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Showing posts with the label australian blogs

The 1967 Referendum to Give Aboriginals Equal Rights

I was in my twenties in 1967 when the referendum on giving Aboriginals the vote was held. Obviously, I must have voted, but I cannot remember anything at all about it nor the way I voted. Should I be ashamed about this? Well it seems many Australians do not remember a thing in regard to the referendum. It was nearly half a century ago. Rarely does a yes vote to change the Constitution "get up". This to non-Australians means that few attempts to make a change have been successful. Of the 24 referendums held only four have got a majority yes vote. People from other countries would think it odd that an advanced country such as Australia had not given Aboriginals the vote decades before. However, think about the racial discrimination in the United States in the supposedly enlightened 1960s. Other discrimination existed then. Young Australian men who were forcibly enlisted into the military to fight in the Vietnam War could not go into a pub and drink alcohol unt...

Be Consistent Mr Abbott

The age of entitlement is over for Australia - unless of course you vote for the Coalition. This is the the message of the A$324 million drought package comes across to Australians living in cities. The motor industry got not support, neither did SPC. Eighty per cent of Queensland is suffering drought. It is a serious crisis. However, a government must be seen to be consistent. Taking the hammer to trade unions is to be expected from a conservative government. The Liberal-National Government is not in the center politically in Australia. It is definitely conservative: plainly an anachronism that we have to live with. The National Party would bring back tariffs if they had the power, but they will remain Liberal Party lap dogs forever. Of course, other countries put up barriers against agricultural imports, so Australia should do the same. However, how can a government say one thing and act in a contrary manner. It cannot be taken seriously. A turn here, a flip there ...