Australian Politics
Our parasitical ruling class have revealed themselves to all
Their tantrum when for once they did not get their way is very revealing. They are nearly as entrenched as the Soviet Nomenklatura so it is good to see them lose one. A powerful new device for control of us all was wrenched from them
The tantrum of the ‘Yes’ campaign and its supporters following their referendum loss is symptomatic of a class of people suffering from a troublesome level of self-entitlement and a sense of moral superiority.
It reflects an attitude that can only emerge in a nation where people live in a group-think bubbles, indulging their lack of perspective which is reinforced daily by those around them.
Such is the Australian bureaucrat class.
This particular class of society tends to live and work in our inner-cities and lurk within government and corporate institutions.
They’re not tradies, or small businesspeople, or front-line emergency responders – they would never survive in an environment that requires daily performance measurement and instant accountability.
The ‘Yes’ class are the class that make all the rules. They stifle the productivity of the producers in our society, and make life more difficult for everyone else. Red tape and green tape are their tools of power.
They inhabit government department managerial offices, corporate HR, legal, PR departments, law firms, consulting firms, and training companies. In ancient Chinese society (and in modern China) these were the people who held the ‘chops’, the official government stamps needed to authorise and control.
They mirror the archetypes of the British civil service who delight in hindering, meddling, policing, and enforcing. Justifying their lack of productivity and true success with political gameplay and the wielding of arbitrary power.
Worse than the wealth they prevent individuals and the nation producing, is the wealth they take for themselves. The worst example of this post-referendum was the news that the Queensland state government of Labor’s Annastacia Palaszczuk was offering any public servant who felt they needed it, five days off with full pay to mourn the loss.
That such an idea could be floated with any level of seriousness, let alone be implemented, reveals how severe this gap between the rulers and the ruled has become. What small business person or tradie could afford such a personal self-indulgence? Further, what small or medium-sized business could afford to offer such a benefit to its employees and compete in the market for top talent?
What the Voice laid so plainly bare for all of us to see was that our country is roughly divided in two: those who know the cost of things and produce – and those who make the rules, and take.
The first and most glaring indication of this bureaucrat class being completely out of touch was the inverse nature of the Voice vote in the Australian Capital Territory: 61-39 vs 39-61.
That was obvious on election night and is perhaps all that needs to be said on the matter. But a deeper dive into the electorate-by-electorate vote unveils two clear dividing trends: tertiary educated vs non-tertiary educated; and high-income vs low-middle income. Of the 151 federal electorates, only 29 saw a ‘Yes’ victory – the inner-cities had the widest margins.
In my view, this proves the long-held perspective that, those of us with a tertiary education are not necessarily better at analytical thinking and reasoning but rather we have merely been exposed to a different ideological framework. The dominance of post-modern, neo-Marxist, identity politics (call it what you will – it’s the worldview of left) in academia has, with the boomer generations and their children, come to dominate the halls of power in this country. Covid proved the point when millions of producers were left at the mercy of the bureaucrat class.
Before I am accused of Marxist-style over-simplification of the world into classes, let me clarify that I believe there are many degrees and combinations of these factors lurking within wider society and perhaps even within individuals. Not all public servants sit in the bureaucrat class, especially those on the front line and those who contribute to the nation’s productivity rather than obstruct it. But the data from this referendum shows we have a worrying disconnect between the producers and the administrators. This isn’t sustainable.
There can be only one of two outcomes. Firstly, the bureaucrat class could double down in anger and heighten a push to further regulation and control, causing the producers to give up, retire to the beach, or move abroad. This would lead to stagnation in innovation, production and wealth, tax revenue will plummet, debt will rise and the bureaucrats will run out of other people’s money to spend.
Or, the bureaucrat class get the message, restrain themselves, unwind excessive regulation and control, drop identity-politics-related programs and seek to properly serve the producer class instead of ruling over them. This will cause producers to re-engage, build businesses and create employment, drive innovation, production and wealth, tax revenue will be adequate to sustain this trimmed-down bureaucracy and there will be enough left over to pay down the crippling debt.
If I were a betting man, I’d say the naïve response of the referendum’s losers and the subsequent push now for ‘misinformation’ laws, suggest the control freaks will stand triumphant atop a pile of ruins and rubble in a decade or so, and first scenario is sadly far more likely. But we live in hope, and those of us working for the second outcome must carry on fighting each battle as it arises.
Imagine though, how great our nation could be if we united behind true laissez-faire free market liberalism, low-tax, and minimal regulation. Alas, we suffer at the hands of those who believe they know what is best for us and think they have a monopoly on ‘good’.
https://www.spectator.com.au/2023/10/we-have-a-big-problem
***********************************************From diagnosis to services and support: how Australia's long COVID response is falling short
Around 5-10% of people in Australia experience symptoms for more than three months after a COVID infection, termed long COVID.
So far, more than 200 different symptoms have been recorded, ranging from shortness of breath to fatigue and brain fog. The effects are far-reaching for those with the condition, often affecting their capacity to work and their quality of life for many months or even years.
With this in mind, we set out to examine Australia’s long COVID guidelines, services and public health information.
Our research found that compared to international standards, Australia is generally slow to recognise and investigate possible cases of long COVID. We also found the availability of multidisciplinary long COVID services was lacking in Australia, as was accessibility of trustworthy public health information.
From COVID to long COVID
Even with all the advancements in medical science, there’s not yet any simple blood test or scan that can definitively tell you if you have long COVID. A diagnosis is based on how long you’ve been dealing with symptoms. But the point at which you’ll receive that diagnosis can vary depending on where you live.
In our review, we examined international guidelines from the World Health Organization as well as national guidelines in the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.
Most countries, including Australia, wait 12 weeks after the initial infection to officially diagnose long COVID. The US, however, determines a person has long COVID after just four weeks of continued symptoms. This discrepancy can have significant implications for how much support the person will get from the health system.
Guidelines in Australia, the UK and the US do advocate for further investigation if symptoms persist for four weeks after contracting COVID. But we discovered this approach of early investigation is not consistently implemented in Australia.
On reviewing the eligibility criteria for long COVID services in Australia, we found that most of these services require a person to have had symptoms for 12 weeks or more to qualify for care.
Get help early
If your symptoms continue for four weeks or more after catching COVID, it’s important to act early by contacting your GP. They can investigate further and help you manage your symptoms.
Unfortunately not all GPs and health-care professionals are up to speed on long COVID. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has called for better education for GPs.
All health-care professionals, especially those working in the community, should be educated about how to spot long COVID early. This will enable them to refer patients for specialised care when required.
Australian long COVID services cannot meet demand
Long COVID is a complicated health issue that can affect multiple parts of the body, and right now there are no specific treatments for the condition as a whole.
However, a mix of supports and services can help. This might include care from a cardiologist, neurologist and physiotherapist for different symptoms. Research has shown that a personalised, multidisciplinary rehabilitation program can have long-term benefits for people with long COVID. Long COVID clinics offer these sorts of programs.
When we conducted our research, we identified just 16 specialised long COVID clinics in Australia.
The vast majority of the Australian population has had COVID at least once. The current best estimate is 80-85%. If we do a conservative calculation and say out of 80% of Australians who have had COVID, 5% ended up with long COVID, that’s at least one million people.
Each long COVID clinic is then essentially tasked with serving more than 60,000 people. Even if we assume many have recovered and don’t need these services, it’s still an impossible task.
So it’s not surprising reports suggest people have had to wait several months to access these services.
Further, all of the 16 clinics were in big cities, and none in rural areas. There were also no long COVID clinics catering specifically to the unique needs of children, elderly people in aged care, or those with a disability.
Another gap we identified is that trustworthy public health information on long COVID, such as online resources, is either not readily available or not advertised. Where these resources exist, they are primarily in English, disadvantaging people with low health literacy or from non-English-speaking backgrounds.
Integrating advice in multiple languages on diet, movement, energy conservation and mental health with clinical support will be of great value to many people who are on the wait list for long COVID clinics.
If your COVID symptoms last more than four weeks, or if new symptoms appear during that first month, affecting your life or work, you might be in for the long haul. Our key message is act early. Book yourself in with your GP or a GP-led specialist clinic.
With COVID cases continuing to accumulate, more and more people will find themselves with long COVID. As a society, we need to fast-track better services and work towards a deeper understanding of the condition.
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Education boss calls for doubling down on explicit teaching in schools
The head of the NSW public education system has called on schools to double down on the use of explicit instruction – a teaching method that gives students step-by-step and clear instructions – in a bid to boost results and close the stark achievement gap.
Murat Dizdar, who was appointed secretary of the NSW Education Department in June, told the Herald that evidence shows schools using explicit teaching practices have the most sustained improvements in academic outcomes.
The department will release a new public education plan on Monday that will outline six focus points, including plans to boost school staff numbers, raise attendance rates and lift the number of students completing year 12.
“Equity is also a big focus – we want to close the gaps for those students who are struggling,” Dizdar said.
The plan comes as 45 high-profile reading experts send an open letter to Australian education ministers, calling on governments to reduce the number of pupils leaving primary school without proficient reading skills.
The department’s four-year blueprint calls out the use of explicit instruction to help improve reading and maths results. The approach favours clear direction from teachers over student-led learning, and involves breaking down topics into small parts and regularly spot-checking to assess how students are doing.
“One of the reasons I believe in explicit teaching so much is because it does not discriminate,” Dizdar said. “It applies to all age levels and abilities when learning new or complex skills.”
“I’m going to be stronger around it, and I’m looking to reinforce that practice and drive our professional learning around that.”
But Dizdar said HSC and NAPLAN performance targets set for every school – benchmarks for the number of students achieving in the top two bands – will no longer be mandated. There will also be no individual phonics achievement targets for schools.
Instead, schools will have “improvement measures” in reading, numeracy, attendance and post-school pathways.
“We will start discussions with schools about improvement measures this term, and they will be set for every school by the end of term 1 next year,” Dizdar said. “They won’t be top down; rather they will be growth-based, discussed with schools and will consider their context and trajectory.”
Targets were outlined under the department’s School Success Model, an expansion of the 2016 Bump It Up strategy that aimed to boost the number of students achieving in the top performance bands.
Dizdar said feedback from teachers and principals was that “the top two band measures had inadvertent consequences, and that schools may not be focusing on all students”.
The ambassador schools program, which was designed to study the state’s best schools to work out the secrets of their success, will also be wound up.
Meanwhile, an open letter signed by reading experts and sent to education ministers has pushed for immediate action to tackle the achievement gap and set national targets for reading.
The letter, signed by cognitive science expert Anne Castles, Pam Snow and education expert Bill Louden, calls for urgent reforms to “set ambitious but achievable reading proficiency targets” and address the substantial achievement gaps between students from advantaged and disadvantaged families.
“The next National School Reform Agreement must clearly outline targets for reading based on the new NAPLAN proficiency benchmarks,” it says.
The latest NAPLAN data shows almost one-third of Australian students are failing to meet proficiency standards in reading, writing and maths, with a vast achievement gap between students in cities and regions.
“This means well over 1 million children in school today do not have the literacy skills to navigate the world with confidence, proficiency and dignity,” the letter says.
The head of the Australian Education Research Organisation, Jenny Donovan, said highlighting explicit instruction in the NSW public education plan was “commendable in its direction” but the department will “need to hold a line, and be clear about the practices that don’t work, such as over-reliance on inquiry-led learning”.
“You can use inquiry-led or student-led learning, but [it] can’t be the main approach,” she said.
The plan for public education involved an eight-week consultation period with thousands of teachers, principals, parents and stakeholder groups.
It outlines six key focus areas: ensuring high quality, evidence-based teaching; improving literacy and numeracy outcomes; lifting student wellbeing; increasing the proportion of children in preschool; strengthening respect for the teaching profession; and lifting the proportion of students going into university, training and work after school.
NSW Education Minister Prue Car said addressing teacher shortages and delivering high-quality, evidence-based learning was at the centre of the document.
“I am proud to deliver this blueprint for the next four years, which reflects the aspirations of teachers, parents and students,” Car said.
But opposition spokeswoman for education Sarah Mitchell said the plan contained no detail around how the goals within it would be achieved in NSW schools.
“Key policy areas like phonics, delivery of free universal pre-kindergarten and increasing the number of students in the top two NAPLAN bands for literacy and numeracy appear to have been dropped, which indicates the new Labor government is watering down transparency and accountability measures in schools.”
Federal education minister Jason Clare has commissioned a root-and-branch review that will examine targets and priorities for the next National School Reform Agreement, which will also look at transparency and accountability around public funding. A report is due by the end of the year.
The Productivity Commission has said targets should be developed to reduce the proportion of students who do not meet basic levels of literacy and numeracy.
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BHP warns same job same pay cost will exceed $1.3 billion
BHP has declared the cost to the mining giant of Labor’s industrial relations changes will be significantly higher than its previous estimate of $1.3 billion annually, warning the legislation threatens to make its $300 million apprentice and traineeship program “unfeasible”.
In a submission to the Senate inquiry into Labor’s Closing Loopholes Bill, BHP said it was strongly opposed to the same job same pay labour hire changes “because of the damage it threatens to do to our business as well as to Australia’s economy, to Australian jobs and to Australia’s productivity and international competitiveness”.
The government is not closing loopholes, “they are tieing businesses in knots, it says, introducing “significant new costs for the entire resources sector, both in terms of direct labour costs but also costs associated with lower productivity and less flexibility”.
“These are costs which cannot simply be absorbed and will create difficult decisions for the entire resources sector about making cuts to offset the impact of the bill, deferring or cancelling investments, or ultimately closing mines when the underlying cost base becomes uncompetitive,” BHP says
Calling the bill the “most significant and far-reaching change to Australian workplace relations since WorkChoices”, BHP says the legislation threatens the future of all forms of labour hire and the future of large, long-running service contractor businesses.
BHP has previously estimated the financial impact of the labour hire changes to its Australian operations would be up to A$1.3 billion annually, equivalent to the labour cost of approximately 5,000 full-time employees across its operational workforce.
The government has disputed the costings, while the company’s submission disputed commitments from Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke that service contractors would be exempt from the labour hire.
BHP says it has sought but not received further information from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations to allow the company to make fresh calculations about the financial impact of the labour hire changes.
“Clearly, SJSP (Same Job Same Pay) will have significant and material impacts across the whole sector and economy,” its submission says.
“Given it is now clear that the bill does not expressly exclude service contractors, which make up a significant part of the overall resources workforce, and given the bill provides no certainty as to how the Fair Work Commission will exercise its discretion, it must be assumed that they will be impacted by the SJSP provisions.
“We therefore expect a significant upward revision to our initial costing….the significant increased labour cost of SJSP will not be accompanied by any associated increase in productivity, indeed it will most likely decrease productivity.
“Our suppliers will most likely pass on their increased labour costs, and without any increased benefit to BHP. Ultimately, any increased costs are borne by a large majority of Australians, who are direct or indirect shareholders in BHP (and other Australian companies).”
BHP accused the government of wanting to use the legislation to stymie its mining services division, OS, claiming the government had mischaracterised OS as “internal labour hire”.
The company says the same job same pay changes will leave the future of BHP’s FutureFit training program highly uncertain.
FutureFit academies have been established in Western Australia and Queensland under the auspices of Operations Services.
The program promises to create 2,500 new traineeships and apprenticeships over five years, with entrants joining BHP in permanent roles upon graduation.
In 2022, 80 per cent of FutureFit students were female, 20 per cent Indigenous and retention was more than 83 per cent.
“As a result of the government’s legislation, BHP’s continued FutureFit investment, and the opportunities it is providing to a new wave of Australians to enter the resources industry, may become unfeasible,” it says..
It says BHP is the most held security by self-managed superannuation funds and managed funds. Over 600,000 Australians hold shares directly in BHP, and around 17 million Australians who indirectly hold shares in BHP via their superannuation.
“SJSP will directly impact these annual dividends and value of their BHP holdings,” the submission says. “When the impact to all Australian companies is taken into account, the government’s SJSP policy can be expected to have a materially negative impact on the value of the retirement savings of 17 million Australians.”
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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)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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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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