The Guardian 22 February, 2006
Dingo bytes
NSW Finance Minister Michael Costa has been the government’s hatchet man from the time he first became a minister. Using his job as Secretary of the Labor Council as a stepping stone into Parliament, as Minister for Police, Minister for Transport, Minister for Ports and Finance and Infrastructure, Costa has cut a swathe through each of his portfolios. Now as Finance Minister he has announced the axing of 4,000 public service jobs and other cuts — including the closure of three Road Traffic Authority (RTA) registries — as part of $300 million in annual savings. Of course opposition leader Peter Debnam has called for 29,000 jobs to be axed.
The firm responsible for the death of 16-year-old Joel Exner in 2003 because it failed to supply him a safety harness while he was working on a roof, allowed two other men to work on a roof in the same dangerous conditions. This was just 20 days after Joel fell to his death. This time JB Metal Roofing gave the two men safety harnesses but there were no anchorage points to attach them. Said Joel’s mother Sue, "What did Joel’s accident mean to them? Absolutely nothing. People’s lives don’t mean anything to them."
The three Queensland Labor backbenchers who have called for the abandonment of the policy of multiculturalism have that weird, illogical mindset of racists. One of them, Craig Wallace, claimed ludicrously that ethnic and religious violence showed multiculturalism bred intolerance. Another, Andrew McNamara, called for a policy of "progressive integration". "It’s now time to emphasise the core values of Australian culture: respect for people, respect for the law and democracy, respect for people and respect for private property", he warbled. What have they each got in common, aside from their racism? The three each have an electorate formerly held by One Nation.
Racial tension and violence have been fuelled by the Howard Government for the past ten years. The government set the spark and has kept the fires of hatred burning through the demonising of asylum seekers, whipping up of religious fear and the bogus war on terror. Research carried out in Victoria in the last half of 2005 shows that the government’s racist rhetoric and actions are having a generational effect. More than half of Victoria’s school children view Muslims as terrorists and more than 50 percent believe Muslims "behave strangely". Noted Waleed Aly of the Islamic Council of Victoria: "What it demonstrates is that Muslims are being viewed in a way that is really subhuman."
CAPITALIST HOG OF THE WEEK: is BHP Billiton reporting an Australian record six-month interim profit of $5.9 billion — up 48 percent. Under the slogan "zero harm", this corporate hog has done untold environmental damage to the rivers, villages, cities, water catchments and to the health and safety of its workforce and communities. Its penny-pinching is illustrated by the attempts of Mt Arthur Coal workforce to get extra lighting in a laneway. It took two years to get, and then didn’t work.