Sunday, December 1, 2013

a letter from fkn


The other day received my local state MP's spring 2013 newsletter.




The man's name is Geoff Shaw [member for Fkn]. Originally elected as a Liberal, he is now independent, holds the balance of power, and has spent the past few weeks fence sitting over State Labor's attacks on theSpeaker of the House.


[Can't for the life of me understand why anyone could imagine a specific politician – in this case the current speaker - to have lesser skills or standards than the rest of them. Why are they picking on him? How much lower /ineffective could he possibly be?]

Shaw is seeking leave to submit a private member's bill to change our state abortion law. As a general rule, I sometimes wonder why we must protect unborn children at all costs, but what we do to them after they are born is sod all  - literally, in fact, if they go to the wrong Catholic Parish School or are molested by a magistrate.

In any case, what good is the introduction of any bill to a parliament that has effectively shut down while everyone plays politics with the all important question of who is fit to be Speaker?


But I digress: Back to the [taxpayer funded] newsletter.

Dear Resident,

Despite allegations made against me and the media attention my family and I have endured over many months, I want to assure Frankston residents that I am more than ever determined that our beautiful city continues to receive the best representation in the State Parliament…
and more in that vein.

The Age article [link above] includes a quote showing how well Shaw talks up the desirability of living or investing in Frankston.

He said he still had support in Frankston: ‘‘I can walk in Frankston, one of the toughest areas in Victoria and I only get well-wishes from people’’.



Inside the newsletter is the usual list of Local Member Achievements. While I'm not sure we needed to spend $9 million for new learning centres at Mount Erin College in Frankston South, I am impressed that 9.1 million has been spent to add 2 mental health short stay prevention and recovery centres to the total already elsewhere around the State

It has been obvious for quite a while that a lot has been spent improving the Frankston Hospital [at least there is somewhere to park now while you wait… and wait… and wait… in the ED].

But whose achievements are these? Those of the Liberal Party of which Shaw is no longer a member? Perhaps some were initiated by the previous Labor Government?

Shaw is working hard to secure funding to replace the Karingal Primary School toilet block. Presumably students at Mt Erin College in Frankston South already have decent crappers. If the Karingal Primary School gets $9m for the project, I shall be forced to commend his egalitarian approach.

Shaw's future aims also include more courts at various basketball and netball association centres – but no court appearances at all for his own flagrant abuses of taxpayer funds. If the local cops have had time to work up a whole swag of 24 charges against him, serves him right for increasing the size of the local Force.

Meanwhile, some people want older people to find jobs [ha] and work til they are 70. Others want old people lucky enough to have jobs to leave them so youngsters will have a chance. Some people believe youngsters already have plenty of job opportunities but refuse to because they are a bunch of lazy dole bludgers. If they got off their arses and went to TAFE colleges, we would not need to hire foreign tradies on 457 visas.

The Vic Govt solution to all these employment woes? To ignore the previous Labor government solution of making the TAFE system a useless joke.

If only I had the super superannuation Geoff will have after his stint in Parliament, I would not be one of those babyboomers soon seeking to be a burden on taxpayers.





8 comments:

  1. Politics!!!! Who do you believe? They all tell porkies. They all make promises. many are corrupt. Heaps more should be spent on Health and Education.

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    1. Particularly preventative health care, and improved literacy standards.

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  2. oh isn't it just aggravating. but none of it will matter next week when indonesia declares war on us.

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    1. Ann, the first thing that springs to mind when anyone mentions 9/11 and the attack on the twin towers was a woman fleeing the area asking in a genuinely puzzled tone "Why us? Why us?".

      Sadly, poverty and ignorance generate guerilla [aka terrorist] warfare. War tends to start at the bottom and work its way to the top now, rather than start with a declaration from a leader.

      Too many Australians think we should retaliate against protests over phone tapping by reducing aid to Indonesia. I'm not sure that what the world needs now is for the west to stop tackling the potential for even more poverty and ignorance.

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  3. Intriguing that over the years, politicians have adopted what was once a terrorist propaganda strategy and started claiming responsibility for things not always directly connected to their own achievements! What'll they think of next?

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    1. The similarity in tactics never occurred to me Red, but the irony does not escape me now :)
      Stop Press 4 Nov: - "All dishonesty charges against the balance of power MP over the use of his parliamentary car and fuel card were dropped after the Director of Public Prosecutions decided there was not a reasonable prospect of criminal conviction in the matter."
      No conviction = no by election required = no change in the balance of power.
      Ahem.

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  4. Don't start me off FC , we have the gruesome twosome B & B (Barnett and Buswell) at the helm here, the money that gets wasted is utterly shameful. They don't care.. I seriously can't believe they were voted in again, the great Australian public is horribly apathetic!

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  5. You always know when a politician is lying. His lips are moving!

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