Author Archive for saint

Dishevelled, disgruntled and divisive

Published
by
saint
3 years, 4 months ago
in Politics
. 37 Comments

No this isn’t all about the Labor Party.

A comment by Nudge in response to Bryan’s Ozpolitics analysis of a Galaxy poll on the Industrial Relations changes :

Not surprising though. I once asked my wife why she preferred Howard to Beazley Mk.1, as a person without any regard to policy or political affiliation. Her reply? “I would go for a neat nerd ahead of a fat slob anytime”.

Back to the poll. I’m a blue collar worker - a motor mechanic - and my boss this afternoon began talking about reducing my wage, saying that at $18/hr I’m paid too much, when the minimum award rate is about $14.50

The thing that really burns me is the 100 employee minimum for unfair dismissal laws to apply - thus discriminating between workers on the basis of employer size. Blow that - everyone should be the same. Either all workers should have unfair dismissal protection, or none should.

BTW, the car dealer I work for employs 25, roughly evenly divided between blue and white collar

I’m not surprised at Nudge’s wife’s reasoning. Are you?

I’m not surprised that Nudge is pissed off about the 100 employee minimum. I personally see this 100 rule as the thin end of the wedge. It is so arbitrary and yes, unfair. I fully expect people will eventually demand that all workers be subject to the same dismissal laws. What say you?

And I am not surprised at Nudge’s employer’s attitude. Subtle hints, just enough to start creating insecurity and resentment. I suspect that employers can cut wages now if they are above award and there is no AWA but don’t dare to. Anyway, what would you advise Nudge to do?

Here is where I think unions and others who oppose the changes could be doing something positive for the public - for example giving advice on how to handle these situations - particularly since the laws haven’t even been drafted yet. To all intents and purposes, some employers are already acting as if they are already law - and they know what that law will be. Some as if it will be a free for all. I think it is emboldening others. I am hearing similar stories like that of Nudge in my own circles. And that will only get worse with the cynical $20 million dollar government advertising campaign.

As many have said: no one needs to worry about good employers. But all of us remember the bad ones. You know, the really enterprising ones.

So while the union ads for example, have been successful, is there also a need for some ….er…enterprise bargaining advice?

when I’m 64

Published
by
saint
3 years, 5 months ago
in Politics
. 28 Comments

On Meet the Press last Sunday [link to document file]:

PAUL BONGIORNO: IPSOS McKay also polled nationwide on who voters would prefer to replace John Howard if he retired at the next election. 27% Peter Costello, 29% Kim Beazley and 37% said someone else. According to our pollster, Australians are looking for a fresh alternative after John Howard. Mr Beazley, that’s not good news for you, is it?

KIM BEAZLEY: In the last election campaign I was told there was a poll like that. Perhaps not by IPSOS, but by someone else, because they often ask that question. A week before the election I asked, who would you prefer as Prime Minister of the Australia, John Howard or someone else? John Howard got 29% and someone else got 71%.  I think the support for Howard and the support for Costello is very shallow. That’s what I take out of that poll. We’re going to go into the next election campaign of course with a decent platform. When you do that, people start to respond to you. We’re two and a half years away from it. Looking at that poll, I don’t worry about it. I suspect that Mr Costello will.

Back when many were tipping John Howard to announce his retirement at 64, I was saying that he was going nowhere fast. I never got the impression he was intending to step down any more than I have the impression now that he is going any time soon. About the only thing that would move him to leave is a bad turn in his wife’s health, or maybe his own.

But at the same time, I have often wondered what measure of his personal support is because there are no alternatives.

I don’t think Costello will ever be Prime Minister or even leader of the Liberal Party. I don’t get the sense he has widespread support amongst the public much less within the party. It will be interesting to see if in the upcoming cabinet reshuffle Costello gets a change of portfolio, as he has requested, because I don’t think he is Howard’s preferred successor either. And if not, I wonder if Howard will allocate him a ministry that enhances his chances at the leadership or just puts him on the same holding pattern he’s been treading for years.

Continue reading ‘when I’m 64′

the idiot’s guide to the douglas wood kidnapping

Published
by
saint
3 years, 5 months ago
in Politics
. 53 Comments

Wood

Good guy
Good guy
Friend

Terrorist

Arsehole
Arsehole
Bad guy

Al-Hilaly

Liar
Liar
Bad guy

Downer

Trust
Trust
Good guy

"That required a lot of courage, a lot of commitment, we know you went to some tough places while you were there"

Mcgeough

Liar
Liar
Fairfax

Howard

Trust
Truth
Good guy

"I also place on record my appreciation for the efforts of the Australian Islamic community and of Sheik Taj al Hilaly." 

There now. Have I got all the right boxes?

G-spots

Published
by
saint
3 years, 5 months ago
in Culture and Religion
. 27 Comments

Hello,

I’m a saint in a straitjacket who blogs about nothing in particular in an obscure corner of cyberspace called DogfightAtBankstown. Obviously that means I’m a Christian who lives in Adelaide and types with their nose. I’m pretty ordinary, neither erudite nor expert in anything, and I rarely have anything profound or witty to say.

I was surprised and flattered when Mark invited me to guest post. But how could I give up a chance for fifteen minutes of blog fame and a demonstration of how fast I can make blog stats plummet with a single post?

Then, when I saw who else he invited and the first set of posts, I got stage fright.

Foucault? He writes in words with more than two syllables. He’s got double vowels in his name.

*gulp*

But this morning I thought, hang it, it’s Sunday. Let’s get mercenary and seize the day. Make it MY day. After all I’m no saint. Straitjacket remember.

Oops what do I see? C.L agreeing with Kim about condescending putative foundations. Testing times alright: I’m already reaching for the dictionary. And discover pusillanimous is on the opposite page to putative in the Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary 2nd edition. Page 924 to be precise.

Pusillanimous that’s me.

So gather up the courage, return and see everyone is getting into the act today. But I’m swallowing hard, and like a good little lemming I’m going to jump in anyway. Well just poke my toe in a bit and test the water in the jacuzzi.

Um. What have be got. What can I say. Orgasms!!!! Yes God invented those thank you very much.

Hey it’s SUNDAY (11.55pm CST to be precise). It should be time for a real G-spot. And some rollicking godblogging.

A disclosure: this is a bit of a bleg (told you I was mercenary).

I’ve been asked by an overseas blogger to write something about Aussie god blogs but I’ve been thinking about changing the brief a bit. (Further disclosure: I find a lot of ‘god blogs’ boring). And I need some help. So maybe you can give me some thoughts on what I can write about. Or just give me any thoughts whatsoever. On anything remotely connected to Aussie god blogging however you want to define god blogs or god. Maybe on topics like this…

  • Aussie god blogs: what would Jesus do with them?
  • Has Archbishop Rowan Williams been reading some of our Aussie political blogs
  • Questions you have always wanted to ask a god blogger but were afraid to ask
  • The most ridiculous answers for those questions which you were unpusillanimous to ask
  • Gideons’ Bible abuse: are you guilty? (blame FXH)
  • Religion journalist Stephen Crittenden once said that Aussies are happy to talk about religion but afraid to talk about Jesus Christ. Discuss.
  • Why I am godless. By God. And here’s the URL to prove it.
  • Your favourite godspotting moment on an Aussie blog. Any god. Any blog. (Already an icon: Tim Dunlop’s wonderfully written and moving discontinuous religious narrative. Wanted: URLs for David Tiley’s hidden gems about the Anglicanism of his youth, tucked away in comments threads. Glorious: Ken Parish’s prickly honesty in one of the more intriguing comments threads at Troppo Armadillo.)
  • The overwhelming majority of Aussie bloggers are lapsed Catholics. Analyse this. Analyse them.
  • I disclosed my religion as Jedi in the last Aussie census and I can get past step 26 (PDF)

Shameless pusillanimousness. I’m going to hide behind James Farrell who once wrote

This may be an outrageous intrusion on your spiritual privacy, but you have been known to be candid once or twice before, and I’m dying of curiosity, so I’ll chance it.

I’m chancing it too. Not just because this piece I promised to write is seriously overdue and I am so not a writer, much less a creative one at that. And I have a really, really busy week ahead. And I reckon some of you would have some fun things to say.

But because I too, am dying of curiosity.