Month: March 2000

One of the joys of India is the way religious festivals are shared by people of all religions. This is particularly true of the Hindu festival of Holi.

Holi marks the end of winter. Typically, people celebrate with their families in the morning and around lunchtime hit the streets. They throw coloured water and powder (gulal) at each other. The colours mark rebirth. On the night before, bonfires are lit to mark a piece of Hindu mythology. An ancient Hindu king ordered his subjects to worship only him. But his little son refused, preferring to secretly worship the Hindu gods. The king found out and ordered his son to be killed. The king’s sister, Holika, said she had a shawl that protected her from fire, so she would take the boy into the flames and he would be consumed but she would be protected. But as stepped into the fire, the shawl wrapped around the boy and the sister was burnt.

The bonfires at the Holi festival mark the burning of Holika, in much the same way as we have Guy Fawkes day.
Continue reading “2000_03_march_columnour page”

ACT Chief Minister Gary Humphries has put citizens’ initiated referendums back on the agenda. It had been very much on the agenda five years ago – – before Pauline Hanson rose to prominence. It was perhaps the beginning of the voter backlash against what was seen as the arrogance of government. Citizens’ recall and it citizens’ veto were also part of that agenda.

CIR is seen as a means of putting power in the hands of the people in the face of what is seen as uncaring or aloof government. Five years ago and the proposal was almost legislated in the ACT, only just missing out on the numbers.

Once again, it seems that CIR is being used to appeal to voters who feel that government is failing them. But in returning to this proposal, Mr Humphries seems to have misinterpreted the nature of voter disillusionment.

There is nothing much wrong with citizens’ initiated referendums. The details of the proposal worked out by the Liberal Party a couple of years ago seemed eminently workable. The argument against it – – that zealots would be able to get all sorts of lunatic schemes up – – does not wash. After all, 50 per cent of the voters have to approve a proposal before it becomes law. Surely, 50 per cent of the voters of the ACT are not zealots and lunatics.
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Australians and New Zealanders will be driving on the right-hand side of the road within three years, according it to an agreement made by the Council of Ministers for Transport.

The change is to be made as part of the proposed US-Australia free trade agreement.

The council is made up of federal, state and in New Zealand Ministers for Transport. The Federal Government sought to have a public announcement delayed until after the federal election later this year. However, a copy of the agreement has been obtained by the The Canberra Times.

It is understood that US officials raised the question in talks on the free-trade agreement with the Australian officials and the Australian officials took the question on board. The US officials argued that there were questions of free trade involved.

The US position was that only if Australia and New Zealand drove on the right would there be complete freedom of trade in the automotive industry and industries associated with road construction.
Continue reading “2000_03_march_april fool”

The vox pop on Alan Bond has two sides. Those infuriated say his four years in jail is pitifully small compared to the amount of the fraud and the time served by others for petty theft under mandatory sentencing. They are infuriated by the likelihood he has spirited money away overseas which no-one can touch. And they are incensed that his sentence was reduced on a legal technicality.

On the other side, Bondy won the America’s Cup. He did not have any real victims. And he stood up and pleaded guilty. He did not skulk off like Christopher Skase.

But underlying the vox pop is a more alarming malaise: the failure of our legal system to deal with corporate fraud. Very few, if any, of the swashbucklers of the 1980s who came undone in the wake of the 1987 sharemarket crash got their just deserts. Plead not guilty or, if absolutely necessary, guilty in a heavily discounted plea bargain; hire some expensive lawyers; take up every technical point of law and evidence you can find and get off scot-free.
Continue reading “2000_03_march_alan bond for forum”