The Blowfly has been pondering a very serious question during the week.
Barry O’Farrell and Ted Baillieu have both been told by their Treasuries that their respective state economies will both suffer substantial job losses as a result of the carbon tax.
The Blowfly recognises that the path to wisdom can be more about asking the right questions rather than having answers. So he spent some time framing the question. But in the end he concluded it wasn’t rocket science.
The question is:
“Is the Union movement stupid?”
When you’ve been born of a maggot you can’t claim to be clever. But you make the most of whatever brain you do have! So here goes.
In NSW the union movement, fearing the loss of 3000-4000 jobs if the power grid was privatised , rallied the troops at the appropriate levels and managed to get rid of Morris Iemma, the then Premier. He’d faced up to the serious problem that NSW faces------by about 2014 the State will start running short of electricity. He showed leadership and paid the price. So, subsequently, did Labor! They lost Government in a landslide.
Are we then to assume that the highly-paid and mostly (these days) highly educated union leadership has blindly accepted re-assurances from the Federal Government that no jobs will be lost?
Even if they are the old-fashioned ‘tough-nut’ union leaders they still don’t seem to The Blowfly to be the type of people who accept just any answer-----they want convincing answers! They are not shrinking violets.
The union officials seek convincing answers because they know that they are going to have face up to their members and explain to them whatever course of action they decide to pursue. The members have to feed their families, pay their mortgages and see their daughters’ weddings paid for. That is all heavy stuff.
So The Blowfly reckons that when the Gillard Government displays leadership regarding the adoption of clean energy, on the pretext of stabilising global temperatures, the Government had better deliver on its promises because the union movement stands to lose everything.
Everything!
Political power! Members! Member’s funds! Leverage!
So is the Union movement stupid?
What is the game they are playing?
Tony Abbott says the sky is going to fall in. Businesses will be decimated.
The Conservative side of politics says that this is not a good time to introduce a carbon tax.
This implies that there is a good time.
And we must not forget that the Conservatives do agree with climate change. It just that they are not committed to doing anything about it. Because they have concluded that they are powerless.
But the unions must feel otherwise.
Could it be that they are looking after their interests?
They don’t want their members to be at the economic mercy of the archaic-thinking capitalist-pigs who employ them.
They are leading from underneath.
They want their members to have a better future.
The union movement has a lot riding on this.
The Blowfly, a simple insect, concludes that they know exactly what they are doing.
Showing posts with label Federal Government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Federal Government. Show all posts
Monday, August 22, 2011
Monday, August 23, 2010
The 'Boys from the Bush are back in Town'
The first thing you noticed when you entered the room was the big white 10 gallon cowboy hat. It is Bob Katter's trademark.
The Blowfly had managed to find the room where the 'Boys from the Bush' were meeting.
They were deciding how they were going to handle the notion of a 'hung parliament'.
The Blowfly had positioned himself on the lamp stand in Tony Windsor's office, where the 3 were meeting.Out of the corner of The Blowfly's eyes was the dart-board where Tony had Barnaby's photo pinned down by a solitary dart.
Imagine, if you will, that you are any one of these three politicians.
You are an Independent member of the Federal Parliament.You have the support of 60%-70% of your electorate.
You were initially a member of the National Party. But for a variety of reasons you became disenchanted with the Party and you felt that in order to honour your constituents and their aspirations you could serve them best as an Independent.
In Tony Windsor's case your party sought to 'do you in the eye' in a pre-selection tussle and you successfully stood as an Independent in the NSW State Parliament before turning your energies to the Federal arena.
In Bob Katter's case you felt you lacked the sympathetic support of your peers for the needs of your electorate.The National Party accepted the notion that bananas from the Philippines should be imported and bought it to the front of the queue.This was despite the fact that the Keating Government had refused the application because the Phillipines' bananas have 23 diseases that do not exist in Australia.You used your feet to show where your responsibilities laid------- to the people (and particularly the banana growers) of your electorate!
You have no great love for the Coalition.
You have to return to your electorate each weekend and live among the people who placed great faith in you when they voted you in.
You've had to play the 'Independent's game'.
Mostly you are sneered at because you don't belong to a political party. You are a 'crackpot' who believes that the real power lies in not being a member of a political party. Many people have advised you to see a psychiatrist.
But they have not learnt the subtleties of your vocation.
Whichever party is in power you are able to talk to them. You talk constructively about the needs of your electorate and you simply chisel away at the government. A representation here, a representation there, a good idea here, a way to create synergies here and so on and so on.
When the Government changes, the game stays the same. You just keep chiselling away at them for the needs of your electorate.Most of your constituents understand the game but they are continually tested in their beliefs as the other parties continue to stand candidates against you and call you an 'idiot' behind your back. Especially the National Party.
What the broader electorate does not realise is that you are consistently getting runs on the board. This is happening because both sides of government know that one day they may need you to support them to form a government.
You have not been cocky or smart. You have been extremely patient for your day to come.And not everyone in the broader community knows about your successes because neither side of politics wants to admit they are dealing with you.
That would, after all, be hypocritical of them. And, as well as that, more Independents might appear on the scene when they realise how effective a good Independent can be.
Your day has now come!
A hung Parliament. What every Independent prays for!
You have the opportunity of a lifetime and -----YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BLOW IT! You have preparing for this day all your parliamentary life.
You are going to be very strategic, very careful and you will breathe very deeply before you open your mouth.
The Blowfly is excited big time. His shitty little feet can not stay still.
The conversation between the 3 Independents starts off like this.
Katter: Well gents we made it! Now we can get to work. Let's list our priorities.
Windsor: We'll need to get that National Broadband Network in place so we can facilitate new employment growth, business and education opportunities in regional areas.
Oakeshott: Yeh! My internet was down again last night.
Katter: We'll need to break up the Coles-Woolworths duopoly. They are costing my constituents big-time. We need at least 2 other large chains competing for our farmers' produce. And I'm stuffed if we are going to let any more banana imports in.
Oakshott: We need a new hospital in my electorate and a dual lane highway all the way to Brisbane from Taree.
Windsor: Well I have consulted my people on a range of matters concerning health, education, communications, community services, employment, disability services, regional development and infrastructure. We'll need to weave most of those matters into our agenda.
Oakeshott: This is going to be fun!
Windsor turns up his CD player. The music of Lee Kernaghan emanates from it.
"We're the boys from the bush and we're back in town
Well the dogs in the back and the foot goes down
We're life members of the outback club
We're the boys from the bush come in from the scrub"
The words of George W Bush flash through your head: "They misunderestimated me."
And the words of Hull: 'He who trims himself to suit everybody will soon whittle himself away".
"Not much chance of that happening here," thinks The Blowfly.
"Not much at all!"
The Blowfly had managed to find the room where the 'Boys from the Bush' were meeting.
They were deciding how they were going to handle the notion of a 'hung parliament'.
The Blowfly had positioned himself on the lamp stand in Tony Windsor's office, where the 3 were meeting.Out of the corner of The Blowfly's eyes was the dart-board where Tony had Barnaby's photo pinned down by a solitary dart.
Imagine, if you will, that you are any one of these three politicians.
You are an Independent member of the Federal Parliament.You have the support of 60%-70% of your electorate.
You were initially a member of the National Party. But for a variety of reasons you became disenchanted with the Party and you felt that in order to honour your constituents and their aspirations you could serve them best as an Independent.
In Tony Windsor's case your party sought to 'do you in the eye' in a pre-selection tussle and you successfully stood as an Independent in the NSW State Parliament before turning your energies to the Federal arena.
In Bob Katter's case you felt you lacked the sympathetic support of your peers for the needs of your electorate.The National Party accepted the notion that bananas from the Philippines should be imported and bought it to the front of the queue.This was despite the fact that the Keating Government had refused the application because the Phillipines' bananas have 23 diseases that do not exist in Australia.You used your feet to show where your responsibilities laid------- to the people (and particularly the banana growers) of your electorate!
You have no great love for the Coalition.
You have to return to your electorate each weekend and live among the people who placed great faith in you when they voted you in.
You've had to play the 'Independent's game'.
Mostly you are sneered at because you don't belong to a political party. You are a 'crackpot' who believes that the real power lies in not being a member of a political party. Many people have advised you to see a psychiatrist.
But they have not learnt the subtleties of your vocation.
Whichever party is in power you are able to talk to them. You talk constructively about the needs of your electorate and you simply chisel away at the government. A representation here, a representation there, a good idea here, a way to create synergies here and so on and so on.
When the Government changes, the game stays the same. You just keep chiselling away at them for the needs of your electorate.Most of your constituents understand the game but they are continually tested in their beliefs as the other parties continue to stand candidates against you and call you an 'idiot' behind your back. Especially the National Party.
What the broader electorate does not realise is that you are consistently getting runs on the board. This is happening because both sides of government know that one day they may need you to support them to form a government.
You have not been cocky or smart. You have been extremely patient for your day to come.And not everyone in the broader community knows about your successes because neither side of politics wants to admit they are dealing with you.
That would, after all, be hypocritical of them. And, as well as that, more Independents might appear on the scene when they realise how effective a good Independent can be.
Your day has now come!
A hung Parliament. What every Independent prays for!
You have the opportunity of a lifetime and -----YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BLOW IT! You have preparing for this day all your parliamentary life.
You are going to be very strategic, very careful and you will breathe very deeply before you open your mouth.
The Blowfly is excited big time. His shitty little feet can not stay still.
The conversation between the 3 Independents starts off like this.
Katter: Well gents we made it! Now we can get to work. Let's list our priorities.
Windsor: We'll need to get that National Broadband Network in place so we can facilitate new employment growth, business and education opportunities in regional areas.
Oakeshott: Yeh! My internet was down again last night.
Katter: We'll need to break up the Coles-Woolworths duopoly. They are costing my constituents big-time. We need at least 2 other large chains competing for our farmers' produce. And I'm stuffed if we are going to let any more banana imports in.
Oakshott: We need a new hospital in my electorate and a dual lane highway all the way to Brisbane from Taree.
Windsor: Well I have consulted my people on a range of matters concerning health, education, communications, community services, employment, disability services, regional development and infrastructure. We'll need to weave most of those matters into our agenda.
Oakeshott: This is going to be fun!
Windsor turns up his CD player. The music of Lee Kernaghan emanates from it.
"We're the boys from the bush and we're back in town
Well the dogs in the back and the foot goes down
We're life members of the outback club
We're the boys from the bush come in from the scrub"
The words of George W Bush flash through your head: "They misunderestimated me."
And the words of Hull: 'He who trims himself to suit everybody will soon whittle himself away".
"Not much chance of that happening here," thinks The Blowfly.
"Not much at all!"
Monday, February 08, 2010
Julia Gillard wishes she had concentrated more on school toilets than literacy and numeracy
The Blowfly cant help but think that all the reaction to the My School website is but a ‘storm in a shit-bucket’.( He realises that the normal turn-of-phrase is ‘storm in a tea-cup’ but when you are a blowfly you have been more used to a ‘shit-bucket’ than a ‘tea-cup’)
He finds himself this Sunday morning adorning the shoulder of the Deputy PM and Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion.
It’s quite a treat to have a little perfume around and much preferable to the rather tawdry odour of those testosterone-laden men he’s been haunting lately.
Julia is engaged in her favourite Saturday pastime of reading ‘The Age’. She first got into the habit while she was working for Slater And Gordon during the late 80’s. She used to scan the pages looking for causes she could wheel up to the partners for commercial advancement.
Now she is firmly engrossed in John Marsden’s article about the My School website.
She is all rather serene until she comes to the bit where Marsden suggests that parents need to be a little more subtle and, perhaps even devious, when assessing a school’s suitability for the bearers of their genes.
When Marsden suggested that a quick foray into the toilets to see how clean they were and then a subtle visit to , or standing outside, the staff room during morning tea or lunch to get a feel for the happiness of the teachers.
Her eyes roll back in her head!
“Shit”, she thinks to herself, “why didn’t I think of that ? …………….Those bloody boffins of mine told me that parents were only interested in hard facts…………..but Marsden is right!..............Toilets and staffrooms……………Shit! Shit! Shit!...............it cost a fortune to construct that site and get the data onto it………I can barely understand it myself…..………..and I have an Arts/Law degree………………and then there’s the issue of selective schools which I completely overlooked………….we didn’t factor that in………….of course they are going to perform better…………..we have selected the better students to attend them………….oh dearie me this life is a bitch!”
She ponders her lot in life for a moment.
Then she moves onto the story regarding the 6 youths who have been sacked from their after-school jobs at a Victorian hardware store because the Fair work Act wont let them work less than 3 hours per day.
“Jesus H Christ!” she thinks. “ How do I defend this ?............. Don’t tell me my boffins have let me down again………….I didn’t know this was going to happen…..these kids will be voting at the next election……….shit!..............it’s this year……….God, I hope Kevin can come up with a line to diffuse this…………..those 19 marginal seats could be affected……..I wish I could work an hour and a half each day…………………That would be heaven………..instead of these damn hours that Kevin expects us to keep……………oh God!”
“So many difficulties and so many contradictions…………… I was probably a bit hard on my parliamentary-luvver-boy last week ! Poor old Tony Abbott......................here we are trying to get parents to take their role more seriously and then I go out and ridicule the ex-priest about valuing virginity………..we should be honouring those who keep their virginity and abstain………….maybe rates of sexually transmitted diseases would decline…………and maybe if there was more monogamy the society would be better off……………..how do I overcome my guilt at sticking the knife into the ex-priest?...........................................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz”.
It is simply too much for her poor darling red-headed brain to absorb. She receives a visit from the Sandman. And I might add that The Blowfly was none too excited by the thoughts of the afternoon. He nods off as well.
Sometimes being in power is so bloody boring. All that keeps one excited is a new hair-style!
She recalls the words of ANOP’s final brief to Bob Hawke before the 1990 election campaign as quoted by Paul Kelly in his book ‘The End Of Certainty’------“The swinging voter mood is disillusioned, despondent and cynical. Many would genuinely like a change of government but some are not changing their vote because they lack confidence in the Opposition”
He finds himself this Sunday morning adorning the shoulder of the Deputy PM and Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion.
It’s quite a treat to have a little perfume around and much preferable to the rather tawdry odour of those testosterone-laden men he’s been haunting lately.
Julia is engaged in her favourite Saturday pastime of reading ‘The Age’. She first got into the habit while she was working for Slater And Gordon during the late 80’s. She used to scan the pages looking for causes she could wheel up to the partners for commercial advancement.
Now she is firmly engrossed in John Marsden’s article about the My School website.
She is all rather serene until she comes to the bit where Marsden suggests that parents need to be a little more subtle and, perhaps even devious, when assessing a school’s suitability for the bearers of their genes.
When Marsden suggested that a quick foray into the toilets to see how clean they were and then a subtle visit to , or standing outside, the staff room during morning tea or lunch to get a feel for the happiness of the teachers.
Her eyes roll back in her head!
“Shit”, she thinks to herself, “why didn’t I think of that ? …………….Those bloody boffins of mine told me that parents were only interested in hard facts…………..but Marsden is right!..............Toilets and staffrooms……………Shit! Shit! Shit!...............it cost a fortune to construct that site and get the data onto it………I can barely understand it myself…..………..and I have an Arts/Law degree………………and then there’s the issue of selective schools which I completely overlooked………….we didn’t factor that in………….of course they are going to perform better…………..we have selected the better students to attend them………….oh dearie me this life is a bitch!”
She ponders her lot in life for a moment.
Then she moves onto the story regarding the 6 youths who have been sacked from their after-school jobs at a Victorian hardware store because the Fair work Act wont let them work less than 3 hours per day.
“Jesus H Christ!” she thinks. “ How do I defend this ?............. Don’t tell me my boffins have let me down again………….I didn’t know this was going to happen…..these kids will be voting at the next election……….shit!..............it’s this year……….God, I hope Kevin can come up with a line to diffuse this…………..those 19 marginal seats could be affected……..I wish I could work an hour and a half each day…………………That would be heaven………..instead of these damn hours that Kevin expects us to keep……………oh God!”
“So many difficulties and so many contradictions…………… I was probably a bit hard on my parliamentary-luvver-boy last week ! Poor old Tony Abbott......................here we are trying to get parents to take their role more seriously and then I go out and ridicule the ex-priest about valuing virginity………..we should be honouring those who keep their virginity and abstain………….maybe rates of sexually transmitted diseases would decline…………and maybe if there was more monogamy the society would be better off……………..how do I overcome my guilt at sticking the knife into the ex-priest?...........................................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz”.
It is simply too much for her poor darling red-headed brain to absorb. She receives a visit from the Sandman. And I might add that The Blowfly was none too excited by the thoughts of the afternoon. He nods off as well.
Sometimes being in power is so bloody boring. All that keeps one excited is a new hair-style!
She recalls the words of ANOP’s final brief to Bob Hawke before the 1990 election campaign as quoted by Paul Kelly in his book ‘The End Of Certainty’------“The swinging voter mood is disillusioned, despondent and cynical. Many would genuinely like a change of government but some are not changing their vote because they lack confidence in the Opposition”
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Should the Federal Government consider setting up a new version of the "Commonwealth Bank"?
It seems to me that the Federal Government might do well to consider setting up a brand new Commonwealth Bank.
As I understand it the present Commonwealth Bank arose from the need, following the Great Depression,to stimulate lending to the business sector. That was because the existing banks at that stage were so cautious with their funds that the economy was languishing.
This is happening again.
Although the Government has given the Australian banks one helluva kick-along by guaranteeing their deposits and has bolstered their capacities to borrow overseas the banking sector seems confused.
The Government is talking about 'jobs, jobs,jobs' but unless it wants to end up with dole queues from here to China, or employing everyone themselves, it is going to have to support small businesses and large businesses to employ people.
This is no easy task when you have mining companies shedding thousands. But it can help to support builders in Victoria, who will be flat out shortly because of the re-building necessary after the bush-fires,to find the labour they need and re-locate them.Theses builders are going to need to gear up to face the challenge ahead. They will need working capital and plant. But in this environment the banks will be crapping themselves about backing anybody who does not have bricks and mortar security flowing out their ears.
Kevin Rudd is talking about 'social capitalism' (a contradiction in terms if ever there was one).
So here is the perfect example of 'social capitalism'---- a bank owned by the taxpayer to provide some competition for the presently very-cautious capitalists in the banking sector.
Then in about 50 years they will be able to privatise it and sell it off to the taxpayers again to fill in a budget deficit.
Its such a good idea really!The more I think about it the better it gets.
As I understand it the present Commonwealth Bank arose from the need, following the Great Depression,to stimulate lending to the business sector. That was because the existing banks at that stage were so cautious with their funds that the economy was languishing.
This is happening again.
Although the Government has given the Australian banks one helluva kick-along by guaranteeing their deposits and has bolstered their capacities to borrow overseas the banking sector seems confused.
The Government is talking about 'jobs, jobs,jobs' but unless it wants to end up with dole queues from here to China, or employing everyone themselves, it is going to have to support small businesses and large businesses to employ people.
This is no easy task when you have mining companies shedding thousands. But it can help to support builders in Victoria, who will be flat out shortly because of the re-building necessary after the bush-fires,to find the labour they need and re-locate them.Theses builders are going to need to gear up to face the challenge ahead. They will need working capital and plant. But in this environment the banks will be crapping themselves about backing anybody who does not have bricks and mortar security flowing out their ears.
Kevin Rudd is talking about 'social capitalism' (a contradiction in terms if ever there was one).
So here is the perfect example of 'social capitalism'---- a bank owned by the taxpayer to provide some competition for the presently very-cautious capitalists in the banking sector.
Then in about 50 years they will be able to privatise it and sell it off to the taxpayers again to fill in a budget deficit.
Its such a good idea really!The more I think about it the better it gets.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)