May 2004 Archives

The recent teachers' strike has got me thinking about teachers' roles, pay and conditions. This is a sensitive subject. I have some good friends who are teachers, and I want to keep them.

I was at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney on Wednesday night watching the State of Origin Rugby League match. New South Wales defeated Queensland by the slimmest of margins. Watching the proceedings made me think of the differences between the codes as they vie for the market in the largest Austrailian city.

As a follow-up to the previous article .......

In the The Sydney Morning Herald, the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, called for the decriminalisation of heroin to relieve the inner city of the effects of drug induced crime.

The reaction from the State Government was predictable. Don't hold your breath.

I'd started writing this when my favourite journalist (not), Miranda Divine, had an article in the The Sydney Morning Herald on 20 July relating to this subject. Worth a read if you want a different view.

With the news about the heroin supply situation in Redfern, I thought that this would be a good subject for the first of my blog articles. A controvercial subject that I suspect will annoy some of you!

Welcome to my my weblog.

I'm embarking on this exercise for several reasons:

1. I have some computer knowledge that allows me to host my own site.

2. I have an interest in politics and current affairs that takes up a lot of my spare time.

3. I'm getting increadibly frustrated by the political system, world events and my inability to do anything about it. At least I can get it all off my chest. If anyone reads it is another matter.

A bit about myself. Unlike most bloggers, I'm over 40 .... well, closer to 50, which puts me in the league of dinosaurs in the blogging world. I live in Sydney, work in an engineering field, have three kids, a wife and a mortgage.

My politics are left of centre.

I'm an environmentalist who is sorely worried that we are running out of time to prevent some very nasty natural disasters.

I'm someone who wants Australia to become truely independent, symbolically by becoming a republic, and in practice by having enough confidence in our ability to look after ourselves that we have no need to follow the whims of powerful benefactors.

I believe in equality of education as a means of ensuring that everyone, regardless of social background, can be successful if they have the ability and drive.

I believe in a universal health system, but one where individuals contribute up to a point for their use of the service.

On a lighter note, I'm a mad AFL follower.

I will be talking more about the above in the future.