Paul Keating...at least he said it! The current contenders wouldn't even try. #auswaits #PM #PaulKeating #racism #indigenous affairs #Australia

Well Keating may be losing it over who wrote his famous speech from 1992, but at least he had the courage, dignity and compassion to say it, all those years ago. And yet, now in 2010 the country is struggling to find an eligible Prime Minister that can stand up in front of the country and speak with honesty and intelligence. To think that a Prime Minister stood up proudly in front of the country 18 years ago and uttered the below words without questioning his popularity or how he would be perceived by the racists in the country, sadly shocks me now; in contrast to the backwards steps Australia took during the following 12 years of little Johnny and recently with both 'major'/minor parties campaigning with slogans of "we'll stop the boats" and no mentioning of ending the NT Intervention...

The correlation between what Paul Keating said way back then and what should still be an issue for potential political leaders to be discussing cannot be avoided.

It begins, I think, with the act of recognition. Recognition that it was we who did the dispossessing. We took the traditional lands and smashed the traditional way of life. We brought the disasters. The alcohol. We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers. We practised discrimination and exclusion.

It was our ignorance and our prejudice. And our failure to imagine these things being done to us. With some noble exceptions, we failed to make the most basic human response and enter into their hearts and minds. We failed to ask - how would I feel if this were done to me?

As a consequence, we failed to see that what we were doing degraded all of us.

If we needed a reminder of this, we received it this year. The Report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody showed with devastating clarity that the past lives on in inequality, racism and injustice in the prejudice and ignorance of non-Aboriginal Australians, and in the demoralisation and desperation, the fractured identity, of so many Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. http://australianpolitics.com/executive/keating/92-12-10redfern-speech.shtml

And in relation to the racist political campaigns broadcast by both Gillard and Abbott in connection to their slogans "we'll stop the boats", one can also refer back to Paul Keatings words and his acknowledgment of Australia's multicultural past and the history of playing our part in helping a small number of the world's refugees.

We non-Aboriginal Australians should perhaps remind ourselves that Australia once reached out for us. Didn't Australia provide opportunity and care for the dispossessed Irish? The poor of Britain? The refugees from war and famine and persecution in the countries of Europe and Asia? Isn't it reasonable to say that if we can build a prosperous and remarkably harmonious multicultural society in Australia, surely we can find just solutions to the problems which beset the first Australians - the people to whom the most injustice has been done.  http://australianpolitics.com/executive/keating/92-12-10redfern-speech.shtml

When reviewing this speech (and ignoring Paul Keating's current rants on ownership of the writing) it really is incredibly shocking to see how our once progressive, compassionate and intelligent leader uttered these words and how much since it, Australia has regressed to its racist, fearful and parnoid past.  The only politician that speaks with such pride, intelligence and compassion now is the new Greens MP Adam Bandt and all I can hope is that his presence in the HoR now can mean a shift back to Australia's promising future.

As Paul Keating said,

I think what we need to do is open our hearts a bit.

 

 

 

All of us. http://australianpolitics.com/executive/keating/92-12-10redfern-speech.shtml

Now that's not too hard is it Australia? You made your stance in the recent election and increased your votes for the Greens, which means they can now play a larger role in implementing progressive policy into the Australian Parliament, which clearly resulted from them being the only party that actually presented policy and contributed to intelligent debate prior to the election. The added advantage of this movement and the lack of any difference between the two minor leaders creating a hung parliament, also means for the first time that the fakeness, deceit and manipulation that occured in the campaign will be closely scrutinised by the independents before Australia is given the result...so isn't it time to help promote the start of another new era in politics and society? To start a call to action, that demands a strong leader, one who can stand up in front of the nation and say what they think, without questioning if it is popular, without editing themselves to see if it will get votes, but a leader that simply sees the racisim, the deceit, the regression of Australia and decides to make it stop!  As Paul Keating said, "the past lives on in inequality, racism and injustice in the prejudice and ignorance of non-Aboriginal Australians" so let's start a future for Australia that does not include any of those traits. 

Paul Keating's famous speech from 1992 can be read here and listened to here. Let's hope there are more speeches like this to come in the future of Australia...

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PunchyP's election coverage...the major parties left us hanging on election day 2010. Why? #Corangamite #ausvotes #politics #greens

 

I went out into the Corangamite electorate to examine what was happening in this marginal seat on Election Day 2010. In sum, there was much confusion, little motivation or enthusiasm and some people did not know who to vote for before and after they had visited the polling booths! The election night was as dull as the one and only debate and any resulting hung parliament is clearly a consequence of having such an insincere, rushed and pseudo election campaign by both major parties. So watch for yourselves the thoughts of one marginal seat here in Corangamite. What's to come? A serious suck job by both party leaders and hopefully some sincere self reflection into what went wrong and why Australians did not buy their fakeness and fear campaigns. At the end of the day, it is a time to celebrate with the first Greens seat in the lower house and the beginning of a parliament that is truly reflective of what the people want from their leaders and their government - diversity, compassion and intelligent debate!

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PunchyP's election coverage...I give up - ideas for next time #ausvotes #politics #JayRosen

Jay Rosen's latest blog covers the idea of having a 'Citizens Agenda in Campaign Coverage' and something that could take the frustration of never having questions answered substantially on our only hope #qanda (Q&A, ABC). Have a read and see what you think yourselves, I feel it is something we should work towards for the next election (with whatever happens on Saturday, it will certainly be time for a change by then and having an intelligent and meaningful campaign could lead to having intelligent, compassionate and informed political contenders?) Let's hope.

As Jay suggests, community consultation to decide on what the campaign's focus is a very good start and a voting system of whether the questions posed to the potential leaders were actually answered would be fantastic. This would also avoid the current situation where racist and defamatory political slogans such as "we'll stop the boats" become a focus for voters and politicians alike. And not many people seem to notice that this contradicts our international and humanitarian obligations to the UN Treaty we signed in 1973, yet it is broadcast across TV ads, no journalists have raised its seriousness (in relation to racism and our UN agreements) and yet the politicians themselves choose these random non-issues to create fear in our society and distract from the fact they have no real policies in the nation’s interests or credibility to even be running. Perhaps we can get it started for 3 years time and plan for a better future in politics, media and society in 2013!

Also this essay by Jay which discusses 'Journalism as Civic Leadership' should be considered an essential part of journalism and could be the way of the future in resolving Australia's current media meltdown.

 

 

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Shame Australia Shame #refugees #racism #ausvotes #australian politics #spillard #abbutt

Sue Bolton speaking at the Rally for Refugees, Friday 13 August 2010. Check out my previous blogs for more information.

Sue is explaining the shameful history of Australia's treatment of refugees. Need I say more? I think not. Watch the video and ask yourself if it is ok if Australia's racist policies are continually sustained or is it finally time to change, find some humanitarian policies and well if they doesn't grab you, maybe we should in the very least not ignore international laws and just abide by our legal obligations with the UNHCR Treaty which we signed in 1973.

And watch below for footage of the rally itself, that was uplifting, energising and thankfully marched in by a very large and diverse crowd on Melbourne's streets. I just hope that one day, this rally will seem unnecessary and bizarre, as there will be no racist politicians continuing Australia's shameful past and refugees will be treated with the dignity, respect and compassion that they deserve. Read previous blogs for further comments, links and videos from the rally.

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Speech by a #refugee at the Rally for #refugees in Melbourne on Friday 13 2010 #ausvotes #greens #socialists

The second speaker at the rally was Gary Anan, a Tamil Refugee who escaped persecution and arrived in Australia in 1996, where he was sent to a detention centre.

He spoke of his false arrests, suffering and pain as a Tamil in Sri Lanka and how he finally escaped to Australia after much abuse and fear for his life. He spoke of his pain in the detention centre in Australia as a 17 year old refugee (and his experience now as a counselor for refugees) and he highlighted the fact (already obvious to me but apparently confusing for the LCD's who continue to mention some form of a queue that is supposed to be lined up in) that refugees do not have a choice, they do not have any other options and that they are escaping persecution and threats of violence.They are running from, not running to.

He also mentioned an experience he had on a tram one day, when a woman came up to him and said,

"If all the migrants left we would have some space"

which he replied "yeah maybe we should all leave and let the aborigines have their land back."

Gary ended his speech with ‘open your hearts, that is all we’re asking.’

Now that’s not that hard is it? Is it Australia? Make a stance against the derogatory terms being publicly broadcast by the major party contenders Spillard and Abbutt. Refugees are not “boat people”, the only real use of the term should be how former Prime Minister Bob Hawke recently used it, “we’re all boat people, that’s how we found the place.” And on the front cover of the Big Issue magazine this week, there was a photo of surf life savers in a boat with the title "boat people, Australia would not be the same without them!" These are the only appropriate uses of the phrase 'boat people', any association with this phase and asylum seekers is immoral, inhumane, illegal, racist and unacceptable.

 Refugees are people, they are fellow humans, they are mothers, fathers, children, they had homes that they loved and lost due to war, persecution and violence, they have friends and loved ones that they miss, they have no belongings, no tangible assets, all they have is their strength, their hearts and their torturous memories of where they have come from and what they have been through to get to a land and beg for help, some of them have spent their entire lives in refugee camps and prisons, with no clean water, no food, no clothing, they left everything to merely try and survive and make it through one more day without being killed or dying of disease. Come on Australia, open your hearts and at least form your political decisions on facts, our proven racist past and not on propaganda, lies and campaigns that focus on causing fear and hysteria in our society.

 

To see some photos and information from this rally check out melbourne protests blog

 

 

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PunchyP's election coverage...why would #ausvotes choose the #greens? Compassion for #refugees and intelligent #debates

Adam Bandt opens his address at the Rally for Refugees on Friday 13 August 2010 with the point that "despite what you see on the television and despite what people may want you to think, there is a very strong undercurrent in Australia and especially here in Melbourne, that says 'we are going to stand up for compassion and we are going to stand against racisim'". Adam Bandt states that the creation of hysteria and the political ads by both Spillard and Abbutt which contain images of boats highlights the disturbing arguments they are both presenting. The deceitful correlations between population, immigration and refugees - "which are entirely separate issues" needs to stop. Adam made the important point that what Spillard should be stating to the LCD Australian public in regards to the very small numbers of refugees that are arriving in Australia (it would take 20 years to even fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground) is "I understand that you feel anxious but there is no need to be." Instead she and Abbutt continue to spread fear and paranoia through our society and fail to draw attention to our international obligations (in signing the UNHCR 1967 Protocol) and humanitarian obligations to help fellow humans who are seeking assylum from persecution and homelessness from war, famine and torture.

UNHCR 1967 Protocol is a legally binding treaty and a milestone in international refugee law. The majority of member states in the UN have accepted responsibility in providing protection for persons obliged to flee their country because of persecution. Australia ratified the 1951 UN Refugee Convention on 22 January 1954, and the 1967 protocol on 13 Dec 1973.

And in a country so large, we only host 0.013% of the world's refugees. Adam's speech was truly relieving to finally hear and can be heard in my attached video. This is why Australia should give The Greens to make a difference in parliment and show political leaders that people do care about the treatment of refugees and the indigenous communities that we (the only actual 'boat people') stole their land from and now have spread our racism and hatred across. As Bob Hawke recently said, 'we're all boat people, that's how we found the place' and this is the only appropriate use of this phrase. Refugees are not "boat people", they have names, they have mothers, children, fathers, they had homes that they lost, that they miss, that they loved, that were taken from them or destroyed, they have friends and loved ones that they miss, they have horrible memories from their torturous past and devastating stories to tell about their time in Australia since they somehow survived long enough to make it here, through no other way possible, with no other options, with all the risks involved, it was their only hope to live. Please open your hearts Australia and all over the world and help these fellow humans that only want to be able to live and work somewhere safe, where their lives are not at risk every second of every day.

 

 

 

 

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PunchyP's Election Coverage...What #ausvotes really think...Rally for #Refugees Melbourne. #racism #politics #greens #socialists #spillard #abbutt

It was Friday 13th and it was a dark day for Australia. When people need to organise a rally to send a message that racism is not acceptable and that the current political campaigns which are focused on fear campaigns, lies and the promotion of racial wars are unacceptable it is a sad day. And this was evident to many intelligent and diverse people who reside in the stolen land which is Australia.

The Rally for Refugees which started at the State Library in Melbourne was organised by the Socialist Alliance and The Greens to make a powerful statement prior to Australia voting next weekend. I was excited and refreshed after seeing so many people turn up and make a stance against the long history of racism and abuse that this country's potential leaders are continuing to promote in Australia and elsewhere. As you can see in my previous blog I feel very disturbed and saddened by the continuation of political campaigns (as seen with johnny for 12 years) based on lies, manipulation and racist propaganda. I was excited to finally hear a politican (the Melbourne Greens candidate, Adam Bandt) say aloud and in public on Swanston Street in the CBD that the deliberate and deceitful propaganda that the major parties are promoting needs to be addressed and argued against.

Watch the videos (will be posted in separate blogs) and hear the powerful words yourself and hopefully be temporarily relieved by the fact that there are people (many people) that are willing to "stand up for compassion and stand against racisim" (Adam Bandt) now and always in Australia. With a week to go in the 2010 election, its unlikely one of our two abhorrent major party contenders will reverse their fear campaigns and racist policies but with a few more Greens holding seats and Socialist Alliance senators we will make a difference and one day, not too far way, I hope, a Prime Minister of Australia will speak with honesty and dignity, as Adam Bandt, had the intelligence, compassion and motivation to speak, on this black Friday 13th in Melbourne.

 

*And I apologise for the quality - as I filmed on my iPhone, at least the message remains a powerful and poignant one!

Download now or watch on posterous

The_intro.mov (33687 KB)

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PunchyP's election coverage...the #debate or lack there of

Sorry delayed reaction...was waiting for something interesting to be discussed but has not happened so far.

Had nothing to say about #debate from last Sunday and still don't really. Found it utterly boring on both sides
and if it wasn't for the #greens I would be lost for who to vote for. It was full of deceitful games, side-stepping and racial slurs. There
was no mention of traditional debate topics or critical election campaign issues such as Education, Health or god forbid the
Environment (which apparently the corporate honcho's still have free reign of.)

Both of their persona's (#abbutt and #spillard) are unappealing to me and it's a sad day when you choose a PM from the list of who you despise slightly less.

The day after the debate, I did however have a concerning discussion with some gen Why's? when I suggested we do our horror animation on political leaders in our present and past, however  they responded with "I don't know anything about politics, have no opinion on it and wouldn't have anything to say"... which 3 weeks out of a Federal Election obviously left me a little bewildered.  I was marching in anti-war rallies in first year uni and knew every economic policy of current and past political leaders in Australia through high school economics (and due to my teen crush on Keating and my economics teacher who lived next door to Keating's brother - however the point remains the same!)

Thus, I'm a bit concerned that there will be more donkey votes and racism induced voting in the next election to really justify any pre-election discussions from me at this point. I might instead pack my bags for Spain and leave the Gen Y's or as I say the Gen WTF's and the racists to their own demise in Australia. It's a scary time in politics and society in general at the moment. I hope some intelligent and humanitarian #debates can occur soon prior to #ausvotes

Need I remind you of the horror of the PM these people chose only a few short years ago? If so, please remind yourselves http://raws.adc.rmit.edu.au/~s3087922/portfolio/

 

Clare Peterson
Punchy Productions

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