Tuesday 28 December 2021

You might be a Conservative if...

  • If you oppose the government that causes or mishandles a problem then whips up a deliberate fear campaigns that require more government involvement, more officials, more bureacrats, more inspectors, more policing with more rules, legal penalties and fines. You oppose that you're either a real Conservative or a wise Progressive
  • If a government helps create a mess, worsens a threat & then says things are bad and then tells you that you need more government to fix it...Stop & oppose them if you're a conservative or a progressive, oppose them. Whatever you do, don't go soft & support them
  • I’m a conservative so I’m AOK with progressives who oppose my ideology, We need them As a conservative I’m very much against socialism, democratic socialism, hard left, hard right, Alt-right, Qanon, homophobia, racism, anti-Semitism, Islamaphobia, Christiophobia, faux conservatives, fascism, Nazis (and I know the history that states Nazism IS a form of Socialism, it is of the left), cancel culture, Machiavellian players, Govn over reach...
  • So you think you're a conservative? Then you should very much agree that the government should have little or no involvement at all where there are mutually agreeable dealings between grown people, groups or companies with things that are legal. Government needs to stay the hell out of the way.
  • If you're a Conservative MP or aspiring Conservative MP then you should be very keen on repealing, reducing or amending legislation to get Government out of the road & reverse the Over Reach that unwise & unrestricted Progressives have built, which will always approach Socialism Light

  • If you think you're a conservative, you probably get this & understand yes we have pro free market "conservatives" but the problem is some are not pro family & pro faith so they can easily end up sliding towatds Socialism Light on a few things without realising they've slipped.

  • If you say you're a conservative, but you don't agree with this video, you're probably not a Conservative. Interchange liberal with progressive in this & yes we need conservatives & progressives. PS - this was recorded BEFORE the BLM lootings & arson The Benefits of Conservatism - YouTube
  • Cos what we need is Conservatives & Progressives in parliament. Instead Labor is not progressive, it’s a Democratic Socialist party & increasing its socialist leaning. Time to de-woke, to get back to decency…I live in hope. The common ground he speaks of, I believe it's Conservatives & Progressives, 2 differing points that aren't hard left or hard right or screaming banshees who really, if we're really honest, are just carpet baggers trying to carve out a lucrative living pretending to be your elected officials or representatives. Stories of Us: Kevin Sorbo - YouTube
  • If you don't support BLM then you're either a decent conservative or a decent progressive. If you support BLM then you're Marxist supporter, hate the notion of the family & want people reduced to skin colour...for the record "Biased Black Woman DESTROYS White BLM Supporter"... she's pro Family & anti BLM. Based Black Woman DESTROYS White BLM Supporter - YouTube
  • You may not be a conservative if this makes sense. Ben Wyatt is a Democrative Socialist. They believe in sharing the means of production & that everyone should own everything equally. But he's on the board of Rio Tinto. Either he quickly drops his ideology for the paid job or he's there for his close ties with the WA Labor Government or he was never a Democratic Socialist all this time. His fiduciary Duty under the Australia's Corporation Act is very clear. It is owed to the perpetuity of the company & the best interests of the share holders. Other stakeholders are important & should be considered, but his legal duty is first & foremost to the shareholders. As an individual who's spent a long time in public life & been there through vast committment & support to the Labor Party Machine, navigating its factions, power plays and ruthless Machivellean king makers...I hope he can transition to life as a Company Director. It is quite the oddity.
  • If a bill is tabled in Parliament, debated same day & NOT tabled the customary 3 weeks tabled & you're ok with it or put up a token whimper about it...you're not a conservative, a wise progressive & not keen on good/proper legislative process. You just might be socialist MP. You might also be the last son of a b***h this state & country needs near the formulation of legislation.
  • If you think closing a self sustainable export industry, replacing it with an unsustainable domestic processing sector & it would need a minimum 60% Govn subsidy to maintain nearly all our market share is a good idea you’re a socialist or a want a lucrative job with a socialist Govn. Think Save Live Export as the Smart Idea & also a Conservative Idea Reminder - “If socialists understood economics they wouldn't be socialists.”― Friedrich Hayek

  • If there’s a serious gun crime & you support stronger gun laws upon law abiding gun owners being introduced you’re not a conservative or a wise progressive. You’re woke, some Marxist off shoot or a complete idiot. It’s a bit like banning all non drinkers from driving so you can lessen the alcohol related car accidents. Target criminals not lawful people. Simple as simple gets. If you willingly target law abiding people its called over reach. If you oppose over reach you could be a real conservative or a wise progressive.

  • If you oppose Identity Politics, Group Identity & intellectually corrupt notion of Intersectionalty being a valid thing...you're either a Conservative or a Wise Progressive. If you support those things you're a Marxist, Cultural Marxist, a Post Modernist Cultural Marxist or a dud

  • If you won Pre-Selection & didn't know there were 2 houses of Parliament in WA, won office & didn't know you'd need a flat in Perth for all the sitting days, committee days, party room days you may not be the right person to be in Parliament. You may have just had the demographic traits your party identified as being the best suited to win the seat. It then isn't a surprise your only contact with electors is events, ribbon cuttings, school presentation nights, charity event photos on Instagram & FaceBook. You won't ever talk about policy or how you voted. You probably didn't know your party is a Democratic Socialist Party, you probably didn't know your predecessor was not in a faction or that the party had slotted you into a faction you really didn't know or understand You might be a conservative, except you don't know much at all

  • If you're pro good union/good employer & anti bad union/bad employer AND you want to lessen the interference in the lives of the individuals, reduce unnecessary red tape & see people unhindered by over reaching bureacratic elite...you're probably a conservative. But if you have those words but not those actions you're either a faux conservative or a bit bloody sh!t at what you're doing. If you're too cosy & ok with the bureacracy aims when it should be the other way around you're not a conservative or you're a bit sh!t at pretending to be one.
    If you want to encourage investment, growth, jobs and economic activity & reckon reducing red tape, unnecessary red tape & government fees is helpful, you're probably a conservative or a wise progressive. If you like the over reach, you're not helping a flourishing society at all

  • If you see others & notice a different race, a foreign accent, a different faith, gay, male or female but don't care you're probably a conservative or a wise progressive. If you want to fight for or against one or more of those...you're a leftist and/or faux conservative
  • If you fully agree with the contents of this video you're probably a Proper Conservative or a Wise Conservative. If you have a "Yeah but..." you're going to be very unhelpful to yourself & others, you aren't a proper Conservative or a wise Progressive Personal Responsibility: The Ultimate Freedom - YouTube
  • A real conservative or wise progressive sees the Uluru Statement as devisive, denying some as part of the fabric of the nation & casts them eternal victims incapable of mastering their own destiny. Over 2 years since sense was spoken, some are still deaf ‘This is just nuts’: Jacinta Price and Liberal senator attack Indigenous voice | NITV (sbs.com.au)
  • If your party policy includes support for the Uluru Statement I think you're either a) don't understand it or b) what Indignous people have said against it or c) you're not a Conservative Party at all or d) all the above The Uluru Statement and the Voice of Tyranny - Daily Declaration (canberradeclaration.org.au)
  • If you agree with Dave Rubin & Jordon Peterson you're probably a conservative or a very smart progressive If you don't you're probably a cultural Marxist. Ask an MP & if they don't answer straight, they're not the conservative they're pretending to be - #metoo is not the friend of society or any victims. It's a divisive notion that fools push. Jordan Peterson - Men in the #MeToo - YouTube
  • This one is just for good measure. If you agree with the absurdity of the present danger that now not only exists but is widespread you're probably a Conservative or wise Progressive. If it makes you angry or you want to ignore it, you are not Conservative or the opposing Progressive...you're part of the widespread problem. Elon Musk: Wokeness Wants To Make Comedy Illegal - YouTube
  • If you want WA & Australia to be strong and sensible again then it's probably not going to happen unless you, your family & friends take the leap of faith and join a Political Party. One that's either a real, actual Conservative Party or an actual & real Progressive Party. Get in, ensure there is genuine lay member ownership, control over the strategic direction, policy setting and pre-selection. STOP, go back, re-read that again starting at "Get in" Make sure the party you think you align with has proper governance, proper structure, proper transperancy, proper culture & not just a thin vineer like the usual political theatre props. Be sure they cut the mustard, the way mustard is supposed to be cut & that the MPs are among the servants of the party, not the masters either by secret or out in the open.

Saturday 25 December 2021

WA LABOR and the LIVE EXPORT Update December 2021

So Live Export. In one or two internet exchanges going back quite a few years, one staunch defender of the Minister for Agriculture Alannah Mc Tiernan MLC, claimed the minister was pro Live Export. So too was Darren West MLC. That Pro Ag "lobbyist" and his/her small group kinda slipped up on twitter which begged the question...






Going back, before Darren West's disgraceful Twitter comments that led to public pressure on Labor Premier Mark McGowan which of course led to Darren West MLC deleting his account we asked him...


So there's no confusion here. "It means 100% processed by Australians.
That's what they meant by transiton. Not PARTIAL transition but "100%"
Now despite that, the Ag Lobbyist still seemed very happy to be an Apologist for Labor, for the Ag Minister & for Darren West. So what the heck, way back then we asked the supposedly Pro Ag Lobbyist again...and yes we blotted out his/her name.

Well we then didn't agree whatsoever, not one bit, despite the blaring, glaring obvious.
We let it slide and we monitored the results at all the following of succesive WALabor State Conferences.

Now the reason we checked again and type all this out is pretty simple. At the end of the 2021 Parliament, WALabor presented a Bill to the Lower House. Instead of tabling it for the customary 3 weeks so all MPs could read it and get across it before debating, it was presented & debated
THE SAME DAY!!

Debate time was restricted and all calls for referring it to a Parliamentary Committee were denied. All amendments by the opposition were denied. If that wasn't bad enough, many of the stakeholders were not happy. Not Agricultural & Pastrolists and not Indigineous stakeholders.

250 pages with 300 plus clauses, dropped and debated and then pushed through with the least accountibility and scrutiny.
So things are being rammed through with the least possible scrutiny with WALabor controlling both houses. 
If ever WALabor was going to stick to it's State Plaform that BEEN CONSTANT since March 2017 it will be soon. So...


Well here it is...from the document now on WALabor Party's website. Yes it's dated the 2019 Party Platform, but it includes all updates from each WALabor State Conference since then
Here's Live Export from page 49 (of 146)...

Live Export 66.

WA Labor recognises that:

a. There are strong economic, jobs and animal welfare reasons for transitioning from the live export trade to domestic processing of animals for local consumption and the chilled and frozen meat trade; and

b. While the live export trade continues, livestock for slaughter from Australia will be treated humanely while being transported and in the country of destination


So just looking at that...is WALabor Pro Live Export or is it's actual plan to shut it down completely? 
Well section a) actually clearly states reasons for transitioning from the live export trade to domestic processing of animals" -

If you're transitioning from one thing to the another thing you are not trying to promote both, one is going to be abolished. How could anyone read that any differently?

Section b) clearly says "While the live export trade continues..." -

While it continues clearly infers & implies without any confusion that at a planned point it is NOT continuing anymore, that is the actual plan. How could anyone read that any differently?



Next...

67. To this end, WA Labor will ensure:

a. WA animal welfare laws are enforced in respect to the shipping of livestock;

b. Require that livestock be transported, unloaded, held and slaughtered in accordance with the OIE Guidelines and stunned using appropriate humane restraints immediately before slaughter, and that there will be independent monitoring and enforcement of these standards

Yeah, OK, that's already in place, but your aim is to abolish it forever even though its what's actually holding the market price up. Farmgate prices will plummet if its abolish and WALabor will have to subsidise the cost of processing for the producers to make the same return per kilo. The Productivity Commission's Report into The Cost of Doing Business in Australia has the Labor component roughly average just a hair below 50% of the cost of production. We don't pay the kill & processing costs in Live Export. So that's zero. Once it happens to appear thanks to abolition expect meat to rise 50% in production costs. I don't think overseas markets that prefer Live will take a differently product that is many times more costly than their usual live. Who pays? Government subsidies to producers or processors or both so we can produce a financially unsustainable product the market largely won't buy?

c. Ensure adequate transitional arrangements are in place to facilitate the expansion of a chilled and frozen meat trade

Government will ensure there's adequate transition? Is that privately owned & operated or government run, funded & controlled. Very little of that will be required because sadly the entire red meat market will collapse and the majority of the Pastoral Country will shut down. That will cause one of the biggest ecological disasters in WA's history. Pastoral & rangeland country will become unviable, people will either go broke, walk off the land or both leaving Landcare in the bin. Not smart Labor.

d. Develop and implement an alternative and sustainable economic base for the pastoral industry in the north of WA;

Unless you open a mine on each station & every single farm, there will be nothing left as a financially viable alternative. We know this, there is little or no alternative now & Pastoralists, station operators know their country. If there was another income stream they'll have done it, or will do it. But making scones and waiting for the tourist buses it patently stupid and moronic. It cannot replace the landcare work that the livestock actually do whilst grazing. It will be finished and all pastoral land will fall into disrepair & no feral control or property infrastructure will be maintain. All the wheat/sheep country will fold or go full cropping...if they're able to.
Take Live Export away, you kill the regions and the local towns in one fell swoop. The stupidity is breathtaking & staggering.

 e. Work with the Commonwealth government, industry and importing countries to promote the trade in chilled meat from animals humanely transported and slaughtered in Australia;

Yeah, do that but do that without touching Live Export, without abolishing it. Let the market decide. Do not let a city based party run by city based Unions with dwindling member numbers decide - Their membership has gone from 46% in 1986 down to 14% in 2020. Of those falling numbers the biggest sectors are Education and training (31%), Public administration and safety (28%) & Health care and social assistance (24%). Those 3 groups make up 83% of unions which total 13% of workers in WA...and they're the ones deciding to abolish Australian Live Export which financially holds up the entire Red Meat Sectors Farmgate Price and is World Leading Best Standard (depsite staged paid photos aboard ships)
No thanks. Their extremely high paid leaders need more members to earn their 6 figure salaries. They wrongly think killing Live Export will deliver more union members

f. Pursue, as part of trade negotiations, the elimination of policies of foreign governments, such as subsidies and tariffs, that distort competitive neutrality between the meat processing and the live export industries; and

Where do these exist, which countries and who recieves them? You want to stop un-named subsidies that must be going to foreign importers & processors, not to WA Primary Producers, you wish to abolish Live Export and not subsidise the replacement industry that won't last a few weeks? Why would you stop foreign governments that want to subsidise the importation of our product?
If it actually exists and I'll await proof.
Stump it up Minister McTiernan & Hon Darren West.

 g. Promote Australian chilled and frozen meat in potential new markets through intensive international promotional campaigns, such as the emerging markets in China.

Go for it, but at the same time promote the Live Export as well, because without it the export chilled product will not be able to sustainably replace the entire live export. The balance and the competition that holds the market place price up will be destroyed. We will return to the result the destruction of the Wool Industry brought us. Livestock will be worthless, there will be wholesale slaughter of livestock.
I don't believe many of Teachers, Admin & Safety Workers or the Healthcare & Social Assistence Union members were involved in the horrible Flock Reduction Scheme. I was there, I remember it. I know exactly how many entirely worthless sheep I destroyed and how some people delivered them to market and they were sent a bill to have them taken away and destoryed.


TAKE HOME MESSAGE ->

IT IS CLEAR. IF ANYONE TELLS YOU LABOR IS PRO LIVE EXPORT AND RETAINING THE SHEEP FLOCK & CATTLE HERD IN WA WHILST PROTECTING THE LAND CARE BENEFITS IN VAST REMOTE AREAS DO NOT BELIEVE IT. IT IS A LIE.

IF ANYONE TELLS YOU ALANNAH McTIERNAN & DARREN WEST ARE PRO LIVE EXPORT, DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR, CALL THEM OUT, CALL THEM A LIAR. BECAUSE UNLESS THEY'RE GOING AGAINST THEIR OWN PARTY PLATFORM WHICH IS AKIN TO CROSSING THE FLOOR & RESULT IN THEIR EXPULSION FROM THE PARTY THEY STILL WANT & PLAN TO BAN LIVE EXPORT


SO, WELL YEAH, I CALL BULLDUST. SO SHOULD YOU.
IN FACT SAVING THE STATE FROM A MOMUNMENTAL FINANCIAL DISASTER IS SERIOUSLY UP TO YOU. 

YOU HAVE TO ACT...

DO NOT RELAX, CONTACT YOUR LOCAL MP, GET A WRITTEN COMMITTMENT THAT THEY WILL SUPPORT LIVE EXPORT AND OPPOSE THE WALABOR STATE PLATFORM & ANY EFFORTS TO BAN LIVE EXPORTS - IF YOU GET A TACTIAL REPLY INSTEAD OF A PROPER ANSWER, THEY WANT TO BAN LIVE EXPORT.
LOOK FOR A VERY CLEAR SUCCINCT COMMITTMENT TO OPPOSING BANNING LIVE EXPORT.

   

                    IT'S STILL ON, ITS STILL COMING
     AND IT'S COMING BEFORE THE NEXT ELECTION



Sources -


WALabor Party State Platform - 2019walabor_platform.pdf

Union Membership Numbers in WA & Industry Spread - Trade union membership, August 2020 | Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au)




Flashback...2019






Tuesday 21 December 2021

Social Engineering on Social Media? Can it be true?

 True Story. New Zealand Prime Minister posted a thoroughly cringe fest of a video online saying the 3 vaccinations are like schooling...
A very deadly worldwide pandemic & if you're a Kiwi this is the rubbish you'd be getting from your Prime Minister.


The NZ PM stated she "read an article..." about how the first dose was like kindergarten, 2 dose was like Primary school etc. Then there was a reply...

"That article was written by an idiot to be read by morons Imagine if NZ had a person who wasn’t a Marxist AND a living brain donor. World class as an embarrassing pretend leader" And that reply resulted in this before posting could proceed...

So its easy to assume the offensive & harmful words are idiot & morons. Yes it's not nice to call names, but regardless it's not unreasonable to see people go off a bit at deeply cringeworthy muck if the people making such crud statements are a Prime Minister. a so called leader of a nation.

So change the word idiot into "id iot" and change morons into "mo rons" and see if that's offensive and harmful. Edit that, hit post...NO problem. It gets posted.

Then try it on Scott Morrison's page. He's conservative, Ardern is a socialist. As it turns out same response. So perhaps then, it's not about him vs her...it's about those two words being deemed 'harmful & offensive'

So then...post the same post with unaltered "idiot" and "morons" (y'know the hamful & offensive words) on Scott Morrison page but remove "MARXIST"

SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE.



Turns out YOU CAN post the words idiot & morons on a twitter feed and they're no longer harmful or offensive words...

LONG AS YOU DON'T USE THE WORDS MARXIST.

IT APPEARS THEY'RE ONLY EVER DEEMED TO BE HARMFUL & OFFENSIVE WORDS WHEN APPLIED TO A PERSON ALSO REFERRED TO AS A MARXIST.


Let that sink in...

Call someone idiot & a moron, all ok.

Refer to someone as a Marxist, all ok.

Refer to someone as a Marxist & also call them an idiot & a moron, you will be asked to edit or remove it immediately. 
Stunning.

Wednesday 24 November 2021

The Albany Health Campus Crisis & The Health Minister Roger Cook's Silly Deflection

 So last week, there was a meeting, a public meeting about the disaster that's hit The Albany Health Campus. (Go here for more on the meeting Seriously Think for a minute: Public Meeting - Albany Health Campus. What Was What? )

In Parliament on Tuesday the 23rd of November 2021, just 5 days after meeting Libby Mettam the Opposition Health Spokesperson asked a question.

Now take note, there are 2 distinct parts to her question. Have a read then we'll crack open the Minister's reply.


Now just 2 parts, asking if he could confirm there were no beds available last Thursday & secondly why has there been no attempt to recitfy this by funding more beds.

And here's the Minister's reply...




So in order starting with (ARROW 1) "sad & sorrys" to Albany is not to the point, it's a personal swipe, I know they all do it, but it was my first red flag that he's not happy that he & the local member for Albany have an embarrassing mess and the local member is even more problematic because shes seem to not have a great clue before, during or after the meeting. She was silent at the public meeting & she's also been silent since the meeting. Her social media posts are intrigung. No calls for a WorkSafe Inquiry. What has she posted since the meeting? Go to below to *
 
But regarding the "fact of the matter is..." (ARROW 2

The minister said To the issue of the allegations from the mayor on the eighteenth, I think quote goes, “Not a single bed was available at AHC, Plantagenet or Denmark.”

My recollection is quite different from the minister's "thought" on what was said...oh and he wasn't there. I recall the Mayor Dennis Wellington saying that he can contacted a person in the Hospital System earlier that day & that there "were no beds available in the Great Southern" and then went onto say so don't have a car accident or something serious requiring an overnight stay. My impression was the Mayor said when he spoke to the un-named person, there were no beds available in the Great Southern.

What the minister should have said that was either correct or incorrect when the Mayor was informed the Great Southern had no beds.
There may well have been one bed in Denmark (50+km away) and 4 beds available in Plantagenet Cranbrook Medical Centre (50+ kms away in Mount Barker later but...

Albany Health Campus was full, there were no spare beds AT ALL.
So if you had a car accident or serious medical event in the Great Southern that night there were 5 hospital beds 50+kms from Albany...ALBANY WAS FULL. 
Reminder, 10-12 patients a week get are lifted to Perth.


Albany Health Campus had no beds & it services the Great Southern population of 60,000 people ** 

Now when you've let that sink in, re-read the Minister replying trying to belt & discredit the Shadow Health Spokesperson for getting things wrong. When the mayor said it, there were no beds in the Great Southern. How is it any better & ok having 5 beds 50+kms away and staff are over worked, over stressed, being bullied?

Can you just get the WorkSafe Inquiry running now before more people leave.

But no Roger Cook the minister went on in a rancid pork chop fashion in order to deflect and run from the problem hitting the Albany Health Campus.
1) It has a Toxic Culture, it needs a Worksafe Inquiry
2) Accusations of bullying, it needs a WorkSafe Inquiry
3) Staff are over worked, over stress and it needs a Worksafe Inquiry
3) Only 19% of staff think their organisation is "making the necessary improvements to meet future challenges" so it probably needs a WorkSafe Inquiry.
4) On the date of the Public meeting, the biggest hospital, the ONLY major hospital in the Great Southern was full.

Remember the Albany Health Campus is in Albany, population 38,296 (2020) & Mayor Wellington said it's expected to grow to 50,000 by 2030. It was only 35,000 when the hospital was completed in 2013 so capability wise the fantastic staff are seriously ham strung by the lack of expansion & the patients...well hope you all get beds when needed & survive.

And no, I am not sorry I do not support the minister's intellectually bankrupt claim that the hospital is suffering from "difficult COVID times"  BECAUSE THERE'S NO COVID IN ALBANY.

It's suffering from a lack of beds, a lack of staff and a lack of good management that should prevent bullying, over work, over stress and all many of other forms of avoidable ugliness that comes from a Toxic Workplace. As for the range of activities that support staff, Roger should list them if he's to repea this claim because clearly its not happening or it's totally ineffective. The staff & ex staff say so.

One last note on the Plantagenet Cranbrook Health Service...you can no longer have a baby there or Katanning. You'll have to rush to Albany & hope there's a bed after you've given birth. 
Oh interesting fact, a family member was admitted to hospital, collapsed at home and was rushed to Albany Health Campus. It was full but there was a spare bed luckily, in the Maternity Ward. Only bed in the Hospital & that was over 2 years ago.
Wake up Roger or make way for someone who can cope because all this stress and inability to have beds is now BEFORE COVID GETS HERE...HOW DO YOU EXPECT STAFF AND PATIENTS CAN COPE, THERE'S NOT EVEN A ICU OR VENTILATOR IN ALBANY, ONLY A HIGH DEPENDENCY UNIT.

But never mind, keep playing political games, use tactical replies instead of factual answer...I do hope that when COVID hits we don't have to set up temporary tent morgues Roger.

                                                 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

*   Rebecca Stephen's Social Media Posts since the public meeting
Nov 19 - Attending Graduation of Albany Secondary Education Support Centre
Nov 21 - Promotion of "Free Christmas Lights Bus Tour" (but not free, Gold Coin Donation going to un-named charity
Nov 22 - Congratulating 3 local groups on being awarded $1000 grants for International Day of People with Disabilities.
Nov 23 - Albany TAFE receiving $400,000 of funding
Nov 23 - Highlighting Albany reacjing 85% COVID first dose. The pop up Vax Site in the Old Bunnings Building, no appointment needed. 
Nov 23 - Highlighting a social event at Parliament & welcoming ADF Veterans with Legacy Australia and RSLWA.
Nov 24 - UWA Albany & Children's University Australasia 
Nov 24 - Turning the sod with Minister for Emergency Services Reece Whitby for the new SES Headquarters. We were lucky, Reece flew into Albany. He spent roughly 2 hours fly from Perth to Albany & back again. Stayed in Albany less than 3 hours.

That's it. Nothing to do with the Hospital. No requests for health staff to contact her with concerns because y'know...she said she regularly talks with Roger Cook. She like Roger, should probably step up or step down...

** Population of the Great Southern a-regional-profile-2018-great-southern.pdf (gsdc.wa.gov.au)

Below Albany Advertiser 23rd of November 2021











Tuesday 23 November 2021

What the Tier 3 Rail Story on the WA Country Hour Showed & Some Might Miss...

Well on thing that won't be missed is the Transport Minister wasn't available to go on air on the Country Hour today 23/November 2021. She sent us all in a message about Tier 3 Rail

Also on a different issue another Minister wasn't available, sent in a message.

Send a message you cannot be questioned or held to a decent standard.

Also on a different issue another minister Stephen Dawson wouldn't go on the programme
This means the minister cannot even have his/her message taken to task.

Now with Tier 3, the Transport Minister's message followed critical comments from coalition MP Steve Thomas MLC where she said (and I'm paraphrasing closely).


Its pretty rich of Steve Thomas asking for it to be rebuilt as it was his party that shut down Tier 3 rail.


Well irony is, it's pretty rich Minister Saffiotti. It was your party that was fighting to keep it open year a ago. One might say...
Its pretty rich of Rita Saffiotti doing nothing as it was he party that wanted it protected...until now

If your mob wanted it then, Steve's mob want it now...MAKE IT HAPPEN NOW.

Interesting also I was in a meeting with the then minister Murray Criddle, opposition spokesperson Alannah McTiernan (who was vigorously trying to keep it open) who is now Agriculture Minister and kinda a bit silent on the whole thing.

Now a decision supporting or opposing something should never Theatre Bollocks which include "bit rich consider when you were in power you did x, y, z..."
Do what's best, stick to facts & data.

Now forget all Tier 3, just rebuild the line from Quairding to York. That then connects 2 large CBH Strategic Bins & gets between 250,000 & 300,000 tonnes annually off the road.

Meanwhile MetroNet, often called MetroDebt is looking at further cost blow outs and in 2017 the Labor MPs said the $2.5 Billion costings would not increase.

Ummm...how's that going?
Well Tier 3 isn't getting a cent & the current cost of MetroNet is still cost billions and you can't use it at all yet after all these years. As for the 10,000+ jobs, not sure it that was reached

Solution, build it between Quairading & York, join the 2 CBH Strategic Bins and you will have to rebuild it. There's about 4 sections where the number of wagons has to be restricted because the bend curves suit much shorter length wagons and the new ones...
Well at one stage it was 12 wagons only & 10km/h speed or they literally just topple of the tracks.

So it's got to be rebuilt, the bridge over the Avon River has to be replaced. Call it 60 kilometres at a million per kilometre. $60Million spent and you take 250-300,000 tonnes of grain off th road every year. Multiply that with a minimum 30-40 year life span. For a cost of $60 Million plus maintenance...

7.5 Million to 12 Million Tonnes off the Road. About $5/tonne to save the roads.

Rita? Y'there Rita?

By the way, when the coalition government that privatised the Tier 3 Rail who was in the new Labor Government that's still in Parliament today?
Kate Doust
Sue Ellery
Mark McGowan
Alannah McTiernan
Michelle Roberts
Sally Talbot
David Templeman
Margaret Quirk

The list gets a good bit longer when you include WA Labor MPs who retired at the last election.

Why did they not revert & reinvest each they took power? Not on their Agenda?

How many times have they won government since it was privatised? Four times.

Alannah McTiernan was one of the loudest fighters for retention of Tier 3 Rail during it's approaching demise. I sat in meeting in Northam with her, 3 Pastoralist & Grazier Association members, 2 rail employees, 2 farmers & Murray Criddle.

Everything Alannnah & other Labor MPs ever said only lasted as valid until the finished as opposition MPs. Why?
Very likely they were on the campaign trail & doing what oppositions are supposed to do, find a fault and fight against it. Once the election was won it would have cost the Government an obscene amount of money to get out of the privatised deal, it would have cost money to upgrade the rail network above & beyond the operators input. Why spend money on the regions you don't really care about?
Leave it dead & spend the money elsewhere where it can consolidate WA Labor?

Well we'll wait n see...


Late Note - 
Tier 3 isn't a big part of the network and often misunderstood. I think it's well under 1000kms.
Also check out the Wheatbelt Railway Retention Alliance where the map below came from. Save Grain On Rail – Wheatbelt Railway Retention Alliance





Friday 19 November 2021

Public Meeting - Albany Health Campus. What Was What?

Well short version, after reading below...there's a couple of things.

1) Will the Member for Albany Support A Worksafe Review Of The Albany Health Campus?

2) Will She Pen More Opinion Peices For The Local Newspaper, Including The Regions Now Losing Upper House Representatives & If She Supports It, Why?

3) Will She Recognise That The Role Of The Opposition Is To Test The Government & Hold It To Account and in this case, There Is A Lot To Account For?


Longer version is...

Upper House Member for the South West James Hayward MLC spoke with past and/or present health workers at the Albany Health Campus. He was made aware of a number of concerns. They were not at all trival and pointed to a possible "damaging to staff " workplace with a toxic culture, possible bullying, harassement, over worked staff, with under staffed under resourced areas.
All leading to a demanding workplace becoming even more stressful & staff leaving.

So Mr Hayward organised a Public Meeting at Retravision Stadium on Lockyer Avernue to hear concerns from staff, ex staff, other stakeholders & any community members. 
He had along side him, not just another MP but Libby Mettam MLA the Shadow Health Spokesperson.
Rare to get a public meeting with MPs, but to get two? Great.

Its rare to get public meetings with MPs for a number of reasons, it can get out of hand, it can get heated. There were emotions but it was reserved and calm. For some yes it was more than a little emotional but at the end, for some there appeared to be hope. They had been heard & some will hopefully speak again even if in private.
Add to that, whilst there were 2 MPs at the helm, from the opposition, they're from completely seperate parties and flew to Albany after a long day sitting in Parliament.

Now the call went out, I'll add the pre meeting write up in the Albany Advertiser below in case you missed the newspapers preview of the event. The newspaper edition is 18th November 2021, exact same date as the meeting, however it was advertised in newspapers, FaceBook & the Albany Show. 

Now also that same paper, same date  was an "opinion piece" from local member Rebecca Stephens MLA. I'll post it below so you can read it. You can read it now or after...

She mentions the personal experience of her family as a loved family member was cared for at the hospital before sadly passing away. She entions her sister, a registered nurse. She then speaks very highly of the Hospital staff, health workers to all the various support staff, speaks glowingly and who can argue that? Well no one and I gather no one actually has. 100% agree but nothing at all to do with the Public Meeting that's been arranged.
Then she says some would use the global pandemic & the difficult decisions the McGowan Government has made as a platform to score cheap political shots. 
Does she mean the meeting? The meeting came as a result of a survey & people complaining to James Hayward MLC. I do not think he or the complainants are trying to score cheap political shots. 
Then the clanger. Ms Stephens goes on to say...

"As your member in the McGowan Government I regularly talk to Roger Cook about the needs of our hospital. Together we have worked to find solutions and make improvements.
To our dedicated health workers thank you so much for the dedicated work you do under often difficult circumstances.
To those who seek to cause division and undermine community cofidence in our hospital, instead of playing these political games, please work with me to find a way forward"


Regarding the yellow highlighting, she has either tried to tell Roger Cook about the allegations of the toxic workplace, bullying, nepotism, over worked & over stressed staff, people quitting & the double shifts and the health minister has done nothing OR she's been talking about who knows what & she's oblivious to these problems in her own town. Either way, that's a massive failure by the local MP & the Health Minister. Its not a cheap political shot/point...its just a damn fact.

Regarding the orange highlighting, there was no promoting the Nationals nor the Liberals in advertising for the public meeting. No attacks on the Labor Party. The 2 speakers had their official titles used as they were appearing as members of parliament. They organised the meeting after having seen survey results & having been contacted by current and/or past staff with serious complaints of workplace abuse and over work.
The survey results were available to the local MP, I'm surprised if they weren't or if they were I'd be very disappoint if  she didn't read & worse read them & didn't worry about them. I can understand her embarassment but this is not a political attack on party lines if there is a major and deeply serious problem and staff are looking for help. 
At no point before, during nor after the meeting were organisers critical of staff at the hospital, in fact quite the opposite. At the meeting they applauded them for the work they give under trying circumstances at the best of times.
The speakers did not go after Labor, asked people be respectful of all speakers whether they agree or not. To not mention names or departments but speak only in general terms so they can gather a better understanding & for everyone to remind themselves there is no criticism of hospital workers or the huge service they deliver to the community. They were offered to contact the MPs privately if they need a discrete & confidential chat.
I think the local MP went on the blind saying some were trying to cause division and it was foolish.

Now the day before, on the Wednesday in State Parliament the Member for Albany asked the Health Minister a "Dorothy Dixer" question. Its usually a pre arranged question that a Government MP asks a Minister so the Minister can promote something. It's weird & clunky but every government of every stripe has always done it...and done it a lot. This is no different here but check the wording of the question.

779.  Ms R.S. STEPHENS to the Minister for Health: I refer to the McGowan Labor government’s investment in Albany Health Campus and the work of its educated staff, who provided wonderful empathy and care for my dad. Can the minister update the house on this government’s investment in the services at Albany hospital and outline how this support is supporting those in my electorate who require medical treatment and care?

Regarding the yellow highlight, the staff are brilliant, everyone agrees. Everyone. 

Regarding the orange highlight. Well fair question. Funding is worth knowing in detail. Sadly it wasn't asking if there was a toxic culture, if there is bullying, harassment of staff, nepotism, staff overly stressed, if they're under staffed and overworked or the number of double shifts as well as staff leaving with some vowing to never return.
I think this was meant as a bit of a blind block but in any case it massively missed the mark & left the health workers grossly ignored. This actually looked like a cheap political point & ignored the staff at AHC.

Here comes the reply from Roger Cook MLA the Health Minister. Be aware the highlight comments with red highlight are my comments reflecting on the minster's comments. (Full unaltered Hansard page is attached below)

Mr R.H. COOK replied: I would like to thank the member for Albany for the question. Can I just pass on my thoughts to you on the recent passing of your father, and we wish you all the very best in this time.
Agreed 100% Well said.

It is an important question, because it is important to appreciate the incredible work that is going on at Albany Health Campus at the moment, with the staff, like those in many of our regional hospitals, doing great work on behalf of the people of Western Australia.
Agreed - We all appreciate the work of the over worked staff. Albany's population is around 35,000 and growing, the Great Southern that this hospital services as the Major Health Campus has a population of over 60,000 (Source listed below) and the Albany Health Campus has just 135 beds. No mention of the issues raised in a survey or reported to other MPs.

This fantastic health campus provides great care to many people in the great southern region.
Agreed, no one says otherwise. No one.

In fact, this year alone, it has conducted over 5 179 theatre procedures, and there have been 26 863 emergency department attendances and 63 651 outpatient service appointments.
I have no reason to doubt these stats, but they have nothing to do with the problems that the Health Minister is either ignoring or is unaware of. How he is able to be a minister in either case remains a great mystery. Is he deaf or his nearby senior staff mute?

It is going fantastically well.
Well not so much Roger. At the meeting the following night the Albany Mayor relayed that if you have a serious emergency like a car accident, THERE IS NO HOSPITAL BED FOR YOU. THERE ARE NO SPARE BEDS IN THE GREAT SOUTHERN, THEY'RE ALL TAKEN. IN FACT THE ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR AIRLIFTS 10-12 PEOPLE A WEEK OUT TO PERTH. 
So no, not going fantastically well at all. Its a life threatening death trap and the RFDS is virtually an airborne version of AMBULANCE RAMPING IN THE REGIONS.


In addition to that, 494 babies have been delivered in the Albany community.
Yup that's great too. No one has been critical of that at all though although good luck trying to find a mid wife in Geraldton or some other regional centres.

Albany Health Campus is also pulling its weight in the fight against the COVID pandemic, with over 3384 COVID tests having been conducted and over 6636 vaccinations having been delivered from that hospital.
Yup that's great too. No one has been critical of that at all though

It is disappointing to say the least to hear that the opposition, which as we know is constantly trying to undermine our hospital system and confidence in it in these unprecedented times, will tomorrow be holding an event to try to derive more division in the community — Several members interjected.
2 MPs held a public meeting asking for people to speak, they had no political imagery or colours or banners. They applauded staff & were not critical of staff, management, the system or the hospital or the hosptial system. They said they were there to listen to staff, ex staffers, stakeholders, community members and anyone that had a view on whether things weren't as they should be. If they were trying to "derive more division in the community" well...I was there and I'd say nope. Seemed to achieve the compelte opposite. No one was thrown under the bus, not even the Minister or the local member. In fact it's on the record, they even asked people to work with them & Rebecca to try & set things on a resolved path.
Is it the minsiter playing the "political games" that Rebecca Stephens was critical of?


The SPEAKER: Order, please!

Mr R.H. COOK:
— and more anxiety, undermining community confidence in our great hospital system. The shadow Minister for Health is not going down there to hear people’s concerns.
Seems like she did. They collected views from stressed and depleted people. The Great Hospital System in WA is regularly has massive ambulance ramping, so many hospital code yellows they are not reported by the press. It used to be labelled a crisis by Roger Cook as opposition Health Spokesperson & its just got worse every year under his steerage.

She is going down there with preconceived and preloaded false assertions about how that hospital is failing the community, and it is not.
No the conviction is there were complaints that some in hospital management are failing people under their employment, causing double shifts, over working, stress, verbal & emotional abuse as well as bullying and possibly nepotism. So no, you're quite wrong Roger.

Several members interjected.

Mr R.H. COOK: As the member for Albany would be aware, great things are happening at Albany Health Campus.
But not aware of the Hospital survey nor the people under aprpeciated, over worked, over stressed and at breaking point. Not aware of those things at all.

The McGowan government is expanding the available clinical services in Albany.
But no increases in staff because for starters any health professional moving to Albany won't find a house. The Mayor outlined only 22 house available for rent & in Esperance just the one.
Another disaster in the progress, but we'll leave the Minister for Housing out of this for now.


We have already provided a teleneurology service to allow patients flexibility with their appointments, which means less travel. In June this year, the government opened the new permanent breast screen clinic.
But no beds available the day of the meeting for any serious accidents or illensses. NONE

The McGowan government is also currently building a $13.1 million radiotherapy suite so that literally hundreds of cancer patients can now have treatment closer to home in the community in which they live, surrounded by the family that they love. 
That's great but staff will continue to leave if the toxic culture isn't fixed and the City is growing fast and 135 beds to service between 35,000 & 60,000 people is going to fail. REMEMBER ALBANY IS COVID FREE AND THIS IS THE LOWEST IMPACTING FLU SEASON THE CITY & THE STATE HAS SEEN IN YEARS...AND THE HOSPITAL IS FULL & THE RFDS IS AIRLIFTING PEOPLE TO PERTH. 
We have aerial ambulance ramping Roger.

We are also future-planning for the hospital, with a master plan currently underway to determine the future needs of Albany Health Campus and the community it services.
That's great Roger, that is encouraging but can you say when that actually started, who's involved. Call me cynical but was that begun this week? Also Albany is not even present proof and you think there's no problems. Something that is clearly lost on you and the local MP. Not to mention the departmental managers & bureaucrats who should be reporting to you...or it they are, you should be listening to and actioning upon it long ago.

Finally, we are undertaking further costing and planning of our election commitment to double the number of chairs in the Albany dental clinic.
Great, if one were to have a serious car accident and as a result suffer only a cavity all will be good...if the doubling of dental chairs happens. Of course there are 19 private dental proactices in Albany. No word on them having toxic cultures, bullying etc...

The McGowan government is backing Albany Health Campus because the campus is supporting the people of Albany.
Yeah, are you really? Supporting in so much as you can whilst not knowing whats happening there, how few beds there are, how all beds are taken, extra patients are air lifted to Perth & staff are over stressed, over worked and leaving.

It is time that everyone in this place got behind the doctors, nurses, allied health staff and leaders at that hospital,
Agreed, but they already are behind the health workers. The 2 visiting MPs are trying to identify problems, to get them rectified because you and the local Albany MP speak to one another regularly and kind of not know what is going on & how bad it actually is...

and we should be thankful for the great work that they do every day on behalf of the people of Western Australia
Again, 100% agree but that is not disputed, no visiting MP has ever been found yet to be critical of doctors, nurses, allied heath staff and leaders. They've actually visited and held a public meeting allowing these people and other stakeholders to actually be heard.


Roger...call a meeting in Albany yourself. Ask people to speak and listen to them. No political division. Fix It.


Great Southern Population Source -
a-regional-profile-2018-great-southern.pdf (gsdc.wa.gov.au)


















Tuesday 16 November 2021

The Current Electoral Reform That Was A Rammed Through Lowering of Representation

Well the pictorial comparision (below) to what the WA Labor is doing is by no means over selling the over reach & determiniation to stitch up the regions. It is a 100+ year old ideological aim coming to fruition.



If you're in any doubt, or you think it's about time & very much in line with what should be done answer yourself a few questions before checking Hansard and hearing speeches on this legislation.

1) Mr Tucker MLC, the fellow elected to the Upper House hasn't actually been a bad member. If getting elected legally, lawfully by the book with 98 votes is such an issue that the rules have to change, it's been pointed out MANY times, you can prevent vastly under representative representation WITHOUT going to One Vote One Value. 
In fact the electoral reforms are only partially aimed at low vote election results...so why change the other parts that provide less regional representation?

2) If we were to adopt the identical principles and by identical...I mean identical, one vote one value to the federal upper house, The Senate guess what?
Most senators will come from NSW, Victoria & Queensland effectively 2 states could control the Senate. It's fully equal, but no equity. Do we push for equality everywhere and change the senate. Think WA would be down to just 2 Senators. That good?

3) This legislation is not rammed through, its smashed through. Why? There was no announcement it was coming, in fact the Premier kept repeating it was not on the agenda but somehow, straight after the election its a COVID Priority Bill. 
It will come into effect as soon as it is passed & made ascent but won't be used for another 3 1/2 years.
Why was this pushed through now, so it's ancient history when it delivers a gerrymander?

4) So far, the view is commonly held that the expert committee had extremely narrow terms of reference & the result the delivered is pretty much as it could ever have been with the terms of reference? Why do that?

5) The Upper House pushed for a special committee to look into it, the will of the House said no. All Labor voted not to have an Upper House Committee dig deeper into it. Why?

6) Debate has been limited. So this has small window to look at it...possibly a small window so Labor passed it regardless.

7) Calls to hold a referendum rejected. Why?

8) A motion to refer the bill to a Parliamentary Committee of Legislation was voted down. Utterly bizarre that anyone could support this when it vastly reduces the sunlight & integrity able to be poured into the matter.

9) 2.6 Million Square Kilometres of WA will have less representation than it had before and it NEVER could over vote the metro area which is around 7000 square kilometres. Now more representation in the Upper House will come from the metro area as the regional representation is reduced.
Just let that sink in then let this sink in...

Voters in an area that comprises only 0.26% of the WA land mass will control & possess more power than over 99% of the WA land mass. 
Here's the thing, that's always been the case...ALWAYS
But now its even less in the Upper House which is the House of Review.
This is a legislative priority in the COVID, State of Emergency Parliament...will come in now but can't even be used for 3 plus years.

Ideology & a Gerrymander. Nothing more

10) In the final Upper House sitting on this matter the (Labor) Parliamentary Secretary contradicted the Attorney General in the Lower house. One stated that discretionary powers of the electoral commissoner would be removed, the other say the opposite. It took ages to get that rectified and the Parliamentary Secretary in the Upper House had to conceded the opposition was correct & he was wrong. Yet another another fully clear example this legislation was rushed through as quickly as possible.

Remember the Voluntary Assisted Dying Legislation in the Last Parliament?
Labor passed in the Lower House and condemned any efforts to slow it down in the Upper House saying it needed absolutely no amendments at all. The Upper House wasn't controlled by the Labor cabinet so imagine my surprise when the Upper House found many faults which resulted in 55 amendments.

Not this time, complete control of both houses. Ideology driven over reach is on the march.

Here's the voting in the Lower House.



Its passed, here's the voting in the Upper House






Now ask yourself those questions above, try not to think about the reported rumour that a Senior Minister who bragged about something about Labor being to powerful its like North Korea.

Go back into Hansard either video or written  & take in the speeches.
Start with Hon Tjorn Sibma, then Hon Martin Aldridge. Martin cracked open this nut & shone light inside the shell & exposed some of the rot within. 



Then follow of with Hon Steve Thomas, Hon James Hayward, Hon Nick Goiran, Hon Peter Collier



Wednesday 10 November 2021

Grilling A Minister Many Years Ago Opened My Eyes. Grill Yours.

At a public meeting many years ago I asked a then MP, a member of cabinet no less
“On what issue would you cross the floor in the best interests of your election &/or the state of WA?”

I also recall 3 people sharply turning around & looking at me with a bit of shock.
I assume they understood the can of worms that I was opening.

The question was met not with a clear answer but a tactical political reply.
I'm naming the Minister & I'm paraphrasing to get as close as I can to what was said (not a an actual quote)

‘ I fight hard in cabinet, I think it’s better to stay in cabinet and voice the opinions that want to be heard & keep trying, never giving up '

What I never told people since was my follow up...
“So with a battle ground type assessment of everyone’s potential, if the Premier knows he has the numbers, lets you have a token say, knows you'll never resign so he can ignore you. All is locked up in cabinet papers for 30 years marked confidential ”

He then told me it’s far more nuanced and complicated, the number of interworking parts at play as well as the longer strategic game being played is immense, too much to explain tonight. Add to that that he'd potentially violate cabinet regulations...yada yada

I think there's good grounds for reducing the 30 year rule on Cabinet Papers & when they are released they should be 100% NON-REDACTED in any way. Be full & complete.

I often think Cabinet's hide behind the bogus force field of "commercial in confidence"
I think if you use this sheild from scrutiny then it should go before 3 senior judges for a judgement. If its legitimately "Commercial in Confidence" it will be kept so by the judge's ruling...fair bump play on. Currently MPs, Ministers, Premiers & of course senior bureaucrats have deep layers of bullet teflon in the shadows that they can rely on as a safe harbour.
If we're to trust our ruling class, then they are to be tested to ensure they look to have the highest integrity & actually are proven to have the highest integrity.

Some of this harks back to having proper systems of provable integrity within the ruling classes & some of it harks back to an MP not knowing to whom they owe a fiduciary duty & relying upon you not asking them. The answering (accurate, plain & honest or a tactical political reply) will tell you a lot they maybe don't want you know.

How many masters can you serve and which first or which solely whilst you pretend to the others??

  1. Their own personal ambitions, prestige positions & earnings

  2. Their electorate as best as a reasonable person might

  3. Their party & actually represent their party in the electorate instead of representing the electorate's best interests in the Parliament and/ or Cabinet?

  4. Their faction within the party & just "play the game" to their electorate, other factions?

Recently looked at our own new Labor MP & in the last 4 weeks we've searched the local newspapers & her FaceBook feed. It's all about appearances. Delivering biscuit hampers to local school staff rooms on "International Teachers Day". Selling red poppies outside the bank for charity. Going to charity & fund raiser events. And yes, reaching out to community groups to push the profile higher. The local monthly car event was contacted to see if the MP could hold a regular Sausage Sizzle with money raised going to charity, a different charity each month. The regular thing was her, Labor volunteers and Labor colours. She was told the event was meant to be apolitical. She was apparently asked to consult with the nearby coffee shop because they had held fund raisers there for charities & they might end up cutting their grass which isn't a good look. The next event (only a week later) they didn't come & went to an Alziemer's Event instead.
Now we get it. They have to do local fluff n puff stuff. That's fine.

The dud part is that new MP, with less than 6 months in the job in the last 6 weeks not posted anything online or in local newspapers about legislation passed or policy being pushed. NONE.

Nothing on the electoral reform bill which was "not on the agenda" before the election but straight after was & it will reduce regional representation. Had the rules proposed been in at the last election Labor would have picked up several seats, Nationals & indpendants would have lost some & the Liberals no change. Its a near on 100 year old ideological gerrymander.

At present there's several that don't represent us in Parliament & they don't even represent their party in the electorate because she only wants to be photographed at fund raisers or "International Day of..." celebrations. Pretty sure her party want her visible but as silent as possible.

This highlights that Public Servants in the actual Public Service must serve the public's best interests & they should be on contracts with serious performance reviews.
MPs should have serious performance reviews & perhaps they & the senior bureacrats should have "The Big Five" personality tests before entering politics and in each seat the party must have 3 candidates running. If one is elected and falls well below standard, refer them to a higher court & if deemed substandard at the halfway point of their term, replace them with number 2 on the ticket. Or release the findings so they all have a score at the next election.

Let me guess...every MP in unison will sing together like a choir that "It’s far more nuanced and complicated, the number of interworking parts at play as well as the longer strategic game being played is immense, too much to explain"



Tuesday 9 November 2021

How Does Mandatory Vaccinations Really Work?

 No, not at all interested if COVID came from a bat or a lab or if the vaccines work or not...No

Its the Mandatory side of things, the whole "No Jab, No Job" thing & how does it actually work?

1) When you get the jab you have to sign a consent form.

  • If you're getting the jab to keep your job, if that's your decision that's your call, but why sign the consent form?

  • What is the consent are you actually consenting to?

  • Does your signature release anyone from legal liability or is it purely a record from you, of you getting the jab??

2) What are the legalities?

  • Do employers (who's employees are required to have the jab) have the legal authority to request a staff member's medical records?

  • Do those employers possess the lawful ability to sack them if they refuse to produce their records 

  • Why do employers have to police their employees medical status?

  • Are employers legally bound to police their employees vaccination status and are they legally bound to sack anyone who isn't vaccinated?

  • Some businesses like Spotlight are not saying "No Jab, No Job" because there's a probabilty of losing a percentage of their staff. Instead their solution was to say if you do not get the jab, no End Of Year Bonus. Is that legal, lawful & fair?
You can stay unvaccinated but you will miss out on your bonus, but is there legal liability that the injected employee stuck with, the person who is cash strapped and took the jab because there was a finanical incentive.


No I'm not anti vaccination, this is not about the effectiveness or dangers of the vaccinations, its what is the legal landscape of "Mandatory Vaccinations"

And I'm searching and not fiding clear answers.

Sunday 24 October 2021

How They Affect You -> Aspiring Political Candidates.

Wiser man that me told me "It's easy to find a good candidate, it's damn hard to find that right person at that perfect sweet spot in their life's journey to become a candidate & a possibly a MP"

And yes, he was a MP but not quite through his first term.

And yes, it was when I'd been asked to help seek out & list potential candidates for them.

And yes, I found plenty. In a small electorate of 300 km2 and a population of 35,000.

Strangely 2 of them were on a short list for that party but were never followed up. Both ran against that party, one came first, one came second. And no, I don't think the best person won. One that missed out would have made a great legislator having the over horizon vision needed to assess most likely outcomes good & bad whilst possessing pretty good interpersonal skills to negotiate concessions when needed. Often the best candidate does not get elected. Life goes on.

So yes the party in question found a long list of potential candidates. One seemed good but not in the right spot of their life's journey. Another definitely had the skills to be a very good legislator and was well versed in politics, parliamentary process & the role of policy makers but again, wrong timing.

But then there's the troubling paradox which is politely left unspoken. Not thought about perhaps (which is more troubling) but is very much unspoken...

The Unspoken Political Dilemma.


Who to select...those that might be a better chance of being elected versus those who are likely to be a damn good community builder within the Upper or Lower House? Those that by building & reviewing legislation, processing forward estimates, budget papers, learning to join the dots between the aspirations of their electorate & the ministers involved, whether you're in government or opposition.
Which, because the latter might not be the easiest of the two to elect?

Not being kind or unkind to the wise MP but I don't think he was hiding The Unspoken Political Dilemma but its now at the fore front of my mind.

So who should go into politics? Well I have always thought it should be someone who's spent time in the Party Machine, somewhere. Watched debate in parliament in person or online, has looked at Hansard more than a few times and has some understanding of Parliamentary Procedures, Process, Rules.
Sometimes MPs changes houses, sometimes they go from State to Federal or vice versa. If the person has been in Parliament it's a pretty tough call to deny them pre-selection if others running are green skins. The green skins may well be of a currently considered highly electable demographic, but how do they compare against a season MP? Honestly, not well.

If its Skills vs Frills at that level, it must be the case at all levels yeah?

No.

More often the driver is winning a seat. I can point to a number of candidates, both Federal & State, Upper & Lower Houses (in both) in the last 4 or 5 elections, in every major party where someone was parachuted in or was deemed the highly electable sort (at the time) bit of a name or bit of a star profile. Some got in & some didn't. Its sometimes difficult to hide the under performing new MP who probably has hit their peak level already

Then there are the ones who lost out. Some who didn't know even know which suburb Parliament House is in. Ones that ran & lost and never contributed to their campaign upfront like everyone else & afterwards when they lost said "Sorry I can't pay that, I haven't got the money"
Yup there's more than a few. I think they ran as a way of refinancing their failing personal finances.
You're going into Parliament, not changing bloody banks.

Why would you Pre-Select such people? To win the damn seat.
Some very electable people can turn out to be muppets & puppets. They might win, but they'll be of no use to anyone except the party Whip, Leader, Deputy because they know they can control that person if there's an internal threat, a spill.

And then there are the skills & experiences that a candidate should have before entering Politics. And yes it's great if someone is very young but if they lack skills & experiences and are then guided & directed by a dangerous faction or a strict ideologue what good are they to society whilst in Parliament?
I say little to none

How can they legislate in a way to help society if they've not run a business, raised a family, worked hard to pay a mortgage, all these life experience skills that give you the edge when it comes to legislation requiring wisdom not dogma?

Ahh just win the seat, worry about modelling the clay that is the new MP later?
Really?

Some people try to sneak a sunrise past a rooster, this is a big example. A big & very serious example.
If you're thinking about it, talk to an elected member, ask their workload, skills required.
Then if you're still keen, watch this short video. If you're failing to nail it and nail easily the points made in the short video then think about another career. 4 short minutes of wise advice you cannot afford to miss. And yes its only scratching the surface but if you can't satisfy these point, pull out now.

NEW!!! On Starting a Political Career - Jordan Peterson - YouTube

If you're not running but interested in who is what in the Parliament making your laws...do this.
Go pick a Parliament, pick a house then research all the MPs and put them in one of two columns...

Ones that have a suitable past, run a business, managed someone else's business, raised a family & done well. Ones that have come straight from university or only worked in a lobby group or for a political party or a MP only or had jobs & families but they went disasterously.
Now see what your ratio is.
Excuse me if I think the Good to Bad ratio is several times higher in the bad column. At one point I tried this and one particular house in one particular parliament...there were less than 20% in the good column.

If you're thinking of running yourself,  look to the party you've chosen, is it run well? Does it have good professional standards of Corporate Goevrnance? Does it have a structure that works like it says it does? 
Ideology? Yes that's important but its your guide not your damn ruler. Don't join the Liberal Party if you're inline with the Greens or Nationals or Labor or Daylight Saving Party. Yes some have joined parties they didn't align with because that was the party that took them.

If their higher ups are strict ideologues or dollar chasing pirates be very careful. Machivellen players exsist in every single party. Go in eyes wide open, with an idea what might be good or turn bad, have a good radar.

And do not discount the possibility, its not good for you afterall.