Australians all let us rejoice.... Why?

I don't mean to put a dampener on anyone's Australia Day but I have recently been watching the ABC 4 corners 50 year birthday APP on my new iPad, (Yes I have an IPAD!!) and it has been quite interesting if not a little depressing to see how little things have changed in 50 years.

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/four-corners-50-years/id487084761?mt=8

For example:
Stories from the last 50 years and my thoughts.

The parlous state of  the Indigenous People of this country, this story pops again repeatedly in each decade and is even today still an ongoing issue, why can't we get it right after all these years?

The power of the RSL clubs in setting the political agenda,  sound familiar? Poker machines and the proposed tax come to mind??

Crime and Punishment/Police Corruption, this is where 4 Corners in my opinion has made its most significant mark, some of you may be too young to remember such stories as: The Big League, Horses for Courses, The Moonlight State, Police Story (the prelude to underbelly NSW), Academy of Crime,  Fixing Cricket,  Melbourne Confidential, Supermax,  I could go on but you get my drift I hope...

The role of women in Australian Society, the fight for equal pay for equal work, the culture which celebrates men's sexual conquests but condemns the women as "moles, etc", the fight for decent affordable childcare and why are more women not involved in the decision making processes in this country in both politics and the boardroom.

Wars and Famines, Vietnam, Banned Aid, Indonesia, Rwanda, Gallipoli, Ethiopia, Bougainville, Yugoslavia, East Timor, weapons of mass destruction, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq etc etc .....  Maybe if more women were running the show ( see point above) we may have less of these???

The treatment of Refugess and Asylum Seekers  we are still fighting over how we treat these people who often have risked their lives to find a safe haven, why is a country so wealthy so mean spirited?  How about taking some of our national anthem words and actually meaning them...... "for those who come across the seas we've boundless plains to share"


Mining, multi-national companies harvesting our resources, shipping the profit off shore and then leaving the australian people to deal with their aftermath, remember Wittenon and the "blue death".


Today is a day where we hopefully think about our good fortune to be living in such a country where most ( but not all,) have enough to eat, somewhere to sleep, an opportunity for an education and political freedom. To me,  being an Australian is not about wrapping yourself in a flag, instead it is  not allowing ourselves to become complacent and let others make decisions about our country because it is all too easy to blame the politicians etc.  We have a voice and we must use it to ensure that the values we hold dear of equality, social welfare, a fair go for all, are not eroded.

That is my soap box for today, in case you think I have taken leave of my senses here is something more amusing for Australia day from one of my favourite writers and broadcasters Richard Glover.....

http://www.richardglover.com.au/blog01.php