The NEXT coming Oz election thread!

From a Radio National (ABC) program on the exclusive Brethren, from last year. It really galls me that our taxes are being used for such purposes.:They now run their own schools which receive millions of dollars in Federal government assistance, including the Exclusive Brethren's school at Meadowbank in Sydney.

To get Commonwealth funding, Brethren schools must satisfy basic curriculum guidelines. Their attitude to higher education is revealed in this fax to Background Briefing co-signed by the Meadowbank school Principal, David Stewart.

Reader: We do not go in for higher learning. We gave up universities in the 1960s as the hotbed of atheism. They prove that everything is nothing to their own satisfaction. We have suffered no loss to our knowledge. We particularly recoil from novels and cinemas. .....

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/bbing/stories/s1624361.htm

..& a quick whip around to the cartoonists before I go. (Not enough time to post much on Rudd's hospitals proposal. Gosh! ):

Hi Olgs!


So is David Hicks...

Indeed, hinge. But, hey, we wouldn't have wanted JH to upset his revered idol, the president of the US of A, by granting an Australian citizen in dire strife the support that was due to him, would we?

...and speaking of meetings with religious leaders: remember the kafoofle about whether JH would meet the Dalai Lama or not? .... his endless diary consultations to discover if there was a wee space where he could fit him in? (Very dodgy these fellows wandering the earth preaching peace to all & sundry & smiling all the time! Besides, our No 1 trading partner might approve of such a meeting!) Then he meets the head honcho of the Exclusive Brethren in his very own office! Betcha head honcho didn't have to wait months for his appointment, either! :wink:

I've been flat out over the past few days & haven't kept track of the latest developments. (Has JH bought that struggling hospital in Tasmania for $1 to save it from shameful state neglect yet? Has he taken over any other state-administered functions over the last couple of days? Etc, etc ..)
Thought I'd better check out the cartoonists to see what's what. They're generally on the ball.
First, the Australia: a poll-driven Kevin-Oh-7 & the state-run hospitals:

Hmmm ... not much of any substance from the cartoonists, at least not related to Oz politics. So perhaps it was a quiet-ish weekend after all the drama of last week? Maybe the pollies have all gone home & taken a cold shower?

But there was this!: Australia's new citizenship guidelines. Interesting expectations of future Oz citizens.:
"Name Australia's first prime minister": I'd bet you that there are many, many long-term Australians who couldn't answer that one. (Should they be deported as failures? :wink:)
"Tolerance and compassion": I think JH & quite a few other pollies would fail that one! Very badly.
"Respect for British heritage": I reckon there might be quite a few folk who fail that one. (Aborigines are absolutely allowed to!) What if you know nothing about British heritage? Is it that important to? I mean, the Brits themselves have moved on, the "Commonwealth" is no longer the be-all to them. Their future is with Europe. But we must continue live in the past?
And true to form, Labor is doing it's wimpy "me too" thing over this, too! <sigh> What can you say to that?


Draft citizenship guidelines unveiled
Posted 4 hours 44 minutes ago
Updated 3 hours 18 minutes ago


To gain Australian citizenship, migrants will have to complete a test comprising 200 questions (File photo). (Getty Images: Patrick Riviere)

The Federal Government has released a draft copy of its new citizenship guidelines, which include a test requiring migrants to answer questions about Australian society and culture.

Among the values laid out in the document are tolerance and compassion, freedom of speech and a respect for Australia's British heritage.

Migrants will be expected to correctly name Australia's first prime minister and know the year of federation.

Those topics are among a list of 200 questions that will not be revealed publicly.

The Federal Government says its new citizenship tests could be in use by the end of next month, if the Senate passes the legislation in its next sitting period.

Immigration and Citizenship Minister Kevin Andrews says the document sets out what he believes is a fair set of values.

"I think they are relatively uncontroversial in terms of... if a group of Australians had to sit down for an hour or so and come up with what they thought were the common values that we share in this country I suspect they would come up with a list fairly much like we've come up with this," he said.

Mr Andrews says people over 60 will not have to sit the test.

He says the test aims to preserve Australia's social cohesion.

"We value the diversity that people come from so many different cultures - the rich tapestry of Australia today is partly a reflection of that diversity," he said.

"But at the same time we have managed to be a socially cohesive community in Australia, and we wish to continue that balance."

While the Opposition wants more detail, Labor's immigration spokesman Tony Burke says he does not object to the new guidelines.

"As far as the content of the booklet's concerned, we've had the chance to have a quick look at it now, and it doesn't seem to be unreasonable," he said.

But the Greens say the test is an insult to anyone from an non-British background.

http://www.abc.com.au/news/stories/2007/08/26/2015358.htm

Finally, Tamie's version of The Mystery Of Mal's Lost Trousers In Memphis (way back when). I haven't had time to read the details myself as yet, but you are most welcome to!

Mal's trousers and me: Tamie:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22304170-601,00.html

Re: Mal's trousers - chortle, chortle, chortle.
(or - Pull the other one Tamie, it's got bell's on)

Re: the Exclusive Brethren =


One wonders what the hell they spent that money on....

Extremely exlusive fundamentalist "education"? i.e. Our view is the only acceptable view in this religious community. Wonderful folk to spend our tax dollars on when so many state schools are struggling due to lack of funding. Makes my blood boil. Grrrrrrrrrrrr!

I have my doubts that the Exclusive Brethren would pass the new citizenship test! :wink:

So, it's not just the CIA & the Vatican who've been busily editing Wikipedia, our government's own employees have been busily in on the act, too. Of course, the PM knew nothing about it! :wink: :

PM's staff edited Wikipedia

Illustration: Wilcox

August 24, 2007

STAFF in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet have been editing Wikipedia to remove details that might be damaging to the Government.

A new website, WikiScanner - which traces the digital fingerprints of those who make changes to entries in the online encyclopedia - points to the department as the source of 126 edits on subjects ranging from the children overboard affair to the Treasurer, Peter Costello.

On June 28 an employee of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet modified Mr Costello's entry to remove a reference to the nickname "Captain Smirk".

WikiScanner also identifies employees of another department, Defence, as the most prolific Wikipedia contributors in Australia. After the Herald made inquiries yesterday, the department said it would ban Defence staff from accessing the encyclopedia, which is billed as the "free encyclopedia that anyone can edit".

Defence computers were found to have made more than 5000 edits to Wikipedia entries, including to articles on the "9/11 Truth Movement", the Australian Defence Force Academy and even the Vietnam War-era Pentagon Papers.

The only Australian organisations responsible for more edits than Defence were internet service providers. But their numbers are inflated because they include edits made by the providers' thousands of users, in addition to staff members.

In the Prime Minister's department on June 29 last year, an employee edited the entry on "Mandatory detention in Australia" to add the word "allegedly" to a sentence claiming immigration detainees were subject to inhumane conditions. Modifications were also made to blunt claims that mandatory detention of asylum seekers helped John Howard win the 2001 election.

Another edit was made to the children overboard affair entry on November 26, 2004. A government employee added a link to a Senate inquiry report which criticised claims by a former government adviser, Michael Scrafton, that Mr Howard misled the public before the 2001 election.

Other curious - though apparently non-political - edits by department employees include adding sentences on various sites, including the additions "Freemasonry is the work of Satan", "Mormonism is the work of Satan" and "Jesus is god". ...<cont>

http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/pms-staff-edited-wikipedia/2007/08/23/1187462443308.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

I'm contented with mere cartoons.

I'm glad you enjoy them.
Please feel free to ignore the rest.

Citizenship exam answers
August 26, 2007 - 3:38PM/the AGE

Sample questions (and answers) for Australian citizenship exams in the federal government's draft Becoming An Australian Citizen workbook:

1. In what year did Federation take place? (1901)

2. Which day of the year is Australia Day? (January 26)

3. Who was the first Prime Minister of Australia? (Edmund Barton)

4. What is the first line of Australia's national anthem? (Australians all let us rejoice)

5. What is the floral emblem of Australia? (Wattle)

6. What is the population of Australia? (approx 21 million)

7. In what city is the Parliament House of the Commonwealth Parliament located? (Canberra)

8. Who is the Queen's representative in Australia? (the governor-general)

9. How are Members of Parliament chosen? (by election)

10. Who do Members of Parliament represent? (the people of their electorate)

11. After a federal election, who forms the new government? (the political party or coalition of parties which wins a majority of seats in the House of Representatives)

12. What are the colours on the Australian flag? (red, white and blue)

13. Who is the head of the Australian Government? (the prime minister)

14. What are the three levels of government in Australia? (Commonwealth, State or Territory and local)

15. In what year did the European settlement of Australia start? (1788)

16. Serving on a jury if required is a responsibility of Australian citizenship: true or false? (true)

17. In Australia, everyone is free to practise the religion of their choice, or practise no religion: true of false? (true)

18. To be elected to the Commonwealth Parliament you must be an Australian citizen: true or false? (true)

19. As an Australian citizen, I have the right to register my baby born overseas as an Australian citizen: true or false? (true)

20. Australian citizens aged 18 years or over are required to enrol on the electoral register: true or false? (true)

AAP

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/citizenship-exam-answers/2007/08/26/1188066928988.html

I'm informed that a decent percentage of people who can't read English memorise the list of possible questions for State Driver licences...but they still can't read road signs all that well.

Libs down another 3 points in the polls. Looks like we might finally be rid of them.

Oh I'm certain this happens, vikorr. And why wouldn't they do the same with some arbitrary citizenship test? Just more hoops to jump through to get from A to B.

But how can a test like this be taken seriously as a guide as to who would make a suitable Australian citizen & who wouldn't? Take the case of my family.: Neither my father nor my mother could speak any English when they migrated to Oz as post-war refugees. They also knew little about Australia (say nothing of its English heritage :wink:). All they knew was that they wanted a better life & were prepared to work hard to achieve that. They had the good fortune to settle in a small country town (the big railways expansion) where it was easier to get to know the locals than in Melbourne or some other big city. My father used to ride around the town on his bicycle, wearing his beret. Very European. But he was very out-going, worked hard & got on. He became (fairly early in the piece) a volunteer fireman, a member of the local anglers' club & used to collect the takings at the gate at the local football games. He grew prolific qualities of vegetables & shared them with our Australian neighbours. He thought he'd arrived in god's own country (& never ceased lecturing us on how fortunate we were to be given such an opportunity in life.) He was a dyed-in-the-wool Australian patriot. A model citizen. The locals loved him. He even voted Liberal!

The thing is, he & my mother could never have passed such a citizenship "test". He was barely literate in his won language, say nothing of English. The sorts of questions posed in the test would have made absolutely no sense. He probably would have had to learn the answers off rote to get through. That's what happens in these situations. You jump through the hoops required of you.

I think that's the main thing that offends me about this proposed test. It favours folk who are already educated & works against genuine refugees who, through no fault of their own, may have had little formal education. So an educated Chinese or Malaysian business person could pass with flying colours, as could most UK citizens. But many other, less fortunate individuals could well be excluded. And who knows, they might have the potential to become terrific Australians.

Rudd 'set for radical IR policy change'
August 27, 2007 - 8:44PM/SMH

Federal Labor is soon to announce radical changes to its industrial relations policies, including removing workers who earn more than $100,000 a year from award protection, ABC radio's PM program said on Monday night.

"PM has been told that the federal opposition is preparing to announce radical changes to its industrial relations policies to woo business," the program said.

"According to details leaked to PM, Labor's new plan, backed by the Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd, would remove award protection from employees who earn $100,000 a year or more.

"It would also require that all awards and collective agreements include a provision letting workers shift onto individual arrangements."

The program said the ALP was planning three key changes to its IR platform to address concerns business has about the scrapping of Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs).

"The first is that awards would only apply to employees earning less than $100,000 a year," the program said.

"The second is that it would be a form of individual contract that would apply during the first two years in a job, that would in effect allow employees and employers to contract out of the award safety net, and that is being pitched as an incentives-to-employ provision.

"The third would be that all awards and collective agreements would have to include a facilitative provision that would allow individual arrangements for employees that undercut specific clauses in the award or agreement, provided that, overall, that individual arrangement met a no-disadvantage test."

Calls to the offices of Mr Rudd and Labor's industrial relations spokeswoman Julia Gillard were not returned on Monday night.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Rudd-set-for-radical-IR-policy-change/2007/08/27/1188067026636.html