Even the Murdoch media had to notice the nationwide launch of the real Yes campaign as the huge national grassroots campaign was launched around the country to mark the start of NAIDOC Week.
Our family was at the Cairns launch in the Cairns Esplanade Park which was attended by several hundred people and featured not only speeches but all the festival events – face painting for kids for instance – you would expect as well as free Yes 23 T-shirt and Yes badges giveaways.
Ostensibly Voice campaigns are binary – support for yes or no.
But underneath the overall campaign are a multitude of subsets of campaign groups and tactics.
For a start we have the Dad’s Army campaign featuring John Howard, Tony Abbott, Alan Jones and assorted names which, when you hear them, make you realise you didn’t know they were still alive.
The latest Lowy Institute Poll reflects a range of complicated and confusing Australian reactions to our place in the world; the threats we face; and what we think we should do about them.
The top line results suggest the constant propaganda from the Murdoch media, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and Peter Hartcher of Nine Newspapers is convincing Australians to be afraid of China but there are also significant hints that the combined histrionic hyperbole is causing a few doubts.
Americans understanding of global warming reality is increasing. But they still don’t rate it as a major issue when put in the context of other issues.
The Center for Climate Change Communications has just released its latest report – Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes. It finds that US public understanding of global warming has increased.
While there are some – such as Major General Melick – concerned about not depicting warriors in the Frontier Wars, because they didn’t wear a uniform, in the Australian War Memorial it is worth remembering how appalling the treatment of Indigenous veterans who did wear ‘the uniform’ over the last century or so were treated.
Major General Greg Melick, a member of the Australian War Memorial Council, would be in a very interesting position in any public company committed to best practice corporate governance principles.
Melick is RSL President and a vocal opponent of any representation of the Frontier Wars in the Australian War Memorial. Only people who served in uniform should be honoured at the AWM he argues thereby allegedly ruling out Indigenous warriors.
Ten years ago Anthony King and Ivor Crewe published their book – The Blunders of Our Governments.
They ranged over the Millennium Dome; the 20 billion pounds wasted on a failed scheme to upgrade London’s Underground; punishing tens of thousands of single mothers into poverty; massive IT disaster’s such as the Blair Government’s NHS scheme; and an Assets Recovery scheme to claw back proceeds from organised crime which cost more to run than it raised.
One of the perplexing philosophical questions is what do the current generation of people owe to future generations?
Since 1945 the two existential versions of this question have been controlling the risk of nuclear annihilation and combatting climate change.
Yet there are many non-existential versions of the question. For instance, while no one would associate the City of Port Phillip with the risk of nuclear war it is arguable that its role in combating climate change is significant. Equally its role in planning for the security, amenity and lifestyle of future generations is also significant.
Kew Gardens personify much which is great about England. But, as the blog discovered on a recent garden tour, it is also a microcosm of some of the problems England faces.
Kew is exemplified by superb planting, massive trees, exotic plants, world class scientific research, young school students rushing from place to place to place to research assignments, colourful Indian wedding parties and amazing vistas.
Rewards for political grandstanding
An April 2023 article in PNAS looks at whether there are any rewards in political grandstanding. It’s based on analysis of US legislators and whether grandstanding designed to gain electoral rewards works or not.
Grandstanding usually takes the form of avoiding policy and focussing on political and symbolic statements in speeches. Increasing polarisation accentuates this behaviour. It is designed to shore up support and win votes…and guess what – it does.