LIKE OILS, STEEL AIN'T STEEL ANYMORE

To be called a man of steel used to be a great compliment. The most powerful man in the world ,George Dubya Bush, himself an amalgam of cheap gunmetal , fool’s gold and toasted Texan marshmallow, once said our Prime Minister, John Howard , former US Deputy Sheriff of South- East Asia, was a man of steel . Unfortunately , Little Johnny went rusty at the Bennelong U-bend and ended up on the A. G. Sims political scrapheap. Maybe the Mad Monk knew something when he said he just wanted to be regarded as a (pig ?) iron man?

While Australia’s iron ore is feeding the voracious steel mills of China, some of the products made from it are poor quality. Tradesmen and handypersons have reported that heads are falling off screws, drill bits are not only snapping, but bending under slight pressure. Some honest hardware store staff even tell you a certain made in China tool or appliance is less than impressive . One wonders what the steel is like in whitegoods and so many other household appliances made in China which flood the world’s markets. It is to be hoped that all that structural steel used in Chinese skyscrapers is of better quality than that in some of the building aids sold in Australian .

EARFUL AT SAUSAGE SIZZLE

Chief Minister Paul Henderson got more than an ALP charcoal burger when he went along to a sausage sizzle . An irate person cornered him and for half an hour filled him in on the strange shenanigans in a major part of Darwin’s infrastructure. Henderson is not the only pollie to be forthrightly told about what has been going on . The Opposition in this town has also been given the same information but is so incompetent , green or lacking in advisors with savvy , as shown by its handling of other major issues, that it was unable to capitalize on the situation in the recent sitting of the Legislative Assembly or in other obvious ways.

MALCOLM FRASER QUITS BROWN SHIRTS

Malcolm Fraser's transformation from that tall, aloof looking PM, dubbed the Crazy Grazier, into the present apparent statesman who has resigned from the Liberal Party is a surprising turn in his political journey. Along the way, he lost his trousers in America in one of the great unsolved political mysteries and had to sell his pastoral property, Nareen , where dung beetles refused to breed for some unfathomable reason.

One of the truly bizarre events during his reign took place in Darwin in 1978. The autocratic looking PM sat on a dais in Mitchell Street at the start of a public function, part of the pomp and ceremony connected with the official opening of the Legislative Assembly. Those involved in the event included Governor-General, Sir Zelman Cowen, Deputy Prime Minister , Doug Anthony, parliamentary delegations from various states, former NT Administrators and other VIPs . Earlier in the day there had been a protest rally in the nearby park where speakers objected about rising unemployment and the high cost of living .

A section of the crowd, some carrying anti-Fraser and anti-uranium mining placards , later gathered outside the Legislative Assembly and hooted as politicians arrived . The PM, his daughter beside him on the platform, stared straight ahead during the uproar. Jeering broke out when Chief Minister, Paul “Porky ” Everingham , arrived and he responded with a Churchillian gesture , which caused more yelling. Hecklers asked why Andrew Peacock was absent , and advised Billy McMahon to watch his back.

Then Sir Zelman arrived in a limo and a chant went up for him to sack Prime Minister Fraser. As Sir Zelman began inspecting the naval guard of honour , there was an increase in shouting and eggs were thrown. In the subsequent address in reply in the Assembly , Everingham said he had been booed when he arrived outside, which was “ fair enough.” It had actually made him “rather proud” to be rhubarbed by “scum” such as that. The PM had received the same reception . However, in the case of the treatment handed out to the Governor-General , Everingham expressed indignation:-

There were words that came from those people that would really curl your hair. Can I quote words which I understand an ABC reporter managed to get on tape from one of the demonstrators over round the red flag ? This was whilst His Excellency , the Governor-General, was inspecting the guard of honour and eggs were being thrown by those yobs at the Governor-General. Servicemen were standing there on parade under instructions to hold fast and wishing , probably with every fibre of their being, to turn round and hoe into those cowardly demonstrators who threw eggs at them. These are the words that came from the crowd to the Governor-General : “ You little mongrel Jew bastard ” and , “Why don’t you get your foreskin cut off?”. Those are the sort of people who were demonstrating here in front of the Assembly.

The Independent Member for Nightcliff, Ms Dawn Lawrie, said the honourable Chief Minister had used words which brought no credit to the Assembly , even if repeating other people’s views. He had also called certain members of the Territory “ scum” and “yobs”. In respect of the insults hurled at the Governor-General re him being Jewish , Lawrie said remarks such as that were not the prerogative of any particular party or any particular section of community. Similar comments had been directed at her ( surely not in regards of circumcision ? ) by the most conservative elements of the community. In a democracy, people had the right to protest strongly, within reasonable bounds.

At that street ceremony , Prime Minister Fraser , who had lost the respect of many of those in the crowd, had been heckled . If it had been Gough Whitlam addressing the crowd , some people would have shouted, “ You big fool , down with Gough !” Anybody in public office should expect that kind of treatment, she added. It was not necessarily being disloyal , but it was very democratic . An extreme utterance by any individual could provide a ready made platform for ultra-conservatives in society to say –“Ban them, garotte them, kill them !. They must be all bad !”

A certain unseemly passage in the address in reply may have been expunged from the copy sent to the GG for the vice-regal archives as a souvenir of his exciting Darwin visit.

CITIZEN JOH : During the tea party on the Assembly lawn, Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen , held a media conference outside the toilet block and firmly told the chooks that Aboriginal land rights would ruin the NT. Deputy PM Doug Anthony tried to dissuade Joh from raining on the NT parade on such an important day . Pausing for a moment, Joh told reporters not to refer to him as the Queensland premier in the critical comment about land rights . “ Just say I am a concerned citizen ,” he instructed the journos.

MACHO MINING MEN

The demanding nature of mining seems to make many involved in the industry tough hombres, scornful of governments and regulatory bodies. A journalist friend who once worked underground in a mine said the experience of pitting himself against the earth to yield its riches changed his nature . Down the mine, he , like the rest of the shift, swore like a trooper and there was a distinct, though hidden , element of fear. Listening to the shaft “talk” – make noises- put him on edge as it could be an indication of a looming rock fall. After work, at boisterous sessions with fellow miners, he drank more than he did when a member of the white collar brigade. Mining, he said, with a shake of his head, was a hard, bastard of a life .

Over the years , this writer has had contact with several top miners , including a long session with Lang Hancock in the Wentworth Hotel, Sydney. At the time , he was advocating the controversial view that nuclear explosives should be used in Australia to open new ports in the north and free vast quantities of ore. Only nukes could make some large , low grade ore deposits economically viable, he said .


During the interesting interview he proudly showed me a photograph of himself standing next to the head of a nuclear explosive built by Dr Edward Teller, father of the US hydrogen bomb and a leading light in development of the Cold War Polaris nuclear missile submarine, at an underground testing range in the US. Dr Teller visited Australia as a guest of Hancock and reportedly said a dose of Strontium 90 from nuclear testing fallout could be good for you.

Hancock was in the throas of launching the WA Paraburdoo iron ore project at the time . As a result of a newspaper article I wrote about him , I received a telephone call from an investment company saying it would be willing to lend him many millions of dollars , in several tranches, for the venture, information which I passed on .

Hancock’s annoyance with politicians was such that he backed a new political party , strangely called the Workers' Party, and flew into Darwin in his private jet to campaign for the local candidate, a miner. Hancock said the government no longer ran the country , claiming the expanded bureaucracy in Canberra , communist controlled unions , the manufacturing lobby and the media dictated Australia's course. Australia, he said, should open its doors to all foreign invesment and all restrictions on mining should be removed.

Hancock announced a plan to build a railway line across Australia taking WA Pilbara pig iron to the coking coal of Queensland. In 1979, his book, Wake Up Australia , was launched by Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

Clearly, Hancock thought he could move heaven , lots of earth and governments. There is no doubt that he achieved the earth part of his ambition and undoubtedly influenced some governments. He eventually made his mark in the heavens when a new planet , discovered in 1993 by a Dr Candy , was named after Lang Hancock.

Whatever you might think about Hancock , the WA mining boom of the past 12 years , which recently helped shield us from the global downturn caused by the GFC , owes a lot to the single mindedness and vision of the man.

Frequently the media describes mining magnates and mine managers as tough, hard headed, ruthless, some with a take- no- prisoners style. The manager of a large NT mine had a reputation for being a no- nonsense kind of person. When I called on him and explained what I was about , he brusquely told me to sit down and I was privy to him firmly dealing with contractors, making himself abundantly clear in telephone calls , issuing precise instructions to the front office, swiftly dealing with paperwork . Much to my surprise, the manager announced it was lunch time and to come home with him.

There, away from the juggernaut mine which demanded constant attention and instant decisions , he was another person: urbane, effusive, with an interest in Australian history and literature . Any information I wanted then and thereafter was willingly provided once he had been able to judge me on the spot. My involvement with another powerful mine manager in Queensland involved informing him that his footloose teenage son , missing for some time, had turned up in Cairns and was fit and well .

WORTHY TERRITORY JOURNALISTS

The NT Health Department’s new radiation oncology residential centre in Darwin is expected to open in the near future. Selecting an appropriate person after whom to name the place is under consideration . It is understood that one of those on the list is the late Darwin journalist and author, Barbara James, who died of cancer.

Barb distinguished herself on TV by throwing her wig in the air when the ALP won government for the first time . Barbara raised the idea that a new federal NT electorate be named BOWDITCH , after the crusading NT News editor, James Frederick Bowditch. The move to honour the editor did not succeed , the electorate being named LINGIARI after Vincent Lingiari , of Wattie Creek , leader of the Gurindjis, for whom Bowditch fought and aided in many ways.

Barbara did, however, succeed in getting Big Jim listed in an international organisation as a journalist who contributed to the betterment of mankind.

FIRE AND BRIMSTONE DEBATE

The fiery parliamentary debate over the resources super tax is mild compared with a holy row which erupted in the Casuarina Centrelink office when a woman began singing hymns and telling sinners that God is mightier even than mining magnates. Carrying a backpack big enough to conceal the Pilbara iron ore deposits , the religious woman announced her arrival by declaring that God helps us cope with any situation , perhaps a reference to the Euro collapse, mounting sovereign debt fears, talk of a double dip recession, a possible Chinese real estate slump, pocket picking banks, the weakening Aussie dollar - to name but a few earthly afflictions.

She is the self same lady who figured in an early Waiting For Buso tale who told a busload of people that Darwinites lack intestinal fortitude because they did not speak out about noisy war games which result in ear splitting jets roaring over the city day and night .

In her latest confrontation with the satanic forces in sweaty Darwin , she burbled on and on about God , sang hymns, paused for a swig from a bottle of mineral water, and tried to engage people sitting nearby in conversation. A young woman told her to shut her f***ing mouth , that she did not want to listen to her. She called for God’s campaigner to be cast out of the building into the wilderness. A nervous security officer intervened and asked the crusader to please keep quiet .

This caused the devout woman to invoke the wrath of God upon Darwin . Pointing to Heaven, the religious lady warned the unfortunate security man that she would have to report what was taking place in the public waiting room and that God would come down and “ destroy ” the woman who swore at her. On hearing this dire prognostication , several people moved away, not wanting to be incinerated by bolts of lightning randomly unleashed across the nation by the Rio- Tinto boardroom in a bid to smite the Ruddites and their head Treasury infidel advisor, Henry the Hittite, whose favourite weapon is the razor sharp jawbone of an ass which can cut through two sets of books in one hit.

DEEP THROAT REVELATION

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