By Cagerattler
Thank goodness the seven month political campaign is finally over. What a saga. Now we can watch the Labor recriminations and the Coalition gloats and smirks with apparently a ‘mandate’ to stop the boats, scrap the carbon and mining taxes, change the NBN rollout, confront the public sector to help get that budget surplus including job cutbacks, and who knows where the GST, education and health are going. Continue reading
Federal Election editorial, The Asylum Seekers, Break O’Day Child and Family Heath Centre wrap-up, Farewell from Main Street Clothing, Meals On Wheels AGM, Constable John Connolly Part 4, Book Review…
Foxes were introduced into Australia in the early 1800’s for use in hunting by the landed gentry. Just as in old England, the master of the hunt would arrange for a collection of property owners and their mounts, and with a pack of blood hounds, would hunt, harass and tear to pieces a defenseless small animal. A good time was had by all. As Tasmania had its fair share of landed gentry in those days, it’s more than reasonable to assume that foxes were introduced here as well as on the mainland.
There isn’t that much mystery about the presence of foxes; if they are about, they can be detected by their smell (a significant musk) or more likely by their bark, which sounds a bit like a small dog with a cough. So if there is no fox smell or barking in your area, then you can be certain that there are also NO foxes. The fox’s bark is easily identified in the background of scenes from typical English TV presentations (Midsommer Murders, Miss Marple and many others). Through saturation over the years of wildlife TV documentaries, magazines, etc. most people in this country would surely know what a fox looks like, just as mainlanders know exactly what a Tasmanian Devil looks like.
Contrary to what might be believed about habitat, foxes are no different to many other animals in the wild. They simply prefer, because of the natural self preservation instinct, to keep away from man but when they hunt at night, will prowl around man’s habitat, particularly around other dog’s feeding dishes etc. or anywhere they can smell chooks. And like the Quoll, (and maybe the Tasmanian Devil) once in a chook pen, they will eat their fill and kill the rest. I’m reminded of a kid’s picture/story book we had at home when I about 7-9yrs, and a poem about the Tasmanian Devil – I must have been fascinated by this animal to remember it all these years.
They dub me a Devil. I am.
I’m partial to poultry and lamb.
When I’ve eaten my fill I just go and kill,
‘til the owner appears, then I scram.
(The Devil is well known as a carrion eater, so I’m not too sure if the poet was entirely correct).
When the vixen is going to have kids they settle into a hollow log, an unused wombat hole, rabbit’s warren, cave, or underneath an old unused remote shed – wherever, in her wisdom, she’ll be dry, cosy and undisturbed. There is no special habitat.
Around 15 years ago I noticed a sign that was obviously officially emplaced on the Esk Valley Road just in from the Midlands Highway turnoff at Conara, asking people to report foxes. This didn’t surprise me as much as it normally would, because, apart from my own observations, I had heard that there was a concerted effort from? – to draw people’s attention to a misnomer – foxes in Tasmania. Making inquiries at that time I was told that there was a conspiracy at foot to legalise or extend the use of the controversial (for good reason) poison – 1080. So I had then made a point of calling farmers in different parts of the State to ask the question – “Have you ever seen a fox on your property?” Everyone had answered in the negative and many added statements to the effect that they had lived on their property all their life! (or similar).
The base reason why there are no breeding foxes in Tasmania is because the Devil will take their young as fast as they are produced. It’s not rocket science to understand that that is what happened when they were first introduced!.
Don Pike, Four Mile Creek.
Dear Editor
Councillor Johns was the only councilor to oppose the recommendation to drop rates for primary producers, reportedly claiming that as farmers do not contribute enough to the community and are the main users of bridges and dirt roads these are reasons to deny them a reduction. Continue reading
Animal Therapy, The Rossarden Mountain Re-Echo, Binalong Bay viewing platform, The Asylum Seekers, Fire in Main Street St Marys, Lest We Forget, A Mystery Is Solved…
Look out! ..politicians are on the rise… ‘tis the season to be Pollie … tra la la la la.. la la la laaa!. Do we care? I mean, there really hasn’t been any kind of political track record to engender “care” in any of us for the past forty years. Why is that, we sometimes wonder? We all know the extraordinary promises at pre-election time, only to see policies and promises revised, reversed or deleted after, or even before, the election. Why is it that politicians seem so increasingly blatant at lies and deceit. Has political morality declined along with that of society? I’m sure it has. Societal degradation is due to the lack of meaningful leadership, and although the cause is connected, political morality is due to another reason entirely. The bible text “Mammon is the root of all evil” well encapsulates the problem. Christ wasn’t talking about money per se, he meant the love of money and materialism. The wanting of more when you already have a lot. (We won’t even talk about the love of Control). And here is the nub of our political, and consequently, our societal decline. We, as individuals, are in there somewhere, too.
Local and state government politicians, business and corporate members are often involved in complicity but most people have no understanding as to the depth of evil at the Federal level. International Banksters (banking gangsters) and the big movers and shakers in the business world virtually run our Federal government, holding sway on not only the heavier items of legislation and direction, but on micro matters that affect our daily lives. The Banksters operate through their “Think Tanks” (named) that have unlimited funding, are well entrenched throughout the world and pass directives onto our Federal parliamentary executive. I’ve heard them referred to as the P.I.G. (Permanent Invisible Government) and these shadowy people control our lives beyond our imagination. Politicians are there now to do their bidding – and mostly to our detriment.
From mainly the Keating days, politicians have signed away our country’s future in thousands of international trade agreements without our permission and, in some cases, our knowledge. Globalism and Free Trade have changed our country’s political and social landscape as it has done all over the world. We’ve lost most of our rural and manufacturing capability as a result. The resultant shocking unemployment situation has been bandaged over to some extent with fill-in useless jobs conjured up by the Think Tanks and emplaced by parliamentary minions. Thousands of small family-owned businesses and rural holdings have gone. Real capability to continue apprenticeships in every field of endeavour has disappeared.
For many years now, the problem for current politicians and new cadre coming in, is conform, or go! And they all, generally, stay and do what they are told in well-paid careers. So instead of genuine representation for the people, we get puppets controlled by Big Money puppeteers. And the parliaments and elections become Punch and Judy shows for the people. They are meaningless, because the reality is from decisions made from the minders behind the scenes. The depth of machinations by the Think Tanks is frightening. From monopolised media, to emplacing socialist professors into our universities to assist in the smooth running of public brainwashing, to the manipulation of education curriculum from the kindergarten up, they mould, control and direct public thinking to suit their own agenda. There is much more on the subject.
The foregoing is but a rough, and very limited summary of why all parties, and Independents, are coloured the same. Nobody is game to table demands to put things back in place that were hard won over the years by real politicians (some puppets were around then but the control was not like it is now!) Off you go now and vote, because it’s the law! “Democratically” enacted, of course!
Don Pike, Four Mile Creek.
By Cagerattler
We’ve been watching the ads on television of late dealing with Australian-made articles and I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve only given them scant thought. Just this past week though I put it into more perspective. As an avid model rail enthusiast I enjoy being on a forum site. One of the topics deals with wait times on supply from an iconic American manufacturer, or so I thought. Due to re-location and re-tooling offshore, this company will not be providing orders to dealers/customers for a few months. This supply issue made me consider the big picture, particularly in an Australian context. If the USA, home of free enterprise, is sending so much stuff offshore, then God help us.
In the next decade our once quite well-supported car industry will be gone, never to return. Ford Australia have already announced that the local car building industry will be finishing in 2016, and you can bet your boots that GMH won’t be too far behind. This then flows on to components companies in the main, unless they can find markets elsewhere. Electrical/white goods manufacturers have either been bought out by overseas big players or ceased trading altogether, as have clothing and food companies unable to compete with ridiculously cheap imports. Don’t let’s even start on the out-sourcing of call centres, newspaper sub-editing etc…
Why can’t our stupid politicians see this? Stop putting political correctness first and start making decisions such as giving the Free Trade Agreement the flick or at least putting some substantial reforms in place within it. GEE…it’s done our manufacturing industry the world of good so far. Just wait while I get my tongue out of my cheek as I say that… So often, it seems, we are buying items made cheaply by low paid workers employed in bad conditions. We ignore the corruption – out of sight out of mind, just so we can save a few dollars on these goods. Don’t be fooled, some of these “iconic” companies are using sweatshop labour to boost profits.
I think most of us would be happy to pay the few extra dollars if we knew that it was genuinely supporting local manufacturing, and ethical enough to spend a little more if the sweatshop workers were better paid. I’m no genius (far from it) but at least lesser disparity between overseas to locally manufactured goods would present a choice of quality rather than just cost, and up the overall picture in a competitive sense.
Come on Rudd and Abbott, do something really useful and make some changes to help our manufacturing industry in a real way before it’s all too late.
What do you think? Rod McGiveron.
Dear Editor
What can you do in St Marys in two minutes (that’s 120 seconds), without any effort on your part, that will change your life forever?
Die in a building fire! Two minutes is all it takes from ignition to flashover occurring, that is when the smoke in the room ignites, engulfing the room in flames.
If you do not have a WORKING smoke alarm and you are asleep when a fire starts you will not wake up, I say you will NOT wake up ever again.
This is fact, not fiction. The fire that occurred in the garage in the Main Street of St Marys could have easily spread to the adjoining buildings, up to and including the Post Office. Thankfully due to good fortune, combined with the efforts of our volunteer fire fighters, it did not – this time.
If this fire was deliberately lit, people in this community will be aware and you need to speak out; lives could have been lost.
David Watkins, St Marys.
Animal Therapy at St Marys Day Centre, The Rossarden Mountain Re-Echo, Cemetery Master Plan, Binalong Bay viewing platform, The Asylum Seekers, FIRE at 28-30 MAIN STREET, ST MARYS, Lest We Forget…
By Cagerattler
Any chance of emigrating for the next month or so, maybe to Siberia or somewhere that doesn’t get Aussie news. Bloody election. The campaign has been going a bit over a week and it’s already driving me crazy. So much rhetoric, inflated egos, untruths (better not say the ‘L’ word), core promises, non-core promises and the whole kit and caboodle. Politicians of all persuasions irritate me these days, the ‘white knight’ Greens being no exception. I was listening to one of them being interviewed the other morning, maybe listening to someone dragging fingernails down a blackboard would have been more entertaining, and if you were gullible enough to believe them they could solve all the world’s problems in one fell swoop.
The Labor Party, the Coalition, the Greens…all the same I’m afraid and you’re kidding yourself if you think otherwise. If some of these pollies were told ‘if you’re re-elected but your party doesn’t win government you can’t retire for at least half of the following term,’ I bet many of them wouldn’t stand so they could just sit on the backbenches in Opposition…such are their egos. I’d have a lot more respect for them if they did something about the parliamentary pensions and fringe benefits etc. that not many of us get.
As for the Senate – my goodness – some of the backroom stuff on who heads the tickets etc. by the parties is just so strange and it seems in some cases you get appointed to the Senate, not necessarily elected through a by-election. At least in the House of Representatives you have to win one of those to earn your spot. Maybe over the next 4-5 weeks the pain tablet companies will do well, selling panadol, paracetamol, aspirins, etc., while we sit and endure the manure from the mouths of all these egocentric politicians. Call me cynical if you like but I think a realist is a little closer to the mark, I really do.
Another thing ALMOST as serious…the AFL drugs investigation. GET ON WITH IT AFL COMMISSION. Impose the fines/sanctions if you are going to, or don’t. I don’t even barrack for the Bombers but for a few people I know that do it’s excruciating not to know what’s going on and I genuinely feel for them.
What do you think ?… Rod McGiveron.