Category: General news

Debate is the “life-blood of democracy”

Republished with the permission of No Fibs

So this is what it feels like to live in the electorate of the sitting Prime Minister of Australia. We are just two days into the election campaign and Kevin Rudd has finally got the debate he has so long wanted – but with his LNP opponent in Griffith Bill Glasson. The media circus is in town.

I arrived early but the television networks were already there. Channel 7 and 10 trucks and generators were set up in the Colsmlie Hotel car park, cameras were hoisted onto shoulders and reporters were coiffured and practicing their pieces to camera. I was amused and slightly embarrassed by my little Olympus camera and flimsy tripod.

At this stage no-one was too interested in the three other candidates Dr Bill Glasson (NLP), Geoff Ebbs (Greens) and Karin Hunter (Palmer United Party) who had already arrived to debate Rudd. The wait was for the PM. Does he stage manage his arrival I wondered, so not to be upstaged? Is it possible to upstage a PM?

I suppose these media guys do a lot of waiting. I asked one cameraman whether he gets advance notice of when the PM is arriving. No, he said resignedly, we just wait.

I stood back at what I thought was a safe distance to observe, but when Mr Rudd did finally arrive I was nearly knocked off my feet in the frenzy for the best vantage point. I did not even get close, and from where I stood Mr Rudd’s face appeared to be an almost a translucent white from the intensity of the press lights. No wonder politicians have to wear make-up.

Rudd is taller than I expected, and not quite as chubby as he appears on TV. And in this, my first up close encounter, he certainly does have a statesman-like carriage. Or is that bestowed on him by the cameras and the flurry of attention? For all my cynicism, I was a little in awe.

In their opening remarks all four candidates went about establishing their credentials as either locals, or business people, or both. Both Rudd and Glasson claimed a history in the electorate. Both live locally. Rudd claims to have campaigned door-to-door in most streets of the electorate since first standing (and losing) in 1996. Glasson, Ebbs and Hunter all claimed to be, or have been, operators of small businesses.

The South East Brisbane Chamber of Commerce (SEBCC) is LNP territory however, and it was Glasson who, at the beginning at least, received the loudest and longest applause.

I expected Rudd to be at ease with his audience, and he was. Given his relative inexperience I was surprised at how well Greens candidate Geoff Ebbs was able to hold the audience: he even had them laughing at times. Palmer United Party (PUP) candidate Karin Hunter stuck rigidly to script and for a party that wants to stand out from the mob, there was disappointingly lacklustre and repetitive tone to her responses.

The forum was organised by the local SEBCC and while many of the questions had a predictable business theme and focus, it was the more thoughtful questions of the high school students that most captured my attention and which drew the most considered responses.

When questioned about the high rate of unemployment amongst young people in Queensland, Mr Rudd pointed to Premier Newman’s austerity measures and recent job losses in the state. Dr Glasson and Ms Hunter blamed the federal government for burdening small business with red tape and taxes and Ms Hunter spoke specifically of unfair dismissal laws. They both claimed that being freed from these entanglements will give business an opportunity to create jobs. Ebbs in contrast, reminded the audience that taxes are not a bad thing, they pay he said for the education needed to build the workforce and he suggested that Australia look to high taxing countries in Northern Europe for a renewed focus on innovation.

In a follow-up question to the Greens on how to bring employment to Queensland, Ebbs supported the need for the full rollout of the NBN, and on the need to focus on changing the landscape of energy production to focus on renewable sources. Mr Rudd too focussed on the NBN as a ‘pro-business, pro-growth’, ‘liberating technology’ which will ‘overcome the tyranny of distance’ for many Queenslanders. Again Dr Glasson and Ms Hunter were pretty much in lock-step; with both supporting the concept of the NBN, but both claiming it is just not affordable in its current form.

Some questions felt like they’d been planted. Had they? A question about policy on preventable health care gave the PM the opportunity to raise the question of smoking, and this ended with the inevitable taunt to Dr Glasson, as a former President of the AMA, about the continued acceptance by the Liberal party of donations from the Tobacco industry. Dr Glasson in response said his mother had died of a smoking related illness, and that he is personally passionately anti-smoking. It was not until after the forum when being interviewed on ABC radio that he said (if elected) he would take up the issue of tobacco company donations in the party room. Ebbs reminded the audience that both parties accept donations from gambling firms and so neither can claim to be pure in these matters.

Questions on Gonski and asylum seekers were answered predictably enough, although Karin Hunter seemed to get into a tangle on asylum seekers, and it was hard to know exactly what the PUP is proposing.

Perhaps the best question of the day to all the candidates was ‘How do you separate your moral beliefs from what is expected of you by your party?’ Kevin Rudd said whether religious or not, we are all shaped by a set of beliefs. The question for him when entering politics was how the political parties measured up against his personal beliefs. ‘I believe passionately in a fair go for everyone’. ‘I made a judgement that for me, through a lot of reflection, [that the ALP] is the best approximation, of the things I believe in most passionately’. But he admitted that from time to time there is a struggle, and the policy stance he feels he has had to take on asylum seekers provides such an example.

Dr Glasson made reference to the importance of marriage and the family in his life. But he said, at the end of the day politicians should also represent the views of the people they stand for, ‘that’s what you’re there for’. For him, he says it will be important, ‘when sitting in my rocking chair at the end of my career, to be able to say, ‘Yes, I made the right decision; I made it for the right reason.’’

Geoff Ebbs said that the responses by Mr Rudd and Dr Glasson illustrate that nearly everyone goes into public service, ‘because they are driven by something in their heart and they want to make a contribution to the community’. Political parties according to Ebbs play a much more significant role in Australia than the constitution was designed for. We now have a ‘sort of team approach to politics’ where everyone has to follow the party line. Ebbs said the Greens have a few basic principles that guide them but often grapple with moral judgements on the detail and priorities. But politics he said is about listening and practical common sense, not ideology.

Similarly Ms Hunter said being a politician is not about you, ‘but about the people you represent’. The PUP she said will give a conscience vote to all its members on social and moral issues such as same sex marriage and abortion. Being a politician she said has nothing to do with power, ‘it is about serving the people’.

In summary, Ms Hunter challenged both Mr Rudd and Mr Abbott to debate Clive Palmer (though she doubts they would have the courage to do so). She contrasted Mr Palmer (who was in the room at this stage) as a man who had built himself from nothing to become a multi-billionaire, with Mr Rudd and Mr Abbott who are professional politicians, who do not deal with their own money and who therefore don’t understand small business.

Mr Ebbs said politics takes effort; it is not something you can just step into from the business world. The Greens he said began twenty years ago as a group protesting environmental destruction, but it has developed and broadened its base, much as the Labor party was started 100 years ago by a bunch of shearers. The future he said is Green. In a world of resource shortages, ‘we have to nurture our natural resources’ and ‘have the moral fortitude and courage to control and manage our greed’. He considers the Greens will continue to grow and may be in a position to hold government in a decade or so to come.

Dr Glasson’s concluded that he is not a very political person. He said of his late father who was a National party member for 18 years, that his greatest honour was when he won the town of Barcaldine (the home of the Labor Party); not because he was a strong National, but “because he was there to represent the people”.

“I have a passion to represent the people of Griffith. I have lived in Griffith almost all my life. Griffith is my turf’.”

Dr Glasson appealed to Mr Rudd to support Hummingbird House “if I don’t get elected” as the first children’s hospice in Queensland. Mr Rudd: “We are happy to support the project, and we will do so.”

He concluded however on a more adversarial note. Debate was the “life-blood of democracy”, so “if the Liberal candidate for Griffith can front up with me, and I welcome it, why can’t the bloke who wants to be prime minister?”

 

Socialist Equity claims refugee policy is “a cynical and calculated diversion from the real issues”.

Last Sunday evening (28 July) I attended the campaign launch for the Socialist Equity Party (SEP) in Queensland.

Held in Jagera Hall in South Brisbane’s Musgrave Park, this was a somewhat austere affair when contrasted to the more ‘tub thumping’ Socialist Alliance public launch held in Boundary Street on 13 July.

I paid the $3 entry fee for workers (it was $2 for non-workers) and explained my purpose in attending. I was welcomed to take photographs of the candidates and to record proceedings. The room was set up formally in theatre style. A large table of SEP books and pamphlets staffed by a volunteer was at the back of the room. None of this material is offered free, and while the prices are nominal, if you want to know the detailed philosophy of this party, you need to be prepared to pay for the opportunity. The take away message for me was, “this is serious, and it requires effort’.

I joined about 15 or 16 people to listen to proceedings. The chair sat at a central table flanked by the two candidates who were also the guest speakers for the evening. The two speeches were followed by questions, “through the chair please’

The subdued and the formal structure of the meeting reminded me of my early days in a somewhat obscure fundamentalist church. I was, I suspected, amongst true believers.

The SEP candidates for the Queensland senate are Mike Head and Gabriela Zabala. Both have previously stood as senate candidates in NSW. Ms Zabala set the scene. Her focus was on global imperialism of the United States, and the ‘complete integration’ as she put it, of the “Australian military with the US command”. Pine Gap in the Northern Territory she claimed is central to US drone attacks and “unlawful assassinations” in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This activity has been supported by the ALP and the Greens in the absence of public debate or scrutiny by the Australian people.

Recent revelations by Edward Snowden of illegal spying by the US and his subsequent treatment by his government, provide an illustration, she claimed, of an emerging global distrust of established governments by workers and young people. The SEP’s concern is about “…arming the working class with a genuine revolutionary program and building the necessary revolutionary leadership”. It  is the SEP she claimed, and its sister organisations in the world Trotskyist movement, that are the only organisations “capable of providing the perspective and leadership” needed to harness emerging revolutionary sentiment and activity.

Mike Head’s focus was both global and local. He explained that while the SEP is standing candidates in the election (and he said, it does want votes), its real purpose is totell the working class the truth and to “…cut through the conspiracy, lies and fraud that dominate this election campaign”. 

The Labor party he claimed has acted in violation of international and domestic law with its increasingly hard line approach to refugees. Refugees, he said have rights to basic, health, welfare and education services, and the right to access the courts and “Kevin Rudd has violated these rights”.  This he said acts as “a warning call” to the working class. “Refugees are just the most defenceless, the most oppressed, the most vulnerable section of the international working class.” This government “will be just as ruthless in dealing with any resistance by the working class to the destruction of jobs, to cuts in their wages, to cut backs to their essential services, including health care and welfare”.

Head said that the “hysteria in media’ about refugees and Tony Abbott’s calls to bring in the military, “is a cynical and calculated diversion from the real issues that confront the working class and young people in this country and around the world.” What really confronts them he said “is a wholesale assault on their jobs and living standards”.

Head’s message to workers is that refugees aren’t to blame for attacks on workers’ rights and service, they are victims,” fleeing wars and devastation caused by the US and its allies, including the Australian government”.

There is already mass unemployment and attacks on services in Australia, Head claimed, and he cited as an examples, the unemployment rate of 13.8% in the suburb of Inala in Brisbane’s south, and recent government cuts in Queensland to health, welfare and housing services.

The working class he said is paying for the failures of capitalism through the global financial crisis in 2008. He cited Detroit as a once thriving city that has now been declared bankrupt and in so doing is able to impose austerity measures that affect workers’ pay, conditions and access to services.

Australia, he said, is no exception, and ousting Gillard was an expression of this. Rudd was reinstalled he said, not just to prop up Labor’s fortunes in the coming election, but to head off the breakup of Labor party itself. The reinstallation of Rudd was supported by the media because the ruling class fears the loss of the two party system. After all Head claimed, it was the Labor party in WW1, WW2 and during the great depression that imposed sacrifices on the working class, and it has continued to do so.

SEP believes that it is the myth that “Labor represents a “lesser evil” to the Liberal/National parties”. Nor does it have any time for the Greens which it dismisses on its website as a party promoted by the bourgeoisie “as a means of diverting political opposition into safe channels”.

There were only a few questions from the floor following these rather ponderous speeches. One, concerning the SEP’s position on marijuana instigated a mini debate, but with the chair having restored order, the position of the SEP was made clear. While a revolutionary government would not criminalise drug taking, the SEP does not support recreational drug use, as the mind should be clear to read philosophy and take revolutionary action in the community. It was the free access to drugs after all, that muted the rising revolutionary zeal of young people in the 1960’s.

My question through the chair was why there had not been reference in either speech to global warming and action on climate change. I should have by then predicted Mike Head’s answer, which was, that both a carbon tax and Emissions Trading Schemes merely perpetuate the capitalist market model. True action on global warming he said will only result from the establishment of the “socialist reorganisation of the world economy”.

One wonders how long that is expected to take, but this gathering it seems, believes in the coming revolution as assuredly and as passionately as those fundamentalist Christians I used to know believe in the imminent second coming of Christ. I doubt there is any room for skeptics here.

Ever wondered what all those socialist groups stand for?

If you have had similar experiences to me, you have probably been offered pamphlets and newspapers by a range of socialist organisations at rallies and during election campaigns. Names such as Socialist Alliance (Green Left Weekly), Socialist Alternative (Red Flag; Marxist Left Review) and the Communist Party of Australia (formally the Socialist Party of Australia), may be familiar to some. The shifting alliances between these parties and differences in policy and approach can be difficult to fathom, and a quick scan of the internet may only add to the confusion.

In a nutshell however, (and I’m happy to be corrected if I’ve got this wrong), all of these parties would claim to be Marxist anti-capitalist organisations, fighting for the rights of workers and the poor. They would also all claim that a new form of government, for and by the people, is the only way forward. Not all agree however on the means for achieving these ends.

Socialist Alliance is a coalition of organisations which stands candidates in all Australian elections. All the same, it does not consider that parliament is the correct mechanism for social change; rather socialism will only be achieved by direct action by the working class. It is often critical of the ALP and the Greens, but prefers them as a “lesser evil” to the Liberal and National Party alternatives. In order to address issues of Indigenous rights, global warming and social justice, Socialist Alliance aims to see the big miners and banks come under public ownership and control.  Liam Flenady is the Socialist Alliance candidate for Griffith.

Socialist Alternative apparently has the largest membership of all far-left organisations in Australia. It merged with the Revolutionary Socialist Party in 2013 and it having talks on unity with Socialist Alliance. It believes a workers revolution by the people is the only genuine way forward. Like Socialist Alliance it has a broad far-left agenda but does not stand candidates for election, preferring direct action through unions and alliances with community and activist organisations. It does support Socialist Alliance and Socialist Party candidates in elections.

The Socialist Equity Party (SEP) claims that it is the only far-left party to truly carry the traditions of Marx, Engels and Trotsky. Socialist Alliance and Socialist Alternative and their like, they maintain, are mere pseudo socialists. The SEP contends that the Greens, the ALP and the LNP, and even unions, prop up the capitalist system and that there are no significant differences between them.

The SEP, known until 2010 as the Socialist Labour League, traces its socialist lineage to the International Committee of the Fourth International. You really need a dictionary of socialism to appreciate the significance of this, suffice it to say, it is a claim to legitimacy in the fractured world of the far-left.

Nationally 13,945 people voted for the SEP in the 2010 senate election but it did not field candidates in Queensland. In 2013 the SEP will field two candidates for the Queensland senate: Mike Head, a University of Western Sydney law lecturer and Gabriela Zabala, who tutors undergraduate students in English literature.

The Westender is proud to have local citizen journalist, Jan Bowman contributing to our coverage of the Griffith election campaign.

She has completed a piece on most of the candidates who have announced they are standing for the seat of Griffith to date and continues to cover the stories as they unfold. Tuesday is an exciting day with four of the candidates appearing at the Colmslie Hotel in Morningside some of which will be broadcast live on ABC 612.

You can check the latest stories at http://westender.com.au/category/feature/Griffith/ or at the special facebook page we have set up at facebook.com/Griffith2013.

 

New research reveals that a big night out on the town can play havoc with oral health – not to mention the risk of having a few teeth knocked out in a drunken brawl.

Often criticised for a range of financial and social impacts, regular excessive drinking may be playing havoc with our oral health – especially among 18-29 year olds, new research from the Australian Dental Association (ADA) and Oral-B suggests.

The hidden cost of Australia’s drinking culture was revealed in a survey of 400 young Australians* which has been released today at the start of Dental Health Week.

The Oral-B ADA Dental Health Report revealed that amongst 18-29 year old Australians who drink regularly almost half (46%) will consume five or more drinks per session. As many as three quarters of those admit to not always brushing their teeth after a night on the booze – despite 60% saying they experience a ‘furry’ sensation on their teeth after such an occasion (a tell-tale sign of plaque build-up).

Very few (15%) young Aussie drinkers are concerned about the potential damage the binge might have caused their teeth after a night out. They are simply more worried about how they feel (68%), how much money they spent (66%) or what they might have said or done (33%).

Chairman of the ADA Oral Health Committee, Dr. Peter Alldritt says: “As our teeth are hard-wearing, we often neglect them in favour of caring for other parts of our bodies which show more immediate or obvious effects from drinking. This would include things like our weight, skin and liver. In the 18-29 year old age group, where drinking is more common, it’s even more important to be aware of the dangers to teeth and gums.”

“Our focus for this year’s Dental Health Week is on raising awareness of the importance of oral health amongst this age group,” he added.

When it comes to the impact of alcohol on health and wellbeing, oral health was not a major concern for most young Australians. Key concerns for this age group were weight gain (50%), vital organs such as lungs, kidneys and liver (46%), and their skin (26%).

And it’s not just alcoholic drinks that are causing our teeth grief.  Our young nation has a fetish for fizz, sugar and caffeine – all of which can have a detrimental impact on oral health if preventative measures aren’t undertaken.  Over a third of young adults (34%) have a daily cup of coffee, and almost half (47%) have a soft drink, cordial, sports drink or juice on most days of the week.

ADA member and Oral-B spokesperson Dr. Christopher Ho warns that many Australians do so without taking precautionary measures such as rinsing after one of these drinks. “One of the best ways to minimise the damage to the teeth caused by soft drinks, sports drinks and juices, is simply using a straw! However the research suggests that only 4% of young Australians always take this precaution.”

One in ten young Australians also mistakenly believe that diet soft drinks are better for their teeth than regular soft drinks, but Dr. Christopher Ho explains why this may not be the case. “All fizzy drinks are highly acidic and this can cause real and permanent damage to the teeth. While diet soft drinks might be lower in calories, the same risk to oral health is present.”

It’s little wonder that the majority of young Aussies (65%) admit to feeling anxious when visiting the dentist!

Dr. Christopher Ho provides his top tips for taking care of your teeth if you are having a night out:

Brush twice a day for two minutes, using a good quality toothbrush and paste. Power toothbrushes that use an oscillating-rotating technology are proven to be more effective than those that move from side to side

If drinking alcohol at parties, minimise the amount of sugary drinks by opting for soda as a mixer rather than soft drink. Also, drink a glass of water in between alcoholic drinks as this will rinse away the acid that causes tooth erosion. As alcohol can also dehydrate your body, drinking water will help stop the mouth from getting dehydrated. When we are dehydrated there is less saliva to neutralise acids which can lead to tooth erosion

If you’re only a short walk or cab ride from home, be sure to allow at least 60 minutes between your last drink and brushing your teeth. Brushing your teeth too soon can damage the softened tooth enamel caused by acidity in drinks consumed during the evening

The research

*The study was conducted online by Galaxy Research, among a representative sample of 1,008 Australians aged 18-64 years, including 400 18-29 year olds. This press release specifically focuses on the 18-29 year olds.

The sample was distributed throughout Australia including both capital city and non-capital city areas. Following the completion of interviewing, the data was weighted by age, gender and area to reflect the latest population estimates.

You’re invited to a special Divestment Workshop in Brisbane, conducted by 350.org Queensland.

If you were one of the many who heard about or attended Bill McKibben’s successful “Do the Maths” presentation in Brisbane Town Hall in June, you may be wondering what has been happening since.

McKibben urged Australians to take action on climate change by putting pressure on businesses, organisations and universities to stop investing in fossil fuel companies.

To find out how, 350.org Queensland is inviting those who want to get involved to attend their Divestment workshop on Saturday 17th August at Jagera Hall, Musgrave Park, South Brisbane. (Entry off Cordelia Street)

Attendance is free. Tickets can be organised via http://350orgqueensland.eventbrite.com.au