May212012
I and many others who have witnessed this squalid saga have come to the conclusion that union bosses and the wider ALP generally see union funds as a constantly refilled trough for them to burrow their snouts into at will.
So maybe as Craig Thomson argued yesterday by only squandering $500000 that makes him one of the good guys despised as a goody two shoes by his union cohorts.
Certainly it is no less convincing an arguement than:
the cloned phone;
or show me the 4 year old brothel tapes;
or they hate me because I was trying to stop the rorting;
or why was Tony Abbott doing lurking under my bathroom window (OK maybe that was the media);
I mean after all Julia Gillard got away scot-free after helping her then boyfriend Bruce Wilson the AWU boss steal $1000000 from his union and disappear into the wind . Maybe $1 mill is seen as the cut off point and any more than that it is considered a bit tacky. Perhaps it is like superannuation and say $200 k a year is the unofficial entitlement whereas $300K a year might be seen as overly tickleing the till. Mind you it might be a percentage of the annual income rather than a set figure . The AWU is a huge union so that might explain why $1 million was a mere bagatelle in this case.
On the other hand Mr Thomson may be a pariah because he was careless enough to get caught and even then he is clearly far less of one than Kathy Jackson who was indiscreet enough to allow the spotlight of public scrutiny to focus on this sordid practice.
May182012
For years and years deadbeat teachers have been able to coast along comfortable in the knowledge that their deficiencies will not endanger their position or hinder their advancement up the bureaucratic ladder.
Giving school principals the power to hire and fire of course puts all this at risk which can only be good news for parents and children who want the best education available to them . This view is in stark contrast to that of the teachers' unions and their loyal stooges now running the P & C Associations who worship mediocrity and stand in support of the time serving hacks (these being the ones who cough up the union fees so vital to the opulent lifestyle of the union overlords and their collegues in the ALP).
Forget the propaganda from the unions and their P& C lickspittles, so faithfully reported by the media, these strikes have nothing to do with class sizes or anything else to do with the welfare of the students. They are part of the desperate battle to preserve the self serving status quo by dud teachers and their toxic unions.
May172012
I am a little disappointed to notice that the potential breakup of the Wiggles is considered far more newsworthy by our media than the looming breakup of the Eurozone which apparently ranks in importance to the Murdoch and Faifax Press on a par with "Will SBW sign with the Roosters?"
May162012
No wonder the journey from union boss to MP is such an easy and oft travelled road -it is funded in large part by union money. With a pretty safe seat to start with and plenty of union money to grease the wheels and the palms it is members' lounges and first class all the way. We now know this because the Australian Electoral Commission has given the OK to almost all the $200,00 Craig Thomson took from the Health Union trough to fund his campaign. It is apparently Ok because this money was declared as being used for this purpose in the union books so you can bet your steel capped Blunstones this is what they all do.
Just watch for the next steep decline in union participation as more long suffering workers come to the painfull conclusion that their fees are just a slush fund for the "bosses" in the ALP to use for their own benefit.
May142012
I knew the silence was too good to last and that as soon as decent interval had passed after the end of the record rains Tim Flannery's round bewiskered head would pop up again to share more of his wisdom .
He has regrouped and is now telling us he always talked about drought and flooding rains but for some reason the reference to "flooding rains" is not one I remember as a signature Tim Flannery phrase . Perhaps if we looked hard enough he might have mentioned once in passing.
This time it is about how hot days are going to drive the inhabitants of Western Sydney mad ! mad ! maaad!!! . I thought our immigration policies had seen to that already Tim reckons it will be the result of climate change . Just what roll the carbon tax was going to play in this was not imediately clear -to me at least but I have not doubt Tim thinks it is relevant.
May132012
I have never liked gay bullying either directed at gays as it was in the old days or more recently coming from homosexuals directed at anyone who does not whole heartedly support their lifestyle and at the moment anyone who opposes same-sex marriage.
Now while I am not a member of "it's an abomination in the eyes of the Lord" school I am old fashioned enough to think homosexuality is an aberration rather than a lifestyle choice to be celebrated . On the other hand what consenting adults people do in the privacy of their own homes is nobody's business but their own -certainly not mine.
As for same-sex marriage I am again old fashioned enough to think marriage should involve a couple of different sexes . I understand others have different views on this and that is fine but I in turn do not feel I need to defend this view to anyone least of all someone with a vested interest in changing the law for their benefit. This is nothing less than bullying and I strongly disapprove of it.
Mind you the argument "why shouldn't they suffer along with the rest of us " as put forward by Patrick the other day does have some merit.
May132012
Did I really hear correctly ? Dick Smith telling us that that Aldi and Costco were the ones making life so difficult for Australian producers?
It seems about 10 minutes ago he was attacking Coles and Woolworths for exactly the same thing and quite rightly so . I have heard horror stories about how they stand over famers , find one substandard item them offer them peanuts for the whole lot -take it or leave it.
Now apparently these market thugs are Dick's new best friends .I wonder what they hve offered him in return for his touting for them .At the very least I guess you can expect to see his products on their selves at a Coles or Wollies near you very soon
May102012
It is very difficult to avoid the conclusion that stealing members money must be viewed by members of the ALP as one of the perks of running a union, along with say bullying workers into joining and extorting money from employers.
In an organisation famous for gossiping it beggars belief that others in the movement and the party in general did not know something of the antics of Michael Williamson and Greg Thompson over the years. And lets not forget Ms Gillard who as a lawyer for the AWU helped her then boyfriend Bruce Wilson steal $1 million from the union he ran . Neither she or Wilson were ever charged and her career in the ALP can hardly be said to have suffered . You can read about it here http://kangaroocourtofaustralia.com/2011/10/17/julia-gillard-appoints-bernard-murphy-her-partner-in-crime-from-slater-and-gordon-lawyers-as-a-federal-court-of-australia-judge/ .
She has since paid back those who helped her stay out of trouble with appointments to the judiciary and Fair Work Australia . They might not reward honesty in the Party but loyalty is certainly highly regarded.
It is little wonder that those who move from the Union movement into politics are battle hardened enough to cope easily with the skullduggery of getting elected and Parliament itself.
May092012
Apparently according to the Fair Work Australia report ,Craig Thompson has stolen close to $500000 from the Health Union .
God knows how many million Michael Williamson (ex National President of the ALP) current head of the HSU has probably stolen from the same union but where is the outrage on behalf of the longsuffering union members? - practically non existent from the Labor Party at least . A bit of tut tutting from Bill Shorten but still it is mostly the sort of drivel from Anthony Albanese about how a man is innocent till proven guilty and certainly no problem getting his Labor mates to pick up the tab for his legal bills (out of other union members pockets not their own of course.)
The party has apparently known about this greasy crook in their ranks for years .Probably at least 4 as the Fair Work Australia inquiry ran for 3 and you can bet there was no hurry in getting that started in the first place. Graeme Richardson warned the head office about preselecting him again 2 years ago but they chose to ignore him despite by now being well aware he was a scoundrel .
The Oppostion wants to bring him down largely to reduce the Governmant majority rather than seek justice for the union members robbed - I suppose they are Labor voters anyway so who cares?
No the only genuine outrage anywhere seems to be over the $4000 he spent on hookers, and that folks is pretty much just envy.
May072012
Is there a Nobel Prize for hypocrisy?
For years Mr Swan's government has been spending money like a drunken sailor and yet now he is singing the praises of his (almost certainly phantom ) budget surplus. It is only karma that his big day is being upstaged by the attention focus on another lying scoundrel in his Party ,Craig Thompson .
Speaking of whom, Bill Shorten must surely be short listed for the same Nobel Prize in suddenly telling us yesterday how disgusted he is by the alleged behaviour of Craig . This is after almost certainly having known what a ratbag he was for several years but having said nothing but words of support. Graeme Richardson recently stated on radio he knew about it four or so years ago and advised the Party not to endorse him as a candidate for parliamnet