Pushing Hard

There’s no doubt that NSW Premier, Morris Iemma, is under pressure. On the nose as I heard it described on radio. Opposition Leader, Barry O’Farrell, is pushing his case very hard as the possible next Premier of NSW. But there is still a long time till the next election, about 3 years actually.

Polls suggest that if there were an election tomorrow then the Labor govt would be voted out. But because the election is about 3 years away then should the opposition be pushing Iemma so hard to stand down as Premier of NSW. Of course they should push him for answers on issues, but surely in the back of their minds they are thinking that they would rather face him as leader over anyone else.

What if someone else takes over and they’re half decent? This would mean they are twice as good as Mr Iemma. But three years is a long time in politics. Just look at how quickly Kevin Rudd rose to the top.

Deputy Premier, John Watkins, seems the most capable to turn things around, but I’m told that factional divisions will prohibit any promotion on his part. Carmel Tebbutt has been sounded out too, even though she recently resigned from cabinet to look after her young son. So maybe Iemma is the best they have.

Bachelor Cooking

I cop a bit of criticism for my simple and somewhat unimaginative method of cooking. I stand by my method for 2 reasons:

1. I am a bloke – so no need to complicate things
2. I am cooking for one – a difficult enough task for anyone

My pantry comprises of a few dinner essentials

• Packets – Dinner bases as well as pasta and rice side dishes
• Jars – Pasta sauces, Indian Sauces, or any other sauce that comes in a jar. Options are endless
• Tins – Tomatoes, Baked Beans, Soups
• Frozen Veges – Seems to get added to everything I make. Never had fresh veges in my possession.

Every now and then I do a big cook up to store and freeze meals ready to take for lunch. One recent cook up involved 2 kg’s of mince and 20 meal size portions. I even invested in a separate freezer to house these meals until they get to be enjoyed.

Particular favourites include:

• Spag Bol
• Chilli Con Carne
• Butter Chicken

In the end, isn't it just great that I'm a bloke who can cook something for himself??

Getting It Eventually

Been watching BBC comedy Yes Minister lately. It was originally screened in the UK in 1980. But by the time it hit the Haynes Household it was the late 80’s / early 90’s. I remember brother Danny watching it incessantly and religiously. I was only about 10 so part of me wanted to be the annoying younger brother by not liking it and bagging it out profusely, just out of spite. Also, his laugh was so loud that it hurt my ears when I dared to step into the same room. Above all that, I just didn’t get it

I wasn’t really into politics at the time and the humour was too grown up for me. The subtleties would usually fly right over my head if I were to try and persevere with a viewing. Also the sets were very dull and dreary, but it was the 80’s.

But now, I thought I’d give Yes Minister another chance, without Danny in the room to at least give my ears a break. I’m into politics a bit more now (in case you haven’t noticed) so the subtleties sink in instead of being lost on me. Most importantly, I am finding it very funny. Probably a reason why it is so funny is that it is closer to the truth than people might think.

For a homegrown version, check out the ABC series Grass Roots. Based on the behind the scenes of a local council.

Give It Up Darcy!

What on earth is this kid doing? Is he being poorly led or is he just very stupid? Perhaps both.

A young man loses his place on the Olympic Swim team after bringing grievous bodily harm onto a former team-mate and expects someone to ruffle his hair and say, “Your not so bad kid, go on, swim your little heart out.”

He was given the boot because he brought the sport into disrepute. Perhaps it’s a bit grey as to what constitutes ‘disrepute’ and I assume that is what he is trying to prove.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has already heard one appeal. They didn’t disagree with the decision by John Coates (Australian Olympic Committee President), they merely deemed that Coates can’t make the decision on his own, it must go back to the entire AOC Executive Board. They met with Darcy and his legal team this week, only to come to the same conclusion as John Coates. Finally, some closure I thought, but no, I was wrong.

Darcy left the meeting explaining his disappointment at the decision and how there was already another appeal in the works. In fact it was in the works prior to their meeting with the AOC. Seems like they were pretty confident of a negative verdict.

On what grounds could he possibly get his dismissal overturned? Surely being intoxicated and not knowing what he was doing is not good enough to win favour. Also, who cares that he has trained for most of his life, this should count for nought.

Swimming brought us tremendous role model such as Kieran Perkins, Susie O’Neil, Sam Riley, Grant Hackett & Ian Thorpe to name a few. In one abhorrent act, Nick Darcy has changed the face of swimming forever. Instead of picturing the fine specimens of humanity mentioned above we now think of a thug who couldn’t control himself in more ways than one. If that isn’t bringing the sport into disrepute I don’t know what is.

The Issue Of Paying Taxes

Had one local preacher man point out that he wishes he could pay more taxes. His reason being that by paying more taxes we would all benefit from better government services such as schools, hospitals and roads. He acknowledged that he was in the minority by taking this view. After some discussion with Dr H I can see why he would be in the minority.

Basically more taxes would result in bigger bureaucracies, not better services. There won’t be any money left after bureaucrats have sunk their teeth. There is no incentive to produce a high quality of product as the money is not their own.

Also, if one wants to pay more tax then there is nothing stopping you. Simply open up the chequebook and make it out to ‘Deputy Commissioner of Taxation.’ All donations will probably be received with shock.

Probably a better idea would be to donate to your local school or hospital, at least your money would be better spent there. There’s even the option of falsifying your tax return to make out that you earn more. That way you will be taxed more. Or if you are lucky enough to receive a tax return, hand it back with a smile. I’m sure the ATO won’t mind.

Taxation on my income is stealing. I didn’t give them permission to take my hard earned. If I didn’t have to pay income tax I could more easily pay for private health insurance, mortgage repayments and car maintenance.

If the government was serious about easing the burden on working families they would spend less and steal less.