October
1995
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Monday, 23rd February 1998
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Uniting Church in more trouble.
Yesterday we reported
on the planned televising of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi
Gras by the Wesley Mission's Swordfish programme on
Channel 10 next Sunday. Swordfish, on air at 6.30am, is aimed
at children.
The Wesley Mission is an arm of the Uniting Church which is riddled with gay and lesbian influences.
Last night it was revealed that the Uniting Church's Unicare arm in Queensland has been guilty of gross sexual, emotional and physical abuses of children with disabilities. The evidence was pretty conclusive with one of the workers in a home for disabled children at Lota, on Brisbane's bayside, supplying the authorities with a video showing children being abused by Unicare workers.
The home in question was registered for four disabled people but twenty seven were accommodated there when the video was taken in 1994.
Queensland State Families Youth and Community Care Department acting director general, Noel Culbert, said he would investigate the sickening video. He said that funding to Unicare would be cut if abuse and negligence was found to be endemic. Currently Unicare soaks up an estimated Au$7 million per annum in Queensland through a state contract to run disabled care and foster homes.
The Uniting Church's Synod of Queensland moderator, Reverend Dr David Pitman said, "We have been promised the video will be made available to us after which we will launch an investigation.
"We have to find out whether the people involved are still employed within the church and what the circumstances were surrounding the tape.
"..you will always get one or two who ought not to be there and we will now find them and get rid of them."
Australians told to flee the Middle East while Kofi Annan speaks with Saddam Hussein
Who is running the world today?
The leader of the United Nations today successfully negotiated an agreement with Iraq's Saddam Hussein. This was the country's last chance before the war-mongering US started throwing smart bombs at the Iraqi people.
Despite this development Australians have been urged to move out of the region (Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Israel and Palestine).
This is probably good advice because the "world's policeman" the US (multinationals) reserves its right to reject any proposal. Officials say that American bureaucrats will treat any deal between Annan and Hussein with scepticism and distrust.
And Australia's Defence Minister Ian MacLachlan summed up our subservient military role saying, "We've done all the preparation work, we've deployed the troops... we offered them to the Americans.
Deputy Opposition leader, Gareth Evans, and one of the chief protagonists of international treaties like the MAI, said, "It is very important that we be able to explain to Malaysia in particular among the countries of the region why we've made the Iraq decision."
Why sell Telstra?
Just days after reporting that
the company is on track to make a profit exceeding Au$3 billion this financial
year, Telstra's Chief Executive, Frank Blount, (seen here on the right without
the glasses) suggested that the remainder of the company should be sold off
by the government.
Last year 33% of Telstra was floated... starting the rot as our national telecommunication giant was made vulnerable to the interests of multinationals.
Blount, an American import, suggested yesterday that Telstra should be completely sold off saying, "The Government's still the majority owner and yet we have 1.8 million minority shareowners whose interests have to be served as well."
Now maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree here but surely the Government, as a representative of the Australian people, has nearly 20 million shareholders (ie every Australian). What about their interests and those of a national asset?
Blount continued, "I just think it puts the company and its board in a precarious position over time to have two thirds owned by the Government and only one third by the minority interest.
"I think clearly we need to move beyond the majority stake being owned by the Government in my opinion."
The new Telstra Board, appointed on 27th January this year, comprises the following existing members: Mr David Hoare (Chairman), Ms Elizabeth Nosworthy, Mr Christopher Roberts, Mr Michael Codd and Mr Frank Blount (Chief Executive Officer). The new appointments to the Board are Mr John Ralph (Deputy Chairman), Dr John Stocker, Mr Stephen Vizard, Mr Anthony Clark and Mr Ross Adler.
Telstra has retrenched a further 6,000 staff in the last six months under Frank Blount's leadership. It is quite a remarkable scenario - on one hand you have the Maritime Union of Australia causing chaos on our wharves over the future of a handful of overpaid wharfies while on the other you have Telstra dismissing tens of thousands of staff in the 1990s and not a squeak from the Australian Council of Trade Unions.... one can only wonder why.
But Blount is not interested in his staff, he continued, "Look, I'm running for the shareholder. That's what I am running for. I'm not running against anybody.
"I'm running for the shareowner and I'm running for our customers. I think (selling more shares is) what's best for both of them. I happen to think its best for employees too."
Now I wonder how that last line slipped in? Makes a joke of everything that Blount said.
Poody tat Soorley says "sorry" yet again.
How do the politically correct lobby in Australia get media coverage?
Very simple strategy. You simply gather up a group of prominent individuals who think that you should find a cause to say "sorry" for and then you gather up a group of people who you are going to say "sorry" to.
Brisbane's Lord Mayor Jim Soorley has got saying "sorry" down to a fine art, in fact I think that we should rename Sunday "Sorryday" in this city in honour of the weekly "sorry" ceremonies that this self-serving egg head likes to be seen at.
The latest "Sorryday" event was held at Orleigh Park and involved the so-called "stolen children" of indigenous Aborigines. The park is the site of a former west end Aboriginal girls home.
Soorley said to the bleeding heart brigade yesterday, "Today we should reflect on the pain and suffering that we cannot comprehend.
"Here at this site we should stop and ponder the laughter that never took place in those children's lives."
Of course, not to be outdone, the Anglican Archbishop Peter Hollingworth said, "The decision (by the church to "steal children" was insensitive and caused indescribable hurt.
"We are sorry that it was inflicted on these children and their parents and their families. For that we give our unreserved apology because nothing else will do."
The comments fly in the face of a new report by anthropologist Dr Ron Brunton who said that Sir Ronald Wilson's stolen children report was stuff of fairies and had about as much credibility as the Sunday Mail... saying, "Bringing Them Home (Sir Wilson's report) betrays the Aboriginal victims of the past almost as surely as would a report which attempted to deny their existence."
Brunton's report states that Sir Wilson's "stolen children" report carefully selected anything negative to the total exclusion of anything positive....
but don't let that get in the way of a good story with guest speaker Maureen Watson (whose father was taken from his family when he was eight) saying yesterday, "If you gather three Aboriginals together, two of them will tell you stories of at least one member of their family being taken from them.
"Before these reconciliation ceremonies we got along all right but it didn't lessen the hurt or help the healing.
"This recognition makes it easier for the healing process to take place."
Now just watch the men in grey suits to come out of hiding and start suing the church and Brisbane City for their confessed role in "causing stress" to the stolen children and their families.
Remember to sign the "I'm so, so sorry Pauline" on-line book.
Suharto Reconsidering Currency Policy
Extract from Washington Post article:
Indonesia's President Suharto affirmed in a phone call with President Clinton this weekend that he is rethinking a controversial currency scheme, a senior administration official said yesterday.
The phone conversation between the two leaders, which took place Friday night Washington time, provided the strongest evidence to date that Indonesia is moving toward a face-saving compromise in its dispute over currency policy with the International Monetary Fund, the United States and other industrialised countries.
Plans by the Suharto government to establish a "currency board," which would rigidly fix the value of the Indonesian rupiah to the U.S. dollar, drew a threat from the IMF earlier this month that bailout funds for Indonesia would be cut off. The IMF argues that such a radical change in monetary policy, while possibly appropriate at some point in the future, would be disastrous now because it would send interest rates soaring at a time when Indonesia's economy and banking system are extremely fragile.
Making the
news" -
Subject:
Comments on Australian
News of the Day
Sir,
It really bugs me that it is so politically correct to use the words "GAY" and "LESBIAN".
Why not call a spade a spade? The word we're after here is HOMOSEXUAL.
When the Flinstones' theme song finishes with "....we'll have a gay old time..." I'm pretty sure it's not about Barney and Fred 'getting down with their bad selves', so to speak.
Anyway, I for one, will not be watching the homosexual parade on TV. I will spend my evening watching a video about stolen children. How ironic that this video makes mention of homosexual acts performed on these children by their so called "protectors".
S.E. Wagger
Subject: Launch of One Nation at Geelong
As Australians, we are saddened and angered by the racist views advocated by the One Nation Party and Pauline Hanson. Australia, for all its faults, is a shining example of the creativity, energy and excitement that a multi-cultural society engenders. But Australia will never achieve its true potential until it recognises and respects the Aboriginal people. The One Nation Party can only hold Australia back. You seek to hurt individuals by crass stereotyping and by doing so you will damage the fabric of the country.
Nick and Julie
London
Subject: (no subject)
From: d9630327@mail.connect.usq.edu.au (Sumnao
Kheaomareun)
Organization:
University
of Southern Queensland (Student)
To: gwb@gwb.com.au
sumnao kheaomareun - d9630327@mail.connect.usq.edu.au
The University of Southern Queensland
The opinion expressed is that of the writer, and not necessarily that of
the University.
to one nation's people
racism is non sense. why can't we ive together as one. if u believe in god, does your god tell u to unfairly descriminate against others regarding their skin, race or origin.
but i don't believe in god, 'coz god doesn't exist. i don't believe in the things that can't prove that it does exist.
Well, well now don't the beneficiaries/victims of the University of Southern Queensland's politically correct, self-interested (financial) greed come out to play.
It is because of the high fees that Asian students like Sumnao Kheaomareun that this university has broken every convention of democracy and freedom of speech in Australia by banning Pauline Hanson's One Nation from meeting on their campus.
What a bunch of bigots... is it any wonder that Sumnao is so misinformed?
Editor
Subject: Energex Power Cuts
Dear Sir,
Queenslanders Beware, we are being set up for the sell-off of our power supply.
Stage One : The name change from SEQEB to Energex. (If you were out shopping for a power company, which one would catch your eye first)?
Stage Two : The power cuts. Rolling cuts of two hours duration in the hottest part of the year. Enough to be irritating but not long enough for the food to spoil in the freezer, hence no claims against Energex.
Stage Three : The Announcement. "The Minister regrets to inform the people of Queensland that as a result of the recent failures in power supplies, massive amounts of capital are required to be invested into the power generation infrastructure in order to eliminate the possibility of future limitations in supply. As Queensland does not have the required funding available, nor the capacity to borrow, it has been decided in Cabinet to offer Energex for sale to the highest bidder.(Australians need not apply)".
It will happen and it will receive bi-partisan support, but only if we let it happen. Kick the whole lot of the bastards out of office at the next election and start afresh.
Allan W. Doak
Consider the position of Aucklander's who will go without power for a week... a facility run by a private company!
Editor
Another perfect day in paradise...
although it was very hot yesterday and last night.
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