Water Safety !

 Unfortunately, drowning seems to go hand in hand with our beautiful Australian summers.  We are only a handful of days into this summer and already death is occurring in both the coastal beaches and the inland river systems.

Water safety starts with the ability to swim if the unexpected happens.  We are relatively safe if we we go into the water at a popular beach patrolled by the Surf Lifesaver movement and we swim between the flags, but vast areas are unpatrolled and well within reach of the masses. The sea has many hidden dangers.  Wave sizes can vary unexpectedly, and we can experience what is called a " rip " when the water will move offshore and carry swimmers into deeper water.

Experienced beach goers know it is futile to try and swim against its strength.   These rips occur locally and the experienced swim parallel to the coast until they are out of the grip of the rip and then return safely to shore.  The inexperienced try to swim against this powerful tide, become exhausted and quickly drown.

In the earlier years of this nation, school sport included swimming lessons.  Few kids left school without becoming proficient swimmers but now the focus is on team sport and learning to swim is not high on many parents agendas.   If fact, religious dress codes in some cases prevent the use of attire suitable for swim instruction.

We are in danger of producing a vast number of people who are at risk of drowning if they ever experience an unfavourable water event.   They will be at risk if they crew a boat or have the misfortune to fall into water above their height, and to most people that happens at least once in their lifetime.  Even the people who live far inland and well away from the nearest river are subjected to unusual rain events that lead to flooding.

What we need is a national programme to ensure that every young Australian is water safe, and the obvious venue is the school system  We are not lacking in public swimming pools and this is the ideal venue to teach the ability to swim.   It would be ideal if learning to swim was a compulsory school sporting event with the ability learned at primary school age and developed further through the high school system.

Ideally, teaching the ability to swim should be part of the teacher training programme at university. A dedicated  learn to swim campaign in the summer months would have the advantage that their teachers would know the mind set of individual pupils and use this relationship to overcome any fear of the water.

Learning to swim should be an integral part of school activity.  There might be some opposition from parents from cold parts of the world where frigid water is avoided but water safety should be  part of the Australian curriculum because of the nature of the land in which we live.

No Australian kid should leave school without the ability to survive if they find themaselves above their depth in water.  That is just as important as learing the " three R's "  !

The " Stigma " Card !

 The Federal government is trying a new approach to help welfare recipients to " manage " their money. They despair that in too many families the welfare cheque is squandered away on alcohol and gambling rather than providing shelter and putting food on the table for despondent loved ones.

The plan isolates a large portion of each welfare payment onto a credit card which has spending restrictions.  It may not be used to pay for alcohol or gambling and is only accepted in stores nominated by the government.

The aim is to ensure that the greater portion of each welfare payment is spent wisely on food, cleaning materials or household essentials such as paying the rent or providing essential medical supplies.  A small remainder is left to be spent as the individual decides.

This is already in place in a trial phase in three parts of Australia.  The areas chosen were South Australia's Ceduna region, the Goldfields of Western Australia and Bundaberg and Hervey Bay in Queensland.  There are plans to extend it to Cape York and the Northern Territory.

To work as planned, the government restricts card acceptance to chain stores with the discipline to control throughput to legitimate items.  This sharply  reduces the options open to welfare recipients and can cause rejection at the checkout if unsuitable goods are included in the purchase.  It quickly becomes common knowledge that some customers are subjected to purchase restrictions and this makes them placed under a form of social stigma.

It also delivers a new condition that applies to welfare spending.  What was previously an " entitlement " granted by law now faces restrictions that limit spending choices.  There is widespread fear that similar terms will be applied to all forms of welfare, including the old age pension.

The vast majority of pensioners spend their money wisely and would be affronted if such conditions were imposed.. There is also concern that once the government imposes restrictions on purchasing habits it will spread to health professionals insisting on a balance of " healthy " foods and restrictions on the choice of food that does not meet that standard.

The wary see it as the first step in implementing a " control " measure in containing the " freedom of choice " that has always been in the hands of pensioners.  Restrictions apply to the granting of a pension, and now further restrictions are being applied as to how that money can be spent.

Some welfare recipients tend to hide their status as a pensioner from friends and neighbours as they believe it delivers a status stigma.  It is evident that restricting some pensioners to where they are permitted to shop and what they are permitted to buy will impose a shadow on their independence that will quickly spread through through the neighbourhoods where it applies.

It is a fact of life that any form of restriction results in a stigma that those under its control are " different " from the herd.  In this case the plan delivers a benefit to those living in poverty because of alcohol or gambling abuse, but the social cost of applying it across the entire community is just too high.

Unbending Drug Laws !

 For over a year, a public enquiry has been sifting through the options available to set a new stance in this unwinnable drug war. Its four volume findings have been handed down and contain careful input from the very people who oversee the failed law and order approach to keep drugs out of our society, together with suggestions for a new approach that has the support of public opinion.

Before this report is even examined by parliament, the premier has dogmatically declared that her government will not decriminalize drug use and the police are baying that there will be no change to the law and order approach.

Why spend public money on a special enquiry tasked   with finding an approach that actually works when the governments mind is made up that change will be rejected ?   The premier is suggesting that toying with the criminal penalties will be her solution and this will probably take the form of a " three chance " system.

People caught with illicit drugs for the first time will be released with a warning. second and third offence will involve a small fine, and after that will come a court appearance and prison.

Many parts of the world are legalising Marijuana but that seems to be off the table.  Drug testing at music festivals has overwhelming public support but is dogmatically rejected and the police insist on parading sniffer dogs and inflicting humiliating strip searches on patrons entering music festivals.

Our prisons are cess pools of disease because of needle sharing.  Drug use is rife in our prisons and all forms of control have failed.  We give free needles to the junkies on our streets and yet extending a similar programme to the incarcerated is rejected out of hand.

The average age of a member of the New South Wales parliament is over fifty and it is this mind set that will make decisions on drug use.  They don't seem to understand that party drugs are now an integral part of the lives of the younger generation and despite numerous police busts, we are no nearer stopping the inward flow coming in over our borders.  The huge profits to be made mean that sophisticated crime gangs will bribe their way into this country.  Despite the best efforts of the police, drugs are readily available on our streets.

The main cause of drug deaths are incompetent drug cooks selling concoctions of unknown strength at music festivals.  Most of the patrons take drugs and survive and that is not going to change because most of the drugs on sale are at a safe level.  It is in the interests of the drug trade to sell a " safe " product.

If drugs were legal, no doubt some people would abuse them in the same way that alcohol is abused.  Young people insist on achieving a " high " that requires some sort of stimulant and all the present drug laws achieve is to deliver handsome profits to the illegal drug traders - and prison to the ones that get caught, and it seems that this unhealthy cycle is destined to go on forever because the state parliament is too stupid to listen to public opinion and too frightened to make meaningful change.

That " Vaccine " Question !

 It seems that we are just days away from the first vaccinations against the coronavirus becoming available for public distribution.  The aim of world government will be to get a mass inoculation underway to stop the spread of this disease and bring the economy back to normal.

Developing a vaccine has been a rush job and because of the urgency the testing that applies to all new drugs has been modified and the drugs that have emerged offers a modified protection rate.  Just where and how that protection may fail has not been explained in terms the public can understand.

Most sensible people will cheerfully take the jab and receive the protection that is promised, but it is inevitable that an anti-vaccine movement will emerge.   The power of social media will come into play and the same unfounded claims will probably be made that are stopping many parents from protecting their children from childhood diseases that are often fatal.

Perhaps the first big question is whether public inoculation is optional or whether it can be legally demanded.  Initially, there is the expectation of a rush on centres and we will probably have some form of priority applied.  Heading the list will be aid workers and the elderly, offering protection to both the people likely to come into contact with the disease and those most likely to become its victims.

The big test will come when we move to mass inoculation by way of walk in centres available to the public.  It is essential that we record accurate information on who has received the vaccine because the coronavirus will linger in many parts of the world for years to come and overseas travel may require vaccine status to be listed on travellers passports.

Asking for proof of identity details will slow the process when the aim is to achieve herd protection in the early stages of the vaccine programme, but that information will be essential if we are to eradicate this disease from Australia.  Unless the Australian population is fully protected we are unlikely to receive any inward tourists or migrants who do not offer proof that they have been vaccinated.

This rush to develop a vaccine has pushed the civil liberties issue into the background and yet it provokes a lively debate across most sections of Australia.  We have people who avoid using the local water supply because it contains fluoride and yet some parts of the country have natural fluoride in the water that protects the teeth of citizens.

Usually, adding fluoride to protect teeth is decided by a local referendum, but some people refuse to accept a majority verdict and that same right of refusal is claimed by the rebels who refuse to have children vaccinated.  In many cases they are convinced that other dreaded medical conditions are a direct result of the vaccines and no amount of medical proof will change that conviction.

It is inevitable that this coronavirus vaccine will fall short of total herd immunity because of those who will decline the vaccine.   This is a civil liberties issue.  We can tolerate a small percentage of dissenters within a herd mentality grouping, but that may not be possible if future disease outbreaks result in mass fatalities.

Perhaps an opportune time to decided whether vaccinations are optional - or a requirement for holding citizenship in this country  !

But Is It " Justice " ?

The Rugby League football competition in Australia was constantly wracked by bad publicity caused by its players coming into conflict with the law.  The stars of the game were paid big money and were " celebrities " in the public view.  All too often they made newspaper headlines because of drunken brawls in clubs, domestic violence or dangerous driving  actions.

The combined clubs devised a novel punishment.  Should a player bring discredit on the game he would be stood down and not allowed to play until the matter was settled in court.  Not only would he lose audience adulation but his bank balance would also suffer.  Players salaries depend on the actual time they are competing on the field.

Then two years ago St George Illawarra star Jack De Belen and his friend, Shellharbour Sharks player Callan Sinclair were engaged in a " pub crawl " in Wollongong to celebrate grand final night when they encountered at nineteen year old woman in a nightclub. Later, she accompanied them to a nearby apartment where two disputed versions of events took place. They claim they both had consensual sex with her and she claims they raped her.

Despite repeated delays, that trial took place in a Wollongong court and this week the jury was dismissed when it failed to reach either a unanimous verdict or majority verdict.   If the matter goes to a retrial that can not be held in Wollongong into next August and De Belin's life will have been on hold for over three years.

De Belen (29) and Mr Sinclair (23) are accused of a very serious crime but guilt has yet to be determined in court.   Both men are free on bail, but as professional rugby players this club ban has  them as financially incarcerated as if they were in prison.  The ban is peculiar to Rugby League and no change seems contemplated despite the long delay in settling this case.

Jack De Belen is suffering loss even though he remains unconvicted. and that is solely because he plays football for a living.  Had he been a bus driver or a bank employee or any of a dozen other professions he would still be working at his job and getting his weekly pay packet.    In the eyes of many people, this is an unusual punishment that strays far from the concept of delivering " justice ".

The " playing life " of a Rugby player is usually limited by the injuries suffered.  The stars earn their top money from crowd adulation and there is a time limit during which their performance brings both media billing and premium pay from game officials.  It seems Jack De Belen is serving a sentence imposed by the club which may not be vindicated by the final outcome decided in a court of law.

In this Rugby League world, punishment is meted out on the basis of innuendo rather than what is actually proven.  It was thought that such matters might result in a player stood down for a game or two and the financial loss would consequently be small.  The League bosses are now embarrassed by how this case has turned out, but are declining to make changes because of the loss of face they would suffer.

It seems that when this is finally over, it opens the door for further legal action to determine if the League action falls within the tenet of " justice "  !

A " Trade War " Response !

 Officially. there is no other world country that we would consider to be the " enemy "  of Australia, but China is fast assuming that role.  The Mandarins in Beijing have consciously set out to do us economic harm by selectively placing trade embargoes on selected categories of goods which constitute a vital part of our export trade.

They have carefully choked off Australian timber, barley and wine in the knowledge that China was our biggest customer for these items and the trade loss will be hard for us to replace.  Now they are running insulting caricatures depicting Australian soldiers threatening harm to children in Afghanistan.   This is playing on a scandal that Australia revealed to the world by way of a public enquiry.

Australia's free press presented this story to the world in all its gory detail and the recriminations are ongoing.   We could be tempted to retaliate by reminding the Chinese diaspora of how China massacred its university students in Tiananmen Square in 1989 by sending in tanks and how this is scrupulously scrubbed from any mention in Chinese history.  We could also retaliate by reminding the Chinese people in Hong Kong and Taiwan of the Uighers, Muslims who are locked away in concentration camps in Xinjiang province being " reeducated " in every possible way.

Australia can not win a trade war with China. Openly retaliating will only add more items to the ongoing embargo and it is obvious that we must develop new markets in other parts of the world for the items that China is refusing.   Trade is a hard slog and most Australian business people head for the huge market represented by China. In future, we should concentrate on the lesser countries that make up more of the world and widen our market share.

That old proverb about not putting all our eggs in one basket is a truism.  We need to widen our market share and this unexpected Chinese belligerence now makes that a necessity.  It is important that Australian industry make representation to the smaller, more scattered markets to replace the volume that was previously being shipped to China.

There is also another option that rests in the hands of ordinary Australian citizens.  We should avoid buying items that are clearly marked " made in China ".   Embargoes are a two way deal.   If China refuses to buy the goods we produce we should retaliate in kind, and that can very quickly become affective.  We are on the cusp of Christmas and that is the prime purchasing season in which the avoidance of Chinese made goods will quickly show in statistics.

China is desperate to establish a car industry and Chinese vehicles are now on offer in Australia at competitive prices.   That Chinese embargo should be considered when buying a new car and could result in the import being rejected. Those are the outcomes that cause the Mandarins in Beijing to have second thoughts.

This blog is being produced on a Chinese made Lenovo computer.  When I needed a new computer I reviewed the brands offering on the market and decided the Lenovo was competitive, but when a replacement becomes necessary I will not be buying Chinese made in the present circumstances

It is the right time for the Australian public to send a clear message.to the Mandarins in Beijing that trade is a two way deal !

The Tide of Dissent !

 We live in what we call a " civil society " in which the laws with which we are governed are put in place by the politicians we send to parliament to act on our behalf.   Enforcing those laws is a body of men and women in uniform which we refer to as " the police ".

Rarely does the parliament we elect speak with a united voice.  Political parties which compete for our votes have radically different views on what laws should apply and the actions of the police are directed by whichever political faction is holding office at that particular time.

Across the world we are seeing police forces becoming more violent.  This violence is more than matched by the tactics now used by opponents of the laws put in place by parliaments.  It has become the custom to demonstrate against these laws in the streets and to keep order the police now resort to water cannon and baton charges.  These clashes are violent and deliver injuries to both sides.

In recent years the police have become more heavily armed.  They have always carried a pistol but now that is often supplemented by an assault rifle and the police wear body armour to protect them from mob violence.  Their tactics have become more aggressive and we are seeing civilian deaths occurring whenever issues bring large numbers of supporters onto the streets.

  Unfortunately, arrest by police is becoming selective.   Innocent bystanders are dragged off to the cells and violence is meted out to individuals whose race, colour or disposition has earned police ire.   The police claim to be combatting gang violence, but by their very nature the police are the biggest gang roaming city streets.

In some parts of the world this coronavirus pandemic is causing public disorder.  Australia has emerged with a light death toll thanks to early lockdowns but control measures are being violently rejected in some European and American cities., descending into open warfare between demonstrators and the police.  Civil order is giving way to bloodshed and the police are being blamed.

This usually degenerates into a dogmatic standoff.  The police are enforcing the legality of the law and the mob is seeking to institute a law change. Superficially, the police have the numbers and tactics to win, but that is at the cost of public confidence and respect.

The size of those mobs demonstrating in the streets continues to grow.  The phenomenon of social media is adding to the number and in many cases the publicity that brings people onto the streets is based on fake news and lies.  We are being manipulated by clever authorities abroad whose aims and objectives are not in Australia's interest.

That is a very dangerous situation. Some aspects of society are on the brink of civil war and this can only result in added police aggress  Mostly, this is evident in countries outside Australia but this tendency to oppose the police is growing here too.

We need to avoid being provoked into hysterical reaction by the farcical content aired on social media and carefully evaluate the issues involved.  Some issues deserve street action, but in many the manipulation in play is obvious  !