Australian Public Servants – Promoted to their level of incompetence
Hi all, I've been a bit busy lately and have been neglecting the blog. So here is a quick run down of everything that is wrong with Australia this week.
Fury after intervention workers 'dig toilet on ceremonial sacred site' - Link
“A gang of five intervention workers arrived in the area, nearly 600 kilometres south-east of Darwin, late last month, and were told by council staff to use toilet and shower facilities at a nearby training centre. … Instead the group dug a long-drop toilet in the middle of the most important ceremonial ground in the region.”
God, if this doesn’t perfectly and hilariously sum up the Intervention, if not the last hundred years of Government involvement in Aboriginal Australia. An ostensibly humanitarian effort to help our black cousins turns out to highlight the complete lack of understanding of their culture and does more harm than good. Here's a radical idea; how about we work with the people we are trying to help instead of treating them like morons who would eat their own children if we didn’t air drop them meat pies?
Brisbane man 'locked up for five years' by Immigration Dept - Link
Lateline last night broke the story of this poor bastard Tony Tran who was locked up in detention for five years (five years!) due to yet another fuck-up by the immigration department. While he was locked up his wife buggered off to Korea with their son, then returned to drop off the kid. The authorities then tried to farm the kid off as an orphan to the South Koreans, despite Tony screaming through the razor wire that he was desperate to be with his son and was, in fact, not here illegally.
How many more stories do we need to hear before we take action on the heartless culture that currently prevails in our immigration system? We treat people like criminals and terrorists instead of human beings and this bias seems to prevent the department even entertaining the thought that they could be in the wrong. The result? Story after story of the absolute criminal treatment of these people.
Case dropped against 'terrorism trainee' - Link
“A Sydney judge has described as "grossly improper and unlawful" the conduct of two ASIO officers who interviewed a former medical student accused of training with a terrorist organisation.”
In the wake of the Haneef fuck-up comes another case of ASIO and the AFP tripping over their own wiretaps to try and convict someone with their shiny new terrorism laws.
Just like Haneef, based on the bloke’s activity he seemed entirely worthy of a bit of ASIO attention, but I think these guys are ducking into to the Drug Squad evidence room a little too often because they completely jumped the gun and went Gestapo on his arse. They essentially kidnapped him and threatened the guy with all sorts of crap before charging him with offences that were immediately thrown out of court.
These are the clowns we just gave a whole lot more power to? More power, incidentally, that includes clauses like being unable to tell anyone if you are picked up and questioned by ASIO (potentially for days), including the media, who would be legally prevented from reporting it anyway. All in the name of protecting us from a largely fictional terrorism threat that these wankers have zero chance of finding out about anyway. Go fear politics.
Why do we put up with this repeated incompetence from our government bodies? It’s all about the prevailing culture of the departments, and that culture is driven from the top down. The Government gets tough on an issue then puts pressure on the departments to get results. The departments act hastily to please the Government and produce the type fuck-up mentioned above.
If only the negligent, ignorant and racist treatment of people in Australia put upward pressure on inflation. Then maybe more people would give a shit.
Fury after intervention workers 'dig toilet on ceremonial sacred site' - Link
“A gang of five intervention workers arrived in the area, nearly 600 kilometres south-east of Darwin, late last month, and were told by council staff to use toilet and shower facilities at a nearby training centre. … Instead the group dug a long-drop toilet in the middle of the most important ceremonial ground in the region.”
God, if this doesn’t perfectly and hilariously sum up the Intervention, if not the last hundred years of Government involvement in Aboriginal Australia. An ostensibly humanitarian effort to help our black cousins turns out to highlight the complete lack of understanding of their culture and does more harm than good. Here's a radical idea; how about we work with the people we are trying to help instead of treating them like morons who would eat their own children if we didn’t air drop them meat pies?
Brisbane man 'locked up for five years' by Immigration Dept - Link
Lateline last night broke the story of this poor bastard Tony Tran who was locked up in detention for five years (five years!) due to yet another fuck-up by the immigration department. While he was locked up his wife buggered off to Korea with their son, then returned to drop off the kid. The authorities then tried to farm the kid off as an orphan to the South Koreans, despite Tony screaming through the razor wire that he was desperate to be with his son and was, in fact, not here illegally.
How many more stories do we need to hear before we take action on the heartless culture that currently prevails in our immigration system? We treat people like criminals and terrorists instead of human beings and this bias seems to prevent the department even entertaining the thought that they could be in the wrong. The result? Story after story of the absolute criminal treatment of these people.
Case dropped against 'terrorism trainee' - Link
“A Sydney judge has described as "grossly improper and unlawful" the conduct of two ASIO officers who interviewed a former medical student accused of training with a terrorist organisation.”
In the wake of the Haneef fuck-up comes another case of ASIO and the AFP tripping over their own wiretaps to try and convict someone with their shiny new terrorism laws.
Just like Haneef, based on the bloke’s activity he seemed entirely worthy of a bit of ASIO attention, but I think these guys are ducking into to the Drug Squad evidence room a little too often because they completely jumped the gun and went Gestapo on his arse. They essentially kidnapped him and threatened the guy with all sorts of crap before charging him with offences that were immediately thrown out of court.
These are the clowns we just gave a whole lot more power to? More power, incidentally, that includes clauses like being unable to tell anyone if you are picked up and questioned by ASIO (potentially for days), including the media, who would be legally prevented from reporting it anyway. All in the name of protecting us from a largely fictional terrorism threat that these wankers have zero chance of finding out about anyway. Go fear politics.
Why do we put up with this repeated incompetence from our government bodies? It’s all about the prevailing culture of the departments, and that culture is driven from the top down. The Government gets tough on an issue then puts pressure on the departments to get results. The departments act hastily to please the Government and produce the type fuck-up mentioned above.
If only the negligent, ignorant and racist treatment of people in Australia put upward pressure on inflation. Then maybe more people would give a shit.
posted by Sam Cox at
22:15
13 Comments:
Story 1 - Respecting peoples religious/cultural beliefs just encourages them. I don't see you refusing to leave the house on Sunday or fast for Ramadan. Why are you quick quick to support one form of looniness but will argue black and blue against another like christianity.
Story 2 - Just because someone screams through razor wire that they're not there illegally doesn't mean that they're not there illegally. As far as I can tell from the linked story it's not yet known if he should or shouldn't have been in there, they are just going by from what the guy said. You are quick to lay blame on those who still may be in the right.
Story 3 - Yes ASIO needs to get their act together. Now we have a potential terrorist wandering the streets because they fumbled an interrogation.
By
Michael, At
13 November 2007 23:15
In response to Michael…
Story 1 – Refusing to not work on Sunday is one thing, taking a shit in the middle of St Peter's Cathedral is quite another. Think of it in terms of our war cultural history. You can be against the war in iraq while still wanting to preserve the Gallipoli cliffs or a bombed building in Darwin.
Story 2 – Even if he was here illegally it is still no reason to lock someone up for 5 years. You’d probably get less jail time if you kicked a war widow to death.
Story 3 – How much is the Young Nazis membership fee these days?
By
Sam Cox, At
14 November 2007 13:37
It's interesting that the second and third stories are both the result of fear-based politics: specifically, the Coalition echoing their American friends in the White House by playing up the immigrant and terrorist "threats" into something that people should be scared of. Ordinary people (who but for the grace of whatever go we) get caught up in the bumbling implementation of unnecessary policies.
Still, I've got to ask: what can we do? Besides vote the government out (on the optimistic assumption that the other lot will be better), is there any actual action that citizens can take that is meaningful and could effect change?
Protests are a waste of time. Bugging your MP is equally pointless (regardless of which party they belong to). In our democracy, citizen action is utterly ineffective. Voting day is our only chance, and that's a hell of a blunt instrument we only get to wield once every 3 years.
By
Jason, At
14 November 2007 15:30
I dont understand Michaels comment:
'respecting peoples .. beliefs just encourages them'.
Perhaps Michael didnt think much about what he was writing.
How is it that the act of 'respecting peoples beliefs' encourages them? Is there anything wrong with 'respecting' somebody elses beliefs?
What Sam is saying is that digging up a 'cemetery' (or any land that is sacred to someone other than yourself) to do a shit/piss because you cant be bothered walking to the 'already created toilet' is wrong.
Its about being a good person.
By
Anonymous, At
14 November 2007 22:59
JUST A QUICK ONE SAMUEL - there are lots of public servants out there who give a shit. btw
By
Anonymous, At
14 November 2007 23:59
Not after 4:21 there aren't! ;-)
By
Sam Cox, At
15 November 2007 00:08
Or, Perhaps, Michael did think about what he was writing. If you've been to Numbulwar you'll know there's a small bunch of buildings, an airstrip, and a veritable arseload of land with nothing much on it but trees. Now if the current toilet and shower facilities where close enough to where the workers were they probably would have used them as digging a big shithole can't be easy. So instead, they find a piece of ground that looks just like all the rest of the ground for miles around and dig a whole in it. And this is where the problem arises because they chose a piece of land that was "sacred" whatever that means. Boohoo go spread your magic beans on a different piece of land and make it sacred, how would you tell the difference. And this is what I was saying was stupid, supporting a woowoo belief that one bit of land was different from another.
But the story was short on details, maybe there was a big fuck-off sign that said in large letters "this piece of ground is sacred", and workers saw it and thought "lets be evil cunts just to shit these people off". In which case I'm wrong... but I'm not going to jump to any conclusions about that sign being there for now...
(Also, where was there a mention of a cemetery? And yes there is everything wrong with respecting stupid beliefs, tolerating stupid beliefs, however, is acceptable)
By
Michael, At
15 November 2007 00:32
Regarding the sacred ground: it would seem that ignorance, rather than malice, was the most likely cause of the workers' actions. Aboriginal beliefs are just not well understood by most Australians, due to the concerted effort to eliminate their culture during the early days of colonisation. Most of us grew up learning effectively nothing about their culture, with Australian history being limited to the last two centuries.
Given that Aboriginal culture was transmitted verbally (just like every other culture before it utilised writing), the period of suppression/elimination means that now a lot is gone forever, and what's left (preserved through the remaining communities) is not well known by the rest of us. Efforts are underway to study and record it before it's lost forever. Perhaps kids will one day learn about the original inhabitants of this country.
As far as respecting their beliefs... well, I personally have a hard time changing my behaviour to conform with anyone else's belief system, when those beliefs are effectively just magical thinking. I respect the right of all people believe whatever they like, but I will NOT respect those beliefs themselves if they're not based in reality. In the case of this story, how we should behave is governed by what we're trying to achieve: if it really is an attempt to preserve the remnants of Aboriginal culture, then we can conform to whatever rules (however bizarre) that culture imposes. It's no different to any other cultural hangover that we already live with.
By
Jason, At
15 November 2007 05:35
Interesting stuff people.
Just a quick addition: The report I saw on Lateline had the pissed off elders standing next to a fuck-off sign that said effectively 'This ground is a sacred site'.
By
Sam Cox, At
15 November 2007 07:52
Michael - I understand your argument about a piece of land being a piece of land, but it’s not that simple. For example, if you live in a house which you own, you have to get approval from your council to build a shed on it. You can’t just dig things up because you feel like it - it’s annoying but it’s the way things are. So while your argument about land probably makes sense to you, it’s not right. You can’t just dig things up, or burn things, or shit in things just because you are ignorant.
Sam – there are loads of public servants who work hours that would put most of the private sector to shame. You of all people know that. Don’t tar us all with the same brush just for the sake of it.
By
Anonymous, At
15 November 2007 11:12
Yes good point, they proabaly weren't legally allowed to put the toilet there, and they should get in trouble for that, but that's not what's being complained about in the story. It was about a cultural piece of land which has a religious meaning to a group of people. My initial post was making a dig at Sam about spending a lot of his time making fun of religious beliefs, and then quickly defending others when it suited him.
By
Michael, At
15 November 2007 11:38
To the Anon Public Servant:
Yeah fair enough, it was probably a poor choice of title. I don’t think public servants are lazy or incompetent.
What I was trying to say was that those at the top of the departments (the ones who feel direct pressure from the government) have been shown lately to have really dropped the ball because they are implementing the wishes of the government without enough critical analysis. Those who are greedy for power or too easily led (yes-men/women) seem to be running things, poorly.
As the proud son of hard working public servants I know those on the ground are anything but incompetent.
Consider the title changed to “Arselicking bosses fuck up again”
By
Sam Cox, At
15 November 2007 11:42
Sam, after reading your post, and the passioante comments that followed, I feel like I have a handle on all the Australian issues that I've missed whilst overseas. That fucking election can't come soon enough, in my opinion. How long will our country live in fear of brown people and guys with beards?
By
Tom, At
18 November 2007 19:41
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