Our brothers over east are battling floods and cyclones.
Half of the nation hates our Prime Minister, and all of us hate the misogynistic alternative.
The education system continues to appall much of the civilized world.
We and the world are still recovering from the GFC.
Australia has pathetic internet connection speed.
Alcohol, drugs, indigenous health and teenage pregnancy are still major societal issues.
We have impoverished neighbours who need our help.
Closer to home, many of Perth's hospitals are not keeping up with demand and need to be refurbished or replaced.
And what is our dear Premier doing?
Building a new sports stadium.
"It'll have like, two new colour schemes, for example, it'll be a different colour scheme when the Eagles play than the Dockers!" Our premier says excitedly over this pathetic project. We already have a sports stadium, and they're building another entertainment complex in the city for God-Knows-Why reason. For a small, uncultured city we have our fair share of entertainment and sporting grounds. Why the hell do we need yet another one based on mega stadiums in the US? Why is the Premier garbling on about colour schemes and stadiums that we do not need when what we do need is to give money to Queensland and to our neighbours, overhaul our education system, build more hospitals and regain our losses from the GFC, which seems all but forgotten? Why is our Premier ignoring those who are overworked and underpayed in favour of something as trifling as sport? Don't get me wrong, I understand sport is important, especially in this country, but is it more important than education? Than lives? Than helping our fellow citizens through hardship?
I don't understand what our government is coming to. We screen out foreigners we are afraid of because they don't have 'Australian spirit', but where is our 'Australian spirit'? Forget spirit, what is blocking these fat, ignorant, bigoted conservative bastards from doing what needs to be done? Their own intelligence, it seems, or rather, the distinct lack of such.
Australia is too boastful of the fact that Australia is a good country. What we fail to realize that whilst Australia is a good place, it is far from perfect, and it could be so, so much better. We can all be better Australians, and we can start by trying not to be the sport-obsessed, uneducated teenage-pregnant hooligans of the world, but instead meaningful people doing meaningful things and leading meaningful lives. But no, far from that. We have a Prime Minister who does not even have majority support, a misogynistic backward asshole for a Prime Minister alternative, a Premier who is too caught up in football to recognise that people die due to inefficient hospitals, and saddest of all, a population that for the most part doesn't even care.
1 comment:
A declaration of interest: before I discovered Perth's musical and artistic reputation, my reason for going there was "the football".
Even then I do not think I would have appreciated the demarciation of supporters and corporate boxes, such as enthuses the Premier (and I imagine other politicians and corporate types, as part of the ties).
Spirit is meaningless if the job isn't done.
On the other hand, looking at many of the Cabinet backgrounds of education, I was pleasantly amazed and surprised. (I am thinking of one outstanding politician in particular...)
Yes, the hospitals need urgent and sustainable funding. What is the western equivalent of the Good Friday Appeal?
Well you ask, if sport is more important than education, hardship and lives.
And of course there is a lot more to Western Australia than Perth and Fremantle. I had reason to find out much more about the wheatbelt and the Victoria Desert region. (as shown in the World Book terrain map: which gives a good general geological idea of the region concerned). There was a school visited in the Inbox of It's Academic which was based there.
As for certain health and environmental lobbies. I admit that lobbyist is rather a dirty word. The difference between the squeaky wheel and the greasy wheel?
(Fiona Stanley, though. She does an outstanding job. And Charles Gardiner: "the second busiest hospital in the country"? Strong teaching connections with four of the universities).
Also read an article eminating from the Premier two ministries back.
All best wishes for your life as a senior student.
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