Stacking The Court !

Donald Trump has put forward Amy Coney Barrett as his nominee to replace the recently deceased  Ruth Bader Ginsberg on the American Supreme court.   Justices serve a life term and the 48 year old would be the youngest ever to hold that position and would most likely be a pivoting factor for many years to come.

There is no doubt that she has the qualifications for the job.   She has been a Federal Court judge for the past three years and both sides of politics will be closely examining her decisions for evidence of either  liberal or a conservative bias, because that is what is at stake in this appointment.

Trump is accused of trying to stack the Supreme court with deeply conservative justices.  In 1973 the court made a ruling in " Roe versus Wade " that granted women in America the right to abortion ". Many conservatives want to reverse that decision and it seems likely to be revisited because some conservative states are blocking access to abortion clinics.  Consequently, the makeup of the Supreme court is vital to women who value that abortion right.

Judge Barrett comes from a family of seven children, and has seven of her own, including two adopted from Haiti.  Two decades ago she clerked for arch conservative Justice Antonin Scalia.  Scalia died in 2016 and he was balanced by Ginsberg's liberal outlook.  Now the balance of the Supreme court is again in question, depending on who fills this vacancy.

The Democrat side of politics is demanding this decision be held over until after the November 3 presidential election.  There is certainly protocol because when Scalia died the Senate majority leader refused to put Barak Abama's nominee to the vote until after the election.  At that time the Republicans had the majority in the Senate.

That majority is till in place, and with Republican Trump in the White House it seems the way is clear for Trump to force his nominee to be accepted, except if the presidential election runs close it could be that same Supreme court that decides the result.   When Gore and Bush finished neck and neck it was the Supreme court that controversially found in favour of Bush.

This has provoked the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington to suggest a compromise  They are calling for Judge Barrett to publicly make  clear that should this presidential election come before the Supreme court she will not participate in any decision.

The US Constitution is  clear on how justices are appointed to the Supreme court.  A nominee is selected by the president and confirmed by a majority vote in the Senate.  It was always assumed that this vote would be one of impartial acceptance by a majority from whatever political parties were present in the Senate.   The precedent of a political party voting as a block is a new and very unwelcome development.

That is not helped by President Trump publicly  stating that if he loses the vote at the coming election he will not peacefully step down from office.  That seems to be a call to arms to his redneck followers.

It seems that Trump has dictatorial aspirations  !

The " Political " Divide !

When the American public go to the polls on November 3 to elect a US president, the outcome will probably also decide if Australian Julian Assange goes free, or spends the rest of his life in Leavenworth prison.

Assange is the publisher of a news letter called Wikileaks and he persuaded a US soldier processing data to make copies of secret documents detailing the killing of innocent civilians during military operations and which was covered up.  This revelation embarrassed the USA government and the soldier - Bradley Manning - was sentenced to thirty five years in prison.  While in prison Manning had a sex change operation and the sentence was commuted by President Barak Obama and Chelsea Manning is now a free woman.

Julian Assange travelled the world and while in Sweden there was a dubious charge of rape. A judge decided he should be brought to Sweden to face the charge and he was arrested in London and threatened with deportation.  He feared the Americans would deport him from Sweden and fought the order, and when his appeal failed he skipped bail and found sanctuary in the London Ecuadorean embassy.

That embassy siege made Assange a world news item.  The British lined the embassy with uniformed police and Assange regularly held news conferences from a tiny balcony just an arms length away from his pursuers.  That standoff lasted from 2012 to 2019 when his mental health deteriorated to the point the Ecuadoreans had Assange evicted.

The British held him on that breach of bail matter and he has since been held in Belmarsh prison while a US extradition hearing is processed in a London court. This Assange prosecution is being instigated by US president Donald Trump  and Assange has world support for his stance.  He is seen as a hero by many and in London crowds demonstrate outside the court demanding he be released. His deportation to America is seen as a freedom of the press issue.

This Wikileaks case is divisive in US politics.  That Swedish rape charge has long been dismissed and holding Assange indefinitely on that skipped bail matter lacks credibility.  Now the judge hearing the deportation matter has indicated that she will not deliver her verdict until the new year, long after the outcome of the US presidential election is known.

It is very clear that the outcome of the US presidential election will decide Julian Assange's fate.  If Trump is elected for another four year term he will be relentless in pursuing that deportation and trial in America.  If Biden wins he will probably follow the Barak Obama move that freed Chelsea Manning and quietly abandon that deportation order.

The prosecution of Julian Assange is now mired in US politics.  It is a fundamental issue between the Republican party to the right and the Democrats with left leanings, and we can be sure that Julian Assange will be following that election result from his cell in Belmarsh prison with more than passing interest !

Cheap Business Money !

 The move to force banks to ease lending restrictions must make some sections of the money market fear a debt catastrophe.  People starting a new business need to be very careful that their idea has the potential to be profitable and getting a loan needs the plan to be run by the discerning eye of a banker skilled in commercial practice.

The banks are in the business of lending money and making a profit from the interest they charge you, but that depends on you paying back the loan. It is inevitable that some of the business they finance fails and the promotion prospects of individual bank managers rests on keeping those failures to a minimum.

Unfortunately, Australia heads the world in the amount owing on family debt and we seem entranced by the " buy now - pay later " culture that applies to many big ticket items.   Some deals offering bring a five year debt holiday, but at the end of that period high interest rates kick in.  Nobody expected this coronavirus to appear out of nowhere and disrupt the flow of pay packets.

We were a " pay as you buy " society until " Bankcard " arrived several decades ago.  That was an initiative of the Australian banks and they simply mailed out cards with reasonable credit limits to their customers.  Bankcard only operated in Australia and was soon replaced by the international Mastercard and Visa logos and this opened the door to world travel.

The need for " money to tide you over between pay packets " has spawned a new industry offering personal loans at high interest rates.  It seems these quickly advanced in value on the stock market as the interest gained by way of term deposits drops close to zero. Many people are caught in a debt trap and find themselves owing money they will never fully be able to repay.

This move to force the banks to ease credit is all bout jobs.  Many of the marginal businesses forced to close because of the lockdown will not reopen and the government is hoping that easy credit will generate a rush of new businesses to replace them.  There is a danger that this could produce many impractical startups that quickly fail the profitability test - and close.

Shoppers are seeing a disincentive in the many empty shops standing vacant in what used to be busy shopping centres.   The shopping culture has changed and internet shopping is on the increase. What used to be profitable in the past may not extend into the future.  This is an ideal time to try new ideas, but that comes with risk.

Any person considering starting a new business needs to understand that the present low interest rates are an anomaly.  It is inevitable that in the future the natural balance will resume and that rates will rise, and  that needs to be taken into account when planning business accountability.

This present situation offers an exciting and potentially rewarding opportunity to break new business ground, but the practical elements still apply.  It still requires a sound business plan that ticks all the boxes and runs at an attainable profit level.

Out Of Luck - Overseas !

Perhaps the most terrifying nightmare that it is possible to imagine is to be stranded somewhere overseas with the money you have set aside for your trip rapidly running out. It becomes even worse if you imagine yourself in a country where English is not the spoken language.

There are twenty-seven thousand Australians experiencing that nightmare, with no end in sight.  They are people who planned an overseas holiday early in the new year and took advantage of the cheap air fares that were common at that time.   Many booked and paid for their return journey, except the coronavirus roared out of China and those airlines are no longer flying.

That was a pandemic that the world last experienced in 1918 when what was called the " Spanish Flu " closed borders and killed thousands.  World governments closed their borders to contain the spread of the virus and a similar procedure this time shut the business world and sent employees on furlough.  We are now slowly emerging from that lockdown.

Typical is the experience of an Australian family and their five children stranded in the United Kingdom. The brief holiday these seven people planned has extended to six months and they are now reliant on the charity and goodwill of the people of England for their survival.  They feel abandoned by their Australian government.

The world air fleet is virtually grounded and many airlines are unlikely to resume flying.  There are laws in place that limit the number allowed to disembark at Australian airports and the few planes still flying are charging ten thousand dollars for one of those seats.  The need for seating isolation limits the numbers on each flight and the seats available are at first class prices.   It would cost that family of seven seventy thousand dollars to fly home, if they could book seats.

The problem is that they do not have that seventy thousand dollars, and relatives at home do not have the ability to raise that amount of money.. They face the prospect of being penniless in the northern hemisphere with winter fast approaching. Their needs are becoming desperate.

Australia has a fleet of VIP aircraft based in Canberra.  Their main purpose seems to be to transport members of parliament and important government officials to where they are needed and they spend much of their time idle.   It would he a humanitarian gesture if the government deployed this fleet to bring stranded Australians home.  At least it would resolve the problem in areas where they are concentrated which seems to be Britain, Europe and North America.

Despite the cessation of airlines flying world routes, law enforcement in most countries will eventually need to treat these stranded Australians as illegal immigrants if they continue to remain after their visas expire.   They face the prospect of being locked away in immigration centres through no faulty of their own and that is a prospect that should shame the Australian government.

All the attention has been concentrated on saving the economy and getting people back to work.  It is time the government extended a helping hand to those stuck overseas and those idle government aircraft would be a welcome solution to their problem.

Missing The Target !

 Westpac, one of our four giant banking institutions has had a punative fine of one point three billion dollars imposed for illegal banking practices and this far exceeds the past record of  $700 million imposed on the Commonwealth bank in 2018. In that instance, the Commonwealth bank was convicted  of laundering money for drug dealers through its network of ATM's.

These fines are imposed by AUSTRAC, which is the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre managing the money flow in this country. AUSTRAC alleges that Westpac has breached anti money laundering laws on twenty-three million separate occasions, including customers who paid for child exploitation and live child sex shows in the Philippines and other parts of south-east Asia.

No doubt, many people will be impressed by the size of this massive fine.  It is not claimable as a legitimate tax deduction and so it will come out of the bank's profit, and that means a smaller dividend to the shareholders.

Once again, it is the public who have invested in shares in banks who pay the fine for the banks misdeeds and the high flyers who occupy the prestige corner offices - and take home pay packets that run to millions that walk away whistling Dixie.

The bank broke laws in place to prevent money flowing for sex crimes that involve children.  Banks make money by facilitating the passage of money and this fine is the outcome of misery being inflicted on little kids in overseas countries. Some people will wonder whether the punishment handed out fits the crime committed.

That loss of dividend will  make shareholders angry and they may call for the top figures to stand down, but if so they will walk away with their superannuation and soon find another less well paying job.  This was a crime, and the punishment for crime is usually a stint behind bars in a prison.

We will never get ethics in banking until a crime such as this results in the very people responsible being seen on the television nightly news being marched out the bank door in handcuffs and taken away in paddy wagons.  We would expect to follow their trial with interest, and the prison term imposed would have a sobering effect on the people promoted to take their place in the banking system.

It should be up to AUSTRAC to name who was responsible and that certainly is not junior staff who their superiors will be quick to blame.  Positions of management carry responsibility to ensure that the laws in place are obeyed, and that is why they get those corner offices and the big salaries.

We seem to have a cavalier Attitude to crime.  The common thief who nicks someone's property ends up before a very unsympathetic magistrate and earns a prison term.   The man or woman who facilitates sex crimes against children overseas by ignoring banking laws escapes punishment and instead it is imposed on the people who bought the company shares in good faith.

If we want ethics in banking that can only be achieved by ensuring that punishment fits the crime.

Olympic Rejection !

When the first world war ended, the League of Nations sounded like a great idea.  Gathering representatives where everyone had an equal vote seemed a good way to prevent future wars, but twenty years later we were off again with six years of world war two.

When that ended we tried again, but this time we called it the United Nations and that has stopped us progressing to world war three, but mainly because of the fear of mutual nuclear destruction.  The world is an armed camp with nuclear tipped missiles ever ready for response against a surprise attack.

The present enigma is China. The worlds most populous country has emerged as a trading giant and it will soon achieve military might that will equal other superpowers.  Already it is showing expansionist tendencies that worry its neighbours.   It has claimed the South China sea as sovereign territory and enhanced atolls into fortified military bases.  This is one of the world's premium shipping routes and should China close it to merchant traffic the effect on world trade would be disastrous.

China fought an internal civil war and the Communist side won.  China has just torn up the agreement it negotiated with Britain when the Hong Kong colony was returned to Chinese control and China is threatening a military invasion to impose its authority on the island of Taiwan, where the defeated Nationalists retreated when they lost the civil war.

The free world is getting concerned at Chinese actions on its perimeter where people of mixed race are being herded into " education camps " to be indoctrinated in Communist ideology and forced to renounce whatever religion they follow.   Hundreds of thousands of Muslims in Xinjiang province are in detention and now this is being extended to Tibet.  Entire families are forced behind the wire and are held in detention until their examiners are satisfied that change has been achieved.  There is also unrest on the border separating China with India and this has degenerated into loss of life by both sides.

China insists that its citizens will hear and read only what its Communist rulers decide is the version of history of which they approve.  The censors pen dictates what can appear on news broadcasts and what literature will be allowed.  The Chinese masses are barred from accessing the world internet.

China has isolated the Buddhist and the Roman Catholic religions from their international control.  The Vatican is barred from approving new priests and these are now appointed by Beijing and it is Beijing that dictates the ideology that will apply. Religion has been driven underground, and continuing to follow that religion is fast becoming a criminal offence.

As China's trading power grows, so does its control of the masses.  Perhaps the only way to convince China's rulers to extend civilized rules on their citizens is by way of excluding them from the world of sporting competition unless that is granted.  China is scheduled to hold the winter Olympic games and pressure is building for that to be held elsewhere.

Access to world sport is the glue that keep the masses content.  It is probably the only the leverage point  the rest of the world has  to make Beijng see reason on how it treats its citizens.

Our Lax Gun Laws !

 The aftermath of any murder that involves a firearm involves an investigation of how that firearm was obtained. We have very strict rules and regulations to deny firearms to anyone with a history of domestic violence and yet a man with an AVO against his name for a thirty year history of violence against multiple partners and children slipped through the net and went on to murder his teenage son and daughter.

Shooting is an Olympic sport as a measure of accuracy and there are numerous pistol and rifle clubs with firing ranges that allow patrons to practice this sport.  An inquest into the shooting death of fifteen year old Jack Edwards and his thirteen year old sister, Jennifer reveal that their father should never have been granted permission to have access to a gun.

John Edwards went to the home of his estranged wife when she was at work in the city and callously murdered his two teenage children with multiple gun shots. He later ended his own life with that same weapon.

That inquest is hearing a sorry story of how John Edwards was refused membership of two gun clubs because of strange and aggressive behaviour.  He approached both the Hornsby RSL rifle club and the Kur-Ring-Gai Pistol club, where club officials comment " he was arrogant, a little pushy and I didn't feel comfortable with him ".    He was refused membership at both clubs but presented what is known as a " P-640 " form which allowed unlicensed people to shoot under supervision.

In the personal history statement on that form, he admitted that he had been refused a gun license in 2010 because there was an AVO against him.   That should have been automatically advised to the State's Firearm Registry, but is wasn't.   Edwards circumvented the ban when he successfully applied for a " Commissioner's permit " to get around the previous license refusal.  He obtained a full gun license in 2017.   This is despite repeated harassment  of club officials and an incident when he followed one in his car, waving and hooting and flashing his lights to create a confrontation on his license refusal.

John Edwards behavious should have had alarm bells ringing in both clubs but it does raise the question of how many other people are in legal ownership of a firearm in similar circumstances.  The holder of a pistol license is permitted to house the weapon in their own home, but there are stringent requirements that it must be secured in an approved gun safe.  It would be interesting to know what security checks ensure that condition is met  ?

It also raises the question of what retrieval is in place when a person with a gun license dies.  A gun license is open ended and when people age their interest in test firing to retain proficiency usually ceases.  There must be a number of guns stashed away in gun safes which become part of the deceased estate and pass to people who may not meet the criteria for gun ownership.

It is painfully obvious that there are a huge number of unregistered long arms still in the community from the days when such firearm's did not need to be licensed.  They often pass from father to son, until they get into criminal hands by way of a burglary.

The one thing very clear from this inquest - is that  gun registration needs more work  !

A Predicted Housing Slump !

 News that economists predict that the construction of new homes will decrease by somewhere between 129,000 and 232,000 in the next three years is very bad news for those hoping for an economic recovery. The typical new Australian home is constructed of material mainly made in Australia and put together by a wide workforce of " tradies " who are self employed.   Any time there is a building downturn it quickly slows as the spending habits of families dependent on building work tighten.

Just think what is involved in the construction of a new home.  Sand and cement for the slab.   Timber for the frame. Glass for the windows and either bricks or sheet cladding for the outer skin.  In todays homes the roof is either tiles or galvanised iron, and all those materials are mainly products of Australian manufacturing.

When it comes to fitting out there is a  mix of imported and locally produced products.  Piping to convey water and electrical cable for the electricity system.  Gyprock for the internal walls, and numerous doors. All the cupboards and fitting out for the kitchen and laundry, and the stove and hot water equipment, and then paint for decoration.

Housing is a specialist labour market. Carpenters, plumbers, electricians compete on price to provide their services and the " builder " is really a project manager who cobbles together competing tenders to bring the construction forward in an orderly manner.  Housing remains one of the last labour intensive industries on the planet.  We still build homes by putting one brick on top of another.

The reason the economists are so pessimistic is because the Australian population growth is sixty percent dependent on migration.  They expect the closed borders because of the coronavirus to linger over the next three years and there is a doubt whether the intake of overseas students studying at our universities will return to their previous level.   Without those injections of new people the demand for new homes will subside dramatically.

The typical Australian " tradie " usually services several builders and also seeks private work from the public.  In recent years he - or she - earns above average money and calls upon other itinerant workers for labour when work is plentiful.  They often employ apprentices, who learn their trade under their tuition. They contribute an important segment to the employment statistics.

A very important sector of the workforce is employed in manufacturing the materials used in home construction.  If home numbers drop the timber industry will certainly lay off workers and this will have a big impact on country towns.  It is surprising the extent of city manufacturers who are reliant on the building industry to market their product. A building industry slowdown immediately is reflected in unemployment statistics.

That is something the growing number of people starting to ignore wearing masks and staying apart to hinder the spread of the virus need to consider.  The Australian economy will not recover and reach the level experienced before the coronavirus unless both incoming migrant numbers - and the building of houses to accommodate them - returns to normal.

It seems that the building industry is key to Australia's industrial health !

The " Puppy " Scam !

 The isolation and cessation of most forms of entertainment has renewed interest in many households to acquire  a " pet " and high on the list is the purchase of a puppy.  In this age of internet shopping that can have many dangers.

Making a purchase from a registered breeder ensures that the puppy will have all the characteristics and bloodlines of the breed you have selected but it would not be unusual if the asking price is $1,600 - or more.   For that you would expect the puppy to come with registration by the Kennel Control Council which is necessary if you intend to compete with your pet at dog shows.

Unfortunately, the puppy trade has been infiltrated by scammers.  Buyers are being enticed by pictures of a cute litter of puppies on the internet and rushed into sending a deposit to secure their choice.  They are then advised that the puppy is ready for shipping, and asked to pay the balance of the purchase.

All too often that is the last they see of their money - or the promised puppy.  It was a complete scam and those pictures were probably lifted from Facebook.  Often both the seller and the buyer are in different states, hence the purchase is made on trust as a necessity.

Lately, this scam has taken on a new dimension.  The scammers have stolen the identity of  reputable and well known breeders and use this to mask their fraud. It is not too hard to collate enough information to sound plausible and the main enticement is the picture of the puppies they are offering for sale.

Perhaps the basic caution would be buyers should take is to contact the KCC to ensure that the person selling is a registered breeder, and that the address and phone number corresponds with KCC records.  If there is a difference in city or state in the puppies on offer that should ring the necessary alarm bells and a direct enquiry with the breeder would also expose the scam.

Another scam actually delivers a pup as promised, but it is not registered with the KCC or has the breeding of the type advertised.   These are the output of backyard " puppy farms " that sell their output to pet shops.  The pups are of mixed breeds and can grow to a very different size and temperament than the breed selected by the buyer.

Choosing a breed is usually done for a reason.  You like the look of that type of dog and its size will comfortably fit your household.  The temperament is all important, particularly if the household pet will mix with children and this is very different, breed from breed.  Some dogs are bred for hunting and have aggressive personalities.

As a general rule, buyers should deal with breeders within a distance they can comfortably travel to select and pickup their purchase.  Reputable breeders welcome visitors and a clean and well managed breeding operation is the best guarantee that the puppy will be healthy and true to type.

Buying a puppy is a substantial purchase in money terms. The average lifetime of a dog is twelve years and a little time and effort will ensure that your time together will be compatible.

Our Shrinking Golf Courses !

Golf is a sport with a world wide following and its star players earn millions and draw wide audiences.  The average Australian golfer plays for both exercise and pleasure and both genders are well catered for with spacious golf courses scattered across city suburbs and in country towns.  It seems pressure is building to halve their size to create land for other forms of " passive recreation ".

Under the spotlight is the twenty-one hectare Marrickville Golf Club in that inner west working class suburb.  This was established  in the 1940's when people lived in homes on a quarter acre block and land prices were a mere fraction of the cost that applies today.

There is a proposal to halve this eighteen hole course and reduce it to just nine holes of play.  It is claimed this is necessary because of the " health crisis " and the land saved could be put to better use to rekindle the human spirit, open green space and create more affordable leisure activities.

That ignores the fact that golf is a game traditionally played over eighteen holes and most golfers will walk away from a mere nine hole course.  The club will lose out on  green fees and the general revenue loss will make the course upkeep uneconomic.  This club is one of the most publicly accessible in Sydney and this proposal is aimed at replacing a legitimate game with biodiversity, water management and general recreation needs.

A similar proposal is pending in regard to Moore Park golf course in the inner city.  Lord Mayor Clover Moore wants to reduce this in size to reclaim land to create more parkland for public use and reduce pressure on parks and paths.   It is possible that this will include a network of shared pedestrian and cycling tracks.

Golf is fast shrinking into a sport reserved for the wealthy. There is a long queue awaiting entry to many exclusive clubs and fees are high.  The clubs where the public can pay green fees and enjoy a game of golf seem to be the ones under pressure for size reductions and it is noted that Marrickville has just 705 members in a suburb with 200,000 residents.  To many of those residents, the sprawling grounds of the golf club seem more like a public park contributing to the lungs of the city by the quantity of trees planted there.

When making recreational use of land reclaimed from golf clubs comes to mind many people will be reminded of that old witticism that a camel is a horse designed by a committee.   Most likely it will be a committee that will design this new use for that land and in all probability it will contain less trees as they strive to add more activities.

To some degree, this attack on golf clubs generally is motivated by jealousy.  Most other sport is played at higher intensity and one of the attractions of golf is that it combines a leisurely stroll with periodic requirements of concentration and skill.  For some unknown reason that seems to instill fury in many non-golfers.

The wisdom of those that created our golf courses when land was cheap and plentiful is to be admired. They are better left alone to remain an oasis of tranquility that brings peace to our frenetic suburbs.

An Untimely Death !

The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, (87) a justice of the United States High Court comes at a critical time with a presidential election just seven weeks away.   Justice Ginsburg was a liberal with a strong leaning towards women's rights on a court that has been moving towards a more conservative stance.

Her replacement will be nominated by the sitting president and confirmed by as vote in the US Senate. Donald Trump has had the opportunity to add two new justices to the court during his term and this death could enable him to permanently tilt the court into a conservative stance.

If Trump is reading the polls and thinks he will be defeated in November he may try to rush a nominee through selection and confirmation, and leave office with damage the incoming president may take many years to correct.  High Court justices serve a life term and a Democrat president would need to wait for deaths to occur before he could change the outlook of the court.

Normally, political goodwill would apply so close to a presidential election and a replacement would wait until that has been decided, but Trump makes no secret of his conservative agenda and the Republicans have the numbers in the Senate to bulldoze through a confirmation.  Trump is unlikely to hesitate to try and impose his outlook permanently on the nation long after he has lost office.

The interesting question is whether the American public will tolerate the manipulation of the High Court, and exactly what that may impose on the American way of life.  The Republicans are already placing restrictions in the way of abortions and all this is leading to the " Roe versus Wade " decision being revisited.  It is possible - even likely - that abortion may again become illegal in the United States of America.

We live in a world that has been moving away from the iron grip of the churches. Many were surprised that referendums on gay marriage romped home in countries that usually moved in lockstep with the churches. The sheer economics of raising children are making families limit the number of children and contraception makes that possible.  Where contraception fails, abortion is an available standby.

The women's movement in America has been growing in strength and militancy.  The " Me Too " movement has struck a blow against sexual oppression and the " Black lives matter " issue has seen thousands marching in the streets to combat police brutality.  It is unlikely that the masses will tolerate the rigging of the High Court by an arch conservative replacing Ruth Ginsburg.

It could even come down to a decision by the High Court as to whether a replacement should wait until after this election, but the damage may already have been done during Trump's term in office.  The Democrats may seek to delay that vote in the Senate, but the Constitution is against them and the same political alliance that allowed Trump to avoid impeachment may apply.

The streets of America are awash with guns.  There are actually more hand guns that people in the United States and an amazing number of assault rifles are in private ownership.  This issue of a High Court replacement could be the issue that brings people onto the streets and gives Trump an excuse to delay the  election and bring in the army.

What happens next will be more than of passing interest to the world !

Living With " Risk " !

 On June 14, 2017, breaking news about a fire in London flashed around the world.  The name " Grenfell Towers " became infamous.  This seventy two story building suffered a cooking fire in a lower floor apartment and when heat broke the window the fire escaped and began to consume the outer cladding of the building.

The fire brigade arrived and residents were urged not to evacuate.  As the fire progressed upper floor residents could be seen looking out their windows. It became unstoppable and as the world watched Grenfell Towers become a flaming torch in the night sky.   Seventy-two residents lost their lives in that tragedy.

The enquiry that followed threw the spotlight on what was being used as the outer cladding on apartment buildings. A decorative sandwich comprising aluminium encasing a core of polyurethane was common on both renovated and new living towers.  This did not meet the relevant safety codes and this raised the question of who would pay for the consequent cost of removal and replacement ?

This form of building cladding was common in most world cities and it was quickly learned that several hundred were in Sydney. The cost could run to millions to rectify a city building and it quickly became apparent that this cost would fall on individual unit owners.  Despite threats from both councils and fire authorities, little progress has been achieved and four years after that London tragedy thousands of Sydney residents continued to live in buildings which could suffer a similar fate.

So far, we have been lucky.  The fire brigade has been able to contain several cladding fires before they raced out of control, but pressure is building to get removal commenced.  Now it is learned that  despite that four year time gap from the fire in London, the New South Wales government has still not settled on an approved replacement standard - and that is unlikely to eventuate until early 2021.

It seems likely that owners who have already taken steps to have unsafe cladding removed and replaced could find that the replacement fails to meet this new standard.  In most cases, individual owners have to seek a mortgage extension or raise thousands of dollars from their own pocket to fund this work and they could find that the action taken fails to meet the approved standard.

Cladding safety will obviously be a factor in the price level of apartments when owners of existing buildings offer to sell and it will have a big influence on the level of insurance that will apply.  Insurance is all about risk measurement, and obviously a building with unsafe cladding falls far short in that regard.

More to the point, thousands of New South Wales residents are living with an unacceptable fire risk.   We have many high rise towers that rise well above the ability of fire brigade ladders to reach the upper floors and a tragedy similar to that London fire is possible unless that dangerous cladding is removed.

Many people will question the wisdom of a four year delay in reaching a decision of what material should be used to replace this fire prone cladding.  It seems a valid reason to explain why so many buildings remain unsafe.  The people who devise the state building code do not seem rushed to provide sensible answers - and while that persists the danger remains !

The " Sex Crime " Spotlight !

 There is no crime that puts more fear into the hearts of parents than the thought that their child may fall victim to a child molester.  Immediately, Madelaine McCann and the boy in the spiderman suit come to mind.  Children that simply disappeared without trace and leave behind unending anguish.

There is growing pressure in Australia for both the names and the living addresses of those convicted of sex crimes against children to be on the public record.  The thinking is that the public have the right to know who they are - and where they are ?

That is opposed by those in legal circles and by the police.  If that information was published it is inevitable that vigalante action would drive sex offenders underground and we would lose the degree of control that keeps them in check.

People who have committed crimes against children are not welcomed into the prison system. They need to be segregated to avoid attacks by other prisoners and inevitably they come up for parole as their sentences are ending.  That comes with strict conditions on where they must live and there is a growing list of the conditions they must meet.   Usually this involves wearing a tracking bracelet and curfews, and they are prevented from visiting known areas where children gather.

This is a form of surveillance that is very effective.    The police know where they live and where they work.  They know the cars they drive and they know their phone usage and computer access.  All that would be disrupted if opponents started daubing painted slogans on their homes and cars and generally made living in the community impossible.

That has already happened where a convicted child sex offender has been driven from their home by civic action.  Not only the sex offender, but also innocent members of the family suffer the stigma which can follow the children of that family into the schoolyard.

It is illustrative to consider what happened when a similar decision was made in America.  When Donald Trump won office he removed the ban on disclosing the address of sex offenders which was under public pressure.  The police report that in the six months following the lifting of that ban more than half the offenders back in the community had disappeared without trace.  They had taken jobs under assumed names and were no longer under police surveillance.   That change of policy has been massively counter productive.

Another anomaly is the grouping of all forms of what are called " sex crimes " on the sex crime register.  In some cases what are best described as " youthful indiscretions " result in listing and that immediately closes many avenues of employment - permanently.

Sex crimes against children is an abhorrent crime which is surprisingly common.  In many cases it progresses no further than the distribution of pornographic literature featuring children but the active cases intermingle together on that sex register.  Perhaps a good reason to single out those with a history of active child contact for more intensive police surveillance on release  !

The Protection of " habeas corpus " !

 Enmeshed in the law that applies in Australia is the right of " habeas corpus " which prevents a person being locked away forever - and forgotten.  The wording is derived from Latin and translates into " produce the body. ".

It ensures the right of appeal and it harks back to the early days of English law when the king ruled by " divine right " and the country was often engaged in civil war as possession of the crown changed hands. Backing the losing contender could result in the loss of property and indefinite imprisonment - or execution.

Habeas corpus and Magna Carta could be said to be the start of the civil rights movement and it remains an important part of civil law today.  Some people despair that the endless applications to the various levels of the entwined Federal and state court systems for appeals to be heard and decided is seriously  undermining the justice system.   They contend that justice delayed - is justice denied !

The Federal court recently handed down a finding that will have implications for detainees in immigration centres.  This man originally came to Australia as a child and never sought citizenship and because he engaged in a life of crime the Commonwealth succeeded in having his visa revoked and he was held in a detention centre awaiting deportation.

His country of birth was Syria, which is now engaged in a civil war aided by armed help from other countries.  The Commonwealth was legally obliged to protect him from harm and as a consequence he was not sent to Syria, but was also not covered by a " protection visa " , which left him in limbo in  detention.

In July this year, the Immigration Minister declined to consider granting such a visa and he launched an appeal which was heard in the Federal court.  He sought damages for false imprisonment for the time he was locked up in July, 2019, and an order that he be released immediately.  That appeal succeeded and he walked free from the Immigration centre where he was being held in Western Australia.

It is quite clear that his freedom was contingent on habeas corpus, this centuries old protection against unlawful detention.  It is equally clear that this decision will be carefully studied by defence lawyers within Australia with the aim of using it to help their clients.

The factor that decided this outcome was the issue of a " protection visa " and it is likely this will result in a flood of fresh appeals from those held in immigration detention and that will further slow the deportation process.

Such is the way the law operates by working within a cascading tier of courts with various levels of authority.  The ultimate legal decision is delivered by the justices of the High Court of Australia.  That is the final court of appeal and in earlier times it was possible to take such matters overseas for a ruling from the privy council in England.  That has ceased and the final decision now rests with our High Court.

It is often said that nothing is certain within the law.  It is always open to " interpretation ".  But habeas corpus is one of the foundations of our law and it is comforting to know that it stand between us and an indefinite stay is prison without hope of relief.

The " States " Hinder Progress !

It is beginning to look like Britain will leaver the European Union next month without a formal deal in place because despite years of wrangling the two sides have not been able to reach agreement on terms that would be mutually acceptable.

The banding together of European countries into the European Union was supposed to bring economic prosperity and an end to the internal wars that roiled the continent for centuries.  As part of that union, it was expected that a common law would evolve but that quickly became the major part of disagreements.  The rulings of the International Court of Justice was the pivot point  for many British people to vote for independence when the EU issue came to a referendum.

Of course Britain is the consolidation of several independent countries within its own borders.  It's " Union Jack " flag is an amalgamation of the flags of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales and all of these are guilty of fighting wars against one another in earlier centuries.  It is also looking likely that Britain will become " unglued "  with at least Scotland leaving the United Kingdom if another referendum becomes a reality.

That situation is applicable to Australia.  Federation here was the amalgamation of various independent British colonies with each sheltering much of local practices within state borders.  The jurisdiction of criminal law, education, commerce and housing were state issues that were decided by a state legislature elected within a state franchise.  Those laws have been edging towards uniformity as the movement of people between states grows in volume.

Perhaps the biggest and most important clash between the states and their Federal government has come as a result of this virus pandemic and the need to close businesses and send people into isolation.  The closure of movement across state borders is a state issue and political considerations are keeping borders closed against the advice of the Federal government.

It is quite clear to many people that Australia needs uniformity in its education curriculum. The fact that each state is completely different in its approach to learning causes confusion when children experience a state change.  It can be argued that control of state borders would be better served in the Federal realm.  The Federal government is tasked with defence of the country and border control falls within that jurisdiction.

The movement of people across state borders will have a big impact on both the economic recovery and the balance of population growth.  This virus contamination has slowed the movement of people world wide and it is obvious that visitors will not help pick our fruit crops.  It is important that the Australian work force has the freedom of movement to achieve that objective.

There will be a high degree of resistance to the lessening of state powers, but the states have served their purpose and this pandemic has completely altered the economic situation.  It is the deep pockets of the Federal government which is providing the sustenance that is keeping wage earners and businesses from economic ruin and that will need to continue long into the future.

It is essential that Canberra be equipped with the right tools to be able to do the job properly.

Obeying The Law !

 Many people would have been shocked to see a news item on the nightly television news that showed police manhandling a woman and attempting to drag her out of her car.  She was resisting and in the outcome she was handcuffed and sat on the ground beside her car.

It seems the police thought the arm designed to hold a driver's phone obscured her vision of the road ahead and intended to investigate.  They asked to see her drivers license, and she refused.  They asked her to step out of the car, and again she refused.   She claimed to feel frightened because the police were armed.

This whole affair has certainly enraged the civil liberties crowd.  It certainly looked like a " rough arrest " and some will question the wisdom of physically dragging a resisting young women from behind the wheel, but the police have every right to demand to see a drivers license.  It is an offence to drive a car without having that license in your possession.

This young woman will probably claim she had a " panic attack ".  It was not revealed whether she actually did have a valid drivers license, but that refusal to produce it required the police to determine her identity and address so the issue of a fine could proceed.  They had the right to arrest her and take her to a police station until that could be determined.

Perhaps it was the end of a long shift and the policed involved were tired and crabby.  Individual officers have varying degrees of tolerance and some would persist longer in getting her cooperation, but it is the job of the police to enforce the law and this refusal of a reasonable request would arouse suspicion that perhaps the car carried drugs.

There is a definite limit on how long officers will stand and argue with a suspect refusing to obey their obligations under the law, and arrest is the obvious outcome.  If a person arrested resists that arrest, they .are usually charged with " assaulting police officers. "   It is not unusual for the suspect and the officers to sustain injuries during the resulting struggle.

In this struggle depicted on the news there were no obvious injuries.  Certainly a loss of dignity and it would have been an unpleasant experience for the young woman involved, but it could have been avoided had she simply produced her driving license when it was requested.  That is not optional.  That is a requirement that is made clear when a driving license is first obtained.

That news story is something many women will view with repugnance.  It is disconcerting to see a woman being manhandle forcibly under any circumstances and yet this was not in any way attributed to skin colour or ethnity.  It was the outcome to a refusal to produce a driving license when a  very reasonable and legal such request was made.

In this instance, the person who was so roughly arrested was a blonde haired white woman, but had her skin been black or brown, or had she been wearing a head scarf that identified her as Muslim it could have produced street marches and demonstrations which would have lasted for days.

Something that would have been completely avoided had she produced her license, as she was required to do by law !

The " Trade " Conundrum !

The last two Australian journalists in China have quit that country to avoid arrest on " National Security " grounds.  They sheltered in our diplomatic mission for several days before boarding a plane back to Australia and their removal has imposed a virtual news blackout on events in that country.

The threatened journalists worked for two of Australia's most distinguished news sources, the ABC and the Financial Review.  The Chinese Communist government is adamant that its people will hear and read only the version of world news that conforms with their outlook on the world. Topics that offend are censored and access to the internet is tightly controlled.

Australian trade has been facing restrictions since we demanded an investigation into how and where that coronavirus emerged in China's Wuhan district.  The Chinese were slow to reveal the outbreak and take measures to contain it.  It is thought it made the leap to contaminating humans in a market where bush meat is butchered for human consumption.  China's sensitivity is now denying it had anything to do with the emergence of the coronavirus and it is angrily rejecting any suggestion that an investigation is necessary.

It is noticeable that the trade restrictions China has imposed steer well clear of the base materials that they need to fuel their industry.  The import of our coal and iron ore is unchallenged and they are creating reasons to reject barley and Australian wines on spurious grounds.  This is clearly a " punishment " for continuing to press for that virus investigation.

Our trading links are beneficial to both countries and China clearly sees the wisdom of having its young people exposed to education in the west to broaden their minds.  The money this injects into our universities helps contain the cost for Australian university students.  China is threatening to reduce the numbers studying here as part of its ill will against Australia.

This Chinese reaction against our economic interests invites retaliation.  Chinese journalists in Australia have been interviewed by ASIO  and the visas of two Chinese academics were cancelled.  Clearly, this was a tit for tat measure in response to two of our journalists  being kicked out of China.  Where the relationship between the two countries goes from there depends on the next moves.

A trade war with China would be to our disadvantage.  The advent of " globalization " saw many manufacturing jobs in Australia go to China and that country is now the source of most of our imports.  At the same time, China is clearly interfering in our internal affairs and stealing trade secrets.  Beijing has agents here which constitute a massive spy network and much of the hacking into our industrial base originates from Beijing.

India - with a population similar to China - is fast emerging as a new manufacturing super power. One of the advantages is that it is closer to Australia and trade does not have to cross the Chinese claim to the South China sea.  We would be wise to cultivate trade relations with this emerging super power to replace the trade loss that will eventuate if relations with China continue to sour.

China has a tendency to try and bully other nations by way of its industrial clout.  We would be wise to stand firm against this form of Chinese aggression even if it slows our recovery from the coronavirus. We are a food producing country in a world rapidly facing a food shortage  !

Understanding the " Koala '' Issue !

There is no doubt that Gladys Berejiklian is a very tough lady.   When the NSW Nationals  threatened to walk out of the coalition and sit on the crossbenches she issued an ultimatum.   She gave them the weekend to think about it and made it clear that at 9 am on Monday she would relieve National ministers of their portfolios and appoint Liberals as their replacement unless that threat was ended.

National state leader, John Barilaro wisely accepted defeat and so ended the prospect of a divided government at a time when unity is essential to repair the damage this pandemic has done to the state economy.  How John Barilaro comes out of this encounter is the great unknown.  It was a humiliating backdown that leaves his leadership in doubt.

The issue that provoked this standoff - was Koalas.  They are now an endangered species and the state is passing legislation to protect their habitat.  The Nationals are protesting that this is too extreme and will stop farmers from managing their land.

The extreme bushfires that ravaged New South Wales last summer killed thousands of Koalas and there is the expectation that similar conditions caused by global warming will result in similar fire conditions in the future.  The relentless encroaching into the forests to house our ever growing population is shrinking Koala habitat and without change they will become extinct in the foreseeable future.

One experiment to create a Koala sanctuary involves eradicating cats, foxes and domestic dogs from a vast acreage and fencing the property to keep such predators from returning.  The obvious drawback is that the scheme will also prevent the captive Koalas from mating widely to increase their bloodlines and this bush oasis will not be immune to fire.  The majority of summer fires are caused by lightning strikes and a Koala sanctuary is as prone to those as the rest of the countryside.

The deciding factor is fire intensity.  Last summer was the aftermath of a long drought and the bush was tinder dry.  The fire fronts were enormous  and they were burning from ground level to the height of the tallest trees, and they were virtually unstoppable.  That sort of fire season usually happens at regular intervals unless we take the precaution of reducing the fuel load by controlled fires  when the conditions are right.

If we are going to save the Koalas we need to take a new approach to bushfires.  The Aboriginal people here before us were better fire managers because they regularly used fire to reduce the hazard and that was in their own interest.  A freshly burned area quickly rejuvenated and that fresh young grass attracted Kangaroos and Wallabies - which was their food source.

We need to use fire to tame fire.  We need a plan to regularly burn state forests when the conditions allow a controlled fire to eradicate ground base litter.  The fire services should start these fires from the air, with incendiary matter dropped from aircraft and we would need to get used to the smoke these clearing fires would generate.   There would be times when conditions changed and these fires got out of control, but it is the only way we will ever eliminate the destruction fires caused so widely last summer.

Bush Koalas can survive fires that move at ground level and the only. real hope of preventing their extinction is to create forest safety to prevent catastrophic bushfires.  A controlled fire is a safe fire. - and that is something that farmers understand.

The " Bandit Banks " !

 When the second world war ended there was a move by Ben Chifley's Labor government to nationalise the banks  in Australia.  If that had been achieved there would have been just one bank offering its services to the Australian public, and that would have been the Commonwealth bank.

That was a time when more than a dozen very different banks were actively trading in Australian cities, plus state banks representing the various states and territories.  Over the years, acquisitions thinned their ranks, until now we have gravitated to the " big four " mega banks which work in lockstep  There is little difference in the trading policy of those mega banks and their offerings to the public.

Many of the building societies and credit unions that offered a more personal banking service to the big banks have made the move and become banks in their own right, but they lack the size and depth of  credit to move in the field of high finance.  There is not a shadow of doubt that banking is dominated by the power of the " big four ".

Unfortunately, these mega banks are cutting back on the services they offer.  Initially, they replaced branches with ATM's and now ATM numbers are dwindling and the hours that branches open are about to be reduced.  The banks are retreating from face to face communication with their customers and insisting that movement be done online, but they are not updating services to make that easy.

When a term deposit matures, renegotiating its renewal requires an actual signature on a piece of paper.   It can not be renewed by phone or email and a seven day time frame from the date of maturity is required.  If you miss that requirement, the bank automatically renews it for the term length of the previous  arrangement, at an interest rate less than you would be offered if you personally negotiated and signed that paper with your banker.

The mail service no longer guarantees a prompt delivery of letter services and this coronavirus lockdown makes it difficult for many people to physically attend at their bank.  The banks claim a keen interest in providing services to their customers, and then rob them blind with an inferior interest rate by imposing difficult trading requirements.

There are still many older folk who stick with the bank passbook system.  They have their pension paid into their savings account and draw their needs in cash.  Interest rates have crashed and now saving accounts with a balance of a few thousand dollars get no interest payments at all, but the banks use that money to attract profits for themselves.

Usually, it is the same people getting no interest on the money they have in a savings account that are paying high interest on what they owe on one of the credit cards the banks are dispensing so freely.  The banks demand high interest because this is " unsecured credit " and they claim it has a high risk factor. They also seem to be attracting delinquent credit card users by offering a long interest holiday to those who switch to their banking services.

The recent Royal Commission  on banking was very critical of the morals and ethics of the big four banks.  Very little has changed in the thinking that underpins banking, nor will it change until those old building societies and credit unions build the strength to seriously challenge those big four for their customer base.

A " Family " Tragedy !

 It would be helpful if a lesson was learned from the death of four people who were not well served by the laws and services that are put in place to offer protection.  John Edwards was a violent man and his wife and two teenage children were afraid of him.  The marriage broke down and his wife sought the protection of the Family Court.

Despite a thirty year history of domestic violence well documented by the police, the Family Court insisted on imposing  a limited contact order to allow Edwards to visit his children.  As a result,  fifteen year old Jack and  thirteen year old Jennifer were ordered to attend what were termed " psychologist " meetings with their father.

This was despite the court learning that Jack kept a cricket bat in his bedroom as protection from his father and Jennifer was afraid to turn her back in case of a violent assault.  All the elements were in place to bring about the tragedy that followed.

Olga Edwards worked as a solicitor for a city firm and her estranged husband visited their home when the children were alone.  He came armed with a gun and he shot and killed both his own son and daughter, and later ended his own life.  Some months later, Olga's life ended by her own hand.

We have very strict firearm laws in place since the Port Arthur massacre and yet 67 year old John Edwards had no difficulty getting a shooters license that allowed him to buy a gun and ammunition.  His access to his estranged children was facilitated by a Family court threat that the children would be removed from their mother's care if she did not force them to attend these appointments.

It is all too easy to look back in retrospect and see what action should have been taken, but violence is all too often the outcome when relationships sever.  It seems that the Family court made the mistake of  down grading the incidents of violence against the children as simply  " heavy handed parenting ".   The actions of the Family court facilitated ongoing contact and did not facilitate the clean break that was required.

No doubt there will be an intensive investigation of why a man with a history of domestic violence was allowed to gain a license to buy and own a gun.   Murder can be accomplished with many lesser weapons, but a gun distributes absolute power against which there are few means of defence.  All too often a gun delivers multiple killings.

Another aspect of this tragedy is the fact that Olga Edwards is a trained solicitor and worked for a legal firm in the city, and yet despite her knowledge of the law and expertise she was helpless to protect her children against an estranged husband with a history of violence.   The safeguards we put in place - the Family court and the police - failed her.   What hope would an ordinary woman without that legal training have of avoiding a similar tragedy.

Edwards was a man with a compulsive personality He was over bearing in his attitude to others and this surfaced in his contact with the teachers guiding his children at school. There was overwhelming evidence - and this was ignored.  The Edwards children and their mother will not have died in vain if there is a positive response to put in place safeguards that really work  !

" Journalism " On Trial !

 Australian Julian Assange is facing court in London to try and stop the American government from having him extradited into their hands.   If that happens they will prosecute him on charges which may see him serve sentences of one hundred and seventy five years imprisonment, which is virtually a death sentence

Assange is the publisher of a news magazine named Wikileaks. which published stories from stolen US military data America had labelled " Top Secret ".  This was gleaned by way of an American serviceman who worked in data transfer who copied the material he handled and passed it on to Wikileaks. That serviceman has been court marshalled, jailed - and rehabilitated.  He is now a free man.

Assange found himself facing a dubious rape charge in Sweden which saw him arrested in London.  He absconded while on bail and took refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy, from which he held press conferences and stayed out of reach of the law for six and a half years.  Eventually, his mental health deteriorated to the extent that this benefactor had him expelled.  The British held him in prison on the basis of that breach of bail matter while the American extradition case proceeds.

There are big crowds of people demonstrating outside the Old Bailey court in London and demanding Assange be freed.  At issue is the information Wikileaks brought to public attention.  It gave clear evidence of illicit military American action overseas in which civilians were killed and which was covered up by the US government.  It certainly embarrassed the US administration, which has never wavered from attempts to make Assange pay for that intrusion.

The issue revolves around morality.  The Americans acted illegally under international law and Assange is a journalist.  He looks like spending the remainder of his life in prison for the crime of speaking the truth about something a foreign government wished to keep secret.  If that is allowed to happen, what other journalists face danger in their profession for writing true stories that offend serving governments and which reveal breaches of the law by the very government trying to silence journalists ?

The Australian government has said little while an Australian citizen faces charged overseas.  We are friends of both Britain and America, and obviously we have out own dirty little secrets hidden away and which we would not like to be revealed.  It would be very convenient to do nothing and let Assange pay the price for doing the job expected of journalists.

Governments hide behind " National Security "  in hiding secrets they wish to keep from public knowledge, but is that any different from outing a bandit who is stealing public funds and making him or her pay for that crime  ?   We claim to offer protection to the whistle blowers, but Assange simply revealed illicit military activity that caused the death of innocent people - and which went unpunished.

This American pursuit of Assange is a matter of spite and a wish to be vindictive.  He is a public figure they wish to bring down as a warning to other journalists.   There is also a lot of other unpublished matter held by WikiLeaks which may be used as a bargaining point if Assange goes to trial in America.

The outcome of that case in the Old Bailey will have a heavy impact on how journalists view their job freedom, depending on the outcome !

Mortgage Debt !

The price of homes in  New South Wales has eased slightly but it is still a very healthy market and people who have deferred their mortgage payments because of work interruptions caused by the coronavirus lockdown would be very wise to take stock of their options.

Most relief has been granted on a six month basis, and that period is scheduled to end later this month.  Already, the banks are urging customers to start repaying their loans and many have already responded. The banks are being realistic. and even a part payment of the agreed monthly term is usually acceptable because the deficit will eventually be added to the length of the loan.

The worst possible scenario will come when the recovery gains pace but still leaves a substantial job deficit.  There are predictions of a vast pool of the unemployed that may take several years to deplete, and obviously the situation of those with a home mortgage will become untenable.  It is important that action be taken by the mortgage holder and not left until it becomes an action by the bank.

There is a very good chance that there will be many people unable to resume their mortgage payments because  they are unemployed and it is inevitable that this will bring a glut of foreclosures.  The price of homes is heavily influenced by the balance between supply and demand and that is a situation that forces prices downward.  Buyers flee the market in the expectation that the asking price will descend even lower.

Usually, it is the banks that are very unhelpful when this sort of situation occurs.  Their prime concern is to recover the money outstanding in the unpaid loan, or  to limit the loss if that can not be gained in the selling price.  The mortgage holder's equity usually disappears in that situation.

The banks are in the money business and have little experience in handling real estate. Homes gained by way of foreclosure are usually dumped back on the market with the garden untended and the lawns uncut. A foreclosed home has a certain " look " that excites buyers to drive a hard, price bargain.

The greatest danger comers to mortgage holders who are now middle aged and have been paying off a home for some years.  They have considerable equity in the home they live in, but poor prospects of a job during this recovery.  They might be wise to put the home on the market and regain that equity while market conditions remain suitable.

Unfortunately, many people in that position struggle on with a mounting debt until a foreclosure is inevitable. They are hoping for a miracle, but unfortunately these economic downturns are cyclical and run a predetermined course.

The wise would take a practical appraisal of their financial position, and act accordingly.  It is the clever people who think - and then act on it !

The Religious Divide !

Pity the New South Wales politicians who are trying to put together  legislation that will be acceptable in ending religious conflict.  At the heart of the matter is the notion of " religious freedom ", which means very different things to different  people.

The one thing that seems to be universally accepted is that no person should face discrimination in the workplace or in sport simply because of the religious beliefs they hold.  In a very broad brush approach, that would make it unlawful to discriminate against an employee for their religious activity, providing they did not  " actively criticise " their employer or cause " direct and material " financial detriment to their employer.

That comes into immediate conflict with what many people term the " right of free speech ". What happens when someone with celebrity status because of the sport they play actively condemns the lifestyle of team mates or opposing teams because the beliefs they hold do not accord with the beliefs of his or her religion  ?

We have the real life situation of a prominent rugby league player who openly seeks media attention with the claim that other players leading a " gay " lifestyle will spend eternity in Hell because that lifestyle conflicts with his religious beliefs.  As a result he has been suspended from play because of the damage caused to his sport.  That gay lifestyle is legal in Australia.

This " religious freedom " concept also extends to activities such as religious schools.  Do they have the right to discriminate by choosing pupils only from their religious base and employ teachers who hold those same religious beliefs  ?  Such religious schools charge fees, but often that fee is heavily subsidized by the church.

No religion enjoys preference in Australia and citizens are free to follow the religion of their choice. It is a fact of life that a growing percentage of the population now refutes claims that they belong to any nominated form of religion.  The " gay marriage " referendum clearly indicated the schism that now divides the position of most churches with the broad masses of people.

Religion is supposed to be the private choice of individual people and most religions claim the right to preach and extend the numbers of their flock, but in many forms that preaching is offensive to others. What the politicians are seeking to do is  create a set of rules that will limit that offence within reasonable boundaries.

That seems to be an impossible task unless that right of free speech is curtailed and that would involve media restrictions imposing limits on news reporting.   Perhaps imposing a limit on what can be reported  in the media would be the only option available to politicians.  Without the media trumpet, such stories quickly fade and die.

It has long been a tenet of polite conversation that the subjects to be avoided are politics and religion. Legislating that into law may be the only way this problem is solved !

Tippy Toeing Into The Minefield !

There is a huge disparity in what happens in the aftermath of life when it concerns those killed in war and their civilian counterparts.  In most western cities there are burial grounds that have long ago reached capacity and fallen into neglect.  That situation is causing thought of limited tenure so that constant reburial can renew cemeteries and make them capable of serving their communities.

War cemeteries are very different.  The graves of Australians killed in France during the first world war are meticulously honoured in well preserved graveyards that even today are constantly visited by people from overseas seeking the final resting place of their forebears.

The Australian War Graves Commission is similarly active in preserving and maintaining war graves from the second world war.  The American dead from that war who were killed in the Pacific theatre are buried in Hawaii and the rolling hills seem to go on forever.  The effort to maintain that massive cemetery is constant and the cost is rarely  questioned. The lives of young men who died defending their country deserve recognition in perpetuity.

It is often said that politicians find their remarks coming back to haunt them, and American president Donald Trump is accused of a slur on the American war dead when a weather event stopped his helicopter journey to a war grave several years ago.  It is alleged Trump said " Why do I need to visit a war grave ?  ".  "  The people buried there are losers - and suckers " !

Trump is just weeks away from an election which will decide if he serves another four years in the white house.   That remark will probably lose him the election, coming as it does after he disparaged a US Senator who survived torture during the Vietnam war when his aircraft was shot down and he served time in the notorious " Hanoi Hilton. "   Trump had little time for those captured by the enemy.

Considering that it is seventy-five years since the end of the second world war Trump probably feels the ranks of survivors is thin and his remark will not draw attention., but in todays conflicts both genders serve in the armed forces and today many still put their lives on the line at the behest of their country.

As a boy, Trump was partly educated in a military school but did not go on to serve in a military unit.  It is rare for anyone to serve the post of American president without the tenure of time in the armed services.  The fact that Trump is also ignoring the " Black lives matter " issue of police shooting unarmed black men in the streets while taking a " law and order " stance is distancing his presidency from a major section of the population.

Trump is suggesting that if he does not win it will be because the election had been rigged.  That includes the suggestion he might not recognise the result.  That is a very dangerous gamble  that might easily misfire.  His rallies have been low on support numbers and if the media are convinced he will lose, a surprise win might not be recognised by his opponent.

The way this election is shaping up, the final outcome may be decided by a vote in the American High Court  !

A Costly Mistake !

 Recently, an Australian woman returning from overseas received an unpleasant surprise when she passed through customs in Western Australia.  The elegant handbag she was carrying was challenged by an inspector on the grounds that it was made of alligator skin and that is an illegal import under the legislation to control Wild Fauna and Flora under CITIES legislation.  As a consequence, the bag was seized.

The woman bought the bag at a fashionable boutique in Paris and it seems that it carried the required  CITIES export permit that allowed it to pass outward through French customs, but the owner had not cleared it for import to Australia by seeking a CITIES import permit for this country.  Such a permit can be claimed after landing in Australia but this carries a $70 processing fee.

That alligator skin bag was valued by customs at $26,000 but apparently the owner was unaware of the protocol to clear it through customs and neglected to pay that seventy dollar fee - and the bag was subsequently destroyed.

It is unfortunate that high fashion in both America and Europe often features the skin of animals under threat of extinction because of the high value their skin brings in the world of fashion.  There is a ongoing battle between rangers tasked with protecting endangered species and the marauding gangs that draw their profits from supplying the fashion trade.

Australian travellers would be wise to know and understand exactly what is allowed - and what is not  allowed - to travel through customs here unchallenged.  Not all countries are signatories to CITIEs legislation and the goods on sale in shops offer no guarantee that they will pass through customs unchallenged. 

The hiatus on overseas travel caused by the coronavirus may have stopped a number of infectious agricultural diseases gaining a foothold in Australia.  The growing tendency to holiday off the beaten  track was taking Australians into close proximity to farming markets and those returning with uncleaned shoes risked bringing unwelcome contamination back with them.   We were being vigilant to contain a pig disease that has spread widely across Asia and has in many cases has resulted in almost complete herd reduction.

The flow of travellers through airports has long been the high risk factor for the introduction here of both plants and animals that may threaten our national diversity.  We are in the habit of returning with souvenirs of our trip abroad and if these take the form of seeds of any form of living matter it can set in motion change that can be catastrophic to the economy.  The customs regimen we have in place is designed top stop that happening.

The wise would be well advised to know the rules - and avoid incidents like that twenty six thousand dollar handbag being destroyed in a furnace because a seventy dollar fee went unpaid.

Keeping The Shops Open !

 That dreaded word " Recession " now applies to Australia and we are already encountering empty shops in our shopping centres. One in every three Australians rents the place they call home and presently they are protected from eviction if the lockdown is causing a rent shortfall.   That same protection applies to business rents, but the legislation will shortly expire.

Whether this recession deepens until it becomes a " Depression " will largely depend on the owners of business premises facing reality and lowering rents in accordance with the circumstances.  When the economy was robust, rents for shopping space was governed by demand and this delivered a bonanza for shopping space owners.  A surprising number of families earned their living from a range of small businesses tucked away on the fringe of shopping centres and scattered across the suburbs.

Many of these were only marginally profitable and their staffing was composed of casuals instead of permanent employees.  This was the start of the " gig " economy where many casuals had more than one job in which they provided service when needed as a " contractor ".  This led to the fiction that such people were " self employed ".

When we encountered a mini recession in 2008 many owners of business property were more inclined to shutter a shop than trim the rent to suit the circumstances.  This lockdown has depleted the savings of many families and when the recovery starts many will be more concerned with restoring their savings than following the previous lifestyle.  Life will be tough in the business world for the foreseeable future.

The length of this recession will depend primarily on the owners of business premises being realistic.  The business community simply can not support the rents that were charged in the boom years and for many small businesses this is fast becoming the " survival period ".  There is no doubt that the sight of empty shops in a shopping centre encourages shoppers to shut their wallets and reduce their spending habits.

Unfortunately, many owners of business premises locked their superannuation away in rental property in the expectation that rent would deliver their support income.  Just as the people who look to term deposit money held in banks are experiencing  income loss due to the lowering of interest rates, property owners need to be realistic.  The worst outcome is a closed shop and a complete cessation of the rental return.

Perhaps the biggest recovery danger will come from business premises rented out by large corporations who fear shareholders abandoning them if their dividends falter.  Decisions made in the dizzy heights of the boardroom often do not travel well when they are applied to the reality world where profit or loss depends on keeping the doors open.  The owner with a small property portfolio is much more likely to ne realistic when it comes to rents.

The incentive to be a business owner rarely wavers in the minds of many people, and the range of ways in which people earn their living is expansive.  It seems evident that many of the business chains that had premises in numerous shopping centres will not survive this downturn.  Recessions seem to be cyclical in the western world and it is a fact of life that those businesses which survive such downturns usually expand vigorously when the good times return.

If commonsense comes to the fore we will survive this recession !

The " Gang " Murder Scene !

 The " gang murder " business is alive and well in Sydney, but a trial presently in progress shows how the risk factor has increased in this electronic age.  The Supreme Court is hearing the prosecution of Fredon Laith Botrus who is accused of stabbing to death Alfredo Isho as  he sat in a barbers chair getting a haircut.

The evidence of how this murder proceeded sounded like the script for a movie.   In his opening address the prosecutor revealed that on the morning of the murder Mr Botrus received a text message on his phone that simply stated in Arabic, followed by an emoji of a man getting a haircut. " Yo brother. There's a dog at the hairdresser ".

Later, CCTV footage shows Mr Botrus leave the home he shares with his parents and siblings on a mini motorbike and heads towards that barber shop. He is wearing black pants, a blue hooded jumper and is wearing a face mask, and he was wearing an  O'Neal brand motorcycle helmet.  At 12.31 he entered through the rear door of the barber shop and demanded a haircut.

The barber told him to come by the front door, and moments later he again entered by the back door and stabbed Mr Isho near his right collar bone as he sat beneath a protective cape in the barber chair. He had been carrying a knife concealed in his sleeve and immediately after the stabbing he left the barber shop and fled on the mini bike.

It seems Mr Isho was unaware that he had been stabbed.  He walked outside the hairdresser's shop and made a phone call, but the wound had punctured a lung and severed an artery and he soon collapsed.  He died the next day in Liverpool hospital.

The time factor following this stabbing is illustrative.  The stabbing occurred just after 12.31 and at 12.42 Mr Botrus was home in his garage, disassembling the motorbike. He used pedal fans to cool the hot engine and shortly after two men arrived in a white Holden to take away both the murder weapon and distinctive parts of the motorcycle.

Later that afternoon Mr Botrus was stopped when in a car driven by his father and his phone was seized.  Police also obtained that blue hooded jumper and blood on it matched that of Mr Isho.  Mr Botrus has pleaded  not guilty.

It has become fairly obvious that gang murders are now part of the crime scene.   War between bikie gangs is now carried out openly on the streets and even the lesser gangs combine victim intelligence with a coordinated scenario of support to hide evidence and avoid guilt, but the ever widening of electronic componentry is giving the police an edge.

The use of firearms increases annually and this is where the public are most at risk.  Such killings often involve an ambush and a spray of bullets can involve innocent people.  In this case the weapon used was a knife, but it is a sobering thought that the need to have a regular haircut can involve the unwary in a murder scene in this age of drugs and the gangs that profit from drug activities !

Opportunuity " Knocks " !

It would be hard to think of Sydney without that iconic opera house dominating the ferry terminal at Circular Quay, but originally the land beneath it was a parking lot for the city's original tram fleet. When the decision was made to build an opera house the design was thrown open to world minds - and what we got is a building that gains immediate recognition across the entire world.

Sydney is Australia's best known city and world audiences remember our harbour bridge, the Opera House - and the new year fireworks celebrations.  Now we are about to spend  three hundred million dollars on an upgrade of the ferry terminal and it looks like the design will be restricted to the ideas of government architects working under the instructions of our politicians.

That is something that should be open to world competition.  We are lucky to have one of the world's most magnificent harbours and that ferry terminal at Circular Quay is the focal point of vast crowds travelling to and from work on harbour ferries.  There is no doubt that ferry travel is more romantic than being crammed in trains or buses over inland routes.

Those ferry wharves have been unchanged for a long period of time, and they are looking very dowdy. Many people think the city centre was diminished when the Cahill Expressway was imposed across the building overlooking the harbour.  This upgrade of the ferry terminal presents an ideal opportunity for this major feature of the city to undergo a complete change.  It should be an opportunity for the world's best minds to think freely and work outside the proverbial " nine dots "  !

The problem with restricting change to government architects is that commercial interests come to the fore.  Powerful people seek to resist change in case it affects their property ownership and we are unlikely to get the best result unless all such restrictions are set aside.  This is an opportunity to present Sydney as a world  city - and Circular Quay as a new " wonder of the world ".

One of the problems of the proposed development is that already many possible innovations are being ruled out.  No permanent living accommodation will be permitted in the new design and yet such a decision should be made after the winning design is selected rather than imposing limitations before the opportunities offering are fully explored.

Perhaps the main reason this development is not being thrown open to world minds is fear of the cost of what might emerge.  The plan for the Opera House was so outstanding that it just had to be built, and yet the final cost was unknown.  Creating a building different from anything that had previously been even thought of created immense challenges.  The builders were pushed to the limit, and the outcome was something that astonished the world.

A similar opportunity exists with this Circular Quay redevelopment.  It is an opportunity to " think big " and open the project to a world audience.  But it seems there is a tendency to " think small " and avoid the risk factor.  It is about time the same thinking that created the Opera House was allowed to prevail !

The " Sexual " Revolution !

 The sexual harassment scandal within AMP has seen the share price drop to an abysmal low and a  flurry of highly paid executives offer their resignation.  Amazingly, a leading London barrister with " QC " after his name was engaged to determine the extent of what is regarded as a " social offence " and the woman who received this unwelcome attention has also left the firm.

This simply illustrates the hazard attractive women face in the workplace. When  a man is the gatekeeper for advancement up the corporate ladder and a fatter pay packet, demand for sex is all too often the price women have to pay and that exists in all levels within most company structures.  New employees often get a  subtle warning to " watch out " because the boss has a roving eye.

In this instance, the woman obviously had talent to the extent that she was included in a work mission abroad and that barrister graded the sexual approaches made in the range from " modest " to " serious ". Questions about the age of her boy friends were certainly intrusive and the offer of the use of her boss's credit card to buy clothing was conducive on her accompanying him to an intimate dinner one evening.

That type of sexual harassment was ignored until the " Me Too " movement brought it to public attention.   In too many companies the overseeing board of directors allow the reigning chief executive unlimited power  which allows this to happen.   In any reasonable structure, both the accountant and the company auditors should query women's clothing on a chief executive credit card, but this is the same person to whom they report.

All too often the board consisted of a " men's club " but pressure has resulted in most boards now containing a mix of men and women.  It seems obvious that chief executives need to be kept on a tighter reign and this scrutiny needs to be reflected in lower management levels.  This AMP debacle shows how swiftly adverse public opinion can harm the value of the company if it goes public.

Unfortunately, there are usually some women willing to trade sex for company advancement and if promotion is not based on merit then company competence suffers.  A company with a high turnover of female staff should be sending ample warnings to its board that all is not well and they need to look closely to determine the cause.  If the cause is a predatory CEO they need to do something about it.

Unfortunately, a CEO who delivers consistent and ongoing profit under his rule usually escapes close scrutiny from the company directors.  In many cases ideocyncracies such as mixing too closely with staff are ignored -  until they become a newspaper headline.

Unfortunately, it is women who dress smartly and have the good fortune to look attractive that usually draw the attention of predatory bosses.   Women who have the misfortune to be considered " plain " rarely encounter this problem, but also are often passed over for advancement despite an excellent work history.

We live in a changing world and more women are gaining entry to the CEO's suite in many aspects of business.  Both sexes can be equally ruthless in the business world and it seems inevitable that we will eventually encounter this same sexual problem with female CEO's.

The " Flying " Car ?

 We already have car speeds legislated to forty kph in school zones and in some area with a high pedestrian and cyclist mix, but there is growing pressure to extend that speed limit to the entire city of Sydney council area.

It is the safety argument behind this sort of thinking.  Statistics prove that a vehicle that hits a pedestrian at 50 kph is highly likely to cause a fatality.  Should that same vehicle be travelling at 40 kph that fatality will most likely be reduced to an " injury ".

Each year the number of cars on our roads increases and we are fast reaching saturation point.  Some overseas cities have used tax measures to keep car numbers down in the inner city and drivers are encouraged to park and use public transport  to reduce traffic density.  Any sort of toll system to reduce car use in the city is being bitterly resisted by motoring groups. It seems that something that only existed in the minds of science fiction writers is about to become a reality.   Prototypes of " flying cars " are already at the testing stage and there is every indication that this type of travel is about to burst onto the transport scene.

This modern concept is based on the " drone ".  The humble drone that we send aloft to take photographs or drop rescue equipment to swimmers caught in beach rips has been enlarged to hold a human with small rotating blades to give " lift " at each of its four corners.  It is quite obvious that this is practical and the idea is drawing interest from both car manufacturers and the giant aviation industry.

At this stage, the models undergoing testing look like something between a helicopter and a light plane, but they lack any sort of " wings " and should the engine fail they would have the gliding capability of a " brick ".  Cost analysis indicates that a basic flying car could be mass produced at about the same selling price of a small car.

The aspect of this type of transport moving about in the air space above our heads is frightening.  Just imagine the congestion if the flying car ever became as numerous as the cars on our roads today, and what rules would apply to keep them apart from one another ?

This could replicate the day early in the twentieth century when the Wright brothers first proved that powered flight was possible.  That ungainly contraption of wood and canvas not only developed into the sleek jet liners of today, but they also became the primary weapon of war.  It is inevitable that this flying car concept will be vigorously  expanded by military planners as a possible battlefield weapon.

One of the lessons of science we have learned is that it is impossible to " uninvent " something that causes problems.   We learned that with the atomic bomb.  The principle of the drone proved practical in some clever minds and is now being tested as personal air transport.  The " drone principle " car is about to become reality and that will probably create many of the very same problems we are encountering with road traffic today.

Just how fast we will be permitted to drive in the inner parts of Sydney may be the least of our future transport problems !