Today's Headlines
Wednesday 3rd April 1996
International:
The US is playing big brother games with Australia again. I guess this is what Aussies hate most about the US system. Personally I
find the people great but when their government threatens sanctions in one area while pulling the same stunt against Australia in
another it gets a bit rich and leaves a nasty taste in the average Aussies mouth.
To quote Tim Fischer, the Australian Trade Minister:
"The real irony is that just as the Americans come out with a report saying that unfair trade barriers they flog off subsidised dairy products
in Asia. It really is a case of people in glass houses."
Political:
Federal Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Herron is expected to announce today that the enquiry into the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS)
will be widened. Mr Howard warned Aboriginal organisations and programmes that they would be scanned. He said:
"We are not going to be scared off doing things that are necessary in the interests of Australian taxpayers by some sort of politically
correct quarantining of certain activities from any kind of scrutiny."
Right on. Good on'ya John.
The latest allegation is that the ALS paid Au$11,800 of tax payers money to pay for parking fines outside brothels and TABs in Victoria.
Must be a lot of Aboriginal gamblers and prostitutes with legal problems. Somehow I think not.
Business:
The Prime Minister has vowed to keep interest rates low. The Coalition's determination to cut the budget by Au$8 billion over the
next 2 years will ensure that this objective is met. The big issue for business over the next couple of years will be the break up of the
complex Labor Party based industrial relations system.
Sport:
The Super League/ Australian Rugby League (ARL) battle has had a most telling impact on crowd attendances at ARL matches.
Joe Public stayed away in droves from even the top matches. To illustrate the point, the Auckland Warriors crowd of 14,000 against
top side Illawara was 4,000 down on the worst attendance of an Auckland crowd in the previous year. South Queensland's Crushers
poorest crowd last year was 16,253 Friday's match only attracted 12,704 people. At Manly the average attendance last year was
14,631. The first two gates for the year have attracted 6,532 and 5,895. Not a paying proposition!
Wonder if Ruperet will be up for the change on this bill as well!
Global Gripe of the day:
Does the media report fairly or make issues like racism a reality?
Well now isn't that interesting. Now that the establishment have given their nod of approval regarding the investigation of government's funding
of Aboriginal services like the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) it is now politically correct and not racist to question these "delicate"
areas which were once taboo. A report in today's paper talks of a "Pandoras box" being opened with claims of cronyism, nepotism and
preferential treatment of board members of the ALS involving housing, legal services, travel and cars. Well, well, well, now this isn't
the "racist" Pauline Hanson talking. No, this is now a view being lobbied around the media without the racist tag.
Take, for example the ALS in Ipswich, the community which Pauline Hanson represents, the board is made up largely of just one
family group! There are allegations of secret meetings, nepotism and thuggery by this Ipswich mob.
The way they treated the elected member and the way
that the media reported on it really makes the standard of our incisive reporting in this country a bit of a joke.
Personal trivia:
Well another quick jaunt into the big smoke yesterday. Things are really on the boil here with the web sites of one of our large
international clients being launched in Japanese later this week/early next week. Beautiful day again with early morning mists
obliterating the views of our Brisbane river... but she has once again appeared in all her beauty!
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