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I want to talk about politics. About 80% of the people who bothered to look at this column have now stopped looking at this column. Of those who have bothered to keep looking, half have switched off and are just pretending to read this column because they are sitting in the Ref. and don't want to look like they have nothing better to do. Half of the remaining half are jazz purists who are saying, "What's this boy talking about politics? What's politics got to with the Marsarlis family?" To those jazz purists I have to say, sadly, nothing.
Anyway, I thought I might talk about politics, which should be rather interesting as, generally speaking, I could care less about politics as a topic. In other words, I am politically apathetic. Considering that, of the people still reading this, half of them are strong political supporters who have read the words "politically apathetic" and are now burning this paper, I can assume that there are now only two people reading this collumn. Me and you. So hello. How are you? Want to talk about politics? O.K. Let's talk.
Around Christmas last year I had the good fortune to have a brief relationship with a young Liberal. Please, don't suppress that giggle, you deserve a laugh. Anyway, around this time, I was told, a lot, that it was because of people like me that the country was in the state that it was. Now that's cool, if only someone could tell me what state the country is in. It seems to be fairly cool to me. There's no war or famine. There's a little bit of unemploy-ment, but the way I see it, half of the unemployed are that way because they can't get a job within their field of expertise. Fields like...well, politics.
So, what I'm saying is not that political apathy is the way to go, but neither is being overly involved. Should I worry about the future of our country so much that I have an ulcer by the time I'm twelve, or should I be so apathetic that I think GST is a type of motor oil? Me, I don't know. In fact, I don't care. It's not my job to change the world. Not yet anyway. Maybe I'll do it after lunch. That's cool. Whatever.
Jason Crewes
A straw vote only shows which way the hot air blows. -- O'Henry
Human beings were created by water to transport it uphill.
The main problem with Australia is that a very large and productive part of it is shackled to the rest . To be more specific Western Australia , South Australia and the Northern Territory would be much better off if they were to form a single new Commonwealth. The power this commonwealth wielded would more accurately reflect the democratic society in which we live, rather than the current situation where the Eastern states power bloc controls the country.
Australian politics has had a long and complex history which has been shaped by many international events. In most cases Australia has shown a unified front. This has occured not because all Australians are in agreement, but because of the vast political power of the three main Eastern states, which have continually forced the smaller states into submission. All too often politicians in Canberra make decisions which have a blatant disregard for the West Australian view. In fact (as seen in the recent MABO and woodchipping debates) one sometimes wonders if West Australian viewpoints are considered and then decisions made to spite them.
Australia has some of the greatest mineral resources in the world. The general view of most Australians is that this wealth should be shared equally, so it comes as a surprise to find that Western Australia has many of the largest deposits. The sand mines in Capel alone produce over 25% of the world's supply of various mineral sands. The iron ore mines in the Pilbara dwarf the trucks that operate in them, which in turn dwarf their human operators. Why is it that this wealth has been used to construct monstrosities like the new parliament house? It should go to the people who work the mines and who own the land, and not to the greedy hands who wield power in the Commonwealth of Australia.
The rural industry of Western Australia is quite capable of comfortably supporting this state's smaller population. Our bountiful wheatbelt produces a surplus which is sold throughout the world. Western Australia's temperate climate means that almost any sort of fruit or vegetable may be grown here, and our regard for our land and water resources assures our continuing ability to do so. The rural industry not only produces on a massive scale, but the q uality of goods is excellent and of world renown. Stringent importation regulations ensure that few of the diseases that ravage Europe or the United States reach our shores. In addition the wine industries of the Swan Valley and Margaret River produce wines that even the European greats admit, grudgingly, have surpassed them.
Of course, there will be cost s in creating a gulf between East and West but surely that would be more affordable than the gulf that separates Western Australia's wealth and political power.
Tony Swallow
Whenever I visit the country I'm amazed to hear my relatives and their friends telling each other how Canberra has ripped them off and how Western Australia would be so much better on its own.
I ask them who paid for the roads they drive on each day. They conveniently don't realise that until Western Australia had its mineral boom in the 70s there was absolutely no way that we, as a state, could have afforded to pay for or maintain the transport system that exists here without monies from Canberra.
Another point the secessionists then make regards the BrisbanePMelbourne line which existed during World War II. This was a defensive decision the Australian military made which essentially meant that if the Japanese had invaded Western Australia they would have been allowed to keep it. Only Australian territory east of the BrisbanePMelbourne line was to be defended. However, this is something of a fallacy as the Japanese did send a large fleet towards Perth in the later years of the war. It turned back after monitoring a massive increase in Australian signals traffic as the military tried to work out how to transport a division of troops to Perth in a hurry.
Secessionists, especially those from the country, go on to complain about the lack of representation they have on the national stage. This is true. We are a small state and we have a small population. Up until our mineral boom we relied upon monies from the Eastern States to provide basic levels of Education and Health. Our income taxes just wouldn't do it. A point I go on to make to my relatives is that without the investment by Federal government in infra-structure in this state, our development could not have occurred. What mining company is going to invest in a state which does not have port facilities, decent roads or an educated work force?
Admittedly we now provide Canberra with large revenues from the mining of this state but is it not reasonable that they get some return on their investment? Secessionists then go on to point out that this year most of the wheat exported from this country was grown in Western Australia. This is true. They've had a drought in the Eastern States for the last three to four years. Fortunately Western Australia will be able to meet most of Australia's international wheat supply contracts, as we had a bumper crop this year. In the past the situation has been reversed without the Eastern States calling for our removal from Australia.
To return to the topic of Western Australia's population, I've always wondered how a state this size is supposed to defend itself with 1.5 million people. We do have aggressive neighbours in this region, ask any East Timorese, and we are sitting on some of the largest mineral deposits in the world.
We now live in a world where any government with half a brain is attempting to get their country into a trading bloc. The Europeans are going so far as to virtually demolish all national boundaries within theirs. Yet secessionists advocate attempting to go it alone. Even if Australia would let us go, it's simply not it our best interests to secede
Andrew McColl