NEW

Wasn’t going to send another Dispatch in 2017, but I received some good news so here goes…

On 26^th October Malcolm Turnbull rejected the Uluru Statement following a Cabinet decision.

Thus I resigned myself to 2017 finishing on that sour note and to have a break and once again take up the cudgels next year.

My resignation proved pre-mature- someone sent me a link to a NEW website, a NEW Government initiative. Something positive to bring in the NEW Year.

As previously mentioned the Prime Minister’s prime objection to the Uluru Statement from the heart was that it sought, as he called it a “third tier of Government”. I assumed this to be a lie, but in view of the olive branch emanating from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, I thought I’d better ‘fact check” this. So here it is…

https://www.referendumcouncil.org.au/sites/default/files/2017-05/Uluru_Statement_From_The_Heart_0.PDF  (check it out- it’s only one page)

Janis Joplin – Piece Of My Heart  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJb7cBfrxbo

Maybe I am blinded by my prejudices, but nowhere in the statement do I perceive there to be a push towards a third tier of Government, not even reading between the lines. Should any of you think otherwise, I would gladly hear from you.

Another reason Malcolm Turnbull gave for summarily dismissing the Uluru Statement from the heart, is that he thinks a referendum would have almost no chance of success. In this he is probably right. The days when a quarter of a million people walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge for Reconciliation are long gone. The politically motivated opportunistic stigmatizing propaganda barrage has put the kibosh on that.  A change to the Australian Constitution requires a referendum which has a majority in every state of the Federation- this has proved notoriously difficult to achieve. Malcolm Turnbull had no such qualms however when he lead the Republican charge for the 1999 referendum. Back then he lost the referendum, on this occasion he lost respect, with which in my opinion he wasn’t over endowed with in any case.

You can imagine my delight when I stumbled on this:

“FAST food fans, listen up! McDonald’s has added a NEW addition to the Big Mac family – the Big Mac BLT. The US chain’s iconic takeaway, which already features American cheese, crisp lettuce, special sauce, onions and pickles, now comes with a rasher of bacon.”

But when I came across https://closingthegaprefresh.pmc.gov.au/ I was simply ecstatic!

The Closing the Gap Refresh consultations were launched on 7 November 2017 in Broome, WA at the Gimme Club

The Rolling Stones- Gimme Shelter…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3rnxQBizoU

“Australian governments are committed to working together, and with Indigenous leaders, organisations and communities to refresh the Closing the Gap agenda”

CLOSING THE GAP REFRESH CONSULTATIONS HAVE BEGUN
20 December 2017

Yes sir, a NEW carrot !

“Dangling a carrot in front of a donkey—or anyone else for that matter—is not nice, and not fair, unless you eventually plan to give it up to them (Vera Nazarian)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbKQ7nXx0o8 John Lennon, Happy Christmas…

See ya’s next Year,

Frank

Dear loyal readers

there is a distinct possibility that we will not post again until 8 January.  Of course if we can rouse ourselves from our end of year revelries we may have an intermediate post.  In the mean time enjoy the next couple of weeks, love and laugh with gusto and think kind thoughts.

Reciprosity: I gave the manager of our local service station/PO/store a card and small gift thanking him for bringing a smile and joy to our community every day.  He has recently had his application for permanent residency rejected.  He is highly educated, immensely personable and a decent person.  This rejection is another blight on our country.  Today he gave me a bottle of single malt.  And I thought he was a teetotaller.

Cheers

Cecil Poole

Musical Dispatch from the Front -Ad hominem- December 2017

Hi again,

I recall English lessons in first year High School (year 7) in Hilversum. The teacher used to spend school holidays in England so as to enable him to better teach English to us Dutch kids.

He valiantly tried to teach us to correctly pronounce the English language’s only definite article, the word ‘the’.

“Je steekt je tong tussen je tanden” which we did with great gusto. “Repeat after me- ‘The’….” Despite our tongues being firmly placed between our teeth, in unison we blurted out “Duh”

It used to drive our teacher up the wall when after repeated attempts he never got us to produce a convincing English sounding “The”.

My dad used to tell us with great glee about the time he overheard a German grandmother in an Australian supermarket calling out to Jason, her grandson… “Scheißen, Scheißen”

The irony when he subsequently couldn’t pronounce his own great-grandson’s name ‘Jethro’ wasn’t lost on him (my mother used to call him “Yet-roe”). For some inexplicable reason my dad had no difficulty in pronouncing ‘Heathrow’ which is what he ended up calling Jethro.

So when a friend sent me this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pZa6R3rmRQ  to a Ted Talk ‘Teaching English without Teaching English’, I had little doubt the talk would be up my alley, and indeed it was. For those who don’t press the delete button, I can assure you that spending 19 minutes listening to Professor Roberto Guzman is really worthwhile.

Mr. Lesley taught us Matriculation English (year 12). He used to bring newspapers to class, purchased out of his own pocket, a copy for each student.

We’d discuss the front page, question it, apply our BS detectors to it, analyse the stories for verifiable truths or the lack thereof and so on. Mr. Lesley made a significant contribution to the lessening of ovine and asinine tendencies in society. It is obvious from the current socio-political landscape, there are not enough Mr. Lesley’s.

These Dispatches have been railing against the Intervention and the assimilationist imperative driving it for as long as I can remember. Reference has often been made to the semantic attack on Indigenous Australia. In one Dispatch, then Minister of Indigenous affairs Jenny Macklin was described as the undisputed Australian Queen of the ‘non sequitur’. The use of straw-men, euphemisms, metaphors, stigmatization, propaganda and lies have all been invoked in what I call my modest effort at ‘counter propaganda’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLYOOezs3DA Bob Marley – Get Up Stand Up (for your rights)

No sooner did the Ted Talk teach me the meaning of ‘ad hominem’ than I witnessed a prime example of it on the ABC’s Q&A programme featuring our PM.

An Aboriginal lady tackled Malcolm Turnbull on his rejection of the Uluru Statement. When Turnbull started losing the argument he resorted to that nasty technique of speaking over the top of the other person and not let them finish. He eventually invoked the two Indigenous members of parliament (Ken Wyatt and Linda Burney) as his justification for the rejection- a non-sequitur if ever there was one. This was then followed by the PM getting on his high horse and making an ad hominem attack on the lady by accusing her of being disrespectful to the two Indigenous members of Parliament.

As Roberto Guzman said in his TED talk, “….ad hominems are terrible but are very useful in the hands of people who have no scruples….”

The Staple Singers Respect Yourself Live Filmed Performance 1972

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oab4ZCfTbOI

Meanwhile, all of you have a wonderful Christmas

Frank

Aretha Franklin (The Queen of Soul)
R-E-S-P-E-C-T

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FOUqQt3Kg0

Everybody Knows  by Leonard Cohen

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That’s how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died

Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you’ve been faithful
Ah give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you’ve been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That’s how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That’s how it goes
Everybody knows

And everybody knows that it’s now or never
Everybody knows that it’s me or you
And everybody knows that you live forever
Ah when you’ve done a line or two
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old Black Joe’s still pickin’ cotton
For your ribbons and bows
And everybody knows

And everybody knows that the Plague is coming
Everybody knows that it’s moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there’s gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows

And everybody knows that you’re in trouble
Everybody knows what you’ve been through
From the bloody cross on top of Calvary
To the beach of Malibu
Everybody knows it’s coming apart
Take one last look at this Sacred Heart
Before it blows
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That’s how it goes
Everybody knows

Oh everybody knows, everybody knows
That’s how it goes
Everybody knows

Leonard Cohen

Musical Dispatch from the Front- Listen!- December 2017

G’day,

Many a Dispatch has alluded to the failure of mainstream Australia to listen to Indigenous Australia.

From a 2014 Dispatch: “…I saw David Suchet’s retrospective on his 25 years of portraying Agatha Christie’s Poirot. David Suchet kept switching from himself to his Poirot persona. At one point he quotes Poirot in his Belgian/French accent: “I hear what you say, I listen to what you mean”

If only the multitude who have descended upon remote Aboriginal Australia to impose Stronger Futures and to Close the Gap would follow Poirot’s example. They come and organise endless meetings at which they push their agendas. If only they didn’t just hear what is being said, but listened to what is meant…”

Thus UNSW lecturer Caroline Wake’s review in The Conversation headed “Barbara and the Camp Dogs turns pub theatre into an impassioned call to listen to Indigenous Australians”, was right up my alley. It runs to 23^rd December at the Belvoir St. Theatre.

https://belvoir.com.au/whats-on/

Ursula Yovich stars as Barbara….
Ursula Yovich “Dance me to the end of love”…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPdizunoAB8

I think I’ve mentioned once before that I don’t consider quoting myself as plagiarism, so here is a comment I submitted to the Article in the Conversation….

“What a timely piece- This morning, paraphrasing Yothu Yindi, ‘I saw it on the Television’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf-jHCdafZY  …Yothu Yindi- Treaty…

There was Malcolm Turnbull, jubilant about the passage into law of Same Sex Marriage. Not surprising, being the politician he is, he took a fair bit of the credit. He even asserted that Australia was the land of the “Fair Go”. Senator Brandis was also jubilant.

This article mentions Malcolm Turnbull’s betrayal in relation to his rejection of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The “Fair Go” he invoked on today’s occasion, was not at all evident in that rejection. It wouldn’t be so bad, if his rationale for rejecting the Uluru statement wasn’t based on a blatant lie- the statement cobbled together at great expense by a broad section of Indigenous Australia never asked for a third tier of Government. They simply asked for a Voice. A voice with constitutional protection so it couldn’t be silenced at the whim of Government (such as happened to ATSIC under John Howard)

The attack on Indigenous Australia is multi-pronged and under the radar.

At the end of October Senator Brandis wrote to the Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service. CAALAS was advised that North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency Ltd. will be the funded provider in the southern region of the Northern Territory. As of next year (2018) there will be “fly in fly out” lawyers attending to the legal needs of Central Australian Aborigines.

“… I acknowledge CAALAS’ long history in providing legal assistance services to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Central Australia…” wrote Senator Brandis when delivering his death knell to CAALAS, A bit pedantic on my part, but I wasn’t aware there was such as “The Torres Strait Islander people of Central Australia”

The fight for rights worldwide is punctuated by iconic music, theatre and writing. Barbara and the Camp Dogs combines all three!

Long after the details of Native Title and John Howard’s treacherous 10-point plan are lost into the mists of communal amnesia, Yothu Yindi’s “Treaty” and Midnight Oil’s “beds are burning” will continue to resonate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpkGvk1rQBI  Midnight Oil- Beds are Burning…

Music is one of the most powerful weapons available to those silenced. That is why such as the Taliban ban (no pun intended) music and dancing.

As that song from the U.S. anti-segregation movement said ‘We shall Overcome someday”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkNsEH1GD7Q Joan Baez – We shall Overcome

All they were asked for was, a Voice with Constitutional protection, all they’re giving is nothing.

But they can’t stop the music…..

A couple of pertinent songs by Patrick Davies  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gtj3ayme1Io

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFAdylvx34c

And then (dare I mention it) there is that song from my parent’s generation…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAw0Ri4FSdM The Internationale…

Anyway, cheer up you mob…. Here’s some up lifting music….

Rumaal – Maati Baani ft. Bhutta Khan…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpMp1b9dxcQ

Who cares if we can’t understand a word!

Frank

Real Leadership demonstrates Real Mateship.

There’s trouble in parliament. And Paradise aint lookin too hot either.  It seems that big money is clouding the judgement of our elected representatives.

Sam is misunderstood for looking after his mates.

Before we continue, we should like to remind you that in spite of repeated attempts, and at vast expenditure of our depleted resources, we at pcbycp have not been able, (yet) to secure funding from the Chinese Communist Party for our ventures. WE are very keen to build a new corporate headquarters with gaming lounge, jacuzzi and health facility. We also have offered esteemed , (some may same glorious) members of the communist party a free pcbycp neck tie, (each comes with an inbuilt listening device and recording system) to ensure that they are kept up to date with the most current pcbycp musings, and a carte de visite, to most federal, state and local government representatives with their attendant banking details. In this way we hope to further streamline the planning process, to ensure that their funds, secured from state enterprises are safely invested in a sovereign state where the RULE OF LAW is respected.

So our dissapointment for being overlooked by second tier politicians who offer nothing much more than a crumpled tram ticket is bitterly dissapointing. We are disgusted that our entreaties to offer access to all politicians of any colour, and the offering of free accomodation for family members and travel vouchers have been eschewed and trumped by members of the Minerals Council, the Australian Business Council and Vice Chancellors from all the major universities. And disgusted that our plan to fast track resources, (Our Long March Investment portfolio) has been railroaded by the Murdoch press who’ve come up with their own shabby version, variously described as NBN.

The fact is, Dastyari and Robb haven’t gone far enough.

Robb looks after mates but doesn’t have “funny sounding name”, a sign of TRUE MATESHIP!

Thay are shirking their responsibilities to the party and by doing so inadvertently mocking the eternal presence of chairman Mao, who famoulsy saved China from the unelected kleptocracy to give it to his mates. In the spirit of mateship we beg the CCP to have another crack at PCBYCP.

We are loyal, and understand real politik. And unlike members of both parties, very happy to be upfront about where our donations come from. And, even further, once processed, where they go.

Gareth and Ali, Proving real-politik can be FUN

So let’s be honest about political donations, and understand one binding principle of Australian politics, money talks. And we agree wholeheartedly that dissidents, who don’t have much money get way too much say on stupid things like democracy and human rights. That’s the good thing about having Andrew Robb on board. A safe pair of hands he understands real-politik like Gareth did over the coprses of all those East Timorese.

And if we’re to be respected on the international stage, we are honour bound to do our own heavy lifting and ensure that political parties tow the line and do what’s best for those who don’t call Australia home. But have an intuitive understanding of Australian Tax Policy.

Drinking over the corpses of ” silly ” free thinking” East Timorese.

Dear reader, breathlessly we ask you to read this latest missive from our respected correspondent from the near north, Mr Lew Skannen, who asks the reason why?

The reason why ? Pratt Industries. 2 billion plus profit. Paid no tax. Big  donor to Liberal and labor parties. .

Following WW2 and the horrors of the Depression, Keynes and Roosevelt et al. set about ensuring that a repeat performance of the ’29 crash and the appalling poverty that followed would not happen again.

Exxon Mobil. Ditto

Adani. Ditto

As a consequence we, as war babies or thereabouts, our whole generation, grew up in that protective cocoon. Society cared about us and looked after our health and welfare.We felt we lived in a safe and caring society.Nowadays, in 2017 there is much less of this warmth about, particularly in Britain and the US. Instead of a feeling of warmth and caring there is undoubtedly now a feeling of alienation and betrayal.

Transurban. Ditto

There’s an interesting parallel in this between society and the family. We here at Sog.Bot.( Institute of Strategic Planning)  through fostering, spent years dealing with the fallout when a family disintegrates. Drugs, alcohol and simple neglect utterly deprive children of that warmth and love so essential to their early development. Irrational behaviour, neuroses, psychosis and all sorts of other horrors are plain to see in these kids and the truly terrible thing to observe is the fact that those kids, no matter how hard you try, will literally never get over that early trauma..Their personalities are so warped by this simple lack of compassion that they can’t even begin to grasp how society works. Society, however unfashionable it may be to admit it, is held together by warmth, compassion and love. In a violent, booze or drug-ridden family, where these qualities are not on offer, a neglected child must devote every second of its time to survival. The child sadly carries that survival instinct, that ‘me versus the world’ warped instinct, into adulthood.

Lowly politician turned lobbyist, practises salute for his country.

Our children,the children of our post-war generation grew up in a society that was being remade, Socialism became a dirty word, John Maynard Keynes safeguards were, we were told, entirely unsuited to today’s economics. Capitalism was king, From Edward Heath onwards, through Reagan, Thatcher, Clinton and Bush, all of Keynes’ protective measures were slowly stripped away.Obsessive greed, that most powerful drug, promptly betrayed the populace and bankrupted the nation. Young adults in the 80s and 90s, were left at first bewildered and then betrayed.

I talked about parallels earlier. In the dysfunctional family, neglected, unloved children behave oddly, irrationally and in extreme cases, psychotically. Extrapolating from that, it does not seem at all unreasonable to suggest that post- Keynes populations, feeling either neglected, uncared for, or indeed even abandoned by their governments, might behave precisely as the unloved child does. So, if the argument holds, then a whole generation of people, rendered psychologically incapable of making a rational decision, might begins to make wholly irrational decisions instead.

Inspirational leader, make benefit glorious Julie Bishop Foundation.

This form of unloved dementia has, I feel, produced the re-emergence of Fascism, mass bombings and shootings, given power to Breitbart and the so-called ‘alt right’, created Brexit and put a fascist in the White House. This is not the fault of the people. It is directly attributable to successive governments, seduced by the glamour of money, failing in their responsibility to those who have elected them. This is contemptible behaviour. of the most egregious kind.

Yet there is light. We’ve had forty years of laissez faire capitalism which has ended predictably in disaster. Yet there is Bernie Sanders in the US and Jeremy Corbin in England who are attracting thousands of young people with their ‘return to Keynes’ socialist ideas. Young people are demanding, ever more strongly, that government get back to the job of taking their responsibilities to their people seriously.

Andrew Robb, esteemed former Minister for Trade and Investment indicates depth of loyalty to the Australian body politic.

It is nearly ninety years since the ’29 Crash. That means that we may not have another ninety years before the next mega- disaster arrives. I don’t know about the rest of you but I am heartily sick of listening to ‘experts’ from the Chicago School of Economics, the Institute of Public Affairs, the Murdoch Press and a million other ill informed robber barons who know as much about economics as my arse knows about pocket billiards.These people do not care about us. Their only interest is profit. Yet these people, these carpetbaggers have the ear of governments and they will, if it helps, bring down that government in the name of profit. It is time for a government with courage enough to sling these leeches out when next they roll up with their larceny plans disguised as economic policy.

I look forward to that day with unalloyed pleasure.
Hallellujah, brother! Let it be!

Without apology we repost this gem from Lionel Fogarty

SAINTS ARE HOMELESS

The poor not homeless cause they have souls richest.
Fortune are homeless, tunes are homeless,
Homeless be the resistances
Homing babies don’t cry
Homeless be the rich of explores
Renting and owners be a homeless
Souls of cold are homeless
Soulful houses are hot with that foods want by the homeless.
Now prayers don’t work for homeless
A camp tent disappear, when a house no tiles to walk on.
Beds all lay sensible as inflict a strategy by all homeless survival.
Resistance are many homeless when they are exhibited.
Homage strange ungirth bring sad eyes handled by transgressor.
Love can not be a molesting,’ we got it better to live”
Home made invader on our homeless are tears not seen to comfort the living.
Home sweet homes must look at the big pictures.
Poor fairest bring all your morning happy when rhythms are lullaby as if the house is earth.
Home swear will not cover the hot cold seasons our homeless needs.
Religions are using the unhoused people for forgotten bush realization.
Pain comes passion at the men who needs a home to home his women’s.
Society eternity seems to want a keep homeless at bay at no stay.
Gifts are given, yet the homeless can’t pay rent or play ownership no more at doors gates close, a whole history roofs side walls seems fallen by the homeless callings.
My people housed know they not full housed cause our people’s live air think even eat as homeless.
Land taken made us homeless.
The trees roots are arms of our brothers and sisters homeless.
They say why don’t them get it together.
Well knock pale the rising sun light on homeless.
We’ll find music is beat best in homeless songs.
Always not be homeless for the crowed will intake,
Swift perfect lives make no homeless we run through years of rain in the sun shining.
Their feeling are not homeless when not housed don’t mean they lost.
Homes many are lonely than the homeless song on songs.
Let the peace be the piss over fires that don’t warm the homeless kinds.
The gold’s are the homeless
The futures are all homeless
Just don’t be up you one’s of a housed care.
Don’t cares are right wing bad bodies mouths.
We pity the stay on owners who will not house the homeless.
Most homeless have peaces unity and loves over money wearing sparkling.
Most homeless do soul the soulless even smart talk the politic of it all.
Most homeless are friends without friends.
We must not feel sadden for the homeless are a real worlds.

LIONEL G FOGARTY 2013 2 JULY TUESDAY TIME 8.30 MERTON VIC

Vison Splendid

Hola amigos,

Eduardo Galeano’s ‘Upside Down: A Primer for the Looking-Glass World’ (in Spanish ‘Patas Arriba: la Escuela del Mundo al Revés’) was the source of last Dispatch’s favourite graffiti. Here’s another: “Cuando teniamos todas las respuestas, nos cambiaron las preguntas” (When we had all the answers, they changed the questions)

Makes me think of the Uluru Statement.

A song worth repeating- He’s been up all night Moving the goalposts- Billy Bragg….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRdTrLQcqb4

At the beginning of Carol Travis and Elliot Aronson’s book ‘Mistakes Were Made (but not by me)- Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts’, Henry Kissinger is quoted responding to charges that he committed war crimes in his role in the United States’ actions in Vietnam, Cambodia and South America in the 1970’s:

“Mistakes were quite possibly made by the administrations in which I served”

It is indeed un mundo al revés… in which we live, in 1973 Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Louis armstrong give peace a chance 1969…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm_F0i176d8 (I know… have used this before… but hey! You don’t have to listen….)

After reading this book I vowed to own up to my mistakes and to try and refrain from seeking self justification. I fucked up…. Full stop.

In 1928 Henry Ford tried to convert a large chunk of Amazonian tropical rain forest into a rubber plantation. Henry Ford had a vision splendid. Fordlândia, as it became known was a dream which turned into a nightmare.

Four decades later, a custom-built pulp factory was towed from Japan around Cape Horn and up the Amazon at a cost of millions of dollars. Daniel K. Ludwig’s dream to convert a large chunk of Amazonian tropical forest into paper turned into a nightmare.

I’ll See You In My Dreams ( Django Reinhardt)…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNRHHRjep3E

Quite clearly Henry Ford and Daniel K. Ludwig never read Dr. Seuss’ ‘The Lorax’, and if they have, didn’t understand it, nor care.

One of the earlier jobs I was sent to as a geologist, was to supervise a drilling programme in the Fitzroy Trough of the Canning Basin. A company owned by Daniel K. Ludwig was searching for coal. DKL companies controlled an iron ore deposit at Nimingarra near Newman and manganese deposits at Woodie Woodie near Nullagine. The aim was to find an energy source (this pre-dated the discovery of the offshore North West Shelf gas fields) to produce lump iron ore with a high manganese content. Daniel K. Ludwig aimed at shipping this niche product to Europe. We all thought DKW was mad. No one shipped iron ore all the way to Europe.

The largest privately owned fleet of bulk carriers in the world belonged to DKL.

Six years later on our return from Canada whilst visiting a gold mine in Northern Ontario, I met another young geologist who had also worked for a DKL company- doing what? Looking for phosphates in Morocco.

Australian agriculture consumes huge quantities of phosphate fertilizer. The British Phosphate Commission mines on Christmas Is., Nauru and Ocean Is. were being exhausted. Australian phosphate exploration had not yet been successful.

Just picture the scene:

In North West Australia:

A coal mine running at a loss- paying no taxes

An iron ore mine running at a loss- paying no taxes

A manganese mining operation running at a loss- paying no taxes

An industrial operation producing manganese rich lump iron ore at a loss- paying no taxes

Panamanian and Liberian registered bulk carriers fully loaded to Europe, generating tax free profits.

A Moroccan phosphate mine running at a loss- paying no taxes

And the cream on top! Fully loaded bulk carriers back-loading phosphate to Australia, generating yet more tax free profits.

Incidentally DKL had negotiated tax free status (in exchange for 9% of profits) for his Brazilian venture.

So who said DKL was mad? He had a vision splendid.

If DKL were alive today (he died in 1992) it is likely he’d be heavily involved in palm oil production and transportation (converting inter alia, tropical rainforests into palm plantations ).

In Australia he’d be a top contender to finance Adani’s Carmichael coal mine in exchange for getting to carry the products of the world’s largest coal mine (run at a loss and paying no taxes).

Laundries and Textiles are the world’s largest industries. They operate out of places like Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein, Seychelles, Cayman Islands, Panama, and not surprising Bermuda, Guernsey and Jersey. Their main product? Emperor’s clothes, successfully marketed under such labels as “Free Trade”, “Level Playing Field”, “Jobs and Growth” “Trickle Down”, “Closing the Gap” and “Democracy”.

So what has all this to do with Yuendumu?

Companies mining on Aboriginal Land in Central Australia came under pressure from the Land Council to comply with local participation clauses in the agreements they had entered into to obtain access to the land. Then Director of the Central Land Council, Tracker Tilmouth had insisted that as local Indigenous employment efforts had failed dismally, participation in the form of equity should be tried. (Last month Alexis Wright’s book ‘Tracker Tilmouth: the Vision Splendid’ was published, I have yet to read it, but have no doubt that it is a splendid read).

In 2002 Yuendumu Mining Company (YMC) entered into a Joint Venture agreement with a major mining contractor. In return for acting as a local recruiting agency we got 5% equity in a 3-year $40M open cut contract. Assuming not unreasonable profits of 10%, we should have received 5% of $4M i.e. $200,000. What we did receive was $2K.

One of the clauses in the agreement was that the contractor was to retain 5.4% to cover overheads (administration, legal costs etc.). This seemed perfectly reasonable. I’d worked for companies where 10-15% overhead (management) fees were considered fair and normal. So you can imagine our surprise when the contract consistently and coincidentally generated surpluses of 5.3% regardless of production rates. We got 5% of nothing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zOjRlVpAOQ ……Dire Straits, Money for Nothing…

Thus one of the biggest mistakes I made as the manager of YMC, was to fail to learn from my experiences, and from jokes. I fucked up….full stop!

You know the joke: “Accountant! What is our profit?”… “What would you like it to be?”

Shalom,

Frank

This years Christmas shall be very exciting. We at pcbycp are not into celebrating a monotheistic cultural ritual with ancient spiritual significance. We eschew such orthodoxies. We also eschew any other attempt to bowdlerise the tradition with the saccharine and emotionally hollowing “Happy Holidays”. No indeed, not, this is not for us. We are celebrating Christmas as only clean living Australians can do, and that is by hot footing it to Coles, Woolies and Aldi for some of the fantastic pre Christmas bargains that will (doubtless!!) make this Christrmas truly worth remembering,

Did you know that Coles Christmas Ham is on special? An incredible 50% off over the chrissy period, and mince pies in one dozen packs are on special for two for the price of one. And just as you’re reeling, the knockdown price on Christmas Pudding is $5.99 for the Big Sister self saucing and a fantastic offer, with Plumrose Christmas Pudding coming in at a staggering 4.95, and the incredible price of two for $8.00.

Not to be outdone, Woolies is offefing Christmas Hams, (real ham) at $6.90 per kilo, and an unbelievable 50% off all Christmas items until December 15th. There is a huge special on litre bottles of Diet Coke at 1.50 each, and a special offering of $10.00 per dozen. But hurry! This limited offer runs out in on December 20th and there’s a limit on only two items per person.

Still it’s exceptional value and Christmas Crackers are on special at $2.95 per dozen. Can you believe that? A full dozen christmas crackers with authentically, (as approved by the Chinese Communist Party propoganda department) transcribed Christmas jokes. And there’s the up-market fancy christmas crackers at an incredible $9.95, for the box of two dozen and each purchase comes with a free 20 metre long string of Christmas lights. Door garlands in pink green and fluoro are a steal at $5.99, and antlers, santa hats, elves and Father Risdale gowns are all going out at a crazy 3.95 each.

At Kmart Games and christmas stockings are priced to sell. On top of the desirables list is the autographed, “Finding Father Risdale” Board game a steal at $25.95. And a free copy of the Archbishop Frank Little Bio, “I turned a blind eye” for $7.95, and an additional $12.95 for hardback. There’s specials on the “Burkes Backyard”, anatomical calendar, thrown out at a crazy $2.95, and each calendar comes with a freee Where’s (Don’s) Willy poster. Hours of fun and laughter for the whole family as we enjoy the Chrtistmas spirit and family fun.

And finally Aldi, is seling the complete “Banking Royal Commission findings”, (limited boxed editon) at $24.95, and on special for a ridiculous $19.95 the complete, Kevin Rudd, (all seventeen volumes) as landfill or insulation for households for $5.95. So it’s fun and laughter all round. LGBTI Christmas Trees at a ridiculous $12.95, turn them upside down and it’s an illuminated “No Vote”, with Corey Bernardii mascot. And once again, the message is; “Have a Merry Christmas and bugger humanity”! And, in between this tsunami of bargains, think of the eternal Christmas Message; “Consume for Christ”.

And savour this special day

Dear Reader, this is not the “Finding Father Risdale” Board Game.

Untul the Boxing Day Sales when the cash registers run riot!!!