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Michael W

Listed below are comments made by Michael W between Saturday, 26th September 2009 and Sunday, 6th December 2009 (10 Hours Ago) .

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Will Abbott's victory trigger an election? 09:07am on 06 Dec 2009 Tony Abbott is proud of being a "professional Catholic" citing his achievement while health minister in keeping RU486 banned in Australia and his creation of a Catholic-run, $15 million 'pregnancy support phone counselling service' (which has been an expensive flop).

Expect to see more of this ideological policy if he becomes PM, which I very much doubt he will.
Thirsting for gold 12:48pm on 24 Nov 2009 I would say it's un-Olympian to have state-sponsored athlete factories churning out medal winners for the sake of national pride. Leave all that to China. But then I'm not a fan of the Olympics, which long ago became a circus of drugs, sponsorship money, dodgy backroom deals and state propaganda.
The Republican Referendum: Ten Years On 11:17am on 05 Nov 2009 I can't really get excited by the monarchy-republican debate. I think that reform of the States/Commonwealth system is more urgent priority for Australia, to get rid of the huge levels of over-government. Maybe the impasse will be broken when Charles III comes to be head of state of Australia.

In the meantime, the best way to light a fire under the republican movement would be to get NZ to become a republic first (a very likely possibility). The Aussies will squirm when they see the Kiwis getting ahead and showing off their own president and taunting King Charlie's banana monarchy.
Big Australia 2:07pm on 23 Oct 2009 Immigration levels are set by Federal government, but the states are left to provide roads, schools and hospitals for these tired and huddled masses. And it ain't working. Badly.
Australia and Afghanistan 1:03pm on 16 Oct 2009 Can we really afford to be spending $4 billion a month on this war against a bunch of yokels? Let the Afghans fight their own battles. They don't want Australians or any other foreigners on their land. Leave them to it, with a promise of great unpleasantness if they dare to let Al Qaeda set up training camps there again.
Is Australia unusually racist? 2:42pm on 12 Oct 2009 We lived in NZ for five years before moving to Oz. Never had any problems in the shakey isles, but as soon as we arrived in Australia we noticed real in-your-face racism from time to time. Everything from snide comments to "**** back to Asia", patronising remarks from the Eastern suburbs crowd (oh you speak such good English) and sometimes being refused service in cafes. Even workmates lapse into a few unintentional insulting remarks about stinky food or sneaky Asians when they've had a few beers and forget there's one in their midst.
My wife seems to get it a lot more than me, and I'm thankful there is another breed of Aussie who sticks up for the underdog and the victim.
Of course we don't mind, because it's all just a few Aussie larrikins having a bit of fun, no malice intended. We just need to lighten up.
Is Australia needy for acclaim? 12:32pm on 10 Oct 2009 Credit where it is due. Australia's economic health is due to Chinese demand for minerals. The Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded to a Californian who had a PhD from Cambridge. When it comes to acclaim, Australia is needy.
Brand Australia 11:42am on 05 Oct 2009 "Australia - dig it."
Why Australia prefers political prose to political poetry 11:39am on 05 Oct 2009 Some seem to think the lack of political razamatazz is because Aussies are a laconic, egalitarian and self deprecating lot. Might it not be because Australian politicians are seen by the public as a bunch of largely self-serving mediocrities unworthy of any fanfare? The fact that our politicians fail to inspire and enthuse should be cause for reflection. It would be nice if Australia could have a black president, or at least a few representatives who can write books, recite verse without embarassment and stage meetings that rally people to a noble cause. Instead we get a bunch of 'don't you know who I am?" pre-selected party hacks from branch stacked electorates who hang around in Canberra (Mr Smith Goes to Canberra?) long enough to get their generous pension, free air travel for life and a nice posting as Ambassador to somewhere with culture. Now where's the bunting?
Brand Australia 07:14am on 26 Sep 2009 Speaking of Donald Horne, we could always go for the niche market and revive the slogan used by The Bulletin magazine, which Horne dropped when he became editor in the 1960s. That would appeal to the sizeable anti-Obama crowd in the US.

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Michael W