The Voice

[sptrawler]

This is just one of the problems of getting services to remote communities and there are hundreds of them, people just don't understand the logistical nightmare of maintaining these small remote communities.

Still under water and deteriorating, this access road is failing a remote community's food supply

One of Australia's most remote communities' food security depends on a remote road that is reaching the point of becoming impassable.

www.abc.net.au

 

[farmerge]

This is just one of the problems of getting services to remote communities and there are hundreds of them, people just don't understand the logistical nightmare of maintaining these small remote communities.

Still under water and deteriorating, this access road is failing a remote community's food supply

One of Australia's most remote communities' food security depends on a remote road that is reaching the point of becoming impassable.

www.abc.net.au

Just me thinking out loud. Before these communities were spoon fed by the tax payer how did they survive when a disaster hit the area. I would suggest they got off their collective ar**s and did something about it!!!!!!

 

[sptrawler]

Just me thinking out loud. Before these communities were spoon fed by the tax payer how did they survive when a disaster hit the area. I would suggest they got off their collective ar**s and did something about it!!!!!!

The thing is they want to live their and due to their heritage we facilitate that, the problem is when they want more than basic services Water, electricity and sewage it becomes difficult.

Supplying all the individual communities with schools teachers, doctors, jobs etc is impossible, that's what a lot of city people can't seem to appreciate.
Some of these communities have only a couple of dozen residents, it is a huge problem, that has no easy fix.

It is simple logistics, not a lack of will, the people who supply these services are dedicated people.

 

[Sean K]

Aboriginals (and their activist lawyers) need to be careful they don't end up being termed Abogrifters the way this is heading. The way these projects get approved is just one thing: Money. They are, every so rapidly, destroying any credibility they have.

Proclaiming that the ocean, 100s of kilometers off shore, including the sea floor, is traditional ownership is nuts.

They're obviously taking advantage of the global boiling insanity to great effect.

The traditional owners of the 1030 square kilometre Southern Ocean offshore wind zone declared by the Albanese government last month have condemned Energy Minister Chris Bowen for a “complete lack of appropriate and meaningful consultation”, accusing him of undermining their “sovereignty as land rights holders”.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, which represents the Gunditjmara people of southwest Victoria, say that while they support action on climate change, they are concerned that the government has not sufficiently considered the cultural and environmental impacts of offshore wind.

The local Indigenous community’s objections come after Mr Bowen and his Victorian counterpart Lily D’Ambrosio were forced to designate an area which was only 20 per cent of the size of that originally proposed, amid a range of environmental concerns, including over the ramifications for whale habitat.

“The announcement made by Minister Bowen in Portland on 6 March 2024 regarding the designation of an offshore renewable energy zone has been met with disappointment by the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation due to the complete lack of appropriate and meaningful consultation between the commonwealth government and the Gunditjmara community,” the organisation said.

 

[TimeISmoney]

Look like things are hotting up in the Alice.

 

[JohnDe]

MSN

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has been on the receiving end of threats because of her views on Aboriginal affairs, but she says that won't stop her continuing to speak out.

The Northern Territory Country Liberal Party (CLP) senator says she's gone against the grain in speaking out about violence, sexual abuse and, more recently, the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum, and says using her voice hasn't been clear-cut.

"As Aboriginal women, there's always the threat of violence … we're expected to toe the line," the senator said.

"In traditional terms we're supposed to know our place and not speak out of turn on issues that might be uncomfortable for others."


Speaking to Stateline NT, the senator credits her Warlpiri and Celtic heritage for giving her the grit to be on the federal political stage, but she says her views have come at a cost.

"It is not just [my] stance on the Voice, it's also the stance [that] it's not somehow acceptable to be a conservative Aboriginal woman," she said.

"There are people that I've grown up with in my hometown [who] believe that, adults who I would regard as family, they've known me since I was a baby, that won't even acknowledge me now."

"I have some female relatives who will support me and aren't afraid to stand up and speak, but there will be family members who will keep their distance for their own fear of if they appear to be supportive of me, then they could be targeted."

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has had a meteoric rise through the Coalition ranks since entering parliament in July 2022. (Supplied: Sky News)

'No regrets' on Voice No campaign​

Last year, the first-time senator from Alice Springs essentially became the face of the No campaign on the referendum to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the constitution.

She also quickly climbed the ranks of the federal Coalition to become the shadow minister for Indigenous Australians.

Reflecting on the six months since Australians voted against the Voice, the senator said she didn't "have a single regret".

I think now we have fertile ground to move forward, to continue to call for common-sense approaches," she said.

Senator Nampijinpa Price said the referendum created "more division" that Australia "didn't need" and disputed claims that disinformation from the No side swayed votes.

"If a suggestion is being put to you, a grand idea, if you don't have the detail of that grand idea, if you don't know what the detail is, why would you support it?," she said.

"That was the basic truth of the situation – there was no detail, and if you don't know what the detail is, well, you're not going to support it."

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says a lack of detail was the reason for the Voice's defeat.(ABC News: Carl Saville)

She also said the millions of dollars spent on the referendum could have been better spent on improving outcomes for Indigenous people facing entrenched disadvantage, citing an investment in boarding facilities for children at a local school in Alice Springs as one example.

How Indigenous funding was being allocated and spent in Australia was a key theme for No campaigners in the lead-up to the referendum, with the federal Coalition using the final weeks of the referendum campaign to call for an audit into Indigenous expenditure.

Alice Springs unrest 'destructive'​

Before entering federal politics, Senator Nampijinpa Price served on the Alice Springs Town Council, where for years she saw her hometown garner national headlines over its crime rates.

So when vision surfaced of rioting outside a local pub in Alice Springs in March, the shock hit home.

Earlier that month, 18-year-old Kumanjayi Petrick died after a car crash in Alice Springs. The eight other passengers fled the scene.

A cultural ceremony held for the teenager on March 26 turned violent, and grief and anger between the families saw riots erupt at a town camp and at the tavern.

Relatives say those who attacked the tavern were searching for someone drinking inside.

"Knowing that elements of that was attached to traditional cultural payback … it's time we stop doing things this way because it is destructive," Senator Nampijinpa Price said.

The rioting prompted the NT government to enforce a youth curfew in Alice Springs, and extra police resources from South Australia and around the territory were flown in to help.

"We need to attract more police, we need to invest in our police and we need to do better to repair the relationships with our community members and police," she said.

"Lifting standards, stepping away from separatism, improving the education system and protecting our children and our most vulnerable is what we need to do."

The Alice Springs youth curfew lasted almost three weeks.(ABC News: Xavier Martin)

Desensitisation fears as NT election looms​

As the NT edges closer to a general election in August, Senator Nampijinpa Price fears Territorians are becoming desensitised to the social issues playing out on the ground.

"When school children are getting picked up from school, the conversation between them is 'oh my dad has a baseball bat under the bed' or 'we've just installed cameras at our place just in case somebody breaks in'," she said.

"How did we get to a point where we are normalising this kind of behaviour in our communities and accepting that?"

She conceded it would take time and the right investment to see a turnaround in the territory irrespective of which party won office, and said the urgency was real.

'No regrets': Jacinta Nampijinpa Price reflects on being the face of the Voice No campaign

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was a key player in the Voice No campaign. Six months on from the referendum, the senator says she has no regrets, but her views have come at a cost.

www.abc.net.au

 

[JohnDe]

The silence from the Voice advocates is amazing.

With Indigenous leaders struggling to get any clear answers from the government, The Australian lodged an FOI application asking simple questions about the future of the Makarrata Commission, funding arrangements and communications between ministers’ offices and the National Indigenous Australians Agency. Claiming cabinet in-confidence and other exemptions, the NIAA provided a handful of heavily redacted email chains. It did confirm that $632,616 of the $5.8m allocated over three years in the October 2022 budget had been spent on preparations for a Makarrata Commission.​

Anthony Albanese’s failure to deliver on his election night promise to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart and win support for a voice has left the government devoid of ideas and leadership on Indigenous policy.

Almost eight months since the Prime Minister’s voice referendum was rejected by 60 per cent of Australians, the government has provided zero details on the way forward and how Labor will Close the Gap.

In a major speech last Friday marking his government’s second year anniversary, Albanese did not mention the words voice, referendum, Indigenous, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The May 14 budget, which redirected $20m set aside for local and regional voices and offered no update on a Makarrata Commission, revealed little in terms of the an Indigenous reform agenda.

Gripped with political paralysis and worried about re-engaging during a cost-of-living crisis, the government is running from Labor’s enduring commitment to accelerate Indigenous empowerment and self-determination.

In his election night speech, Albanese pleaded with Australians to answer the “patient, gracious call for a voice enshrined in our Constitution”, adding: “On behalf of the Australian Labor Party, I commit to the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full. Together we can embrace the Uluru Statement from the Heart.”

The commitment fell apart on October 14. Despite polling showing the voice was set for defeat, Albanese ignored pleas to reset and change course to salvage the vote. With the voice lost, Albanese was left with treaty and truth.

Frustrated Indigenous leaders are pleading for truth from Albanese on whether he will walk away from a truth-telling and agreement-making commission.

The Albanese government, which boasted it would be transparent, has consistently used Freedom of Information Act exemptions to block the release of briefings and decision-making.

With Indigenous leaders struggling to get any clear answers from the government, The Australian lodged an FOI application asking simple questions about the future of the Makarrata Commission, funding arrangements and communications between ministers’ offices and the National Indigenous Australians Agency. Claiming cabinet in-confidence and other exemptions, the NIAA provided a handful of heavily redacted email chains. It did confirm that $632,616 of the $5.8m allocated over three years in the October 2022 budget had been spent on preparations for a Makarrata Commission.

Albanese is under pressure to make some big decisions less than a year from the election. Peter Dutton has promised a significant Coalition Indigenous election policy, being finalised by Jacinta Price and Kerrynne Liddle.

Albanese, who has left open the door to a reshuffle amid speculation Linda Burney will quit politics, must appoint a new Indigenous Australians minister to urgently draw up Labor’s election reform plan.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/indigenous/anthony-albaneses-indigenous-amnesia-after-voice-disaster/news-story/814a5965211599ec44972b5b52615bb5

 

[JohnDe]

It is about time that our leaders put a stop to the divisions splitting the country.

The past week has been an eye opener, for me anyway. Having Laura Tingle tell us all that Australia is a racist country, the Race Discrimination Commissioner backing her, and now the Race ambassador Tasneem Chopra has been 'asked' to step aside.

Race Discrimination Commissioner: Why ABC chiefs should back Laura Tingle for calling out racism

Racism remains a reality of Australian society. The legacy of Australia's settler colonial history is ongoing, and First Nations Australians in particular continue to experience its effects through intergenerational impacts and the persistence of racial bias within systems and institutions.​

Tasneem Chopra was one of the many speakers for the YES campaign for The Voice.

The Australian Human Rights Commission has asked one of its anti-racism ambassadors to “step back” from duties while it investigates a racial discrimination complaint against her.​

​

“This (Ms Chopra’s posts) is more evidence of why the commission is completely inappropriate to undertake the inquiry into anti-Semitism on university campuses,” he said on Monday.​

Goes to show, Australian's usually get it right when it comes to elections, referendums and calling out the dark side.

I was born in Australia, about 56 years ago, to an Aussie mum and an Italian father. My dad's parents and sisters lived next door to us and helped look after me, our culture was pretty much all Italian, food and language. I felt racsim from both nationalisties when going to school.
I saw racism almost everywhere and towards anyone that looked different to the white Anglo culture of TV. When I went to school the racism was so bad the government had a commercial on TV to help educate the population.
The Australian society wanted to change for the better.
When my children went to school in the early 2000's they became friends with people from just about every country on the planet, and now that they are working, they continue to make new friends and work colleagues of every persuasion.

Australia is now one of the least racist countries in the world.

Race is now back, being used as a tool by some to create a new world order, just as the Voice was used.

To move forward we must stop using the term 'race' and instead look at one another as people.

Race ambassador Tasneem Chopra told to step aside

The Australian Human Rights Commission has asked one of its anti-racism ambassadors – who appeared to dismiss concerns that Jewish women were raped on October 7 – to “step back” from duties while it investigates a racial discrimination complaint against her.

It follows a Senate estimates hearing that heard how the AHRC ended a contract with consulting firm Hue after The Australian revealed one of its founders allegedly helped widely share the doxxed details of Jewish creatives, saying Zionists should “know no f..king peace”.

Last week, the AHRC asked consultant and self-described “anti-racism champion” Tasneem Chopra to “hold herself out” from ambassador work after a complaint was made against her and her social media posts.

Those posts include casting doubt on Hamas’s sexual violence on October 7, saying Zionists “lie, lie and lie”, that Israel had “forfeited its right” to exist, and that Zionists were “racists and white supremacists”.

Ms Chopra had been included on the AHRC’s list of anti-racism ambassadors for its “Racism – It Stops With Me” campaign, alongside former Socceroo Craig Foster, among others.

“I am advised that the AHRC considers it is appropriate to ask Tasneem Chopra not to hold herself out as an ambassador for the campaign while a complaint is on foot,” an AHRC conciliator told the complainant.

“This is because retaining a person as an ambassador on an anti-racism campaign at the same time as being the subject of a complaint under the Racial Discrimination Act could impact on public confidence about the impartiality of the commission’s statutory complaint handling process, and to ensure there is no perception of bias in the handling of your complaint.

“We do so without making any judgment on the outcome of the complaint, but focused on ensuring the integrity of the complaint handling process.”

The Australian does not suggest that Ms Chopra has breached that act, just that a complaint has been made about her.

The complaint pertained to posts on X published and re-shared by Ms Chopra.

In a now deleted post in December, Ms Chopra cited an Israeli government statement stating “Israeli police have acknowledged that during the shock and confusion of October 7 … they were not focused on collecting semen samples from women’s bodies, requesting autopsies or closely examining crime scenes.” Chopra added the word “Right”.

A UN investigation found there were “reasonable grounds” to believe rapes happened at multiple locations on October 7, and “convincing information” that sexual violence – including gang rapes – was committed against hostages, which “may still be ongoing”.

In others, included as part of the complaint, Ms Chopra shared a video of British-Jewish comedian Alexei Sayle talking about Zionist Jews. “And they lie and they lie and they lie and they lie and they lie,” Ms Chopra captioned the post.

In another, she re-shared a post that said: “For many watching the atrocities unfold, Israel has forfeited its right to exist as a state.”

She also re-shared a post that said: “Zionists are just your common garden variety racists and white supremacists.”

Ms Chopra is also a member of a Fire Rescue Victoria committee that advises the body on diversity and inclusion, as well as being on the advisory board to the Victorian Public Sector Commission.

The AHRC was unable to comment on the matter, given its statutory obligation to maintain confidentiality in relation to the complaints process.

It comes as it attempts to navigate a path forward amid rising racism and hate speech, but has been criticised since the onset of the war on October 7, particularly by the Jewish community who have said it hasn’t done enough to fight anti-Semitism.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said the “number of anti-Israel partisans” associated with the AHRC was “too large to be dismissed as an aberration”.

In late May, Liberal MP Julian Leeser said that since October 7 the AHRC had said “nothing about the rise of anti-Semitism in our community”.

“This (Ms Chopra’s posts) is more evidence of why the commission is completely inappropriate to undertake the inquiry into anti-Semitism on university campuses,” he said on Monday.

It follows The Australian revealing how one of those who widely shared the doxxed details of Jewish creatives, Hue co-founder Elsa Tuet-Rosenberg, had a contract with the AHRC to produce “anti-racism materials”.

At Senate estimates on Friday it was revealed that the AHRC had “varied” Hue’s contract to bring forward its end date after “public discourse” and “community concerns” with her alleged role and public comments.

 

[sptrawler]

It is about time that our leaders put a stop to the divisions splitting the country.

The past week has been an eye opener, for me anyway. Having Laura Tingle tell us all that Australia is a racist country, the Race Discrimination Commissioner backing her, and now the Race ambassador Tasneem Chopra has been 'asked' to step aside.

Race Discrimination Commissioner: Why ABC chiefs should back Laura Tingle for calling out racism

Racism remains a reality of Australian society. The legacy of Australia's settler colonial history is ongoing, and First Nations Australians in particular continue to experience its effects through intergenerational impacts and the persistence of racial bias within systems and institutions.​

Tasneem Chopra was one of the many speakers for the YES campaign for The Voice.

The Australian Human Rights Commission has asked one of its anti-racism ambassadors to “step back” from duties while it investigates a racial discrimination complaint against her.​

​

“This (Ms Chopra’s posts) is more evidence of why the commission is completely inappropriate to undertake the inquiry into anti-Semitism on university campuses,” he said on Monday.​

Goes to show, Australian's usually get it right when it comes to elections, referendums and calling out the dark side.

I was born in Australia, about 56 years ago, to an Aussie mum and an Italian father. My dad's parents and sisters lived next door to us and helped look after me, our culture was pretty much all Italian, food and language. I felt racsim from both nationalisties when going to school.
I saw racism almost everywhere and towards anyone that looked different to the white Anglo culture of TV. When I went to school the racism was so bad the government had a commercial on TV to help educate the population.
The Australian society wanted to change for the better.
When my children went to school in the early 2000's they became friends with people from just about every country on the planet, and now that they are working, they continue to make new friends and work colleagues of every persuasion.

Australia is now one of the least racist countries in the world.

Race is now back, being used as a tool by some to create a new world order, just as the Voice was used.

To move forward we must stop using the term 'race' and instead look at one another as people.

Just a phase the Western World is going through, where the Elite's and intellectuals want to make everyone like them, kind, condescending, smug and understanding.
The only thing they don't want others to be is rich, they want to keep that inhouse.

 

[TimeISmoney]

I've got a good story for you people. I had some Indigenous busking outside of our local Woolworths, playing the didgeridoo and selling some bits and pieces like art. A couple of days went by and I saw the woolies staff stacking all the trollies in the spot where they were busking, and never seen them stacked there before in the 10 years I've been going there. It doesn't seem Woolies supports them anymore after the Yes vote.

 

[JohnDe]

Watched an interesting video, the quality is not the best and makes me wonder if it is legit. But the content is thought provoking.

 

[wayneL]

Watched an interesting video, the quality is not the best and makes me wonder if it is legit. But the content is thought provoking.

Douglas is one of our best centrist thinkers and speakers, never fails to disappoint. Good vid.

 

[JohnDe]

Have we reached a turning point?

I don't think so. All we are seeing is the vocal YES going undercover and quietly whittling away and sharpening their tools.

Goyder, who has been on the Qantas board since 2017 and chair since October 2018, was a strong backer of former chief executive Alan Joyce, including his high-profile support for the Indigenous voice to parliament campaign last year.​

​

He said support for the Voice had “backfired” and that business leaders were seen by the public as being “high and mighty” and telling them what to do.​

​

He said that support for social and political causes had been a step too far, due to the risks for companies they are seen to back a position of one political party – and that party later losing an election.​

​

The proposed Voice was overwhelmingly defeated by 60 per cent to 40 per cent in a national referendum in October.​

Qantas’ new chair John Mullen knows the public doesn’t like being lectured on social issues

Veteran company director John Mullen has signalled that he plans to be a very different chair of Qantas when he takes over from Richard Goyder in October.

Goyder, who has been on the Qantas board since 2017 and chair since October 2018, was a strong backer of former chief executive Alan Joyce, including his high-profile support for the Indigenous voice to parliament campaign last year.

It was an exercise which reached a high-water mark in August when Joyce hosted a function with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indigenous former AFL star Adam Goodes, to unveil a new logo on Qantas planes supporting the “Yes23” campaign.

The proposed Voice was overwhelmingly defeated by 60 per cent to 40 per cent in a national referendum in October.

In a speech to a business lunch in Sydney last week Mullen, who joined the Qantas board as chairman elect in April and takes over as chair sometime before the annual meeting in October, rang a warning bell for corporate Australia.

He said support for the Voice had “backfired” and that business leaders were seen by the public as being “high and mighty” and telling them what to do.

He said that support for social and political causes had been a step too far, due to the risks for companies they are seen to back a position of one political party – and that party later losing an election.

While he agreed that corporate leaders could not be “anaesthetised from what is going on in the world,” he said that “getting involved in every social cause can do a lot of damage”.

Companies such Wesfarmers, BHP, Rio Tinto, and the big banks supported the Voice, some with donations to the Yes campaign.

Mullen admitted that as chair of Telstra, which gave $1m to support the Voice, he was one of those who had been part of the trend.

In a separate conversation with The Australian he said the way companies had gone about backing the Voice was seen by some of the general public as being too “high and mighty”, telling others what to think rather than conceding that there may be different views.

Given his background in corporate Australia – a former chairman of Telstra, and current chair of Treasury Wine Estate and international pallet company Brambles – Mullen’s comments would have been important in the general debate about how much companies get involved in social causes.

But the fact that he is about to take over as chair of Qantas – the company which was the most high-profile backer of the Voice when led by chief executive Alan Joyce – makes an additional statement that the new team at the top level of the airline has got the message.

Joyce’s appearance with Albanese and others was seen by angry customers as a sign of hubris as he was leaving the job after years of generous salaries and share options.

It was one of many criticisms of the airline’s management last year which was seen as too arrogant and more concerned about corporate profits and its own interests than customers.

By taking a public stance which wasn’t quite a mea culpa but was an acknowledgment that strong support for the Voice did not go down well with some members of the public, Mullen was signalling a shift to a more humble view from the top of the country’s largest airline.

Mullen’s comments were made in the context of a reflection on how corporate Australia has changed from an era when companies focused on profits at all costs, to one where corporate leaders were having to take in the views of a broad range of corporate “stakeholders”.

But as he said, it was a question of balance. And it is that balance which he brings to Qantas.

Mullen comes to the key job at Qantas after a long history in corporate Australia, including in airlines and logistics.

In this sense he brings a more practical background from the transport sector to his new role than Goyder, whose full-time corporate career culminated in a 12-year stint as chief executive of Perth-based conglomerate Wesfarmers – which ended in 2017.

Mullen cut his teeth in the transport industry, recalling last week his work for the late Sir Peter Abeles when he ran Sir Peter’s European transport operations in the ’90s.

Abeles had the grand vision of creating an airline logistics business in Europe, based on a new generation of “quiet trader” aircraft, which could fly into European cities over extended hours.

He ended up over extending himself and the business lost millions of dollars. Mullen was sent to sort out the mess.

What he revealed last week was that the exercise, which involved selling the business to a group of European post offices, involved some considerably creative accounting to paper over the hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.

Sir Peter, according to Mullen, had assured the prospective buyers that the business was breaking even.

Mullen and a friendly accountant set about making sure that – on paper at least – that was the case.

Mullen went on to rise up the ranks of logistics company DHL, becoming global chief executive of DHL Express from 2006 to 2009, then managing director of Toll Holdings freight logistics spin-off Asciano from 2011 to 2016, and chairman of the Toll Group from 2017 to 2022.

His experience at the coal face of transport and logistics means he comes to the job with a hands-on knowledge of the sector, backing up his chief executive, Vanessa Hudson, with his own practical experience in logistics.

He has also had first-hand experience in dealing with the general public in his role as chair of another former government-owned enterprise, Telstra.

Qantas’ new chief executive has already set a different tone in her early days.

On Friday the airline unveiled a new corporate look for its aircraft under the logo “Go Australia” in support of the Olympians and Paralympians headed for the Paris Games.

It’s a more focused, more inclusive strategy than the Yes 23 logo, which is in line with the approach of the new chairman.

 

[Smurf1976]

Have we reached a turning point?

I don't think so. All we are seeing is the vocal YES going undercover and quietly whittling away and sharpening their tools.

Agreed about the YES campaign but I do think we've seen a turning point in other ways.

I'm seeing a few signs that business has realised the public isn't keen on anything that amounts to telling them who to vote for or, even worse, virtue signalling.

Regarding the latter, well it'd be a lot better received by the public if Qantas (since they're the example) took practical steps to help rather than standing on a pedestal wanting to be the government. For example, obvious things it could do:

Ensure all crew and operations staff, including call centres and maintenance operations, are 100% based physically in Australia.

Look to locate operations outside the big cities so as to create opportunities for regional employment. No reason they can't have some administrative operations in Alice Springs or Darwin. Noting that doesn't mean guaranteed jobs for Aboriginals, but it means jobs for someone and they can of course be strongly encouraged to apply.

Preference Australian suppliers, that is companies carrying out production physically within Australia, for everything where possible.

How about a scheme which, with proof required, enables anyone who is unemployed to travel free for the purposes of attending a job interview, formal education or to relocate in order to take up a job? The plane's flying anyway, it won't kill Qantas financially to let someone sit on it for free. Just needs proper checks and balances to prevent abuse.

And so on. Talk is cheap, the public's well aware of that, but action brings results. So quit the talk and just actually do something to help provide greater opportunity for anyone who isn't doing well in society. Not to be directly race based in any way but obviously the benefits will skew toward any race that actually is disadvantaged so there's no need to bias.

More broadly, I'm seeing more and more that suggests the broad socio-political environment that's prevailed in recent times is well on the way out. Voice referendum was one, the push to reindustrialise is another, European politics and in particular that the Left is being rejected by youth is another and there's plenty more. Change is afoot.

 

[qldfrog]

Agreed about the YES campaign but I do think we've seen a turning point in other ways.

I'm seeing a few signs that business has realised the public isn't keen on anything that amounts to telling them who to vote for or, even worse, virtue signalling.

Regarding the latter, well it'd be a lot better received by the public if Qantas (since they're the example) took practical steps to help rather than standing on a pedestal wanting to be the government. For example, obvious things it could do:

Ensure all crew and operations staff, including call centres and maintenance operations, are 100% based physically in Australia.

Look to locate operations outside the big cities so as to create opportunities for regional employment. No reason they can't have some administrative operations in Alice Springs or Darwin. Noting that doesn't mean guaranteed jobs for Aboriginals, but it means jobs for someone and they can of course be strongly encouraged to apply.

Preference Australian suppliers, that is companies carrying out production physically within Australia, for everything where possible.

How about a scheme which, with proof required, enables anyone who is unemployed to travel free for the purposes of attending a job interview, formal education or to relocate in order to take up a job? The plane's flying anyway, it won't kill Qantas financially to let someone sit on it for free. Just needs proper checks and balances to prevent abuse.

And so on. Talk is cheap, the public's well aware of that, but action brings results. So quit the talk and just actually do something to help provide greater opportunity for anyone who isn't doing well in society. Not to be directly race based in any way but obviously the benefits will skew toward any race that actually is disadvantaged so there's no need to bias.

More broadly, I'm seeing more and more that suggests the broad socio-political environment that's prevailed in recent times is well on the way out. Voice referendum was one, the push to reindustrialise is another, European politics and in particular that the Left is being rejected by youth is another and there's plenty more. Change is afoot.

I hope you are right....

 

[sptrawler]

More broadly, I'm seeing more and more that suggests the broad socio-political environment that's prevailed in recent times is well on the way out. Voice referendum was one, the push to reindustrialise is another, European politics and in particular that the Left is being rejected by youth is another and there's plenty more. Change is afoot.

That is an unintended consequence of kids without boundaries IMO, they are becoming less and less influenced by parents, establishment and social norms, now they are deciding amongst themselves what they believe and respect, who they trust and who they don't trust.

Just because a politician, policeman, teacher, parent etc says something, it no longer is taken as a knowledgeable directive that should be respected, it is now a request that will or won't be heeded depending on what their social circle thinks about it.

I think the disconnect between the youth and establishment is accelerating and as you say the broad socio-political environment is changing.
As we say interesting times, we are having to import police and defence force personnel, yet we have a rising population and times are tough so those jobs would usually easy to fill.
The next 5 years will see a lot of change IMO.

 

[orr]

I don't know how old the joke is or how much truth that there is to it...

An Australia ww2 POW is berated in Changi by a Japanese... 'you fink us Japanese know Fu*k nuffing.. I tell you us Japanese we know F*ck All'

It grates on the pee-hearts that voted No to the Voice to parlinment the analogy that Indiginous Australian asked for 'f*ck nothing' and were delivered by those easly led, bigots, racists and those of small minds 'f*ck all' . They have to live with it.

But still there are of course still those amungst better.
Bless your memory and your work Dear Ms Caroline Jones.

Founding Australian Story presenter Caroline Jones's $1.7m gift

Long-running Australian Story presenter Caroline Jones bequeathed $1.7m towards Indigenous high school education in her final gift to the community.

www.abc.net.au

 

[sptrawler]

A nice gesture, I think it is terrific when people can give to a cause they feel is deserving, everyone should try and make someone else's life better if they can.

 

[StockyGuy]

A nice gesture, I think it is terrific when people can give to a cause they feel is deserving, everyone should try and make someone else's life better if they can.

If people are equal, or rather to be treated equally, there is no need give them special scholarships based on ancestry.

 

[sptrawler]

If people are equal, or rather to be treated equally, there is no need give them special scholarships based on ancestry.

Absolutely, but IMO it is better to help someone or some cause that you want to help, than the money be left to a third party who gets the decision on where your money should go IMO.
There are no doubt people in everyone's lives who can do with a hand up and may deserve it, on many occasions money is left to the surviving parties to bicker and fight amongst themselves for the spoils.
There may be people in the immediate family, that are more deserving than others, IMO that should be sorted pre the departure lounge.
Again just personal thoughts and everyone's circumstances are different.