What if pollies could no longer twitter? What if Malcolm Turnbull could no longer put his explosive blogs on his site? Well at least in that case Tony Abbott would be happy. We see access to the internet's free availability of information as an inalienable right. Even temporary disconnection is at best an annoyance, at worst a Gen Y hell. But this is exactly the proposal in the UK, with a new three-strike rule for illegal file sharing. The recently introduced Digital Economy bill would give powers to Business Secretary Lord Peter Mandelson to require Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to slow or suspend people's access for an undetermined period with no parliamentary oversight. In the process, essentially asking ISPs to spy on users. The British internet community is livid, but could this ever happen in Australia?
Communications Minister Stephen "internet filter" Conroy, recently voted Internet Villain of the Year, has alluded to the three-strike/suspension idea before as a possible solution to the file-sharing issue. British commitment to the idea along with a poor outcome for internet providers in the ongoing iiNet case in Australia would certainly point him in that direction. So could this hell become reality?
The problem of copyright on the web exists within all communication industries; music, TV, film and, of course, the news industry. The question for all of them is how do you get people to pay for online content when it is easily and freely available elsewhere? The UK has tried to plug this hole, introducing legislation that says if you download files illegally three times you will be sent warning letters to scare you into stopping. And from there the secretary would have wide ranging powers to force ISPs to slow or suspend your access to the web.
ISPs would spy on your online activity for the government to detect any illegal file sharing; somewhat akin to the post office opening your mail. Disconnection would not just be directed at the individual downloader but those you live with would be cut off as well. This leaves unprotected wireless networks particularly vulnerable. There would be no official trial to prove your innocence or guilt, merely notifications and worst case scenario; bam no more internet and even a £50,000 ($A90,000) fine.
Mandelson, a member of the House of Lords who has had to resign twice over abusing his position, has defended the bill and says that mass suspensions would be a last resort. Adding, "it must become clear that the days of consequence-free widespread online infringement are over". The hope is that just sending out warning letters will be enough to scare people away. But the UK's internet community has been up in arms with mass online petitions, plenty of comment anger in the blogosphere as well as the general community. There has even been a digital economy bill song, sung by UK musician Dan Bull, musically pointing out some of the angst about this legislation.
When I mentioned the idea of internet suspension to a member of Gen Y, his immediate reaction was "horrific". "What about work? What about uni? How would you live your life?" The other immediate thought: "This system will be abused by the very angry entertainment industries who will sue the pants off any 14-year-old fan boy downloading the latest Lady GaGa single." And that is basically the idea; put small time peer-to-peer file sharers' heads on a stick (see this recent case in the US to frighten others and boost music and DVD sales, which have slumped since illegal file sharing came into existence in the late '90s.
But what the UK policy neglects to understand is that there will always be illegal file sharing. Period. It is the basic function of the internet to share information, regulating and restricting what information and how would be practically impossible. I understand that particularly the music industry is cut because it won't be able to sell as many copies of Britney Spears, Beyonce and the like. But frankly, too bad. The file sharing toothpaste is out of the tube.
As University of Queensland's intellectual property expert, Kimberlee Weatherall, told the National Times, to actually stop illegal file sharing you would have to establish "a great big bureaucracy", including ways to find people (a nightmare in itself), notify them of a breach of copyright, establish an independent body or court to prove innocence or guilt and then impose effective disincentives. Perhaps investing less in government lobbying and suing and more in legal file sharing (which has gone up 35 per cent in Australia on last year) would be an idea. More carrot and less stick; where the stick is practically impossible anyway.
A big judicial/bureaucratic system with money and time devoted to it, would be the only way for people sitting anonymously at their computers to feel some heat. But who would pay for it? No one is shooting up their hands to pony up the dough and in the end it may well be consumers paying for higher internet prices. So every now and again murmurings of radical state intervention occur, just so governments can stop the fighting between Big Content and the ISPs.
In the end despite the UK legislation and Conroy chatter about a three-strike rule in Australia, would they actually cut people off from the internet in Australia? Who knows but it's unlikely to be permanent. Slow servers or suspension for a period would be the option at most (France's legislation has at most a year). But if the amount of angst that even the thought of suspension causes in the British community is anything to go by, for Conroy it probably wouldn't be worth the hassle.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Doctor's notes for Copenhagen
by BELLA COUNIHAN
It's been a big week. The climate change/ETS debate is still in flux in one of the most exciting and bizarre weeks ever, with pointless leadership spills, mass resignations and prospects for more Liberal Party chaos to come.
At the beginning of the week there were a million hypotheticals and lots of guesswork; will the ETS be passed? Will Turnbull remain leader? We still don't know.
But let's look back to one of the key reasons for all this kerfuffle, a split in the Liberal Party over whether or not we should be doing anything before the global climate summit in Copenhagen also known as COP15 in December. But maybe endless political tedium isn't the answer. Maybe we need to inject a little musical inspiration into the mix to solve this highly complex dilemma. Maybe we need a light rock ballad to solve all our climate worries?
The Rock Doctors, a Dad band from Adelaide, have beaten Goanna to the punch. Before you could say "Get out the acoustic guitar and hold your lighter high and sway" they have written a hopeful ballad, entitled simply Copenhagen. The message and sentiment is encapsulated in the chorus sung by local songstress Jane-Ann Power, "Want something, say something, do something", with backing vocals "the world must change".
Although my favourite/the most unusual lyric has to be "don't waste your time just do something right now".
This may well be at best terrible Eurovision material sung by some Doctors/Dads in the suburbs of Adelaide, but the intent is what is important here. Patrick O'Leary, rhythm guitarist in the four-piece and composer of the song, said on the rockdoctors.net "normally I'm not inspired enough to write a political song, however, this time I think politicians should cease trading on their emissions and actually 'do something' for climate change". O'Leary pointed to Hawthorn coach John Kennedy's prophetic words, "Don't think, don't hope. Do. Do something", which shows that international political dynamics and AFL footy in the '70s do have something in common after all.
Music has always had a political stream; the obvious Bonos and other hairy Irish fellas come to mind. Our own Environment Minister Peter Garrett (though as you type his name into Google it is unfairly suggested that you add the words "sell out" to your search) obviously has a big history with political song writing.
He once said: "I think songs matter, that music matters, indeed I know it does. Music is a major cultural reference point for people of all ages. Songs are often the poetry of the moment, and can reflect the politics of the moment too."
There is no doubt music plays an important part in our lives. But aren't songs with a political message they just naive? I think you'd have to say in most cases yes. The last time that they probably did make a difference was 30 years ago. I'm thinking Vietnam War, I'm thinking long hair, I'm thinking a time long ago. Expectations about change through song were higher and people were more keen to be politically involved. Although O'Leary maintains that he will send the song to radio stations in Denmark, let's hope there at least, in the bicycle-riding nation, the song might catch on.
Then again what about the expectations of this climate summit? Is it naive to expect anything concrete to emerge, songs or no? Most of us want and expect something to happen. But we've seen it before, a summit is organised, countries go there saying they need concessions because of x and y factors in the domestic economic/political situations. Other countries say if they're not on board then we won't get on board. It becomes a game of international chicken in reverse — no one wants to go too far. The terms always become politically binding not legally binding and shouted out at the end is how much progress there's been.
Recent events could also no doubt put pressure on the summit. The international leaked emails scandal, where hackers obtained and distributed emails that suggested climate researchers at the University of East Anglia had manipulated data, has been jumped on by climate sceptics. Although Obama has announced that he will now definitely be attending. Swings and roundabouts I suppose.
After this week most are certainly tired of this climate related chaos and over-politicisation of the issue in parliament. It's good to know that people still feel that a song can at least help the befuddled mess we have before us. The Goanna certainly appreciates the sentiment.
It's been a big week. The climate change/ETS debate is still in flux in one of the most exciting and bizarre weeks ever, with pointless leadership spills, mass resignations and prospects for more Liberal Party chaos to come.
At the beginning of the week there were a million hypotheticals and lots of guesswork; will the ETS be passed? Will Turnbull remain leader? We still don't know.
But let's look back to one of the key reasons for all this kerfuffle, a split in the Liberal Party over whether or not we should be doing anything before the global climate summit in Copenhagen also known as COP15 in December. But maybe endless political tedium isn't the answer. Maybe we need to inject a little musical inspiration into the mix to solve this highly complex dilemma. Maybe we need a light rock ballad to solve all our climate worries?
The Rock Doctors, a Dad band from Adelaide, have beaten Goanna to the punch. Before you could say "Get out the acoustic guitar and hold your lighter high and sway" they have written a hopeful ballad, entitled simply Copenhagen. The message and sentiment is encapsulated in the chorus sung by local songstress Jane-Ann Power, "Want something, say something, do something", with backing vocals "the world must change".
Although my favourite/the most unusual lyric has to be "don't waste your time just do something right now".
This may well be at best terrible Eurovision material sung by some Doctors/Dads in the suburbs of Adelaide, but the intent is what is important here. Patrick O'Leary, rhythm guitarist in the four-piece and composer of the song, said on the rockdoctors.net "normally I'm not inspired enough to write a political song, however, this time I think politicians should cease trading on their emissions and actually 'do something' for climate change". O'Leary pointed to Hawthorn coach John Kennedy's prophetic words, "Don't think, don't hope. Do. Do something", which shows that international political dynamics and AFL footy in the '70s do have something in common after all.
Music has always had a political stream; the obvious Bonos and other hairy Irish fellas come to mind. Our own Environment Minister Peter Garrett (though as you type his name into Google it is unfairly suggested that you add the words "sell out" to your search) obviously has a big history with political song writing.
He once said: "I think songs matter, that music matters, indeed I know it does. Music is a major cultural reference point for people of all ages. Songs are often the poetry of the moment, and can reflect the politics of the moment too."
There is no doubt music plays an important part in our lives. But aren't songs with a political message they just naive? I think you'd have to say in most cases yes. The last time that they probably did make a difference was 30 years ago. I'm thinking Vietnam War, I'm thinking long hair, I'm thinking a time long ago. Expectations about change through song were higher and people were more keen to be politically involved. Although O'Leary maintains that he will send the song to radio stations in Denmark, let's hope there at least, in the bicycle-riding nation, the song might catch on.
Then again what about the expectations of this climate summit? Is it naive to expect anything concrete to emerge, songs or no? Most of us want and expect something to happen. But we've seen it before, a summit is organised, countries go there saying they need concessions because of x and y factors in the domestic economic/political situations. Other countries say if they're not on board then we won't get on board. It becomes a game of international chicken in reverse — no one wants to go too far. The terms always become politically binding not legally binding and shouted out at the end is how much progress there's been.
Recent events could also no doubt put pressure on the summit. The international leaked emails scandal, where hackers obtained and distributed emails that suggested climate researchers at the University of East Anglia had manipulated data, has been jumped on by climate sceptics. Although Obama has announced that he will now definitely be attending. Swings and roundabouts I suppose.
After this week most are certainly tired of this climate related chaos and over-politicisation of the issue in parliament. It's good to know that people still feel that a song can at least help the befuddled mess we have before us. The Goanna certainly appreciates the sentiment.
Friday, November 20, 2009
The two faces of Scientology
Scientology is just a big joke to most of us. The religion that every other religion laughs at and teases in the theological playground. But people still subscribe to its pseudo-Freudian science fiction based beliefs.
Scientology has always been very secretive about its practices and vague about underlying parts of its faith, although never secret about the celebrity membership it shouts from the rooftops. In Senator Nick Xenophon's remarkable speech under parliamentary privilege to the Senate on Wednesday we got a significant glimpse through letters of ex-Scientology members. The authors collectively tell a story of Scientology's suggested mafia-like tendencies, alleging blackmail, imprisonment, coercion, forced separation of loved ones and even murder and forced abortions.
The Church of Scientology strenuously deny these accusations. But with allegations like these and an increasing number of leaked internal videos on the internet, will more knowledge of the alleged abuses and bizarreness of this institution be Scientology's undoing? Do people just need more credible information about the organisation's true goings on to turn away? The church has been growing since it was established mid-last century. Its principal spokesman Tommy Davis says, scarily enough, that ''Scientology has grown more in the last five years than in the last five decades combined''.
This is despite an avalanche of information that points to some strange activities within the church. There is even an anonymous internet group called, originally enough ''Anonymous'', which is dedicated to tracking down the stuff the church does not want you to see. This interview in which actor Tom Cruise basically rants and laughs while using apparent Scientology codes like KSW (keep Scientology working) and SP (suppressive persons) as the music to Mission Impossible plays in the background, is the most infamous example and went viral across the internet. The church in fact was so cut about this internal leak going public that they tried to sue YouTube for keeping the videos up, claiming copyright infringement.
Scientology.org is the Church of Scientology's official line of communication. Hours and hours worth of videos describing on a glossy website the ins and outs of a fuzzy sort of philosophy and vague truisms such as ''understanding is obtained through knowledge and information''. This is the very public face of the self-help version of this philosophy, which emphasises freedom of religion and equal rights. The videos also run on a dedicated YouTube channel showing just your average Scientologists as race car drivers, fashion designers, soccer players and other glamorous careers. This public face of the church online has also been attacked by Anonymous, taking down the Scientology.org website repeatedly and sending messages of cyber destruction to the Scientology community.
Even without those on the outside trying to destroy Scientology, people on the inside seem to be doing plenty of that on their own. There have been amazing allegations from those in the inner sanctum against the current leader of Scientology, David Miscavige, who took over in the '80s shortly after the Big LRH (church founder L. Ron Hubbard) died, including a rather chilling game of musical chairs, before which 30 members of staff were cooped up for weeks and forced to think up strategic plans for the future of the church. When these ideas were rebuffed they had to prove their devotion to the church by winning the game, played to the sounds of Bohemian Rhapsody. Those who lost would be flung to far corners of the earth on Scientology postings, Miscavige saying if families were broke up, well, too bad. There were also serious allegations that Miscavige even physically beat up those around him.
Davis, the church's new PR spokesman, has also been doing a pretty good job of wrecking its image. The most infamous and embarrassing was his interview with Nightline's Martin Bashir, where Davis, when asked about Xenu (the galactic emperor who plays an important role in the church's version of history), pulled out his microphone and stormed off. Davis allegedly even went down to ABC headquarters and tried to stop the footage from being aired, unsuccessfully.
Celebrities, the church's most valuable asset, have also spoken out in recent times. Oscar-winning director of Crash, Paul Haggis left the church and sent a damning letter to Davis that spread quickly over the internet. In the letter he talks about homophobic behaviour in the church and the policy of disconnection. Haggis also says that he decided to leave the church after looking up videos and articles online, including articles on the Miscavige behaviour and Davis' denial of the policy of disconnection.
The public face with its self-help and vague Freudian philosophy seem to contradict revelations of this secret side of the Church of Scientology.
Bella Counihan is The Goanna.
Scientology has always been very secretive about its practices and vague about underlying parts of its faith, although never secret about the celebrity membership it shouts from the rooftops. In Senator Nick Xenophon's remarkable speech under parliamentary privilege to the Senate on Wednesday we got a significant glimpse through letters of ex-Scientology members. The authors collectively tell a story of Scientology's suggested mafia-like tendencies, alleging blackmail, imprisonment, coercion, forced separation of loved ones and even murder and forced abortions.
The Church of Scientology strenuously deny these accusations. But with allegations like these and an increasing number of leaked internal videos on the internet, will more knowledge of the alleged abuses and bizarreness of this institution be Scientology's undoing? Do people just need more credible information about the organisation's true goings on to turn away? The church has been growing since it was established mid-last century. Its principal spokesman Tommy Davis says, scarily enough, that ''Scientology has grown more in the last five years than in the last five decades combined''.
This is despite an avalanche of information that points to some strange activities within the church. There is even an anonymous internet group called, originally enough ''Anonymous'', which is dedicated to tracking down the stuff the church does not want you to see. This interview in which actor Tom Cruise basically rants and laughs while using apparent Scientology codes like KSW (keep Scientology working) and SP (suppressive persons) as the music to Mission Impossible plays in the background, is the most infamous example and went viral across the internet. The church in fact was so cut about this internal leak going public that they tried to sue YouTube for keeping the videos up, claiming copyright infringement.
Scientology.org is the Church of Scientology's official line of communication. Hours and hours worth of videos describing on a glossy website the ins and outs of a fuzzy sort of philosophy and vague truisms such as ''understanding is obtained through knowledge and information''. This is the very public face of the self-help version of this philosophy, which emphasises freedom of religion and equal rights. The videos also run on a dedicated YouTube channel showing just your average Scientologists as race car drivers, fashion designers, soccer players and other glamorous careers. This public face of the church online has also been attacked by Anonymous, taking down the Scientology.org website repeatedly and sending messages of cyber destruction to the Scientology community.
Even without those on the outside trying to destroy Scientology, people on the inside seem to be doing plenty of that on their own. There have been amazing allegations from those in the inner sanctum against the current leader of Scientology, David Miscavige, who took over in the '80s shortly after the Big LRH (church founder L. Ron Hubbard) died, including a rather chilling game of musical chairs, before which 30 members of staff were cooped up for weeks and forced to think up strategic plans for the future of the church. When these ideas were rebuffed they had to prove their devotion to the church by winning the game, played to the sounds of Bohemian Rhapsody. Those who lost would be flung to far corners of the earth on Scientology postings, Miscavige saying if families were broke up, well, too bad. There were also serious allegations that Miscavige even physically beat up those around him.
Davis, the church's new PR spokesman, has also been doing a pretty good job of wrecking its image. The most infamous and embarrassing was his interview with Nightline's Martin Bashir, where Davis, when asked about Xenu (the galactic emperor who plays an important role in the church's version of history), pulled out his microphone and stormed off. Davis allegedly even went down to ABC headquarters and tried to stop the footage from being aired, unsuccessfully.
Celebrities, the church's most valuable asset, have also spoken out in recent times. Oscar-winning director of Crash, Paul Haggis left the church and sent a damning letter to Davis that spread quickly over the internet. In the letter he talks about homophobic behaviour in the church and the policy of disconnection. Haggis also says that he decided to leave the church after looking up videos and articles online, including articles on the Miscavige behaviour and Davis' denial of the policy of disconnection.
The public face with its self-help and vague Freudian philosophy seem to contradict revelations of this secret side of the Church of Scientology.
Bella Counihan is The Goanna.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Internet full of downfalls and regret
BELLA COUNIHAN November 11, 2009
Comments 3
It has all the informality and appearance of privacy with all the trappings of creating a public record. Even those most aware of its pitfalls are easily able to fall into these traps - as Thomas Tudehope, a tech wiz kid and Turnbull adviser, and David Clarke staffer Charles Perrottet found out after allegedly helping to publish an Alex Hawke/Hitler Downfall spoof YouTube Video (although Tudehope maintains that he had no involvement in the video's production or dissemination). There is now a steady stream of stories like this, where an employee on a "sickie" has tweeted they've been at the pub, or where a media agency has picked up a hoax story. Most of the time, once you've posted a comment, it stays commented. Once you've emailed an email there's no way to bring it back. And the Internet voice of public individuals - or even those who work for them - is becoming more and more strongly controlled because of it.
The Tudehope/Perrottet affair is the perfect example of this.
The Hitler Downfall spoof video trend - where the crescendo scene of the Oscar winning film "Downfall" is re-subtitled with rants about other topics - was something that everyone with their hand in the online pot had at least thought about creating.
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On the surface, comparing Alex Hawke to Hitler does look pretty bad, particularly as Turnbull had given specific warnings about avoiding the public mention of the factional rivalries in the party.
The rivalry between Hawke and Upper house MP David Clarke (also a former boss of Hawke's) is particularly sensitive after an incident last month in which Hawke called police to a Young Libs meeting, claiming there were uninvited people pushing and shoving in his Castle Hill electorate office.
Opposing sources say there were no gate-crashers but people who had a legitimate right to be there.
Hawke had only called the police when he realised his supporters were out-numbered.
But it's important to put these things into context. There are literally hundreds of these spoof videos on topics comparing Hitler to lots of people. Perhaps it is in poor taste, but it is important to know the amount and variety of these videos that have been around since last year. There was one on the iSnack 2.0 debacle, another about when Ronaldo left Manchester United, one on an Obama speech and even one ranting about how there are too many Hitler Downfall videos. To be fair a lot of them are quite amusing as the full force of Hitler's rage is directed towards the trivial frustrations of parking issues in Tel Aviv or the Kanye West MTV awards incident.
As one Guardian journalist noted, it has become the medium of choice for armchair satirists.
The temptation to make an amusing portrait of Hawke, a man not too popular in Canberra or in Clarke's office, seems to have been too much for Tudehope and Perrottet.
And we've all done it, we've all sent an angry email we shouldn't have or tweeted something un-tweetable. A lot of the time you can retrieve these. On twitter you can delete tweets, gmail now even lets you take back those angry words and there is even a facebook application that can help you remove those undesirable pics of your wasted Saturday night tied to a lamp post in a tiara (or what have you).
But despite online services now recognising the regret factor - and enabling users to erase that which they no longer want to broadcast - it's still the case that once anyone else, your boss, members of your family or your ex, have seen the offending article, the damage is usually already done.
You need to be quick to delete.
These days, even if you take down your own site (for example if you've made a site about hot babes in the liberal party that doesn't reflect too kindly on the party's image) it can easily be cached. That is there will be a snapshot taken of the site at a particular point in time so that it can easily be found again.
Participating in this online world can be dangerous and even those who know that can still be trapped. The only way this kind of online quandary can be solved is to stop the public moralising about it. We need to collectively get over the fact that people say things and create stuff online they might not mean or was meant for a few eyes only.
Just like in real life.
Comments 3
It has all the informality and appearance of privacy with all the trappings of creating a public record. Even those most aware of its pitfalls are easily able to fall into these traps - as Thomas Tudehope, a tech wiz kid and Turnbull adviser, and David Clarke staffer Charles Perrottet found out after allegedly helping to publish an Alex Hawke/Hitler Downfall spoof YouTube Video (although Tudehope maintains that he had no involvement in the video's production or dissemination). There is now a steady stream of stories like this, where an employee on a "sickie" has tweeted they've been at the pub, or where a media agency has picked up a hoax story. Most of the time, once you've posted a comment, it stays commented. Once you've emailed an email there's no way to bring it back. And the Internet voice of public individuals - or even those who work for them - is becoming more and more strongly controlled because of it.
The Tudehope/Perrottet affair is the perfect example of this.
The Hitler Downfall spoof video trend - where the crescendo scene of the Oscar winning film "Downfall" is re-subtitled with rants about other topics - was something that everyone with their hand in the online pot had at least thought about creating.
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aamsz : "300x250"
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On the surface, comparing Alex Hawke to Hitler does look pretty bad, particularly as Turnbull had given specific warnings about avoiding the public mention of the factional rivalries in the party.
The rivalry between Hawke and Upper house MP David Clarke (also a former boss of Hawke's) is particularly sensitive after an incident last month in which Hawke called police to a Young Libs meeting, claiming there were uninvited people pushing and shoving in his Castle Hill electorate office.
Opposing sources say there were no gate-crashers but people who had a legitimate right to be there.
Hawke had only called the police when he realised his supporters were out-numbered.
But it's important to put these things into context. There are literally hundreds of these spoof videos on topics comparing Hitler to lots of people. Perhaps it is in poor taste, but it is important to know the amount and variety of these videos that have been around since last year. There was one on the iSnack 2.0 debacle, another about when Ronaldo left Manchester United, one on an Obama speech and even one ranting about how there are too many Hitler Downfall videos. To be fair a lot of them are quite amusing as the full force of Hitler's rage is directed towards the trivial frustrations of parking issues in Tel Aviv or the Kanye West MTV awards incident.
As one Guardian journalist noted, it has become the medium of choice for armchair satirists.
The temptation to make an amusing portrait of Hawke, a man not too popular in Canberra or in Clarke's office, seems to have been too much for Tudehope and Perrottet.
And we've all done it, we've all sent an angry email we shouldn't have or tweeted something un-tweetable. A lot of the time you can retrieve these. On twitter you can delete tweets, gmail now even lets you take back those angry words and there is even a facebook application that can help you remove those undesirable pics of your wasted Saturday night tied to a lamp post in a tiara (or what have you).
But despite online services now recognising the regret factor - and enabling users to erase that which they no longer want to broadcast - it's still the case that once anyone else, your boss, members of your family or your ex, have seen the offending article, the damage is usually already done.
You need to be quick to delete.
These days, even if you take down your own site (for example if you've made a site about hot babes in the liberal party that doesn't reflect too kindly on the party's image) it can easily be cached. That is there will be a snapshot taken of the site at a particular point in time so that it can easily be found again.
Participating in this online world can be dangerous and even those who know that can still be trapped. The only way this kind of online quandary can be solved is to stop the public moralising about it. We need to collectively get over the fact that people say things and create stuff online they might not mean or was meant for a few eyes only.
Just like in real life.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Bringing Pole Dancing to the Polls
The recently vacated seats of Higgins and Bradfield have got some interesting new candidates in the running for December 5. In something of an "F" you to conservative politics, the Australian Sex Party's leader Fiona Patten announced her candidacy for the seat of Higgins on Wednesday and pole dancer come Law graduate Zahra Stardust is going to contest Bradfield. Presumably neither think they will win, given both seats are Liberal strongholds. So is this just about trying to shock blue ribbon constituents by turning up in thigh-high boots and body glitter, with the added bonus of garnering attention for the party's message.
The Australian Sex Party are not alone - the Christian Democrats, Family First, One Nation and climate sceptic Independent Leon Ashby are all joining the circus. A race with an almost guaranteed party winner should be boring, but this time it has brought all sorts out of the wood work.
So do the Sex Party really think they have a snowball's? Fiona Patten is realistic, saying that she is "fairly certain we won't find a prime minister from the Australian Sex Party in my lifetime". A year after it was established, the Australian Sex Party is now being noticed by the media and getting some public traction. A campaign will garner further publicity and these are two high profile seats. Patten told ABC radio the seats were an opportunity to "test our electoral strength". The Sex Party does appeal to some in the community who support more liberal laws on censorship and a more comprehensive sex education in school. Presumably, not many pro-porn voters will be living in these seats. But Patten points out four million people participate in some form of the euphemistically termed "adult entertainment". Statistically speaking, some of this market would live in these electorates. And as Patten pointed out on ABC radio, these four million are "possible voters who feel that their... relaxed position on sex and sexuality is not being reflected by the current politicians".
Bradfield, according to Patten, has "only ever been held by the Liberal party, and only ever been held by a man in a suit". Candidate Zahra Stardust still maintains that a woman in a burlesque costume on a trapeze could get through to some people. A clearly articulate and intelligent woman, she is a human rights advocate, lawyer, burlesque performer, gender studies expert, trapeze artist and finalist for Miss Pole 2008.
In the end, why do we bother having parties other than the big two? If they have no chance whatsoever then why do we join them, listen to them and vote for them in elections? Minor parties have always been an important quirk of the Australian system and do play an important role in promoting issues outside the mainstream. But with Labor not running in Bradfield or Higgins and with lots of media attention on the race, it is peculiar opportunity to see a quasi mardi-gras of minor politics, complete with independents and extremes of the left and right.
One Nation is running in in both seats on the usual anti-immigration platform, although bizarrely with a Hungarian-born immigrant candidate, Steve Raskovy in Higgins. When Patten claims Clive Hamilton's candidacy is a part of the Greens "lurching strongly to the right", you can see what a bizarre display of agendas are going to be on show.
Secretly, we all want the circus to happen. We want some really mad independents and people on the periphery to go in there and shake things up. If we're going to spend serious money ($500,000 each) on two by-elections because two men had had enough of this silly game we call politics, then we may as well get some entertainment value out of it. Here's to the political mardi gras of the year.
Bella Counihan is the Goanna.
The Australian Sex Party are not alone - the Christian Democrats, Family First, One Nation and climate sceptic Independent Leon Ashby are all joining the circus. A race with an almost guaranteed party winner should be boring, but this time it has brought all sorts out of the wood work.
So do the Sex Party really think they have a snowball's? Fiona Patten is realistic, saying that she is "fairly certain we won't find a prime minister from the Australian Sex Party in my lifetime". A year after it was established, the Australian Sex Party is now being noticed by the media and getting some public traction. A campaign will garner further publicity and these are two high profile seats. Patten told ABC radio the seats were an opportunity to "test our electoral strength". The Sex Party does appeal to some in the community who support more liberal laws on censorship and a more comprehensive sex education in school. Presumably, not many pro-porn voters will be living in these seats. But Patten points out four million people participate in some form of the euphemistically termed "adult entertainment". Statistically speaking, some of this market would live in these electorates. And as Patten pointed out on ABC radio, these four million are "possible voters who feel that their... relaxed position on sex and sexuality is not being reflected by the current politicians".
Bradfield, according to Patten, has "only ever been held by the Liberal party, and only ever been held by a man in a suit". Candidate Zahra Stardust still maintains that a woman in a burlesque costume on a trapeze could get through to some people. A clearly articulate and intelligent woman, she is a human rights advocate, lawyer, burlesque performer, gender studies expert, trapeze artist and finalist for Miss Pole 2008.
In the end, why do we bother having parties other than the big two? If they have no chance whatsoever then why do we join them, listen to them and vote for them in elections? Minor parties have always been an important quirk of the Australian system and do play an important role in promoting issues outside the mainstream. But with Labor not running in Bradfield or Higgins and with lots of media attention on the race, it is peculiar opportunity to see a quasi mardi-gras of minor politics, complete with independents and extremes of the left and right.
One Nation is running in in both seats on the usual anti-immigration platform, although bizarrely with a Hungarian-born immigrant candidate, Steve Raskovy in Higgins. When Patten claims Clive Hamilton's candidacy is a part of the Greens "lurching strongly to the right", you can see what a bizarre display of agendas are going to be on show.
Secretly, we all want the circus to happen. We want some really mad independents and people on the periphery to go in there and shake things up. If we're going to spend serious money ($500,000 each) on two by-elections because two men had had enough of this silly game we call politics, then we may as well get some entertainment value out of it. Here's to the political mardi gras of the year.
Bella Counihan is the Goanna.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Swan's soup strainers reckon mo is all the go
There are so many words for them - face fungus, soup strainer, flavour saver.
It is even sometimes said that a man without a moustache is like a cup of tea without sugar. Which is why it surprised the Goanna to learn that the most uncoolest of uncool, Wayne Swan, once sported the currently trendy mo. Media and other Swan devotees were advised of his long hair wearing Ringo look-a-like past after an email was dispatched asking to sponsor his staff doing the Movember pledge.
But looking strangely more stylish than usual and with the rise in popularity of the moustache, Swan should consider the return of the handle bar.
The team "Swanny's soupstrainers", who include Swan staffers Jim Chalmers, Hamish McDonald , Finn McArthy-Adams, Andrew Thomas and Chris Barrett, have already managed to accumulate $2,500 in charitable donations, in no small part due to Swanny's inspirational late 70's furry look.
To offer up this photo couldn't have been an easy thing, although he does look distinctly better than a young Rudd.
But the Treasurer's revelation of a silly past photo does of course come from a serious place and for a serious cause. The Movember movement, apart from encouraging face fungus, was started in 2003 to promote awareness about men's health issues, particularly depression and prostate cancer. Candidates are sponsored to grow hair on their face for the month of November. The idea has since gone global and raised $60 million in donations to date.
Swan himself was diagnosed with prostate cancer and has a family history of the disease. Prior to the 2007 election Swan was trying to keep his diagnosis a secret from the press (for obvious reasons) when his youngest son during a show and tell class mentioned that his father had cancer but that the class couldn't tell anyone - especially not Laurie Oakes.
Swan has even contributed towards a men's health DVD in order to encourage those that might be at risk to go get tested.
But the photo, as well as inspiring donations, does reveal a younger, hipper Swan and begs the question of our Treasurer - what about bringing back the mo Swanny?
Many have commented that this photo does demonstrate a certain amount of attractiveness not yet seen in our Treasurer. And was it his youthfulness? The dapper outfit? No, it is the long hair and the face fungus that does it. And the thing is Wayne could easily be riding its current wave of popularity.
There really is a new found popularity to wearing a mo.
No longer limited to the realm of sleazy porn stars and 70's sport icons, the mo is having a comeback and politicians need to get on board (one sees Mike Kelly, member for Eden-Monaro, leading the trend). There are even World Beard and Moustache Championships where contenders try to go all out with a lot of hairspray and patience to create the most interesting facial hair.
One Elmar Weisser, a keen bridge enthusiast, has created both the Brandenburg Gate and London's Tower Bridge in the environs of his face for the competition. Not that I am suggesting Wayne try for a Syndey Opera House of facial hair - this is advanced stuff.
This popularity is not limited to the competitive arena however - more and more the music world, always a leader in fashion, seems to be having a paradigm shift towards whiskered musicians.
I'm not simply talking about the obvious past musicians such as ZZ top, Ringo Starr and Freddie Mercury or simply some try-hard designer stubble.
But current musicians like alternative rocker Nick Cave, Mr E from the Eels, the Magic Numbers, the up and coming Fleet Foxes who are almost entirely beard clad, and heart throb singer Caleb Followill of the Kings of Leon. Some of the best music at the moment is coming out of facial hair covered bands and I would say that is no coincidence. There is even a novelty band called the Beards whose catalogue include "If you're Dad doesn't have a beard, you've got two Mums", "Beard Revolution" and "No Beard, No Good".
Their entire repertoire consists of songs devoted to the the manly nature of beard growing and keeping.
It seems a pre-requisite at the moment if you're in a band to have at least some facial hair on some of your members. The highest respect is given to those who isolate their hair growth to the upper lip. With all the evidence of a moustache comeback, a positive response to the young Swan's whiskered pic and perhaps with some encouragement from his soup straining staff, Wayne could bring the look back.
Swan could become a cup of tea with sugar in again.
Bella Counihan writes for The Goanna
It is even sometimes said that a man without a moustache is like a cup of tea without sugar. Which is why it surprised the Goanna to learn that the most uncoolest of uncool, Wayne Swan, once sported the currently trendy mo. Media and other Swan devotees were advised of his long hair wearing Ringo look-a-like past after an email was dispatched asking to sponsor his staff doing the Movember pledge.
But looking strangely more stylish than usual and with the rise in popularity of the moustache, Swan should consider the return of the handle bar.
The team "Swanny's soupstrainers", who include Swan staffers Jim Chalmers, Hamish McDonald , Finn McArthy-Adams, Andrew Thomas and Chris Barrett, have already managed to accumulate $2,500 in charitable donations, in no small part due to Swanny's inspirational late 70's furry look.
To offer up this photo couldn't have been an easy thing, although he does look distinctly better than a young Rudd.
But the Treasurer's revelation of a silly past photo does of course come from a serious place and for a serious cause. The Movember movement, apart from encouraging face fungus, was started in 2003 to promote awareness about men's health issues, particularly depression and prostate cancer. Candidates are sponsored to grow hair on their face for the month of November. The idea has since gone global and raised $60 million in donations to date.
Swan himself was diagnosed with prostate cancer and has a family history of the disease. Prior to the 2007 election Swan was trying to keep his diagnosis a secret from the press (for obvious reasons) when his youngest son during a show and tell class mentioned that his father had cancer but that the class couldn't tell anyone - especially not Laurie Oakes.
Swan has even contributed towards a men's health DVD in order to encourage those that might be at risk to go get tested.
But the photo, as well as inspiring donations, does reveal a younger, hipper Swan and begs the question of our Treasurer - what about bringing back the mo Swanny?
Many have commented that this photo does demonstrate a certain amount of attractiveness not yet seen in our Treasurer. And was it his youthfulness? The dapper outfit? No, it is the long hair and the face fungus that does it. And the thing is Wayne could easily be riding its current wave of popularity.
There really is a new found popularity to wearing a mo.
No longer limited to the realm of sleazy porn stars and 70's sport icons, the mo is having a comeback and politicians need to get on board (one sees Mike Kelly, member for Eden-Monaro, leading the trend). There are even World Beard and Moustache Championships where contenders try to go all out with a lot of hairspray and patience to create the most interesting facial hair.
One Elmar Weisser, a keen bridge enthusiast, has created both the Brandenburg Gate and London's Tower Bridge in the environs of his face for the competition. Not that I am suggesting Wayne try for a Syndey Opera House of facial hair - this is advanced stuff.
This popularity is not limited to the competitive arena however - more and more the music world, always a leader in fashion, seems to be having a paradigm shift towards whiskered musicians.
I'm not simply talking about the obvious past musicians such as ZZ top, Ringo Starr and Freddie Mercury or simply some try-hard designer stubble.
But current musicians like alternative rocker Nick Cave, Mr E from the Eels, the Magic Numbers, the up and coming Fleet Foxes who are almost entirely beard clad, and heart throb singer Caleb Followill of the Kings of Leon. Some of the best music at the moment is coming out of facial hair covered bands and I would say that is no coincidence. There is even a novelty band called the Beards whose catalogue include "If you're Dad doesn't have a beard, you've got two Mums", "Beard Revolution" and "No Beard, No Good".
Their entire repertoire consists of songs devoted to the the manly nature of beard growing and keeping.
It seems a pre-requisite at the moment if you're in a band to have at least some facial hair on some of your members. The highest respect is given to those who isolate their hair growth to the upper lip. With all the evidence of a moustache comeback, a positive response to the young Swan's whiskered pic and perhaps with some encouragement from his soup straining staff, Wayne could bring the look back.
Swan could become a cup of tea with sugar in again.
Bella Counihan writes for The Goanna
Monday, November 2, 2009
A New Geekocracy?
The government has opened the data flood gates and said "geeks, come on in!" at an event called GovHack, held last weekend in Canberra.
Around 150 IT savvy people were plied with red bull and given data to "mash-up" - that is to make applications useful to the rest of us. There have been previous "hack days" but never has a government given out data on such a large scale to the nerd public to play around with. The government has always been obliged to give out information, but on a practical basis this is mostly in name only with long impenetrable lists of crime data, housing data and the like.
Long suffering journalists in particular have had to sit and read through reports and data to find a correlation or a clue to something news worthy and communicate it to the rest of us. This particular "hack day" could just be one step in many to make government information more accessible and governments themselves more accountable. But the prototype ideas are only templates and need to be funded and supported if they are ever going to reach their potential.
Hack Days are a form of "crowdsourcing" and in the past thy have mainly been sponsored by big companies. Yahoo was one of the first and has been getting their web developers to play with applications for the past ten years. These nerd fests are usually big events, going global and even finding extra attractions to tempt hard-working geeks - the Yahoo hack day Taiwan 2009 strippers were indeed fogging up a few thick-rimmed glasses
But ideas are usually the main focus.
At a BBC Hack Day 2008 event some ideas included an application that picked up on your music taste and recommended BBC DJs - and also a system that gave real-time dubbing to video. There was also a brilliant mash-up, combining a news cast and the classic iconic vision of Bob Dylan dropping placards next to Allen Ginsberg, called Subterranean Homesick News. The ideas that come out of these crowdsourcing events are simply a reflection of the skills and hard work of people willing to give up their free time to create something together, not unlike a tech version of a hippy commune.
The Government 2.0 taskforce, launched in June, and this GovHac event aims to do just that, get people together to create something out of this baffling amount of data. The winner of GovHac, a team of five people who had never met before, worked together to create something pretty special. Lobby Clue turns the lobbyist register and the public tenders register into a visualisation or word cloud to link what clients were given government contracts. As it very coolly describes itself "it correlates data about Government contracts, business details and politician responsibilities to show the relationships between these items." But this could easily have large implications as it provides an easy to use data base for the general public as well as the media, to see where money is being spent, creating greater transparency about the underbelly of lobbying in Canberra. John Allsopp, organiser of the event called this application "breathtaking" because of its sophistication and scope.
Other ideas that came out included Know Where you Live, an application which allowed users to enter in their postcode to get all the information about their area, potentially also useful for understanding marginal electorates. It's Buggered Mate set up an easy way to report broken local amenities rather than waiting on a government hotline or filling out a million complaint forms. Rate My Loo helps people to not only find their nearest bathroom but for all the germophobes out there it provides peer reviewed information about their cleanliness. The last two applications have the added benefit of being able to collect data to be relayed back to government.
It's great to see an attempt to open up government information to the public, creating a certain degree of transparency as well as increased communication between government and the community.
Senator John Faulkner's changes to freedom of information laws are certainly also a part of this.
So are we seeing a golden age in information accessibility?
Well, yes on two conditions; if initiatives like these continue and also if it is supported by the government to get these first prototypes towards the alpha and beta stage. Allsopp calls these ideas "small pieces". These small pieces then need to be "glued together" as Allsopp says with others and with government processes to make the information useful and practical.
These template ideas promise something pretty huge, a tangible access to and communication with government. We'll just have to see if that promise is kept.
The next HackDay event is in Melbourne 7-8 November.
Bella Counihan writes for The Goanna
Around 150 IT savvy people were plied with red bull and given data to "mash-up" - that is to make applications useful to the rest of us. There have been previous "hack days" but never has a government given out data on such a large scale to the nerd public to play around with. The government has always been obliged to give out information, but on a practical basis this is mostly in name only with long impenetrable lists of crime data, housing data and the like.
Long suffering journalists in particular have had to sit and read through reports and data to find a correlation or a clue to something news worthy and communicate it to the rest of us. This particular "hack day" could just be one step in many to make government information more accessible and governments themselves more accountable. But the prototype ideas are only templates and need to be funded and supported if they are ever going to reach their potential.
Hack Days are a form of "crowdsourcing" and in the past thy have mainly been sponsored by big companies. Yahoo was one of the first and has been getting their web developers to play with applications for the past ten years. These nerd fests are usually big events, going global and even finding extra attractions to tempt hard-working geeks - the Yahoo hack day Taiwan 2009 strippers were indeed fogging up a few thick-rimmed glasses
But ideas are usually the main focus.
At a BBC Hack Day 2008 event some ideas included an application that picked up on your music taste and recommended BBC DJs - and also a system that gave real-time dubbing to video. There was also a brilliant mash-up, combining a news cast and the classic iconic vision of Bob Dylan dropping placards next to Allen Ginsberg, called Subterranean Homesick News. The ideas that come out of these crowdsourcing events are simply a reflection of the skills and hard work of people willing to give up their free time to create something together, not unlike a tech version of a hippy commune.
The Government 2.0 taskforce, launched in June, and this GovHac event aims to do just that, get people together to create something out of this baffling amount of data. The winner of GovHac, a team of five people who had never met before, worked together to create something pretty special. Lobby Clue turns the lobbyist register and the public tenders register into a visualisation or word cloud to link what clients were given government contracts. As it very coolly describes itself "it correlates data about Government contracts, business details and politician responsibilities to show the relationships between these items." But this could easily have large implications as it provides an easy to use data base for the general public as well as the media, to see where money is being spent, creating greater transparency about the underbelly of lobbying in Canberra. John Allsopp, organiser of the event called this application "breathtaking" because of its sophistication and scope.
Other ideas that came out included Know Where you Live, an application which allowed users to enter in their postcode to get all the information about their area, potentially also useful for understanding marginal electorates. It's Buggered Mate set up an easy way to report broken local amenities rather than waiting on a government hotline or filling out a million complaint forms. Rate My Loo helps people to not only find their nearest bathroom but for all the germophobes out there it provides peer reviewed information about their cleanliness. The last two applications have the added benefit of being able to collect data to be relayed back to government.
It's great to see an attempt to open up government information to the public, creating a certain degree of transparency as well as increased communication between government and the community.
Senator John Faulkner's changes to freedom of information laws are certainly also a part of this.
So are we seeing a golden age in information accessibility?
Well, yes on two conditions; if initiatives like these continue and also if it is supported by the government to get these first prototypes towards the alpha and beta stage. Allsopp calls these ideas "small pieces". These small pieces then need to be "glued together" as Allsopp says with others and with government processes to make the information useful and practical.
These template ideas promise something pretty huge, a tangible access to and communication with government. We'll just have to see if that promise is kept.
The next HackDay event is in Melbourne 7-8 November.
Bella Counihan writes for The Goanna
Friday, October 30, 2009
Blogging a dead horse
Following the Prime Minister's RM Williams inspired Youth blog, which lasted all of two weeks, Youth Minister Kate Ellis has launched a similar idea. The $80,000 Australian Youth Forum website aims to start a "national conversation with young Australians" and was launched last Thursday along with a few other youth-related trinkets. Kate Ellis gloated in Parliament that nothing like this had ever been done under the previous government, which she said "sidelined youth and abolished the portfolio."
But it has since emerged that consultations with many youth organisations was minimal. Worse was a recent incident where young people were flown to Canberra to discuss a report. Only trouble was the report had not been released and they had no access to it. Like an episode of The Hollowmen, they spent the day being scurried around the halls of parliament waiting for Kate Ellis to arrive and discuss a report they were not able to see. Ellis never showed up. The whole affair wasted a serious amount of time and money and reflected the low priority the portfolio has.
So is it worse to blatantly not do anything for young people or just pretend to do it?
Along with this report, more young people trinkets were launched last week. No fewer than three press releases were put out on the same day explaining the components of this new "strategy for young Australians". The first was the "national conversation" which would include the occasional live web chat (the next one is on 12 November), round tables and ideas via YouTube, twitter and the like. The second press release showed the dosh being spent on youth centres and the final component was a competition to get young people to submit "fresh" ideas for a youth forum in 2010.
These are all admirable enough but a conversation is normally a two way activity. Submissions coming in have been minimal — a week later there have been no YouTube videos (apart from Kate Ellis' own) and only four subscribers to the Australian Youth Forum YouTube channel . On Twitter, despite some expression of support for the initiative, no one has actually suggested anything under the #youthconvo tag. On the website itself there has been a bit of activity, mainly because on Wednesday Canberra delegates were encouraged by their minders to write something. The most ideas and "votes" were under the gambling section, many relating to limits on pokies access. But it was difficult to come up with ideas for the other sections, many of which had vague banners like "the vision", "core priorities for action", "the goals" and the "next big question". It's hard to encourage people to come up with ideas when the language used is so uninspiring.
The first live chat between students at Lyneham High School in Canberra and the PM highlighted another kink in the new youth "strategy", namely it promotes technology for technology's sake. Lyneham High is about a 15 minute drive from Parliament House and it would have meant more for the PM or even Kate Ellis to actually go down and have a face-to-face chat with students. Young people love technology — we get it. We like Facebook and MySpace and twitter, but not every message put in an IT box and wrapped up in a technology bow means that we will automatically buy it.
It was almost better under the Howard regime, which unashamedly abolished the portfolio. It was never likely to gain much of the youth vote. The Rudd Government, which got an impressive chunk of younger voters on side during the Kevin 07 campaign, has to look like it's doing something. There are some serious issues affecting young people — youth allowance and teenage unemployment are just two examples. The latter has jumped from 14.3 per cent to 19.5 per cent, significantly more than the 5.8 per cent general unemployment rate. All these blogs and conversations aimed at reaching out to young people are nice ideas but communication is only beneficial if something concrete emerges. Depressingly, it seems you only need to be seen to be listening. If you were to survey a bunch of people aged between 18 to 25 and asked them which was more "yoof" friendly, the Howard or the Rudd government most would almost certainly say the latter despite little difference between the two. I suppose this just means that spin works after all.
The Goanna is Bella Counihan.
But it has since emerged that consultations with many youth organisations was minimal. Worse was a recent incident where young people were flown to Canberra to discuss a report. Only trouble was the report had not been released and they had no access to it. Like an episode of The Hollowmen, they spent the day being scurried around the halls of parliament waiting for Kate Ellis to arrive and discuss a report they were not able to see. Ellis never showed up. The whole affair wasted a serious amount of time and money and reflected the low priority the portfolio has.
So is it worse to blatantly not do anything for young people or just pretend to do it?
Along with this report, more young people trinkets were launched last week. No fewer than three press releases were put out on the same day explaining the components of this new "strategy for young Australians". The first was the "national conversation" which would include the occasional live web chat (the next one is on 12 November), round tables and ideas via YouTube, twitter and the like. The second press release showed the dosh being spent on youth centres and the final component was a competition to get young people to submit "fresh" ideas for a youth forum in 2010.
These are all admirable enough but a conversation is normally a two way activity. Submissions coming in have been minimal — a week later there have been no YouTube videos (apart from Kate Ellis' own) and only four subscribers to the Australian Youth Forum YouTube channel . On Twitter, despite some expression of support for the initiative, no one has actually suggested anything under the #youthconvo tag. On the website itself there has been a bit of activity, mainly because on Wednesday Canberra delegates were encouraged by their minders to write something. The most ideas and "votes" were under the gambling section, many relating to limits on pokies access. But it was difficult to come up with ideas for the other sections, many of which had vague banners like "the vision", "core priorities for action", "the goals" and the "next big question". It's hard to encourage people to come up with ideas when the language used is so uninspiring.
The first live chat between students at Lyneham High School in Canberra and the PM highlighted another kink in the new youth "strategy", namely it promotes technology for technology's sake. Lyneham High is about a 15 minute drive from Parliament House and it would have meant more for the PM or even Kate Ellis to actually go down and have a face-to-face chat with students. Young people love technology — we get it. We like Facebook and MySpace and twitter, but not every message put in an IT box and wrapped up in a technology bow means that we will automatically buy it.
It was almost better under the Howard regime, which unashamedly abolished the portfolio. It was never likely to gain much of the youth vote. The Rudd Government, which got an impressive chunk of younger voters on side during the Kevin 07 campaign, has to look like it's doing something. There are some serious issues affecting young people — youth allowance and teenage unemployment are just two examples. The latter has jumped from 14.3 per cent to 19.5 per cent, significantly more than the 5.8 per cent general unemployment rate. All these blogs and conversations aimed at reaching out to young people are nice ideas but communication is only beneficial if something concrete emerges. Depressingly, it seems you only need to be seen to be listening. If you were to survey a bunch of people aged between 18 to 25 and asked them which was more "yoof" friendly, the Howard or the Rudd government most would almost certainly say the latter despite little difference between the two. I suppose this just means that spin works after all.
The Goanna is Bella Counihan.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Dolls on a roll
On paper most sports seem slightly ridiculous. Soccer you move a ball around with your feet and try and get it into a net. Snooker you push a ball around a felted table with a stick. But on paper, roller derby looks straightforward - chicks on skates, racing each other around a track, blocking and pushing until one on their team laps the rest to score points. But take that premise and combine it with fantasy aliases, mild violence and some serious camp kitsch fun and you've got something like your local netball team but with a punk rock edge. Never mind watching the cricket or the tennis on a Saturday arvo, the cultural history and spirit of this increasingly popular activity stands out as a completely different kind of spectator sport: a combination of athleticism, biff and entertainment which is hard to beat.
Roller derby has had a sudden surge in popularity, stemming from a revival of the sport in Texas in the early 2000s and it is quickly spreading. The second wave of this sport ties deeply into a sub-culture of punk rock, rockabilly, 50's bowling shirts, Betty Boop and the like. There are international leagues in Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. There is even an United Arab Emirates league called Abu Dhabi Roller Derby It reached Australian shores and became a cult phenomenon, with clubs in Sydney, Melbourne Adelaide, Brisbane and even Canberra. This new wave has been encouraged again by depictions of the sport in films and docos. In Australia there has been the ABC's "Roller Derby Girls"and the new American film "Whip it", whose character Babe Ruthless joins a local roller derby team.
Roller Derby's second wave is very much about a do it yourself mentality. Like many clubs, Canberra's League (whose symbol is a knuckle duster) started with people interested in the sport meeting over the internet and getting together in parking lots and halls to learn how to skate. The first Canberra public bout held on Saturday (a Halloween theme) was something to behold. Despite being held in Tuggeranong or "Thuggeraong", the outer suburbs of Canberra, the line went around the block. It was a sold out venue with a 1,000 tickets snapped up fast. The crowd was also a varied bunch with many kids and families in attendance. As the audience settled, one by one the skaters came out to pumped up music with their aliases printed on their helmets- not unlike the pilots' helmets in Top Gun. Pink quad skates, green striped stockings, faces with war paint and some granny chic on show - it was a pretty curious mix.
The entertainment value from a spectator's point of view is great. Sport meets a fantasy world of pun filled names, 60s kitsch and great costumes. You can't help but be reminded of the WWF but without the fakery. The Harlem Globe trotters also come to mind as sport is mixed in with performance art (perhaps why so many arty types join up). The names are just about the best part of the entire affair. No one skater can have the name of another and there is an international register to ensure no cross over. This also means that skaters are forced to get creative. Canberrean skaters on show include; Bambi von Smash her, Roulette Rouge, Bullseye Bettie, Sue R. Rat, Ova Bearing, Amykazeee and the DutchAss. Even the referees, also known as team Zebra are a part of the show - the head ref for this bout being "Fair as Bueller." By half time many in the crowd were wondering over to the recruitment desk already with their new alternative skate aliases in mind.
Is it all that violent? Well yes and no. You compare it to most other contact sports, probably not, but does it make your standard emo skater look like a wuss? Well, yes. During the bout there was some serious falls as the skaters tried to duck and weave their way through the blocking group or block the opposing team's jammer (Bambi von Smash her and Ova bearing were the star jammers of the day). With the pushing and shoving, skaters even sometimes tumble into the crowd. Injury of course is a reality. Most of the skaters said that learning to fall was key but with six hours training a week, emphasizing flexibility, endurance and general fitness it made the possibility less likely. It is no mean feat after all to skate around and around in two minute "jams" while trying to block and push other skaters. Despite its amateur feel, the sport needs some pretty serious commitment and athleticism.
The emphasis in the earlier incarnation of this sport was most certainly placed on gratuitous violence. But with a grassroots effort it has turned into something very different. It's about the fun and tongue in cheek of it all without denying the way it can empower women to do something for themselves.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Trying to be a duck, but turning out to be a turkey
Listening to Parliament can bring to mind that great description of the Aussie accent as being like a flock of ducks. Sometimes in the intensity of Question Time the ducks sound more like a rafter of turkeys. The voice of parliament inevitably reflects its membership. Only Senator Doug Cameron's Scottish purr stands out against the broad spectrum of the Australian accent. Pollies often try and play up or tone down the Australian accent depending on the audience. The accent can sometimes send as many messages as the words themselves, so while we listen attentively to what pollies are saying are we ignoring how they say it?
In the Australian community we have a large variety of accents but in Federal Parliament our MPs usually have swung around from the educated to the ocker in the spectrum of the Australian accent - from touches of bogan to admiringly anglicised. Many moons ago, former PM Robert "British to his bootstraps" Menzies, who drifted far more towards the traditional English public school accent, elongated his 'a's and 'o's. This accent represented at the time his education and his sophistication and gave Menzies a cultivated air as well as links to the empire. Bob Hawke by comparison, a couple of generations later, was the opposite of Menzies in many ways but particularly in how he spoke. Hawke was at the other end of the spectrum with a kind of Les Paterson accent which connected him with the common man.
Despite both Menzies and Hawke growing up in small towns in the bush, and both being well educated (Hawke was a Rhodes Scholar) we get a completely different feeling about their origins because of how they spoke. We got the idea that Hawke was a bloke, Menzies was not, that Menzies was cultured, Hawke was not. Accents have always sent messages out about who we are and our origins and particularly so in politics.
One sees politicians these days switching between the two extremes of the Aussie accent to fit the circumstance. Nowadays, the ever populist Rudd recently has been caught out. He got a serious mocking from the media for his "fair shake of the sauce bottle" experiment where he dipped into some ocker sounds dropping his usual diplomatic neutral tones. When Rudd, who really has a general Australian accent sitting fairly comfortably between the accents of Menzies and Hawke, tries to move his accent and language away from who he is, to try and appeal to some in the community, the Australian public is pretty quick to sniff it out. We know Rudd isn't just another bloke at the pub:
There are of course some parliamentarians who naturally stray closer toward the Kath and Kim accent - most notably Julia Gillard. National senator Barnaby Joyce we also buy as a country bloke at heart. And it is arguable that these pollies gain a benefit from these accents - they can tone it down when they want and easily ham it up without being called out as fake (like Rudd). They, as accent chameleons, have the benefit of being able to do both. Although to the outsider it all sounds the same as Gillard found out on a recent trip to the US. When the American kids she visited asked her if Australians spoke English, Gillard concluded that perhaps the accent was "foxing them a bit."
It has been often said before that parliament does not really represent Australia - we all don't sound either like Rudd or Gillard. There are no Greek accents, no Irish accents, no Asian accents, not even a New Zealand accent (those from across the pond representing about 390,000 of the current Australian population - about the size of Canberra's own population). There are many in parliament that show the extremes of the Ozzy accent and who have a specific or individual way of speaking - a few distinctively Adelaidean lilts (Conroy and Pyne) as well as those Taswegian voices (Abetz and Brown).
But the few foreign accents in the parliament, like Doug Cameron's, is a novelty. Accents have power in this country. A friend of mine trying to pick up in a bar, thought it would be advantageous to put on an Irish accent and exclaim to the first girl that came along "I usually only dance with me mammy but I'll make an exception for a lady". The accent plus the language sent a message that he would be funny, charming and all the other things we associate with that Emerald Isle and the girls bought it (or so he says). Accents send strong and pervasive social messages but when it is faked we usually know. When you're pretending to be a duck, its easy to see that you're being a turkey.
Bella Counihan writes for The Goanna
In the Australian community we have a large variety of accents but in Federal Parliament our MPs usually have swung around from the educated to the ocker in the spectrum of the Australian accent - from touches of bogan to admiringly anglicised. Many moons ago, former PM Robert "British to his bootstraps" Menzies, who drifted far more towards the traditional English public school accent, elongated his 'a's and 'o's. This accent represented at the time his education and his sophistication and gave Menzies a cultivated air as well as links to the empire. Bob Hawke by comparison, a couple of generations later, was the opposite of Menzies in many ways but particularly in how he spoke. Hawke was at the other end of the spectrum with a kind of Les Paterson accent which connected him with the common man.
Despite both Menzies and Hawke growing up in small towns in the bush, and both being well educated (Hawke was a Rhodes Scholar) we get a completely different feeling about their origins because of how they spoke. We got the idea that Hawke was a bloke, Menzies was not, that Menzies was cultured, Hawke was not. Accents have always sent messages out about who we are and our origins and particularly so in politics.
One sees politicians these days switching between the two extremes of the Aussie accent to fit the circumstance. Nowadays, the ever populist Rudd recently has been caught out. He got a serious mocking from the media for his "fair shake of the sauce bottle" experiment where he dipped into some ocker sounds dropping his usual diplomatic neutral tones. When Rudd, who really has a general Australian accent sitting fairly comfortably between the accents of Menzies and Hawke, tries to move his accent and language away from who he is, to try and appeal to some in the community, the Australian public is pretty quick to sniff it out. We know Rudd isn't just another bloke at the pub:
There are of course some parliamentarians who naturally stray closer toward the Kath and Kim accent - most notably Julia Gillard. National senator Barnaby Joyce we also buy as a country bloke at heart. And it is arguable that these pollies gain a benefit from these accents - they can tone it down when they want and easily ham it up without being called out as fake (like Rudd). They, as accent chameleons, have the benefit of being able to do both. Although to the outsider it all sounds the same as Gillard found out on a recent trip to the US. When the American kids she visited asked her if Australians spoke English, Gillard concluded that perhaps the accent was "foxing them a bit."
It has been often said before that parliament does not really represent Australia - we all don't sound either like Rudd or Gillard. There are no Greek accents, no Irish accents, no Asian accents, not even a New Zealand accent (those from across the pond representing about 390,000 of the current Australian population - about the size of Canberra's own population). There are many in parliament that show the extremes of the Ozzy accent and who have a specific or individual way of speaking - a few distinctively Adelaidean lilts (Conroy and Pyne) as well as those Taswegian voices (Abetz and Brown).
But the few foreign accents in the parliament, like Doug Cameron's, is a novelty. Accents have power in this country. A friend of mine trying to pick up in a bar, thought it would be advantageous to put on an Irish accent and exclaim to the first girl that came along "I usually only dance with me mammy but I'll make an exception for a lady". The accent plus the language sent a message that he would be funny, charming and all the other things we associate with that Emerald Isle and the girls bought it (or so he says). Accents send strong and pervasive social messages but when it is faked we usually know. When you're pretending to be a duck, its easy to see that you're being a turkey.
Bella Counihan writes for The Goanna
Sunday, October 18, 2009
What the Hex is going on?
If you happened to be in Canberra for the weekend but limited yourself to the usual tourist circuit, you missed out on quite the exorcism. Danny Nalliah, the head of Catch the Fire ministries - convinced that Canberra witches' covens had cursed our federal government with blood sacrifices on Mount Ainslie - gathered some 50 Christians to the North Canberra mountain to drive Beelzebub out.
By 2009 we might be done with these kinds of ideas but there are still people desperate for answers no matter how ridiculous they sound. Meanwhile the mainstream sits on a secular high horse poking fun at such bizarre behaviour. But Nalliah has developed a presence in Australian public life, not only in the Christian evangelical world but also links in the political world (see here and Peter Costello's message to a ministry gathering on Australia day, here).
Media reports of this "prayer offensive" have become the darling of the off-beat section, ridiculing the event and its prayer vs. black spells premise. But this being the age where you can be believe in spells and be totally in touch with media and the interwebs, Catch the Fire has cottoned on to the rest of Australia's mocking pretty quickly (see here). In response, Pastor Danny went on radio to explain this act of "spiritual warfare". He said witches have cast spells on our politicians to make more liberal laws about homosexuals and abortions and if we don't do something soon (like a mass prayer to ask God to get back on our side) we're going to have more natural disasters, including bush fires.
Witches of course do exist, although the more PC way to describe the group these days is Wiccans or Pagans and according to the Pagan Awareness Network, the pagan religion is one of the fastest growing religions in Australia. In the 2006 census, 1000 declared themselves Druidists, 15,000 belonged to the pagan religion and 8,000 were Wiccans. The total of all of these rivalled the amount of declared atheists (although fence-sitting agnostics totalled 20,000 and those that chose to declare no religion or did not state were about 6 million). It seems more people believe in Magick than emphatically believe there isn't a God.
Fiona Patten of the Australian Sex Party issued a statement before Saturday's event pointing out further strange statistics. She said since Kevin Rudd became PM, the number of MPs in the Parliamentary Christian Fellowship had risen from 75 to 84 which is "way out of proportion to the 9 per cent of the Australian public who claim to be committed weekly worshippers". The Australian Sex Party said it would protest at the event, just to add to the bizarreness, and the Pagan Network also intended to show up - but not in protest. They would have people on the ground listening "very carefully", presumably in case anything was incited against witches and the pagan community by Nalliah who has already landed himself in hot water for similar incidents (see here).
Apart from a protest and pious people gathered on a hill, what does one expect of an exorcism? It was very easy to conjure up Hollywood associations, spinning heads and all. The reality was the weirdest festival you've ever been to. The crowd of 200 divided neatly into about a third Catch the Fire followers, another third gay and atheist activists, Wiccans and metal t-shirt wearing young people and the remainder were a bewildered group of observers in the circus. These three groups, I wager, will never likely be seen together again.
Entering into the crowd of Nalliah devotees, Christian and Australian flags waving, was akin to going to a pokies venue on Christmas eve - people desperate, alienated and confused participating in something that gives them hope. Nalliah at the centre of it dressed in white suit jacket, shades and a small mega phone permanently in front of his face spoke much of forgiveness and healing of the nation, interjected only with the odd "hallelujah" and "praise Jesus". Many in the crowd spoke in tongues or mumbled prayers, the first of a series of communions on different parts of the hill, the relocation of the prayers perhaps to do with the spiritual mapping spiritual mapping.
In the background near the "black altar" - a communication tower further up the hill - were protesters singing It's Raining Men and waving placards. Into the middle of the Catch the Fire group walked a young gay man who stripped down to his underwear and threw his arms in the air, facing off with Nalliah and his entourage. Other protesters adorned themselves in rainbow flags, witches' hats and t-shirts with slogans: "I am what you are afraid of".
Pre-exorcism, Nalliah explained to his followers "If the Muslims can go all the way to Mecca, are we willing to sacrifice a bit to save our nation?" Well apparently yes, many are willing to sacrifice their time and energy to go to a car park at the top of a Canberra hill to fight invisible spirits affecting our policy makers. Among the reasons for being there given by observers, one man expressed concern about Nalliah's influence (he was relieved the "sane people" had outnumbered Nalliah's group). And one witch/Wiccan repeated the truism that there's not usually much on in Canberra.
- by Bella Counihan
By 2009 we might be done with these kinds of ideas but there are still people desperate for answers no matter how ridiculous they sound. Meanwhile the mainstream sits on a secular high horse poking fun at such bizarre behaviour. But Nalliah has developed a presence in Australian public life, not only in the Christian evangelical world but also links in the political world (see here and Peter Costello's message to a ministry gathering on Australia day, here).
Media reports of this "prayer offensive" have become the darling of the off-beat section, ridiculing the event and its prayer vs. black spells premise. But this being the age where you can be believe in spells and be totally in touch with media and the interwebs, Catch the Fire has cottoned on to the rest of Australia's mocking pretty quickly (see here). In response, Pastor Danny went on radio to explain this act of "spiritual warfare". He said witches have cast spells on our politicians to make more liberal laws about homosexuals and abortions and if we don't do something soon (like a mass prayer to ask God to get back on our side) we're going to have more natural disasters, including bush fires.
Witches of course do exist, although the more PC way to describe the group these days is Wiccans or Pagans and according to the Pagan Awareness Network, the pagan religion is one of the fastest growing religions in Australia. In the 2006 census, 1000 declared themselves Druidists, 15,000 belonged to the pagan religion and 8,000 were Wiccans. The total of all of these rivalled the amount of declared atheists (although fence-sitting agnostics totalled 20,000 and those that chose to declare no religion or did not state were about 6 million). It seems more people believe in Magick than emphatically believe there isn't a God.
Fiona Patten of the Australian Sex Party issued a statement before Saturday's event pointing out further strange statistics. She said since Kevin Rudd became PM, the number of MPs in the Parliamentary Christian Fellowship had risen from 75 to 84 which is "way out of proportion to the 9 per cent of the Australian public who claim to be committed weekly worshippers". The Australian Sex Party said it would protest at the event, just to add to the bizarreness, and the Pagan Network also intended to show up - but not in protest. They would have people on the ground listening "very carefully", presumably in case anything was incited against witches and the pagan community by Nalliah who has already landed himself in hot water for similar incidents (see here).
Apart from a protest and pious people gathered on a hill, what does one expect of an exorcism? It was very easy to conjure up Hollywood associations, spinning heads and all. The reality was the weirdest festival you've ever been to. The crowd of 200 divided neatly into about a third Catch the Fire followers, another third gay and atheist activists, Wiccans and metal t-shirt wearing young people and the remainder were a bewildered group of observers in the circus. These three groups, I wager, will never likely be seen together again.
Entering into the crowd of Nalliah devotees, Christian and Australian flags waving, was akin to going to a pokies venue on Christmas eve - people desperate, alienated and confused participating in something that gives them hope. Nalliah at the centre of it dressed in white suit jacket, shades and a small mega phone permanently in front of his face spoke much of forgiveness and healing of the nation, interjected only with the odd "hallelujah" and "praise Jesus". Many in the crowd spoke in tongues or mumbled prayers, the first of a series of communions on different parts of the hill, the relocation of the prayers perhaps to do with the spiritual mapping spiritual mapping.
In the background near the "black altar" - a communication tower further up the hill - were protesters singing It's Raining Men and waving placards. Into the middle of the Catch the Fire group walked a young gay man who stripped down to his underwear and threw his arms in the air, facing off with Nalliah and his entourage. Other protesters adorned themselves in rainbow flags, witches' hats and t-shirts with slogans: "I am what you are afraid of".
Pre-exorcism, Nalliah explained to his followers "If the Muslims can go all the way to Mecca, are we willing to sacrifice a bit to save our nation?" Well apparently yes, many are willing to sacrifice their time and energy to go to a car park at the top of a Canberra hill to fight invisible spirits affecting our policy makers. Among the reasons for being there given by observers, one man expressed concern about Nalliah's influence (he was relieved the "sane people" had outnumbered Nalliah's group). And one witch/Wiccan repeated the truism that there's not usually much on in Canberra.
- by Bella Counihan
Monday, October 12, 2009
Agro in politics
Not many people would try and bust their way into a Young Liberals meeting (in fact most would try and fight their way out). But this is exactly what happened at a flare up of factional rivalries at MP Alex Hawke's electoral office last month, when Hawke called police claiming about 40 uninvited people tried to force their way inside his office.
Then came the "agro husband punch up" with premier Mike Rann at the National Wine centre. These incidents have drawn the public's attention once again to the personal lives of politicians and the rivalries between them. We might not have as much biff as in other political systems. But when anything does happen, we all flock to it like kids on a school oval rushing towards a scrap between two ten-year-olds.
The Mike Rann incident — like so much in state politics at the moment — was personal. The assault led to revelations that Rann had had considerable personal contact with the estranged wife of the assailant, including phone calls and up to 10 text messages a day. The husband, Mr Rick Phillips, described the liaison as a "clandestine one-on-one relationship." Due to the public nature of the wine centre encounter, Rann has now been put on the back foot, and has been forced to explain this relationship to the community. He has even revealed threats made to him and his family.
The publicity of the Young Liberals brouhaha seemed to be intentional. Hawke claimed that a group of 40 were gatecrashing a meeting of Young Liberals. The 'gatecrashers' and the police say, however, that it was factionally motivated and, according to Sergeant Michael McInnes, "for the purposes of creating a little bit of a media stir". The group who tried to enter the meeting (many card-carrying Young Liberal members) in turn claim that Hawke refused them entry because he was concerned they were allied with his factional rival and previous boss David Clarke.
Branch-stacking is considered an art in many political circles. But stacking the odds in your favour by locking out some Young Libs and calling the police is a desperate tactic. Hawke is left looking like a fool and has incuured the wrath of some in his own party. Inter-factional rivalries have, of course, gained media attention before, notably the Peter Baldwin bashing in 1980. Baldwin, who belonged to the left faction of the ALP, was allegedly bashed by underworld figure Tom Dominican, allegedly on orders (I'll use that word again) from right winger Graham 'Richo' Richardson. His bruised face after the attack was plastered all over the papers. Hawke's stoush seems tame by comparison.
We have always had a bit of biff in Australian politics — remember the infamous handshake between Mark Latham and John Howard? And a lot of verbal biff — Paul Keating being the most prolific and the most inventive with his insulting language. But other countries make us look mild. All you need to do is type "parliament" or "politicians" and "fight" into YouTube to see what things could be like. Our parliament has never descended into physical punch ups like those in Taiwan or Korea. We have never had a political speech like that of Czech politician, Miroslav Macek, who began with a swift backhander to his rival, Czech Health Minister, David Rath, claiming "he deserved it".
But when there are scuffles, so goes the media, rumour and soap opera.
Bella Counihan is The Goanna.
Then came the "agro husband punch up" with premier Mike Rann at the National Wine centre. These incidents have drawn the public's attention once again to the personal lives of politicians and the rivalries between them. We might not have as much biff as in other political systems. But when anything does happen, we all flock to it like kids on a school oval rushing towards a scrap between two ten-year-olds.
The Mike Rann incident — like so much in state politics at the moment — was personal. The assault led to revelations that Rann had had considerable personal contact with the estranged wife of the assailant, including phone calls and up to 10 text messages a day. The husband, Mr Rick Phillips, described the liaison as a "clandestine one-on-one relationship." Due to the public nature of the wine centre encounter, Rann has now been put on the back foot, and has been forced to explain this relationship to the community. He has even revealed threats made to him and his family.
The publicity of the Young Liberals brouhaha seemed to be intentional. Hawke claimed that a group of 40 were gatecrashing a meeting of Young Liberals. The 'gatecrashers' and the police say, however, that it was factionally motivated and, according to Sergeant Michael McInnes, "for the purposes of creating a little bit of a media stir". The group who tried to enter the meeting (many card-carrying Young Liberal members) in turn claim that Hawke refused them entry because he was concerned they were allied with his factional rival and previous boss David Clarke.
Branch-stacking is considered an art in many political circles. But stacking the odds in your favour by locking out some Young Libs and calling the police is a desperate tactic. Hawke is left looking like a fool and has incuured the wrath of some in his own party. Inter-factional rivalries have, of course, gained media attention before, notably the Peter Baldwin bashing in 1980. Baldwin, who belonged to the left faction of the ALP, was allegedly bashed by underworld figure Tom Dominican, allegedly on orders (I'll use that word again) from right winger Graham 'Richo' Richardson. His bruised face after the attack was plastered all over the papers. Hawke's stoush seems tame by comparison.
We have always had a bit of biff in Australian politics — remember the infamous handshake between Mark Latham and John Howard? And a lot of verbal biff — Paul Keating being the most prolific and the most inventive with his insulting language. But other countries make us look mild. All you need to do is type "parliament" or "politicians" and "fight" into YouTube to see what things could be like. Our parliament has never descended into physical punch ups like those in Taiwan or Korea. We have never had a political speech like that of Czech politician, Miroslav Macek, who began with a swift backhander to his rival, Czech Health Minister, David Rath, claiming "he deserved it".
But when there are scuffles, so goes the media, rumour and soap opera.
Bella Counihan is The Goanna.
Friday, October 9, 2009
When it comes to youth voting, we are still in the dark
There's an old Scottish joke - how many Scotsmen does it take to change a light bulb? Och! It's no that dark!
But how many voters does it take to swing an election? There is now about 2.5 per cent of the population aged over 16 and under 18, who could be voting in Australia's next election if recommendations in the latest electoral green paper are taken up. There are arguments coming from either side but other countries are already embracing the concept of the teenage vote. The Scottish government recently allowing these under age voters to participate in a one-off independence referendum to be held in 2010. It is allowing 125,000 teenagers to vote in a significant decision about their country's future. But there is a catch — the minority government in power seems to have empowered these new voters to swing the vote in their direction rather than promote democratic participation. So is giving the vote to younger people always about strategy and not about democracy?
Voting is a noble idea. It provokes passionate responses. We fight and sometimes die to protect the franchise. But with voting comes the awful business of political parties. Democratic participation is only an ideal and the reality is often reduced to voting for barely distinguishable candidates. Citizen Kang comes to mind in an episode of The Simpsons where two aliens inhabit the bodies of Bill Clinton and Bob Dole during an election campaign. They are easily able to manipulate the voters by slight variation of their policies to wit:
Kang (Alien Bob Dole): Abortions for all.
[crowd boos]
Very well, no abortions for anyone.
[crowd boos]
Hmm... Abortions for some, miniature American flags for
others.
[crowd cheers and waves miniature flags]
Voters, as groups classified by age or socioeconomic status, are prejudiced towards or against certain issues. The individual perspective and ideas are often lost as politicians play to voters preconceptions about policy and parties. Young people, as a voting block, are inevitably prejudiced — towards change, progression and liberal values. This is to not say there aren't any 16 and 17-year-olds hanging pictures of Margaret Thatcher on their walls, but as a group young people's natural inclination is towards the left. So the worry is, if we know how a particular group is going to vote, can we separate the legitimacy of their right to vote from the politics of it all? Are we talking about improving democracy or simply improving the chances of one side winning over the other?
Initially it seems as though the Coalition would naturally be against younger voters and Labor for them. But we have some Julie and Julia spanners in our works. The deputy leader of the Liberal party, Julie Bishop, announced recently that "obviously we are keen for as many people as possible to be engaged in the democratic and political process in Australian public life." Seemingly this is in contrast to the shadow special minister for state, Senator Michael Ronaldson, who released a statement saying that younger voters would be a ''threat to democracy''. The other Julia spanner, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, seems to be pretty against the idea, going by what she said in a special youth Q and A broadcast on ABCTV recently. She argued that compulsory voting is such a peculiar and successful system in Australia that having a voluntary option would be a step back and that equally a compulsory vote for 16 and 17-years-olds would not work because not all were capable to vote.
Both of these spanners in the strategy over democracy argument have legitimate points. Without the process being compulsory, a voluntary vote would inevitably encourage extremes. Only those dedicated activist, badge-wearing, Rick from The Young Ones types would vote leaving the mainstream behind. But as Bishop points out, we should have more participation and more engaged citizens. We should definitely examine who gets the vote in this country, including non-citizens as well as under age voters. So maybe it's not all tactics. Maybe the idea of whom we let vote is actually important to people, even politicians. And they might even express views that are contradictory to those that would benefit their parties. Ultimately, however, it seems unlikely we will change that voting light bulb in the immediate future, leaving some for the moment in the dark.
Bella Counihan is the Goanna.
But how many voters does it take to swing an election? There is now about 2.5 per cent of the population aged over 16 and under 18, who could be voting in Australia's next election if recommendations in the latest electoral green paper are taken up. There are arguments coming from either side but other countries are already embracing the concept of the teenage vote. The Scottish government recently allowing these under age voters to participate in a one-off independence referendum to be held in 2010. It is allowing 125,000 teenagers to vote in a significant decision about their country's future. But there is a catch — the minority government in power seems to have empowered these new voters to swing the vote in their direction rather than promote democratic participation. So is giving the vote to younger people always about strategy and not about democracy?
Voting is a noble idea. It provokes passionate responses. We fight and sometimes die to protect the franchise. But with voting comes the awful business of political parties. Democratic participation is only an ideal and the reality is often reduced to voting for barely distinguishable candidates. Citizen Kang comes to mind in an episode of The Simpsons where two aliens inhabit the bodies of Bill Clinton and Bob Dole during an election campaign. They are easily able to manipulate the voters by slight variation of their policies to wit:
Kang (Alien Bob Dole): Abortions for all.
[crowd boos]
Very well, no abortions for anyone.
[crowd boos]
Hmm... Abortions for some, miniature American flags for
others.
[crowd cheers and waves miniature flags]
Voters, as groups classified by age or socioeconomic status, are prejudiced towards or against certain issues. The individual perspective and ideas are often lost as politicians play to voters preconceptions about policy and parties. Young people, as a voting block, are inevitably prejudiced — towards change, progression and liberal values. This is to not say there aren't any 16 and 17-year-olds hanging pictures of Margaret Thatcher on their walls, but as a group young people's natural inclination is towards the left. So the worry is, if we know how a particular group is going to vote, can we separate the legitimacy of their right to vote from the politics of it all? Are we talking about improving democracy or simply improving the chances of one side winning over the other?
Initially it seems as though the Coalition would naturally be against younger voters and Labor for them. But we have some Julie and Julia spanners in our works. The deputy leader of the Liberal party, Julie Bishop, announced recently that "obviously we are keen for as many people as possible to be engaged in the democratic and political process in Australian public life." Seemingly this is in contrast to the shadow special minister for state, Senator Michael Ronaldson, who released a statement saying that younger voters would be a ''threat to democracy''. The other Julia spanner, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, seems to be pretty against the idea, going by what she said in a special youth Q and A broadcast on ABCTV recently. She argued that compulsory voting is such a peculiar and successful system in Australia that having a voluntary option would be a step back and that equally a compulsory vote for 16 and 17-years-olds would not work because not all were capable to vote.
Both of these spanners in the strategy over democracy argument have legitimate points. Without the process being compulsory, a voluntary vote would inevitably encourage extremes. Only those dedicated activist, badge-wearing, Rick from The Young Ones types would vote leaving the mainstream behind. But as Bishop points out, we should have more participation and more engaged citizens. We should definitely examine who gets the vote in this country, including non-citizens as well as under age voters. So maybe it's not all tactics. Maybe the idea of whom we let vote is actually important to people, even politicians. And they might even express views that are contradictory to those that would benefit their parties. Ultimately, however, it seems unlikely we will change that voting light bulb in the immediate future, leaving some for the moment in the dark.
Bella Counihan is the Goanna.
Monday, October 5, 2009
It's irresistible to poke fun at Joe Hockey for liking Delta Goodrem
Politicians and music will always be like oil and water but it's still funny when the two ideas mix. MySpace recently released a list of some prominent pollies and their favourite tunes. The list reveals the musical leanings of Kevin Rudd, Malcolm Turnbull, Joe Hockey, Julie Bishop and gyrating rocker turned environment minister, Peter Garrett. Apparently Rudd likes a bit of Sinatra and John Denver (Denver circa 71' even looks a bit like Rudd), while Turnbull digs some 80's classics. This does reveal what the pollies want to project about their musical taste and personalities but when politics and music mix, politicians will always come out on the bottom.
Bill Clinton playing the saxophone with dark sunglasses all those years ago has become as much of a cliche as the pot smoking and the stained dress. When John Howard came out and said that he liked Bob Dylan's music but not his lyrics — it both revealed a truth about his politics and a palpable dagginess. Many of Boris Yeltsin's most embarrassing moments were also to do with music, not least booze. Remember his famous drunken erratic dancing or when he tried to conduct a military band after stealing the baton from the bandmaster?
Peter Garrett's musical fame actually helped into politics, but he was quickly derided because he was seen to have abandoned the principles he laid out with his band Midnight Oil. His connection with music ultimately has come to harm his credibility — spawning headlines like "its hard to sleep while your cred is burning." Without his musical associations, we wouldn't probably have judged his political career so harshly.
When politicians reveal their musical taste it always gives us a few chuckles. Musical taste is, of course, entirely subjective. But in this list it's easy to see that some are trying to project something about themselves. In choosing Handel's Messiah, Rudd represents his Christian side. With John Denver's Fire and Rain we see a baby boomer/folk side. His choice of The Power and the Passion by Midnight Oil seems a plug for his environment minister. The Turnbull faves were arguably a bit more varied and belonged mainly to the 70s and 80s — what you would expect of someone from his generation. It's hard to tell what Joe Hockey is trying to say with some of the evocative titles in his list, Sweet about Me by Gabriella Cilmi , Catch my disease by Ben Lee, Kenny Roger's The Gambler and (wince) Believe Again by Delta Goodrem. All catchy songs but if you only had the titles to go by, it would paint an odd picture of Hockey.
Overall, despite some tragic moments, it wasn't all bad. There were some great songs on there, including Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower (a Garrett selection) or Dusty Springfield's Son of a Preacher Man (a Julie Bishop pick). But when you peruse the list you come away with an impression of dorkiness and a sense the MPs were consciously trying to say someting about themselves.
The truth is, politics is the opposite of music. Not to get a bit Hallmark card here, but music is about freedom of expression and truth. Politics could be nothing further from this and it is a fundamental reason why they seem incongruous when they are put together and why Garrett has been persecuted for crossing that musical floor so to speak.
The underlying reason politicians and music make an odd pair is that music means something to people, while politics, and politicians in particular, really doesn't. We associate music with good times and even a way to mark chapters of our life. Rudd himself said that "music has a strong nostalgic element" and that his play-list " reflects some of my treasured memories and life experiences.". It's not often you see a politician's face, or remember a particular vote in parliament, and connect it with a personal moment in your life. It's good to know that politicians have lives outside what we see in parliament. But when the two worlds mix, we just can't help but to poke fun.
BELLA COUNIHAN IS THE GOANNA
Bill Clinton playing the saxophone with dark sunglasses all those years ago has become as much of a cliche as the pot smoking and the stained dress. When John Howard came out and said that he liked Bob Dylan's music but not his lyrics — it both revealed a truth about his politics and a palpable dagginess. Many of Boris Yeltsin's most embarrassing moments were also to do with music, not least booze. Remember his famous drunken erratic dancing or when he tried to conduct a military band after stealing the baton from the bandmaster?
Peter Garrett's musical fame actually helped into politics, but he was quickly derided because he was seen to have abandoned the principles he laid out with his band Midnight Oil. His connection with music ultimately has come to harm his credibility — spawning headlines like "its hard to sleep while your cred is burning." Without his musical associations, we wouldn't probably have judged his political career so harshly.
When politicians reveal their musical taste it always gives us a few chuckles. Musical taste is, of course, entirely subjective. But in this list it's easy to see that some are trying to project something about themselves. In choosing Handel's Messiah, Rudd represents his Christian side. With John Denver's Fire and Rain we see a baby boomer/folk side. His choice of The Power and the Passion by Midnight Oil seems a plug for his environment minister. The Turnbull faves were arguably a bit more varied and belonged mainly to the 70s and 80s — what you would expect of someone from his generation. It's hard to tell what Joe Hockey is trying to say with some of the evocative titles in his list, Sweet about Me by Gabriella Cilmi , Catch my disease by Ben Lee, Kenny Roger's The Gambler and (wince) Believe Again by Delta Goodrem. All catchy songs but if you only had the titles to go by, it would paint an odd picture of Hockey.
Overall, despite some tragic moments, it wasn't all bad. There were some great songs on there, including Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower (a Garrett selection) or Dusty Springfield's Son of a Preacher Man (a Julie Bishop pick). But when you peruse the list you come away with an impression of dorkiness and a sense the MPs were consciously trying to say someting about themselves.
The truth is, politics is the opposite of music. Not to get a bit Hallmark card here, but music is about freedom of expression and truth. Politics could be nothing further from this and it is a fundamental reason why they seem incongruous when they are put together and why Garrett has been persecuted for crossing that musical floor so to speak.
The underlying reason politicians and music make an odd pair is that music means something to people, while politics, and politicians in particular, really doesn't. We associate music with good times and even a way to mark chapters of our life. Rudd himself said that "music has a strong nostalgic element" and that his play-list " reflects some of my treasured memories and life experiences.". It's not often you see a politician's face, or remember a particular vote in parliament, and connect it with a personal moment in your life. It's good to know that politicians have lives outside what we see in parliament. But when the two worlds mix, we just can't help but to poke fun.
BELLA COUNIHAN IS THE GOANNA
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
A bit more madness please?
September 30, 2009 Comments 4
What if Therese Rein admitted that she had been an interstellar traveller? Or had multiple past lives where she met current celebrities? The Australian public would surely say she's completely nuts and Mr Therese Rein, KRudd, would invariably try to micro-manage the situation to limit the damage. However the Japanese public are entirely embracing their new first lady despite revelations that Mrs Miyuki Hatoyama has been to Venus (yes, the planet) and 'feasts' on the sun's energy. Mrs Hatoyama also has connections with the rich and famous, most notably actor Tom Cruise, whom she met in a previous life when Cruise was Japanese.
Are we missing out on something in Australia? I'm all for leaders being reasonably sane, or as much as they can be, but wouldn't it spice things up if at least their wives were interplanetary voyagers or thought they were? The cult of the first lady in the western world surrounds those like Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni, who are articulate, beautiful, fashionable and influential. But if we are going to have partners of the powerful entering into the spotlight, why can't they be a mouthful short of a sun feast?
Japan is pioneering in its embrace of the weird in public life. We love Japanese culture because of its high-tech, often sci-fi, quality which is unique in the world. Mrs Hatoyama, in a honeymoon with the Japanese public, fits perfectly into this culture. A self-titled 'life composer', she has now become a regular on chat shows.
and is a sometime author, with books like "Very Strange things I have Encountered" and a spiritual food cook book. After having married the equivalent of a 'Japanese Kennedy', she shot to fame in the international media after the election for her slightly bizarre perspective on the world and her willingness to express it openly.
There is undoubtedly an emerging cult of first ladies in the world. As leaders have become more humanised and personality driven, we love to know about the people behind them. They are also off limits for any real criticisms - they did not chose to be in the public eye, their partners did. We are more willing to cut them slack but for some reason we need to know what they think and more and more what they are wearing (Mrs Hatoyama for instance has dressed in a skirt made out of hemp coffee sacks). Michelle Obama is at the heart of the obsession. During her husband's election campaign she became a key part and arguably aided Barack Obama's rise to power. There is also a bit of a cult around Therese Rein, although she is a much less public figure than Mrs Obama. Rein is intelligent, successful and personable - many would say preferable to her husband.
So what if Therese Rein did say a hatoyama-ism? Australia does have its fair share of odd people in public life (I'm sure as you read this you can think of a few) but they are not quite declaring openly they believe in UFOs. You can imagine if Therese Rein suddenly said that she had been to Venus, there would be an out-cry and a call for the Prime Minister's resignation. The spin doctors would jump in to say she's been under a lot of strain and has 'X' psychological disorder. There would be concern about her influence over her husband and Rudd would undoubtedly try to (pardon the pun) rein her in, restricting public appearances. It's a pity. I think people are yearning for a bit more madness. With everything so stage-managed and controlled, getting to paint-dry level, we need a Mrs Hatoyama. We need an eccentric aunt at a boring family function. Embarrassing for most of the family but a topic of conversation around the potato salad, making the whole affair a bit more enjoyable. A bit of open lunacy is important. Maybe we could take a lesson or two from the Japanese.
Bella Counihan is Lady Goanna
What if Therese Rein admitted that she had been an interstellar traveller? Or had multiple past lives where she met current celebrities? The Australian public would surely say she's completely nuts and Mr Therese Rein, KRudd, would invariably try to micro-manage the situation to limit the damage. However the Japanese public are entirely embracing their new first lady despite revelations that Mrs Miyuki Hatoyama has been to Venus (yes, the planet) and 'feasts' on the sun's energy. Mrs Hatoyama also has connections with the rich and famous, most notably actor Tom Cruise, whom she met in a previous life when Cruise was Japanese.
Are we missing out on something in Australia? I'm all for leaders being reasonably sane, or as much as they can be, but wouldn't it spice things up if at least their wives were interplanetary voyagers or thought they were? The cult of the first lady in the western world surrounds those like Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni, who are articulate, beautiful, fashionable and influential. But if we are going to have partners of the powerful entering into the spotlight, why can't they be a mouthful short of a sun feast?
Japan is pioneering in its embrace of the weird in public life. We love Japanese culture because of its high-tech, often sci-fi, quality which is unique in the world. Mrs Hatoyama, in a honeymoon with the Japanese public, fits perfectly into this culture. A self-titled 'life composer', she has now become a regular on chat shows.
and is a sometime author, with books like "Very Strange things I have Encountered" and a spiritual food cook book. After having married the equivalent of a 'Japanese Kennedy', she shot to fame in the international media after the election for her slightly bizarre perspective on the world and her willingness to express it openly.
There is undoubtedly an emerging cult of first ladies in the world. As leaders have become more humanised and personality driven, we love to know about the people behind them. They are also off limits for any real criticisms - they did not chose to be in the public eye, their partners did. We are more willing to cut them slack but for some reason we need to know what they think and more and more what they are wearing (Mrs Hatoyama for instance has dressed in a skirt made out of hemp coffee sacks). Michelle Obama is at the heart of the obsession. During her husband's election campaign she became a key part and arguably aided Barack Obama's rise to power. There is also a bit of a cult around Therese Rein, although she is a much less public figure than Mrs Obama. Rein is intelligent, successful and personable - many would say preferable to her husband.
So what if Therese Rein did say a hatoyama-ism? Australia does have its fair share of odd people in public life (I'm sure as you read this you can think of a few) but they are not quite declaring openly they believe in UFOs. You can imagine if Therese Rein suddenly said that she had been to Venus, there would be an out-cry and a call for the Prime Minister's resignation. The spin doctors would jump in to say she's been under a lot of strain and has 'X' psychological disorder. There would be concern about her influence over her husband and Rudd would undoubtedly try to (pardon the pun) rein her in, restricting public appearances. It's a pity. I think people are yearning for a bit more madness. With everything so stage-managed and controlled, getting to paint-dry level, we need a Mrs Hatoyama. We need an eccentric aunt at a boring family function. Embarrassing for most of the family but a topic of conversation around the potato salad, making the whole affair a bit more enjoyable. A bit of open lunacy is important. Maybe we could take a lesson or two from the Japanese.
Bella Counihan is Lady Goanna
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Politwits
Like cocaine in the '80s or flannel shirts in the '90s, Twitter has become the new sweeping trend for the 2000s. And in political circles, it could actually be making question times more bearable.Recent changes allowing mobile devices into the House of Representatives chamber have led to journalists "tweeting" question time live. The likes of the Sydney Morning Herald's Annabel Crabb, Crikey's Bernard Keane, The Age's Tony Wright, 2UE's Latika Bourke and Crikey's blogger Possum Comitatus from blog Pollytics have been tweeting non-stop during question time in the past two parliamentary sessions. They provide up-to-the-minute fashion comment, online heckling and an undercurrent of political analysis. News tweeting already exists in Britain and the US, but these Australian journalists present a unique larrikin voice in the twitterverse - unedited and informal for the twitter public. The micro-analysis could add to our understanding of the political dynamic as it happens, but it needs a dedicated audience to seek it out. So the question is, is this voice enough to keep us following?
Twitter.com, described as the ADHD brother of Facebook, is usually the place for mundane babble but recently has come into its own as a news medium. This was notable during the recent turbulent elections in Iran, where protesters were reporting from the ground. People in the twitterverse searched update terms such as "Iran" and found relevant "tweets" on the issue. Journalists are slowly getting involved, using twitter to find and discuss news. In the US and Britain, journalist tweeting is often officially sponsored by publications, often limited to promoting their articles or personal twitter navel gazing. Australian MPs have also been tweeting - most infamously the member for North Sydney, Joe Hockey, was told to stop tweeting one question time by Lindsay Tanner.
Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull have also climbed on the twitter bandwagon, trying get that tech-savvy label. But for the press gallery and other political journalists, it has become a competitive sport. Although many such as The Age's Michelle Grattan and Sky News' David Spears are only occasional tweeters, more are now gathering at 2pm at the online gate to fire off the first witty observation from question time. Along with Crikey's question time bingo, it is finally making a dull affair a bit more interesting.MPs' appearance, good and bad (usually bad), has been consistently tweeted. It was clearly welcome, for example, when Deputy PM Julia Gillard's jacket with purple piping introduced during one question time was later replaced with a more demure outfit. Tony Wright tweeting "Gillard has seen the stylist, dropped purple piping and gone for nice white piping on black and emerald top. Someone's been advising." The humour and sarcasm in these press gallery question time tweets are also a nice change from the usual straight analysis found in conventional media. Annabel Crabb during the interminable debate about Gorgon tweeted "I feel like throwing in my own question. Will the Gorgon deal help keep my hair shiny? Will it ease away those problem wrinkles?"
This informal approach seems to be unique among tweeting journalists. Twitter can have its more serious purposes for journos. They are increasingly using it as a form of communal note taking, particularly useful when someone misses a bit of the action. The extra background happenings (members being chucked out or shouts in the chamber) are often not officially recorded and can be easily missed. Crikey's possum pollytics, for example, informed his other tweeters of a recent question time stunt: "For those that missed it, Emerson finished his comedy routine, Nats and Indis held up cards with scores on them, Bob K had his upside down." These tweets, although mainly there to help inform other journos, also give a sense for the online followers of the colour and movement in the day's events. These types of incidents, of course, don't always make it into normal coverage. It represents a rare opportunity to understand the context, gossip and analysis of Parliament's goings-on.
Despite this potential and the popularity of Twitter, one can see both followers and followees getting a bit bored and not only because of the appalling series of dull and repetitive question times. One tweeter criticised, "Can't believe how many journalists covering question time in here churn out useless rubbish. Few seem to add any value." Without an engaged audience, there is a distinct potential for the commentators to feel as though they are merely tweeting to themselves, or at best each other. In that kind of environment, bloggers will probably abandon the medium. But, equally, if the audience becomes large and journalists' respective publications become involved like in the US and Britain, you would lose the informality of the Australian journos twitter comment. It seems question time tweets may never reach their potential, fading away into the milky way of the twitterverse.
Twitter.com, described as the ADHD brother of Facebook, is usually the place for mundane babble but recently has come into its own as a news medium. This was notable during the recent turbulent elections in Iran, where protesters were reporting from the ground. People in the twitterverse searched update terms such as "Iran" and found relevant "tweets" on the issue. Journalists are slowly getting involved, using twitter to find and discuss news. In the US and Britain, journalist tweeting is often officially sponsored by publications, often limited to promoting their articles or personal twitter navel gazing. Australian MPs have also been tweeting - most infamously the member for North Sydney, Joe Hockey, was told to stop tweeting one question time by Lindsay Tanner.
Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull have also climbed on the twitter bandwagon, trying get that tech-savvy label. But for the press gallery and other political journalists, it has become a competitive sport. Although many such as The Age's Michelle Grattan and Sky News' David Spears are only occasional tweeters, more are now gathering at 2pm at the online gate to fire off the first witty observation from question time. Along with Crikey's question time bingo, it is finally making a dull affair a bit more interesting.MPs' appearance, good and bad (usually bad), has been consistently tweeted. It was clearly welcome, for example, when Deputy PM Julia Gillard's jacket with purple piping introduced during one question time was later replaced with a more demure outfit. Tony Wright tweeting "Gillard has seen the stylist, dropped purple piping and gone for nice white piping on black and emerald top. Someone's been advising." The humour and sarcasm in these press gallery question time tweets are also a nice change from the usual straight analysis found in conventional media. Annabel Crabb during the interminable debate about Gorgon tweeted "I feel like throwing in my own question. Will the Gorgon deal help keep my hair shiny? Will it ease away those problem wrinkles?"
This informal approach seems to be unique among tweeting journalists. Twitter can have its more serious purposes for journos. They are increasingly using it as a form of communal note taking, particularly useful when someone misses a bit of the action. The extra background happenings (members being chucked out or shouts in the chamber) are often not officially recorded and can be easily missed. Crikey's possum pollytics, for example, informed his other tweeters of a recent question time stunt: "For those that missed it, Emerson finished his comedy routine, Nats and Indis held up cards with scores on them, Bob K had his upside down." These tweets, although mainly there to help inform other journos, also give a sense for the online followers of the colour and movement in the day's events. These types of incidents, of course, don't always make it into normal coverage. It represents a rare opportunity to understand the context, gossip and analysis of Parliament's goings-on.
Despite this potential and the popularity of Twitter, one can see both followers and followees getting a bit bored and not only because of the appalling series of dull and repetitive question times. One tweeter criticised, "Can't believe how many journalists covering question time in here churn out useless rubbish. Few seem to add any value." Without an engaged audience, there is a distinct potential for the commentators to feel as though they are merely tweeting to themselves, or at best each other. In that kind of environment, bloggers will probably abandon the medium. But, equally, if the audience becomes large and journalists' respective publications become involved like in the US and Britain, you would lose the informality of the Australian journos twitter comment. It seems question time tweets may never reach their potential, fading away into the milky way of the twitterverse.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Rudd gets an "F" for Yoof
Only Kevin Rudd would think of telling the story of RM Williams when talking to young people. Youths can relate to RM Williams, according to our PM, because he was only 24 “when he designed his famous elastic-sided boots for stockmen”. This pretty much sums up the PM's understanding of people under 25 in his new blog "Helping young Australians build their futures". The title alone is very Rudd.
Recently the PM has made half-hearted attempts to engage with an online audience through blogs and twitter. But the 'yoof' blog — which started Friday — stands out for its condescending style. Rudd is the school principal handing out the 'good effort' awards to the bottom-of-the-pile students at the back of the hall. You can almost hear him say, "here you go young people, you're doing your best" and counselling them with the phrase "growing up has its challenges".
The PM's intro to the blog reads like a youth issues rap sheet - implying all young people are overweight, mentally ill, violent or helpless. But don't worry, says Rudd, we're having youth summits and meetings. Labor has a young people plan, apparently, and this blog will be an integral part. The PM (or presumably one of his staff) writes: "to get us rolling, I want to hear from you what matters most". This deserves an old school Garth from Wayne's World style "nawt". Rudd is the nerd trying too hard, with a “too cool for school” sticker on his backpack. There is no point pretending he will magically turn the comments posted on the youth blog into policy.
One can't help but compare the youth blog with Obama's back to school speech to US students. Although the Obama speech was meant for a younger audience, it expressed some noble truths about the need for young people to be involved citizens. Despite a pre-speech ideological war over Obama's ''indoctrination" of his audience, the American president spoke genuinely about responsibility and the importance of education. This went alongside the normal platitudes about "staying in school" and "listening to your parents". Although a bit cheesy at times, the Obama speech clearly had a resonance. There was an organised interactive element, where students were asked to write letters to the President. However there was no pretence about policy here, merely an attempt to get students' thinking.
The PM's youth blog is a think-free zone. The few comments posted after its launch seemed to be a recycling of the PM's message. These were clearly not the disengaged, overweight and violent youth referred to in the intro. And why would they be? The disengaged will probably never hear of this blog. Why would most young people even think of going on the PM's website in the first place? Let alone registering with an email and password — a prerequisite for participating in the blog. The internet and blogs in particular are for seekers of information. Obama's address was able to engage students because it was organised within schools and asked the audience to write letters as part of a school project. Youth summits and blogs are all very well but they target young people who are already engaged, maybe even aspiring to one day slip into the PM's shoes. Not those who wouldn't even think of the idea.
Rudd, I give your blog an F for 'yoof'.
Recently the PM has made half-hearted attempts to engage with an online audience through blogs and twitter. But the 'yoof' blog — which started Friday — stands out for its condescending style. Rudd is the school principal handing out the 'good effort' awards to the bottom-of-the-pile students at the back of the hall. You can almost hear him say, "here you go young people, you're doing your best" and counselling them with the phrase "growing up has its challenges".
The PM's intro to the blog reads like a youth issues rap sheet - implying all young people are overweight, mentally ill, violent or helpless. But don't worry, says Rudd, we're having youth summits and meetings. Labor has a young people plan, apparently, and this blog will be an integral part. The PM (or presumably one of his staff) writes: "to get us rolling, I want to hear from you what matters most". This deserves an old school Garth from Wayne's World style "nawt". Rudd is the nerd trying too hard, with a “too cool for school” sticker on his backpack. There is no point pretending he will magically turn the comments posted on the youth blog into policy.
One can't help but compare the youth blog with Obama's back to school speech to US students. Although the Obama speech was meant for a younger audience, it expressed some noble truths about the need for young people to be involved citizens. Despite a pre-speech ideological war over Obama's ''indoctrination" of his audience, the American president spoke genuinely about responsibility and the importance of education. This went alongside the normal platitudes about "staying in school" and "listening to your parents". Although a bit cheesy at times, the Obama speech clearly had a resonance. There was an organised interactive element, where students were asked to write letters to the President. However there was no pretence about policy here, merely an attempt to get students' thinking.
The PM's youth blog is a think-free zone. The few comments posted after its launch seemed to be a recycling of the PM's message. These were clearly not the disengaged, overweight and violent youth referred to in the intro. And why would they be? The disengaged will probably never hear of this blog. Why would most young people even think of going on the PM's website in the first place? Let alone registering with an email and password — a prerequisite for participating in the blog. The internet and blogs in particular are for seekers of information. Obama's address was able to engage students because it was organised within schools and asked the audience to write letters as part of a school project. Youth summits and blogs are all very well but they target young people who are already engaged, maybe even aspiring to one day slip into the PM's shoes. Not those who wouldn't even think of the idea.
Rudd, I give your blog an F for 'yoof'.
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