Those who served in our armed forces will recall the Defence Act was a very thick book with hundreds of pages of military offences.  For those regulations that didn’t cover particular situations there were a couple of options for Commanding Officers’ to revert to.  They were ‘Conduct unbecoming of an Officer and a Gentleman’ and ‘Conduct to the Prejudice of Good Order and Military Discipline’.  Barrack room lawyers in the ranks found it nigh on impossible to escape either of these when marched in by their Regimental Sergeant Major.

On reflection it is clear that the purpose of these regulations was to ensure the high ideals of military service were not compromised by poor behaviour within the ranks, or in the wider community.

The custodians of our National Parliament would be wise to reflect on their ideals in view of the shenanigans that led to the appointment of a serial rorter of the public purse to the position of Speaker in the tradition of ‘whatever it takes’ to maintain political power.   (more…)

Despite all the forelock tugging, grovelling and swooning over Barak Obama by former America ‘haters’ from Labor’s looney left (who are now running the country) the decision to base a US Marine contingent at the Top End is welcome news.

But imagine the noise if John Howard and George Bush had made the announcement.  Julia would be demanding her Socialist Soviet friends be given equal opportunity to establish a base – preferably in the ACT!  Ageing rocker Peter Garrett would have resurrected Midnight Soil to rant against American nuclear submarines. Bob Brown would have confidently predicted Armageddon the next day. The ABC and Fairfax press would have been inundated with endless hysterical rantings from the commentariat. (more…)

During the war in the Pacific a sanctimonious senior officer complained to Prime Minister John Curtin about some of the character traits of his Commander in Chief, General Thomas Blamey.  Blamey had a reputation as a womaniser and enjoyed more than a few beers.  Curtin’s response reflected the moment.  ‘We need a general to win this war – not a Sunday school teacher!’

The times also reflected a lack of media intrusion into the lives of public figures.  Media cycles were more leisurely and limited to newsprint and radio.  Television had not arrived and ‘internet’ was not yet a word.

Fast forward to the new millennium and we have a 24/7 news cycle. The media industry has exploded and expanded.  It now includes newspapers, radio, television, the internet, social networks and twitter.  News is instantaneous and the competition to break it is intense. (more…)

The Greens attempt to curb media criticism of their extreme left policies is true to form.  Freedom of ideas and expression are the great gifts of democracy. Ideological censorship as practiced in communist and other totalitarian regimes is the antithesis of democratic political doctrine.

It is therefore no surprise that the Greens, whose roots are entrenched in communist ideology, want to curb media attention on their policies.  It is ironic that the Greens and their cheer squad in GetUp recently praised Julian Assange because of his success in exposing secret documents illegally hacked on Wikileaks.  Assange has become a cult hero for GetUp and the Green-Left political alliance.

The News of the World hacking scandal in Britain exposed their ideological hypocrisy.  Although there is no evidence of such practices in the Australian media the Greens have now seized upon the likelihood of it happening here to curb criticism of their Carbon Tax. (more…)

Sydney’s road and rail network is a symbol of NSW Labor’s self-indulgent incompetence.  It is an unholy mess that will require major surgery to fix.

The cancer began when former Labor Premier, Neville Wran, sold off the transport corridors given to him by the Federal Coalition Government at the time.  Wran sold the land for a short term political gain.

He was later followed by former Labor Premier, Bob Carr, who was elected on a promise of scrapping t tolls on the M4 and M5 in 1995.  Further investment in transport infrastructure was not possible because of the cost of Carr’s commitment.  Factional infighting between Carr, his Treasurer, Michael Egan and Roads Minister, Carl Scully scuttled plans for a third lane in the M5 East tunnel.  Western Sydney motorists have suffered ever since. (more…)

The grub of the year award must surely go to Mark Riley for his latest bottom-feeding bout of media mucknews.

According to the Latham Diaries this is the bloke who trawls through politicians rubbish bins in search of dirt. Apparently nothing is sacred to Riley in his quest to make a name for himself by destroying others.  Heroic stuff.

He is now leading the media pack in their quest to destroy Tony Abbott’s leadership.  But Riley doesn’t care about the people he hurts in pursuit of his next grubby headline - grieving army widows and parents are merely collateral damage in his pursuit of relevance.

This is serious stuff because suited media spivs such as Riley are able to influence public opinion in accordance with their own political leanings.  They seek heroic status in wine bars and coffee lounges.   (more…)

Ben Chifley’s ‘light on the hill’ has been truly snuffed by the pretenders who now run his once proud Labor Party. In Chifley’s days Labor stood for something.  Today they stand for the next headline.  The demands of the news cycle mean initiatives can be announced, trashed and re-announced within a single term of office.

Julia Gillard was a key member of the notorious ‘Gang of Four’ who presided over the disastrous economic decisions that blew the surplus inherited by the Howard-Costello Government and sent us reeling into debt. Now we have real disasters to deal with there is nothing left in the bank.
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I’m not into ‘Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi’ chants, group hugs, high fives or bullshit.

I hate whingers, knocker’s, drug dealers, freeloaders, snobs, inner-city pretenders and sanctimonious politically correct commentators.

Having got that out of my system I can proudly proclaim that I love Australia.  I love our land.  I love our people. I love our way of life.

On this Australia Day, the 241^st anniversary of Captain Cook’s landing at Botany Bay,  special ambassadors, essentially ordinary people who have done extra-ordinary things, will travel far and wide and share their thoughts and experiences with communities all over the country. (more…)

As flood waters recede in the eastern states, and the full extent of the devastation is revealed, serious questions regarding Government, corporate/personal responsibility and liability in regard to natural disasters need to be raised.

In the interim we need to ensure that those affected by the trauma of losing loved ones, property, possessions and income are given maximum support to recover their lives and get back on their feet.

The response of the community has been magnificent as battalions of strangers with mops, buckets and shovels volunteer to do whatever they can to help and donations roll in to the relief appeal.  Unfortunately thousands of families and small businesses will never recover because they were not adequately covered by insurance. (more…)