Well said, Piers.
Individual responsibility was once the accepted norm. These days,however, people who want to stand on their own two feet are the exception - not the rule.
The amount of taxpayer’s funds wasted on paying the ever-increasing armies of public servants to regulate, advise, help, restrict, counsel our fellow Australians is a national disgrace.
For example, private property is no longer “private” with laws that demand a swimming pool fence around a backyard pool. What right has a government (usually local) or here in the NT, the Territory Government to control what occurs in one’s own backyard? Disgusting. All because a useless person was not properly supervising a child; the child was able to exit a property, walk down the road without getting run over by a car,or eaten by a dog, or fallen in a stormwater drain,or raped by a paedophile, or abducted by kidnapper. The poor child, having survived the stroll on a public street, eventually made it to an innoccent pool-owner’s house, where she decided to jump in the water.
She drowned. This of course is tragic, but not the fault of the private pool owner. But it certainly was the fault of the person in charge of the child, who clearly lacked a strong sense of individual responsibility.
“Smoking laws” is another area where the nanny-state decides that the owner of hospitality premises is legally required to make their venue non-smoking by a certain date. It should be no-one’s business whether a business owner decides to allow 100% smoking, 50% smoking or zero smoking. The patrons will soon decide what they prefer. It is therefore purely a commercial decision for the owner - no-one else. Again no role for the nanny state.
On and on it goes. Further restrictions on our lifestyle - decided by taxpayer-funded advisors, who have never earnt a dollar in the real world, and delivered to weak sheep-like politicians to legislate on.
The recent decision by the Tasmanian Supreme Court, to put the responsibility on the drinker, instead of the publican is a breath
of fresh air amongst within a rapidly enveloping miasma of state controls.
Rudd, as you would expect,being a good socialist (or whatever he really is - apart from a show pony), and always keen to waste taxpayer’s money,is a strong advocate of taxpayer-funded “nanny initiatives”.
Remember the alcopops tax, grocery watch, fuel watch, super-clinics.... and so on. All a waste of time, and money except for the alcopops tax - which, of course raised more money for Rudd to squander.
How to fix this problem is of course difficult. Once the population can no longer think for themselves, they are unlikely to vote for a government which wants to allow people to become more self-sufficient, and possess that once common Australian trait of individual responsibility.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The recent turmoil in the ranks of the Henderson government says more about the majority of the people who make up this horribly inefficient, extremely wasteful, but very “spun” administration, than any individual Labor member.
Most observers of NT politics would be well aware that almost all Labor members of parliament previously fed at the taxpayer-funded trough prior to embarking on a political career. In my view this total absence of any real marketplace experience is at the heart is the heart of the failure of this NT Labor government.
Whilst Alison Anderson is of course very much a loose cannon, and has seriously damaged what remains of the Henderson government’s credibility, she does make at least one very valid criticism of the waste and mismanagement of funds allocated to Aboriginal housing.
Whatever the real ratio of administration costs to actual housing costs actually is under the Henderson government’s administration of the “Strategic Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Program” (SIHIP), there is no doubt that there has been plenty of squandering of taxpayer’s funds on unnecessary bureaucratic process and more than likely the usual government bungling.
Anyone who has ever worked in Aboriginal “communities” would be well aware that housing designed by public servants and “consultants” are rarely if ever appropriate for the needs of aborigines. Large expensive suburban-style-bungalows are the last thing aborigines require.
Territorians who have been to Beswick would be aware of the older (still-standing) housing – constructed of concrete blocks. These houses consist of a front verandah, an outside covered laundry, internal ablution facilities, a kitchen and bedrooms. There are no glass windows, instead concrete breeze-blocks. However, the design of housing is relatively easy to construct, has very low maintenance and lasts for many years. If Alison Anderson is fair-dinkum about providing effective and appropriate housing for aborigines, then I suggest she inspect these dwellings. In my opinion these hoses could be built for around $500,000 – half the cost of a suburban bungalow style that is currently being built.
Forget the bureaucrats and consultants. The federal and territory governments should immediately call for expressions of interest (and quotations) from experienced remote area NT builders to design and construct houses built from concrete panels or reinforced concrete blockwork. Provided that a few basic criteria are met, the cheapest proposal for each community should be accepted and construction started immediately, before the wet. Simple really!
In the history of the Northern Territory parliament since self-government, the Labor Party has not been served well by members with aboriginal blood. Of course, again like most of the fully-white Labor members of the assembly, to my knowledge, there has never been a part-aboriginal member of the NT parliamentary Labor Party who has not previously been on the taxpayer-funded payroll. As a result, a money-grows-on-trees attitude is rife throughout the Labor government of Paul Henderson - hence the massive debt burden and astronomical wages bill for the extra 4,000 public servants that this government has forced Territorians to wear.
Whatever of the outcome of the current parliamentary crisis, hopefully a strong, efficient government will emerge that gets on with things with the minimum of fuss and least cost to the taxpayer.
Territorians do not want another all “spin and bloat” government like that of Henderson to sneak back into power – with renegade aboriginal members still intact. Territorians deserve better. Territorians deserve a stable committed government.
As the Rudd Labor government continues to wreak havoc upon the Australian economy with jobs-destroying schemes like CPRS “Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme” and other unnecessary interventionist, anti - free-market measures, Territorians more than ever require a well-managed team of dedicated members to form the next government and provide sound economic leadership.
Dave Wane
Woodleigh Gardens
14th August, 2009
Most observers of NT politics would be well aware that almost all Labor members of parliament previously fed at the taxpayer-funded trough prior to embarking on a political career. In my view this total absence of any real marketplace experience is at the heart is the heart of the failure of this NT Labor government.
Whilst Alison Anderson is of course very much a loose cannon, and has seriously damaged what remains of the Henderson government’s credibility, she does make at least one very valid criticism of the waste and mismanagement of funds allocated to Aboriginal housing.
Whatever the real ratio of administration costs to actual housing costs actually is under the Henderson government’s administration of the “Strategic Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Program” (SIHIP), there is no doubt that there has been plenty of squandering of taxpayer’s funds on unnecessary bureaucratic process and more than likely the usual government bungling.
Anyone who has ever worked in Aboriginal “communities” would be well aware that housing designed by public servants and “consultants” are rarely if ever appropriate for the needs of aborigines. Large expensive suburban-style-bungalows are the last thing aborigines require.
Territorians who have been to Beswick would be aware of the older (still-standing) housing – constructed of concrete blocks. These houses consist of a front verandah, an outside covered laundry, internal ablution facilities, a kitchen and bedrooms. There are no glass windows, instead concrete breeze-blocks. However, the design of housing is relatively easy to construct, has very low maintenance and lasts for many years. If Alison Anderson is fair-dinkum about providing effective and appropriate housing for aborigines, then I suggest she inspect these dwellings. In my opinion these hoses could be built for around $500,000 – half the cost of a suburban bungalow style that is currently being built.
Forget the bureaucrats and consultants. The federal and territory governments should immediately call for expressions of interest (and quotations) from experienced remote area NT builders to design and construct houses built from concrete panels or reinforced concrete blockwork. Provided that a few basic criteria are met, the cheapest proposal for each community should be accepted and construction started immediately, before the wet. Simple really!
In the history of the Northern Territory parliament since self-government, the Labor Party has not been served well by members with aboriginal blood. Of course, again like most of the fully-white Labor members of the assembly, to my knowledge, there has never been a part-aboriginal member of the NT parliamentary Labor Party who has not previously been on the taxpayer-funded payroll. As a result, a money-grows-on-trees attitude is rife throughout the Labor government of Paul Henderson - hence the massive debt burden and astronomical wages bill for the extra 4,000 public servants that this government has forced Territorians to wear.
Whatever of the outcome of the current parliamentary crisis, hopefully a strong, efficient government will emerge that gets on with things with the minimum of fuss and least cost to the taxpayer.
Territorians do not want another all “spin and bloat” government like that of Henderson to sneak back into power – with renegade aboriginal members still intact. Territorians deserve better. Territorians deserve a stable committed government.
As the Rudd Labor government continues to wreak havoc upon the Australian economy with jobs-destroying schemes like CPRS “Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme” and other unnecessary interventionist, anti - free-market measures, Territorians more than ever require a well-managed team of dedicated members to form the next government and provide sound economic leadership.
Dave Wane
Woodleigh Gardens
14th August, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
