Today's Headlines
an Aussie's viewpoint on Australia's first daily Internet newspaper.
Since October 1995

This on-line paper is now archived for perpetuity in the National Library of Australia

Monday 20th October 1997
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International:

Have you signed the petition to the Prime Minister yet? If not, do it now!

Seems like the equivalent of Pauline Hanson's One Nation are springing up all over the world, with Finland now joining the move by "populists" with beliefs including:

• The activity of the organization is based on the very principle that the interest of the native country has to be placed above individual, group or party interests on each occasion.
• The interests of individuals depend on how to fulfil duties and each Finn has to participate in carrying out patriotic duties according to own intellectual and physical capabilities.

Alan Bond is starting to feel the squeeze... even in jail. Over the weekend he launched an eleventh hour bid in the Federal Court of Melbourne together with Jurg Bollag to stop the Australian Federal Police going to Bollag's house in Zug, Switzerland, to gain access to documents relating to his financial dealings with the imprisoned Australian corporate crook.

Zug is a small tax haven near Zurich where the rich and famous deposit all their money and profits so that you and I have to pay their taxes.

Australian use of the Internet is expected to sky rocket over the next 12 months according to a survey by A C Nielsen. Most current usage of the world wide web aspect being in the areas of entertainment, updating news, sport and weather, looking up possible travel destinations and education research. For a well-travelled researcher I find the omission of the "Adult arena" from the report rather intriguing because this area has exploded... one only has to clear out one's daily spam mail to see that!

The report suggested that between 1 and 1.5 million Australians use the Internet regularly with the following table being of most interest to those looking at putting their commercial presence up on this forum:

Users by income:
Annual Income	%
Less than Au$20,000	6.5%
Au$21,000-Au$40,000	17.7%
Au$41,000-Au$60,000	23.2%
Au$61,000-Au$90,000	27.9%
Over Au$91,000	22.4%

There is a growing crisis in Australia's fruit industry with labor costs (Au$12 per hour) now being blamed for the destruction of the industry in this country. Things were ok until John Howard decided to remove the tariff barriers and now big business like Coles Myer who are quick to say "Buy Australia" when it suits them are now buying fruit and juice extracts from countries like Brazil where the labor charges are as low as Au$1.50 per hour.

In the last year,

• One million Australian orange trees have been bulldozed because farmers can't afford to have the fruit picked.
• Growers are losing Au$210 a tonne on oranges for the frozen juice concentrate market.
• Orange juice bought in Australian supermarkets comes mainly from Brazil where the net production cost is Au$25 per tonne compared to Au$160 per tonne in Australia.
• Cheap imported canned peaches from China, Spain, Greece and Italy are undercutting Australian icons like SPC and Ardmona.

Is this good for Australia? No... why is it (tariff reductions) being enforced? Quite simply because the major Australian companies are now owned by internationalists whose lobbyists haunt the halls of Canberra and use their influence on the senior bureaucrats who establish policy direction... whether the Labor or Coalition parties are in power.

It doesn't worry a Yank whether an Australian company he has shares in buys fruit from Brazil to the detriment of Australian employment, all that matters is the profit line... the cheaper the fruit (subsidised by slave labour) the more the sales at higher margins the more the profits that go off-shore...

God we are fools to let career politicians in the bi-partisan Coalition/Labor government get away with it for so long!

Remember what Don Veitch said about the power of the Australian voter?

Political:

So Cheryl Kernot is the media's belle of the ball, and is now being touted around the seat of Dixon by none other than Labor Party leader Kim Beazley... and the fellow on the right Michael Lavarch the ALP's federal member who held the seat before the 1996 elections.

At a special 30 minute meeting of members Ms Kernot was accepted into the ranks by the local ALP branch...not that she is going to stay rank and file long. She has already had her name submitted for pre-selection to the seat...

and this just a few days after she jumped ship and left the Democrats in the lurch.

and this just one week after the Democrats took 16% of the vote in South Australia.

The second of these two timelines really reveals what a deceitful, self-seeking woman Cheryl Kernot is and why she cannot be trusted. In the lead up to the South Australian elections she featured prominently in Democrat television advertisements telling the state's voters why they should vote for her party (at that time). This while she had already decided to jump ship... "a couple of weeks before she made the move" to put it in her words.

 Here is a woman who has been with a party for over seventeen years risen to the point of leadership and then thrown it all away when she is wooed by the ALP and their massive support team of political infighting, powerplay and thuggery.

Well welcome to the real world Cheryl Kernot, it will be interesting to see how long you are able to compromise your high ideals in the partyroom where deals are done and individual points of view matter about as much as a piece of used tooth floss lying in the street.

On the issue of Dixon... young David Colston (Senator "travel rorts" Mal Colston's son) has put his hand up for pre-selection as well.. his nomination has been scoffed at with Michael Lavarch saying "he should crawl back under his rock"... ouch!

You say:

Subject: Comments on Australian News of the Day:Cheryl Kernot

Hi,

as a Democrat I am disappointed in Cheryl's defection but I can understand it. The coalition government has done so much damage to Australia, such as the systematic dismantling of the tertiary sector, sinking the reconciliation process and making life hell for the elderly in nursing homes. I, like Cheryl, find myself at total odds with the direction out country is taking under coalition leadership.

As the Democrat leader Cheryl had to walk the tightrope between the two major parties. Her personal biases were making this impossible for her. At least she had the honesty to admit this and get out. I'm disappointed she left us but admire her principles.

Russell.

Personal trivia, from the global office:

Soft rain fell yesterday and much of last night. The rain has already transformed the valley opposite into green... quite beautiful.

Have a great day. 

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