate is not only a dirty word (although the Apartheid era in South Africa shows it certainly can be). Do you choose when you go to the supermarket? Do you not discriminate between one brand or another, making a personal choice based on preference or information?

Applying some discrimination in processing applications for residency is actually a current practice, look at the skilled migration scheme for instance. If you were educated that was a point in your favor. Not a bad thing, but perhaps there is more needed here ... like social values.

Morris Jackson in the comments to the above article makes an interesting and valid point:

Most Australians who were born here and come from families who were here at least in the 1950s do not care where new arrivals come from. BUT they do care about their ability to support themselves without dependence on a decreasing tax base. They also expect new arrivals to understand and accept that the predominant values of Australia are based on Anglo-European liberal democratic ones.

which I think is fair. Thinking back to the Snowy River scheme we got our skilled workers from Europe.

We are told that the rules for migration to Australia are strict and include being able to support yourself and your family. If that is the case, why have we seen increasing numbers of new arrivals who need social security and healthcare cards that entitles them to free medical care while ordinary Australians get squeezed to pay for it.

I would answer his question with the suggestion that perhaps these people are comming from our commitment to refugee intakes.

I think we should have some serious public debate on this issue. If we are going to be doing this there should be agreement on it, there should be understanding of it, and the costs should be clear.

Clearly the Government by itself is doing little to address this issue, so perhaps some pressure must come from the electorate back to our pollies to let them know this is a significant agenda point for us.

I recommend at least reading this interview with Dr Katherine Betts, if not reading her book. She makes an interesting assertion is that main stream Australians have their views sidelined by the "academic set" who argue that we who are "the parochials are just primitives who can't understand the benefits of population growth."

But of course Anna Bligh is right, "The Government" can't just build barbed wire fences and "stop it" ... you can't just turn off a tap suddenly.

Further I believe we live (in Australia) in a democracy, where the Government are not our rulers like ancient Kings but the public servants of the citizens of Australia. So, we need to make clear what our will is on this issue, and set in place the actions which the Governemnt then needs to act upon. Without that it'll be like a tractor going round in the paddock with noone at the steering wheel.

The Australian Government has a history of being a poor reactive machine. Their shameful reactions to the crisis of Japanese invasion in WW2 with the "Brisbane line" was pure gutlessness.

General Douglas MacArthur subsequently claimed that the line was to run from Brisbane to Perth

They rationalized (from Brisbane no doubt) that there was nothing worth keeping up in Qld or West Australia and would have given it away.

Imagine if the Japanese had taken that, with their access to resources and land the pacific war would be changed and if they now had territorial ownership of all the mines in Queensland ... coal, bauxite ... nope, nothing worth keeping up there.

Short sighted is the polite word for that.

Solving our population and environmental management crisis of right now is something which is no less urgent and pressing for all Australians. It takes time careful planning and thought. But we need to start thinking and discussing this now.

I think that much of our policy and future directions needs to have a re-examination. If we don't we may find ourselves in a situation where we have huge debts, social disarray and increasingly degrading our environment (and yes, I mean the urban one too).

Things about Australia I don't get