David Rowe |
Cathy Wilcox |
Peter Broelman |
This blog is open to any who wish to comment on Australian society, the state of the environment or political shenanigans at Federal, State and Local Government level.
The Me Too Movement began in the United States around 2006 and in 2017 the #meetoo hashtag went viral when actress Alyssa Milano tweeted ‘me too’ in the United States and in Australia journalist Tracy Spicer invited women to tell their story after the Weinstein scandal broke.
This my friends sums it all up, women’s lives today, tomorrow and everyday 👇🏻#MakeItStop#March4Justice @march4justiceau
— Janine Hendry @_Janine_Hendry on Threads | Insta (@janine_hendry) April 15, 2024
pic.twitter.com/hUP5HKASkl
Now the sexual assaults/rapes......
2022
Sexual Assault Reported To PoliceIn 2019 there were 26,892 victims of sexual assault in Australia, an increase of 2% from the previous year. This was the eighth consecutive annual increase and the highest number for this offence recorded in a single year. After accounting for population growth, the victimisation rate has also increased annually over this eight-year period from 83 to 106 victims per 100,000 persons.
For victims of sexual assault in 2019:
“Counting Dead Women Australia 2021. We count every known death due to violence against women in Australia: 32 by September 26.” [This count relies on publicly available information published by media outlets.]
In June 2021 the Australian Bureau of Statistics released Australian crime statistics for 2020.
A total of 396 homicides and related offences occurred between between 1 January and 31 December 2020.
The number of police recorded victims of family and domestic violence related sexual assault increased by 13 per cent in 2020, according to an Australian Bureau of Statistics media release.
Close to two in five victims of sexual assault recorded by police throughout 2020 were FDV-related and, almost three quarters of FDV-related sexual assault victim-survivors were aged under 19 years at the time the incident occurred (71 per cent) and the majority were female (86 per cent).
In NSW 81 per cent or 9,120 victims of sexual assault in 2020 were female and, around two in five (38 per cent) sexual assault incidents were FDV-related (4,288 victims).
NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR), June 2021 Update:
Additionally, in NSW in 2020 an est. 30,506 females were the victims of assault and, a higher proportion of females (54% or 16,430 victims) were assaulted by a family member compared with males (24% or 8,263 victims).
“The Australian Government has agreed to (in full, in-principle, or in-part) or noted all 55 recommendations in the Report.” [Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, media release, 8 April 2021]
“are either agreed wholly in part or in principle, or noted where they are directed to governments or organisations other than the Australian government” [Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, quoted in Sky News online, 8 April 2021]
So after ignoring the National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces Final Report for over 12 months, what do Morrison’s weasel words in the quotes above indicate?
Scott Morrison & Co say they are proceeding to:
* order a survey every four years to provide data on sexual harassment;
* provide educational resources for young people of working age on workplace rights and sexual harassment;
* educate and train staff at the Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Commission, Safe Work Australia, WHS regulators and workers’ compensation bodies concerning sexual harassment;
* lead a new collaboration by government, unions, employers and employer associations called Respect@Work aka the Workplace Sexual Harassment Council; and
* the Workplace Sexual Harassment Council is charged with:
a. providing high-level advice on development of guidelines and resources to ensure that all services providing information, advice and support in relation to sexual harassment can provide accurate information, make appropriate cross-referrals, and collect consistent data
b. after three years, considering the need for a centralised, accessible service to provide information and advice in relation to workplace sexual harassment;
* develop a Respect@Work website to provide the general public, employers and workers with free information; and
* Advise all state governments that they should ensure that relevant bodies responsible for developing training, programs and resources for judges, magistrates and tribunal members make available education on sexual harassment.
Somehow in this 7-item list I don't see any immediate, hands-on, practical actions by the Morrison Government that will see the rates of sexual harassment, sexual assault, physical assault and/or murder by a partner or former partner, of women and girls in any state or territory decrease in the next few years.
I sincerely hope I am wrong.
“When Scott Morrison says he’s listening, it’s usually to himself.” [Dennis Aitkins writing in The New Daily, 27 March 2021]
“This prime minister speaks almost exclusively to one cohort of voters: men at risk of voting Labor.” [Political editor and journalist Katharine Murphy, writing in The Guardian, 27 March 2021]
Clarence Valley Independent, 24 March 2021:
Around 60 women and eight men joined together in Iluka on Monday of last week in the Clarence Valley march4justice protest march, organised by Berri Brown (Iluka) and Robin Thomas (Woombah) to say, “Enough is Enough”.
Berri Brown, shared her reason for protesting, saying that, “Domestic violence is about emotional, financial and verbal abuse. I want things to change so that my little girl will be able to go about her day in the knowledge that whatever she decides to do in her future she will never have to be silenced or not be believed if this was to happen to her”.
Guest speaker Prue Leggoe OAM of Maclean said, “Of the 60 women present only one woman put up her hand to say she had never experienced sexual harassment or abuse. One of the men attending said he was there to stand for his two daughters who had experienced sexual abuse. This is a devastating statistic”.
Prue added that is seemed that nothing had changed since she had experienced sexual harassment when a Member of the Victorian Parliament 40 years ago. “It seems to have gotten worse in Parliaments, where power is used to manipulate and frighten an abused person, and workplaces continue to be unsafe for many women and men.” She said…...
ABC News, 16 March 2021:
The early signs of an earthquake can often be easy to miss.
Above the ground, the initial tremors can seem innocuous. But deep below, the tectonic shifting of plates can set in motion a series of events that rip apart the earth and bring down all that stands above it.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison could be forgiven for missing the early signs of the quake that would destabilise his government and upend the nation's political landscape.
When those early tremors started, Morrison was riding high. The nation was bouncing back from an economic recession and the man who'd won an unlikely victory years earlier appeared on track for re-election.
His focus was solely on a successful vaccine rollout, which he hoped would bolster the public's confidence in his government.
Weeks later, he'd find himself inside the House of Representatives, all but praising the nation for not shooting the protesters that had gathered outside.
"This is a vibrant liberal democracy," he offered.
"Not far from here, such marches, even now, are being met with bullets, but not here in this country."
Scott Morrison is a man under pressure.
He has two Cabinet ministers, representing a quarter of the government's national security committee, on medical leave.
His government is facing allegations of a toxic culture towards women, particularly young female staffers.
Morrison played an unlikely role in the catalyst that would shake the foundations of the nation's Parliament.
He beamed as he stood alongside Grace Tame as she held her Australian of the Year trophy — an all-but-typical sight for a Prime Minister each January.
It was this sight that gave former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins the confidence to come forward only weeks later, and make public an allegation that she had been raped in a ministerial office, mere metres from the Prime Minister's office within Parliament House.
As she stepped forward into the light, so too came other women across the nation, each unearthing a growing list of allegations that ranged from bullying to sexual assault.
It derailed the government's planned focus on vaccines and forced the Coalition onto the back foot. The days of solely focussing on the pandemic are ending and with that comes greater scrutiny of the government on multiple fronts.
The Prime Minister knows all too well the power of marketing and imagery.
He projects the image of a daggy dad, the Sharks-loving, cap-wearing suburban everyman who builds chicken coops for his daughters.
So you only had to see the shirt he was wearing — the national netball team's — when he got his first COVID-19 vaccine to realise how aware he was about the reputational damage being inflicted on his government because of its culture towards women.
That culture has been a scourge on Parliament House long before Scott Morrison became Prime Minister.
But as the leader of the government it's his task to handle.
He's faced blowback for saying he had to talk to his wife to realise he had to respond to Brittany Higgins's allegations as if they were coming from his own daughters.
He's also faced criticism for referring to Ms Higgins as "Brittany", rather than Ms Higgins.
The same way he referred to Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Alison McMillan, a professor, as "chief nurse Alison", while Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly gets a "Professor Kelly".
Though each are small, the Prime Minister is facing questions about if they add up to something bigger.
"Not so much a tin ear as a wall of concrete," Labor leader Anthony Albanese offered in Parliament yesterday……
Former chief medical officer Brendan Murphy or the former NSW fire chief Shane Fitzsimmons were heavy favourites to be named Australian of the Year.
If either man had been awarded the honour, they'd have easily joined the ranks of the distinguished Australians to hold the position.
And if Murphy or Fitzimmons had been named Australian of the Year, it's unlikely the nation would still be talking about them more than a month later.
It's very possible it would've meant the Prime Minister would still be riding high, talking about the vaccine and an economy in recovery.
Grace Tame changed all that.
She has advanced a reckoning that has long hung over the nation's Parliament and its treatment of women.
It's grown into a story beyond Parliament House and forced the nation to confront how women in all walks of life are treated in Australia.
There is no quick fix that Morrison could announce to solve this problem.
To change a culture takes time.
But for the tens of thousands who rallied around the nation, they were looking for signs the nation's leaders were listening.
What they heard was a Prime Minister who said they should be thankful they weren't shot.
#march4justice thread in Melbourne.
— Antoun Issa (@antissa) March 15, 2021
This is a list of names of all the women in Australia killed from gendered violence since 2008. 👇 pic.twitter.com/CgcJcqsB8t
Thousands of #March4Justice protesters can be heard cheering as Labor MPs led by @AlboMP walk out of Parliament House to join the rally @TheNewDailyAu pic.twitter.com/5FV1FcCHbw
— Samantha Dick (@samanthadick00) March 15, 2021
This moment requires leadership. We’re not getting it from this Prime Minister.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) March 15, 2021
My response to the PM in Parliament. #March4Justice pic.twitter.com/4NG9aC4W3o
Thank you Andrew Wilkie @WilkieMP who stood yesterday in Parliament in Solidarity with #WomensMarch4Justice @womensmarchaus @womensmarch pic.twitter.com/aqWMmmodOV
— 🎗Bel🎗 (@gypsybels) March 16, 2021
Shout out to @TonyHWindsor for attending the #March4Justice Armidale today! pic.twitter.com/bQ1mkY79FE
— Kate Mackley (@TheMackley) March 15, 2021
Look who turned up at #March4Justice in Sydney @TwoPaddocks pic.twitter.com/KdANXraWdF
— Saffron Howden (@saffronhowden) March 15, 2021
Having a super normal one back on the old work commute. But the women are coming because enough is enough and tomorrow we #March4Justice! pic.twitter.com/ouFE4tGcjQ
— Anika Wells MP (@AnikaWells) March 14, 2021
Grace Tame Australian of the Year 2021 Image: australianoftheyear.org.au |
On Wednesday 3 March 2021, Australian of the Year, 26 year-old Grace Tame gave a televised National Press Club of Australia Address.
This is the news.com.au published transcript of that address. It does not include the question and answer period at the end of the address:
“In April of 2010, I was battling severe anorexia. Truth be told, I still am.
“This illness had nearly taken my life the year prior, and seen me hospitalised twice. Bone thin and downed in fine down hairs from malnourishment, I was picked on for the way I looked. My mum was eight months pregnant at 45. I was a 15-year-old student at a private girls’ school in Hobart.
“I arrived later to discover the rest of my Year 10 classmates were attending a driving lesson off campus I had completely forgotten about. Lapses like this weren’t uncommon – I was barely there. One of the senior teachers saw me walking around aimlessly in the courtyard. He was very well respected, the head of maths and science at the school for nearly 20 years. He taught me in Year 9. I thought he was funny. He told me he had a free period and asked me to chat with him in his office. He asked me about my illness, I talked, he listened. He promised to help me, to guide me in my recovery.
“As a teenager with no frame of reference, and thinking nothing odd of this, I told my mother about the conversation. My parents had a meeting with the school principal, requesting the teacher stay away from me. In (a) meeting I then had, I think to apologise to him for putting him in this position in front of the principal. I was told I had done something wrong.
“Thus, the first seeds of terror, confusion, and self-doubt were sewn in my mind. Indeed, it didn’t make sense. In secret, he was adamant I still come to see him. To talk. My parents were against me, he insisted. I was not to tell them because they wouldn’t understand. Pregnant women, he said, were full of hormones. That must be why my mother and I were arguing.
“He gave me a key in his office, where it was always music playing, and the same music always, Simon and Garfunkel. Over a period of months he made me feel safe. I was sexually abused as a six-year-old by an older child who told me to undress in a closet before molesting me. He told me he would never hurt me. Until he did. By way of a masterful re-enactment I didn’t see coming. With a closet. And an instruction to undress.
“Most of you know the story from there. That is, how I lost my virginity to a 58-year-old paedophile and spent the next six months being raped by him at school nearly every day on the floor of his office. When I reported him to police, he found 28 multimedia files of child pornography on his computer. As per the lasting impact of and manipulative grooming and a four months after the abuse, I effectively defended him in my statement. I was terrified he would find out I betrayed him and he would kill me. He was two years in jail for maintaining a sexual relationship with a person under the age of 17.
“Repairing myself in the aftermath of all this was not a simple, linear undertaking. For every step forward, there were steps back and to the side, and some almost off the edge. I saw counsellor after counsellor. But I also abused drugs, drank, moved overseas, cut myself, threw myself into study, dyed my hair, made amazing friendships, got ugly tattoos, worked for my childhood hero, found myself in violent relationships, practised yoga, even became a yoga teacher.
“I starved, I binged, and I starved again. One of the toughest challenges on my road to recovery was trying to speak about something we were taught is unspeakable. I felt completely disconnected from myself and everyone around me. Many people didn’t know how to respond. That said, the ones who listened, the ones who were eager to understand, even when they couldn’t, made all the difference.
“Still, the doubt lingered. How could I have been so stupid, as to not see what this man was doing from the outset? Was it my fault? Should I have known it was a lie when he said he learned more from me than any of his other students? Maybe I should have been more alarmed when he asked me if I knew where my clitoris was. It was when the perpetrator was released after serving 19 months for abusing me, correction, maintaining a sexual relationship with me as a 15-year-old, and then spoke freely to the media about how awesome it was, I realised we had this all around the wrong way.
“Add the fact this man was awarded a federally funded PhD scholarship to the only university in my state. My mother was studying there. She soon dropped out because of his presence. In fact, he was put in student accommodation. Despite multiple reports to police by fellow students of his predatory behaviour, and once again convicted and jailed for his vulgar public comments during his PhD tenure, he was eventually awarded a doctorate.
“After all this, it became quite obvious to me why child sex abuse remains ubiquitous in our society, while predators retain the power to get what they want, to objectify their targets through free speech, the innocent, survivors and bystanders alike, are burdened by a shame-induced silence.
“I connected with groundbreaking fellow survivor and journalist, Nina Funnell. I needed to raise awareness and educate others about sexual abuse and the prolonged psychological manipulation that belies it. After months of recounting, retraumatising details, tearfully transposed by Nina, we discovered we were barred by section 194k of Tasmania’s evidence act, that made it illegal for survivors of child sexual abuse to be identified by the media, even after turning 18, even with their consent. Nina created the Let Her Speak campaign to reform this law. We were then joined by 16 other brave survivors who lent their stories to the cause. The law was officially changed in April last year, almost 10 years to the day from the beginning of my story.
“It is so important for our nation, the whole world, in fact, to listen to survivors’ stories. “Whilst they’re disturbing to hear, the reality of what goes on behind closed doors is more so. And the more details we omit for fear of disturbance, the more we soften these crimes. The more we shield perpetrators from the shame that is resultedly misdirected to their targets. “When we share, we heal, reconnect, and grow. Both as individuals and as a united strengthened collective. History, lived experience, the whole truth, unsanitised, and unedited, is our greatest learning resource. It is what informs social and structural change. The upshot of allowing predators a voice but not survivors encourages the criminal behaviour.
“Through working with Nina, finally winning the right to speak, and talking with fellow campaign survivors and countless other women and men who have since come forward, it has become clear that there is the potential to do so much more to support survivors of child sexual abuse to thrive in life, beyond their trauma. And more so, to end child sexual abuse. It is my mission to do so. And it begins right now. As a fortunate nation, we have a particular obligation to protect our most vulnerable. Our innocent children, and especially those further disadvantaged through circumstance, being part of a minority group, or geographical location. And there are three key areas that we can focus on to achieve this.
“Number one, how we invite, listen, and accept the conversation, and lived experience of child sexual abuse survivors. You have heard me say it before, it all starts with conversation. Number two, what we do to expand our understanding of this heinous crime, in particular, the grooming process, through both formal and informal education. Number three, how we provide a consistent national framework that supports survivors and their loved ones, not just in their recovery, but also to disempower and deter predators from action.
“So, what is it that we must do? First and foremost, let’s keep talking about it. It’s that simple. Let’s start by opening up. It is up it us as a community, as a country, to create a space, a national movement where survivors feel supported and free to share their truths. Let’s drive a paradigm shift of shame away from those who have been abused and onto abusive behaviour. Let’s share the platform to remind all survivors that their individual voice matters amongst the collective. Every story is imbued with unique catalytic educative potential that can only be told by the subject. Let us genuinely listen, actively, without judgment, and without advice to demonstrate empathy and reinsure it never was our fault. Further to this point, while I must express my unflinching gratitude for this new-found platform, I would like to take this particular opportunity to directly address the media with a constructive reminder – the need for which has become starkly apparent to me this past month.
“Hosts, reporters, journalists, I say to you – listening to survivors is one thing – repeatedly expecting people to relive their trauma on your terms, without our consent, without prior warning, is another. It’s sensation. It’s commodification of our pain. It’s exploitation. It’s the same abuse. Of all the many forms of trauma, rape has the highest rate of PTSD. Healing from trauma does not mean it’s forgotten, nor the symptoms never felt again. Trauma lives on in ourselves. Our unconscious bodies are steps ahead of our conscious minds. When we’re triggered, we’re at the mercy of our emotional brain. In this state, it’s impossible to discern between past and present. Such is retraumatisation.
“I cried more than once while writing this. Just because I’m been recognised for my story doesn’t mean it’s fair game anywhere, any time. It doesn’t get any easier to tell. I may be strong, but I’m human, just like everyone else. By definition, truths cannot be forced. So grant us the respect and patience to share them on our own terms, rather than barking instructions like take us back to your darkest moment, and ‘tell us about being raped’. The cycle of abuse cannot be broken simply by replaying case histories, we cannot afford to back track. Else, we’ll go around in circles, trapped in a painful narrative, and we’ll all get tired, both as speakers and listeners. We’ll want to switch off and give up. And retreat once more into silence.
“On average, it takes 23.9 years for survivors of child sexual abuse to be able to speak about their experiences. Such is the success of predators at instilling fear and self-doubt in the minds of their targets. More so than they are masters of destroying our trust in others, perpetrators are masters of destroying our trust in our own judgment. In ourselves. Such is the power of shame. A power, though, that is no match for love. When I disclosed my abuse to another of my teachers, Dr William Simon, his absolute belief in me was the only assurance I needed to tell the police. It helped me recover a little of my lost faith in humanity. There certainly isn’t a single rigid solution. Solutions will naturally come in due course by allowing and enabling voices to be heard.
“Certainly, talking about child sexual abuse won’t eradicate it, but we can’t fix a problem we don’t discuss, so it begins with conversation. Which brings me to my second point: from there, we need to expand the conversation to create more awareness and education. Particularly around the process of grooming.
“Grooming – it’s a concept that makes us wince and shudder and as such, we rarely hear about it. To the benefit of perpetrators. While it haunts us, and we avoid properly breaking it down, the complexity and secrecy of this criminal behaviour is what predators thrive on. In turn, we enable them to charm and manipulate not just their targets, but all of us at once, family, friends, colleagues and community members, and this must stop. Our discomfort, our fear, and resulting ignorance needs to stop giving perpetrators the power and confidence that allows them to operate.
“As a start, we should all be aware of what has been identified as the six phases of grooming, that certainly ring true in my experience. Number one, targeting. That is, identifying a vulnerable individual. In my case, I was an innocent child, but I was anorexic, with significant change happening at home. Number two, gaining trust. That is, establishing a friendship and falsely lulling the target into a sense of security, by empathising and assuring safety. For me, that is what I thought was listening to my challenges. Empathising with my situation, and providing me a safe space to retreat to when I needed it. Number three, filling a need. That is, playing the person that fills the gap in a target’s mental and emotional support. In my case, although I was surrounded by an incredibly attentive family and team of medical professionals, most of their support came in the form of tough love. The teacher thus assumed the role of sympathiser, telling me what I wanted to hear. Number four, isolating, driving wedges between the target and their genuine supporters. This involves pushing certain people away, but exploiting others. I remember studying the film Iron Jawed Angels in history. The main character is force fed, much like I had been. Aware of my distress upon seeing this, my history teacher quietly led me out of the classroom. I said nothing. But she took me straight to his office. Where she left me with him. Panicked, in tears. It wasn’t until many years later I questioned why she and other staff would take me to him when I was upset. Staff he privately mocked and referred to as ‘the menopausal virgins club’. He must have told them. Number five, sexualising. That is, gradually introducing sexual content as to normalise it. In my case, in conjunction with subtly explicit conversation, I was carefully exposed to material that glorified relationships between characters with significant age differences. There was one film in particular he made me watch, called The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, the last line of which, ‘Give me a girl at an impressible age, and she is mine for life’.
“And remember how I said Simon and Garfunkel was always playing? Their music was the soundtrack to The Graduate. He made me watch that too. It was, both literally and figuratively, The Sound of Silence. You know the lyrics. The vision that was planted in my brain, still remains, within The Sound of Silence. Number six, maintaining control. That is, striking a perfect balance between causing pain and providing relief from that pain. To condition the target to feel guilt at the thought of exposing a person that also appears to care for them. Abusers scare you into silent submission. At over six foot, he towered above me. He once told me a story about a friend of his who sought revenge on a woman by digging her eyes out with a spoon. He told me he killed people as a soldier. He’d also sit outside on my street at night in his car, to watch me undress through the window. I was already embarrassed by my shape as a young teenager in eating disorder recovery. I remember standing naked behind his desk after he had just raped me, and asking him if he thought I was fat. He looked me up and down and said, ‘You could do with some more exercise’. Like I was a dog. But he also told me I was beautiful. See, how it is all stiflingly, painfully complex?
“But as we talk more about child sexual abuse, our lived experiences and what we know, our understanding of this premeditated evil will continue to develop. We need to warn our children, age appropriately, of the signs and characteristic behaviours, while educating how to report it, should it happen to them, or to those around them. This is a serious enough topic, unfortunately too common in occurrence for us to hope that kids know this. So I challenge our education system to look for ways to more formally educate our children. Because we know that education is our primary means of prevention.
“And finally, to my third point, we need structural change. A national system that supports and protects survivors and deals with crimes in proportion to their severity. Let’s start by considering the implications of linguistics related to offences. Through Let Her Speak campaign efforts, we saw the wording of my abuser’s charge officially changed from maintaining a sexual relationship to a person under 17, to the persistent sexual abuse of a child. Think about the difference in the crime according to the language of both of these. Think about the message it sends to the community. Think about the message it sends survivors. Where empathy is placed, where blame is placed, and how punishment is then given. We need to protect our children not just from the physical, mental, and emotional pain of these hideous crimes, but from the long lasting sometimes lifelong trauma that accompanies it. Whilst national structural change is no small feat, nor is educating our children on the dangers and the complexities of grooming, it is work that needs to be done and we need to start somewhere.
“Let’s start by reviewing our linguistics and agreeing between ourselves. We have eight different state and territory jurisdictions and eight different definitions of consent. We need to agree on something as absolute as what consent is. We need a uniform, state and federal, national standard definition of consent. Only then can we effectively teach this fundamentally important principle consistently around Australia.
“Since I was announced as Australian of the Year just over a month ago, hundreds of fellow child sexual abuse survivors have reached out to me to tell their stories. To cry with me. Stories they thought they would take with them to the grave, out of shame for being subjected to something that was not their fault. Stories of a kind of suffering they had previously never been able to explain. Stories of grooming. I am one of the luckiest ones. Who survived, who was believed, who was surrounded by love.
“And what this shows me is that despite this problem still existing, and despite a personal history of trauma that is still ongoing, it is possible to heal, to thrive, and live a wonderful life. It is my mission and my duty as a survivor and as a survivor with a voice to continue working towards eradicating child sexual abuse. I won’t stop until it does.
“And so, I leave you with these three messages – number one, to our government – our decision-makers, and our policymakers – we need reform on a national scale. Both in policy and education. To address these heinous crimes so they are no longer enabled to be perpetrated. Number two, to my nation, the wonderful people of Australia – we need to be open, to embrace the conversation, new information, and take guidance from our experiences so we can inform change. So we can heal and prevent this happening to future generations.
“Number three, and finally, to my fellow survivors – it is our time. We need to take this opportunity. We need to be bold and courageous. Recognise that we have a platform on which I stand with you in solidarity and support. Share your truth. It is your power. One voice, your voice, and our collective voices can make a difference. We are on the precipice of a revolution whose call to action needs to be heard loud and clear. That’s right. You got it. Let’s keep making noise, Australia.”
Hi! My name is Boy. I'm a male bi-coloured tabby cat. Ever since I discovered that Malcolm Turnbull's dogs were allowed to blog, I have been pestering Clarencegirl to allow me a small space on North Coast Voices.
A false flag musing: I have noticed one particular voice on Facebook which is Pollyanna-positive on the subject of the Port of Yamba becoming a designated cruise ship destination. What this gentleman doesn’t disclose is that, as a principal of Middle Star Pty Ltd, he could be thought to have a potential pecuniary interest due to the fact that this corporation (which has had an office in Grafton since 2012) provides consultancy services and tourism business development services.
A religion & local government musing: On 11 October 2017 Clarence Valley Council has the Church of Jesus Christ Development Fund Inc in Sutherland Local Court No. 6 for a small claims hearing. It would appear that there may be a little issue in rendering unto Caesar. On 19 September 2017 an ordained minister of a religion (which was named by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in relation to 40 instances of historical child sexual abuse on the NSW North Coast) read the Opening Prayer at Council’s ordinary monthly meeting. Earlier in the year an ordained minister (from a church network alleged to have supported an overseas orphanage closed because of child abuse claims in 2013) read the Opening Prayer and an ordained minister (belonging to yet another church network accused of ignoring child sexual abuse in the US and racism in South Africa) read the Opening Prayer at yet another ordinary monthly meeting. Nice one councillors - you are covering yourselves with glory!
An investigative musing: Newcastle Herald, 12 August 2017: The state’s corruption watchdog has been asked to investigate the finances of the Awabakal Aboriginal Local Land Council, less than 12 months after the troubled organisation was placed into administration by the state government. The Newcastle Herald understands accounting firm PKF Lawler made the decision to refer the land council to the Independent Commission Against Corruption after discovering a number of irregularities during an audit of its financial statements. The results of the audit were recently presented to a meeting of Awabakal members. Administrator Terry Lawler did not respond when contacted by the Herald and a PKF Lawler spokesperson said it was unable to comment on the matter. Given the intricate web of company relationships that existed with at least one former board member it is not outside the realms of possibility that, if ICAC accepts this referral, then United Land Councils Limited (registered New Zealand) and United First Peoples Syndications Pty Ltd(registered Australia) might be interviewed. North Coast Voices readers will remember that on 15 August 2015 representatives of these two companied gave evidence before NSW Legislative Council General Purpose Standing Committee No. 6 INQUIRY INTO CROWN LAND. This evidence included advocating for a Yamba mega port.
A Nationals musing: Word around the traps is that NSW Nats MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has been talking up the notion of cruise ships visiting the Clarence River estuary. Fair dinkum! That man can be guaranteed to run with any bad idea put to him. I'm sure one or more cruise ships moored in the main navigation channel on a regular basis for one, two or three days is something other regular river users will really welcome. *pause for appreciation of irony* The draft of the smallest of the smaller cruise vessels is 3 metres and it would only stay safely afloat in that channel. Even the Yamba-Iluka ferry has been known to get momentarily stuck in silt/sand from time to time in Yamba Bay and even a very small cruise ship wouldn't be able to safely enter and exit Iluka Bay. You can bet your bottom dollar operators of cruise lines would soon be calling for dredging at the approach to the river mouth - and you know how well that goes down with the local residents.
A local councils musing: Which Northern Rivers council is on a low-key NSW Office of Local Government watch list courtesy of feet dragging by a past general manager?
A serial pest musing: I'm sure the Clarence Valley was thrilled to find that a well-known fantasist is active once again in the wee small hours of the morning treading a well-worn path of accusations involving police, local business owners and others.
An investigative musing: Which NSW North Coast council is batting to have the longest running code of conduct complaint investigation on record?
A fun fact musing: An estimated 24,000 whales migrated along the NSW coastline in 2016 according to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and the migration period is getting longer.
A which bank? musing: Despite a net profit last year of $9,227 million the Commonwealth Bank still insists on paying below Centrelink deeming rates interest on money held in Pensioner Security Accounts. One local wag says he’s waiting for the first bill from the bank charging him for the privilege of keeping his pension dollars at that bank.
A Daily Examiner musing: Just when you thought this newspaper could sink no lower under News Corp management, it continues to give column space to Andrew Bolt.
A thought to ponder musing: In case of bushfire or flood - do you have an emergency evacuation plan for the family pet?
An adoption musing: Every week on the NSW North Coast a number of cats and dogs find themselves without a home. If you want to do your bit and give one bundle of joy a new family, contact Happy Paws on 0419 404 766 or your local council pound.