Australian Politics
Saturday, August 14, 2021
Cowboy AGED TWO!
A pint-sized farmer has been filmed herding cattle on an Australian farm like a seasoned professional.
The two-year-old boy is seen confidently manning his miniature quad bike as he masterfully moves the herd along farmland.
Despite being outnumbered and outsized, the boy seems unfazed as he rounds-up the unruly cattle.
An unidentified woman keeps close watch from behind the camera as she films the talented toddler display skills well beyond his years.
As she nears closer to the boy, who has stopped for a brief pit stop, footage shows just how tiny he is, with a helmet almost too big for his body.
Depending on the herd number and cattle size rounding up the animals can be a tricky job, but it appears the job doesn't seem too big for the toddler.
Herding can be a tricky job depending on the number and size of the cattle, but it's no match for this pint-sized farmer
The video offers a unique insight into everyday life while growing up on farm in regional Australia, with children of all ages eager to get to work.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9878869/Toddler-confidently-herds-cattle-Australian-farm-driving-miniature-quad-bike.html (Video at link)
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National Seniors Australia survey reveals widespread support for Queensland’s VAD laws
A majority of Queensland seniors have backed a push for voluntary-assisted dying being made available for people with a terminal illness.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has formally introduced euthanasia laws into the state’s parliament which will now go back to a committee for an extended 12-week consultation process. Ms Palaszczuk said the entire parliamentary sitting period in September will be devoted to debating the issue when the…
More than 80 per cent of Queensland seniors would support voluntary-assisted dying being available to people with a terminal illness, new data has revealed.
A survey conducted by National Seniors Australia has revealed 86 per cent of older Australians support euthanasia in instances of a terminal illness while 8.7 per cent did not.
In Queensland, 65 per cent of seniors – aged 50 and above in the survey – said they would support VAD being available to a person with a non-terminal illness who met other eligibility criteria available in Victoria.
While 8.7 per cent of senior Queenslanders did not support VAD being available for people with a terminal illness, 84.4 per cent of people did.
The survey engaged with 3500 people from across the country, with 1260 from Queensland – the largest response from any state or territory.
Proposed euthanasia legislation is set to be debated in Queensland Parliament in September, with a committee report expected to be tabled later this month.
Go Gentle Australia CEO Kiki Paul said the survey was more evidence that Australians, no matter their age, supported choice at the end of their lives.
“Like all Australians, they want a say in the circumstances of their death should they be diagnosed with a terminal illness,” she said.
“Most of all they want the choice not to suffer needlessly.
“Four Australian states have already passed safe and compassionate laws that give terminally ill people this autonomy and control. “Now it’s time for Queenslanders to be allowed the same choice.”
More than 650 respondents from across the country penned comments about VAD which revealed the diverse reasons behind their views.
National Seniors Australia CEO John McCallum said one example of a comment read, “The quality of death should be given the same attention as the quality of birth”.
He said better information around VAD was needed.
Some respondents – people who did and didn’t support VAD – raised concerns that older people may feel coerced into using euthanasia by care organisations or family members.
“Our members asked us to do this survey and with our increasing ability to keep people alive at all ages this issue has to be discussed and addressed in the community,” Professor McCallum said.
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Criminal trial delay in Australia could see more accused killers set free, mistrials and appeals
Grief-stricken families of homicide victims across Australia are enduring waits of up to two years to have Supreme Court trials finalised.
News Corp can reveal some lawyers have already been instructed by their clients to appeal if they are convicted on grounds including a denial of due process.
Legal experts warn the delays — brought about by a growth in trials, increasing complexity of cases and more recently Covid-19 — mean a right to a fair trial could be a genuine risk, with mistrials and hung juries expected to increase.
Innocent people could also languish behind bars for longer than necessary, and victims advocate say the stress of losing a loved one is being exacerbated by endless delays.
In New South Wales in 2019/20, 34.4 per cent of Supreme Court homicide trials were taking more than 12 months, and 7.3 per cent were taking two years.
Defendants are alreday planning to use trial delays as a way to appeal if they are convicted.
Defendants are alreday planning to use trial delays as a way to appeal if they are convicted.
In Queensland in 2019/20, 25.7 per cent of Supreme Court homicide cases were taking more than 12 months, while 42.3 per cent of cases in the Magistrates Court were also taking more than a year.
In Victoria in 2019/20, 19.4 per cent were of Supreme Court homicide trials were taking more than 12 months, with 15.5 per cent at Magistrate Courts also taking longer than a year.
In Tasmania in 2019/20, 47.6 per cent of Supreme Court homicide trials were taking longer than a year, with almost 10 per cent taking two years.
In the ACT in 2019/20, 53.3 per cent of Supreme Court homicide trials were taking more than a year, with 6.7 per cent taking longer than two years.
In Western Australia in 2019/20, 31.7 per cent of Supreme Court homicide trials were taking longer than a year.
In South Australia in 2019/20, 12 per cent of homicide cases and a similar amount, 13.9 per cent, were taking longer than a year at Magistrates Courts.
The homicide cases – which include murder, manslaughter, attempted murder and driving causing deaths – are part of a wider backlog of criminal trials impacting courts across the country.
Hundreds of cases were still pending in 2019/20, according to the Productivity Commission, which represents a failure to meet the national benchmark that says no more than 10 per cent of lodgements pending completion in supreme, federal, district, county, coroners’ and family courts should be more than 12 months old.
Greg Barnes SC, national criminal justice spokesman for the Australian Lawyers Alliance, said “aggressive” case management was needed to resolve cases before trial, as was increased use of restorative justice, and the diversion of drugs possession charges away from courts.
“The problem with justice delayed is that firstly you’ve got people who languish on remand losing connections with their families, losing chances at employment and their health suffering because they’re locked down in prisons. You’ve got victims who are suffering with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and various other mental health issues as a result of what’s happened to them, and awaiting trials – that’s unconscionable in a civilised society.”
Mr Barnes said “for the rule of law to apply” there needed to be respect of the human rights for defendants, victims and witnesses.
Victims advocate Howard Brown said cases were taking well over a year to get to trial from arraignment. “Many people have lost loved ones, they don’t need this – it’s bad enough having to deal with the loss,” he said.
Mr Brown said the saying “justice delayed was justice denied was 100 per cent correct”.
The delays also raised the possibility of people who were eventually acquitted being held in custody far longer than they should.
Dean of Newcastle Law School Professor Tania Sourdin said the delays were a serious concern.
“Nothing good happens when trials are delayed. Witnesses don’t remember and there are people in jail not able to access services who can be badly affected by their experience in general,” she said.
She expected a sharp rise in mistrials.
“I think that’s probably likely because if we had more delays, there’s more uncertainty in terms of people’s recollections. And once you have reasonable doubt it’s starting to really impact on the outcome of the trial,” Prof Sourdin said.
The pandemic could also lead to a greater case load with an expected avalanche of civil cases.
There could be quite a lot of litigation that arises out of Covid in the civil space, in particular,” she said.
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Activism in its many forms all just misguided nonsense
Whether they’re loud and proud chaining themselves to bridges or quietly voting for the Greens as their ‘middle finger’ to the world, these activists have got it all wrong, writes Peter Gleeson.
Activists come in many guises. There’s the loud and proud variety who like to chain themselves to bridges and roads.
Then there’s the closet activist, who doesn’t say much but votes Greens because they want to save the planet – a very admirable aim. You’ve got the suburban warriors who try to stop development because they don’t like progress.
Lingerie-clad vegans have been popular. Then there’s the clever ones, who use social media and propaganda to delude mostly millennials into believing they will change the world.
Let’s get a better insight. Extinction Rebellion are the ones that use civil disobedience to push their agenda. What they don’t realise is that clogging up major roads through their antics makes others quite angry.
People are less likely to support any cause if they are angry with the activists. It sums up the Extinction Rebellion business model – they really don’t give a toss about the views of anybody else.
The closet activist lives in a wonderful world where they are so comfortably off that voting Greens is their middle finger to the world.
Just save the planet, and if your policies send us all down the gurgler, so be it.
The suburban warriors are those that have way too much time on their hands, and as such, they want to be professional complainers.
They appeal everything that’s going on around their neighbourhood, blissfully unaware that we’ve been building cities for the last few hundred years and progress stops for no man. Or woman.
The Toondah Harbour development at Cleveland is a good example. Residents have waged a campaign to have the project stymied on environmental grounds.
They have lost a number of appeals, but keep lodging fresh claims in the courts, delaying the project.
QCAT recently scolded resident’s group, Redlands2030, for continuing to lodge appeals, despite repeated judgments that the project had passed the environmental stringencies imposed by each tier of government.
The clever activists are well organised and resourceful. They target major corporations who have backed controversial projects through social media.
They advise their followers to boycott certain companies on the basis they had formed a relationship with a target.
Adani’s Carmichael coal mine has been a major target. A Coalition of environmental groups banded together to have the mine stopped.
It nearly worked. If Bill Shorten was prime Minister today, it would not be operational. Close to 600 people would be looking for work.
Worse, these clever activists embarrass and shame major corporations into abandoning their joint ventures with coal mines, or any industry deemed to be hurting the environment.
It is a form of corporate sabotage and the unfortunate outcome of that pressure often results in big companies ending their ties. They just don’t need the drama.
Helping to spread their message is a compliant Left-wing media headed up by the ABC, The Guardian and the Nine newspapers.
They blindly follow the script, going on exclusive “raids’’ with animal activists as they storm abattoirs to save pigs and chickens.
We’ve even seen bikini-clad vegans take to the streets of chilly Melbourne. They certainly know how to promote their cause.
The message for those wanting to enjoy prosperity and progress – and don’t we need it with the pandemic – is don’t fall for this misguided nonsense.
When we get the mix right between sustainable living and protecting jobs, everybody’s a winner.
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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
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Evelyn Rae, a conservative Australian political commentator
Margo Robbie -- a beautiful australian
My son Joe at ANU
One of the happiest pictures ever -- Cleo Smith, aged 4
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