African gang members adorning Melbourne again

Three carjackers conducted a brazen robbery at a shopping mall on Monday, pulling a man from his vehicle and making off with it.

The trio approached a man in his gold 2010 Toyota Yaris at the Southland shopping centre in Cheltenham, Melbourne before hauling him from the car and taking his phone.

They had travelled to the area in a white Toyota Hilux that had earlier been stolen from nearby Dingley Village before dumping it to steal the Yaris.

All three men got into the Yaris and drove away leaving the man shaken but uninjured.

It is believed the offenders stole a set of number plates nearby and continued driving. The stolen plates have registration number 1CE 6TU.

Kingston Crime Investigation Unit detectives are appealing for public assistance following the two car thefts

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Job advert that explicitly asks for 'applicants of Aboriginal descent' sparks furious 'discrimination' backlash

The Left are obsessed with race and you can guess that they are pulling the strings here

Job advertisements which say only Indigenous people need apply have been labelled 'discrimination' by a talkback radio host.

Recruitment and labour hire company New Start Australia advertised a series of casual positions on the jobseeker website Indeed at the weekend.

'This is an Indigenous-identified position,' said the notices, which advertised casual positions in Carole Park, Queensland and Derrimut, Victoria. 

'Applicants must be of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander decent (sic) (pursuant to Section 14 (d) of the Anti-discrimination act'.

Radio 3AW Mornings host Neil Mitchell told his listeners he was torn over the advertisements.

'The initial reaction is that's fair enough, there's certainly an employment problem amongst Indigenous people.

'Then I think yeah but hang on, if I'm not Indigenous and I'm a storeman and I'm looking for a job and I see that I'd be very annoyed and put out by it.  'It's positive discrimination, if you like, but it is discrimination... I haven't seen it put quite so blatantly before'.

The report sparked a backlash on social media: 'Imagine if it was reversed!' said one listener.

'Reverse racism is such a nice thing. Bloody disgraceful,' said another. 'Very Racist against white Ausstraalians (sic),' a third added.

New Start Australia is Indigenous owned and says on its website it 'acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we work'. It specialises in Indigenous labour hire, recruitment, policy management and consultation.

There have been discrimination exemptions for advertising jobs only for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders since about the 1980s.

Warren Mundine, from the Prime Minister's Indigenous Advisory Council, said the last Closing the Gap report showed Indigenous employment going backwards.

Mr Mundine told 3AW he understood some people would be annoyed at the job ad. 'I'd understand that and I think that's a bit justified as well

'This is an attempt to help out in that process, get more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people into jobs.'

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Biting back at the political correctness brigade

IT appears that the tide of political correctness that has engulfed Australian society in recent years (less so in Queensland than the southern states) may be in retreat.

Two recent events suggest that this is so.

The first is the debate over the use of shark nets at Ballina and on the NSW north coast.

The second is the dramatic decline in the popularity of the Baird coalition government in NSW, primarily due to Premier Mike Baird’s decision to ban greyhound racing in that state.

The genesis of both these events lies in the lobbying of so-called “animal rights activists” — a particularly fanatical branch of the political correctness brigade. (The term animal rights is a misnomer, only human beings can possess rights).

The original decisions not to install nets to protect surfers and swimmers from sharks (despite numerous attacks and deaths in the Ballina area) and to ban greyhound racing came about as a result of Premier Baird’s capitulation to the animal rights lobby.

“Animal rights” ideology has serious consequences — deaths, injuries and the destruction of people’s livelihoods — but political correctness demands that such consequences be accepted and/or ignored.

Until recently it was virtually impossible to have a proper public debate about these issues, and politicians who opposed the doctrines of political correctness were reluctant to speak out.

This is understandable. Political correctness is well entrenched in certain sections of the media, academia and in large corporations and its proponents are expert in conducting vicious campaigns on the internet designed to destroy and render unemployable anyone who disagrees with them. Even powerful media figures like Eddie McGuire cower and apologise profusely in the face of such campaigns.

The recent debates over shark nets and greyhound racing, however, have broken new ground.

These debates have actually focused on the flawed premises of the animal rights programs and, more importantly, a number of politicians have publicly joined the fray on the side of common sense.

On the shark net issue, commentators have written articles pointing out that the fundamental premise of the “animal rights” campaign — namely that there is no qualitative difference between human beings and animals and that both should be treated in the same fashion — is patently false.

They have also pointed out that the alternative taxpayer funded, high tech solutions advocated by the animal rights lobby — for example the use of drones and a shark app — are wildly expensive and ineffective. (One can just picture a young surfer off Ballina pulling his dripping wet iPhone out of his board shorts to learn from the shark app that he is to be devoured by a white pointer in approximately 10 seconds).

More importantly, a number of politicians have made public statements to the same effect. Josh Frydenberg, the Federal Minister for the Environment, stated that the safety of humans should prevail over the welfare of sharks and urged Premier Baird to install shark nets on the north coast of NSW. The Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, offered to assist Baird in extending the Gold Coast shark net system (which has reduced shark attacks to nil) down the NSW coast.

On the greyhound issue, sections of the media have been even more outspoken. A substantial media campaign is being waged in Queensland and NSW to force Premier Baird to reverse his decision to ban greyhound racing. As well as pointing out the unfairness and dire economic consequences of the ban, media commentators have also pointed out that the ban may well lead to additional cruelty to greyhounds and that the compensation package will cost NSW taxpayers a fortune.

Many politicians have criticised the decision, including Prime Minister Turnbull (who pointed out that rabbits — used in live baiting — are a pest which farmers had been killing for years) and Luke Foley, the NSW Opposition Leader. Baird has also been strongly criticised by members of his own party and National Party politicians. In fact, it appears that Baird and the Leader of the National Party may well be facing a mutiny if the greyhound ban is not reversed.

The public outcry on both of these issues has also been significant.

Ordinary voters, by and large, do not subscribe to the doctrines of political correctness, and certainly not in their most extreme animal rights form. They know, as a matter of common sense, that human beings matter more than animals, and they quite rightly resent funding expensive, futile schemes to satisfy the selfish wishes of minority groups.

Recent polls show that Premier Baird’s approval ratings have plummeted dramatically, and his government may well lose the upcoming Orange by-election.

The other thing that the recent polls reflect is that voters deeply resent the unilateral imposition of policies upon which they have not been consulted and for which they have not specifically voted.

These recent events show how important it is for commentators, politicians and voters to oppose government policies based on doctrines of political correctness.

If each of the above groups, particularly politicians, forcefully oppose such policies then it is possible to prevent fanatical fringe groups from imposing their extreme views on the general community.

It remains to be seen, however, whether political correctness is sufficiently in retreat to compel Premier Baird to reverse his policies on the use of shark nets and the banning of greyhound racing.

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Greens propose new burden for taxpayers

They really do seem to think money grows on trees

Battery storage systems fitted to homes and businesses would have helped South Australians who lost power during the severe storms, the Greens say.

The Greens are pushing for a national policy that would give Australians a tax credit of up to $5000 to help with the cost of battery storage for solar energy systems.

"Bringing a battery boom to South Australia will give households and small businesses the energy security that they need," SA Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said in a statement.

"Renewable energy coupled with battery storage is the future and will help to keep energy demand sustainable while bringing much needed jobs to our state."

The policy also includes a grant scheme for low-income earners, with the grants capped at $5000 per household in the first year of the policy.

The Greens estimate that if the policy were enacted, up to 1.2 million homes across Australia would take up the scheme.

"Battery storage technology is on the verge of major breakthroughs when it comes to capacity and cost," she said.

"This scheme would help South Australian households adopt an emerging technology while also supporting innovation in Australia."

It comes in the aftermath of storms that caused state-wide blackouts across South Australia, sparking a political debate over energy security.

Senator Hanson-Young said it's time for action, not cheap talk and political point-scoring.

"No amount of hot air from blowhard politicians in Canberra will power our state into the future," she said.

"It's time we got real about tackling dangerous global warming and giving South Australians the energy security that they need."

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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