Not Trampis

Yesterday the guardian lifted the lid on Nauru. Well actually it confirmed what the Human rights commission found no so long ago.
Let us be clear. This documents tel us what has occurred. They are not accusations. They are statements of fact. 50% of the reports relate to children who are only 10% of the total population of refugees.
Refugees are fleeing counties seeking a safe home. We are putting them in prison and this results.

I am in agreement with:
Chris Bertram and
Khanh Hoang and Madelaine Gleeson

Tuesday, 9 August 2016

I am feeling my mortality

A good friend of mine died on Sunday morning.
His name was Steve McAppion.
We shared two things in particular. We both refereed in the Gladesville Hornsby ( see HERE for a wonderful obituary of Steve and his work at the GHFRA) competition and we both umpired at cricket he in grade and I in Shires.

I first met Steve a long time ago when I played cricket and he was involved in the administration of cricket in the then Gladesville competition.

I got to know him better a few years ago when he first helped out the Northern Districts cricket competition in our Senior semi-finals and Junior finals ( held on the same day).
When I told him we had only two turf matches he said he was more than happy to do a match on artificial turf more so if it were close to Meadowbank park where he lived.

He got in touch with me about a rep game he was umpiring for North Shore against one of our teams. He asked who our umpire was. I told who it was and said it was his first year of umpiring. Darren told me it was a privilege to umpire with Steve as he was a font of knowledge.

I was able to umpire with him when grade umpires helped out the Shires competition.
Last season I was doing this at Pennant Hills oval with him when he failed to turn up on the second day. I was very worried as he would have rung. ( That day it took me a hour to get from Beecroft to the oval normally a drive of ten minutes). I am thus the last person to umpire with him.
I later found out from his sister he had a stroke and it affected his speech. I saw him at Royal North Shore with my eldest son. When I said proudly he was going to referee a super league game we somehow had a conversation on refereeing. This was problematic as Steve could not speak. however my son came away feeling on top of the world and enthusiastic.

I saw him in rehabilitation and he gradually was regaining the ability to speak. The last communication with him was when he told me he was definitely umpiring in grade this season.
I was about to contact him again to see how that forecast was going when his sister contacted me again. On a Friday again he had another stroke however this time he was in a coma. He never recovered.
I shall attend his funeral today in full umpire uniform as a tribute to him ( as all umpires will do.)

He was only 56. I always thought he was older than me and now I find out he was younger.

Rest in peace my friend.

Monday, 8 August 2016

Factional warriors who see the light!

I am very sceptical of people who have used the factional system to get where they are and then decry the whole system.

Let us be bipartisan here.

Paul Keating was the factional warrior par excellence. He did a lot of things in young labor with hard hat Laurie that were highly dubious, Ask Tom Burns,
however on becoming Prime minster he saw the light and talked highly negatively about the factions. Perhaps it was the new breed of factional warlords. Richo in particular whom Keating saw as one greedy person who only talked about himself and really did know next to nothing. He cost Keating votes when he won the leadership over Bob Hawke. however he did nothing to reduce the power of the factions.

Last night was say Tony Abbott decry the power of the factions in the Liberal party. This man was one of the key people of the right wing faction. He danced merrily when John Brogden attempted suicide.So factional wars was so inbred in him.
now he has turned. the cynic in me thinks it is more about Michael Photios being a better organiser than anyone in the right wing of the Liberal party.

I might have believed either had they admitted they climbed the greasy pole of politics via the factional system but now saw the light but neither did.

Indeed the ONLY person who was changing the system was the horrible Kevin Rudd and the factional warlords took him down and gave very specious polling reasons for doing so.

how ironic that only Rudd has ever acted to reduce the power of the factions and he was toppled for doing so.

Sunday, 7 August 2016

Has Turnbull taken the Liberals to the left?

one of the recurring criticisms of Malcolm Turnbull particularly since the election is that he has taken the Liberal party to the left.

Is this so?
If we look at gay marriage, refugees oe the Republic he is singing from the same hymn sheet as tony Abbott.

In reality the reason why Turnbull has lost popularity is that has hasn't taken ANY decisions that are of a liberal stance. He is seen as a captive of conservative forces.