It is a great honour to be back at the University of Western Australia and a special privilege to deliver this Menzies Lecture.
I do so with the double enthusiasm of my admiration for the person after whom the Lecture is named, as well as my energetic commitment to preventing Australia going down the misguided path of embracing a Bill of Rights in the totally false belief that such action would expand our individual liberties. …
A day in the life of Tasmanian Labor: Tuesday August 25 2009.
On Health: People in the north-east are doing it tough on health and are rightly angry about the debacle surrounding the treatment of Dr McGinty. But Health Minister Lara Giddings today had the solution to people needing health care in the north-east. She said that anyone with a problem should: “…ring 000 like everybody else in this state does”. That’s a healthcare “solution” Labor-style.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/25/2666478.htm
On Housing: Labor tried to deal out its usual big serving of spin today, but the attempt fell apart when upset by a few facts. The Human Services minister was trying to talk up Labor’s public housing record when Liberal MP Brett Whiteley raised the issue of an elderly couple who’d been living in their car for three months, unable to get help from Housing Tasmania. The Human Services Minister then said the problems dated as far back as the 1960s and that public housing needed to be overhauled. She’s right about that! After 11 years of Labor, public housing waiting lists have increased from 1248 in 1998 (according to Shelter Tasmania) to more than 3000, according to the May Housing Tasmania KPIs obtained by the Liberals.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/25/2666187.htm
On Ethics: Every now and then Labor tries to make noise about establishing an ethics commission. But not too much noise because that’s slippery terrain for Labor. So usually it’s just a few nice words that commits to nothing and talks about the possibility of perhaps setting something up at later time, maybe. When real ethical issues arise you see Labor’s true position. Like today, when the Legislative Council started debating an interim report on senior appointments. One of the committee members who released the report today said: “I just find it extraordinary that the government chose not to address the substance of the report, or the select committee’s report.” The report described the evidence of former premier Lennon and former deputy premier Kons as “unreliable” and recommended they face the privilege committee. Bartlett doesn’t even want to go that far, instead claiming the report was “flawed”. Contrast this constant evasion and delay with the Liberal position: The Liberals will establish a powerful Anti-Corruption and Ethics Commission and fund it with $7 million over the forward estimates.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/25/2666188.htm
That’s a day in the life of Labor.
The good news in politics today? Liberal Vanessa Goodwin was sworn in as a member of the Legislative Council after her victory in the seat of Pembroke. Congratulations to Vanessa and the people of Pembroke.
Change is coming.
In a lovely and positive turn of events, one of the top ten sites on the world wide web today features the article on Harry Murray VC as its main feature, drawing the attention of millions to a hero and the island state of his birth. …
What a powerful force is the force of nature.
Walking with my beautiful family along the Cataract Walk (from Kings Bridge up to the First Basin) yesterday, we stopped about every ten metres to take pics and say g’day to plenty of locals who had the same idea.
Enjoy the video!
PS: Open this post to see all the pictures !
The rot has set in and it’s clearly time to change a government in decay.
Anyone who has been following David Bartlett’s attempt to enter the soap opera ratings war will already know that the Labor Party has wasted $500,000 of taxpayers’ money on TV infomercials that were never even broadcast. …
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