Clarence Valley youth rock!

Letter to the editor in The Daily Examiner 25 January 2014:

Positive youth models

In the light of all the recent media comments regarding young people's behaviour and 'coward's punches', let's remind ourselves of the positive behaviours of most young people.

In Grafton, on December 21, an estimated 1200 young people gathered together from lunchtime onwards throughout Grafton; all ending up at the Grafton Racecourse for the ninth annual Santa Crawl.

These young people were all enjoying themselves, having fun with their friends, listening to music, dancing and, yes, drinking.

There were no violent incidences - no fights, no aggression, nobody hurt.

Following this event there was $12,000 quietly donated to Vinnies - the total proceeds of that one event - what a fabulous result.

So in this current climate, it's important to reflect and acknowledge that the majority of young people do behave as this group did at the Santa Crawl - having fun, drinking responsibly and respecting others, while at the same time being generous and thoughtful to those less fortunate than themselves.

Well done the young people of Clarence Valley and beyond, who attended and contributed to this event.

Hats off and congratulations to the young people who continue to organise this event each year and who are as proud of their record of holding a peaceful event as they are of the significant donation they make to a local charity.

Sue McKimm

Grafton

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is caught misquoting and therefore changing meaning in speech full of oft repeated slogans

That intellectual poseur Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is caught misquoting and therefore changing meaning in his Address To The World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, on 23 January 2014:

In Lincoln’s words, government should do for people what they can’t do for themselves – and no more.

What Abraham Lincoln actually said on the basic role of government:

Fragment on Government ^[1]

[April 1, 1854?]

Government is a combination of the people of a country to effect certain objects by joint effort. The best framed and best administered governments are necessarily expensive; while by errors in frame and maladministration most of them are more onerous than they need be, and some of them very oppressive. Why, then, should we have government? Why not each individual take to himself the whole fruit of his labor, without having any of it taxed away, in services, corn, or money? Why not take just so much land as he can cultivate with his own hands, without buying it of any one?

The legitimate object of government is ''to do for the people what needs to be done, but which they can not, by individual effort, do at all, or do so well, for themselves.'' There are many such things---some of them exist independently of the injustice in the world. Making and maintaining roads, bridges, and the like; providing for the helpless young and afflicted; common schools; and disposing of deceased men's property, are instances.

But a far larger class of objects springs from the injustice of men. If one people will make war upon another, it is a necessity with that other to unite and cooperate for defense. Hence the military department. If some men will kill, or beat, or constrain others, or despoil them of property, by force, fraud, or noncompliance with contracts, it is a common object with peaceful and just men to prevent it. Hence the criminal and civil departments.

Annotation

[1]   NH, II, 182-83. This fragment is obviously related to the companion piece supra. No trace of the original document or a copy remains in the Lincoln papers.

[Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865,Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln: Volume 2]

A second version exists from the same source:

Fragment on Government ^[1]

[July 1, 1854?]

The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves---in their separate, and individual capacities.

In all that the people can individually do as well for themselves, government ought not to interfere....

Annotation

[1]   AD, DLC-RTL. The date assigned to this fragment by Nicolay and Hay has been retained for want of satisfactory evidence to the contrary. It seems, however, to be an entirely arbitrary date, without supporting evidence. Together with the companion version (infra), which seems to be a revision, this fragment may have been used in, or at least intended for, a lecture, but if Lincoln delivered such a lecture no reference to it has been found. 

UPDATE:

In the Abbott Government's Terms of Reference for the latest National Commission of Audit, this Lincoln misquote has been further rendered into economic terms as; government should do for people what they cannot do, or cannot do efficiently, for themselves, but no more.

Tony Abbott supporter tweets on Australia Day 2014 *WARNING: Strong Language*

On 26 January 2014 one member of the Tony Abbott fan club suffered a meltdown on Twitter.....

The intellectual level of his support is truly daunting.

The Lies Abbott Tells - Part Nine

The Lie

We’ve established a once-in-a-generation Commission of Audit to re-consider the size, scope and efficiency of government.

[Prime Minister Tony Abbott in his Address To The World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, on 23 January 2014]

The Facts

Commissions of Audit have been used by incoming Coalition governments at a State and Federal level over the past two decades to implement substantial reform of the public sector and government operations....

The National Commission of Audit was established immediately after the election of the Coalition government in 1996. The Commission was charged with the task of reporting to the Government on the finances of the Commonwealth and measures to improve its fiscal position.

The Terms of Reference for the 1996 Commission were substantially similar to those released for the 2013-14 Federal Commission of Audit and included an examination of Federal/State service overlap, cost-saving mechanisms and financial performance targets...

The Final Report of the 1996 Commission of Audit is available here.

[Hawker Britton, October 2013, National Commission of Audit – Past and Present]