If I lived in Canning.

Western Australia is a beautiful state.

I have been to little pockets and it is on my bucket list to explore in the future. I have been fortunate enough to have met some wonderful friends that live there.

If you don’t know by now. I have a strong interest in art, music, politics and social issues. They are my passions.

I was asked to write about issues facing First Nations people by the owner of The Australian Independent Media Network. I was honoured, after all, I am an artist first and foremost.

I took up the challenge and have found it to be a very cathartic endeavour. Thank you Michael.

My focus with this article is on the upcoming bi-election in WA. Of particular interest to me is the seat of Canning.

If this seat is lost, we can all kiss Tony Abbott’s backside goodbye. How fantastic that would be.

Colin Barnett is the current premier of WA. I haven’t liked what I have seen him do, or Tony for that matter.

If I lived in Canning, I would be asking myself, what has the Liberal party done, that has been of benefit not only to my part of the world but for Australia as a whole?

I couldn’t come up with anything.

I can tell you what they have done that has negatively impacted on my world and my ability to create art.

Without peace of mind, the creativity will not flow.

Colin Barnett and the Abbott government has aided every Australian and foreign owned company to destroy the land and ancestral homes of people in every state of Australia without so much a blink of the eye.

This has forced many people to become homeless.

Gina Reinhart and  ‘Twiggy’ Forrester have had a part in that, along with many others.

The WA government has tried to move homeless people from sleeping on the street by hosing them down during winter to move them on.

A callous and cruel act, one that I can not forget.

Barnett has colluded with Tony Abbott to set up the Recognise campaign. This project is sponsored by mining companies. Its aim is to stamp the approval for 4 new uranium mines, 2 new coal mines, 40,000 gas fracking wells and development of oil refineries in WA.

Many more are underway, completed and proposed all over Australia.

The Labour party are in on it too, they support Nuclear energy. Uranium is needed to do this.

The SA Labour premier Jay Weatherill  wants to turn South Australia into a nuclear waste dump. I wouldn’t vote for them either, (now I know why the Greens were locked out of the referendum into the development of the Recognise campaign.)

https://vanessakairies.wordpress.com/2015/09/08/the-biggest-scam-against-first-nations-people-in-australia/

https://vanessakairies.wordpress.com/2015/09/08/the-con-in-constitutional-reform-in-australia/

https://vanessakairies.wordpress.com/2015/09/08/the-great-land-grab-of-2015-in-australia/?preview=true&preview_id=15&preview_nonce=5fe71e9e90

https://vanessakairies.wordpress.com/2015/09/08/is-there-a-silent-partner-behind-the-republic-debate-in-australia/

https://vanessakairies.wordpress.com/2015/09/08/jet-setting-funding-cutting-tony/

These plans to continue destroying our earth and Australia have to stop. We have the generations of our children and our grandchildren in our hands.

It is our responsibility to choose wisely, when we vote.

The Liberal party has taken no action on climate change.Tony Abbott openly denied it existed. His ministers have insulted First Nations people and our International neighbours recently regarding this. I find this disgusting.

https://vanessakairies.wordpress.com/2015/09/08/what-does-the-australian-government-want-from-george-pell/

Both the Liberal and Labour party are committed to the offshore processing of asylum seekers.

These are places where women and children are raped, people are bashed to death and die of preventable infections.

They are denied swift medical treatment, are tortured, humiliated and denied their basic human rights.

For the first time ever in our history we are on the UN’s watch list for the treatment of First nations people and asylum seekers.

https://vanessakairies.wordpress.com/2015/09/08/australia-has-a-duty-of-care-towards-asylum-seekers/

https://vanessakairies.wordpress.com/2015/09/12/what-about-the-defenseless-dutton/

It is only a matter of time before International criminal proceedings begin and our current government are held accountable.

This sounds familiar, the political parties have treated First Nations people this way since the dawn of time. The behaviour is not new. It is time that changed.

Australia’s civil liberties have been stripped since this government came to power, with meta-data retention laws passed and the right to protest now under threat of being locked up by police.

They introduced new citizenship laws and introduced the Border Force Act.

They have tried to change that many acts in parliament, I have lost count, all designed to oppress the nation.

They have encouraged racism to flourish, with one of their ministers attending far-right winged rallies.

They then invented the war on terror.

All to promote fear amongst communities, with the intention of sending Australia to war.

It has worked.

They have increased our deficit, the economy is suffering. I read an article that we have a one in three chance of having a recession. It was from a reliable source. That scares me more than the chances of a terrorist attack on our soil.

Our unemployment rate and homeless rate is rising fast. With the introduction of 457 working visas and the China Free Trade agreement on the table, this will only get worse.

The healthy welfare card has been rolled out in a few places with the plan to have it all over Australia.

This is a gross invasion of privacy.

Whenever you use it, people will be able to know your personal situation.

I am sick of seeing the unemployed treated like second-class citizens.This helps others to label people as dole bludgers. Again, we have ‘Twiggy’ Forrester to thank for implementing this one.

The people that come up with these ideas and policies just don’t live in the real world.

They are determined to have the TPP passed through parliament without transparency. The United States reporting that the TPP, will increase the cost of medicines. It will only benefit the large pharmaceutical companies.

They have tried to pull apart medicare and eradicate bulk-billing. The only people this will affect is the poor.

The plan to de-regulate universities once again not affecting the wealthy.

It is a collective responsibility of the Nation as a whole to look out for the vulnerable people in our country.

They have done nothing about taxation reform, with the lower income stream having higher tax rates than the billionaires.

They have cut funding to the support for the elderly, mental health services, domestic violence organisations and first nations support services to name a few, yet increased the budget to defence.

Apparently the bad guys are really after us. Imagine how much more they will be, now that we
have delared war on them. Why wave a red flag in front of a bull? I have written about that one too.

https://vanessakairies.wordpress.com/2015/09/12/tonys-war-on-terror/?fb_action_ids=720793014719206&fb_action_types=news.publishes

The discrimination shown towards same sex marraige, I mean really. Are we living in the dark ages? How many other countries have now legalised this beautiful, joyful celebration? I can not support a party that plays politics with peoples’ lives.

Tony Abbott’s broken promises have now become the laughing stock of the nation. I mean how can you believe a word that he or anyone else in his party says?

They have failed to pass just about everything in parliament and they have all failed at their jobs. As the host of Big Brother would say “It is time to go……The Liberal Party.”

Canning it is up to you.

https://vanessakairies.wordpress.com/2015/09/08/the-silenced-majority/

Note from author:

If you are interested in finding out more about my views of a particular portfolio, via my art work, please feel free to check out these links.

Mining in WA

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=645854602213048&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

First Nations issues

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=640834106048431&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

Climate change

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=620142654784243&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

Corporation donations to support climate change denialists

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=633865286745313&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

Asylum seeker ‘information releases’

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=632991640166011&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

Education

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=623655977766244&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

Marriage equality

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=698943746904133&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

Mining information

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=645854602213048&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

Health information

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=623701864428322&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

Racism in Australia

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=627827030682472&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

The TPP and China Free Trade Agreement

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=697891170342724&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

The economy

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=621896474608861&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

Unemployment and social issues

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=624191971045978&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

Communications and technology

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=624807810984394&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

Domestic violence and women’s issues

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=632011600264015&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

Media control

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=634233186708523&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

Party policies

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=704479266350581&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

What about the defenseless Dutton?

Dear Mr Dutton,

If your wife was raped in another country by foreigners and they fled that country to their homeland, would you expect their government to extradite them to face prosecution? If her kidneys were failing and she faced death, would you take her to hospital immediately?
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/papua-new-guinea-wants-australia-to-extradite-manus-guards-to-face-rape-charges-20150909-gjj144.html#ixzz3lRhU0r1F

If your child was sexually abused at a party, would you ever send them back to that location?

If an adult handcuffed one of your children, while a group of adults looked on and laughed, would you take action?

http://www.watoday.com.au/national/its-child-abuse-australian-doctor-brought-to-tears-by-treatment-of-nauru-detainees-20150813-giysx9.html

If an adult struck your 4 year old daughter with such force that she fell over and grazed her elbows, would you react?

If friends of yours were bashed to death or died from an infection due to lack of inappropriate medical treatment, would you expect an investigation to find out the cause to prevent it from happening again? Would you also expect that the murderers faced prosecution?

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/aug/25/manus-island-detainee-hamid-kehazaei-delirious-by-time-of-transfer-to-hospital

How do you feel about people who trade drugs and money to vulnerable people in exchange for sexual favours? Would you want this happening to members of your family?

https://newmatilda.com/2015/06/16/documents-reveal-sexual-assault-allegations-have-continued-nauru-moss-review

If someone threw a rock at your child, would you act?

If your childs pre-school recorded a “critical incident” at its centre once every 20 days, would you expect that centre be closed?

http://www.scribd.com/doc/270125676/Open-AustraliaOpen-letter-regarding-the-Australian-Border-Force-Act-2015n-Border-Force-Act-A4-Version

If your 5 year old child developed significant PTSD syndrome as the result of negligent treatment at pre-school, what would you do?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-14/commonwealth-sued-over-treatment-of-5yo-asylum-seeker/6699010

If you adorable little toddler, god love him, had tuberculosis, would you want diagnostic tests carried out immediately or would you prefer to wait for 3 months? Once diagnosed would you like to wait 3 weeks for the medication to arrive in your country before treatment could be carried out?

http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/nauru-toddler-suffered-tuberculosis-for-months-before-test-20150724-gik9j0?usg=ALhdy28zsr6qiq

If someone was spying on your wife, how would you respond?

If your family had to flee their homes because of flooding due to rising sea levels from climate change, would you expect sympathy and a new home to live in or would you want to be imprisoned?

If you were sudying your HSC in a foreign land, and due to be married to a national of that country, would you want to finish your education, get married and start a family or would you prefer to be dragged by your hair screaming and placed in a detention centre? Would you expect to have representation by a solicitor or would you prefer that that right was refused?

http://www.julianburnside.com.au/serco-and-border-force-bring-cruety-to-new-levels/

Just for fun, do you like to play the game of waterboarding and zipping on a Sunday? I could help cable tie your arms to a bed and my friends and I could throw you up into the air and let the bed land. Promise we won’t hurt you. After that we could try a few rounds of waterboarding.

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-14/guard-tells-parliamentary-inquiry-asylum-seekers-tortured-nauru/6699162

Do you think that rapists should be caught, charged and imprisoned?

Do you think murderers should have the same fate?

If there were government departments responsible, that could fix all of the things by closing these facilities, would you have expectations that the government minister responsible would act immediately, or would you expect that person to lie and cover up these human rights abuses?

On a different note, do you like to save money? Are you good with a budget?

Please let me know you thoughts, if you have lost your heart, conscience or soul, I can help you to find them. You could start by reading my article in this link. It might be a good place to begin looking.
http://theaimn.com/australia-has-a-duty-of-care-towards-asylum-seekers/

Your sincerely
Vanessa Kairies

Immigration Detention and Community Statistics Summary:

As at 31 May 2015, there were 2026 people in immigration detention facilities, including 1877 in immigration detention on the mainland and 149 in immigration detention on Christmas Island.

Manus. 943 men. 0 women. 0 children. Nauru. 448 men. 105 women. 81 children
Total:1577

For more information about the asylum seeker issue please see my cartoon folder in this link.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=632991640166011&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

For more information about racism in Australia, please see my cartoon folder in this link.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=627827030682472&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

For more information about climate change please follow this link.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=620142654784243&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

For more information about climate change denial and the corporations’ donations to make it exist, please follow this link.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=633865286745313&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

Tony’s war on terror

By Vanessa Kairies

Earlier on in the year I was analysing a summary of the Budget.Of significant interest to me, was the tens of billions allocated to defence, including setting up a new military base in Afghanistan.I thought this was very odd at the time. I had many a conversation with folks trying to find out why. If we had pulled our troops out of Afghanistan, why were we spending billions to develop a new one? At this stage there was no talk of bombing Syria.Some in the media thought it odd too.Rosie Batty had been named Australian of the Year and the funding for domestic violence sat at around 3 or 4 million for an education program to be established. Compare the two amounts. Hello, Minister for Women. Big fail. Tony was heavily criticised in the press for this.Shortly after the media reports disapproving of these figures, the government changed their website and the information regarding the costing for defence disappeared.Flash forward to now.Tony made yet another captain’s call to bomb Syria. He didn’t hesitate. Discussions about this happened before any of the politicians decided to grow a conscience and take in refugees.

Tony was in an awful hurry to send Australia to war. Airstrikes to start off with, but you can bet your bottom dollar a ground war will follow.

Brace yourselves. Australia.

This article, ‘Israel grants oil rights in Syria to Murdoch and Rothschild‘ from 2013 showing Genie Energy’s interests in the oil fields in Syria is worth revisiting. It says, in part:

‘Israel has granted oil exploration rights inside Syria, in the occupied Golan Heights, to Genie Energy.’

‘Major shareholders of Genie Energy – which also has interests in shale gas in the United States and shale oil in Israel include Rupert Murdoch and Lord Jacob Rothschild.’

‘In a rational world, the involvement of Rothschild and Murdoch in this international criminal activity would show them not to be fit and proper persons to hold major commercial interests elsewhere, and action would be taken. Naturally, nothing of the kind will happen.’

‘For Israel to seek to exploit mineral reserves in the occupied Golan Heights is plainly illegal in international law.’

Then in July this year, this article ‘Israel exploits Syrian chaos to plan looting of Golan oil’ showed that‘ tells us that Israel is:

. . . now taking advantage of the chaos in Syria to look for precious resources to extract from the occupied Golan Heights. Israel relies heavily on imports to meet its energy consumption, and with frequent vicissitudes with its neighbors, its need for energy resources continues to shape the nature of its occupation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as well as the Golan Heights.

With the Syrian government in disarray, Israeli authorities gave the go-ahead to Afek, a subsidiary of Genie Oil and Gas, to conduct drilling in 10 wells in the occupied Golan Heights in their search for fossil fuels.’

‘Genie Oil and Gas has some high profile investors and advisors: Media baron Rupert Murdoch, former US Vice President Dick Cheney, American hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt and British investment banker Jacob Rothschild are all members of the company’s “Strategic Advisory Board.”

After reading all of this I am now questioning the motivation behind the air strikes on Syria. History has shown that many a war has been started to control the oilfields. This time, perhaps it is for oil and gas. Why now? After all, the crisis in Syria has been going on for 4 years.

Why all of a sudden has the Liberal Party done an about face on taking in refugees?

If there is going to be collateral damage, we better offset it with a token gesture of giving the lucky 12,000 Christians a new home. Interviewed, handpicked and forensically examined to see if they have any scarey baddie genes.

That and there are now votes in it. Public opinion has changed. It is amazing what one image can achieve.

The proposed intake of 12,000 Syrian refugees is a pitiful effort. Ironic too, considering the human rights abuses of those incarcerated in asylum seeker camps offshore are covered up, in secrecy, by our very own government.

If Abbott and Co are truly sympathetic, they would close down the Nauru and Manus Island detention centres too.

I have photographs of deceased children washed up on beaches from Syria, Palestine, Sudan and Libya. All were fleeing persecution and war. They may or may not be Christians, but are the same nationalities as some of those in prison offshore.

The UN has said that every person imprisoned on Nauru and Manus Island are genuine refugees.

http://theaimn.com/australia-has-a-duty-of-care-towards-asylum-seekers/

We could save millions of dollars if they were closed and end the suffering of so many.

(Have a listen to how Fifi Box appraised the situation: ‘We have to deal with this. This is our country, this is our watch‘).

Here are a few words and definitions for the day and some food for thought for you all.

Terrorist: a person who uses terrorism in the pursuit of political aims.
Terrorism the unofficial or unauthorized use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.

Fascism: (in general use) extreme right-wing, authoritarian, or intolerant views or practices.

Oligarch: 1.a ruler in an oligarchy, 2.(especially in Russia) a very rich businessman with a great deal of political influence.

Oligarchy: a small group of people having control of a country or organization.

Yep, we tick all of the boxes.

I never thought I would see the day Australia became a fascist country. Ruled by an oligarchy.

You may scoff, however in the eyes of some, this is the reality.

Tony Abbott and Co have effectively set up their own war of terror, step by step:

Step one: convince everyone that the bad guys are after us. We have seen this one develop over the years.

Step two: use this to justify the ability to control and spy on the public. The border force act and the meta-data-retention laws enabled this.

Step three: discredit anyone that stands in you way. Leave that up to the Murdoch tabloids.

Step four: appoint your mates to the positions that take away civil liberties. We saw this with the Gillian Triggs saga and her replacement Tim Wilson. I could go on.

It would be easy to conclude that the plan to bomb Syria was hatched a long time ago, all for the interests perhaps of Tony’s mate Rupert. The government just needed an excuse.

First, the Liberal Party had to convince Australia that our national security was at risk.

It’s all done and dusted now.

Author’s note:

Please feel free to visit my Facebook site and view my artwork and other thoughts (warning, some may contain images of deceased children).

Asylum seeker information

Racism in Australia

Media control in Australia

Vanessa Kairies original artwork for today. From the series ‘Protect our oceans.’

A bit more about this series:
The originals are framed and about 70cms x 50cms. These were drawn when I was working on a friends art exhibition near Cairns, Qld.

My father is an artist too and when we had finished unpacking and hanging Wolfgang Johns artwork, we road-tripped around and did our own work.

I come from a family of artists. My mother, an incredible artist has been an amazing inspiration to me over the years.

Thanks mum, for inspiring me with your work and for encouraging me with mine.

These coloured pencil drawings took about 6 hours to complete on location.

PROTECT OUR OCEANS.
‘ Life’s a beach. ‘
Artist quality A4 prints available – $20 plus postage

‘A sacred spot’ – Flying Fish Point, nr Innisfail, QLD

Framed original for sale.

Artist quality A4 prints available – $20 plus postage

‘Escarpment.’

Framed original for sale.
Artist quality A4 prints available – $20 plus postage

I can be contacted via FB  https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.kairies.7

To see some more of my landscapes, still lifes, ceramics and paintings, please follow this link

https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.kairies.7/media_set?set=a.671370619661446.1073742009.100003655421096&type=3

To see some of my gouache designs please follow this link

https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.kairies.7/media_set?set=a.671351506330024.1073742005.100003655421096&type=3

To see my photography please use this link

https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.kairies.7/media_set?set=a.671365576328617.1073742007.100003655421096&type=3

To see my life drawings please follow this link

https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.kairies.7/media_set?set=a.679299035535271.1073742014.100003655421096&type=3

To see some of my ink sketches and poetry, please follow this link.

https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.kairies.7/media_set?set=a.671439282987913.1073742011.100003655421096&type=3

To see some of my papier mache creations, please follow this link.

https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.kairies.7/media_set?set=a.671513496313825.1073742012.100003655421096&type=3

To see my first exhibition of paintings, drawings and photography, please follow this link.

https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.kairies.7/media_set?set=a.620098328122009.1073741984.100003655421096&type=3

To see a silly cartoon, please follow this link.

https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.kairies.7/media_set?set=a.671370076328167.1073742008.100003655421096&type=3

To see the series, ‘Naked for a cause,’ please follow this link.

https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.kairies.7/media_set?set=a.670886613043180.1073742004.100003655421096&type=3

To see my Australian political cartoons, please follow this link.

https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.kairies.7/media_set?set=a.671374246327750.1073742010.100003655421096&type=3

Vanessa Kairies original artwork for today. From the series, ‘Spirit -GENESIS.’

vanessakairies

https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.kairies.7

The medium is Gouache painted on to Canson Paper.

Each artwork measures 49cms X 42cms.

A bit more about the series: My mother at one stage was a textile designer and I used to sit as a youngster and watch her use this medium. It is my favourite medium to work with. This series all sold before I could exhibit them. It is hard to explain what it’s about but here I go. You have to remember I am an artist and see things through different eyes.

The series ‘Spirit’ represents my humanity and the personal growth I have experienced over my life.

The bright vivid colours represent my insecurites about ‘self’ leaving and my confidence becoming stronger.

The spirals represent my joy of being a strong independent woman.

Thanks mum, for inspiring me with your work and for encouraging me with mine.

Each artwork took about 3 days…

View original post 138 more words

Vanessa Kairies original artwork for today. From the series, ‘Spirit -GENESIS.’

https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.kairies.7

The medium is Gouache painted on to Canson Paper.

Each artwork measures 49cms X 42cms.

A bit more about the series: My mother at one stage was a textile designer and I used to sit as a youngster and watch her use this medium. It is my favourite medium to work with. This series all sold before I could exhibit them. It is hard to explain what it’s about but here I go. You have to remember I am an artist and see things through different eyes.

The series ‘Spirit’ represents my humanity and the personal growth I have experienced over my life.

The bright vivid colours represent my insecurites about ‘self’ leaving and my confidence becoming stronger.

The spirals represent my joy of being a strong independent woman.

Thanks mum, for inspiring me with your work and for encouraging me with mine.

Each artwork took about 3 days to complete.

Artists quality prints available – $20 plus postage.

I can be contacted on FB.

https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.kairies.7

Where is Nazanin?

Thoughts for today:

It was great to see so many people at the Light the Dark events. Thank you very much to the organisers. I hope there will be plenty more. Let us not forget the poor people locked up on Manus Island and Nauru. I now feel for the refugees that aren’t Syrian. Our PM’s stance is only going to cause discrimination between the nationality of asylum seekers.
The overall intake must be lifted a great deal to show genuine support. I think the Manus Island and Nauru situation needs to be sorted out A.S.A.P.
Take the contract off that Transfield mob. Put the millions of dollars into resettling the refugees locked up instead. I Guess to do that, they would have to admit they were wrong. Something that this current government are incapable of doing. There is a great deal of irony in the words sprouting from their mouths. I also wonder what has happened to the Iranian woman called Nazanin that was raped in detention and nearly died of kidney failure. Let us not forget her. She was airlifted to Australia. Those responsible have not been charged. I guess Dutton and Abbott wouldn’t want her to talk to the media. Does this mean because of the quotas and because she is not Syrian that she will be deported? probably. I hope someone finds her, if she is still alive.

Warning this folder now contains images of dead children. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=632991640166011&set=t.100003655421096&type=3&theater

http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/281819/nauru-assault-victim-reported-near-kidney-failure

Jet-setting, funding-cutting Tony

By Vanessa Kairies

Watching the Abbott publicity machine in action this week has been sickening.

Visiting cows in his freshly pressed suit was just the beginning. Clueless!

Off he jetted to his annual ‘community visit”. “While I’m here” he thought, “I’ll visit Eddie Mabo’s grave site on Murray Island”.

It was abhorrent.

Eddie Koiki Mabo was a remarkable Australian man from the Torres Strait Islands known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights and for his role in a landmark decision of the High Court of Australia which overturned the legal doctrine of terra nullius (“land belonging to nobody”) which characterised Australian law with regard to land and title.

Photographs can create a wonderful illusion. An illusion that Tony Abbott cares for Indigenous Australians. They certainly don’t portray a man whose government has cut hundreds of millions of dollars of funding from essential services for Aboriginal people. Whilst his photo ops in Aboriginal communities make the front pages of the mainstream media, the funding cuts are announced in small snippets buried somewhere on page 19.

Meanwhile (while Tony is off on another photo op), here is what is really happening. Here is how much he and the governments around this country really care.

In Tasmania

A Tasmanian council is pressing ahead with a move to have Aboriginal land reclaimed by the state, despite failing to gain support from fellow councils.

The issue was raised at the annual meeting of the Local Government Association of Tasmania (LGAT).

The Circular Head Council believes some land is not being properly managed and wants the State Government to proclaim the areas state reserves instead.

In Queensland

Witt Boooka found himself allegedly on the wrong side of the law after he and supporters “reclaimed” the Belli Park Mimburi site, which had been used for Aboriginal gatherings after being bought by the state government for the proposed Traveston Crossing dam.

Since that plan was knocked out by then federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett, the land was leased to a grazier.

Mr Boooka’s supporters claimed cattle on the property were destroying its value as a sacred site.

Witt Booka was arrested, though he has now been released.

In Western Australia

2 communities closed down, 148 to go.

Oombulgurri

The closure and demolition of this community was condemned by many including Amnesty International Australia. They stated: The WA Government must stop Oombulgurri demolitions after forcibly evicting community members.

In a letter to H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon (Secretary-General of the United Nations), Ghillar Michael Anderson (Convener and Joint Spokesperson of Sovereign Union of First Nations and Peoples in Australia and Head of State of the Euahlayi Peoples Republic) wrote:

“As the appointed Ambassador of the original Aboriginal Embassy, the Convener of the Sovereign Union and Head of State, Euahlayi Peoples Republic, I herewith bring to your attention the humanitarian crisis that has now developed in the state of Western Australia.

This crisis is a consequence of the Western Australian government’s policy of shutting down up to 150 Aboriginal homelands and communities, which they have wrongly stated to be financially ‘unsustainable’ and economically unviable. We regard these actions as an act of war and aggression against the various tribal Nations in Western Australia.

Already we have seen the Lockridge Aboriginal community in Perth bulldozed with impunity after the Commonwealth government of Australia had just completed building new dwellings.

The people are homeless and have now crowded into other family homes creating massive overcrowding, which leads to family confrontation and lateral violence that affects not only children but adults alike.

In the northern part of Western Australia the Aboriginal community of Oombulgurri was progressively closed down: First, the government closed the services. … then eventually the electricity and water were turned off. Finally, the 10 residents who resolutely stayed to the end were forcibly evicted, …

I call upon Your Excellency to make this humanitarian crisis known throughout the world. Furthermore, we ask that Your Excellency assist in the immediate provision of safeguards and protection of the refugee camp and to provide appropriate aid for the health and well-being of the refugees.”

For the Western Australian government to now dispossess and displace the Peoples of these homelands is designed to facilitate an expeditious expansion of mining interests and other developments.

WA Aboriginal Affairs Minister Peter Collier said Amnesty International Australia’s campaign was ill-informed.

On Heirisson Island

Homeless First Nations people have set up a camp on Heirisson Island, Perth.

In a recent media statement WA Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Peter Collier, commented that the establishment of the refugee camp by the Djurin Republic (Nyoongar Nation) on Matargarup also known as Heirisson Island in the middle of the Swan River adjacent to the city of Perth itself, was a preemptive act without cause, while at the same time stating that nothing will happen to these communities within the next two years. I do not think that the Minister gave any thought to what he was saying when he made this comment, for it certainly gives no comfort to those who have now been targeted.Premier of Western Australia, Colin Barnett, has sent in the police riot squad numerous times to remove and shut down this refugee camp.

Where will these homeless people go?

In Coonana

Coonana is a remote community that the Western Australian government has canceled all funding to.

Due to these funding cuts the community has no water and no power. The school has closed down, the community shop has closed down and the health centre has also been forced to close down.

Slowly, the people of Coonana left their traditional home and moved to other communities such as Tjuntjuntjarra: a 7-8 hour drive north east of Coonana and 170ks west of Kalgoorlie. Annette is the only person left and needs our help.

(If you are able, please donate to save Coonana via this link).

If you have read any of my previous articles, you will see what I believe is the true intention behind the forced closures of communities.

The biggest scam against Aboriginal Australia

The con in constitutional reform

The great land grab of 2015 continues

I think people are still waiting to find out why legislation for recognition in the constitution was passed in WA without any due democratic process. What’s more, there was no opposition in parliament. Josie Farrah and Colin Barnett have some explaining to do.

Tony, you’re in charge of this circus, please explain!

In the Northern Territory

Toxic beef and fish have turned up in the Northern Territory. (I wonder if Tony ate any beef or fish during his visit?)

What will be done for the communities that did?

It is alleged that the McArthur River Mine is responsible for the potential contamination of more than 400 cattle in the Northern Territory’s Roper River region. The McArthur River mine (MRM) is one of the world’s largest producers of lead, zinc and silver.

The Department of Primary Industries announced on Friday, the cattle have been potentially contaminated with dangerous toxins after wandering onto a mine site in the Northern Territory’s Roper River region, but did not name the mine for legal reasons.

Half the cattle have been shot and the remainder quarantined amid concern about the contamination of other animals in the remote region about 900km south-east of Darwin.

It’s not just the cattle that have been affected fish too.

Mining giant Glencore and the NT Health Department did not act on a recommendation from the Chief Health Officer to warn people living near the McArthur River Mine to not eat fish from three locations, Northern Territory Government documents show.

For more than a year Borroloola’s Indigenous clans have worried reactive waste rock on McArthur River Mine and leaking tailings dams could be health risks and have been asking the Giles Government to tell them whether it is safe to eat fish from nearby waterways.

I didn’t see Tony visiting any of these people.

Also in the Northern Territory

The controversial paperless arrest law in the Northern Territory has come under fire from both the Territory coroner and the Top Ends peak Aboriginal legal Aid Service following claims that the law will contribute to more Aboriginal deaths in custody.

The Northern Territory’s paperless arrest laws put adults and children at risk of arbitrary detention by police and unfairly target disadvantaged Indigenous people. If these laws are not repealed, more Indigenous people will be locked up and more unnecessary deaths in custody will follow.

This law needs to be stopped. The government, however, is standing firm.

Nationwide

The Stringer sets it straight on the alarming number of suicides across Australia: The record-high suicide rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are the result of the racist policies of one government after another. Government after government have degraded the majority of their communities to the most abominable social health quotients.

They have denied Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities an equivalency of social wealth enjoyed by non-Aboriginal communities.

They should have been entitled to this equivalent social wealth with which to navigate two cultural settings without impost.

In trying to understand the majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicides we must shift from focusing per se on the individual and instead focus on the circumstances.

And of course what publicity campaign is not complete without the visits to schools? It’s a great photo opportunity with the kiddies.

Abbott and his truant officers did the rounds.

It seems directives must have come from the Liberal Party to seize a few photo opportunities with other members visiting schools outside their jurisdiction soon. You can expect to see those photos popping up next week.

Here’s a suggestion for all of the politicians out there. Why not start teaching the true history of how Australia was colonised in the school system? Throw in a bit about First Nations culture while you’re at it. You will of course have to learn about it yourself first. You never know, it might even help to stamp out racism in this country.

On a personal note, I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the families of Jack Sultan Page, Peter ‘Rabbit and his mother and Julieka Dhu. Australia will never know the struggles that you face on a daily basis. My heart goes out to you all.

If you are unaware of the tragedy of these people and their families, read the links below (Warning to First Nations people, these links contain images and names of the deceased).

An eleven year old suicides, nine months later his mother takes her life – this nation’s worst racism

Aboriginal woman who died in WA jail was there for an unpaid fine

In My Dreams

The political system in this country has failed and will continue to fail until First Nations people have true representation within Parliament.

For this to happen, a democratic vote Nationwide needs to happen at a State and Federal level. In my dreams, I see a third tier to parliament, with every portfolio covered for First Nations people. Only then will justice be served to the people of Australia. I’ll leave that up to the elders, these are just my thoughts.

On a positive note Eddie Mabo had a star named after him, a fitting tribute for an amazing man. What will your legacy be, Tony (and company)? I don’t see a star being named after you. Perhaps a storm, maybe. Yes, a storm. You’ve created a storm which has left nothing but destruction in its wake.

Author’s note

Please feel free to view my artwork about Indigenous Australia on my Facebook page:

Racism in Australia

First Nations across Australia (Warning to First nations people, these links contain images and names of the deceased).

Mining in WA and the relocation of 150 communities

Is there a silent partner behind the Republic debate in Australia

Is there a silent partner behind the Republic debate

Image from blog.id.com.au

What will we really be signing up to if Australia becomes a Republic?

A lot of people have been asking me, “What we can do to help our First Nation brothers and sisters regarding the destruction of land in Australia to uranium mining, coal mining, gas and fracking interests?”

I wrote the articles below to raise awareness for Australia as a whole, we have very good reason to be concerned:

The biggest scam against Aboriginal Australia

The con in constitutional reform

The great land grab of 2015 continues

The push to become a Republic is the same as the Recognise campaign, it is just wrapped up under another name. Indigenous Australia is suspicious of the move.

If you care about the Australian environment and our people, vote ‘no’ to Australia becoming a Republic, vote ‘no’ to constitutional reform.

Do you want a dishonest government who is controlled by the foreign owned mining companies to be able to re-write our constitution? I think not.

Below is a list (via Crikey) of political donations made to the Liberal Party. It makes for interesting reading and adds to our suspicion.

The 2013-14 political donations data confirms a long trend in Australian politics, with the ALP still fundamentally reliant on the union movement and the Liberal Party in the thrall of big business, rent-seekers and a few wealthy families.

It shouldn’t take until almost halfway through Tony Abbott’s first term in office to be told who funded the campaign that dislodged Kevin Rudd, but the figures were only released by the Australian Electoral Commission at 9am today.

There are dozens of interesting stories in the deluge of data, but perhaps of most interest is the breakdown of donors to the federal Liberals in 2013-14. The election was held on September 14, 2013, and most major donations tend to happen in the weeks leading up to polling day.

Under Australia’s anything goes system of campaign finance, there are no legal restrictions on who can give money to federally registered parties. Ivan Milat, Sir Prince Philip, Vladimir Putin, the Hells Angels … no problems, step right up.

Even businesses that are directly licensed or funded by Canberra have an unfettered right to provide unlimited amounts of cash.

And that’s what you see across the 10 pages of donors disclosed by the federal Liberals who gave more than $12,400.

This is hardly comprehensive, but here’s a summary of those who contributed more than $50,000 to the Abbott campaign to unseat Kevin Rudd:

Adani Mining, $49,500: Indian conglomerate developing the giant Galilee coal fields in Queensland.

Ross Adler, $50,000: former CEO of Santos, whom Libs appointed to the Telstra board. Made plenty as chair of Dominos Pizza.

ANZ Bank, $150,000: easily Australia’s largest financier of carbon-intensive energy sector and most politically generous of the big four banks. Now chaired by David Gonski.

Lord Michael Ashcroft, $250,000: controversial British business and conservative political figure who gave Libs a record $1 million donation back in John Howard’s day.

Australian Salary Packaging Industry Association, $250,000: responded generously when Liberals promised to overturn Kevin Rudd’s clampdown on tax breaks for packaged salaries. McMillan Shakespeare is the largest industry player.

ASX Ltd, $110,000: gave the same to both sides and was clearly relieved when Bill Shorten was persuaded not to introduce competition into its monopoly-clearing business.

Balmoral Pastoral, $400,000: As Bernard Keane reported, this outfit also gave $200,000 to the federal Libs in 2012-13. Is owned by billionaire Bob Oatley, who made his fortune selling Rosemount to Southcorp for $1.5 billion and now focuses on Hamilton Island and winning Sydney-to-Hobart races.

Joseph Brender, $100,000: wealthy businessman who made his fortune in textiles and retail and lives near Malcolm Turnbull in Point Piper.

Brickworks, $150,000: controlled by Rich Lister Robert Millner, who oversees a conglomerate of intertwined listed companies, which have now given more than $2 million of shareholder funds to the Liberals and very little to Labor. Was mentioned in dispatches at the Independent Commission Against Corruption after working with Peta Credlin to fight the carbon tax.

Century Plaza, $220,000: the private company of retail billionaire Solomon Lew, who has lobbied hard for a higher GST on online purchases.

Chevron Australia, $47,300: one of the 10 biggest global oil super-majors with major investments off Western Australia.

Clubs Australia, $180,000: not-for-profit pokies lobby, which was relieved when Liberals helped fight off the Gillard-Wilkie pokies pledge on mandatory pre-commitment.

Coca-Cola Amatil, $55,000: controlled by Atlanta, chaired by David Gonski and a long-time litigant and lobbyist against container deposit schemes globally.

Coles Group, $55,000: part of Wesfarmers and Australia’s grocery duopoly along with Woolworths. Exposed to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and political intervention due to enormous market power over suppliers.

Coogee Chemicals, $50,000: manufacturer exposed to carbon tax. Controlled by Rich Lister Gordon Martin, the inaugural president of the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ Western Australian chapter and former chancellor of Curtin University in Perth.

CST Mining Group, $50,000: Hong Kong-based miner, which owns the Lady Annie copper mine in Queensland.

Dow Chemical, $55,000: US-based chemical giant. Exposed to carbon tax.

Peter Edwards, $100,000: the most politically generous member of the Smorgon family. J

on Fogarty, $100,000: former WA footballer who made the media with some controversies over contracts running public hospitals.

Sir Michael Hintze, $75,000: made his fortune running hedge fund CQS.

Hong Kong Kingson Investment: $500,000: prolific donor which gave a range of parties a total of $761,000 as far back as 2007-08, as The Australian reported at the time. Also gave federal ALP $600,000 last year through its associated Kingold division.

Jiebo Huang, $200,000: lists a Mosman address, little known publically.

IPGL Ltd, $50,000: London firm controlled by former Tory treasurer Michael Spencer.

Jefferson Investments, $55,000: Sydney-based outfit, which has given more than $250,000 over the years, including some to ALP.

Linc Energy, $100,000: another of the Queensland-based gas outfits that has so outraged Alan Jones for their alleged capture of the LNP ahead of its traditional agricultural constituency.

Lion Ltd, $55,000: dairy and beer giant now controlled by Japanese firm Kirin, which has Sir Rod Eddington on the board. Contribution probably involved free beer at fund raisers.

Manildra Group, $124,000: continues Rich Lister Dick Honan’s long practice of seeking regulatory support for products such as ethanol through donations.

Paul Marks, $750,000: based in Waterfront Place in the Brisbane CBD and fronts Nimrod Resources, which has mining aspirations near Bourke in outback NSW.

Harold Mitchell, $100,000: advertising heavyweight and Rich Lister who tends to support both sides.

Alf Moufarrige, $40,000: Rich Lister who controls global serviced office firm Servcorp and has donated more than $500,000 to the Liberals over the years.

New Hope Coal, $250,000: controlled by Millner family through Soul Pattinson and Brickworks structure. Made famous by Alan Jones over controversial Acland project on the Darling Downs.

Parakeelia Pty Ltd, $411,276: software company serving the Liberals, which incensed David Marr back in 2007, given Ron Walker connection.

Peabody Energy, $50,000: world’s biggest coal miner, based in the US with big interests in NSW and Queensland.

Philip Morris, $45,000: US tobacco giant now banned from giving to the Liberals in a move that Tony Abbott’s successor is not obliged to maintain.

Punusi Pty Ltd, $100,000: a previous player in the NSW agriculture and development space but current interests unclear.

SixMileBridge Pty Ltd, $50,000: business operating out of Double Bay in Sydney.

Sonic Healthcare, $200,000: listed healthcare player very dependent on ongoing federal funding.

Gandel Group, $150,000: Melbourne billionaire John Gandel, who has huge property interests like Chadstone in Melbourne and is one of the five richest property moguls in Australia.

Sean Tomlinson, $100,000: Gold Coast entrepreneur who made it onto Young Rich List through iPad point-of-sale business Revel Systems.

Village Roadshow, $200,000: Graham Burke and the Kirby family have been long-time Liberal supporters, with overall donations now approaching $3 million.

Walker Group, $100,000: billionaire Sydney property developer Lang Walker has used Graham Richardson for lobbying but favoured the Liberals more over the years.

Westfield, $150,000: the Lowy family have directed more than $10 million to politicians and parties globally over the years.

Woodside Energy, $129,500: the biggest ASX listed player in the oil and gas space, now breaking free from Shell.

Zafcan Pty Ltd, $100,000: Melbourne registered firm at 1 Spring Street, which donates a similar amount to the Liberals most years.

Zip Heaters, $100,000: appliance and tap manufacturer controlled by wealthy 82-year-old Sydney businessman Michael Crouch.

I have seen articles come out and say that becoming a Republic is not a political move. What rubbish! Abbott’s love affair with coal is politically driven by the sponsors of the Liberal Party. How much will the referendum into this one cost, Joe? Stop wasting taxpayers dollars.

Don’t be fooled Australia. Our country, our land and our people deserve better.

Author’s note: Please feel free to view my political artwork on my Facebook page:

Mining in WA and the relocation of 150 communities

Mining information in Australia

Climate change

The economy

The silenced majority

Image from uncensored.co.nz

By Vanessa Kairies

You wouldn’t want to be gay, transgender, bi-sexual, a refugee, a Muslim, a first Australian, homeless, unemployed, sick, facing retirement, in aged care or a young person looking at going to university.

Tony thinks they’re easy targets.

Wrong!

Yes Tony, we do exist and you’ve sold us and the rest of the country out to the mining companies (mostly foreign owned and those making excessive donations to the political parties – in exchange for some favour, I imagine). They currently control Australia, not the government ‘we’ elected.

Thanks Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrester and Gina Reinhart for setting the precedent for this.

It’s nothing new, of course, but I think it’s time to say “no more”. What about you?

Oh look, the Mafia are involved too.

It’s time to spring clean politics.

As we all know, the mainstream media feeds the public whatever news suits their political agenda, or what the donors and the mining companies hope to achieve.

And of course Rupert Murdoch owns 70 per cent of the print media in this country, and I would imagine that he has a great deal of influence over the political direction his newspapers will sway. I find it disgraceful that a foreigner (or anybody for that matter) can who can decide who is going to govern this country via his media influence.

He likes to keep the party that will toe the line in power. For his own benefit, of course.

Andrew Bolt, who made his fame by writing for Murdoch, is one of his pet puppets – who toes the line – but could you ever believe anything he writes? He is the perfect example (and there are many in the Murdoch media) that what you read is unlikely to be the truth. Everything, every word, is to fit the Murdoch agenda.

Unfortunately, if they get their heads stroked and their strings are pulled enough, it feeds their egos and they continue to grow.

Myself, I stopped reading anything from Murdoch a long, long time ago but people who can’t think for themselves continue to flock to him.

This clip (from 2012) of Gina Reinhart and Lord Monckton, both well known climate change denialists and both in all their glory might help prove my point.

It is still relevant today, and it is how Australia operates.

Australia is run by the elite, with the line firmly drawn between rich and poor.

Frankly, this is just not good enough for our beautiful nation.

Don’t believe me? Let’s have a look at the real news this week – the news that Murdoch doesn’t bother with.

Turning to the dire situation that is the asylum seekers . . .

Monday began with the Pope announcing that turning away refugees is ‘murder‘.

We didn’t see much about that one in the mainstream media. Gosh, I wonder why?

Here’s another bit of news: one of the victims of rape in a detention centre, has been refused medical treatment here in Australia. How appalling! Thank you ABC for this one. It’s good to see you still exist.

In Tuesday’s news, the government announced a change to their emission’s reduction targets.

I thought you didn’t believe in climate change Tony?

Guess what? It fell way below the level needed to ensure we don’t hit a target of 3-4 degrees.

Oh, didn’t you hear? We are already at 2 degrees. NASA announced that one a while back.

Tony Abbott got hammered in the media for this, something most uncommon.

Perhaps a spill is near. You can’t hide stupidity.

“What should we do?” they were saying amongst themselves, “We must save captain Tony from the pirates”.

“I know . . . let’s discuss marriage reform, that’s a safe bet, we can rig that one and it can be a distraction from other pressing issues that Rupert will help us by also ignoring”.

The Liberal Party were never going to vote in favour of marriage reform. They’ve made this point time and time again. The meeting was stacked with the Nationals being on board, it was destined to fail.

This mob are archaic!

In case you missed it, here is an interview that aired on Lateline, a short time after the meeting.

It is an interview with Mark Butler, who makes some very valid points.

Presenter John Barron begins by saying:

“Returning now to the story that was meant to be the big story today for the Federal Government, the issue of climate change and emissions reduction targets”.

The Abbott government needs to come clean with how they intend to make their new targets possible. They are all talk and no action.

I also applaud Adam Bandt for his speech. He hit the nail on the head.

Notice that these aren’t to be found in the Murdoch media?

And the unemployment figures are in too, though no-one except the independent media is really talking about it. Yet it should be making headlines all around the country.

Now to our first nation’s brothers and sisters . .  I wonder if there have been any more forced removals of people off their land in WA? That’s one to check up on, but you won’t find it in the Murdoch media. Again, only independent media is interested.

I’ve also been thinking a lot about the elderly. I do respect my elders. If you are in aged care, you’re not really up to complaining about cuts to the budget. Again, it’s social media who are writing about it. In this case, you will note, it’s a Labor politician who has taken to Facebook to spread his message as it’s no use talking to Murdoch. He ain’t listening.

Finally, Canberra is being very quiet about the portfolios of health and education.

Quiet, as far as the Liberal Party goes, and this is not good. We need to be talking about it. Murdoch needs to be talking about it. Everybody needs to be talking about it.

So far, the government has failed to get any of their budget proposals passed. I am not surprised, as when it comes to these two portfolios they are failing miserably to serve the people.

The politicians serve us, not the other way around. A change is long overdue.

I wonder what would happen if all of these minority groups united? Those that I mentioned before: the gays, transgenders, bi-sexuals, refugees, Muslims, First Australian, homeless, unemployed, sick, those facing retirement, those in aged care or a young person looking at going to university. They can unite . . .

Bring on the next election, I can hardly wait. We will all be united.

In the meantime the government will continue to ignore our needs, as will the Murdoch media. They’re only interested in Tony’s scare campaigns. Scare campaigns win elections, so they seem to think

Note from author:

If you are interested in finding out more about my views of a particular portfolio, via my art work, please feel free to check out these links.

Media control

Climate change

Asylum seeker ‘information releases’

Aboriginal issues

Education

Marriage equality

Mining in WA

Mining information

Health information

Party policies