J Ramsay Sutherland

The end has to come sometime.
After an extremely effective time at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, surviving the overwhelming swagger of the National Gallery of Victoria, Edmund Capon, the unknown import from England, has become a name which epitomises the sort of migrant who doesn’t think that the British still rule the Empire and that we must bow the knee.
He is a man who is enthusiastic about what he knows and is quite keen to help others learn it too. Approachable. And he loves giraffes. Eccentric. And just the sort of bloke that responds to how we are.
We will miss you.
J.R.Sutherland

The Leader of the Opposition and others of his ilk seem to follow faithfully,in Parliamentary life, the 13th rule of Ignatius Rules for thinking with the Church:
” I will believe that the white that I see is black. The hierarchical church so defines it”
In the late 19th cemtury and early 20th century forced a template of democracy for the Western world. It seems now to have thrown into the garbage bin of history and Democray has been propituted for the sake of power and aggrandisement.
JRS

Abbott’s gaffe has raised quite a stir!
It has exposed the smelly spots in the Coalition. ‘One Nation’ is a prick of irritation.
In fact the shit has hit the fan, and to use another comment heard about the traps, it has all turned round to bit him on the bum.
It’s no use castigating the Press. That is biting the hand that feeds you when it comes to politicians of any colour.

Abbott’s gaffe has raised quite a stir!
It has exposed the smelly spots in the Coalition. ‘One Nation’ is a prick of irritation.
In fact the shit has hit the fan, and to use another comment heard about the traps, it has all turned round to bit him on the bum.
It’s no use castigating the Press. That is biting the hand that feeds you when it comes to politicians of any colour.

We are all getting in a lather about the identity of the next PM.

The first Commonwealth Parliament met in Melbourne in 1901 with great ceremony, but not without stumbles.
When Lord Hopeton arrived to become the first Governor-General he asked William Lyne as the premier of the foundation state, New South Wales, to be the first Prime Minister. It created a revolt. William Lyne did not support the idea of Federation and was a Protectionist (not an altogether popular stance). Lyne was not able to form a cabinet and Hopeton was forced to look again. There were two men, both of whom had equal claim to be appointed to the positions, Edmund Barton and Alfed Deakin. Hopeton appointed Edmund Barton.
For the next nine years Australia had TEN PMs. 2010 seems like a different kind of Ship of Fools.
J Ramsay Sutherland

“Human beings who blind themselves to human need make themselves less human.” William Sloan Coffin

Our mandarins in Canberra would do well to take note whilst deliberating on just which party forms government.

I wonder if the politicians are actually factoring in what’s best for Australia when debating which party should form government?

At the outset of this Federal poll, I was largely unsympathetic towards the Labour party after what they did to Kevin Rudd. So I think I can weigh into this debate with a fairly unbiased view on the matter.

On balance, the Labour party is the best outcome for this country right now.

For one they will provide the stability of incumbency – especially given they’ve only served one term. And let’s face it – both sides have moved so close to the centre there’s barely any difference between the two. Even Treasury’s costings of their policies showed negligible difference between the two according to ABC’s economics analyst interviewed on Lateline (Friday 3 September, 2010). So why not stay with the party in power for the time being at least?

Secondly, a disparate coalition of players that represent a broad church of citizens will best serve our country. If Labour does get over the line with the support of a least two of the conservative “three amigos” along Bandt (Greens) and Wilkie, there will potentially be a wide range of views in government. Given the nation-wide voting patterns, such a government will more accurately represent the will of the people.

Finally, Julia Giilard has a track record for being a skilled negotiator. Given the factor of the independents, stable government will require a leader that can arbitrate their potentially conflicting views. Whichever side gets in – negotiation skills will be vital to effective leadership.

So let’s allow Australia to ‘move forward’ with a government the people have clearly asked for. A Labour/Greens/conservative independents team headed up by an experienced negotiator with the stability of incumbency is a winning combination.

At last there is a settlement of a certain fragility of the mFederal Government’s validity.
Now the press and the cyber-media can sharpen their pens and their most deragatory language to discount any sort of advantage for those in the un-metropoles. Anything and anyone beyond the sandstone curtain is being found to be setting about to disadvantge the city-dwellers, whether it is hospitals, education in all its forms or anything else which offends the sensibilities of the media.
In education especially country kids are disadvantaged
by distance in their aim to be doctors, engineers, teachers or any other professional training. This disadvantage of distance becomes a deterrent to provide the quality staff to go across the sandstone curtain to enhance the education which all the youth in the states should be claim as a right.
There may be hope now with the new parlaimntary circumstances for remedies to be found.
It is important to the country as defence

J Ramsay Sutherland

Miranda Devine hits the nail on the head of what could well be the nail in the coffin for the Australian Labour Party in today’s federal election: “the faceless men” (News Review, Sydney Morning Herald, 21 August, 2010, page 9).

“Win, lose or draw, the unscrupulous gamble by Labour’s factional and union heavies to remove a democratically elected prime minister eight weeks ago and rush to an election has not been a triumph for Labour or Julia Gillard.”

But it is not just the “faceless men” of Labour … it is all such “men” of any political persuasion that horrify me in their power and ability to ride rough shod over the entire democratic process that we have fought wars to retain.

These power brokers provide the incendiary material for leaders’ speeches, catering for democracy at its lowest possible level. They make it their business to bamboozle readers who have only reached a reading age of eleven by couching their message in words of more than one syllable.

I have been subject to being robbed via credit card to the tune of $5000 over a perod of three hours in the early hours of the morning, while I was sleeping,
What ever other plagues and misfortunes take place in the world this must come in the same category as fire and murder. It is more frightening than either as there is no visble sign or sound and only for the fact that I was informed that it had happened I was completely unaware,
Inside my house, locked up and secure, I was ravaged by faceless robots. the implements of carefree “gamers”.

JRamsay Sutherland