:: Wog Blog ::

:: WHAT AM I THINKING ABOUT? ::

:: Saturday 19 April 2008 ::

Australia in 2020 will...

...have 16 (UPDATE: make that 20 now that the actual report is out - there is a new agency in Productivity and a new one in Rural too and another one in Health incredibly given they already have so many, and a new one in Families, that one to do with the government insuring people against serious injury) new government agencies. That is my count from the Summit recommendations reported this p.m.

Oh, and only the very wealthy will be able to afford fags, grog and alcohol cos it will be taxed to fund the arts and Aboriginals so much.

Plus government operatives will force all of us to eat fruit. I think.

(UPDATE: and the government is gonna secure mortgages, provide more drought assistance, fund Aboriginals into the future, presumably whether they need it or not, and all our kiddies are all gonna be forced to learn about rural Oz, climate change and the arts...with lots of new funding from taxpayers including, get this, the Federal Govt has to pay for all insurances to do with the arts. The luvvies do not even want to pay for any of their own insurance premiums. The Rural stream at least ahd the decency to suggest that their insurance only be subsidised by gumment. Not the arts rorters, but. Oh no. Not really gonna be able to look at Cate Blanchett and Hugh Jackman ever again without thinking of them both as snouts in troughs of government money.)

Ignoring the motherhood overarching stuff, here we go with actual ideas - the verbs and nouns, peeps. Brace yourselves:

Productivity - set up a uniform national education curriculum.

How many bureacrats are gonna be needed for that, eh? Gumment money will be needed natch.

Aboriginal - um, this is just shite blather, but now finally, an actual thing, build capital works in Aboriginal spaces with govt funding.

More govt money to be spent on Aboriginals.

Economy - create a commission, undertake a tax review, reform regulations, set up a body for prioritising infrastructure, something else, not sure what, something about the public sector, more funding for education (this got applause, natch), law changes to remove barriers to participation (barriers to who, noone knows, bankrupts? crims? infants? who knows?).

Ah, we got 2 new adminstrative bodies and one expensive review project.

Health - create a commission, create a national health agency funded by tax on grog, fags and junk food, issue "wellness passports", partner with Asia on scary Asian infectious diseases, allocate money according to 'cost effectiveness data', putting traffic lights on food and limit ingredients in food and bann junk food, introducing something called 'fast fruit' which presumably means govt funded fruit delivery and forced eating, delivering fresh food to Abos and presumably forced eating, making Australians have a healthbook/facebook with all their helath details in one vulnerable IT space. Yah. And something about a "wellness footprint" measuring the impact of lifestyles on health (presumably smoking drinking folks to be shamed about their "footprint"), set up some volunteer force to teach first aid including mental health first aid to all Australians and presumably forcing them to learn, change organ donation arrangements from the current 'opt in' system to one where you have to 'opt out', and all jobs to include half an hour of enforeced exercise. Sackable offence if the worker refuses? I wonder.

So we have 2 new govt bodies, more admin for 'wellness passports' and 'wellness footprints', more taxes, more funding, enforced education and eating and exercise.

Future Security - develop a plan for Asia literacy in Oz, set up an agency for partnerships with Asia, develop a confederation entity with pacific states, set up a regional energy forum with US China Japan, India, force Aust govt to report on US relations every 4 years, set up 4 centres, set up a Oz Jap regional peacekeeping centre, establish a council.

Hmmmm, I make that 1 plan and 9 new govt entities. O yeah, no cost there.

Sustainability & Climate Change - establish a national climate change agenda, conduct an audit, establish national sustainable cities program, more money for public transport, change building standards to address water, establish a system for Australians to "manage" their "personal carbon footprint", install "smart meters" in all houses.

Sooo, we got 1 agenda, 1 audit, 1 program, more tax and interference in people's homes.

Future Government - set up a commission, conduct a plebiscite to decide whether to sever ties with UK, conduct a referendum on the form of an Ausralian Republic, develop an internet site called ourgov.com. That is it.

That is, 1 commission, 1 plebiscite, 1 referendum and a website all funded by govt. Seriously. That is it. And Maxine McKew who is insufferably self-congratulatory for this rubbish, just called her crew "The Red Brigade" and laughed. They kidnapped and killed Italian PM Aldo Moro in 1978. No laughing matter for wogs.

Families - develop a plan, develop a national development index to measure how many homeless there are and how trees have been planted, establish a body for giving confidence???, (obligatory jab by Tim Costell and his own brother, Liberal party member and former Treasurer), set up a foundation for microloans ($30m funding from National Australia Bank therefore Costello calls this a no cost policy), establish a foundation for homelessness using 0.5% of State stamp duty revenue, permanent fund for community organisations??? instead of annually funding, volumetric tax on alcohol with revenue to alcoholism treatment, a PM's statement on creating a non-violent society.

So, that's 1 plan, 1 index, 2 foundations, more tax on grog and a $30m from NAB.

Rural Oz - Wha'? Water, climate change, urgent, research, wha'? No actual actions? Except this no cost deelio which is a good 'un: Visit somewhere in rural Oz when you go on holidays. Nice.

Presume government funding - it is everywhere else.

Creativity - make art education compulsory in the new national curriculum, set up a new agency: National Endowment for the Arts, force govt agencies to spend 1.0% of all spending on creative acts, set up a national indigenous Cultural Authority. So, what have we got?

We've got 2 new arts agencies, forced education and more govt funding of arts.

Nothing new under the sun. Bolt agrees - keep scrolling for his take. Maybe when they release the actual list of real ideas there might be something there that I can get behind.

Cripes, this has been mesmerising and I have not been able to look away.

This has ostensibly been for me. I am an Oz citizen, I am (fingers and toes crossed) gonna be around in 2020.

This vision of a leftist educated and fed and funded Australian Republic where my perfectly legal lifestyle habits are knowable to all areas of govt and subject to their interference is a frickin' vision of hell to me.

Hell, I tells ya.

This 2020 Summit has been just all government, all good. That is what these 1000 people have damned the rest us to to. No mockery? No pisstaking? No larrikinism?

Jees, I think I need to get intoxicated. Best do it now before Rudd follows his summiteers make it all too shameful.
:: WB 9:02 pm [link+] ::