EDM's Holiday Reading Once Again

Well, it's that time of the year again. Where I bid farewell for the year and provide some holiday reading for you all.

I can announce that 2013 will be bringing some changes to Nah Seriously, some of which have occurred already regarding formatting and the like. The plan though is to narrow down my subject matter a bit more into current affairs / politics and maybe even create another blog for some of my sporting writing. I'll do some thinking over the break anyway and come up with an appropriately cunning plan.

A strange old year 2012 has been on so many fronts though. I'm a little tired and jaded from the experience to be honest with so much frustrating me and causing angst. I've certainly noticed that I'm more and more switching off the mainstream media as my source of news and opinion and I'm thinking that's only going to become more prominent in 2013. Twitter has certainly added to that movement as I've been able to access more independent news sources such as New Matilda, The Global Mail and The Conversation.

Anyway, traditionally I provide a list of articles/stories for your holiday reading that I've put together throughout the year. However, this year is different and the below list is merely articles/stories from the last few weeks and even days. They should be quite topical then so here's hoping they engage you and provoke some thoughts/feelings as you too stop living life to a timetable and enjoy a break from the normal day-to-day.

So first up we have Jon Stewart on The Daily Show and the now infamous Fox News US Election moments "that will live forever".

One for the music fans and those who enjoy writing about music is this guy who must have spent an inordinate amount of time compiling the 500 worst reviews in Rolling Stone magazine.

In line with my recent post on the AFL Draft being a lottery and putting too much pressure on 17 year old kids, comes this republishing of an article by The Age's Emma Quayle on the very first AFL Draft held in 1986.

Another one from The Age is this article from Martin Flanagan that sheds some light on the experience of a grandfather of a premature birth. Flanagan is more known for his football writing but I must say I'm reading more and more of his other writing, including this one about Gough Whitlam and this one about Christopher Hitchens.

Getting political now, there's this piece in The Atlantic on the confusion and complexity of what is currently happening in Egypt. And domestically there's this blog post on the Ashby conspiracy if you don't mind a few choice words and colourful language.

There's plenty of other political articles and posts I could list here but given the year we've had both nationally and in Queensland I think we could all do with a bit of a cold shower and a nice lie-down.

Moving on to the media then, I've got Ben Eltham's take on 2012 in New Matilda here and this study of the bias of carbon price reporting from The Conversation here.

It's probably too late already but here's a great piece in The Sydney Morning Herald on the materialism of Xmas and our 'trashing of the planet for a talking piggy bank'. Very thought provoking.

And a change of pace comes from here then and a little op-ed from John Birmingham about his daughter's primary school upon her graduation to high school. One for some my family members who are teachers and hopefully enjoying a long break after a long year.

So there it is my friends. EDM's Holiday Reading for Xmas 2012.

I'll be back in 2013 I can assure you but I must say I'm looking forward to a break myself and a bit of a rejig of things here on Nah Seriously in the new year.

Til then my friends,

EDM.

Not Even A Week In Politics

Politics. It has no relation to morals, as Machiavelli once said. Ain’t that the truth.

So this week, and its only Wednesday mind you, we’ve already seen a tsunami (always wanted to say that) of ‘politics’, politicking and political scandal. And that’s not even with Parliament sitting in either Canberra or Brisbane. Both have wrapped up for the year but that hasn’t ended anything.

Number 1 would have to be the Slipper/Ashby affair. No-one has come out of it smelling roses including the likes of former Howard Minister Mal Brough and current Queensland Minister Mark McArdle. But in the end you’d have to say Ashby lost the battle but he did win the war.

As Margot Saville points out here, Justice Rares found the sexual harassment complaint was always vexatious and was made with the sole purpose of discrediting Slipper and bringing him down. “For the predominant purpose of causing a significant public, reputation and political damage to Mr Slipper” in his own words. It certainly achieved that.

But now Ashby’s reputation is also in tatters given his patsy role and he’s been handed a hefty court costs bill. Brough and McArdle have been outed as the brains behind it as well which is quite Machiavellian given Brough has been preselected by the LNP to take on Slipper at the next election. With a choice of those two, expect a massive increase in the amount of donkey votes in the seat of Fisher.

The Government itself does have some ammunition to fire back at the Opposition over the whole sorry ordeal but it’s got to be careful given it appointed Slipper to be Speaker of House in the first place and backed him in numerous motions in Parliament. Its settlement deal with Ashby of $50,000 might also be a source of some embarrassment.

Moving on, next we have Premier Newman’s backflip on the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Now I’m all for the backflip as it will mean life will get just a little bit easier for thousands of Queenslanders living with a disability and their families and carers.

But what a backflip its been. In July, the Premier said categorically that Queensland could not afford the scheme until at least 2014 and he revelled in the faux stoush with the Prime Minister at COAG. And he continued to claim that Queensland just couldn’t afford to contribute to the NDIS and called for the Commonwealth to fund it entirely. He even alluded to it having the potential to make Queensland the “Spain of Australia”.

Come early December though, after a few months of horrendous media coverage as his Government lurched from one crisis to another, all of a sudden the Premier could find some money and Queensland will now contribute nearly $900 million over four years to roll out the NDIS in this State.

So not just a backflip, but a close to $1 billion backflip. And if that sort of money can be found so easily in the face of just a few months of bad polling, imagine what else is sitting under the couch cushions waiting to be retrieved. Me thinks the budget situation and the hysterical talk of ‘debt’ might be a little overstated. But hey, that’s just me.

And finally, we have the Abbott Slush Fund affair. Now many of you probably haven’t heard of this one as it’s struggled to get any traction in the mainstream media. Basically, former Fairfax journalist Margo Kingston nearly spat out her tea when watching Tony Abbott calling for the Prime Minister to come clean on the AWU slush fund issue because she remembers Abbott having some very serious questions raised about his very own involvement in a slush fund controversy.

Margo duly set about writing an article about it all before having all sorts of troubles getting anyone in the mainstream media to publish it. Along came Independent Australia and New Matilda who duly published and now there’s quite a campaign running asking the Australian Electoral Commission why it dropped an early 2000s investigation into Abbott’s conduct around the Australian’s for Honest Politics Slush Fund established to pursue Pauline Hanson for electoral fraud. You know, the case that put her in jail and all that.

The whole saga is better outlined by others here and here. Perhaps though it’s actually a case of some ‘good’ in politics as opposed to the two other examples above. Not from any politician or political party themselves, but from real people and citizen journalists who are working tirelessly to uncover an important issue that goes right to the character of our alternative Prime Minister.

But as I said, its only Wednesday. Who knows what else ‘politics’ will bring us before the week is out.

EDM.

Great Expectations - The AFL Draft Is A Lottery

For all the scouting, for all the analysis and for all the speculation, the AFL Draft is still very much a lottery. And one that puts great expectations on young men who are still only 17 years old.

The 2012 AFL Draft took place last night on the Gold Coast and the leadup had the usual 'toing and froing' over who will go when and to what club. The footy media ran phantom drafts and supporter sites were full of discussion and excitement about this kid and that. Stars were born last night apparently and every club rolled out the usual proclamations afterwards about getting what they wanted and believing they had picked up a few bargains.

There's no guarantees in AFL football though and history is littered with high-end draft picks who never got a game or who didn't live up to the expectations of the media and supporters. For years to come, there will be even more speculation about the success of each pick with an inordinate amount of footy media space questioning why Club A went with Player B instead of Player C. Ah yes, it'll keep many a footy reporter busy and in employment for years to come all that talk.

The thing is, we're talking about 17 year old boys here. And all this coverage and all this spotlight puts enormous pressure on these kids to deliver. Because in many cases they are expected to change the fortunes of entire clubs that are over a hundred years old and are made up of forty-odd players and immeasurable numbers of support staff. Not only that, they are expected to have an impact almost immediately and if they don't, then obviously Club A picked the wrong kid and it was a waste of a good draft pick.

It's quite ridiculous and very unfair if you ask me as many 17 year olds don't have and can't have the maturity, determination and dedication needed to be a successful AFL footballer. Its just human nature. Certainly I didn't at 17. Perhaps even at all. But every year so much pressure and expectation is put on kids this age to be the next star and to be a club's saviour. Especially as the average career of an AFL footballer is less than four years so a teenager drafted at 17 is more than likely to have finished his career by the time he is 21. Still very young.

It's also complete folly to put so much trust in draft picks and the nuances of 17 year old footballers. I should know, I'm a Melbourne supporter. As has been widely documented, the Melbourne Football Club had a blind faith in the draft and young kids bringing it success but look what that has achieved. Or more to the point, look what that hasn't achieved.

Conversely, look at someone like Jack Watts. He's copped all sorts of criticism for apparently not living up to 'our' expectations but he is still only 21 and might have another ten years as an AFL footballer. Brendon Goddard was in the same boat for a number of years as well before he eventually became one of the top three players in the league by the time of his mid-20s. 

Yes, teenagers can't instil success without some sort of example being provided to them by older and more experienced players on what it takes to be an AFL footballer and to be a successful club. Clubs like Sydney and Geelong have understood that from the beginning and have reaped recent success as a result.

That's why I don't fall into the camp that expects Gold Coast and GWS to dominate in a few years time as I just can't see the draft and the draft only delivering a premiership in such a short period. It's blind faith to think otherwise and I think some harsh lessons are in for those supporters who believe that their latest 17 year old will deliver them the ultimate success.

It's a lottery that's for sure, and it would be wise for all this excitement and all this speculation to be reigned in a little. But hey, considered and rational analysis doesn't sell newspapers or get x number of website hits so I'm not expecting any massive shift in the coverage any time soon.

But beware the faith in a bunch of 17 year olds delivering an AFL premiership for your team. Trust me, I've had all sorts of experience in that and have the emotional scars to prove it.

EDM.

Expectations & Disappointment - A Week In Qld Politics

Well, what a week it’s been for the Newman Government. Plastered all over the front page of The Courier Mail every day, and not for any good reasons. Scandals-a-plenty with nepotism and clandestine contact with lobbyists and other family matters being revealed and discovered.

The biggest scalp so far has been former Minister for Housing and Public Works, Dr Bruce Flegg. A couple of sackings of staff in his office raised quite a few eyebrows before one of them turned on him and released a bunch of emails showing the Minister had lied about the amount of contact he’d had with his lobbyist son.

The nature of that contact also came out with other emails showing that the son was making recommendations on who Flegg should appoint to senior management positions within his department. Most children of Doctors ask for a new car. Flegg junior asked for a new Deputy Director-General.

The revelations obviously meant Flegg had to resign and he did. But not without a mea culpa where he blamed it all on ‘sloppy administrative processes’ on the part of his former staffers and even had a go at the media and Opposition for dragging his family into the whole sorry mess.

Ah mate, I think your son brought himself into it and with your compliance. If he didn’t want to be involved in politics, why is he working as a lobbyist and attempting to take advantage of the fact his father is a Minister?

The other big story this week has been the continuing saga of Ros Bates, Minister for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts, the fact her son gained a public service job when thousands were being sacked, and her very own lobbyist register.

The son and his job issue has been played out for months and is still the subject of investigations by the Crime and Misconduct Commission and Parliament’s Ethics Committee. Consequently, the inns and outs of it have been well-documented so I won’t go over them again.

But this week Bates was forced to correct her lobbyists register for the fourth time since April to include details of 11 discussions she’d had with a lobbyist Luke Myers, who is the brother of the Premier’s Chief of Staff, and a whole string of meetings she’d had with Santo Santoro, former Liberal Party Senator and probably the most notorious lobbyist in the State.

It obviously begs the question how such significant contact and numerous meetings with lobbyists could be left out of the report in the beginning. And it’s certainly not a good look for the Minister to keep having to come back and report to Parliament, that yet again, the original report was incorrect and incomplete.

Once or twice maybe you’d say fair enough. But four times really makes you wonder about what’s trying to be hidden. And her reasons for this latest correction? “Teething problems” and errors made by her staff. Or in layman’s terms, ‘the dog ate my homework’.

And then the inevitable happened yesterday. The Premier took to the airwaves defending his former and current Minister and crying poor over the media coverage. “These things happen”. “Nepotism is just how the world works”. “Lobbyist contact is fine as long as its (eventually) declared”. “Labor was worse”, was basically the jist of it.

Yes, there is nothing wrong with having contact with lobbyists, and yes, it’s not unethical to talk with lobbyists just because they are family members of other Cabinet members and their senior management.

The thing is though, the ‘other side did it too’ claim misses the point by a country mile. There was certainly no shortage of scandals from Labor over their 12 year reign, particularly in relation to lobbyists, but Newman and the LNP promised us they’d be different and that they’d hold themselves up against a higher standard of ethics and integrity.

In fact, they promised us that ad nauseum during the election campaign with one of their main election commitments being:

"We will establish a real Ministerial Code of Conduct and set the highest standards of performance and behaviour of our Ministers and staff, including restoring the Westminster convention of Ministerial Responsibility."

So that’s where the public and the media’s disappointment and disgust are coming from. It’s not so much the acts themselves which really aren’t too dissimilar to what went on before under Labor. No, it’s about the fact the Newman Government was voted in because they promised they’d be different and they’d be better in terms of accountability and integrity.

That’s why there is so much dissatisfaction with these ongoing scandals and continual sagas. Our expectations were raised, but now they’re being dashed on an almost daily basis. And trying to hark back to say “the other mob did it” as an excuse just doesn’t cut it in those circumstances.

But good luck to Minister Bates in her efforts to survive this latest scandal. Although lady luck has already smiled on her by ensuring Flegg’s ‘administrative error’ was discovered and revealed before hers.

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, ‘to lose one Cabinet Minister in a week could be regarded as misfortune, but to lose two Cabinet Ministers in a week looks like carelessness’.

EDM.

Radiohead - 9 November 2012 - Brisbane

First, a disclaimer. It is impossible for me to be objective when it comes to Radiohead. I've always been a massive fan and await every new album like an Apple fanboy awaits the latest iPhone. I have spent an inordinate amount of time listening and watching (via TV/internet) these boys from Oxford so if you've come here expecting a critical and purely impartial take on their gig on Friday night, you're out of luck.

So yes, I have spent an inordinate amount of time enjoying the delights of Radiohead over the years. To the point of them almost being the soundtrack of my life. I've sat on the train with my eyes closed and my toes a-tapping. I've lied down on my bed with my head rocking and my hands a-flicking. There's just something about them in that they always seem to come up with the perfect melody or lyrical prose to sum up my particular mood(s).

However, I've never seen Radiohead live and in the person before. Friday night was to be the first time in the flesh then, and not even the prospect of having to trek out to darkest, furthest Boondall could dampen my spirits. I couldn't help thinking how good it would be to see them in a smaller, more intimate venue, but hey, beggars can't be choosers and the 'trek' was made with excitement and anticipation levels at an all-time high.

So my colleagues and I made our entry into the arena about 20 minutes before Radiohead were due to come on. As I moved down the stairs to the standing admission areas in front of the stage, I couldn't help but think back to the Brisbane Bullets and what used to fill these seats. We were in for something a hell of a lot different I knew that for sure.

And so it began. They opened with Lotus Flower and then Bloom from their most recent album, King of Limbs, before a classic from OK Computer in Airbag. Thom Yorke and his solo piano then brought us the unreleased The Daily Mail with a cheeky cockney accent before a suprising cheer went around the arena for Hail To The Thief's Myxomatosis.

Over the top of all this were huge screens floating above the band showing different images of each member in playing mode and providing quite a visual spectacle. From a close-up of Yorke as he played the piano in a look of pure concentration, to Colin Greenwood's fingers flying over and under the strings of his massive bass guitar. Bright red. Then green. Then blue.

By the time the tamborine intro from Reckoner came around, I couldn't help but feel like I was inside one of those kaleidoscope toys I had as a kid with the changing colours and images as you twisted the bottom piece. The song itself was just as beautiful and my mind pondered "is this what taking acid is like?" I was stone cold sober but things were getting a little bit religious.

Another classic Climbing Up The Walls got another big cheer and its chaotic brillance was all there to be seen. Mellow acoustic guitar and some electro that almost got the lighters out from the crowd, before it exploded into 'hard-and-fast' that meant you had no way of stopping yourself from moving. I noticed a small space had been created around me. Guess I was moving a little more than I realised.

Over the next few songs we had a newie in Staircase as well as some old school triumphs such as There There and National Anthem before the electronics returned via Feral and Bodysnatchers. And that was it. Or so it seemed. Or how it was meant to seem. Because no-one went anywhere. An encore surely.

And yes, they didn't disappoint. A few minutes later they returned to the stage to massive applause with the slow,early wallow of Give Up The Ghost from Kings of Limbs. Just Thom and an acoustic guitar started things off before Josh Greenwood joined in on the cello (is there no instrument this man can't play?). This continued with a loop of the first lyric which made it sound like Thom was actually duetting with himself. It was majestic. You could have heard a pin drop as the audience stood/sat in silence, mesmerised and awestruck.

The emotion continued with Pyramid Song before the strong beats of Morning Mr Magpie let loose and brought things back around to percussion and movement. This was one hell of an encore, especially as one was thinking each song would probably be the last and it would all be over. 

Alas, things had not reached any sort of peak just yet. Not by a long stretch. For the early bass sounds from Paranoid Android soon followed and a massive response from the audience occurred. While the band itself seemed a little disinterested at this point (playing it for the 1000th time might do that), the crowd certainly were not and a massive singalong, the first for the night, took place.

What came next was probably my personal highlight for night. If I had to pick one. I stood waiting for what was next as the band rearranged themselves and soon the intricate guitar intro to Street Spirit (Fade Out) was heard. For long time fans this was exquisite. The lone track from their second album The Bends (1995), and one of my most favourite tracks of all time. I sang along in unison to "Faaaadddeee Ouuuutttt Aggggaaaaiiiinnn" and the emotion nearly bubbled out before I shook my head at the end with a silly, mad grin across my face. Wow. Just wow.

And that was the encore. Or should I say Encore 1. The lads moved off stage once again but we all stayed and the slow hand-clapping commenced. The mandatory few minutes ensued and the band came back out while the floating screens arranged themselves in unison to act as a ceiling above them. It was a beautiful affect as it gave the impression they were inside a small, more intimate venue rather than a 12,000 person arena.

The hardcore bongo drum beat from 15 Step then filled the air as the lyrics began with "How come I always end up where I started". Again, my head was rocking and my toes were tapping as Thom looked like a new-age Ian Curtis jerking and pulsating across the stage.

All this before they moved effortlessly into Everything In Its Right Place. Another classic from Kid A (2000) and it was magnificent. It started off with its slow looped-over lyrics before turning into a jam of epic proportions. Each band member then left at different intervals until there was only one instrument (keyboards) being played. Build it up, and then bring it back down. Awesome.

The audience then stood/sat in awe themselves, trying to take it all then. Personally, I was exhausted from the emotion and from the experience. Really, an experience like no other. No-one wanted to leave though and the crowd stayed where they were. A loud cheer then came from up front and everyone looked closely for a sign. And there it was. The band were returning for Encore No. 3. Three bloody encores. Not in my wildest dreams did I expect this.

The heavy bass from Idioteque then blasted out from the massive speakers and it continued to rise into a mish-mash jam of electronics, percussion, rap-like lyrics and looped-over calling. In a way, it was almost too much despite its brilliance. A wall of sound that crashed into and through every one of our senses.

By this stage of the night the crowd were feeling a little delicate after what they'd been through and this last song came to an end with everyone in shock and awe at what they'd just witnessed. My colleagues and I filed out of the arena feeling just the same way and hardly a word was spoken on the long trip home.

It probably took the next day for it to all sink in for me. I woke up with that same insane grin and spent the morning thinking back to the night before and shaking my head all over again. Involuntary movements would occur as I found myself tapping my fingers or rolling my body in time to one of last night's songs while making a coffee or walking to the car.

It was that sort of experience. No easily-digested affair or a mere fleeting beige-like moment in time. It was intense. It was sublime. It was epic.

Sydney and Melbourne, look out!

EDM.

A Life Less Mediocre

A quarter or a mid? Not sure if it fits either. Is there an in-between? Perhaps mid if you want to get technical and be precise with the actual number. But then again, the concept of mid seems just a little too advanced. Oh yeah, way too advanced for me. Surely.

What am I talking about? Well, I've been contemplating again. And yes, I know I do it a lot. But that's me. I can't help it. So I've been contemplating my life lately and while its not a crisis or anything, I have been having thoughts that others may point to as the foundation of a mid-life or quarter-life crisis.

Now I'm not saying I'm having one of them. Not at all. A lot of these thoughts live with me no matter what and no matter where I sit on the ageing timeline. I guess its just dawned on me how average or mediocre my life seems at times. In comparison to people I see in documentaries, the news and the like. I just feel so bloody average. Doing a stocktake:

• aged in middle 30s with my glory days behind me and only middle age to look forward to
• thoroughly middle class background with my offspring likely to have the very same middle class background
• decent paying wage for doing a decent job but certainly not rich and its certainly no dream job
• nice house in a middle-ringed suburb but not in love with it and wouldn’t mind being closer in
• good car which does the job for the family but nothing special and with no fancy mod cons
• catch public transport to work and read a book or listen to music
• pretty fit compared to most my age and love a run, swim or surf, but not outstanding at any of them
• like current affairs and politics but not too much as they annoy and depress me at times
• like my footy and a good beer but not too much as they hurt (physically and emotionally) and hangover me at times
• like a good book and a good movie but finding the time for either is tough
• like good music and discovering anything new, but very tough to get to live gigs these days

Maybe its just a symptom of our bland, white-bread, trim-milk lives here in western society. I've spoken before of our political dynamic where we really do come across as a bunch of whingers because really, we have no life-death struggles in this country and the things that matter come so easily to us. So we complain because we have to complain about something; so its traffic and tolls, its phone companies and internet connections, its the tradies who are doing our renos. Real first world problems.

I'm no different. But that's the problem. I seem to be so 'normal' in those circumstances. So average. So middle range. Where once I travelled the world and lived in some of the busiest cities, but now I live in the suburbs of Brisbane. Where once I dreamed of being a war/foreign correspondent and jumping from story to story, but now I write briefing papers about industry development policy and infrastructure business cases.

Yep, things have changed since my more adventurous 20s. But I'm certainly not saying for the worse. I have so much to be thankful for and the most prominent one being my own family with beautiful and amazing son. I just wish there was a bit more adventure in my life. A bit more spontaneity. A bit more 'extra' in ordinary rather than just plain ordinary.

I'm not alone in all this I'm sure. Hence the reason we even have the concept of a midlife or quarterlife crisis. Then again, it is nice to have that luxury isn't it? You probably don't get people living in the slums of Manilla or amongst the dirt of Ethiopia complaining about these largely self-indulgent things. I'm sure they'd have no problems at all living an average, normal or middle range life like many of us.

Most definitely another first world problem then. So I'll just shut up and go back to my white bread sandwich and flat white with trim milk. Perspective god dammit!!!

EDM.

I'll Be Back

Jaysus, where has the last two months gone? Looking down at my last post and it says 30 August 2012. Seven weeks ago. Wow.

Yes, I have not been a good boy of late when it comes to regular correspondence on this blog. I have been quite regular in relation to twitter though with all sorts of witty and insightful comments over the ensuing weeks. Well, there's been plenty of comments anyway.

Excuses, I gotta few. But nothing too outlandish with the usual work, kids, family pretexts. I did move house though and there is another very big one but it’s mostly of a personal nature so not suited to being broadcast to the world. Time may tell though.

So what’s happened the last seven weeks? What hasn’t happened actually.

We’ve had the State Budget and public service cuts in Queensland; a bitter feud and misogyny accusations in our nation’s Parliament; a glorious finals series in my chosen footy code (AFL); US Presidential debates and electioneering; and Scotland looking to leave the UK.

We’ve had shock jocks being held to account for their shocking comments for once; an Afghan girl being shot by the Taliban for asking to attend school; and a man jumped from the edge of space and landed back on earth like he’d jumped off a park bench.

So much to comment on, but for yours truly, it’s been so few time. I definitely aim on getting back on the horse though soon and bringing the world more of my particular style of writing and unique bent on the world. Its not for everyone, but hey, I like it.

Til next time my friends,

EDM.

Rise Of The Government Yes Man

The people that know me personally, know that I'm a Queensland public servant. For those that don't, there's your disclosure.

So recent events in the Queensland political sphere and Goverment moves to sack thousands of public servants have been of particular interest to me. There's been plenty to get angry about just as there's been plenty to be fearful about as well.

In saying that, I fully acknowledge that there's some elements of the Queensland public service that need a bloody good shakeup and there's some deadwood programs and areas that don't exactly stand up against a robust and thorough financial examination.

The Newman Government does have a mandate to institute change and they are well within their rights to undertake restructures and streamlining of the public service. But the thing is, what is going on is far beyond 'change' and 'restructuring'. It's a purge, an ideological one at that, and flies in the face of the history of public administration in this State.

Last week saw a new low in this whole, sorry business. In the face of a pending Supreme Court injunction applied for by the unions to stop a number of directives aimed at taking away the job security of public serants, the Government merely rode in over the top and rushed through in the dead of the night amendments to the Public Servant Act.

The amendments remove the job security of all Government workers, except police (they obviously didn't have the guts to take on the police union), and means there is now no 'permanency' associated with public service positions. My own job is therefore in jeopardy and the notion of having some security in my employment and financial situation by having a public servant job is in dust.

So the Government's cheer squads in the media and in blogs and on forums rally and start screaming "so what, we in the private sector don't have any security, why should public servants?".

And therein lies the cause of my frustration and the cause of my growing anger. Because it comes down to choice. I chose to become a public servant because I rated things such as job security, flexible working hours and work-life balance over other things such as salary, bonuses, etc. Maybe I could earn more money in the private sector, but I chose the public sector because I believe in work-life balance and job security over earning another $20,000-$40,000 a year.

And in turn, people in the private sector make a choice too. They decide that salary and other benefits that private enterprise gives them - bonuses, travel, paid-for work functions, more autonomy over their roles - are more important than job security and access to flexible working hours, etc. Different people make different choices. The essence of economics.

But the main issue I take with the call for public servants to be treated no differently to private sector employees, is the lack of any understanding whatsoever as to what the public service is there for and what it actually does. Because there is a real reason why public servants have traditionally had job security and been granted a level of permanceny in their positions. And no, its not because of the previous Labor Government and some deal done with the unions.

The notion of permanency for public servants actually goes back to the 19th century and is a core principle of the Westminster system of government (that's our system of government for those who need explaining). Up there with the Seperation of Powers no less. It's been around for over 160 years and is in place in governments and nations all over the democratic world.

The reason for it, is so that public servants can offer their political masters 'fearless and frank' advice without fear of being sacked for doing so. The whole point of having a permanent public sector is to create a professional civil service that can base its analysis and advice on the long-term and not the electoral cycle like politicians do. Basically, so they don't live in fear of being sacked just because they said to a Minister or a Premier "sorry sir, but that idea is not a good one".

Instead, with public servants now having no job security, that sort of counsel and that sort of examination of an issue will be diminished and the Government will no longer get 'fearless and frank' advice about what it wants to do and the things it's involved in. And believe me, from someone on the inside, the public service is actually the quality control measure that stops some of the crazy and inappropriate things politicians want to do.

Perhaps that's why this current Government dislikes the public service so much. They want to be surrounded by 'yes men' and they don't want advice of the 'fearless and frank' kind. They're a 'Can-Do' team after all. "Don't think. Don't examine. Don't consider. Just do!" seems to be their mantra, with apologies to the late great Hawthorn coach, John Kennedy.

And public servants are nothing but desk jockeys and no-one will miss them. We've got 20,000 too many apparently so let's change a system that's been in place for 160 years and forms the basis of our system of government just so this year's Budget can look a little better. All against the foundations of Queensland's public administration and one of the basic tenets of our democracy.

So to all those crying out and saying "why should public servants have permanency when I don't?", there's your answer. The public service is not the private sector and it should never operate like it either. You want the 'best' and most considered advice being given to government, not the advice that the Minister or the Premier wants to hear. And that's why the notion of permanency for public servants has, until now, been in place since Queensland became a functioning democracy. Not even Joh tried on what this Government is doing.

I digress a little, but it's the same with the argument that Governments need to run Budget surpluses. You know, like household budgets, as the metaphor politicians love to bring up. But why?

Governments aren't private enterprises that have profit margins as the basis of their existence. Why do you want a Government that is giving us, the public, less in services than it is taking from us in taxes? Why is that seen as such a good thing? There's obviously hundreds of other elements to that argument but that's for another blog post. But the premise remains, government and the public service are different beasts to the private sector and so they should be.

And another thing, the Premier has started saying this week that his now infamous claim that the Government has 20,000 more public servants than it can afford will end up being wrong. Apparently its 'only' 15,000 that will go now.

But hang on, if Queensland can't afford 20,000 and the Government's only getting rid of up to 15,000, doesn't that mean that we still have thousands of public servants that we can't afford? And I thought this was a Government that would make the difficult and hard decisions necessary in the best interests of Queensland? The hard decisions to fix the Budget and return it to surplus? But we'll still have more public servants than we can afford Mr Premier even with 15,000 gone?

Just goes to show what a farce that 20,000 number was, and that it wasn't based on anything resembling the actual facts and the actual reality. Especially if it can be so easily dismissed in the face of a week or two of bad polls.

And to think Queenslanders voted this Government in because it was sick of spin.

EDM.

AFL Round 19 - Melbourne v Gold Coast

For the Footy Almanac - http://footyalmanac.com.au/

BENNELL BRILLIANT BUT DEMONS DELIGHT

Melbourne versus Gold Coast

1:10pm, Sunday, 5 August 2012

Melbourne Cricket Ground

It was never going to be a ‘match’ that stopped the nation. And not even Match of the Day, let alone Match of the Round either. 16^th versus 18^th never will be. But from my vantage point on the couch in my home in Brisbane, the MCG looked picture perfect on the telly and Melbourne seemed to be putting on a beautiful Sunday afternoon for the Gold Coast boys. It wasn’t the most pleasing news for me, however, as I was hoping for a cold and wet weathered day to make my beloved Dees feel right at home while being quite a shock to the system for a bunch of boys from sunny Queensland.

Alas, the game commenced and I was quickly glad of the fine conditions. Melbourne looked surprisingly precise with their disposal and were regularly hitting targets by foot and by hand. The pressure around the ball was good also and the Suns were looking a little confused in their decision-making despite some beautiful early touches from Gary Ablett. And so it didn’t take long before James Sellar of all people marked on the lead and kicked truly for the first goal of the game.

The first quarter continued in that vein and I found myself actually enjoying a Dees game rather than verging on states of anger and frustration. Brad Green then popped up with a mark and goal before big Jake Spencer kicked truly, if you could call his technique ‘true’, for the first goal of his career. Melbourne’s midfield was dominating through the likes of Nathan Jones and Colin Sylvia before two opportunist goals from Sam Blease finished off the quarter with scores reading six majors for the Dees but only two behinds for the Suns.

The second quarter began with a quick Melbourne goal to Sylvia before Ablett snapped truly out of congestion to register the Suns first. Gold Coast had obviously been given a serve by their coach at the quarter break and their intensity around the stoppages in particular was much improved. Ablett and a fast-spreading Harley Bennell were crucial to this and it culminated in a three-goal burst in only two minutes for the Suns thanks to majors to Jared Brennan, Michael Rischitelli and Bennell.

My nerves were quickly calmed though by a long bomb from Luke Tapscott and the likes of Jones, Jack Grimes and Jack Trengove appeared to be everywhere with a number of crucial tackles and desperate smothers. Trengove’s hard work was then rewarded when he kicked a goal just before half-time after floating forward and taking a strong pack mark.

After the long break, the Suns again came out firing and peppered the goals for what seemed like an eternity for very little result. Brendan Matera in particular missing three shots at goal in as many minutes. However, as the quarter progressed Jones and Grimes were again being prominent for Melbourne and some nice skills from both resulted in Green kicking another two goals. For the Suns, Bennell continued to have it on a string but James Magner was doing a fine job on Ablett and his influence had certainly waned.

By the time the last quarter commenced and the light tower shadows were appearing across the ground, the game was effectively over already with Melbourne holding an eight-goal lead. The Suns did kick a few goals early on with Bennell, Luke Russell and Matt Shaw taking the game on and showing some good glimpses. A crunching hip and shoulder from Tapscott on Russell soon changed all that though and the Dees kicked a couple of regulation goals in reply soon after. All that before the customary Jeremy Howe screamer was taken in the last minute (making us wait all day) and he kicked truly for goal as the final siren sounded.

A good win for Melbourne then as they showed some real skill and run throughout the game, elements that have been lacking for most of the year. And especially good for supporters such as myself to hear “A Grand Old Flag” sung again for only the third time this season. Conversely, a disappointing result for Gold Coast as they’d come to the MCG with some hope and expectation of a win following some competitive efforts against the top sides over the last month. In the end, it was the Dees by 42 points and an enjoyable Sunday afternoon was had by yours truly.

Melbourne  6.6  10.7  13.8  16.12  (108)

Gold Coast  0.2  4.5  5.9  9.12  (66)

GOALS

Melbourne: Green 5; Sylvia, Blease 2; Spencer, Trengove, Tapscott, Sellar, Rivers, Bail, Howe.

Gold Coast: Bennell 4; Ablett, Rischitelli, Brennan, Russell, Lynch.

BEST

Melbourne: Jones, Grimes, Sylvia, T. McDonald, Trengove, Green, Dunn.

Gold Coast: Bennell, Ablett, Russell, Shaw, Swallow.

UMPIRES

H. Ryan, Schmitt, B. Ryan

CROWD - 18,097

MY VOTES: Bennell (GC) 3, Jones (M) 2, Grimes (M) 1.

The Olympic Games - A Personal Journey

My first memory of the Olympics is actually the “Moscow, Moscow” song from the 1980 Games. I was only four or five at the time so its stretching the memory bank quite a bit but that song has remained with me my whole life. As has the images of the funny dancing dudes kicking their legs into the air with their hands on the ground behind them.

Next came Los Angeles in 1984 and my main memory of those Games is the guy wearing the jet pack and ‘flying’ around the stadium during the Opening Ceremony. To a nine-year old watching a lot of Star Wars and Buck Rogers at the time it seemed like science fiction was becoming science reality. I wanted a jet pack myself and couldn’t understand why Mum and Dad wouldn’t relent. I do remember Jon Sieben’s heroics in the pool though, in taking down The Albatross, Michael Gross, from West Germany. My father was a keen swimmer himself so we watched a lot of the open air swimming pool and we loved the story of our David beating the world’s Goliath.

By the time the Seoul Games rolled around in 1988, I had an absolute love for the Olympics and was now old enough to stay up and watch them. I was in awe of everything about them and was thoroughly enamoured with what I believed were the ideals of the Olympic movement and the notion of bringing the world together and all that. I think I even did a few school projects over the years on the Olympics and knew all the history from the Ancient Greeks to Pierre de Coubertin to Jesse Owens and to Munich.

I guess I was pretty impressionable at the time, as all kids are in that age bracket. But the Olympics and the athletes seemed like gods to me and the competition and pursuit of excellence seemed so pure, so authentic. That changed in an instant though. Just as my sense of the Olympics was at its highest level.

I had watched in awe as Ben Johnson smashed the world record in the 100m and loved the fact he was quietly spoken in contrast to the loud mouth American Carl Lewis. For a few days, Ben Johnson was my hero. The embodiment of the Olympic ideal. From the slums of Falmouth, Jamaica he’d conquered the world. But it all came crashing down soon after. Everyone knows the history. Johnson failed a dope test after the race and was caught taking steroids. And then swiftly sent home while the Games continued around all the controversy.

I was guttered. I was hurt. I was just plain lost in trying to comprehend it all. To this day, I can still remember watching the coverage of Johnson being escorted through Seoul Airport on his way to a flight back to Canada. But most of all I remember the confusion. I just couldn’t understand it. The why and the how.

It might sound a bit dramatic, but a little part of me died that day. The part of me that was so in love with sport and the ‘pure’ notion of competition. The part of me that was in love with the Olympic movement and what I thought it stood for. My beliefs and feelings most definitely changed that day. From its highest point, it’s been in decline ever since.

The decision in 1990 to award the 1996 Games to Atlanta over Melbourne and Athens certainly didn’t help. As a teenager with little experience in the ways of the corporate world, I heard plenty of talk about commercialisation winning out in the end. The International Olympic Committee had merely chased the most money rather than choosing the best bid. The fact Atlanta housed the headquarters of the Olympics sponsor, Coca Cola, being the most obvious point.

Then came the taking of a Sociology of Sport subject during my uni days. To this day, I am thankful for taking that course, as it made me question all sorts of ideals that we hold about sport, especially in Australia, and showed me the power of myth-making and the notion of so-called ‘common sense’. Of course, the IOC and the Olympics were a major part of those studies and a spotlight was put on all the corruption, commercialisation and corporatisation that is involved.

The Sydney Games, however, evened my thoughts out a little. After being so high in my childhood, my feelings had turned to cynicism and distrust through my early adult years. But the “Best Games Ever” changed that a little and I thoroughly enjoyed those two weeks, albeit from the other side of the world in the United States. Finding any information about Australians and their results was tough, but I was still able to watch the ‘Mean Machine’ and their air guitars as well as The Race won by Cathy Freeman.

Since then, the Olympics have probably been a bit of a sideshow for me really. Perhaps it’s just getting a bit older and having more ‘serious’ responsibilities such as kids and mortgages and co, but the last couple of Games have just come and gone for me. I’ve certainly sat down and watched plenty of the events while they’re on and it’s been good to have a break from the endless procession of reality TV on our screens (or are the Olympics the ultimate in reality TV?).

The media hype and the resultant nationalism/jingoism does annoy the hell out of me though and makes me cringe at times. As does having to watch and listen to commentators who obviously know very little about their designated sport or the competitors. Overall, I probably ‘witness’ the Games rather than ‘enjoy’ them, but at the same time still take pleasure in the spectacle of athletes competing and some of the great stories that do arise. Especially those ‘surprises’ involving athletes from non-mainstream sports.

And so here we are on the day of the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games. The Games are obviously front and centre all over our media and we’ve had weeks and months of hype around the organisation, the venues, the security and the transport. It’s like a broken record though. We get this in the weeks and months before every Games. Although with Athens it was probably a little justified.

My point is, that even the “Best Games Ever” were shrouded in controversy for years before and it rose to an absolute crescendo in the weeks before they commenced. I guess when you have thousands of journalists in town with nothing to report on yet, everything gets blown up and magnified far too much. Come the first race, the first game, the first match, it’ll all blow over and the athletes will be the main focus once again just as they should be. I’ve got no doubt these Games in London will be the same.

The controversies around commercialisation and branding are another matter. For me anyway. We’ve already seen stories about butchers and bakers having to cease having displays in their shops and even a London cafe having to drop the O in its name for the two weeks to call itself Cafe Lympic. Not too mention the exclusion zone around the Olympic Precinct where ‘Branding Police’ will be out in force stopping anyone from wearing certain clothing and certain brands. It’s all so bloody ridiculous and my cynicism and disgust rises again just as I’m starting to look forward to the actual event being on and the actual athletes being on show.

I guess that’s the story of my Olympic experience and my Olympic 'journey'. It’s a love-hate thing. It excites me at times, but annoys me at others. I put my faith in it at times, just for it to deflate me at others.

But will I be watching the Opening Ceremony early tomorrow morning and then hours and hours of it over the next two weeks? You bet I will. After all, it is the Olympics.

EDM.

The Watcher Series

Some of you might have noticed my output in relation to political posts has decreased dramatically. Well, there is a reason for that. Mostly around my current employment situation.

It's not for want of inspiration however. The goings-on in Queensland at the moment are providing plenty of inspiration with hypocrisy alerts going off on a daily basis and resultant levels of anger and disgust. But as I said, I just don't feel comfortable writing and posting my musings on it all. The risks are too great.

Someone, or some people, have no such qualms though and are taking all sorts of risks in producing The Watcher series of articles in The Brisbane Times. Trust me, some of the info and insights can only come from someone on the inside so there's some very brave person(s) deciding enough is enough and are trying to cut through the spin coming out of the Government.

Anyway, I'll let you guys decide on the legitimacy of The Watcher articles by allowing you to read them yourself. I'm not saying you have to fully take on board what is being said, but just open your mind to the fact not everything is what it seems from the Government side as they ramp up quite the media strategy to push their agenda. And to think Queenslanders voted the last Government out because they were sick of 'spin'.

Enough of the editorial though. Here's the link to The Watcher series. And here's one to yesterday's most recent article.

Decide for yourself then folks,

EDM.

AFL ROUND 17 - MELB V PORT

Via The Footy Almanac - http://footyalmanac.com.au/

================

It can be lonely being a Melbourne supporter. We’re not the club with the biggest membership nor do we regularly appear in the footy primetime. But as I entered the public bar of Queensland’s most famous pub, The Breakfast Creek, just before kick-off of a Super Rugby finals match involving the Reds, well, it doesn’t get much lonelier for a Queensland AFL fan. Let alone one that is a Melbourne supporter.

So it wasn’t quite like an old western where everyone in the bar turns and looks at the gringo walking through the bar, but I definitely felt a little out of place. Maybe if it was a Lions game I was there to watch it would be OK. But Melbourne vs Port Adelaide? From Darwin? “Not in here mate. Its the Reds on everywhere. Try the private bar.”

And like a mirage, there it was. In a dingy corner outside the toilets was one small television with the Dees-Port game on. I quickly sat down in front and checked the score. It was now 20 minutes into the game and the Dees had kicked five straight. Unheard of this year. If only my three-year old had gone to bed on time.

By the end of the first quarter, the scores sat at Melbourne 5.0.30 to Port’s 2.5.17. The Power’s inaccurate kicking obviously made the score look a little rosier than it truly was. Nonetheless, Brad Green was presenting well on the lead and the likes of Nathan Jones and Colin Sylvia were working well in close. That first beer tasted real nice and I actually looked forward to the next two hours. More than I could say for the natives in the public bar as loud groans and moans told the story of the Reds being two tries down already.

It seemed like God rebalanced things in the second quarter though as Port started winning the stoppages with ease and were moving it from coast to coast out of the Melbourne forward line. The likes of Green and our reluctant key forward Jared Rivers were still presenting but the kicking inside 50 was abysmal and the Port backs were having a field day intercepting and switching it down the other wing.

A couple of goals put Port in front as they controlled the footy but their goal kicking yips continued to get to 5.10 40 at the half. In contrast, the Dees would have been happy with having the yips that quarter as they didn’t even trouble the scorers until the very last minute. And yep, it was a point so they sat at 5.1.31. So despite the ineptness and horrible decision-making of the last 25 minutes, the Dees were only nine points down. Who’d have thought it?

The second half began where the first left off with the likes of Travis Boak and Dominic Cassisi winning the clearances and this Dees supporter gulping his beer down way to quick as the Melbourne midfielders continued to not man them up. All of a sudden a cheer erupted nearby and I knew at least the Reds at scored. Another gulp. But this time in celebration.

As the quarter progressed, the Dees actually started to win some ball and it was spending a lot of time in our forward line. The bad decision-making continued though and the game was turning into a real match of aerial ping-pong as each side’s defence was dominating and sending it back down opposing wings. Troy Chaplin and Alipate Carlile doing the damage for Port, and Jack Grimes and Tom McDonald doing it for Melbourne.

The big moment in the third quarter was that man Jeremy Howe again taking his weekly speccie. It came out of nowhere as it looked like just another long bomb into the forward 50 but Howe rose magnificently and used Stefan Martin as a stepladder to get even higher than his famous one at the SCG earlier in the year. A better mark for mine therefore, particularly as it was amongst a pack and required so much more to get the ball. Sammy Blease also chipped in with what is becoming his weekly left foot snap from an impossible angle. Sammy seems to be a one-trick pony at the moment, but oh what a trick it is.

Melbourne kept on creating the big moments but unfortunately not all were good. Colin Garland was having an indifferent night chasing Brett Ebert around but towards the end of the quarter he did something that made me stand up from my stool and swear loudly. Lucky no-one else was nearby so security didn’t turn up nor did the barman refuse me further service.

The incident in question? Garland, standing a few metres from his own goal line decided to kick the ball off the ground rather than pick it up and kick long down the line. He miskicked it though and ball landed safely on the chest of Port’s Paul Stewart who looked as surprised as everyone else to be lining up for goal for what would be his fourth goal for the night.

In the end, neither side would be proud of their third quarters despite those few highlights with skill errors and fatigue turning the game into a mistake-fest. The US Marines that turned up in the crowd on a little R&R must have been thinking the ball was coated in oil or something. “Those crazy Ooozies” you could imagine them saying. So the third quarter scoreline read 7.5.47 to Melbourne and 8.10.58 to Port. The Dees were still in it and once again I had some foolish expectation that just maybe we’d put in a decent last quarter after a number of late fadeouts over the course of the season.

And Melbourne started the quarter really well with Sylvia willing himself to every contest and Grimes showing some real polish off the half backline. The ball was getting to our forward 50 due to some great effort and tackling pressure but once again the lack of precision in our skills and the taking of the wrong option meant the Dees just couldn’t convert. And then the inevitable. Port finally got it past the centre line and bang, they kicked a goal against the run of play. I knew it was on the cards but it was hugely deflating nonetheless. Just like the other punters around the pub as I caught a quick glimpse of the rugby. The Reds had lost. 30-17. Ouch.

Melbourne were still in striking distance though and were attacking once again after the next centre clearance. But once again after a few minutes of us peppering our forward line, Port got it out and went coast to coast to kick another goal. And then another. And then another. It was drowning sorrows time now as the bar began to empty further. The only flicker of life when yours truly yelled another obscenity at the tele after Boak was again left unmanned at a crucial stoppage.

But really, I’d known it pretty much all night. Alas, it was now confirmed. All the brave tackling (doubling Port’s tackles) and hard-at-it contested footy just wasn’t enough. In the end you need to run and to spread and to carry and to hit targets with your foot and with your hand. Port weren’t precision-central either but they had it when it mattered and ended up being deserved winners when the siren finally sounded. Final score being 8.8.56 to the Dees and 12.12.84 to the Power. And the votes going to Boak (3), Grimes (2) and Stewart (1).

So after kicking five goals in the first quarter, Melbourne could only manage three for the rest of the game. As I trundled outdoors into the cool Brisbane night, I couldn’t help thinking that only the Dees could manage that. And just maybe that’s why it feels so lonely to support them sometimes.

EDM.