Archived article

Life’s basic questions prompt answers to the hard ones
Wonderful work Michael. Keep it up.
Don’t be disheartened by the Australian Government’s supply of free money in the form of passive welfare assistance, generation after generation.
One day there will be a reckoning of the disastrous social consequences.
A recent report mentioned a location with a school attendance rate of 29%. What hope have these kids got of competing in a cruel world?
They are destined to be second class citizens for life.
A prominent Aboriginal academic described a failure to send your kids to school as another form of child neglect.

Vast electorates, poor participation in our democracy
Who remembers that in 2017 the Australian Government cut the resources of the Australian Electoral Commission in Darwin from 16 to 3 staff?
In the light of this article, is anyone prepared to attempt to defend this totally illogical decision?

Politicking or community: What to do about youth crime?
Imagine adults in work, kids in school, and safe communities. That was the vision of ‘A Working Future – Territory Growth Towns’. Regional centres containing a full range of services, and business opportunities.

Instead, our governments have provided a policy framework of:
– free money
– kids having never seen a parent working
– consequently no role models
– no need to go to school
– government will keep me for life too
– idleness
– repeated through the generations.

I turn to just one related consequence. In the past week or so there was media discussion about improved health outcomes if a person could see an Indigenous Health Worker at the remote clinic. Such staff are in short supply these days because the last time I looked a middle aged woman with a couple of kids (for example) would loose very significant household income to move from welfare to work.

There has also been a lot of discussion recently about the need to increase welfare payments. As revealed in the above example, those payments are already greater than work entry point wages creating disincentives to work. If an increase is to be made, something will finally have to be done about transitioning people in order to remove the disincentive.

A songman for his place and time
Ted is clearly one who has achieved the status of LEGEND IN HIS OWN LIFETIME.
Goodonyamate.

St Francis House: Excellence sought and achieved
The title of this article says it all. “Excellence” was achieved by the people who moved through St Francis House, and by three generations of Smiths as evidenced by this series.
The historical record is much enhanced by this work.