Tomorrow!
2018 was a pretty ordinary year, with the revelations of the Financial Services Royal commission after the government was dragged screaming to the table, sandpaper making its (public) debut in test cricket, utter chaos and turmoil at all levels of Australian politics, house prices in Sydney taking a dump, and my previously resilient 92 year old mother being verbally bashed and left babbling by some scammer bastard on the phone demanding money.
2019 should be better, after all we are Australians.
Sometimes I do not know what that means any more.
As I look forward, I am filled with cynical anxiety at what is becoming of the Australia of my childhood, now long gone.
We can look forward to being molested by politicians and aspiring politicians over the next 3 months, desperately applying layers of lipstick to whatever pig turns up that day in an effort to buy our votes. The prevailing sentiment seems to be ‘to hell with them all’ as it relates to the major parties, but then you have the loonies, amongst a few gems turning up as independent options. I suspect a few will find themselves elected, then have to check where Canberra is located. So much for the intelligent, long term and visionary policy planning we so desperately need in a whole range of areas affecting our daily lives, and those of our children and in my case, grandchildren.
On top of the politicians, we have the usual suspects bleating about the date. ‘Jan 26, Invasion Day’ seems to be the core issue. It is perfectly reasonable that a number of the descendants of the indigenous people of the late 1700’s feel aggrieved, but let’s be serious, it was 220 years ago, and even if we pull it forward 150 years to capture the appalling, by our current standards, treatment of indigenous people up until recently, it is still in the past. The argument about Australia Day does not have to be a binary one. It is the day everything changed, for better or worse, let’s just get on with continuing to build resilient communities and a caring, successful, inclusive nation.
We all wait with baited breath for the announcement of the Australian of the year. Last years AOTY Professor Michelle Simmons was inspired. How she got through the selection processes that strongly favours male sports stars who have not yet featured in the popular press for bad behaviour is beyond me. Perhaps a sign of maturity in the selection panel? Hopefully that level of maturity prevails again this year, and we honour someone who has made a real contribution, rather than just being well known.
Have a great day tomorrow, enjoy the barbie a few beers and your friends and family, but also give some consideration to what you want this country to look like, and how you can make a contribution.
Happy Australia Day!
Header cartoon is from the ‘First dog on the moon’ series in the Guardian. Rarely politically correct, always biting!
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