ZEG

In his latest offering, conservative Australian cartoonist ZEG is critical of the culture that produced egg boy






Egg Boy is no more a hero than the NZ gunman is

Who benefits from violence?

Joe Hildebrand

One of the rare moments of beauty amid the brutality of the Christchurch massacre was the universality of the response.

The chorus of condemnation across the planet was swift and sure. Every mainstream political leader and media outlet was unequivocal in branding the atrocity a clear act of terrorism by a right-wing extremist. Every decent heart broke and bled for the victims and Muslim people everywhere.

And yet it didn’t take long for the wounds to be infected with the nastiness and pettiness of opportunists once more using dead bodies as political pawns.

First came the nutters and neo-Nazis on the right trying to blame the left or immigration levels or Muslims themselves for the massacre — as though it was the victims’ fault for simply being there or some governmental or social fault for pushing this madman to become a murderer.

On the matter of the broader political issue, they are simply wrong — factually, rationally and demonstrably. On the matter of the specific criminal issue, they are both wrong and repugnant — utterly, utterly, utterly so.

And then came the keyboard warriors of the hard left who sought to blame it on Scott Morrison or John Howard or whoever else is in the grab-bag of conservative bogeymen they reflexively dip into.

I am usually deliberately coy about my political leanings but today I am going to break that golden rule as a reward for anyone with the temperance to read this far: I have never voted conservative in my life.

However to accuse conservative politicians or commentators of being complicit in mass murder — let alone a sitting prime minister who has been unwavering in his condemnation of it as an act of right-wing terrorism — is not just absurd, it is ugly.

At a time when we should be seeking common ground it is the ultimate act of narcissism to sow further division for the sake of a few retweets.

And then there is Egg Boy.

For what it’s worth, I have a pretty long and public history of exposing racists, white supremacists and associated f**kwits.

Anyone who genuinely cares about such issues would probably know this.

And I have also been pretty clear and public in my condemnation of the likes of Fraser Anning, who holds the rare and soon to be short-lived position of being perhaps the first elected politician who is too right-wing for One Nation.

But I am also pretty sure that the solution to Mr Anning’s particular brand of idiocy is not to smash eggs into the back of his head.

For one thing, it doesn’t take much for Mr Anning’s rambling nonsensical world view to fall apart, nor that of the nutbag white nationalists he is now desperately trying to court.

Both disintegrate at the first stiff breeze of a rational argument.

Indeed, the only language they can engage with is that of dumb slogans and street clashes.

They cannot and don’t want to engage with mainstream political debate because they are simply not intellectually equipped to.

Instead, their whole modus operandi is twofold, each of which is contradictory to the other.

The first is to provoke a violent response from the left so they can paint themselves as good old fashioned Aussies speaking up for the silent majority but being attacked and shut down by crazy PC left-wing extremists.

The second, because they are such an infinitesimally small minority, is to get any publicity they can at all costs.

Egg Boy gave them both of those things in one hit. Literally.

I’m sure he’s not a bad kid — indeed, when I was exactly his age I was out protesting neo-Nazis too, just without the ovoid ammunition.

But the idea he is a national hero is at best silly and at worst an insult to the families of 50 dead Muslims whose suffering is unlikely to be soothed by a teenager smacking a right-wing douchebag on the back of the head.

Indeed both the episode itself and the social media celebrations that followed seem a grotesquely cheerful sideshow to such a dark and dangerous tragedy.

Moreover, it will only excite far-right extremists further and fuel their perverse sense of victimhood.

Instead of being frozen out of the mainstream and consigned to impotence and irrelevancy they are now riding high on a wave of publicity thanks to this dumb stunt and re-equipped with the figleaf argument that it is they who are under attack.

It also demeans the gravity of the threat we face.

Is this really how we’re going to combat terrorism and extremism? A fight between good and evil determined by which side can throw the most food at the other?

Worse, it’s exactly the same type of dumb logic the terrorists and extremists use.

Of course it’s at the opposite end of the spectrum but it’s still the same spectrum. If egging Fraser Anning is the act of a hero then who else is fair game? Pauline Hanson? Peter Dutton? Tony Abbott? Malcolm Turnbull?

Bill Shorten criticised Egg Boy so does he deserve to be egged as a result?

Michael Daley has just been accused of making racist comment so should he be egged in the back of the head?

And what other weapons are permissible in this war? Tomatoes? Potatoes? Potato guns? BB guns?

Where do we draw the line? And who draws it? As the man in the joke said, we already know what this is. It’s just a matter of degrees.

The good news is that democracy will do its job on Fraser Anning.

Even amid the crude and volatile primordial soup of politics we are now drowning in he will almost certainly be excommunicated at the next election.

Ironically, his only hope for political survival is getting the sort of publicity and sympathy the egging gave him.

But as for the rest of liberal democracy you can almost set your watch to its self-destruction.

As long as the people who suppose themselves as the saviours of humanity keep casting anyone they don’t agree with as a neo-Nazi and as long as what was once the sensible centre keeps tearing itself apart then we don’t have to worry about the terrorists winning — they will have already won.

Because when we are reduced to stupid acts of violence and surprise attacks, however seemingly mild they might be, we are reduced to their language. We are reduced to their playing field. We are reduced to their level.

Is that really what we are?

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Fewer immigrants in capital cities and a fast-rail link from Melbourne to Brisbane: Scott Morrison's reveals his election promises

Scott Morrison's plans to ease crippling congestion across Australia's east coast will include a reduced annual migration intake and plans for a fast-rail train network.

After hinting at his population plans for many months, the PM is expected to announce the details of his decentralisation blueprint on Wednesday.

As part of the population plan, Australia's annual migration intake is being slashed by 30,000 places in an attempt to ease population pressures on congested capitals.

Many skilled migrants will also have to work in regional towns for three years, with international students offered enticements to study outside the big cities.

The PM said he wanted workers in capital cities to spend less time stuck in traffic, while helping struggling rural and regional communities inject life into their towns.

One of the anticipated features of the plan is a new fast-rail network, with three projects under consideration, The Australian reported.

Fast-rail links between Melbourne and Shepparton, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast and Sydney and Newcastle are believed to be under consideration.

He denied concerns about congestion were driven by racism, saying migrants were an important part of Australia's social and economic fabric. 'We won't be distracted from the task at hand to make Australia's cities and towns even better places to live,' Mr Morrison said. 'People who want to play politics or run scare campaigns from these announcements are taking Australians for mugs.'

The government is cutting the annual migration ceiling from 190,000 to 160,000 places for the next four years. It does not expect the reduction to have any impact to the federal budget.

The federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has confirmed Labor is willing to lower the annual migrant intake to 160,000 but has warned against 'dog whistling' on population policy.

Mr Morrison said Australia had thrived from steady population growth, but for the past two decades infrastructure and services have struggled to keep pace.

He pointed out the vast majority of migrants had settled in the capital cities, putting significant pressure on roads and public transport.

In an attempt to arrest this trend, the government is introducing two new visas requiring skilled workers to stay in the regions for three years before applying for permanent residency.

There will be 23,000 set aside for the new regional visas, which more than triples the number of migrants currently forced to spend two years in the bush.

Population Minister Alan Tudge said many smaller cities were crying out for more people, with an estimated 47,000 job vacancies in regional Australia. 'Some regional areas simply cannot fill the jobs available,' he said.

The number of employer-sponsored skilled migrants allowed into Australia is being bumped up slightly to 39,000 places, but there will be no change to the family stream of the program, which offers 48,000 visas.

Meanwhile, tertiary scholarships worth $15,000 will be offered to 1000 local and international students each year to attend university in the regions. Overseas students will also be able to work in Australia for an extra year after graduating from regional unis.

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NSW Labor leader Michael Daley says Asian immigrants are 'taking the jobs' from young Australians

Michael Daley apologised on Tuesday morning for saying young people were being forced to 'flee' Sydney because their jobs were being taken by educated Asian migrants.

The NSW Opposition Leader made the comments in the Blue Mountains, in September, but the footage of the incidnet only emerged this week, just days from a state election.

Mr Daley stunned members of the audience when he spoke of the 'transformation' that was happening in Sydney with 'foreigners moving in taking jobs'.

'Our young children will flee and who are they being replaced with? They are being replaced by young people from typically Asia with PhDs,' Mr Daley said in the video.

'So there's a transformation happening in Sydney now where our kids are moving out and foreigners are moving in and taking their jobs.'

When a man in the audience expressed his concern over Mr Daley's comments he went on to explain it was a statement of fact that young people were moving out of Sydney because they could not afford to afford to live there.

He said they were being replaced by international workers, mainly from Asia. 'It's not a bad thing because Asian kids are coming to work here, it's a bad thing because I'd like my daughter to be living in Maroubra rather than St Kilda,' he said.

Two months after the video was filmed, Mr Daley spoke at Chinese-only press conference, where his sentiments were vastly different.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has slammed Mr Daley, labelling him a 'hypocrite'. 'He's prepared to say one thing to one group and completely change his position in front of another because he'll say whatever he thinks they want to hear. That's not what a real leader does.'

Greens MP David Shoebridge has called the video 'shameful and 'ugly'. 'Michael Daley's appalling narrow­casting is engaging in racist­ dog whistling against Asian Australians when he thinks no one critical is listening,' he told the Australian.

Population has been a mounting issue for Sydney and Melbourne, as pressure has been building with congestion and infrastructure.  Figures show about 70 and 80 per cent of all new permanent entrants choosing to live in the two major cities.

On Tuesday Mr Daley made a formal apology and explained he had been discussing housing affordability  when he made the comments, expressing a desire for 'all our children' to continue living in Sydney if they chose.

'Many are being forced to leave Sydney because of high cost of living and property prices, notwithstanding some recent declines,' he said in a statement. 'In making these points, I could have expressed myself better. I meant no offence and hope none has been taken. 'I apologise if any offence is taken.'

Mr Daley's predecessor Luke Foley was wildly criticised in 2018 when he used the term 'white flight' when referring to struggling western Sydney suburbs.

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Unemployed people WON'T have to apply for 20 jobs a month and will be allowed to hunt for work from home instead of going to job centres

Job seekers will not have to apply for 20 jobs a month and will be allowed to look for work from home instead of going to job centres under sweeping reforms to unemployment benefits.

A massive overhaul of the $1.3 billion dollar a year Jobactive program is set to be announced on Wednesday by Jobs Minister Kelly O'Dwyer.

The new model is aimed at creating 'self starter' job hunters who are matched with potential jobs more quickly by using a primarily digital platform.

The changes to the system, the first since the 1990s, follow a report finding that the current setup was wasting time for both job seekers and employers.

There are 41 private employment service providers contracted with the government at a cost of $6 billion over the next four years.

The report found there is an average of 148 job seekers for every job consultant and the staff turnover for these consultants is over 40 per cent.

The new scheme aims to streamline that system by focusing 'in person' services on those who need it and reducing the number of irrelevant applications that employers have to deal with.

'The savings from digital servicing will be reinvested to provide a more intensive, targeted, and tailored face-to-face service for those who need extra help – recognising that long term unemployment has negative impacts on individuals, families, and communities,' Ms O'Dwyer said.

The jobs minister also said that those who are using digital services could choose to access face-to-face services if required.

The economy and jobs will be a key focus of current Prime Minister Scott Morrison's re-election pitch with the government aiming to create an extra 1.25 million jobs over the next five years.

The new scheme will be trialled in Adelaide's southern suburbs and on the New South Wales Mid North Coast from July.

The federal election will be held sometime this year, most likely in May.

The new model is aimed at creating 'self starter' job hunters who are matched with potential jobs more quickly by using a primarily digital platform

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 Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).    For a daily critique of Leftist activities,  see DISSECTING LEFTISM.  To keep up with attacks on free speech see Tongue Tied. Also, don't forget your daily roundup  of pro-environment but anti-Greenie  news and commentary at GREENIE WATCH .  Email me  here