EXPLOSIVE ACTIVITIES EXPOSED

Australian authorities  will undoubtedly immediately  cancel the citizenship of a  former Melbourne  man  now living in  Ireland who is  waging war against  all those corporations who launder Australian tax dodged  money through the Emerald Isle.  Secret  photographs  we   took  of  his  workshop  hidden in a nunnery , with  a  drone disguised as a  Shamrock, show he is training a  poor  Kangaroo , above , to  become a kamikaze   pilot  and  is using  other  creatures   to  chuck  bombs about . 

As a  young  Teddy Boy in Melbourne , this  shadowy figure  began  making harmless  planes  out  of  coathangers , pinched  garden gnomes  for a bit of  fun, became a junk and antique dealer ,   and  then  began buying  pre-loved  coffins and   things  called  uglies . Now  his  workshop is  filled  with  assorted  oddities and warlike  messages .  

DRACULA MISSING

There is growing concern about the disappearance of  Dracula, Magnetic Island's cheese eating  Coucal . The pheasant like bird, seen here sunning itself in the Queen of the Jungle's garden , has not been sighted  for  four days which is unusual  as he regularly checks  in  for cheese.

STEEDMAN APPROACH NEEDED TO TACKLE YOUTH ISSUES

 

With  youth unemployment a  massive problem in Australia , the  following article by Paul McDonald , chief executive of Anglicare  and former head of the Children,Youth and Family Division of the Department of Human Resources , said former  ALP politician   Pete  Steedman , above, understood youth, but  modern-day politicians  just  don't seem  to  get  it .

The  critical article was  headed   Federal advocate for youth could shape progressive, responsive policy  and  went  thus:

I remember the time I met Pete Steedman​, when he was the federal member for Casey. It was in the 1980s. I was a youth worker in a drop-in centre when he walked in. Alighting from a red Ford Mustang, sporting a black leather jacket with customary shades and cigarette hanging out of the mouth, Steedman strode through a maze of young people and said to me, "F--k mate, no one up in Canberra understands these young people". 

"Get a load of this guy," I remember thinking. A swearing smoking rock'n'roll-style federal politician telling me how young people are misunderstood and governments have to make sure young people are noticed. Young people could well do with a federal pollie like that on their side these days.

Both sides of politics seem to ignore young people as a cohort. The aged, young families and the disabled have some policy theme to them, but governments impose policy on young people rather than shape policy for them. Yet the big issues confronting government - religious radicalisation, ice, unemployment, housing affordability - are predominantly issues of youth. 

Our political ranks are populated from the less colourful, more machined array of political staffers, union officials or opinionated lawyers who seek political power. This is hardly the gene pool for an advocate for youth.Sure, governments have created commissioners for such tasks. The recently established Children and Young Persons Commissioner and the individual state commissioners may play a part in advice to governments of the day, but these are small offices with few resources and less ability to infiltrate the machinery of policy development in government.

 

Declining Voice

The declining voice for the young person and their development shows. Recent decisions to impose a waiting period for income benefits for 18 to 30-year-olds, the scrapping of the national Youth Connect Program, the lack of political effort to tackle rising numbers of youth unemployment, and the general lack of interest in policies on youth transitions shows the need for a greater understanding of this part of the population. We do much better at finding out the needs of the aged, or women, or the young family.
 

The growing concern about young people coming under the influence of radical elements, however horrifying, must be seen in the context of an instinctive tendency among young people to become attached to anti-establishment concepts. New guidelines recently set down for psychologists are based on the understanding that adolescence effectively ends at the age of 25. The change follows developments in our understanding of emotional maturity, self-image, judgment, hormonal development and brain activity. 

If we accept this science, then right up to their mid-20s the young are developing human beings, inclined to make immature and rash decisions on a myriad of life events. However, governments seem to have a much more simplistic view: once you reach 18 you are an adult and should accept the full consequences of this status.  

Now governments are sharpening their pencils to craft policies that have dire consequences for this age group if allowed to go ahead. Long jail terms for fraternising with radical groups, removing citizenship if they travel to fight overseas with IS, even the movement by governments on one-punch legislation with mandatory sentences of 10 years are commonplace. Other measures leave unaccompanied minors arriving by boat to languish in detention centres or fend for themselves with no links to work or school. 
 

Australia in Minority

Australia is among a minority of countries that does not have a national youth policy or a federal youth minister. Britain has for some time now recognised the perils and implications of ignoring its youth and has appointed a Minister for Youth - as have the Kiwis, Irish, French and Canadians.Such a minister could bring a spotlight on these issues without being blindsided by other agendas, and bring poise and expertise to inform reactive policies (or just plain wild political ideas) that can affect the young adult so significantly.

Young people are mature enough to know when they are being ignored. They know when they are not being heard or noticed. They will make their own choices and seek more welcoming circles regardless of the danger that lurks therein.The fundamental challenge of any youth-focused issue is to make sure our youth feel they belong - in a world that has, typically, little time or focus on their concerns, apart from, of course, when things go wrong.

A youth minister would go a long way to fixing that. I think Pete Steedman would have given that the thumbs up ... and uttered a celebratory expletive. 

 

NOTE: While strongly campaigning against the Vietnam War,Steedman especially opposed  sending young conscripts to fight ;  trail  blazed the  idea of centres of  education also lining up jobs for graduates ; was mockingly called "King of the Kids" because of  his interest in youth issues ; reduced  youth  unemployment in his electorate  and played a large part  in  promoting  and expanding  youth  involvement  in  the  music industry.

TOWNSVILLE NO LONGER SHINES

Shipping  Reporter  Discovers  Drab  Signs  of  the  Times 

For yonks this  fading  sign  has stood  near the ferry terminal in Townsville inviting people to  let  a  nebulus website  know  what  they  love about  the place.  The sign was a  short distance  from the terminal where the  faded SEALINK  signs  were ,well, illegible  for  a long time until only recently.    Even now the hoarding surrounding  what  appears to be the air conditioning plant  at the top of the  terminal  does not shine...paint  is  visibly  peeling  .



Travellers arriving at  the front of  the terminal are greeted by a  sign  saying  the  building  is  on  an  asbestos  register. Pointed out previously in  this blog  is the nearby neglected  memorial  to the Battle of the Coral Sea  , a giant anchor off an American  aircraft carrier , and port war activities  with  information  signs which  are impossible to read .   

 

 The sign  which boasted  that Townsville  shines  has been  replaced with one for the  dazzling  New Zealand  wearable art  exhibition  in  the  Perc Tucker Gallery.

 

 The sign's   removal comes just  before  another   glowing editorial in  the Townsville Bulletin  declaring  the region is showing signs of shrugging off  suggestions  that  regional  cities  are  limited  in  how much  they  can  shine .

AUSTRALIA AGAIN WARNED ABOUT TRANS PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP

Suddenly the TPP is  being  revealed  for what it really  is-another grab for money and power by corporations and  lawyers to the detriment of  nations who  are sucked in to sign up  .   On  the ABC's   Q&A   show the impressive  American Dr  Cornel  West,above, warned Australia  about the Trans Pacific Partnership . He said the  same lobbyists and  enthusiasts who pushed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) were  behind  TPP.  

 

NAFTA, he stated , had  been  a disaster for  hundreds of  thousands  of  workers in America , their jobs wiped out  . (Years ago. this blog pointed out that NAFTA had been a disaster for Mexico, a famous saying being that Mexico could not afford another  economic  miracle like NAFTA, workers living in  homes made out of  cardboard boxes, female staff  attacked at night, not wearing protective clothing and  footwear in the factories  .

 New Zealanders were demonstrating  in the streets  against  TPP  long before  Australia  started  to  wake  up.  Recently Australian politicians were  told they could look at TPP  briefing text...provided they  signed an agreement not to  reveal any content for  four years , despite  the fact that the TPP  could be signed  within months !!!  )   

 

Since  Dr West's  appearance on  the show , there has been  further evidence that the  TPP will  limit  the sovereign  powers of  Australia  and reduce the capacity of  our  parliament  to  take steps  to  protect our  patch  ,  despite  the   assurances  of Trade  Minister  Andrew Robb .  Philosopher ,  activist and author , Dr West  has commented on  the  way Australia  is developing  along the  US style of fascism, the latest evidence of  this must surely be  the relentless , verbal  bashing of  Human Rights Commission president  Gillian Triggs  and  Senator  Hanson-Young .

STRANGE BUT TRUE, DRACULA HAS BECOME A SUN WORSHIPPER

Now nearly as  popular  and  certainly  more  handsome  than  Johnny Depp, Magnetic Island's  famous  cheese  eating  Coucal , Dracula, has  a  new  pastime...sunbathing . He regularly  bares  his  body  to  the  noonday sun  next to  the  egg of  an  extinct  giant  Kiwi Moa, above, in   a  specially cleared  section  of  garden  at  the Queen of  the  Jungle's residence .

The  said  Germanic   Queen , much more  mobile  after  a  knee operation, set out  to clear  an overgrown area   in  which there are numerous odds  and  ends , a  rhino , an  emu  ,  pot  plants.  Dracula   took  an active part in the landscaping, darting  in  and  out  from  under  her  feet  to  nab  insects .

 

Old newspapers were  laid  down to  stop  weeds  growing   along a  mysterious , meandering  Black  Forest like  path . In the  process , the  paper layer  has  attracted  many  and varied  insects. Dracula  is regularly seen   reading  the   papers , studying  the stock market , pausing  to   munch   the  scurrying  critters  in  the mosh pit  under the  pages .

The Queen's new  upgraded  area, too late for the Chelsea Floral and Garden Show competition ,  has  become  one of  his  most  popular  haunts .   Often  he  is seen   sunning himself  in the rocks , revealing  his  odd  back , which looks surprisingly  like  a mangy Depp  dog , perhaps  even  an  unwashed  pirate's  armpit. The  Wow Wearable Art  crowd   from  New Zealand , see post below,  is  already offering  to sign  up  Dracula in a deal said to involve big  bickies  and  lots  of  Dutch  Edam   cheese.

ART EXHIBITION IS A WOW

Modern  Miss Fish Fingers dressed  up  for a  Saturday night  romp at a  special  seafood  platter and Guinness  night  at  Molly Malone's   in Townsville .

Strangely not mentioned in  this  year's Queen's Birthday  honours list  for colonials, is  this  shy,  dolled  up  person said to be close to   Townsville  Enterprise . These striking  garments are   from  the WOW,World of Wearable Art  Exhibition  at  the  Perc  Tucker  Gallery , Townsville , at the start of  an international   tour  by  highly  imaginative New Zealand  garment  technicians. It would  be an act of Christian  charity by  these  talented  Kiwis if  they would  advise some of   the  less than impressive string and other  dangling  bits  pullers   in the city how to take advantage of  its  many and  varied  attractions, legions of talented, artistic and  educated people. WOW runs to July 12 . Photographic bacon  brought home  by  Abra.