Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Round 3: States v Feds
As control of the Senate looms, the Howard Government is going giddy with crazed power lust. Virtually drooling at the prospect of coming down on their pet peeves, big time. And top of the Howard Government’s pet peeves is Australia, or at least the Australia that was created in 1901 when the colonies federated and created the Commonwealth of Australia.
You see, ever since that time, there’s been some administrative loose ends that simply haven’t been tidied up. They’re called The States. You may have heard of them: Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia. There, I think that’s the lot of them. Let me know if there’s any that I missed.
Anyway, these States, or Quasi Independent Supervisory Layers Interfering in National Government (QUISLINGs) as they are known in Canberra have finally passed their use by date according to our inside sources.
It’s an attack on Federalism and its being waged with your Tax dollar. The Federal Government is using your money to beat the States into submission, to unravel the intricate and complex laws that has kept us mostly fighting amongst ourselves for this last Century and helped therefore, to keep us out of harms way in the global War on Whatever.
It’s an attack on our right as Victorians to sneer at the other States. It’s an attack on their right to repeat that hackneyed epithet, over an over, especially in Queensland. “Mexicans”, and its an attack on the right of West Australian to invent all sorts creative and disparaging terms about those of us in the Eastern States, and for us neither to care, nor remember them.
First round in the war was Costello’s announcement that he’ll be pulling the funds rug out from underneath the States. Then last week, the States in a superb riposte, hit back with their Carbon Trading Plan. Today in a rapid counter-counter-attack, the Feds have announced they’ll be cutting the States out of the Health game. No doubt with the longer term intention of clawing back the money through illness outsourcing.
I for one can’t abide MY TAX DOLLARS being spent in such a biased and unrepresentative way. Especially when they’re being spent to dismantle an institution that I’ve spent MY TAX DOLLARS setting up, and not only does it offend my wallet. It offends my sense of History too.
Do you think our peacock plumed Governors who signed the Charter in 1901 would today be expecting to play second fiddle to a small suburban solicitor? Do you think that the brave souls who served in Victoria’s Colonial Defence Force, in the Victorian Mounted Rifles or Victorian Rangers. Aboard line-of-battle ship HMVS Nelson, aboard the celebrated HMVS Cerebus, would have just peacefully demobilised if they’d known that 104 years later, their patriotic endeavors would be held in contempt by a government slavering with power lust?
I think not dear reader, and neither should you. Vive la difference!
Note: 3000 character limit on comments You see, ever since that time, there’s been some administrative loose ends that simply haven’t been tidied up. They’re called The States. You may have heard of them: Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia. There, I think that’s the lot of them. Let me know if there’s any that I missed.
Anyway, these States, or Quasi Independent Supervisory Layers Interfering in National Government (QUISLINGs) as they are known in Canberra have finally passed their use by date according to our inside sources.
It’s an attack on Federalism and its being waged with your Tax dollar. The Federal Government is using your money to beat the States into submission, to unravel the intricate and complex laws that has kept us mostly fighting amongst ourselves for this last Century and helped therefore, to keep us out of harms way in the global War on Whatever.
It’s an attack on our right as Victorians to sneer at the other States. It’s an attack on their right to repeat that hackneyed epithet, over an over, especially in Queensland. “Mexicans”, and its an attack on the right of West Australian to invent all sorts creative and disparaging terms about those of us in the Eastern States, and for us neither to care, nor remember them.
First round in the war was Costello’s announcement that he’ll be pulling the funds rug out from underneath the States. Then last week, the States in a superb riposte, hit back with their Carbon Trading Plan. Today in a rapid counter-counter-attack, the Feds have announced they’ll be cutting the States out of the Health game. No doubt with the longer term intention of clawing back the money through illness outsourcing.
I for one can’t abide MY TAX DOLLARS being spent in such a biased and unrepresentative way. Especially when they’re being spent to dismantle an institution that I’ve spent MY TAX DOLLARS setting up, and not only does it offend my wallet. It offends my sense of History too.
Do you think our peacock plumed Governors who signed the Charter in 1901 would today be expecting to play second fiddle to a small suburban solicitor? Do you think that the brave souls who served in Victoria’s Colonial Defence Force, in the Victorian Mounted Rifles or Victorian Rangers. Aboard line-of-battle ship HMVS Nelson, aboard the celebrated HMVS Cerebus, would have just peacefully demobilised if they’d known that 104 years later, their patriotic endeavors would be held in contempt by a government slavering with power lust?
I think not dear reader, and neither should you. Vive la difference!
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