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Any one with less heart would not have lived through what the major political parties did to our Pauline Hanson. She survived redicule, torment, insidious put-downs, slander and a jail sentence that would have driven most people to insanity. Despite the conspiritors, headed by the National Party's Tony Abbott, efforts to have Pauline's election money stolen from her and to this day still not returned: despite the perpetrators of the slander which caused her to be jailed for a crime that did not exist and despite none of these people having been brought to justice yet, this incredibly brave and resiliant woman has returned to politics with a far better education behind her and the same true blue, fair dinkum reasoning that has made her the most amazing and admired woman in Australian politics. Pauline has announced that she is standing for the Senate in the next Federal Elections and this would be a good time for Australians to show those, who are so afraid of her that they had her put away on a trumped up charge, that we're sick of their desperate attempts to keep "real people" out of politics. It's time for Australians to make sure that Pauline gets her Senate seat and gives them heaps. She's one of a very rare breed with the heart to stand up and say what we want said without fear of no favours from those who oppose her and with the respect of those who do.  On a Saturday morning panel on 4BC Brisbane I heard two announcers agreeing with one another that a vote for an Independent was a wasted vote and it's not the first time I have heard people in the media saying things like this. These people are a prime example of why we should not have compulsory voting in this country. They know nothing about the way our political system works, the importance of the senate, and the reasons why we should not let the major parties have all the say in Parliament. We can't expect people to know everything in life and there is no shame in being ignorant on any particular subject but when you are asked to pass judgement on something that affects the lives of everyone in our community it seems ludicrous to me to give those decisions to those who know nothing about what he's making a decision on. Compulsory voting is a joke and defeats the purpose of selecting the best person for the job. When you are sent ballot papers to vote for a Company's committee who is running your shares do you blindly vote for any Tom Dick or Harry? Or do you abstain and leave the voting up to those who know more about those running for election. You could take time to read all the goss about the contenders and their potential talent at handling your money and that way you'd make your own mind up about who you want to vote for but what if you don't have the time to study the workings of the company and the people who could make or break your investments? Would you still be inclined to take a punt, throw a dart into the contender list, vote for someone because you like the name, take the word of what everyone else is telling you or even worse be influenced by the media? Then you might even realise that there are others like you who could also be taking a chance on their decision and between you you might be cancelling out a thoughtful vote that could have been to your advantage. Or perhaps yours is the thoughtful vote rendered useless by someone not capable of making a rational decision, being forced to vote for someone who might, in your opinion, be totally inappropriate? When I was young and very busy I knew nothing about politics, yet I was still forced to go to the polling booths with my ignorance and make a decision that I simply was not qualified to make. There is no doubt in my mind that had I not been forced to vote I most certainly would not have. In fact, looking back now, the decisions that I made in those days did nothing for my country and could have done a lot of harm. When I think now that I take with me a lot of years of thoughtful digression and careful analysis to the polling booths and stand alongside of a voter who is forced to be there, wishes he wasn't, doesn't know anything about politics or couldn't give a rats, I'm afraid I can't get enthusiastic about the outcome of the election or the dictatorial, tyrannical, anti-democratic system that forced me to be a part of such a farce. We are not stupid. We just can't be expected to be experts at everything and most of those people who front up the polling booths and haven't a clue what they're doing there should not be harassed to do anything else but what they are good at. These people are great plumbers, good doctors, fabulous bridge builders but ask them about the policies of the people they vote for and most of them don't even know who they are voting against let alone whether anyone else has a policy that would be far better for this country. There are hundreds of examples of how complacent people negate your vote by using such methods as the old dartboard or pulling names out of a hat or the bloke who's dog makes his choice for him, but the classic for this year is the 94 year old woman who can't read and write and takes her under aged and autistic ward who knows nothing whatsoever about politics to the booth with her to "play" with her voting paper. She can't be blamed for what she does. She is forced to vote and is afraid of the fine if she doesn't; yet despite her inadequacies she is intelligent enough to openly admit that her vote is a waste of time. It's a pity we didn't have more people like her in the radio talk-back industry at least she knows her limitations. Ballots for company executives are important enough but to punt on the welfare of an entire nation is a serious mistake. If you are not qualified or interested in the leadership of your country then you shouldn't be voting. There are conscientious people who give a damn and study the form of the politicians and the parties. They read the papers and watch the TV and they know the contenders. More importantly they have studied politics enough to make up their own minds about who they trust to take care of our country instead of slavishly following the advice of others. These are the people I want to vote alongside of. People who have considered a verdict with conviction not a whim. I would rather go to the ballot box with ten people who disagree with me than one person who hasn't got a clue. I could cop sweet my candidate losing the election if I thought that he was voted in by conscientious people. But to think that my politician lost because half the voters don't even know the importance of Independant Representation makes me feel that my vote was wasted. Without Independents we are at the mercy of anything the government wants to inflict on us. NOT GOOD ENOUGH You can confer with your best mate the party politician all you like and he'll agree with your concerns but he can't put them forward in the senate without the permission of the party and if your views conflict with theirs your mate will just shrug his shoulders and say he tried. Go to your other best mate, the Independent politician, and when he agrees with you and thinks your suggestion is worth voicing he doesn't have to please anyone. There are no big companies paying for his campaign. No one tells him what he can or can't say in Parliament. Under Parliamentary Privilege he can say anything he likes including your concerns about what affects you. The more Independents who stand up and make the government aware of the people's concerns the more politicians are able to hear the voice of the people. Party politicians are simply there for themselves and the party first. They rely on big business to get them reelected. Independents are more approachable, more honest and rely on you to re-elect them. Even when we finally make a conscious decision about who should be our leaders our verdict is bastardised by the preferential system which forces us to vote for people we don't want. So many people from other countries around the world read what I say and email me to say how fascinated they are by our voting system which is very hard to rationalise and they wonder why we agree to this farce. It's just so unfair one cannot be blamed for literally calling it rigged so that the media calls the shots. After all who influences the ignorant more than the media.  |
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John Howard meets with the Queen. He asks her, "Your Majesty, how do you run such an efficient government? Are there any tips you can give to me?" "Well," says the Queen, "The most important thing is to surround yourself with intelligent people." Howard frowns. "But how do I know the people around me are really intelligent?" The Queen takes a sip of tea. "Oh, that's easy. You just ask them to answer an intelligence test. Listen to this". The Queen pushes a button on her intercom. "Please send Tony Blair in here, would you?" Tony Blair walks into the room. "Yes, Your Majesty?" The Queen smiles. "Answer me this, please, Tony. Your mother and father have a child. It is not your brother and it is not your sister. Who is it?" Without pausing for a moment, Tony Blair answers, "That would be me." "Yes! Very good," says the Queen. Back in Canberra, Howard asks to speak with the Treasurer Peter Costello.  "Peter, answer this for me. Your mother and your father have a child. It's not your brother and it's not your sister. Who is it?""I'm not sure," says the Treasurer. "Let me get back to you on that one." Peter Costello goes to his advisors and asks every one, but none can give him an answer. Finally, he ends up on plane and sitting alongside of him is Pauline Hanson, Peter asks, "Pauline! Can you answer this for me? Your mother and father have a child and it's not your brother or your sister. Who is it?" Pauline Hanson and answers, "That's easy. It's me!" Peter smiles. "Thanks!" When the treasurer goes back to Canberra he speaks John Howard. "Say John, I did some research and I have the answer to that riddle. It's Pauline Hanson." Howard gets up, stomps over to Peter Costello, and angrily yells into his face, "No, you idiot! It's Tony Blair!" |
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I was pretty surprised when the Liberals were returned to power at the 2001 elections especially with the GST as one of their policies, but to be re-elected in 2004 for another 3 years has just blown me away. It just goes to show that the Australian public has no idea in the world what they're voting for or they would have paid more attention to the repercussions of the Liberal's policies then. Four years down the track and John Howard again looked at us with a straight face asking you once again to trust him and return him to power. And you did! Well, I give up. Australians obviously don't mind paying high taxes to encourage unsavory activities such as encouraging unwed mothers who get paid your tax money to breed another generation of bastard children who have no idea of what family means and will be living on your taxes while you fight to get a retirement package after it has been taxed again and again. You obviously don't mind the fact that you can't protect yourself for fear of killing some dirt bag who knuckle dusts you to within an inch of your life for your hard earned money so that he can pay for his drug habit which in turn is the best excuse for him to get a judge to set him free thus punishing the victims of crime and rewarding their torturers. You don't even seem to mind when the dirt bags who render innocent citizens like beautiful Maria Gallo who suffered brain damage after an attack by a germ who now walks free because he was stoned at the time he assaulted this young woman. Then you seem to accept that even if the judge had have made an issue out of this scum's crime and sent him to jail that he would now be holidaying in some luxury detention center where his worst punishment would be to have his chockies taken off him for rioting. You don't care if the government sells off Australian assets pioneered and built by our early Australians as part of our essential facilities. While our infrastructure runs into the ground. you seem comfortable with the pot holes in our roads and the empty beds in our hospitals that are idle while our loved ones can wait over 8 hours in emergency wards to be admitted to. You accept that a drought is using up all your water and rely on the politicians, rolling in your dough, procrastinating on what to do about it. You are very accepting of lies as a part of life as was indicated by one poll which indicated that 60% of Australians don't give a damn if the prime Minister of our land lies to us. If you think it's OK for people to be dishonest then no wonder you accept compulsory voting because this is the most dishonest system in the world. Yep, you really are a hopeless lot and just to repeat the words of almost everyone I've met since the election (because apparently I move in more enlightened circles than most of you,) "you've got the government you deserve". It's a shame you had to inflict it on those of us who don't deserve it. Howard told us that the economy, thanks to Peter Costello, has never been better. Well, if you believe that Peter Costello was responsible for filling up the country's coffers, it's probably because you're not amongst those who worked their guts out and paid the taxes imposed by this treasurer to make us the highest taxed nation in the world. It was the workers of this country who paid these taxes and were responsible for the economy build up and what have they got to show for it? John Howard and his comedy company, Abbot and Costello. Good work Australians. A government is supposed to use that tax money on services for the people, infrastructure, put in place to ease the burden of the people, to make life better and to develop modern facilities for the future. So what has the Howard government done with all that economy they brag about? Our roads are in a shocking state making it harder and harder for those who transport goods or have to slog hours away behind the wheel, in many cases just to get to work. Our hospitals are a disgrace with no funds to get us decent care especially in emergency wards. Our police are too busy trying to raise revenue out on the roads to be of any real help to us in real situations of distress such as the flourishing trade of home invasion encouraged by the ridiculous leniency of our courts. We're running out of water and blaming a drought because our leaders did not give a damn when our graziers and farmers began suiciding in frustration over a problem that has now spread to the city where voices are a lot louder and screaming for something to be done. And what do they do? They are designing plans that will take years to build while our dams are nearly dry. I cannot remember one single project in the last thirty years at least that could be said to have been of benefit to the future generations of this country. Projects that the leaders of this age would one day be praised for the benefits of their decisions. The Snowy River Scheme was perhaps the last development of any importance. What have we done since to improve the livability of this great country? We have had no one in power since I can remember who has taken the rich resources of this land and moulded them into a prosperous country inhabited by people who reap the benefits of hard labour and the intelligence that we know Australians ooze. But our governments don't invest in our people. They don't keep the facilities our forefathers built for our convenience and which should be improved on to continue to progress our standard of living. Instead they sell it all off to appease the welfare of those our governments pander to to get re-elected. And when our problems are critical the only people to get any deliverance are those with problems in other countries. 1 We are constantly in drought when we're not being washed away by roaring floods 2 We are still burning coal to provide us with electricity which still has to be distributed through overhead power lines 3 We still drive around in vehicles that are fueled by burning pollutants 4 Our deserts are still barren despite the ever increasing need to populate new areas. 5 We still build houses that burn down, get blown down, get washed away in floods and wear out within 25 years. 6. We're still stealing land from the bush to waste on dams for the city when everyone knows that it rains on the cities far more than any country area. And what do they do with it? They sit on their front porches watching it run down the streets into the oceans. Clever! 1 _____There have been so many good ideas put forward to catch the enormous flow of rainwater from the roofs of buildings in the cities and towns and divert them to above and underground tanks instead of into the gutters where it all flows to the sea. Proper planning and revolutionary building techniques could ensure that all new homes incorporated their own catchments and older ones to be gradually renovated to suit. The larger catchments would provide more water for the droughts in the country where the drought affects crops and livestock. 2_____ Contrary to popular belief, solar power has been refined to a stage where most households are capable of being self-sufficient for a very low cost thanks to a remarkable invention by an Australian woman who pioneered the Vanadium battery at the Sydney University. If such a project could run a large household surely larger projects could run whole cities, even the entire country. 3_____ Everyone knows about the steam car, the solar car and the sugar car. There's even a car that runs on air. Check it out. With a tank of petrol it can go 4,500 klms.   What you may not know is that hundreds of great ideas like these have been rejected by our governments, who have no faith in our productivity, and our talent gets bought up by the oil companies who shelve them so that they don't interfere with their filthy trade.4_____ Many schemes have been put forward to divert water from wet areas to dry areas. We know that once we grow enough vegetation in an area we create an environment which develops it's own rainfall and eventually it's own rich soil to grow more vegetation or food. Our deserts are waiting for us to replant them and while we may not benefit from such a project our children would be grateful that we had the foresight and courage to begin such a scheme for their future. I'm not talking about pumping water from one end of the country to the other: I'm talking about creating new environments. The environments we already live in already have the infrastructure in place to take care of all the water we need without stealing it off our country people. Cities have the largest catchment areas in the country. All those rooves on houses, shops, factories, all kinds of buildings, roads, footpaths and parks, they all catch water. At the moment in most cities all that water runs down the roads and drains into the oceans. Billions of gallons every time we get a storm or it rains, which happens more frequently than the floods that everyone seems to wait for to fill their reservoirs. Billions of gallons of water wasted because no one builds houses that are self sufficient or local catchments to store all that wasted water where it can be recycled. Cities can catch enough water to accommodate more than their needs for a fraction of the cost of those environmentally unfriendly dams where it seldom rains and the problem can be solved in a matter of months not years. People say that things have changed now and we live in different times but the only thing that is different is the population explosions that are never catered for. If you don't build it and they come you can't accomodate them. 5______I can only think that we keep building disposable houses to pander to the insurance companies who wouldn't get a policy if we had sensible resilient housing,such as these  or these  my absolute favourite Aussie made  1_____ Our engineers have plenty of know-how, our architects have the ideas and our builders have the ability, but our governments are full of people without a clue. We can build houses that are fireproof, flood-proof, cyclone proof and practically self-sufficient. So what's the problem? 2_____Solar power is not revolutionary. It's been around long enough to be on the market and affordable. The government could make these appliances affordable by tipping money into production of these applications. So what's the problem? 3_____If there are so many great inventions that make fossil fuels a thing of the past, why can't our taxes be spent to produce our own fuels. Don't tell us we're not capable. What's the problem? 4_____Sure we know that the schemes to turn the center of Australia into a salad bowl are feasible, so why can't these politicians get the message. What is their problem? 5_____We can build economical, sensible housing that will last for generations without the heartache of them being burnt to the ground or blown away in a cyclone so why are we still building the same boring, old fashioned, stick, brick and break, recyclable homes that people can't afford. What's the problem? The problem is that the governments that we have had, and will continue to have unless we take a stand, are here for the present. They spend more money on their own campaigns than on research for inland water. They spend more money on propaganda television ads telling you how wonderful they are than they spend on funding our Universities where we have the world's finest minds working on ways to improve our living standards all the time. They will give you the same old story that these schemes are pie in the sky or too expensive to put into place. I have had them send me reams of paper full of excuses that simply add up to goobly gock. I have heard the "for" arguments from the experts and the "against" arguments from the politicians and when you read them both there is no doubt that the politicians simply don't know want to spend any of their precious retirement packages on anything that might benefit the people. Either that or they are just thick as bricks. The solution is to get people into parliament who not only have vision but who are willing to go to bat for the ideas that benefit Australians, not only in the short term but for centuries to come. The pyramids were not built in a day and the reason that governments won't touch long-term projects is because long-term projects may not be finished in their reign. They are not interested in getting thanks from the generations to come they are only interested in short term hand outs to get quick votes. And about these short term handouts. I almost collapsed with laughter when the Federal Government gave everyone a $4.00 pay rise as a token of their generosity. I really expected the Australian public to be outraged at the frivolity of such ridiculous amount which in the hand was almost worthless while the entire cost of that rise was capable of so much more help for people in need. Don't forget to think about these things when Abbot and Costello pat each other on the back for being so generous to the Australian public. This Howard government will brag to you that the economy is in great shape. What does that mean? That we have a bank full of money while the country goes down the drain? If the economy is so great why aren't we spending more money to upgrade our facilities? Weigh up this notion of a great economy while you're lying in bed waiting for an operation, shaking the guts out of your vehicle on roads that are one continuous strip of filled potholes, endless hours spent in traffic just trying to get to work, getting dinner in the dark because the power went off or locking yourself up in your own home so that home-invaders don't bash you up for their drug money.  Howard's reasoning for crime control is to disarm responsible citizens and consequently open the doors to armed criminals who have flourished since the gun buyback. Gun crime is the highest it's ever been and thanks to Howard we are now more vulnerable to home invasion than ever with the risk of doing time if we dare to harm a criminal in the act of robbing or raping in our own home. More than ever we are being told to lock ourselves into our homes at all times. It's insulting and outrageous to be told that it's our fault if we get robbed because we didn't spend enough money on security. The Labor Party tabled the gun buy-back laws but were not game enough to introduce them knowing how they would be received by "real" Australians. At least they didn't dream up the Port Arthur incident as an excuse to get these volatile laws passed. Howard absolutely ignored electronic tax reform which would have eliminated paper work and income tax. He chose the antiquated GST even though we were warned by England and Canada that it was a pain in the arse tax which only complicated the present system. Well, ask the businessmen who have gone to the wall since it's introduction how great it is. How Costello can smirk his way through bragging about his reforms when he didn't even investigate a debit tax system, just proves the man has no brains at all. What could possibly be his excuse for not wanting a simpler, more user friendly, economically sound and rich tax system that would benifit both tax payers and the government? It proves this man is for the rich who don't pay tax and couldn't give a rats about the rest of us. The Labor party is full of left-wing air heads who want to punish Australians for the sins of their fathers. There is no doubt that expensive litigation will arise following an apology to the aboriginal people for something that we didn't do and should not be responsible for. They're no better than the Liberals. Do you hear them talking about a debit tax system that would alleviate the hardships of most Australians? No they're all in the greedy boat together. Both parties are as bad as one another. They are not interested in Australians governing themselves with C.I.R. They are more interested in dictating to us what they think is best for us and none of them have our best interests at heart. When we, as a nation, cannot thrive without cruelty to animals we don't deserve to live at all. I am a meat eater and love my lamb but when some country dictates that it wants our sheep cooped up in horrible conditions to die on the way to their foreign land then I would rather be poorer for the loss of that trade.  Picture: Andrew Dyson Those buyers who insist on this torturing of dumb animals are in the minority and should be ignored by our exporters. Our Arab buyers have nothing to do with the Australian governments laws on live export and can buy our meat either way. It's the greed of our own politicians and exporters who insist on this dreadful cruelty and we should be outraged by it. Greetings, Realisation time Facts are facts, the fact that you may reject the facts is not a benefit to you or anybody else. The contest to see who is the most convincing liar in Australia has come to an end with John Howard declared the winner by a few swinging voters. The coalition will GOVERN; if they win control of the Senate, and they did. Howard will GOVERN with forked tongue and steel hand in a velvet glove for the next three years. Not that it would be any different if Labor had won control of both Houses, maybe just a little less kid glove, but no different. Out of the frying pan into the fire if Howard controls the Senate and he does. We should not forget that the election was won by deceit, lying about issues such as interest rates, which are beyond the control of government, hospitals and education both of which come under state government authority and not federal authority, as do forests. We can expect an increase in the amount of people control, anti-personal freedom laws, such gun control, where only law abiding people have had their firearms removed, and ani-terrorist laws that provide for the arrest of citizens on suspicion of having information, law that removes the right to silence, the right to a solicitor of choice, the right to not be imprisoned on suspicion and without fair trial, the right of the tax department to reject any detail that you supply, whether or not you can prove it is correct. The examples above are only a small part of laws passed when Howard did not have control of the Senate, now that he has control of the Senate the work place agreements are just the tip of the iceburg? Maybe there is an up-side, the use of terror such as the Port Arthur massacre, 9/11, Bali, and a well timed bomb blast in front of the Australian Embassy in Indonesia all of which popular media promoted with never before seen bias. No longer will the popular media need to misinform the population in an attempt to influence support for anti-Australian laws, as popular support will not be critical with the Liberals in control of both Houses of the parliament. The federal campaign in the areas of hospitals, education, forests, which come under State authority, by both major parties, in not only blatant deception and lies, it is a concealed attack on State authority with the intent of transferring (stealing) this authority to Canberra, in this conspiracy the state parliaments are complicit, because they also are working towards the demise of the states and the long term goal of a single House of Parliament in Canberra, the 1994 campaign identifies the Coalition as part of this conspiracy. If this is not the case why did Howard target state issues and make them Federal issues if not to confuse the population about which level of government authority these areas belong constitutionally. To those on this mail list who are aware of my prediction of the further marginalisation of small parties and the pressing need to regroup and reassess the position I will say, "told you so," and ask the question, are you now ready to listen, or will fear of losing ground, closed minds and egos dominate, as usual, until all is lost? Today presents the best opportunity to address the issue of the gang-counter-gang "two party" domination of Australia and that opportunity decreases as each day passes. Regards, Joe Bryant. Party politics are a dead loss and cannot represent the people as has been evident during the last thirty years when both sides of the political arena have, without our consent, sold off this rich country's resources, contributed to the decline of our morals with costly welfare schemes that do more harm than good, taxed the workers beyond their costs of living, diminished incentive in business enticing our talent off shore, reduced support in our rural industries to the extent where we are importing goods already provided by our own farmers and graziers, etc. etc. All of these disasters could have been avoided if the people of Australia had more say and I believe that the Australian public is more qualified to know what's good or bad for them. We need more than a change of government. We need to replace the present system with a more democratic method of operation. We need to put the decision making into the hands of the people because it is now very clear that the bipartisan Labor and coalition parties are out of touch with real Australians and do not have their best interests at heart. Is Australia in so much trouble that we desperately need to rely on other countries for commodities, resources, population? If it is I find that a good enough reason to kick out those who got us into this mess in the first place, don't you? After all, the only thing this country lacks is the confidence of politicians to invest in our own people. Remember there was a time when Australia was entirely self sufficient with a dollar value more than twice the US dollar. With the right policies we can get our confidence back and once again take advantage of our rich resources and stifled talent. Our best hope of getting this country back into the hands of those who pay to run it is to vote for people who have the interests of the tax paying public at heart instead of those who pander to the multinationals and big business' who fund the campaigns of the major parties.
Great politicians like Greame Campbell slogged away in parliament for years
bringing attention to the needs of ordinary Australians. But it was not until one incredibly brave little lady from Ipswich got up in front of a pack of dogs, who snapped at her heels every step of the way, that the voice of the people was heard in an unsophisticated manner that most Australians could relate to.  To get this country back on it's feet, and it can be done with the right people in power, we need to desert the parties who have been there for over forty years and failed to make this the wealthiest nation on earth, and who instead have sold us out and plunged us into debt. Now I don't care if you vote for Joe Blow down the road so long as he's not a member of the invalid Liberal/National/Labor/Democrat/Green coalition (and believe me they do all work in together). We need to seek the alternative answers offered by people who are not bound by party policies and who can act for the public by introducing more effective policies such as Citizen's Initiated Referendum, and automatic electronic taxation.
THIRTY REASONS NOT TO VOTE FOR THE MAJOR PARTIESIan McLeod My comments in red (1) Massive over regulation (harassment, higher costs to all and lost jobs). Small business is finding it harder and harder to function in competition with the multinational companies. There are no more corner stores and people are traveling further and further to find work encumbering travel costs that they can't claim for. Politicians can why not the workers?
(2) Globalization (world control and government [N.W.O.] ).
The global village is a massive worldwide city and we know how easy the ordinary person is swallowed up, forgotten and neglected in a large city. Small towns breed better values and take care of their own. (3) Open door immigration except white races (despite the M.S.Tampa re-election fiasco) In an effort to be seen as non-racist, the reverse has happened. The major parties are reluctant to say "no" to Asian immigrants even if they come via the back door. A boat load of Canadians in a leaky boat would be dealt with quite differently, you can bet on it. (4) Greedy Stealing Tax (G.S.T.) (N.W.O. tax and eventual bankruptcy) Our taxation act ran to over 8,000 pages before the GST and is now over 18,000 and rising. It is so complicated that even the taxation office can't figure it out. Yet we have a choice of other systems that would remove confusion and make collecting tax automatic. They force those who now pay no tax to pay their fair share and reduce the tax of the working people who are essentially the people who spend money back into the economy. (5) Destruction of jobs (Lima agreement). During the WWII Australia was an isolated island dependant on the factories and farms which supplied everything we needed. There was nothing that we didn't make, or grow, ourselves including ships, trucks, pots and pans, rifles, tanks and all of their components. Today our companies have either folded or moved offshore where slave labour replaces Australian jobs. (6) Privatisation (fire sale of OUR assets, without our permission). Literally thousands of farmers have gone to the wall with thousands more just hanging on by the skin of their teeth. Farmers are getting less than 5 cents in the dollar for their hard work and many others are ploughing their crops back into the ground. It was a plan to give us cheaper bread and milk. Have you checked the price of a loaf of bread and a bottle of milk lately? (7) G.A.T.S. and national competition policy (goodbye farms and small business). The only way our farmers and small business' can compete with foreign countries is to pay our workers the same wages as the slaves of overseas multinational companies. When we finally become a third world country, and that is not too far off, we will be able to compete but we will be too poor to consume. (8) United Nation treaties (our Sovereignty gone). Millions of people all over the world have died holding their hands out to the invalid United Nations who sat by and watched them die. It is no comfort to know that we are paying aid (or protection money) to a neighbour who snubs us at every turn. Are you feeling confident after being disarmed by our government and now having to rely on the United Nations? (9) Massive un-repayable overseas debt (a noose around our necks). The Labor Party and the Liberal Coalition borrowed overseas money at enormous interest rates. Over the years we are now like most third world countries, flat out paying off the interest. The present government gloats that they have reduced Labor's debt but they are both responsible for lavish spend-ups this country cannot afford. Now essential institutions like our hospitals suffer while the spending goes on. (10) Our forests locked up (no timber and lost jobs). When I was a child the bush belonged to us and we played in it as if it was our great playground. Now we can't even ride our horses along old bush trails being forced instead onto dangerous roads and bridges to keep out of the way of some endangered species or another which will eventually yield to evolution anyway. (11) Massive taxes forfeited (multi nationals pay little or no tax, we pay it for them). The workers of our country pay the highest taxes and our system is structured so that people like Kerry Packer paid $60 one year and nothing the year before. John Laws tells us that Kerry does a lot of good for charity. Wouldn't we all like to be so rich and benevolent? The tall poppy syndrome is an excuse he uses that doesn't wash. We don't hate the rich, that's a stupid thing to say. Most Australians admire those who make it big but not at the expense of others. (12) Anset, H.I.H. etc collapses (mismanagement). Something has to be done to stop the managers of companies sending businesses broke and then receiving huge benefits from going bankrupt while workers are virtually the sacrificial lambs. Let's get some legislation passed that would ensure that if a company goes broke, the workers get their wages and benefits first and the management last of all. See how many go belly up then. Incentive is what this country needs all round - even at the big end of town. (13) Defence??? What defence? (it's abysmal). Many people are unaware that much of our defence force has also been privatised. Our catering, engineering, mechanical work etc. is all contracted to private contractors. We have less than 5,000 ground troops and we buy all of our equipment including guns and bullets, from other countries. Our Collin's Class submarine is a perfect example of the government's insidious decision to contract a country which had never built a submarine in their lives to waste our money on a ship which only works on paper. Most countries at least have armed citizens. We were forced to give up our guns to curb our almost non-existent spate of mass murders. Ironically, without our firepower we are the best candidates for mass murder. (14) High interest rip off (bank deregulation). Another example of helping the rich get richer and keeping the poor, poor. It also degrades our self-funded retirees whose plan was to live off their own money and now must rely on subsidised handouts. Worst of all, our aged pension fund, which would have been more than adequate for our aging population (average aged pension would now be around $800 a week) was sold off to the French and the money went into consolidated revenue. Now, Costello has the gall to blame our aging population for the mess his government engineered by robbing our pension fund. (15) Australian icons selling fast, not many left (F.I.R.B. useless, taxes lost). Thankfully many Australians are waking up to what has happened to Australia thanks to the major parties, and are helping to buy back our farms. Keep it up people.... your country needs you. (16) Manufacturing gone (forced overseas) The amount of factories that have closed down in Australia is appalling. It seems that more emphasis is placed on tourism, which relies on the money from overseas visitors. I cry when I think that we went from proudly working for Australian owned companies, where the money stayed in this country, to wearing aprons for tourists who are now afraid to fly for fear of terrorists. It's sickening. (17) Excessive fuel prices (use our own oil and gas) We are capable of making fuel from our own resources of which we have an abundance. It is a joke that we use petrol anyway. It's a joke to see our governments ignoring the many scientific break throughs in alternative power, while the oil companies keep buying and shelving these alternatives to oil burning, for their own greed. (18) Asianization (dilution of our heritage British blood, living standard to 3rd world) Even the media is allowing people to comment on the changing "face" of Australia. When big burly footballers refuse to fly to the UK for fear of terrorists you can't help but think that the true blue Aussie spirit and courage as shown by our ANZACS is slowly being bred out of us. (19) Living standard from highest to lowest short of 3rd world standard (presently).
When we have a youth suicide rate of 9 a week and the most prevalent illness treated by doctors is for depression one has to determine that people are basically not happy. It is the job of the government to create an environment where people can feel safe and secure. Yet most Australians are living below the poverty line. Not only that, but we also have the second lowest dollar value in the world. (20) Asset Seizure laws passed (we are all in danger of this). The government is constantly sneaking in laws that the opposition either agrees with or isn't awake at 11.45 at night. You don't get to hear about these laws until you become a victim of them. (21) Aboriginal industry (Mabo, WIK, welfare scams). These programs became a bottomless pit for taxpayers money and we are all sickened by the do-gooders who thought that throwing money at people and expecting them to be happy was the answer to their problems. They have insulted the aboriginal people and angered most Australians. (22) Gun Laws (forced confiscation of private property, no defence, waste). We have never had the right to bear arms and defend ourselves with deadly force in this country. But there was always an unwritten law that a man's house was his castle and since most homes owned a gun of some kind it was always a deterrent to criminals. The major parties used Port Arthur as an excuse to disarm most Australians and our crime rate soared. We now boast the most home invasions in the world and crimes of violence with firearms are now a daily event in our cities. With such a depleted defence force, and in uncertain times, John Howard has rendered this country vulnerable and defenceless. I would rather trust my neighbour with his semi-automatic than a government that would take it from him. (23) The people's Commonwealth Bank sold (no more low interest loans). Owning your own home is no longer the "great Australian dream" because it is no longer affordable or even a viable option. In fact economists will advise that it is easier and more profitable to rent. That's a joke. (24) Massive foreign aid, poor don't get it (often used to fund military) Australia is one of the most generous countries in the world. Our leaders often put the needs of others before our own and we get no thanks for it. Some recipients won't even answer our phone calls. (25) Sale of our natural resources, gas, oil, coal (in the ground so others profit). Ask the major parties why we are relying on overseas fuel while we sell off and even give away our own natural resources. (26) Off to war (but no declaration of war is made = invasion of Sovereign Nation) Once before we were attacked on our own soil while our troops were overseas. This time we are without our best firepower - an armed citizen protecting his home and family. There was another time when citizens were disarmed and 3 million Jews were rounded up and interned without resistance. Imagine someone invading Texas USA. (27) World Heritage listings (collateral for overseas debt e.g. debt for equity swap) When you've got no money left to pay your debts, what happens? That's right, they take away the farm. (28) Republic (Howard and Rudd both are committed to it). The stupid thing about the republican debate is that they can't tell us what the difference would be. If we thought it would benefit us we'd reasonably accept it but our investigations so far prove that at the moment we are better off with what we have than something we know nothing about. There is no doubt that a republic would change our flag and that's enough information for my rejection. (29) Political pig trough (all current line up for self-bestowed rorts). Politicians qualify for superannuation schemes that the ordinary person could only dream of. What makes them so special? (30) Waste, oh what waste (splurging our money). Example:- A quote for a ladder, that could be used to enter a building taken over by terrorists, was estimated to originally cost $30,000 to have it made scientifically. It finished up estimating to cost $300,000 and then, when it wasn't finished they asked for another $20,000, then $90,000, then $160,000, but the audit of the Defence Dept. eventually found that, the $30,000 special purpose ladder was still unfinished, and had so far cost $994,000. This is just a ladder! I could tell you the one about the Korean ship yard we built for them, (we don't even have one of our own) but it would take too long and anyway it's only two of hundreds I have.
WHO DO WE VOTE FOR?WHY VOTE FOR SOMEONE WHO CAN'T WIN?Independents get a say in Parliament, bring issues to the attention of the public and question the government's methods. They draw attention to everyday issues that the general public ring talk-back shows about.
Most fair-minded politicians know that Citizen's Initiated Referendum is the only true democracy and if you vote for someone who supports that policy it can at least get debated in Parliament. It is very hard for the major parties to back down on something as powerful as "real government for the people, by the people".
Be educated and educate others to the realities of good government which can only be administered by politicians who work for the people, not themselves. After all in our history the best politicians of all were not paid anything. They did it for the good of their fellowman. How times have changed.
SO WHAT'S A CITIZEN'S INITIATED REFERENDUM? CITIZENS INITIATED REFERENDERC.I.R. is a valuable supplement to existing representative Governments. It does not replace elected Assembles and does not degrade their functions. The mere existence of C.I.R. gives politicians an incentive to take more notice of public opinion and reduces the chance of bad legislation. It has the power to ensure ordinary people's opinions are taken into account. Australia First presents this policy in the firm belief that voters, though not infallible, are eminently capable of responsible self-government and will make fewer mistakes than governing elites. Initiated Referendum is an essential safeguard. HOW IT WORKS Should an individual or organisation feel that a change should be made to a proposed law, an existing law, or to introduce a new law, then he/she must be able to address that belief. The steps set out below is an example of procedure. STEP 1 With careful thought and possibly legal help (where necessary), word a petition and gather 400 bona fide signatures of bona fide voters at the last election. Present this petition to the Electoral Commissioner for registration. A minimum of twelve petitioners are then appointed as custodians and promoters of the petition. STEP 2 The promoters then gather signatures of bona fide voters at the last election to a MINIMUM of 2% per electorate in a majority of electorates including 2% of total voters. This provision guarantees that the issue is of genuine concern to a broad cross-section of the community, and removes the danger of "city versus country" arguments. There is a maximum permitted period of 18 months to gather these signatures. During this time, monthly returns are made to the Electoral Commissioner showing the success or otherwise of the collection. This provision allows the public and Parliamentarians alike to assess the popularity of the petition issue. This assessment may well lead to Parliament addressing the issue before the referendum is actually held. A fact which would avoid the referendum, and enhance the democratic and parliamentary process. STEP 3 Having gained these signatures, the petition is then re-presented. The Electoral Commissioner certifies its qualification and presents it to the Speaker of the House. The petition is then deemed to be a call for a referendum on that issue. STEP 4 The parliament is informed of that referendum call, and may act on its contents in such a manner as to satisfy the petitioner's demands. Failure by Parliament to make the necessary changes to Legislation before the next poll shall see the referendum proceed. STEP 5 The referendum to determine the issue shall be held IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE NEXT ELECTIONS, incurring no extra expense save some extra ink on the ballot paper. This action makes the holding of such a referendum extremely low. The population is at the polls anyway,and history has shown that given the chance, people will have a say on issues which affect them. The Government IS NOT responsible for the publication of the "for and against" arguments, but may put its case if it so decides. Equally, any or every organisation or individual may do likewise. The time between the petition's presentation and holding of the ballot at election or poll time, will be well used for open debate and comment. This will allow the community to become aware of the real facts from all sides of the argument. STEP 6 The result of the referendum shall be determined by the support or otherwise of a simple majority of voters in a simple majority of electorates, PLUS, a simple majority of all voters. This we call a "representative majority" which ensures cross section support, ensures that it was indeed a genuine issue, avoids the "country versus city" arguments, and is consistent with Federal Constitutional referendum requirements. It also shows Parliament where the support for the issue has been demonstrated - a tool very handy to parliament and voters alike. STEP 7 On approval of the electors referendum, the Bill is presented to the Government for assent. N.B. Provision is made also for the holding of "emergency" referenda between elections. The same requirements apply for this action as above, except that a higher percentage would be required to call it - say 5% instead of the 2% of total voters at the last election required for election-timed referenda. We also encourage the Government of the day to use it's rights to conduct referenda on issues of its choice. HISTORY OF C.I.R.AUSTRALIA at the turn of the century, was a noted innovator in the practical application of democratic principles. The Australian Labor Party, from its earliest days in the 1890's adopted the principle of initiative and referendum not merely as a policy, but as one of the primary objectives of the party, both nationally and in the States. Unfortunately, an increasing unwillingness of politicians to share power with the people led the Labor Party to lose interest. Initiated Referendum was removed from their platform in 1963. SWITZERLAND: In over 100 years of Citizen's Initiated Referendum, after voting on 300 issues, the Swiss people have approved approximately 50% of issues placed before them. In 1977 the people rejected a value added tax; in 1986 they rejected a proposal to join the United Nations; in 1984 the people rejected the Government's proposal to reduce the working week from 42 hours to 38 hours. Switzerland today is one of the most prosperous countries on earth. UNITED STATES: In the U.S.A. 23 states have some form of C.I.R. In California, in 1987 the people rejected a government move to dispose of waste toxins in the ground. Four U.S. states have voted to bring back the death penalty through referendum. In Florida the people passed a law to force their government to balance the budget on only 80% of total revenue. ITALY used C.I.R. in 1991 to remove existing laws that allowed corruption by criminal elements of political parties and officials. No politicians had the courage to take on such organised and entrenched corruption. The Italians voted a huge 95% "yes" to get rid of the offending legislation. SPAIN: When the Spanish Government wanted to leave NATO the people rejected the proposal. In contrast, the people of New Zealand were never given a direct say when PM Lange took NEW ZEALAND out of ANZUS. Similarly in CANADA the people were not consulted when their flag was changed to the red maple leaf, a move that most Canadians resented bitterly. POLLSPolls are a pet hate of mine. They are so easy to corrupt and yet they carry so much weight. Have you noticed how everything seems to rely on a poll for a decision these days yet how often have you been asked to fill out a questionnaire and when was the last time your opinion counted in the numbers game? They lost me when the media began their push to snow Australians into thinking that 90% of us wanted guns banned after Port Arthur. That would have to be the most blatant lie of all time. In fact I didn't know anyone who agreed with Howard's insidious decision to disarm this nation of it's best firepower leaving our security entirely in the hands of our defence forces and the invalid United Nations Forces. It seems that polls are more honest when the media gets the answer it wants. The polls that asked people about gun laws before the Port Arthur massacre were more in favour of people being able to use weapons in self defense. Had these opinions been heeded and more people (not everyone) given the opportunity to defend themselves Port Arthur could never have happened. Someone would have been able to shoot back. Port Arthur was the epitome of a defenseless society. More about these polls on my Gun Laws In Australia Page. And how about all of these politicians who keep telling us that most Australians want a Republic. When someone tells me what becoming a Republic will mean for Australia I, like almost everyone else I know, will then be able to make up our minds as to weather or not it's a good idea. But so far, all we are told is that it has to do with what other people think of us - I can't print what most Australians think about that. To suggest that the average Australian would blindly vote for a change of any kind without good reason is to demean our intelligence. There are a lot of things that need changing in this country but if something aint broke, why fix it? I would say that most Australians have not been convinced that such a change is a good thing for the people and so let's get on with more important issues instead of wasting tax payers money on frivolous agendas. I take exception to the media printing only one side of the story and trying to influence my decisions. I am a free thinking person with an opinion of my own and I don't need loaded polls and biased newspapers to tell me what's right and what's wrong. I rely on a conscience for that. The latest poll rip off and proof of dishonest reporting You can even buy a whole book on media dishonesty called Murder By Media ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A WAY OUT?Until now there was only two parties who could win, one a coalition of two parties. There are the others who were supposed to "keep the bastards honest" but while they sounded good when it came to the crunch they showed themselves to be as weak as the others. Until recently, there hasn't been anyone willing to listen to the ordinary people. POLITICIANS OUT OF TOUCH WITH VOTERSTIME TO GET FAIR DINKUM AGAIN - TIME FOR CHANGEInstead they have sold off our wealthy resources for a pittance and invited overseas companies to compete with our own industries which either fold or move off shore so that they too can indulge in slave labour. Unemployment problems are evident and incentive dies. Where once our dollar was worth over $1.50 compared to the U.S. dollar, it is now less than 80 cents. Foreign debt is so high our country is in danger of becoming a third world nation owned by foreigners to whom we could all soon be renting from and working for. AUSTRALIAN HOME INVASIONS WORST IN WORLDIf the Liberals, Nationals or Labor get into power again we will have no one to blame but ourselves because there is something we can do about it. We can find independents who support modern ideas such as Citizen's Initiated Referendum a system which puts the choices for introduction, disintegration and change of laws into the hands of the people at each general election. If we can fill Parliament up with politicians who honestly care about people and their well being, instead of constantly using us as a source of revenue for their own agendas, we will hear alternatives being discussed all the time. These people already exist and are prepared to voice your concerns without having to toe the party line - all they need is your vote.
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