In a gentler, kinder age we were always taught to seek the help of a policeman if we were in trouble ! Today, the sight of a blue uniform instills fear into many citizens. There is an expectation that if the police decide to use unreasonable force or open fire with deadly intent - they will get away with it unpunished.
The death of a young black man in Ferguson in the United States provoked riots in many cities - and remains unexplained. Somehow this unarmed youth got into a confrontation with a white police officer, resulting in the cop firing twelve rounds from his service pistol - with six hits resulting in death. That police officer claims he was fearful for his own life and an investigation has cleared him of any wrongdoing. It is hard to see the danger posed by an unarmed person that would require a trained police officer to respond by firing almost the entire magazine of his weapon.
We have seen pictures on television from New York where a man illegally selling untaxed cigarettes was confronted by police. He threw no punches and was simply trying to negotiate when a white police officer moved in from behind and applied a choke hold. Other officers then forced this black man to the ground and the choke hold was maintained - and the offender died at the scene. It has since been reported that no charges will be laid.
Here in Sydney we remember a wild chase in the city CDB when eleven police chased a Brazilian student accused of stealing biscuits from a store. Amazingly, this unarmed offender was tazered fifteen times - and died at the scene. An enquiry absolved police from blame.
The latest "police incident "shows a vivid scene of police wrestling a young woman to the ground because of a dispute over a cab fare. She is beaten with a police baton - and clearly shows the marks of assault. It seems that this can be the outcome of even the mildest resistance to the police.
This seems to be a world wide phenomenon. In America the cops are predominantly white and they seem predisposed to stop and search people with black skin. Here in Australia, Indigenous citizens are grossly over represented in our prison population. Whenever an "incident "occurs there seems to be an automatic denial of any police culpability - and the usual outcome is police investigating fellow police - and bringing in a not guilty verdict.
We are seeing our police becoming more "militarized ". They are now equipped with "Bearcats "- basically a light armoured tank and some units carry automatic weapons. Police are now more aggressive and this stance seems to have government backing. It seems that the government is fearful of it's own citizens - and looks to the police to shield it from their wrath, and all this is compounded by the police union.
Some wit once observed that when it comes to criminal gang activity - the police were usually the biggest gang in the city. By their very nature and size, they hold enormous power and they use this to dictate to the government. The biggest fear - is that of a police strike. Behind the scenes, the police union makes it's demands known and few administrations are prepared to risk confrontation.
The outcome is that police have become harsher in their policing - and bolder. They never admit they were wrong and they never apologise for their actions. In many countries, the police have become the essential safeguard between the government and those governed - and they must be kept on side at all costs.
There is no doubt that police have a tough job to do and they face constant danger. Drugs make some offenders vastly more aggressive, but we are seeing an attitudinal change that is disturbing. It seems that the police do not trust the courts to administer justice - and are taking on the role of judge, jury - and sometimes - executioner !
That will only continue to expand while the power of the police union shields those using excessive force from any form of being brought to account !
Sunday, 7 December 2014
Saturday, 6 December 2014
Trolley Block !
The target ambulance response time to a 000 call in New South Wales is eight minutes. The tragic death of Phil Hughes on a sports ground in central Sydney has thrown the spotlight on ambulance delays. It took twenty-three minutes for the ambulance responding to that first 000 call to reach the SCG.
Response time is critical - and in many cases it is literally a matter of life or death. The Ambulance paramedics are highly trained medical people able to recognise the emergency and apply the appropriate treatment to stabilize the patient. In cases of strokes or heart attacks, blood thinning medication can prevent the ongoing damage escalating, resulting in permanent injury or death. In most cases, time is the critical factor in saving lives.
Every time the spotlight shines on ambulance delay times, it reveals a weakness that seems ever present in our health system. The ambulance may not be directed to the nearest hospital emergency department. The despatchers will try and send it to the hospital with the least time delay in actually accepting that patient - but at least the patient is under treatment and condition details are being exchanged between the treating paramedic and the despatcher.
The real problem comes when the ambulance actually arrives at a hospital emergency department. This is where blockage flow occurs. If the hospital emergency staff of doctors and nurses are fully engaged treating emergency patients, the ambulance crews are required to wait and care for their patients until they can be handed over - and in the worst cases this can be a matter of hours !
It is not unusual for half the city ambulance fleet to be stuck in trolley block, waiting to offload their cares at an emergency department and despatchers calling in ambulances from outside suburbs - and even nearby country towns - to try and ease the resulting time delay. In such cases, it is inevitable that response times suffer.
In many cases, this leads to tragedy. A call to treat a man suffering chest pains took thirty minutes for the ambulance to arrive - by which time the patient had died. Relatives and loved ones are left to wonder. Had emergency response medication been applied sooner the outcome might have been very different.
The health services people are well aware of the trolley block problem and emergency rooms are being enlarged and provided with added staff, but demand will always remain a matter of sheer luck.Without warning, big numbers of people may present at an emergency room and swamp whatever facilities are available, and at other times the flow may reduce to a mere trickle. It is the job of the despatchers to try and manage that balance.
All too often, one of these peaks has all the available hospital emergency departments running on overdrive - and thats when the ambulance fleet is crippled by having to stand by and treat the patients that can not be handed to hospital care. The answer to this problem seems obvious.
We need emergency crews of trained medical people - probably off duty or even retired paramedics - who can be called in at short notice to relieve and take care of those patients waiting acceptance at the door of hospital emergency departments. In that way, the ambulance vehicles and their crews are again available to respond to emergencies - and deliver that critical first response in an acceptable time frame.
The ideal solution would be expanded emergency rooms that could handle the biggest load, but that is not practical from either a cost or a manning point of view. What is required is a stop gap measure to relieve a peak problem - and extending the pool of paramedics to handle the load would be the most cost effective and immediate way of solving the problem.
It would require additional trolleys and medication supplies to enable relieving paramedics to function smoothly - and there would be a cost factor, but this would seem the only way we could quickly overcome what is becoming a totally unacceptable situation.
Something for the health department to ponder !
Response time is critical - and in many cases it is literally a matter of life or death. The Ambulance paramedics are highly trained medical people able to recognise the emergency and apply the appropriate treatment to stabilize the patient. In cases of strokes or heart attacks, blood thinning medication can prevent the ongoing damage escalating, resulting in permanent injury or death. In most cases, time is the critical factor in saving lives.
Every time the spotlight shines on ambulance delay times, it reveals a weakness that seems ever present in our health system. The ambulance may not be directed to the nearest hospital emergency department. The despatchers will try and send it to the hospital with the least time delay in actually accepting that patient - but at least the patient is under treatment and condition details are being exchanged between the treating paramedic and the despatcher.
The real problem comes when the ambulance actually arrives at a hospital emergency department. This is where blockage flow occurs. If the hospital emergency staff of doctors and nurses are fully engaged treating emergency patients, the ambulance crews are required to wait and care for their patients until they can be handed over - and in the worst cases this can be a matter of hours !
It is not unusual for half the city ambulance fleet to be stuck in trolley block, waiting to offload their cares at an emergency department and despatchers calling in ambulances from outside suburbs - and even nearby country towns - to try and ease the resulting time delay. In such cases, it is inevitable that response times suffer.
In many cases, this leads to tragedy. A call to treat a man suffering chest pains took thirty minutes for the ambulance to arrive - by which time the patient had died. Relatives and loved ones are left to wonder. Had emergency response medication been applied sooner the outcome might have been very different.
The health services people are well aware of the trolley block problem and emergency rooms are being enlarged and provided with added staff, but demand will always remain a matter of sheer luck.Without warning, big numbers of people may present at an emergency room and swamp whatever facilities are available, and at other times the flow may reduce to a mere trickle. It is the job of the despatchers to try and manage that balance.
All too often, one of these peaks has all the available hospital emergency departments running on overdrive - and thats when the ambulance fleet is crippled by having to stand by and treat the patients that can not be handed to hospital care. The answer to this problem seems obvious.
We need emergency crews of trained medical people - probably off duty or even retired paramedics - who can be called in at short notice to relieve and take care of those patients waiting acceptance at the door of hospital emergency departments. In that way, the ambulance vehicles and their crews are again available to respond to emergencies - and deliver that critical first response in an acceptable time frame.
The ideal solution would be expanded emergency rooms that could handle the biggest load, but that is not practical from either a cost or a manning point of view. What is required is a stop gap measure to relieve a peak problem - and extending the pool of paramedics to handle the load would be the most cost effective and immediate way of solving the problem.
It would require additional trolleys and medication supplies to enable relieving paramedics to function smoothly - and there would be a cost factor, but this would seem the only way we could quickly overcome what is becoming a totally unacceptable situation.
Something for the health department to ponder !
Friday, 5 December 2014
Backlog !
There is a certain inevitability that most of the undocumented people waiting the resolution of their fate in both Australia and America will eventually have to be folded into the permanent population. The numbers are simply too great for deportation to be a credible solution - and the only thing holding up a sensible compromise - is politics !
In both countries, the obstacle in the past has been different political persuasions between the party holding power in the lower house not having the numbers in the upper chamber. This deadlock seems implacable to any form of logical solution.
It seemed hopeful that some sort of compromise was being worked out to allow four hundred children stuck in camps on Christmas island to be repatriated to the Australian mainland - but this seems to be in doubt thanks to the ever shifting political alliances taking place in the Australian Senate.
Part of this deal was a lifting of the Australian refugee intake from 13,710 to 18,750 and the issueing of Safe Haven Enterprise Visas ( SHEV ) which permitted a five year stay in this country, provided that three years were spent in a regional area - and allowed a work permit.
There is a basic difference between the Australian and the American problem. Most of the American undocumented have crossed the southern border and many have lived and worked in their new country for decades. Most of the Australian refugees in detention centres are more recent and their arrival raised the Australian ire when they were paying people smugglers to try and force entry into this country.
This trade has been stopped in it's tracks and the very latest arrivals form a special group. In stopping the boats the government promised that these last people would never be allowed permanent entry here, and that promise is being kept to deter a resumption of the people smuggling trade. Those that arrived pre that promise are the ones awaiting resettlement in some sort of legal limbo.
The sad thing is that most of those living a miserable life behind wire barriers are probably decent people who would make good citizens. We certainly need to weed out any criminal elements who have managed to slip into the country and religious zealots intent on causing religious disharmony are definitely unwelcome, but statistically both elements are a small minority.
The longer we avoid making a final decision and leave these people to rot in detention, the more we create problems in eventually settling them successfully into the community. Work skills deteriorate the longer they are unused and both fear and deprivation are not conductive to a healthy mind. There is a real danger that they may become "institutionalized " - just as long term prisoners in the jail system lose their ability to make normal decisions that run their lives. Unfortunately, in some cases irreversible damage may already have been done.
In America, the "illegals "question has sent both the main political parties to the barricades. Crossing the dividing line is almost regarded as an act of treason and in the present climate no reaching across the aisle seems possible. Here in Australia the lines are more blurred. Both the main political parties are eager to settle the issue - just so long as the decision is in their favour and they can crow about the justice of their stance. The sticking point is an unstable minority holding the balance of power in the Senate and milking the issue for all it is worth to achieve the point scoring they hope will provide their individual survival at the next election.
It seems that this indecisive type of voting pattern will hold until the voting public of both nations decide that enough - is enough. In desperation, the voter will deliver one party to office with the numbers to actually govern - and in America that would need to combine with the two houses and the presidency being in alignment.
In Australia it would require either the abolition of the Senate - or a swing to a single political party of such magnitude that the array of fringe politics was swept away and the party in government carried both houses.
Neither seems likely in the present political climate !
In both countries, the obstacle in the past has been different political persuasions between the party holding power in the lower house not having the numbers in the upper chamber. This deadlock seems implacable to any form of logical solution.
It seemed hopeful that some sort of compromise was being worked out to allow four hundred children stuck in camps on Christmas island to be repatriated to the Australian mainland - but this seems to be in doubt thanks to the ever shifting political alliances taking place in the Australian Senate.
Part of this deal was a lifting of the Australian refugee intake from 13,710 to 18,750 and the issueing of Safe Haven Enterprise Visas ( SHEV ) which permitted a five year stay in this country, provided that three years were spent in a regional area - and allowed a work permit.
There is a basic difference between the Australian and the American problem. Most of the American undocumented have crossed the southern border and many have lived and worked in their new country for decades. Most of the Australian refugees in detention centres are more recent and their arrival raised the Australian ire when they were paying people smugglers to try and force entry into this country.
This trade has been stopped in it's tracks and the very latest arrivals form a special group. In stopping the boats the government promised that these last people would never be allowed permanent entry here, and that promise is being kept to deter a resumption of the people smuggling trade. Those that arrived pre that promise are the ones awaiting resettlement in some sort of legal limbo.
The sad thing is that most of those living a miserable life behind wire barriers are probably decent people who would make good citizens. We certainly need to weed out any criminal elements who have managed to slip into the country and religious zealots intent on causing religious disharmony are definitely unwelcome, but statistically both elements are a small minority.
The longer we avoid making a final decision and leave these people to rot in detention, the more we create problems in eventually settling them successfully into the community. Work skills deteriorate the longer they are unused and both fear and deprivation are not conductive to a healthy mind. There is a real danger that they may become "institutionalized " - just as long term prisoners in the jail system lose their ability to make normal decisions that run their lives. Unfortunately, in some cases irreversible damage may already have been done.
In America, the "illegals "question has sent both the main political parties to the barricades. Crossing the dividing line is almost regarded as an act of treason and in the present climate no reaching across the aisle seems possible. Here in Australia the lines are more blurred. Both the main political parties are eager to settle the issue - just so long as the decision is in their favour and they can crow about the justice of their stance. The sticking point is an unstable minority holding the balance of power in the Senate and milking the issue for all it is worth to achieve the point scoring they hope will provide their individual survival at the next election.
It seems that this indecisive type of voting pattern will hold until the voting public of both nations decide that enough - is enough. In desperation, the voter will deliver one party to office with the numbers to actually govern - and in America that would need to combine with the two houses and the presidency being in alignment.
In Australia it would require either the abolition of the Senate - or a swing to a single political party of such magnitude that the array of fringe politics was swept away and the party in government carried both houses.
Neither seems likely in the present political climate !
Thursday, 4 December 2014
Child Brides !
It seems that a nine year old Sydney girl is now out of reach of Australian jurisdiction and it is feared that she has been sent to another country where she will become the wife of a complete stranger in a marriage arranged by her parents. This certainly contravenes Australian law but it is a case of our law coming into conflict with customs that have existed for centuries in other parts of the world.
When an immigrant is granted Australian citizenship they take an oath that they will live by the law of this country, but when our law sharply diverges from the customs that prevailed and were instilled during their formative years elsewhere - their allegiance to those customs remain uppermost. They also face peer pressure to conform to custom if their circle of friends is composed of people from that same culture.
If we hope to stop immature young girls being married off in arranged marriages and that awful practice of female genital mutilation to remove the joy of sex as a means of keeping them faithful - we have the task of changing the culture that considers this "normal practice "!
The director of our Immigration Women's Health Service who has face to face contact with the migrant community knows what a massive task that will be and comments that "printing glossy pamphlets "is not the answer. The people involved are not going to look up Australian law on the Internet or consult community literature to guide their actions. The purpose of the present information campaign is to alert the community to what is happening and encourage those who suspect a forced marriage is in the works to pass the word to those with the ability to intervene - and perhaps prevent it happening.
Unfortunately, trying to solve this problem is putting a divisive wedge between young migrant girls and their parents. In many cultures parents believe that they "own "their children and that they have a right to completely dictate what happens with them. Often, brides are promised the moment they are born in exchange for commercial treaties between families - and girls have little other value in the order that exists in male dominated society.
It must be most confusing for girls living in a household with such values and experiencing the culture that surrounds them at school when they are mixing with children from other cultures. Perhaps that delivers the best chance to break the vicious circle of child brides. A child which suspects that a planned overseas "holiday "will end in a forced marriage can circumnavigate that end by speaking up to a teacher or other trusted adult. It takes courage to do that and in many cases it will permanently end the child/parent family relationship.
That may be the answer to the child bride problem, but usually genital mutilation occurs at an age when a young girl is still an infant - and unable to speak out to prevent it happening. It is also a process often carried out by an untrained family member with a crude instrument, and once done it is an irreversible medical event that imposes a lifelong void of sexual feeling on the victim. Often, the instigator is the young girl's own mother.
That will be the hardest problem to solve. It will probably involve relentless legal pursuit of offenders - and serious prison sentencing to get the message through that genital mutilation will not be tolerated in this country, and if that offends the beliefs held by newcomers to our shores - then so be it ! Unfortunately, the victim suffers an entire lifetime of loss that the female population of Australia would find hard to envisage.
Fortunately, history has had a happy ending to the many battles between child and parent that erupted amongst the wave of migrants fleeing to Australia at the end of the second world war. Often it was the children who were the only family members able to converse in English - and now those children are becoming grandparents. The passage of time smoothed the rough edges of inherited custom. The migrants of yesterday are unidentifiable in today's generation - and in time that will happen again to our recent arrivals !
When an immigrant is granted Australian citizenship they take an oath that they will live by the law of this country, but when our law sharply diverges from the customs that prevailed and were instilled during their formative years elsewhere - their allegiance to those customs remain uppermost. They also face peer pressure to conform to custom if their circle of friends is composed of people from that same culture.
If we hope to stop immature young girls being married off in arranged marriages and that awful practice of female genital mutilation to remove the joy of sex as a means of keeping them faithful - we have the task of changing the culture that considers this "normal practice "!
The director of our Immigration Women's Health Service who has face to face contact with the migrant community knows what a massive task that will be and comments that "printing glossy pamphlets "is not the answer. The people involved are not going to look up Australian law on the Internet or consult community literature to guide their actions. The purpose of the present information campaign is to alert the community to what is happening and encourage those who suspect a forced marriage is in the works to pass the word to those with the ability to intervene - and perhaps prevent it happening.
Unfortunately, trying to solve this problem is putting a divisive wedge between young migrant girls and their parents. In many cultures parents believe that they "own "their children and that they have a right to completely dictate what happens with them. Often, brides are promised the moment they are born in exchange for commercial treaties between families - and girls have little other value in the order that exists in male dominated society.
It must be most confusing for girls living in a household with such values and experiencing the culture that surrounds them at school when they are mixing with children from other cultures. Perhaps that delivers the best chance to break the vicious circle of child brides. A child which suspects that a planned overseas "holiday "will end in a forced marriage can circumnavigate that end by speaking up to a teacher or other trusted adult. It takes courage to do that and in many cases it will permanently end the child/parent family relationship.
That may be the answer to the child bride problem, but usually genital mutilation occurs at an age when a young girl is still an infant - and unable to speak out to prevent it happening. It is also a process often carried out by an untrained family member with a crude instrument, and once done it is an irreversible medical event that imposes a lifelong void of sexual feeling on the victim. Often, the instigator is the young girl's own mother.
That will be the hardest problem to solve. It will probably involve relentless legal pursuit of offenders - and serious prison sentencing to get the message through that genital mutilation will not be tolerated in this country, and if that offends the beliefs held by newcomers to our shores - then so be it ! Unfortunately, the victim suffers an entire lifetime of loss that the female population of Australia would find hard to envisage.
Fortunately, history has had a happy ending to the many battles between child and parent that erupted amongst the wave of migrants fleeing to Australia at the end of the second world war. Often it was the children who were the only family members able to converse in English - and now those children are becoming grandparents. The passage of time smoothed the rough edges of inherited custom. The migrants of yesterday are unidentifiable in today's generation - and in time that will happen again to our recent arrivals !
Wednesday, 3 December 2014
Negative Thinking !
Last week a child was discovered dumped in a storm water drain at Quakers Hill. This week the body of a newborn was found buried in the sand on Maroubra beach - with the umbilical cord still attached. It seems obvious that two desperate mothers faced some sort of unrelenting pressure to dispose of what they considered a threat to their relationships because of an unwanted pregnancy - and chose the option of abandonment.
This immediately resulted in suggestions that we need a "safety hatch "located in a convenient location - a fire station or a hospital seems popular - where an unwanted baby can be abandoned with the sure knowledge that a time delay alarm will bring it to the attention of professional carers - and the child will survive. This idea has been implemented in a number of other countries and the location of such hatches is included in public safety information.
In this state, that idea has been flatly rejected. A statement from the department of Family and Community Services claims "There is no evidence that safe havens work "! New South Wales Health continues in that vein, stating that it "Has no policy to provide safety hatches and there were no plans for such a concept "!
If we have never had a safety hatch for the disposal of unwanted babies, how can we possibly claim that they do not work ?
If we offer a survival option to desperate mothers, there is at least a chance that it may save several lives a year - and putting one in place would cost a mere handful of dollars. The evidence is there for all to see. Two desperate mothers made a conscious decision to abandon their child in this past few days - and one lived by sheer chance and the other child died. The safety hatch option was not available to either of those mothers when they made their fateful decisions.
We go to a lot of trouble to try and prevent suicides. We value human life and trained counsellors will try and talk an intended suicide through the travails afflicting them. Despite this, a lot of people take their own lives, but we do not immediately suggest abandoning these services. Instead, there are calls for their expansion and wider publicity to try and get those with depression to use this service. It seems strange that the first knee jerk reaction to a baby safety hatch proposal - is total rejection by the bureaucracy !
What is the factor the number crunchers require to give safety hatches the tick of approval ? If they saved just one life a year, would that justify their existence ? Some overseas countries have had this concept for many years and their occasional use is the justification for keeping them open - because the cost is negligible. They are placed where permanent carers are always on duty - and at least they provide an option to what is otherwise a life or death decision.
Perhaps rejection by the bureaucracy will see this idea taken up by some charitable organization and we will see a public appeal for funds to bring it into being. The biggest outlay would involve getting sufficient publicity to bring it to public attention - if that same bureaucracy declined to list it amongst other public services open to the public.
Unfortunately, if this safety hatch idea survives bureaucratic inertia it will probably only become available in major cities, and yet often the stresses of morality and perceived custom are greater in rural areas, and certainly the birth of a child is much harder to keep from becoming public knowledge in a rural setting. Perhaps the provision of a safety hatch in such a location would be of even greater value.
It is disappointing that such a positive idea has been given the thumbs down - without even the courtesy of a public discussion to gauge community opinion !
This immediately resulted in suggestions that we need a "safety hatch "located in a convenient location - a fire station or a hospital seems popular - where an unwanted baby can be abandoned with the sure knowledge that a time delay alarm will bring it to the attention of professional carers - and the child will survive. This idea has been implemented in a number of other countries and the location of such hatches is included in public safety information.
In this state, that idea has been flatly rejected. A statement from the department of Family and Community Services claims "There is no evidence that safe havens work "! New South Wales Health continues in that vein, stating that it "Has no policy to provide safety hatches and there were no plans for such a concept "!
If we have never had a safety hatch for the disposal of unwanted babies, how can we possibly claim that they do not work ?
If we offer a survival option to desperate mothers, there is at least a chance that it may save several lives a year - and putting one in place would cost a mere handful of dollars. The evidence is there for all to see. Two desperate mothers made a conscious decision to abandon their child in this past few days - and one lived by sheer chance and the other child died. The safety hatch option was not available to either of those mothers when they made their fateful decisions.
We go to a lot of trouble to try and prevent suicides. We value human life and trained counsellors will try and talk an intended suicide through the travails afflicting them. Despite this, a lot of people take their own lives, but we do not immediately suggest abandoning these services. Instead, there are calls for their expansion and wider publicity to try and get those with depression to use this service. It seems strange that the first knee jerk reaction to a baby safety hatch proposal - is total rejection by the bureaucracy !
What is the factor the number crunchers require to give safety hatches the tick of approval ? If they saved just one life a year, would that justify their existence ? Some overseas countries have had this concept for many years and their occasional use is the justification for keeping them open - because the cost is negligible. They are placed where permanent carers are always on duty - and at least they provide an option to what is otherwise a life or death decision.
Perhaps rejection by the bureaucracy will see this idea taken up by some charitable organization and we will see a public appeal for funds to bring it into being. The biggest outlay would involve getting sufficient publicity to bring it to public attention - if that same bureaucracy declined to list it amongst other public services open to the public.
Unfortunately, if this safety hatch idea survives bureaucratic inertia it will probably only become available in major cities, and yet often the stresses of morality and perceived custom are greater in rural areas, and certainly the birth of a child is much harder to keep from becoming public knowledge in a rural setting. Perhaps the provision of a safety hatch in such a location would be of even greater value.
It is disappointing that such a positive idea has been given the thumbs down - without even the courtesy of a public discussion to gauge community opinion !
Tuesday, 2 December 2014
Fiscal Warning Signs !
Victorians went to the polls on Saturday and promptly threw out a Liberal state government after just a single term in office. Many saw this as a referendum on Tony Abbott 's policies in Canberra and it will certainly give encouragement to opposition leader Bill Shorten. The Federal government is clearly in trouble and needs to review it's agenda because it is unlikely that the Senate will pass the majority of the unpopular measures waiting in the pipeline.
Unfortunately, party politics is all about gaining political advantage with the national interest coming a long way second. We need to bring the budget into balance and end deficit spending and doing that will mean inevitable pain for taxpayers. The Abbott government decided to implement savage cuts early in it's term and did a poor job of explaining both the rationale and the focus. There has been an ongoing air of indecision - with a consequent drop in public confidence. Abbott needs to clear the decks - and make a new start.
It is an inescapable fact that world finance is balanced on a very sharp edge. China's growth rate is slowing and all the BRIC countries have lost their former expansion. The European Union and it's common currency is not out of the woods and Germany, the engine that has held it together in past crisis times is experiencing an alarming decline in exports. The formation of Islamic State in the Middle East has sent millions of refugees across national borders and Europe is struggling to house, feed and find jobs for these added numbers - at a time when the ghost of the 08 recession still lingers.
Africa is beset with an outbreak of Ebola and at the same time it's history of civil war over it's trove of rich resources is fast morphing into a religious war. The drums of war are beating in Asia with contested claims over islands and patches of rock in both the South and East China seas - and in Europe Russia is seeking expansion by fomenting war under cover of a civil uprising on it's border with Ukraine.
Surprisingly, the world is awash with oil, the commodity once thought to be fast declining. The price has dropped below eighty dollars a barrel and cheaper energy would be expected to revive many economies, but it is also impoverishing the finances of many oil producing countries - with consequent anger and dismay from their citizens. At the same time, a rising world population is putting pressure on food supplies.
We experienced a recession that shook the world in 08 - and the recovery has been tenuous. If we slip into a new recession Australia will not ride it out with the ease that made us a shining example exemplified by other nations. There is no twenty billion dollars sitting in kitty to tide us over - and it is essential that we reduce our debts and get our finances on an even keel.
Interest rates are at an all time low, and if we cut them further in a recession it will will damage the vast numbers of self financed retirees who need investment income to fund their retirement. When that dwindles, they are forced to bite into their capital - and when that erodes they become eligible for a part aged pension. Just using the printing presses to create more dollars will inevitably create a surge of inflation - and exacerbate the problem.
Clearly, the present budget strategy is not working. The voters in Victoria sent a message - and the government would be wise to heed it. The principle that all governments automatically get a second term is now dead and buried. The voting public is a lot wiser than the politicians give them credit for - and the Senate will suffer electoral punishment it it blocks sensible legislation for purely political reasons.
Getting the budget right - and getting the measures in place to achieve that aim - will take a degree of compromise. The government needs to rethink what is possible - and fully explain the how and why of what it is trying to achieve. Unless we put our house in order, the citizens of this country will pay a terrible price if the world order once again suffers a reverse similar to 08 !
Unfortunately, party politics is all about gaining political advantage with the national interest coming a long way second. We need to bring the budget into balance and end deficit spending and doing that will mean inevitable pain for taxpayers. The Abbott government decided to implement savage cuts early in it's term and did a poor job of explaining both the rationale and the focus. There has been an ongoing air of indecision - with a consequent drop in public confidence. Abbott needs to clear the decks - and make a new start.
It is an inescapable fact that world finance is balanced on a very sharp edge. China's growth rate is slowing and all the BRIC countries have lost their former expansion. The European Union and it's common currency is not out of the woods and Germany, the engine that has held it together in past crisis times is experiencing an alarming decline in exports. The formation of Islamic State in the Middle East has sent millions of refugees across national borders and Europe is struggling to house, feed and find jobs for these added numbers - at a time when the ghost of the 08 recession still lingers.
Africa is beset with an outbreak of Ebola and at the same time it's history of civil war over it's trove of rich resources is fast morphing into a religious war. The drums of war are beating in Asia with contested claims over islands and patches of rock in both the South and East China seas - and in Europe Russia is seeking expansion by fomenting war under cover of a civil uprising on it's border with Ukraine.
Surprisingly, the world is awash with oil, the commodity once thought to be fast declining. The price has dropped below eighty dollars a barrel and cheaper energy would be expected to revive many economies, but it is also impoverishing the finances of many oil producing countries - with consequent anger and dismay from their citizens. At the same time, a rising world population is putting pressure on food supplies.
We experienced a recession that shook the world in 08 - and the recovery has been tenuous. If we slip into a new recession Australia will not ride it out with the ease that made us a shining example exemplified by other nations. There is no twenty billion dollars sitting in kitty to tide us over - and it is essential that we reduce our debts and get our finances on an even keel.
Interest rates are at an all time low, and if we cut them further in a recession it will will damage the vast numbers of self financed retirees who need investment income to fund their retirement. When that dwindles, they are forced to bite into their capital - and when that erodes they become eligible for a part aged pension. Just using the printing presses to create more dollars will inevitably create a surge of inflation - and exacerbate the problem.
Clearly, the present budget strategy is not working. The voters in Victoria sent a message - and the government would be wise to heed it. The principle that all governments automatically get a second term is now dead and buried. The voting public is a lot wiser than the politicians give them credit for - and the Senate will suffer electoral punishment it it blocks sensible legislation for purely political reasons.
Getting the budget right - and getting the measures in place to achieve that aim - will take a degree of compromise. The government needs to rethink what is possible - and fully explain the how and why of what it is trying to achieve. Unless we put our house in order, the citizens of this country will pay a terrible price if the world order once again suffers a reverse similar to 08 !
Monday, 1 December 2014
The Ever Increasing Drugs " WAR " !
It sounds almost unbelievable, but the police have busted an incoming shipping container load of three tonnes of illegal drugs destined for the streets of Sydney - with a value estimated to bring in a trade return of one and half billion dollars.
It contained 1917 kg of Ecstacy and 849 kg of Crystal Methamphetamine, and this was the second biggest drug bust - ever - in this country. The drug squad estimates that had it gone undetected it would have provided at least ten million individual "hits "of Ecstacy on the party scene - and probably caused at least a few deaths.
This shipping container started it's journey from Germany, and that country is low on the list of potential drug sources. The manifest described the container contents as furniture and personal effects, and so far the bust has led to six arrests when Sydney based Australian citizens attempted to claim the goods. The police comment that the net is widening, and they expect to close down a much bigger distribution network.
We are accustomed to many suburban drug "labs "churning out a mixed bag of drugs at a range of purities, but it takes big money and a sophisticated network to finance and create an individual shipment of this magnitude. These decisions would not have been taken lightly. There would have been expectations of great monetary rewards - and in the crime world failure brings consequences. Highly placed people will be wondering what exactly went wrong - and who is to blame. Those under suspicion may well have a very short life expectation !
The police are not saying how they became alerted nor what information led to a search of that particular shipping container, but is seems evident that policing methods are keeping pace with the sophisticated crime networks that control the drug trade. Organized crime includes many bikie gangs and there are indications that drugs have become a source of income for the regimes of some overseas countries. When drug crime becomes the business of government, a whole new range of protocols and trade agreements come into play to make the movement of goods more opaque.
This particular bust has certainly caused it's originators a severe financial loss. The cost of assembling the drug quantity that would return $ 1.5 billion on the streets would be a mere fraction of that amount, but it disrupts the drug supply in Australia and causes shortages that will be applauded by competitors - who will seek to reap rewards by plugging that gap at higher returns. Then there is the loss of face. A well oiled drug network is thrown into disarray - and the "little people" who earn a a tenuous living running drugs find their cash flow has ceased.
It would be too easy to claim that this bust has stopped the drug trade in Sydney in it's tracks. It is possible - even likely - that other shipments have managed to evade police surveillance and merged into the distribution chains. What does seem certain is that drug supply sophistication is heading more towards bulk intrusions - and away from the dangers of "cooking " smaller quantities in suburban locations.
The other pointer to how the drug trade is developing - is in the nature of this bust ! It did not contain any Marijuana. That is now almost semi legal and no longer worth the allocation of police resources to seriously dent supply. The Australian drug scene revolves around "Ecstacy "and "Ice "- and for the drug distributors - that is where the money is to be made.
When push comes to shove, the basic principle of commerce comes into play. Wherever there is demand, supply will inevitably follow. The never ending war on drugs will continue as long as the citizens crave their "high "on the party scene !
It contained 1917 kg of Ecstacy and 849 kg of Crystal Methamphetamine, and this was the second biggest drug bust - ever - in this country. The drug squad estimates that had it gone undetected it would have provided at least ten million individual "hits "of Ecstacy on the party scene - and probably caused at least a few deaths.
This shipping container started it's journey from Germany, and that country is low on the list of potential drug sources. The manifest described the container contents as furniture and personal effects, and so far the bust has led to six arrests when Sydney based Australian citizens attempted to claim the goods. The police comment that the net is widening, and they expect to close down a much bigger distribution network.
We are accustomed to many suburban drug "labs "churning out a mixed bag of drugs at a range of purities, but it takes big money and a sophisticated network to finance and create an individual shipment of this magnitude. These decisions would not have been taken lightly. There would have been expectations of great monetary rewards - and in the crime world failure brings consequences. Highly placed people will be wondering what exactly went wrong - and who is to blame. Those under suspicion may well have a very short life expectation !
The police are not saying how they became alerted nor what information led to a search of that particular shipping container, but is seems evident that policing methods are keeping pace with the sophisticated crime networks that control the drug trade. Organized crime includes many bikie gangs and there are indications that drugs have become a source of income for the regimes of some overseas countries. When drug crime becomes the business of government, a whole new range of protocols and trade agreements come into play to make the movement of goods more opaque.
This particular bust has certainly caused it's originators a severe financial loss. The cost of assembling the drug quantity that would return $ 1.5 billion on the streets would be a mere fraction of that amount, but it disrupts the drug supply in Australia and causes shortages that will be applauded by competitors - who will seek to reap rewards by plugging that gap at higher returns. Then there is the loss of face. A well oiled drug network is thrown into disarray - and the "little people" who earn a a tenuous living running drugs find their cash flow has ceased.
It would be too easy to claim that this bust has stopped the drug trade in Sydney in it's tracks. It is possible - even likely - that other shipments have managed to evade police surveillance and merged into the distribution chains. What does seem certain is that drug supply sophistication is heading more towards bulk intrusions - and away from the dangers of "cooking " smaller quantities in suburban locations.
The other pointer to how the drug trade is developing - is in the nature of this bust ! It did not contain any Marijuana. That is now almost semi legal and no longer worth the allocation of police resources to seriously dent supply. The Australian drug scene revolves around "Ecstacy "and "Ice "- and for the drug distributors - that is where the money is to be made.
When push comes to shove, the basic principle of commerce comes into play. Wherever there is demand, supply will inevitably follow. The never ending war on drugs will continue as long as the citizens crave their "high "on the party scene !
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