Pauline (Bjelkie, Donald, Nigel) Hanson

As has happened around the world, Australia is dangerously close to a swing to the extremist far right, with our political party One Nation. The party is led by Pauline Hanson who has been in and out of politics for decades, with little success. Her fame first rose in the 1990s and put fear into recent immigrants as she gave permission for racist views to be expressed.

One would think that with her long time political partner and sorter of everything, James Ashby, that she would be pro gay rights and gay marriage, but no. 

Her views are very Trump like, pretty well anti everything about progressive society, along with being anti renewable energy. 'Build more coal fired power stations', she cries. "Let's look at nuclear energy".

Her speech at the National Press Club was very revealing. Let's have a look at what Hanson's policies are and could be implemented if she was in a position of power if her extremist party should have enough members elected to influence government policy.

Our multicultural society must become a monocultural society. The ship has sailed on that one, honey.

As she stated in her speech, Australian must reduce immigration, and the party has now released a policy that would see more people leaving Australia than arriving to Australia. That's a decrease in our population. To those with simple thinking may think this is a good idea. Instead think, geez, there will be no one to wipe our arses in our old age care homes. 

Before any public event speech, there will be a welcome to country, often performed by an elder of our Aboriginals, but not always. Some can be too long in my opinion, but she will ban the Welcome to Country speeches. 

She will shut down our multicultural tv broadcaster SBS, and make our ABC national media broadcaster subscription only for metropolitan users, but still free for country consumers of  ABC. Ah, she does not know how pro our public media ABC supporters can come out in force when our treasured ABC is in danger. 

She stated only late term abortions were acceptable, if the mother's life was in danger. Back to the mid twentieth century with dangerous backyard abortions for the poor, and richer women having obliging and expensive doctors.

It seems she thinks Australian workers have too many rights, are lazy, don't come to work, spend too much time on their phones and don't deserve pay rises. Bosses can't sack workers (they can't unfairly sack workers. There is a process). She wants a complete overhaul of industrial relations, no doubt to the disadvantage of average workers. 

In there 1990s the fish and chip business owner's cry was, we are being swamped by Asians. She was then gaoled for electoral fraud and dishonestly obtaining electoral funding  Now her cry is we are being swamped by Muslims. My old school racist mother's favourite nurse was Muslim. 

Australia's richest woman, the execrable Gina Reinhart, bought Pauline a rather smart aeroplane, and the party headquarters will move into a building owed by Reinhart. Reinhart has also donated $$$ to the party. She made her money by building on her father's mining business, plus other ventures. Do you think Reinhart won't want payback should Hanson be in a position of power? Reinhart is revving up to mine more of the Amazon.   

Then her party brought in a former conservative politician, Barnaby Joyce. He was interviewed here a  couple of weeks by a respected ABC Melbourne radio broadcaster, and his incoherent blustering was unbelievable. He is an old bloke who not so long ago ended up falling down and staying down on the footpath when very drunk in Canberra, our national capital city. 

The finances of Pauline's party, One Nation, seem very obscure and I would not be surprised if it is later discovered that there has been some illegal funny business going on.

I conclude with is god help us if Hanson's One Nation party wins enough votes to be in any kind of position of influence in my state and in Australia.  

Blotting your copybook

In the 1980s Aboriginal Australian Rules footballers were often taunted with racist comments when playing on the field. Woe betide you if you do that now. You will be found by guards and cctv at paid grounds, and you will be piled on by social media, and banned from football venues.

In that time Aboriginal player Nicky Winmar made a stand and pulled up his player jumper and pointed to his dark skin.  The photo is a classic, and I read it as 'I am a black Australian Aborigine and I play football really well. This is the colour of my skin, and youse can all get fucked".

He went on me win many accolades and honours. 

How horrible it has been to learn he has been convicted of three cases of assault against women. His name has quickly been removed from the AFL Hall of Fame. Two statues of him have been taken down. 

It is so awful that a hero to many has been taken down but it is deserved. We don't use racial abuse anymore, nor do we abuse women. 

It seems Nicky, you blotted your copy book beyond redemption. So sad, you stupid dickhead.

The cult of celebrity

As I observe from afar:

It is funny that all I can remember about former PM John Major is that he tucked his shirt tails into his underwear. Former English PM Boris Johnston had lots of charisma, until he became too absurd and too broken. He had taken over from the rather dull May, solid and dependable but hardly exciting. Former PM Cameron dressed smartly and had something about him, rather like former PM Blair.  Nowt to say about the Truss disaster. The exotic Sunak was not a rich old white bloke but a younger rich brown bloke. I struggle to remember anything he did.

Then came Sir Keef Stammer, with a landslide victory, which was not won but by a decisive rejection of the governing Tory party. Sir Keir was not inspirational, and while not Scottish, he came across as a dour leader, without any charisma whatsoever, perhaps like Gordon Brown. He speaks with a posh accent, and I don't really know how this goes down with those who don't speak thus, but it must be a disconnect. But I can't remember leading political figure in the UK with a regional accent.

I really don't think anyone would be electable in Australia now if they spoke was such an accent. It is too loaded with wealth and privilege. 

Sir Keir, I'm sure a decent and honourable person, who did get some some good legislation through to improve the lives of the English citizens. But no one could say he was inspirational. If only he attacked the rich...practically and verbally, which is what a Labour leader should do. 

Which brings us to his replacement, Andy Burnham who does seem to be inspirational, with good political credentials. I've yet to hear him speak, so that will be something interesting. Burnham picks up the huge majority of parliamentary seats from Starmer's Labour Party, and he really must take advantage of this to improve the lives of the average English citizen in an obviously public manner. A bleeding heart about immigrants will not cut to the chase. The loud citizens of England have made this clear, and I think it goes deeper.

This is rather like Australia. Most people know we need immigration to sustain our country, but it needs to be very controlled. The perfect example was immediately post Covid when there weren't enough workers in the country to staff businesses, and then there was a flood of migrants. In my opinion, too many refugees from one country doesn't work. Take in refugees from all over the world but not huge numbers from one country. Apparently assimilate is a bad word, so I suggest less numbers from one part of the world with a careful monitoring of numbers, will mean better integration into Australia. 

I can't stop ranting

Tommy Robinson, not his real name, is a far right activist in the UK. I remember lunching at a pub in Whitehall as a protest march passed by, with buses diverted, which I think is quite common in Whitehall. It seemed to be a protest about a certain Tommy Robinson being gaoled. I had no idea who he was. 

More than a decade later, I now know about his far right politics and he has served five prison sentences, for assault, threats, harassment, fraud and contempt of court. He became a bankrupt after racking up a lot of gambling debts. He was sentenced to a community service order of 150 hours, and a three year ban from attending football (soccer) matches.

In August 2025, Robinson shared a video on Twitter of a black man and his brother playing with his white granddaughters in a park in North Yorkshire, falsely accusing them of paedophilia, which resulted in the family being racially abused with false paedophilia accusations. Labour MP for Redcar Anna Turley had to write a reference letter of good behaviour after the victim was suspended by his management. Turley stated that there was "no place for hate in our town" and said she was "heartbroken" for the family "who've been targeted and abused because of Tommy Robinson's poisonous lies"

Nice dude hey. No! A nasty piece of work. He's maybe as bad as #47!

Not my business? It is when an Australian became involved, one popular morning tv host, Karl Stefanovic. 

In a vodcast, Stefanovic became Robinson's best mate and not at all interviewing him in a normal journalistic questioning manner, and ignored Robinson's past. It was all very lovey dovey. From other areas, it seems Stefanovic has become hard right, even though his father, a Serbian, was an immigrant to Australia. 

Stefanovic has been sacked from his television gig and for many of us, is a disgraced person. Public figures may softly indicate where their politics lie, but if they follow extremism, they will accordingly 

be judged. 

Not quite buddies in the Middle East

Israel was a once safe place for Jewish people from all over the world. If only Israeli Jews did not illegally extend their territory into Palestine. If only rabid Palestinians a couple of years ago did not go on a killing and abduction rampage in Israel.

I know about what has happened in the Middle East because many on the ground journalists have informed me. 129 journalists and their assistants who have informed the public have been killed as they went about their daily jobs. These are generally not western country journalists, but locals, as western journalists have been banned.  

Although with troublesome neighbours, isn't Israel a civilised democratic country? Yeah, nah. No. In 2025 two thirds of the 129 reporters covering the conflict were killed by Israeli forces. My abacus tells me that is 86 people doing an honest day's job. This would not happen if not for the huge funds being transferred from #47's government (yeah, you US taxpayers)  to Israel. The US is equally complicit in the killing of journalists as it blindly supports Israel.

To me it is simple, and call me an ignorant simpleton if you like, but Israel recognise Palestine as an independent country and not take over Palestine land. US, get the fuck out of there. For Palestinians respect that they have their own county and there is no reason why they cannot peaceably live next to Israel. The two countries may never be bosom buddies, but they could exist beside each other.     

The DVs

Some local Malaysians, including my Malaysian friend,  refer to the covered over Muslim women as DVs, Darth Vaders.

I've made no bones about my dislike of people who cover their faces. Human connections rely on seeing faces, and to cover faces diminishes communication.

Whether Muslim women are forced to do this, I think the jury is out. Some will be, some won't be, and some will feel pressure. In Malaysia at our hotel breakfast buffet, we saw some in the full black garb, with faces covers and gauze over the eye slits. They had to lift the black flap in front of their faces to eat, and it looked very awkward. 

But I won't discriminate. I dislike all overt religious behaviour. Most of the US MAGA are probably Christians who attend church every Sunday. 

There are number of Australian women with children who have been trapped in the Middle East for years. They were married to Middle Eastern terrorists and willingly went to the Middle East to support their husbands who were committing terrorist acts. 

Well, they have finally found passage back to Australia and will be allowed in as they are citizens or permanent residents of Australia. Yet, they went to the Middle East to support extremist fighters who were members of prohibited organisation,  that was against everything Australia stands for.

They are Australian citizens and must be let in, and I hate that but respect their right. Their children may well go into care to be deradicalised, and perhaps the women themselves. Some will be arrested at the airport for possible criminal actions. I can hear their pleas now, my husband forced me, I had to support my husband. 

They had a gold standard of being an citizen of Australia and went off to fight for a Middle Eastern terrorist organisation, and now return to the comfort of Australia and will receive good medical care at no cost, receive social security payments, child benefit allowances etc etc. I say, fuck 'em all. 

Photo of the scary from The Age.

The Big Screw

While I've seen buildings being constructed from my home, I've never actually been able to look down on the work site. It seems once the old building has been destroyed, dirty soil mixed with chunks of concrete are removed and fresh clay looking soil brought in. I'm sure the front end loaders just move the fresh soil from one place to another and then move it back again.

Meanwhile holes are drilled, full lengths of circular reinforcing steel inserted into the holes and then concrete is poured down the hole. Most interesting.

Here is the long drill.

And look!

The whole screw is now underground.

For some reason I've always confused the German and Aboriginal flags, when they are really aren't alike at all, although the three same colours are used. The first is the Aboriginal flag. During my skinhead/mohawk phase, I wore a military like jacket with a German flag patch. I now understand how that didn't send good signals. In my defence, I had no idea about the patch on my jacket. I hadn't noticed it until someone remarked about it.  

On the barrel of the concrete mixer you can see the Aboriginal flag.

On the opposite side of the barrel is the Australian flag. The other flag represents Piave, the concrete supplier based in Port Melbourne and has been around since 1993.

Relief and rant

Ray's relatives left yesterday morning. As lovely as the couple are, it is a bit of a relief, but also very sad as it is unlikely I will ever see them again. I had three dinners out with them and took them out on two long day trips, and they were very appreciative, and I heard about all the people I know in Ray's northern English city. They have flown to Bali, and four days later supposed to fly via Bahrain to England. Their flight has been cancelled, and alternative arrangements will be made.

A huge security guard company recently collapsed and the owner has fled overseas. We are told they underpaid security immigrant and student workers, insisting the students work more hours than they are allowed. There were many who were not paid. Superannuation was not paid, the responsibility of our tax department, and a huge amount was owed in unpaid taxes. There was sexual harassment of staff and eyes turned blind by the companies that used the security company. 

"Has collapsed owing tens of thousands/hundreds of thousands/millions in tax payments to the government", is a phrase we almost hear daily, well maybe weekly. This is an absolute disgrace. It is money lost that will have to made up by all taxpayers. There is really something seriously wrong in our tax department when it lets go unpaid tax and unpaid workers' superannuation for long periods. Never mind that the owner of the company should have had his passport blocked. He won't return to face the music.

I will shop on Thursday before a dental appointment in the afternoon. Otherwise, nothing more this week until Sunday when it will be a great niece's 12th birthday celebration. Ray's and Mother's used to be celebrated at the same time. 

A friend is just about to clear from a Covid infection. It is ages since I've heard of anyone having Covid, but the beast is still with us. She was well vaccinated and so her symptoms were mild.

Why does one Yarra Trams tram driver ring the gong seven different times when passing by (to warn flying bats I guess) and the next driver does not ring the gong at all? Yarra Trams provided an excellent service for attendees at the Grand Prix, but bugger the locals. It was awful to try to get anywhere by tram. Thank goodness for the new Metro tunnel train. 

The Chinese cult 'religion' Falun Gong has a performance called Shen Yun happening around Australia, in Melbourne at a place I didn't know, but what we call Jeff's Shed. I am bombarded by advertising for the show on YouTube. But let me tell you the organisers, if you want to advertise in Australia, at the very least use Australian voices to promote the show, and not American. I can wear American car advertisements with the steering wheel on the wrong side as the cars travel along beautiful coastal roads, because there is an Australian voice over, and I know the the ads cost a lot to make.  It may be an urban myth, but I remember a remark from Germany. 'If you want to buy something from us, we speak perfect English. If you want to sell us something, sorry, we don't understand English'. Not using an Australian voice over for Shen Yun really pisses me off.                                                                               

Hopefully something less whiny tomorrow.

A very happy divisive day

Happy Australia Day, and as is my wont most years, also happy Indian Republic Day. Thankfully the overt jingoism that occured in Australia for several years seems to have toned down since Covid lockdowns. The genuine celebrations of our country's achievements and what it is to be Australian are wonderful, but protests become louder. I've long thought the date should change to reduce friction.

It's not such a happy Invasion Day for Australia's indigenous population.

The new ABC tv programme Always Was Tonight is quite challenging satire to watch, and it's been a while since the ABC has made anything that upsets conservative types. 

Those usual types are on the warpath, aided and abetted by the the conservative Murdoch media, The Australian and Daily Mail.  

The white head coverings in this clip are called spit hoods, and I don't necessarily agree with not using them. Staff who work in these places don't deserve to be spat upon, unless their own behaviour has been bad.

Friday Funnies

The ditzy Rose in The Golden Girls, played by Betty White, was probably my favourite character in the tv show.

I don't really believe this was a blooper but no matter. I found it nicely nuanced by Ms White, until the end at least. She was a master at pregnant pauses. 

If you don't get this, just Google "Once you go black...". I expect you will get it though.

Coincidentally I have just bought a book for my Kindle by a gay black American called "Is it true what they say about black men?".  He has travelled the world and for a time lived in Australia and I am guessing it is partly about the fetishising of black African heritage men. I read some of what he wrote in other media about his experience in South Africa, which I found rather interesting and quite damning. 

The Australian problem with Jewish

I lunched with my neighbour HH yesterday. She has a close friend who she has known for over sixty years, and this friend is Jewish.

I broached the subject of the recent racially based massacre of innocent Jewish Australians, and a couple of people from overseas. HH, gave me the Jewish perspective as described by her friend. She said she felt fear, she felt isolated and threatened, with nowhere to turn aside from her own Jewish friends. She felt threat from Australia, which of course was never there.

As the week subsequent to the massacre went on, she was overwhelmed by the public support and love from Australia and Australians themselves.

I further questioned HH. Have you ever heard any multi generational white Australians like us be anti Jewish? No. We concluded we were just not really that interested in who among us are Jewish. Ray and I lived in the suburb of Balaclava for about nine years, surrounded by Jewish people. No one ever told us they were Jewish, but we know many were. There were the funny men a train station along in Ripponlea who walked around on Friday nights in tall black hats and strange clothing, but so? 

While the attack may have been by radical Muslim men targeting Jews, in my view, Australians have reacted with the appropriate sympathy and support; seeing the massacre more as an attack on Australians by radical and fanatical religious terrorists.

Our quite strong gun laws have been found to be wanting. The laws are old and have not been updated for a long time. Guns have moved on to be faster and smarter. New South Wales, where the event happened is going to reduce the number of guns owned from six to four. What a laugh. Two guns, maximum. A single shot rifle and a shotgun is quite enough. There is a polling result with 80% of Australians wanting stronger gun laws. Bite the bullet PM Albanese and take advantage of the situation to restrict guns a lot further. 

Joining a gun club or sporting shooters club seems to be a way around restrictive gun ownership. This needs to be strongly addressed.

The tv broadcast of a memorial one week later was brilliant. I had no intention of watching it, yet I was mesmerised. How this first class memorial, broadcast by tv, was put together in a few days was truly amazing.  Well done, that girl and boy. 

We now need to move on and allow consequences take their course. 

A terrible crime

I feel compelled to say something. I consider myself to be a decent person who is horrified by the death of many people at a Jewish celebration at Bondi Beach. Did I read somewhere that Muslims are not a good fit in Australia? Perhaps someone analysed  crimes committed in Australia by race. Hmm...I think Jews would be quite low on the scale...Muslims, maybe not so much.

We need to remind ourselves that the majority of Muslims in Australia are peaceful people and are pleased to live in Australia, and become Australian citizens.

It only took hours for our conservative opposition party to start to pile on to our ruling Labor Party for not doing enough to protect Jews. I am not sure whether Australia has done enough. It has done plenty to protect Jewish Australians, but was it enough? I don't know, but it is way too early for the so called Liberal Party to attempt to take political advantage. Fuck off Opposition Leader, Ley. 

But what about that fucking cunt arsehole, the corrupt Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, with the blood of thousands of innocent people on his hands, lecture Australia about protecting our Jewish citizens. How dare he!

A Melbourne Melee

In the English speaking world, there are troubles. The US is a nightmare. Canada and the UK both have their far right issues, and we in Australia cannot take a holier than thou attitude. We have our own issues.

Sunday past in Melbourne, anti immigration protesters gathered in our city streets, joined by white supremacists, anti vaxxers, sovereign citizens and nazi sympathisers, all fervently waving Australian flags and crying out the most original chant they could think of, Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi.They need advice from English football teams about chants.

They clashed with anti right wing protestors, whose number was soon bolstered by the usual pro Palestinian marchers. Now there is a coalition to do any Jewish person's head in.

I was travelling to Prahran by tram last week when someone with a mental illness boarded and started ranting about Asian immigration. Of course there were Asian people on the tram, and two very close by to the mouse of a man. I just wished I was younger and fitter and said something to him, and be able to defend myself if he attacked me. He left the tram.

I left the tram at the next stop as did the two young Asian females. I smiled at them, pulled a face and gesticulated towards my head, indicating crazy, and then offered them my upturned hand. That might sound weird, but it worked. They smiled at me and nodded with understanding.

Sunday after returning from the west end of town, I dared not go to the centre or east where the fracas was happening, at South Yarra Station I walked towards the door to the front of me to be closer to station ramp, as did a young couple. There were two older white women with Australian flags draped across their knees, clearly having left the protest to go home for a Bex and a lie down after their exertions. The man said to the woman, 'Something smells really bad in this carriage', and their heads spun around to the women with the flags. I didn't initially understand, and turned to see what they were looking at. I just said 'Yeah'. 

The numbers of immigrants and where they come from should be an open debate in Australia but these pro white Australia supporters add no value to any kind of debate and cause hurt to people.

Later: It became a whole lot worse the next day when it came to light that neo Nazis had attacked the  original inhabitants at a culturally significant meeting place in the Kings Domain. 

Is there anything funny in this? Maybe. As the 'pro white Australians' broke up, they headed off for  banh mi, a curry, or a kebab or maybe even an HSP, a Halal Snack Pack. They may have then caught a train, bus or tram home, driven by a 'brown' immigrant, or caught an Uber, also driven by a 'brown immigrant'. Maybe they waited until they reached home, too exhausted to cook after their anti immigration protests, so ordered in food, cooked and delivered by two different 'brown' people.

There is much good to be said about Australia, but I am not feeling it after the weekend past.  

Thoughts about words

I am not sure where I was going with this old post draft. 

About twenty years ago while driving Mother somewhere on one of our motorways, a driver did something bad in front of me and in the presence of Mother, who had slapped me as child for saying bloody, I dropped the c word. You c***. It is not a word I normally use. I can't remember using it since. I immediately apologised to Mother, who continued on telling me about her medical woes without seemingly to notice. Nearly twenty years later, Mother was correct and her medical woes proved to be fatal, with a lot of medical woes along the way.

While I've never mixed among the lower classes in England, apparently they use the c word without abandon. The word becomes boring with overuse and loses its effectiveness. But like gay men embraced homophobic terms, so too are women embracing the c word. I recall a beggar calling me a fucking old poof. He stated the obvious. His insult was a fail.

I am never sure if is appropriate to describe a black American as being black. I think the preferred term is African American. That's fine with me. Whatever. But I laugh when I hear stories of Americans who visit England describe black English people as African Americans, even though the black English have no connection to America. In Britain, you are British, and your colour and racial heritage is not so publicly important. You are British first. The plight of disadvantaged African Americans in the US is the equivalent in Britain of the plight of the disadvantaged British. 

It is a queer thing that so called African Americans, many who have been in the US for far longer than their British counterparts have been in Britain, yet they need to be distinguished as Afro Americans, and not just Americans. 

Whatever, black American, black British and black Australian, they all face discrimination. It is just not so in your face in Britain and Australia, and there are programmes to promote an inclusive workplace. That has just disappeared in the US. This Afro American term is very queer. The first black slaves arrived to America in the early 1600s, yet they need to be name qualified beyond just an American by the colour of their skin. I am not naïve enough to suggest your best mate is a black person, yet here, I do see socialisation between the Indian immigrants and white Australians, through work, neighbours and of course food. 

The leader of Australia's His Majesty's Opposition Party is one Peter Dutton, an extreme conservative, and he would like to do many of the things that #47 has been doing in the US. I gave some thought to a insulting adaption to his name and the best I could do is Duttrump. Yes, the wrongly named conservative Liberal Party leader is Peter Duttrump. 

The 1800s foreign types

At my age I generally find actually doing the sex too much of a bother. Oh, how I've changed. But I still find the theory of sex and how it is done in various manners very interesting. 

I was recently reminded of the Afghan cameleers in Australia in the 1800s who delivered goods packed on camels throughout outback Australia, outback meaning desert.

My sixty second research devotion did tell me some things. 

They as foreign types were up for racist media criticism. The Afghans, who were actually a conglomeration of Moslems from various countries were soundly vilified for no reason I could see. They were just so important in the the 19th century to building railways and telephone cabling to connect our large continent.

I am not sure if it was formal or not but some stayed for three years before returning to their homeland. Others stayed for their life, and some being relatively young and unattached, they would have liked a bit of the jiggy jig, or rumpy pumpy if you prefer.

Some formed relationships with Australian aboriginal women and quelle horreur, some married white women, who have may or not be called harlots for their love of a foreign type. White women certainly lost respect for marrying a Moslem but desire knows no bounds. 

Some people's DNA tests must be turning up some rather interesting results as they discover they have some Arab or Indian genes. 

All so interesting and I'm sure someone has written a book about the Afghan cameleers and their connections to Australian society as it was back then.  

Local troubles and troubles to our west

We've returned from a great short holiday in Sydney. I will tell you about it soon. I am always slow to restart blogging after a holiday. There always seems so much to do when returning after even just a week away, never mind sorting through photos.

Two matters of great concern occurred while we were away and the most obvious happened in the Middle East. What Hamas did is unbelievable, that is a direct and personal attack on people of Israel. It was brutal and how I hope those who were abducted by the Hamas animals are safe. It is just so wrong to target people for being no more than what they are and where they live. If they live on contested land, that is because their government approved the occupation. It isn't their fault.

I will die with bad feelings towards the Kremlin (Russia), and now Hamas (Palestine). 

But we have to remember that it is not the Palestinian people who did this but its extreme government which I am sure never told the citizens of its war plans before being 'elected'. 

Naturally Israel will respond with great anger, and that is hardly surprising. However Israel also must remember the innocent people as it responds. I hope not to add the Knesset to my bad feeling governments. The world is watching you Israel and you will be judged by your humanity. An eye for an eye has a bad ending.

It is all really so sad and I am sure to become even more so.

The second.

The no vote for our indigenous voice to parliament was also sad, but not unexpected. I think it has been proved that Prime Minister Albanese made a political mistake with this referendum. It has been so divisive and the best line was 'If in doubt, say no'. The opposition party and many commentators told outright lies, yet our ABC gave so much air time to absurd 'no' arguments. The ABC's own highly respected gave some truth to this. The evil Murdoch media empire did exactly what one would expect. 

I wonder when you are old, how will you answer your children and grandchildren when they ask how you voted? "Grandma, did you vote yes in the referendum for something that could improve the life of Aborigines by giving them a say in laws that affected them?" I hope you are proud of how you will be judged by your descendants.  

I can proudly say that my parents were among the 95% of Victorians who voted yes in the 1967 referendum.

Voters were asked whether to give the Federal Government the power to make special laws for Indigenous Australians in states,^[1] and whether Indigenous Australians should be included in official population counts for constitutional purposes.

Just write Yes

That headline may not mean much to you overseas types but it certainly should to all Australians. On this day ahead of a little trip away we have already voted, yes in my case and I never know how R votes, aside from his coal mining English rusted on Labour Party inclination. 

Polling day will be the 14th of October, yet it is not an election but a referendum to change our constitution. The question is

“A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

Do you approve this proposed alteration?”

Answer Yes or No. 

The change would mean that the above mentioned will have an official voice to express their thoughts to the ruling government on matters that affect them. Is that not simple? There is nothing about land claims, nothing about recognising the misdeeds of the past. It is a purely simple unloaded question to be taken at face value.

I don't believe this woman Nicola Charles is stupid. She seems intelligent and speaks well enough, as she probably would being a former soap opera star. Is this the performance of her life? Never mind that it is all lies. The United Nations will not take over Australia if we vote yes. Don't really waste your time with her nonsense (for the record) at this video. 

Those opposing the vote who campaign for voters to write 'No' on the ballot paper have campaigned very successfully, having sowed so many seeds of doubt in people's minds, bringing in Trumpian style politics. But they have been rather brought down by the extremists with all their crazy talk. The no campaigners best line is 'If you are unsure, vote no' and has done its best to sow doubt and confusion. I say 'I say if you are unsure, damned well educate yourself from reliable sources'. 

Look at the basic question. It is simple, nothing loaded about it. Surely as a nation we must answer yes. World opinion will be against us if the no vote triumphs. Rightly or wrongly we are already thought of a racist country by many. 

Young people are notoriously difficult for polling surveyors to get an idea of how they will vote. They won't answer phone calls or respond to messages or online surveys. They are my hope for a Yes vote. 

I know some of  you will vote no, as you are entitled, but please don't be swayed by propaganda from the 'no' campaign. 

Budapest graveyard and am I Woke?

I understand the passion from people who have lived through terrible regimes to pull down and smash statues. I can understand how black people want to remove statues of their oppressors of the past. I think there may be some statues in my own city that could now be removed.

The new white race to inhabit Australia took over Aboriginal land and treated the indigenous appalling. It stole their rights to hunt in their traditional lands. It stole their half caste children to be housed in Christian religious missions. A group of hundreds were driven off a South Australian cliff to their deaths onto the rocks and rough seas of the Great Australian Bight. In my own city they were given poisoned flour to make their damper bread. 

Does recognising the wrongs of our past make us Woke? It seems we Woke are judged thus. 

It is ironic that the mission education for the stolen children was so good that they went on to be eloquent speakers to defend the rights of their people.  

But the statues are part of our history and I don't like seeing history destroyed. Slave traders are also part of history.

Hungary seems to have the right idea. A graveyard of removed statues. They can still be seen. They are part of the country's history. They could have been destroyed, but no, they are in a graveyard and you can still see them.

Isn't that a good idea for how to deal with fallen heroes? 

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20221214-memento-park-budapests-graveyard-for-communist-statues

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memento_Park

Getty Images: Fallen Russian president. I wouldn't mind seeing a more modern version of a fallen Russian president.

Later edit: YP is a smart enough bloke, mostly. Here is his take on woke written early in 2021

It's Braighton darling

Brighton is now a very posh suburb and probably always has been.  The eastern part was once mostly market gardens, growing vegetable for the citizens of Melbourne and my mother's side of the family owned quite a number of them. Mother's grandparents are buried in Brighton Cemetery. Market gardening is hard physical work, with very early mornings to be at the market by 4am, dealing with the Italian market mafia so that you didn't have to deal with them, the heat and cold. However it was lucrative and the various family members did well, and extra well when they sold their land. 

So when home invasions and car hijackings by the black yoof came to Brighton, there was shock. Although this had been happening for some time elsewhere, when it happened in Brighton, it was realised there was a serious problem. The older gentlewomen of Brighton knew how to agitate over inappropriate property developments, how to impress on their accountants that they should not be paying so much tax and how to get a local council worker out to pick up as cigarette butt someone had dropped in the gutter (I am only half joking).

It is a few years since I have heard of home invasions and carjackings in Brighton, so the dear senior citizens of Brighton must have learnt how to lobby about policing. Truthfully, the state government has taken a multi pronged approach to the racial social crime problem, and it does mostly seem to be working. 

Have I painted a picture of Brighton? It is a lovely suburb, full of high quality older and newer housing. The streets are tree lined and aside from very busy roads to the east and west, the traffic is slow and there would rarely be road rage. People are educated, polite, respectful and environmentally and socially conscious. 

It is always a pleasure for us to visit Brighton, as we did this day to North Point Cafe, along with Ladies who Lunch and quite a wide but comfortable demographic. Psst, I think there may have been as Asian person there.....ah, no she was staff.

No trams in Brighton, everyone drives their own cars, except if they want to go to the city whereby they will lower themselves to taking the train because it is a damn sight quicker and more convenient. 

After lunch we needed a rest on a nice bench seat and wagtails amused us as they hop paraded up and down.   

Note, today is Australia Day but as it has become so divisive, I am not saying anything, aside from making the point that I am not writing anything about the day.

Embracing Cultural Diversity Part 2

This Monday night last, while watching the ABC tv evening news, there was a story about the legitimacy of Aboriginal ancestry of a candidate for our approaching state election.  Let's get our Aboriginal reporter to report this story, and so our ABC did.

We have a disabled story, let's get the disabled reporter to report on this one. But which one? No, not the vision impaired one, the other one. 

We've got a gay story. Let's get the openly gay reporter Mark Reddie onto this one. I believe Mark Reddie has now left the ABC and it is loss as he was a very competent reporter, especially good during NSW fire disasters. But let's get Mark on this gay story, a report on PEP, a daily drug that prevents the catching of HIV. Mark's report was excellent, on a subject I didn't really know about.

I think I would like to see Aboriginal, disabled, vision impaired and gay reporters report on other things and not just their areas of knowledge. 

But at least they are on our screens and our ABC is employing them. I dunno. What do you think?