Each time I turn on the media I hear the bell which tolls the death of our country and democracy!  It all started (in my mind at least) when Bronwyn Bishop gave her "Maiden" speech in parliament and brayed on, in her chilling echo of Ayn Rand, on about "individualism" vs "collectivism". I went cold and realised that this was the death of our community and the beginning of the walk down the American road towards consumption or die. All else would be "un-Australian" - since it threatened the head-long race towards the God-given right to spend, consume and "woe betide anyone else who gets in my way".

I used to be a passionate "conservationist" until I realised that the large, global, economic-rationalist, forces have largely f__ked the planet, and its ability to recover. (The ecosystem is largely a closed one).

I used to care about my neighbours until I realised all they care about is themselves and how they can have/get/consume more than me.

I used to care about Australia unitl I realised that it has been socially engineered by the right wing neo-cons and their mates in Washington, and that we don't do any rational, independent thinking anymore.

I used to care about the future until I realised we really don't have one. .... At least I'll be dead in about 35 years and won't have to witness the sad state we will have created; in what was once a kind, caring, and inclusive society. Now, it seems that the best you can look forward to is just having enough clean water to drink; having clean air to breathe; enough non-toxic, non-GM food to eat and to simply pay your rent/mortgage and educate your kids and yourself (although the economic rationailsts seem to have screwed the education system as well, in the name of competition).

I can only sit back and watch it all fall apart...

(However, I'm still willing to listen to some positive people!)

Hey Nolly,

Yes, we are pretty much all of the same view here. We are all anti Howard and know we are right. Most also don't like Labor but they are the only alternative currently and I'm afraid Mr B is running dead, to use a horse racing phrase.

Much of what is written here seems to be us just telling each other what we already think, and accept as the truth, facts etc, and may seem pointless. But if you watch the "Who's online" item at the left of screen you will usually see more "guests" than members. Currently there are two members and 6 guests. So 6 unconverted, or people thinking about joining, or laughing at what is written. Doesn't matter, they are reading.

I actually saw 190 guests listed last night but I think the system had a bit of a glitch and was presenting the wrong time etc. But there have been more than 10 often and they are the people who we would like to get involved here. We need their support, their opinions, their momentum to get the messages through to the people currently enjoying good conditions of service. Those conditions are about to disappear and in fact they already have for many.

There are over 300 members to my knowledge (outdated) but no more than about twenty actually post from what I've seen. They should all join in as we need their words, now.

To me Howard has been hiding the poverty by adding all the Centrelink benefits such as Parenting Payment, single mother benefit and all the rest. The Family Tax Benefit is the worst as it admits that any couple on less than $70,000 needs government benefit support. And that is correct.

What most people don't realise is once conditions of service go out the window they will be totally reliant on Howard's handouts and thus will always vote for him. Without those benefits they would not survive. And I'm not talking about a minority. It is by far the majority of Australian workers and families that receive these government benefits. I do and I accept them as I need them. But I'd prefer not to as it's obvious that route has a sudden and steep end to it. An end where many will lose their over mortgaged homes, jobs and Centrelink won't have the money to pay everybody.

There you go, doom and gloom, Pegasus style.

That's just how I see Howard's policies Nolly. It's not what I believe in or want and I will fight both sets of politicians to change from  where we are now to a society where we are all treated fairly. I hope for that and don't despair as I know that " People Power " , which is what this site is about, will kick in. Hopefully we don't have to wait until the level the Ukraine did but even they stood up and said " Bugger off " in the end.

So will Australians.

As an aside on Beazley's tax cut stand. I don't believe for a minute that Labor actually cares about the lower paid workers. It's simply their last use of the little power they have for a few more weeks. All he has done is provide an easy target for Abbott and Costelloes, the clowns.

Nice to see you posting Nolly and keep going, please.

Best.

Dear Nolly,

Dont despair, there are hundreds of thousands of people just like you out there who are very concerned about the future for both themselves and their children.

In the next few weeks the union movement will be starting a big campaign to tell workers how these things will affect them, and try to cut through some of the governments rhetoric.

Yes is it bad, very bad for the average worker and particularly bad for those whos workplaces are less than 100, which is the majority. (Drive down any main street in your town and city and play spot the workplace with unfair dismissal rights, only the big corporations or government departments will be left with rights)

BUT now is not the time to assume the foetal position in the corner of your bedroom. Be inspired by the many  who have stood up against the mighty to assert their human rights from Nelson Mandela, Ghandi and Martin Luther King to the peoples of East Timor, Venezuala, Chile and many more.

There was no difference between them and us, they were scared, disenfranchised, oppressed, faced worse than us in many respects but they kept going, and so will we. 

If you want to get active, come to one of the many rallies and public meetings being organised in your area, go to the ACTU Website www.actu.asn.au for info on what you can do.

I am proposing that all who can organise delegations to their local MP to discuss the issue. I am in Dickson so any who are keen to get together with me to take on the Minister for Workplace Participation (hah) please let me know.

We must be prepared to dig in for a long campaign, just like the refugee, mandatory detention campaign, but we can and will win, because the alternative is handing our children the worst working conditions in the OECD (thats official, even worse than the US under the proposed legislation)

in unity,

Maggie