Dingo bytes
The fear campaign being conducted by the NSW Government has been stepped up a notch. People who enter Sydney's Centennial, Moore and Queens Parks are to be subjected to new police powers. Under legislation tabled by the Carr Government, park rangers will be able to randomly search bags, picnic baskets, the contents of drink containers etc of those using the public parks. You can refuse, but you'll be hit with a $175 fine. Rangers don't even have to suspect there's any criminal activity taking place. The Moore Park Trust, which is responsible for the parks, and the former Sydney Showground now occupied by Fox Studios, claims that rangers "are not going to go up to an ordinary person and say "What's in your bag?" But that's exactly what the legislation allows them to do! And to show how democratic it all is, the public's opportunity to comment on the proposed laws ended on July 28.* * * The privateers are coming out of the woodwork in every area of public life. As a parting shot, the outgoing dean of education at Melbourne University has called on the Brack's Government to form partnerships with business to reconstruct the state's public school infrastructure. Citing the increasingly inequitable and under-funded schools system in Britain and the US as shining examples, Professor Brian Caldwell says the way to replace older buildings in the system is to have the private sector construct new ones and lease them back to the government. This, claims Caldwell, will also remedy the teacher shortage in public schools. It's no surprise that Caldwell is described as "an internationally recognised expert on devolving responsibility and authority to schools" — more double talk for privatisation.* * * When Federal Environment Minister David Kemp announced last month that he was retiring, his Liberal Party cronies waxed lyrical about his "contribution to the nation". But those in the know see him and his government in a somewhat different light. The Greens listed some of the ecologically disastrous actions under Kemp's tenure. They include: record levels of export woodchipping from Tasmanian forests; record levels of greenhouse gas emissions; approval of a dam on Queensland's Burnett River that flooded the habitat of at least five rare and endangered species; failure to list Cape York for world heritage listing; repeated approval for projects which threaten flora and fauna. Said Greens Senator Bob Brown, "This Government is the worst environmental performer in modern history".* * * CAPITALIST HOG OF THE WEEK: is new Telstra chairman Don McGauchie. This parasite's elevation by the Howard Government is a pathetic ploy to calm anger in rural Australia over the Government's plan to privatise the remainder of Telstra. McGauchie is a former National Farmers' Federation head who illegally trained scabs in Dubai to replace maritime workers in the government's attempt to destroy the Maritime Union. He's also on the board of Hardie Industries, which is currently trying to screw asbestos victims out of their compensation.