Australia - The White Africa

Hello United Arab Emirates, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Canada, and welcome to the blog...when I refer to 'white' in this context it basically includes all non-Aboriginal Australians and the broader sub-text of European social structures, economy, etc...the majority of our population is European/Western...apologies to anyone who takes offense, that's certainly not what's intended...we're all Australian.

This is very different to Africa where Africans are the dominant populations with the occasional 'white' government...but I'm not here to dissect African politics country to country, rather the socio-economic influences from outside the country as it compares to Australia...and the similarities are starkly obvious and less than flattering...but first...

Do I Hear $3Million?: extra funding for the Patient Assistance Transport Scheme because the state Liberal party has just announced that they have added another $1.5million to their original proposed increase of $1m, thusly matching the sudden $2.5m increase announced by Labor 2 days after the original Liberal $1m, after Labor flatly ruled out any funding increase just the day before that...(I'm very confused-Ed)...you're clearly not the only one...

Speaking Of Great Ostrayans:...(we were?-Ed)...the Schappelle Corby obsession looms large across the commercial media with multiple crosses to multiple correspondents...and when that wears thin, there's extensive coverage of the extensive coverage...(sorry, what?-Ed)...they're doing 'news stories' about the frenzy of pressing Press, eg, crews filming those crews filming the car that Schappelle is in...(deadset?-Ed)...again today, far more coverage of this completely vacuous and irrelevant issue while the country burns, and manufacturing disintegrates and disappears.

The South East Local Government Association is upset about the lack of gold-plating, sushi bars, and complimentary massage services at the Adelaide Airport Regional flights arrival terminal...I haven't flown to Adelaide in probably 8-9 years, so I can't comment specifically, but I am being mildly facetious about the Sushi Bars...(I love Sushi-Ed)...and I've heard say 'who needs a fancy terminal, tickets are expensive enough already', but I believe there are also issues of distance from other terminals, disability access, etc...

On The Roads Again: apparently the Commonwealth government funding 'Agreement' re local roads in South Australia, valued at approx $17m per year runs out later this year, and SELGA, amongst others, is concerned that the 'Agreement' will lapse...given the 'sod you, you're on your own' attitude of the Abbott Liberal government, I can understand why people might be concerned...(well look, if you're not prepared to get out there and fix your own street before you drive on it, well that's just un-Australian-Ed)...hilarious, not...but back to the main point...   

This is not a debate about 'white people do this, black people do that' or any issues of race or ethnicity...I'm not getting into anything about Apartheid in South Africa or Mugabi in Zimbabwe (formerly named Rhodesia after British Colonial capitalist and government administrator in southern Africa, Cecil J  Rhodes-Ed)...indeed...(he was apparently a Colossus-Ed)...well, sort of, but no I think you're talking about the giant Bronze statue that straddled the harbour on the island of Rhodes in the Aegean, near Turkey, from 280 BC-224 BC...(fascinating-Ed)...

(And famous for inspiring the saying 'No man is an island'-Ed)...sorry, what?...no, I think maybe you're confusing that with Rhode Island, New England...(that's the island that has that scholarship-Ed)...no, that is Cecil Rhodes...via his Will, he established several scholarships at Oxford University in England, (oh...today it seems all roads led to Rhodes...loads and loads of Rhodes...we've hit the Mother Rhode-Ed)...you can stop now...(you know, it's almost like you've got the dictionary open in front of you, going through the various Rhodes-Ed)...I've never met that man before in my life.

(Go on, deconstruct the joke, quickly-Ed)...when former Premier Mike Rann got snouted with a rolled up newspaper/magazine by an angry husband 'cos Mikey 'allegedly' jumped the man's wife, the parliamentary lunch lady, and Mike was then bailed up by the media with 'do you know the man who snouted you?', Mike responded 'I've never met that man before'...a truth concealing another truth...(absolute genius-Ed)...absolute bastardry...(we quibble over terms-Ed)...anyhoos...

This post is a dissertation about Colonialism and Colonisation and the pillage of natural resources/assets that has epitomised predominantly European occupation of Africa...and the exploitation and decimation of fish stocks, mineral deposits, particularly oil, etc...I don't know how to include slavery in this debate other than to identify that people as a resource exported from Africa drove the profits of Western industry...apart from that, I certainly don't presume to compare what is happening currently in Australia with African slavery.

Rather it is a class divide that is being encouraged and cemented and justified and celebrated and fueled by an almost demonic obsession with Free Trade...successive Australian governments, Labor and Liberal, have betrayed Australians with this Free Trade lunacy, where we repeatedly engage in Trade Partnerships that leave us powerless to defend our own products from heavily subsidised foreign imports...and our economy suffers...why have our politicians deliberately made us vulnerable to be carved up by foreign interests?

I am not the only person to be talking about this in terms of Australia being the first First World country to sell-off it's prosperity to the benefit of predominantly European interests...we have a Third World economy and there's no denying it...I have believed this for many years, long before I got 'political'...the only difference is that we are also 'selling ourselves' to Asia, the Middle East, basically anyone who's got a lazy dollar to spare...only they're not lazy dollars, they are very shrewdly invested dollars.

In many cases we export our prime produce and Australian consumers get what's left and/or imported products...whole markets are controlled by demand in Asia, and local people pay the same 'global' price...Rock Lobster caught at Port MacDonnell is a perfect example...and we do the same with our mineral resources, furiously flogging it all off overseas, while here we pay world Market prices for utilities like gas...it's ludicrous and it's completely deliberate.

Being brutally pragmatic, I cannot criticise those 'foreign interests' who are being not just allowed by our politicians but encouraged by them, to buy great swathes of Australia to protect their own National interests...I'd do the same...the problem lies with us for allowing it to happen...our politicians are our greatest problem...Tony Abbott's comments re the Toyota and SPC Ardmona issues are simplistic, ideological rhetoric repeatedly dribbled out of an uncaring maw...(wow, say what you really think-Ed)...

I offer this post and the next as a general observation because I don't really know how you address a problem that infests the minds of nearly all our politicians, and even the opponents seem only half committed and often quite conflicted, eg, the National's Barnaby Joyce is all over the shop, one day denouncing Foreign Ownership, the next day celebrating it (the Northern Territory station sold to Indonesia)...(that was weird-Ed)...one day embracing his position amongst the common man, the next jetting around Asia in Gina Rinehart's private jet...(you'll never let that one go, will you-Ed)...

Mate, did you see her at Barnaby's inaugural speech in parliament, grinning from the gallery like a cross between a Roman Emperor and a Cheshire cat, whilst she watched her pet monkey perform...(wow, eruditely abusive yet factually accurate...she did look pretty pleased with herself-Ed)...it begs the question, where do Barnaby's loyalties truly lie?...('truly lie', you smart bastard-Ed)...ta...  

And we provide virtually no support to Primary Producers compared to governments in markets we are trying to compete in...it just goes on and on...the lunacy of cancelling the Live Cattle trade with Indonesia overnight off the back of one ABC news story...locking ourselves out of Coral Sea fisheries that other nations continue to plunder...not that 'plundering' is appropriate, but it's happening, and again we are importing that product.

Why are we giving $100millions in Foreign Aid when that money should be invested in local industry and producers, etc, and the product provided gratis...let us subsidise our cattle producers, our abattoirs, our shipping and distribution infrastructure, and let's help put prime Australian protein into Asia, Africa, etc to support real people...stop handing cash to corrupt governments for them to syphon off...we know it's happening but continue to just hand over cash...ludicrous...  

More tomorrow but just to round out this post, in my capacity as a Housing Trust tenant, I've just received  a letter from alleged Independent and current Member for Mount Gambier, Don Pegler, openly criticising the Liberal Party for an alleged plan to force Trust tenants out into Private Rentals...but he  neglects to mention that only 6 months ago Labor was talking about selling off Public Housing to religiously run 'Community Care' organisations like Anglicare.

This letter is a deeply offensive piece of blatant propaganda on behalf of the Labor Party and further proof that Don Pegler is a pseudo-Independent operating for Labor...it is an unmitigated disgrace...I have contacted the Liberal Party requesting clarification of these claims and I will post what I can as soon as I can.  

Tomorrow: More Selling of Australia, and Labor Propaganda

The wheel has come full circle and we are running ourselves over from behind...(nice metaphor-Ed)...

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...