En Passant

A jury found Cardinal George Pell guilty of child sexual abuse in December last year I write in Independent Australia. Pell was found guilty of sexual penetration of a child under 16 and four charges of committing indecent acts with a child, or in their presence. after five weeks of hearings and three and a half days of […]

Imagine if we used the money the rich waste on this frivolous Sydney to Hobart yacht race to improve public health and education in Australia. Imagine remains a John Lennon song, unfortunately. It’s time to turn back their yachts.

It is my understanding that the loss of long term experienced tax officers is already having an impact on revenue collections and with more job cuts to come the decline in collections, especially from the tax risk takers in big business, will only get worse. But not to worry. Treasurer Joe Hockey can just use that as further ‘evidence’ to back up his false claims about a Budget emergency and cut more public services and public service jobs. The 1% will be pleased.

I wrote this a few years ago and updated it last year. ‘The Sydney to Hobart yacht race is a race for the billionaires and multi-millionaires, the one percent. These people lead a very different life to us. They live off our hard work. They don’t and won’t mix with the rest of us. They […]

If there is any hope it lies in the proles. The most important battles in the weeks and months to come are likely to be by unions, in particular building unions. The Abbott government has signaled a brutal crackdown on the CFMEU and other building unions in the near future, especially through its soon to be revitalised Australian Building and Construction Commission.

To drive back the repressive state, we must join together with building unions to help them win their fight against repression and in their victory create the space for freedom to blossom.

Labor’s crisis is about politics and policies, not people. It doesn’t make much difference if Labor is led by Gillard or Rudd or some other snake oil sales person – the pro-profit and pro-business policies of the party would be much the same.

The Sydney to Hobart yacht race is a race for the billionaires and multi-millionaires, the one percent. These people lead a very different life to us. They live off our hard work. They don’t and won’t mix with the rest of us. They inhabit rich ghettos. They speak a different language of finance and investment and money. They even eat different food. We don’t want them here. It’s time to turn back the yachts.