Australianewsflash

We are in the hands of a Federal Government that can't seem to get things right.  With almost every bit of legislation that they hail as a wonderful way forward there is almost inevitably a glitch. Now they have rejected outright one of the best ideas for advancing the way for indigenous Australians.  From the recent Uluru gathering came the recommendation that as part of constitutional recognition of indigenous Aussies the practical way forward was to create an indigenous advisory body that the federal parliament calls upon when making legislation about indigenous affairs.  They would be like honorary members of the parliament with a very special role.  Some might even be members of parliament. I am not one for self praise but I was thrilled when this recommendation was made as about two years ago I wrote a long letter to the relevant politicians suggesting that representatives from the various Aboriginal nations be elected to create such a body.  The indig...

I need a lot of convincing of the value of question time.  It seems to regularly produce the opportunity for a Prime Minister or a senior minister to stand at the podium and do a lot of  a shouting. An MP of the governing party asks a question and the relevant Minister of that party arises to answer it and put the position of that party on the matter raised in the question.  It seems to be a constant repetition of the various policies of the governing party. It does provide the opportunity for a member of the opposition benches to ask questions of the government resulting in a relevant government MP having to clarify their policies or actions. I loathe the shouting at each other.  So unbecoming of the elected representatives of the great unwashed of Australia. I am willing to be out right on this matter by any informed reader of this post. May the Force be with our pollies to get on with the job for which they have been elected. GD

Our government continues to scramble and at the moment this is over policies to ensure a steady power supply across the country.  They have rejected the Clean Energy Target recommended recently by our very respected Chief Scientist.  In the background day after day is the ex PM Tony Abbott who was ousted by the incumbent Malcolm Turnbull yet sits on his back bench.  Tony snipes away, espousing his ultra conservative views that almost invariably run counter to what Turnbull and colleagues want to achieve.  One gets the strong feeling that the policy settings of the conservative Turnbull and Co are watered down from what they really want in order to appease Abbott and his few ultra conservative MP supporters. We the great unwashed have just about had enough of it and long for a strong PM who along with his colleagues acts boldly. May the Force be with our PM! GD