As a paleo-con, I don’t feel the need to blindly defend the Liberal Party no matter what it does. That is why today I am going to take a big shot at my own side.
The Brisbane City Council brought down its budget yesterday. For those who don’t realise, Brisbane City Council is the one and only Council for the entire population of Brisbane – almost 2 million people – and has a Budget larger than Tasmania’s.
The Lord Mayor, Campbell Newman, - a man for whom I usually have great respect – broke his own promise that rate rises would be restricted to a low single digit figure. Even as recently as two weeks ago he was still repeating this mantra, when he must have known that the average increase would be 8.76%, and much higher for apartment owners and investors.
The Brisbane Times today has reported that rents will rise $45 a week thanks to the latest Budget. In a blatant money grab, Cr Newman has decided to value an apartment not on its share of the land which the whole block sits on, but on the whole value of the block of land.
According to The Brisbane Times:
The rates increase for unit owners will rise from 7.9 per cent for a unit on land valued at less than $1 million, to 9 per cent for land valued between $1 million and $5 million, by 16 per cent for land between $5million and $10million and 60 per cent on land worth more than $10million.
Sixty per cent on land worth more than $10 million! And to add insult to injury, these increases will be higher for investors. Investors’ units are rented by battlers attempting to save a deposit for their homes. Cr Newman has just made it a lot harder for them. I don’t know how many Councils in Australia have a differential rating system for owners and investors, but I bet there aren’t too many other Liberal Councils that do. As a Liberal I find it disgraceful, if not socialist.
It seems whoever we vote for, we get a bunch of baby-boomers who bought when property was cheap, and are determined to keep making their property values increase, while ensuring anyone under 30 stays renting for the rest of their lives. Ironic isn’t it – the Liberal Party helping to start a class war.
Much of the Budget is to be spent on upgrades to transport and roads that have been neglected for many years under the Soorley Labor Council, and I applaud this. However, one figure jumps out at me: $14.5 million for the King George Square re-development!!
It has been a mess for ages, as the bus tunnel is built underneath, however last time I saw it, it looked like it was almost finished. Who knows what has been spent on it already? But the only way another $14.5 million could be justified is if they returned the surface of King George Square to the pebble-tex that matched the building, instead of this dismal grey surface the BCC is plastering everywhere, and returned King George mounted on his horse to its original position. But I won’t hold my breath for that. The Lord Mayor is originally from Tasmania. He has no love for the traditional Brisbane that we Queenslanders love – the one with bright colours, not dismal grey. And obviously he’s a republican, since the namesake of King George Square will not be sitting on his horse in the re-developed one.
Brisbane used to be one of the most affordable capital cities. Now it is one of the least. It ranked below all other Australian capital cities in the recently released liveability index. A lot of our problems have been caused by southern migration pushing up demand for housing. Sometimes I think they are purposely trying to make living in Qld worse, having been so jealous for so long of our State of Origin sides, our wonderful climate, and until recently, our low taxes & charges. Is Campbell just one more of these Southerners hell-bent on turning Brisbane into another over-priced, yuppie, cafe-latte set, hell-hole like Sydney and Melbourne? You tell me.
This Budget is anything but a Liberal Budget. To make housing dearer for battlers and to punish those who invest in property with a higher tax rate is pure Labor Party. John Howard would never have brought down a Budget like this. It's un-Liberal and it's un-Queensland!
12 June 2008
08 May 2008
Love You Brisbane
The old Channel 7 theme from the 1980s still brings a lump to my throat & reminds me of my childhood more than any other song I can think of.
This weekend Brisbane is celebrating the 20th anniversary of World Expo 88. It was an amazing exposition, and like many people, I have the most wonderful memories of it. To a kid, it was better than Disneyland. It was all the more amazing because when Australia was offered it all the other States turned it down. When Sir Joh put his hand up to hold Expo in Brisbane, many people scoffed. But Sir Joh yet again proved himself to be a visionary, and Qld pulled it off in a world class effort, with former Liberal Deputy Premier Sir Llew Edwards as Chairman.
But what is annoying me in all the publicity recently about the anniversary is that Brisbane was "just a country town" before Expo 88 & that it only got culture and joined the civilised human race in 1988. As someone who really did grow up in a country town, I have to say that Brisbane was an exciting large capital city. The only way in which it resembled a country town was that traffic jams were a rarity (thanks to the heavy spending on infrastructure by the Bjelke-Petersen Govt), and people were more friendly than Melbournians or Sydney siders.
My father and I spent 6 weeks in Brisbane in 1986 while my mother was in hospital. We had a lot of time to see Brisbane in depth. I remember going to the newly opened museum and art gallery in South Brisbane, going to the Lego Show at Myer in the McWhirter's Centre in the Valley, the thrill of the hustle and bustle of traffic around Turbot Street & Wickham Tce, the big skyscrapers, and the excitement when the iconic Riverside expressway came into view. We walked across the Gateway Bridge the day Sir Joh & Prince Philip opened it - another key piece of infrastructure that it has taken till now for Labor to upgrade!
Even now I marvel that the Expressway and SE Freeway was built way back in the late 1960s when it would have carried less than a quarter of the traffic today. It is also a condemnation of the Labor Government that it hasn't been improved since 1989 despite the massive population explosion, and now we have bridges developing cracks & being shut down because they are way past their used-by date.
Brisbane to me in 1986 felt exactly like a big city. Contrary to the nonsense peddled by southerners who didn't live here then, the cosmopolitan media, Joh-haters, and the Labor Party, Brisbane then did have a nightlife, you could get a decent coffee, we had a Chinatown and a large Greek community and no doubt other national communities, the restaurants weren't all closed on Sundays and after 8.30pm at night. If you want to go back to 1968, when Sir Joh became Premier & Brisbane City Hall was the tallest building in town, THAT was a country town. Far from keeping Brisbane as a backwater, it was the Bjelke-Petersen Govt that made Brisbane into a city that could host Expo 88 or the 1982 Commonwealth Games.
No one will ever argue that Expo 88 was anything but a positive influence on Brisbane. But to say it was the defining moment when a country town became a city is simply ridiculous and is not supported by the evidence of those of us who knew Brisbane before Expo & are not driven by some ideological obsession that refuses to acknowledge that anything good was ever done by the Bjelke-Petersen Government. Expo was one part of many things that have seen Brisbane evolve, just as Melbourne, Sydney and other cities have evolved since the 1980s.
So on the 20th Anniversary of Expo 88 here's to the best city in Australia - Love You Brisbane! You have a proud history & an even brighter future.
This weekend Brisbane is celebrating the 20th anniversary of World Expo 88. It was an amazing exposition, and like many people, I have the most wonderful memories of it. To a kid, it was better than Disneyland. It was all the more amazing because when Australia was offered it all the other States turned it down. When Sir Joh put his hand up to hold Expo in Brisbane, many people scoffed. But Sir Joh yet again proved himself to be a visionary, and Qld pulled it off in a world class effort, with former Liberal Deputy Premier Sir Llew Edwards as Chairman.
But what is annoying me in all the publicity recently about the anniversary is that Brisbane was "just a country town" before Expo 88 & that it only got culture and joined the civilised human race in 1988. As someone who really did grow up in a country town, I have to say that Brisbane was an exciting large capital city. The only way in which it resembled a country town was that traffic jams were a rarity (thanks to the heavy spending on infrastructure by the Bjelke-Petersen Govt), and people were more friendly than Melbournians or Sydney siders.
My father and I spent 6 weeks in Brisbane in 1986 while my mother was in hospital. We had a lot of time to see Brisbane in depth. I remember going to the newly opened museum and art gallery in South Brisbane, going to the Lego Show at Myer in the McWhirter's Centre in the Valley, the thrill of the hustle and bustle of traffic around Turbot Street & Wickham Tce, the big skyscrapers, and the excitement when the iconic Riverside expressway came into view. We walked across the Gateway Bridge the day Sir Joh & Prince Philip opened it - another key piece of infrastructure that it has taken till now for Labor to upgrade!
Even now I marvel that the Expressway and SE Freeway was built way back in the late 1960s when it would have carried less than a quarter of the traffic today. It is also a condemnation of the Labor Government that it hasn't been improved since 1989 despite the massive population explosion, and now we have bridges developing cracks & being shut down because they are way past their used-by date.
Brisbane to me in 1986 felt exactly like a big city. Contrary to the nonsense peddled by southerners who didn't live here then, the cosmopolitan media, Joh-haters, and the Labor Party, Brisbane then did have a nightlife, you could get a decent coffee, we had a Chinatown and a large Greek community and no doubt other national communities, the restaurants weren't all closed on Sundays and after 8.30pm at night. If you want to go back to 1968, when Sir Joh became Premier & Brisbane City Hall was the tallest building in town, THAT was a country town. Far from keeping Brisbane as a backwater, it was the Bjelke-Petersen Govt that made Brisbane into a city that could host Expo 88 or the 1982 Commonwealth Games.
No one will ever argue that Expo 88 was anything but a positive influence on Brisbane. But to say it was the defining moment when a country town became a city is simply ridiculous and is not supported by the evidence of those of us who knew Brisbane before Expo & are not driven by some ideological obsession that refuses to acknowledge that anything good was ever done by the Bjelke-Petersen Government. Expo was one part of many things that have seen Brisbane evolve, just as Melbourne, Sydney and other cities have evolved since the 1980s.
So on the 20th Anniversary of Expo 88 here's to the best city in Australia - Love You Brisbane! You have a proud history & an even brighter future.
29 April 2008
NSW Magistrate unable to leave personal political views out of court
Controversial NSW Magistrate, Pat O'Shane, today heard the charges against several men caught during last year's Federal Election distributing fake electoral material in the electorate of Lindsay claiming that Labor supported terrorism and preached forgiveness for the Bali Bombers.
It was a stupid act, not authorised by the Liberal Party, and the offenders have been expelled from the Party. Justice O'Shane chose to give the offenders a lecture rather than convict them. However, her comments show an alarming ideological streak that is inappopriate in a magistrate.
According to ninemsn:
Ms O'Shane lamented the fact that there was not an offence of racial slander in Australia, and said the incident arose "in a political climate of divisiveness and disharmony which had been generated for a number of years".
"It's now recognised that it was altogether an ugly chapter in this country's history," Ms O'Shane said.
"But this country has moved on, we are trying to rebuild an inclusive, civil society and you need to be part of it," she told Mr Craig."
It seems pretty obvious that she is accusing the former Howard Government of creating this "climate of divisiveness and disharmony" which was an "ugly chapter" in Australia's history. And that it is the Rudd Govt who is "trying to rebuild an inclusive, civil society."
These sort of unfounded allegations would not stand up for a minute as evidence in Ms O'Shane's Court if presented by a defendant! What these people did is a crime now and was a crime back then. John Howard condemned the acts as soon as he heard about them. What the offenders did was cynically tap into the real fear that exists in the community since 9/11 that the beliefs of Muslims are incompatible with our free, democratic society, and that they may find themselves waking up to a bomb set off by people who hate our way of life. It is nothing to do with anything done by the Howard Govt. This fear was created by 9/11, the Bali Bombings, the London Bombings and many other terrorist attacks since 2001 which have been traced to Muslim extremists. And this fear has not changed one iota because a new Government was elected.
Ms O'Shane has made it clear where her allegiances lie, and it isn't to fair, impartial justice. Given her Aboriginality and her outspokenness on racial issues, she was probably a poor choice for hearing this case to begin with. It seems clear that, unlike most judges, she cannot divorce her personal opinions and beliefs from her work.
Add to that that in the past few years she has had an Apprehended Violence Order taken out against her by her husband and a drink driving offence, and you have to wonder whether she is a fit person to be sitting in judgement over people, or was her appointment just an attempt by the Labor Party to make sure that the Bench reflects "our multicultural community" rather than upholding the tradition of blind justice which has been the hallmark of Australian democracy since before Federation?
It was a stupid act, not authorised by the Liberal Party, and the offenders have been expelled from the Party. Justice O'Shane chose to give the offenders a lecture rather than convict them. However, her comments show an alarming ideological streak that is inappopriate in a magistrate.
According to ninemsn:
Ms O'Shane lamented the fact that there was not an offence of racial slander in Australia, and said the incident arose "in a political climate of divisiveness and disharmony which had been generated for a number of years".
"It's now recognised that it was altogether an ugly chapter in this country's history," Ms O'Shane said.
"But this country has moved on, we are trying to rebuild an inclusive, civil society and you need to be part of it," she told Mr Craig."
It seems pretty obvious that she is accusing the former Howard Government of creating this "climate of divisiveness and disharmony" which was an "ugly chapter" in Australia's history. And that it is the Rudd Govt who is "trying to rebuild an inclusive, civil society."
These sort of unfounded allegations would not stand up for a minute as evidence in Ms O'Shane's Court if presented by a defendant! What these people did is a crime now and was a crime back then. John Howard condemned the acts as soon as he heard about them. What the offenders did was cynically tap into the real fear that exists in the community since 9/11 that the beliefs of Muslims are incompatible with our free, democratic society, and that they may find themselves waking up to a bomb set off by people who hate our way of life. It is nothing to do with anything done by the Howard Govt. This fear was created by 9/11, the Bali Bombings, the London Bombings and many other terrorist attacks since 2001 which have been traced to Muslim extremists. And this fear has not changed one iota because a new Government was elected.
Ms O'Shane has made it clear where her allegiances lie, and it isn't to fair, impartial justice. Given her Aboriginality and her outspokenness on racial issues, she was probably a poor choice for hearing this case to begin with. It seems clear that, unlike most judges, she cannot divorce her personal opinions and beliefs from her work.
Add to that that in the past few years she has had an Apprehended Violence Order taken out against her by her husband and a drink driving offence, and you have to wonder whether she is a fit person to be sitting in judgement over people, or was her appointment just an attempt by the Labor Party to make sure that the Bench reflects "our multicultural community" rather than upholding the tradition of blind justice which has been the hallmark of Australian democracy since before Federation?
21 April 2008
The Biblical basis of our Monarchy
Since republicanism its rearing its ugly head again, I thought I would post this excellent link to a book called Fabric of Freedom. I first read this book in 1994 & am glad to see it is now online.
It really is a must read for Christians, as D.J. Pinwill's excellent Biblical schollarship shows in this book that the current system of government in Australia with the monarchy at its head, is all ordained by God in the Bible.
Things you may not know include:
* The Union Jack stands for the "Alpha & the Omega" - one of God's names in the Bible
* The Union Jack also signifies the broken Mosaic Covenant & the New Covenenant that washes our sins away.
* That the monarchs of Europe can all trace their ancestry to King David of the Bible, to whom God said: "your House will rule forever."
For the fascinating proof of the above and more, with extensive referencing of Biblical passages, click on the link. In particular, look at the pictures and diagrams of the Union Jack & what it symbolises.
Whilst Kevin Rudd might be a practising Christian, the socialists in the rest of the Labor Party are determined to get rid of the monarchy because it is Christian. Socialists do not believe in organised religion. Both organised religion and a monarch mean that people answer to a higher being than them, and they cannot stand this. You need only look at the old USSR, where they killed the Royal Family and then made Christianity illegal. To this day, Russian Christians are being persecuted by their Government.
Make no mistake, an attempt to make Australia a republic is an attempt to abolish our Christian heritage & remove a Christian symbol & reminder of Christ's sacrifice from our flag. God will surely judge harshly a nation which denies Him like this.
It really is a must read for Christians, as D.J. Pinwill's excellent Biblical schollarship shows in this book that the current system of government in Australia with the monarchy at its head, is all ordained by God in the Bible.
Things you may not know include:
* The Union Jack stands for the "Alpha & the Omega" - one of God's names in the Bible
* The Union Jack also signifies the broken Mosaic Covenant & the New Covenenant that washes our sins away.
* That the monarchs of Europe can all trace their ancestry to King David of the Bible, to whom God said: "your House will rule forever."
For the fascinating proof of the above and more, with extensive referencing of Biblical passages, click on the link. In particular, look at the pictures and diagrams of the Union Jack & what it symbolises.
Whilst Kevin Rudd might be a practising Christian, the socialists in the rest of the Labor Party are determined to get rid of the monarchy because it is Christian. Socialists do not believe in organised religion. Both organised religion and a monarch mean that people answer to a higher being than them, and they cannot stand this. You need only look at the old USSR, where they killed the Royal Family and then made Christianity illegal. To this day, Russian Christians are being persecuted by their Government.
Make no mistake, an attempt to make Australia a republic is an attempt to abolish our Christian heritage & remove a Christian symbol & reminder of Christ's sacrifice from our flag. God will surely judge harshly a nation which denies Him like this.
17 April 2008
Rudd sensible on unemployed
It's not easy being unemployed. It never has been. It's not just a simple case of applying for any job available. If you apply for something at a lower level of skill or pay than you have been used to, employers know that you are only going to leave the minute something better comes along, so you don't get the job. But in the simplistic thinking of those who have never experienced unemployment, particularly certain former Coalition Ministers, these people are all just lazy "job snobs" waiting for the perfect job to turn up.
I think this sort of simplistic, compassion-less policy making that pushed otherwise quite conservative people to boot out the Howard Govt. So hearing that the Rudd Govt has told agencies to have more compassion for the unemployed really is good to hear. Those in the Liberal Party who attack Dr Nelson as being "soft" would be wise to sit up & realise that this is the world we live in now. With the economy in such good shape, Australians are never again going to accept mean-ness with money in regards to some of the least well off. $230/wk really isn't a lot to live on, and most people receiving benefits have paid taxes over the years.
Glad to see that, in one area at least, the Rudd Govt is living up to its election promises.
I think this sort of simplistic, compassion-less policy making that pushed otherwise quite conservative people to boot out the Howard Govt. So hearing that the Rudd Govt has told agencies to have more compassion for the unemployed really is good to hear. Those in the Liberal Party who attack Dr Nelson as being "soft" would be wise to sit up & realise that this is the world we live in now. With the economy in such good shape, Australians are never again going to accept mean-ness with money in regards to some of the least well off. $230/wk really isn't a lot to live on, and most people receiving benefits have paid taxes over the years.
Glad to see that, in one area at least, the Rudd Govt is living up to its election promises.
16 April 2008
Stone tells it how it is on Aboriginal Affairs
Excellent article in the latest edition of Quadrant by former Senator and Rhodes Scholar, John Stone, on the problems in our Aboriginal communities.
I love Quadrant. I don't know of any other current affairs magazine in Australia that has the guts to tell it how it is, taking no notice of political correctness, the way it does. I encourage anyone who wants to see conservative ideas continue to have an outlet in this country to subscribe or buy a copy of Quadrant from your newsagent.
I love Quadrant. I don't know of any other current affairs magazine in Australia that has the guts to tell it how it is, taking no notice of political correctness, the way it does. I encourage anyone who wants to see conservative ideas continue to have an outlet in this country to subscribe or buy a copy of Quadrant from your newsagent.
13 April 2008
Church weddings
We have a relatively new Rector at St Timothy's*. He has a policy of not marrying people who have been living together. From what I have read this policy is also not unusual in many Sydney parishes. It's a shame, because of the 10 or so Anglican Churches in town, St Timothy's would traditionally have undertaken by far the most weddings. For at least 20 years, every Saturday that I have been past St Timothy's there has been at least one wedding going on. Now it is strangely empty most Saturdays.
St Timothy's is a heritage-listed mid-19th century, sandstone cathedral-like church with a large seating capacity, plenty of parking, and in the centre of town only metres away from Town Hall and two four-star hotels - popular reception venues. And the grounds are just made for wedding photos. Most of the other Anglican Churches in town are of no great beauty. Just mid-20th century buildings that were built as cheaply as possible. For most nominal Anglicans, if St Timothy's wasn't an option, they would probably chose a civil wedding in one of the stunning parks for which the city is quite well known.
According to census stats, 26,000 people in this city identify as Anglican. If you added in Anglicans from the outlying areas & towns who would usually use St Timothy's for a wedding venue, you could probably almost triple that figure. That's a big potential flock that are no longer entering the doors of St Tim's for any reason whatsoever. Not to mention those from other or no denomination.
I see where the Rector is coming from, but does anyone else find it strange that the Church is standing in the way of someone actually getting out of "living in sin"? It means they'll most likely either remain unmarried or have a civil ceremony - which surely is not preferable to a Church wedding? Over to you....
*not its real name.
St Timothy's is a heritage-listed mid-19th century, sandstone cathedral-like church with a large seating capacity, plenty of parking, and in the centre of town only metres away from Town Hall and two four-star hotels - popular reception venues. And the grounds are just made for wedding photos. Most of the other Anglican Churches in town are of no great beauty. Just mid-20th century buildings that were built as cheaply as possible. For most nominal Anglicans, if St Timothy's wasn't an option, they would probably chose a civil wedding in one of the stunning parks for which the city is quite well known.
According to census stats, 26,000 people in this city identify as Anglican. If you added in Anglicans from the outlying areas & towns who would usually use St Timothy's for a wedding venue, you could probably almost triple that figure. That's a big potential flock that are no longer entering the doors of St Tim's for any reason whatsoever. Not to mention those from other or no denomination.
I see where the Rector is coming from, but does anyone else find it strange that the Church is standing in the way of someone actually getting out of "living in sin"? It means they'll most likely either remain unmarried or have a civil ceremony - which surely is not preferable to a Church wedding? Over to you....
*not its real name.
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