Thursday, June 25, 2009

TREASURER SWAN....answer the bloody question!


First up. I have been a voter in Australia since 1972 and, for the sake of a better phrase, have swung like Ned.

Every now & again in your life, something happens that proves to be a turning point, an epiphany, a eureka.

Driving home this morning, I was listening to Emma Griffiths interviewing Wayne Swan on 891.

We all know what the topic was, and I was just drifting in and out because I am sick of the bloody Ute/Email/Leak thing and hoping they will get back to running the country

BUT, then this happened.

Emma asked a simple question, repeatedly. Did the Treasurer pick up a telephone and call anyone else beside Mr Grant.

His answer? '...that is not the right question...'

I was chomping away on my bit
Over the past few days, I have been glued to the Foxtel A-PAC channel trawling hours of House of Representative dribble. And it struck me, something I have known for a long time. A Politician will not give a direct, definitive answer to a direct question.

I can see Sergeant Carter spraying droplets across Gomer's chrome dome.....
RULE ONE. NOW YOU ARE ELECTED, WHEN ASKED ABOUT ANYTHING BY ANYONE, YOU MUST TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTACK & BLAME THE OPPOSITION. DO NOT ANSWER THE QUESTION.

I have had a gut full of these clowns.

Penny Wong is a classic, a recent graduate of the Sergeant Carter school of dribble.

Prior to donning the Senator cape, Penny presented with all the intellect in the world. Then, and without warning, off she went to some hidden camp in the Blue Mountains to be taught the rules.

And what a disciplined and well trained government monkette she has become.

No different here in South Australia, and probably the same as anywhere else.

Whilst the South Australian major parties amass their forces and scab donations from their mates for the 2010 election, a groundswell continues to grow, a swell that began many years ago.

The day will come when these clowns are cast aside, on both sides.

Having said that. This week the SA Press reported that Premier 'Miguel' Rann has committed $36million for six almost-new trams from their mates in Madrid. They cost Mintra $3.5million each back in 2004. Didn't even rate a mention in the Advertiser, only a small piece on a web site.

Treasurer Kevin 'ole folee' Foley earmarks $100million for footy whilst families are living out of motor cars, yet, nuffin from anyone.

Could be all the silent people deserve these clowns.......well, until they gotta doss down in the back of a car!

2010. Year of the Independent, maybe.

Friday, June 12, 2009

SA Government sold taxpayer-owned city building. No public tender.


When I worked in the South Australian Public Service, I and all others had strict Guidelines and Policies to follow whilst going about our duties.

A few years ago, Premier Mike Rann introduced a Code of Conduct with a bottom line. If you screwed the system, the system would screw you. Reprimands, Dismissals, that sort of stuff.

But, I began to notice ways in which my employer, the South Australian Government, was behaving that made me wonder about one-way streets. Surely, rules imposed on one, should equally apply to all others.

The building owned by and housing the Office of the Public Trustee, where I worked in the I.T. Section, was sold to Spanish Media Mogul, Javier Moll. In addition, Javier Moll had previously bought the building next door.

According to the government record, Hansard, the sale was not subject to public tender process, and it was sold for an amount considerably less than a previous property valuation.

So, there I was, sitting on the first floor of 25 Franklin Street, beating my head against a brick wall battling workplace bullying, sexual harassment, and corruption, and my employer does something I thought was suss.

Without Spain, South Australia could be stuffed:

Warship Design SPAIN
Desal Plant SPAIN
Trams SPAIN
Government Buildings SPAIN

Maybe all public servants should be issued with new uniforms complete with Cordobes style hats!!

Adelaide’s Independent Weekly ran a story last year that really says it all:


Thursday, June 11, 2009

South Australian Government, The Three Stooges, and the plight of the Homeless




Egalitarian? Communist? Socialist?




When it comes to the politics of this country, I am not terribly well versed with terms such as left wing, right wing, and what do geese have to do with it anyway!

But recently, our State Treasurer and Deputy Premier, Kevin ‘ Globetrotter’ Foley, announced he has earmarked $100 million to lure AFL games to the Adelaide Oval.

On the same day, it was reported that some 8000 citizens were wandering the streets of South Australia looking for somewhere to doss down for the night.

Earlier, Minister Pat ‘MacBelfast’ Conlon announced the acquisition of six spare Madrid trams at a cost of $36 million. Oh, Mr Conlon, Mintra only paid $3.5million apiece back in 2004...BRAND NEW ONES!

In addition, 2 days ago it was announced that a further $1.1 million had been added to the Politicians chauffer-driven taxpayer-owned vehicles budget for 2009/2010.

I remember writing a Letter to the Editor of the Adelaide Advertiser back in the early 80s highlighting two juxtaposition stories in the morning paper.

A prominent headline drew attention to some metal windmills that had been erected outside the Festival Centre at an extraordinary expense to the taxpayer. And a not-so-prominent story, many pages later, conveying the plight of Adelaide’s homeless. Nearly 30 years ago.

Since my 1980s letter? Labor, Liberal, Labor, Liberal, Labor………..does not seem to matter, because according to some authoritative sources, nothing has changed for Adelaide’s homeless.

A few years ago, Premier Mike ‘Miguel’ Rann, at taxpayer expense, of course, chauffeured-in a Thinker In Residence American Roseanne Haggerty to address the homeless issue. She produced a report, ‘Ending Homelessness in South Australia’.

I still say that this Program of bringing in overseas gurus is an insult to our own experts.


Normally, I keep my thick, thickest dictionary nearby when trying to decipher one of these T-I-R reports, but unusually not the case with Ms Haggerty.

One of her recommendations stands out like a homeless mum lurking in the swank jewellery-rattling look-at-me foyer of the Festival Centre:

Get the job done.
The jurisdictional leader must make ending homelessness a personal priority and speak regularly to the goal and on the initiatives taken and success won. The leader must support the designated leader in disrupting the bureaucracy to implement an integrated, cross-agency, multi-sector effort if significant results are to be achieved. All successful communities have had strong and vocal leadership on the issue – from the top.

Well, I can stand corrected, but where this average hombre sits and observes from, I have heard Jack Crap from South Australia’s illustrious leader(s).

And this only highlights the value of the Thinker-in-Residence program if, unless, Observations & Recommendations are to be shelved away for some Stargate team to ponder over in centuries to come.

Particularly in this hardened economic period, more so when our Treasurer Kevin ‘a week in London for 5 hours of meetings’ Foley tells us all to suck it up & take it on the chin.

Like I said, I do not fully understand all those fancy words I mentioned earlier. However, some things I do know.

If you are down & out and have trouble making ends meet, your water, your electricity, your gas will more than likely be shut off.

If you got no food on the table, you might get food stamps from places such as Anglicare. But these are places that also will tell you how strapped they are for money.

Got nowhere to live? No problemo, provided you are happy dossing out for years as your name crawls up the Housing Trust waiting list.

BUT, if you want AFL games to shift from Footy Park to Adelaide Oval, the Treasurer has set aside $100 million of OUR MONEY to make it happen.

AND if you are one of the people that commute from HOME to the city JOB fear not. The State Government has assigned $36 million for 6 surplus trams sitting in some shed in Spain….oops, there’s that word again, SPAIN!

What is the answer? In this era, I doubt there is one. In 1854, there was the Eureka Stockade!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Six Trams for $36million, and 8000 Homeless Souls walking the streets.




Thirty Six Million Dollars for six new trams.

According to reports this morning, there are currently around 8000 homeless people walking the streets of Adelaide.

There is a story posted on http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,25607490-2682,00.html this morning reporting that the Treasurer has factored an increase of $1.77 million for politicians chauffeur-driven vehicles and taxpayer-funded cars for the next financial year.

This will bring the 2009/2010 line to $6.66 million.

And in a strange juxtaposition, the Anglicare Winter Appeal has just been advertised on local radio as I write this Post. Begging for donations from the public.

Reading the Comments about the $1.77 million, I came across this:

I am struggling with depression because of my financial status, $260.00 a week, and when I read stuff like this, I feel like crying. it's just not bloody fair! $34,000.00! a week! thats 3 times what i get in a year! Its just wrong! can't they see that?
Posted by: Kathleen Em of Adelaide Hills 7:23am today Comment 23 of 36

It says it all. I do not need to push the barrow too hard.

I responded to Kathleen by adding my own comment:

Kathleen Em represents all that is wrong nowadays. For example, I heard on the radio this morning there are 8000 people floating around Adelaide with no where to sleep. Then this, and on top of the $36 million for trams for the very few. People can't put a decent feed on the table. Everything is upside down. And I remember writing a Letter to the Editor back in 1981 saying the same thing! We need another Eureka Stockade.
Posted by: Robbo of Wynn Vale 8:50am today Comment 36 of 37

It is difficult for me to play the critic as this has been going on since I moved to Adelaide in 1976. Liberal, Labor, Liberal, Labor…..doesn’t matter.

Some years ago, a bloke called Chipp introduced us to the Democrats with a philosophy I can relate to. I am hopeful that in the next state election, March of 2010, a record number of Independent candidates will field.

If I had squillions to play with, it would be directed to social problems, and not trams, chauffeurs, or parliamentary subsidised tucker.

 

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Star Trek. James Siberius Kirk? The 60s, the good old days.


Being an old dino, I grew up on the likes of Star Trek, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Dangerman, and who I refer to as the one and only Doctor Who, William Hartnell.


Speaking of Doctor Who. What a whacko nut-job series that evolved in to. No doubt I will be rained upon from great heights for that comment. But, in my opinion, subsequent Doctors were portrayed as clowns and as such began to attract a different type of viewer.


Anyway, back to the recently released Star Trek movie.


When the Trailer was released, trekkies went wild across the Net concerning the words 'James Siberius Kirk' ( as opposed to Tiberius) uttered by the young Kirk after being collared by the lawman.


Strangely, most observers claim it was a simple error.


Well, I saw the movie a few day ago, and those words are still uttered.


J.J. Abrams is not stupid. He's a marketing genius. No mistake there folks!


I was wandering around the local JB Hi-Fi store here in Adelaide last month. Almost hidden from sight, I found a 14-DVD disc boxed set called 'The Gerry Anderson Collection'.


Fireball XL5, Supercar, and The Secret Service.


Bundled is a catch-up with the old production crews who talk about their good old days. It is fascinating to watch as they show how these shows were created back in the 60s.


I was a teenager during the 60s in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and those days were incredible days.


Yep, there were bombs, and bombs, and bombs!!!! But, everything was just so much simpler.


We played in the streets, school was a hoot, and you could climb through the dunny window into any cinema.


We were broke, no home phone, no car, looked forward to Friday nights for fish & chips. And yep, just like in the movie Angela's Ashes, I loved licking the newspaper after the chips were all gone.


Errant kids got a smack around the ears from the local Peeler. We went to church and played shove-the-penny in the pews closest to the back. Your old man bought you an ice cream, propped you up on the wall next to the Bookies (TAB!), and said; "Don't tell your mother". And groups & singers didn't need to Eff this & eff that to make a living.


I want a Time Machine. (Great movie with Rod Taylor and a very hot Yvette Mimieux 1960.)


Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Workplace Bullying Victim. My best advice to you, victim to victim.




Yesterday, I suddenly realised how much my 9 year fight for justice has taken from me as a person.


Without any doubt, I have been consumed by intense hatred of many things and for many people.


And I wonder were to attribute blame. Can I find justice that will help me heal.

Yes, the bully certainly shoulders blame. But, the real problems are with the system AND with me, the victim.

If you live and breathe in the South Australian Public Service, and have been subject to bullying, you would have to be a monkey’s uncle not to realise the length of the frustrating and health-damaging trek ahead.

Instead of focussing on my own recovery, I have been dwelling on the past as I look for retribution that will give me a sense of justice served.

My constant sprays at elected members, as I continue to dredge up dirt, only give rise to more muck, in my own head.

Might be that Premier Mike Rann is a nice man. I do not know. I have never met him. And I guess that when holding office you can never keep everyone happy.

Attorney-General Mick Atkinson, maybe another nice man. Like Premier Rann, I have never met him.

Though, 'tis a pity neither demonstrated an interest in my troubles.

The system is buggered, no doubt. Unless you have a management team that acts with great decisiveness, where do you go?


Already you are complaining about the bully, now you have every reason in the world to complain about your Agency’s management.

When I lie awake at night, it is because I am consumed by hatred. I doubt the bully is losing sleep. I doubt anyone else is in my wagon.

Look, I am not a Counsellor or a medico or whatever. I am just an ordinary person that took on the system and won, but only in a technical sense.

As having been there & done that, I can only say to you……..it will change you, and not for the better.

Until this state has an Independent Commission against Corruption, an ICAC, my best advice is for you to get your ass out of there.

The way things are, today, you will not find your justice. You will change, but not for the better. You will get to know your Doctor on a fifth name basis. The Chemist expects you on your monthly pill pickup. You will have issues at home, with your mates, with your body.

NOT WORTH IT!

Me? Well, I will maintain my Blog and I will take the occasional shot across the bow. But, it is time to focus on my health, my family, and myself.

At the end of the day, it might be all you have left….like me.

Cheers.
Unemployed Rob.

 

Monday, June 1, 2009

Premier Rann, Whips, Goths, and Guinness.





Workplace Bullying.
I want a Government Grant.


How about it Mr Mike ‘Miguel’ Rann?


What will I do with it?


First and foremost, a black chevy with those fancy fins at the back. Just like the Winchester car in Supernatural. Special plates too. Gotta have the 666 bit in there somewhere. Or a batmobile, whatever.

Then, I would load up the boot with all that stuff they use to vanquish the demons: salt, couple of crosses, book of spells, that sort of stuff.

Set up office on the top of the highest building in Adelaide, and survey my hunting ground.

First stop would have to be your own office, right where your platoon of media dudes hang out. I hear they love to call up Journos and abuse the bejasus out of them.

Time for all that bullying and intimidation to end me old cheese. Off ya go, a wee ferry ride across the Styx. Up on the racks the lot of ya. Whip-crack-a-way for the next billion years.

Couple of trainees would be good. Gothic type, the more rings the better.

And whilst on the theme of black, a black fridge fully stocked with….aye, Guinness. In those shiny yummy black cans imported all the way from Dublin.

Every Hunter has to have a uniform. Something like Batman’s would be just dandy.

So, there you have it, the answer to all your workplace-bullying woes.

I mean to say, anything is better than what you've been doing.....which is NOTHING!

Rob McKibbin
Hunter & Slayer of gutless bullies, corrupt politicians and bent public servants.