Learning from History and Farming - November 2022

In the 1930’s the genius ideology that is Stalinism embarked upon the collectivisation of farms in the Soviet Union. What this meant was that the Government took control of the farms by seizing the land, equipment, livestock and dwellings. Farmers were given the opportunity to stay as an employee, and those that that resisted the seizure of their farms, by physical defiance, or even by simply writing a letter of protest to the Government, were murdered, or bundled up and sent to Serbia where death was a welcome reprieve from their suffering.
Of course, no Government can farm as well as a farmer can. The collectivisation program led to several famines and the death of something like ten million (10,000,000) people within just a couple of decades. Even as late as the 1980’s Soviet farmers struggled to achieve the production levels of competing neighbouring countries. In fact, a March 1975 report found that 27% of Soviet agricultural produce was produced by private farms, despite the fact that they only consisted of less than 1% of arable land.
Following WWII, Mao Zedong thought he’d have a crack at collectivisation in China. Fortunately for Mao and the Chinese farmers, this was largely achieved without Stalin’s trademark bloodshed. Production in stock and crops declined significantly, and the country was unable to feed itself following any adverse years of drought and/or floods and typhoons. This saw an estimated thirty million (30,000,000) people die from starvation and related disease.
Similar stories of disaster to various degrees exist in the history books of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany and Poland to name just a few.
People tend to forget that a farmer is the best farmer. There seems to be a narrative gathering strength at the moment claiming that farmers are plundering the environment, growing fat and wealthy while their animals suffer abject cruelty, and their land is slowly being turned into a desolate dust-bowl. Here’s the truth: a farmer looks after the land and their animals - their very survival, yet alone flourishing, depends on it.

So, here we are in 2020, almost 100 years after the Government farming experiment commenced, and thirty years after the Soviet example spectacularly collapsed, governments in ‘western' free countries are looking down their collective noses at the few that feed and clothe the rest of us.. At the behest of the United Nations, World Economic Forum and countless climate activists, farmers are again being targeted by government agencies that think that they know better.
Around 25 years ago, the Australian (Howard) Government first dipped it's toes into the choppy waters of international appeasement. At the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the Howard Government wanted to be seen as taking an active step in carbon emissions reduction. Being who they were, however, and unlike successive governments, they didn't want any decision to adversely affect manufacturing and heavy industry in Australia. Their cunning plan was to dramatically reduce land clearing, thus giving the appearance of reducing carbon emissions. The theory was by retaining enough trees, we wouldn't have to do any actual emissions reduction.
While this move was applauded at the time, what it did in fact do was place the burden of international compliance upon the shoulders of a select group of farmers in North West NSW and Southern Queensland. Their land was locked up and rapidly became unproductive. For this, the farmers never received any compensation for the loss of income or production. Remember, this is PRIVATELY OWNED farming land, where the owners of this land are not permitted to improve their land in any way. This includes broadacre chemical application for the control of weeds and unsuitable regrowth. So farmers are not only unable to use their own land in the most productive way, they are also unable to maintain the land in such a way that promotes positive land health. The result is, of course, a mass invasion of plant species that renders the land unsuitable for grazing or cropping, with the low-level woody weeds providing a habitat for feral and destructive species such as pigs, goats and wild dogs. A landscape that contributes little to biodiversity and captures minimal carbon.
It has been reported that in the worst areas, the financial return on the farming land is around 10% of it's previous productivity. So not only is the "Kyoto Protocol" laws causing a loss of productivity, income and financial growth, it is proving to be detrimental to the environment. 

Fast forward to today. Just a couple of years ago in 2019, the Sri Lanka Government took a long deep swig of the Kool-Aid and embraced the Net Zero folly. The Sri Lankian Government stopped building a coal-fired power station and mandated organic farming. This suite of initiatives was roundly applauded by European countries and the UN alike, declaring Sri Lanka to be among the world’s leaders in tackling climate change. Of course,  Sri Lanka’s yields fell by more than 20% and their energy prices sky-rocketed (who could see that coming?). Convinced that Nitrogen is the element of evil, the Sri Lanian government’s aim was to cut the use of all artificial fertilisers and cut all nitrogen waste by 50% by 2030. The result was an uprising of farmers and citizens which saw the storming of the parliament, and the subsequent overthrow of the government itself.
Taking interest in this is the Dutch farmers. The Netherlands is the world’s second largest exporter of agricultural products, and Europe’s largest producer of meat. The Dutch farming community has been systematically protesting government-imposed measures that are crippling production and profit. The government has a target of a 55-60%cut in emissions by 2030, 70% by 2035, and 80% by 2040. To meet these arbitrary climate targets, they have created a self-inflicted disaster, the result of which will be a reduction of calories available to the world, especially those countries that have trouble feeding themselves.
Seeing the resistance to the new laws, which has been displayed by numerous and massive protests where farmers have taken to the highways in their tractors, slowing the movements around the nation to a crawl.
The government then offered to buy up to 3000 farms which would be closed and the area left to it’s own devices (similar to what the NSW/Qld farmers have faced). When the offer wasn’t taken up by the farming community, the Dutch Government decided that compulsory acquisition was the way to please the UN climate gods. As a result, 3,000 farmers who have been feeding themselves, Europe and the world for hundreds of years face an uncertain future and eviction from their farms that have been family owned for generations. The Dutch government has learned nothing from Mao and Stalin. 

Northern Ireland are passing a law that will allow government bureaucrats to enter any private farm, and destroy stock that is over and above their determined limit. They are prepared to raid your farm and destroy your stock on the altar of Global Warming. Think about that for a minute or two.
But, that sort of thing couldn't happen here, right? I put it to you, if it can happen in New Zealand, it certainly can here!
The Ardern Government is proposing a livestock “Burp Tax” (also referred to as a “Fart Tax”) which, by the Government’s own reckoning, will force an estimated 20% of cattle and sheep farmers, and 5% of dairy farmers out of business. How is this acceptable?

Across the world, farmers are being compelled to de-stock. This can only lead to a decline in food production and a corresponding upward price pressure on meat and dairy prices. Not to mention the destructive forces that this would apply to rural communities and agriculture-supporting businesses. 
This is pure madness. The Climate change Carbon dogma is making food, fibre and energy less available and more expensive. The cruel policies being proposed and enforced across the western world are anti-human and inhumane. These policies will affect the world’s poor the most, and it seems our governments and climate activists are happy to sacrifice these lives of ordinary people at the altar of UN compliance.
If this is what Net Zero looks like, then we are headed for a lot of trouble. As the Net Zero religion continues to be pushed, and with the Albanese government also signing up to a reduction of Methane (Cow farts), NOW is the time for all of us to push back against this bloody madness. 

What I Learned from the CPAC Conference -October 2022

 On the October long weekend this year (2022) I attended the Australian CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) event in Sydney. The ticket to the event was given to me as a gift from my loving and outstanding adult children. Previously, I had toyed with the idea of attending CPAC, but decided against due to budgetary constraints. I have attended a few conference-style meetings over the years for the purposes of business, sales, personal development and workplace training. But other than a couple of small local meetings, this was to be my first political event, especially of this size and nature. Being someone who isn’t that “outgoing”, I was quite anxious about attending such an event on my own. But my misgivings were quashed as soon as I arrived at the venue in Darling Harbour. Everyone, and I mean everyone that I met, spoke to, interacted with was incredibly friendly. The atmosphere was one of positive energy and genuine interest in the thoughts of others. I met engineers, builders, political party workers, council workers, government employees, mine workers, a nurse, and yes, politicians themselves just to name a few. They were predominantly from Sydney but also from places such as Orange, Parkes, Canberra, Queanbeyan, Wagga Wagga, and one guy even flew in from Perth, WA. A couple of hours into the first day, it was obvious to me that this was going to be a fun and engaging event. The speakers were interesting and entertaining, the event itself was slick and professional, and the audience was clearly enjoying themselves and responding to the speakers in a positive and encouraging manner. The opening ceremony contained the obligatory “Welcome to Country” ceremony, along with a stirring rendition of The Seekers’ “I Am Australian” and our Australian National Anthem. I can honestly say, I’ve never heard an audience sing those two songs with such volume and pride as I heard on that day. We were off to a good start. The first speaker on Saturday Morning was the incredible Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. Her reception by the audience was that of a rock star, receiving cheers and a standing ovation. This was to be exceeded only by her departure from the stage after delivering her speech. Jacinta is, in my opinion, a star, and the Australian people need to embrace her, and learn from her, and work together to begin to genuinely improve the lives of Aboriginal Australians, and especially our people in Australia’s remote communities.  For brevity I won’t elaborate upon her speech, but you can watch it online (and I recommend that you do). After Ms Price, the official opening took place where we heard from (among others), another outstanding Australian, Mr Warren Mundine. An impressive person who is worth listening to (even if he does use the plural word for “you” - Youse). It annoys me that we don’t see or hear from Mr Mundine in the legacy media more often. I do  know why - his political leanings these days don’t comply with the media narrative. I’m sure if he was the leader of an Australian Socialist movement, he’d be the ABC and The Project’s poster boy! Next highlight (for me) was during the “Outsiders” panel featuring James Morrow, Rita Panihi and Rowan Dean. Within the first minutes of being on stage, Mr Dean conducted a light-hearted experiment where he successfully divided the room and set 90% of the audience against the other 10%. What this exercise turned out to be was a demonstration of how easy it is to divide a group of people, and then set the majority against the minority. Whilst Mr Dean’s example of population division was firmly tongue-in-cheek and based upon the individual’s feelings toward the music of Bob Dillan, the message was clear and a stark reflection of our Covid policies over the last couple of years. As an unjabbed individual, I began to feel uncomfortable as Mr Dean’s experiment started (I could see where he was headed). By the end of his demonstration, however, it was obvious that the audience was fully on board with the absurdity of this shameful chapter in our history. Mr Dean and the audience were vocal in their condemnation of our government's covid response, and the lack of conservative values within our political class that should have known better and spoken out. Mr Dean poignantly said “...we are in a war against authoritarianism, we are in a war against the collective”. Other highlights came from Senators Amanda Stoker, Matt Canavan and Alex Antic. Former prime minister Tony Abbott received a welcome akin to that of Bruce Springsteen. Nigel Farage was as interesting and as entertaining as you might expect. Ross Cameron, Mark Latham, Ian Plimer, James Allan, rapper and social media influencer Zuby, authors and environmentalists Michael Shellenberger and Zion Lights were all interesting and thought-provoking. Having said all of that, the best was yet to come. Three segments on Sunday afternoon were to provide an emotional rollercoaster where the audience was moved through sadness and distress, to relief, joy, inspiration, dismay and seething anger.  Topher Field is a political commentator who became prominent during covid when he spoke out against the Victorian government’s response. He was joined on stage by three other Melbournians that suffered under the Victorian government's oppression during covid. Their mix of live speaking was interlaced with excerpts from the documentary film “Battleground Melbourne”. The courage of these individuals is astounding. Amazing. It’s a pity that more of us weren’t the same. When you are speaking out against injustices that are supported by (seemingly) the whole world, it’s difficult, scary, and in today’s modern world, it is proven to be dangerous. The team from Battleground Melbourne and indeed all of the speakers up until 4:00pm Sunday afternoon, whilst speaking on different subjects, had a couple of common threads. Firstly, Conservatives must speak up. There is no room in today’s political environment for “cowardly conservatives”. That’s when you end up with people like Scott Morrison, quite possibly the most ineffectual Prime Minister in our lifetime. It’s when you end up with people like Dom Perrottet, the NSW Premier. Mr Perrottet sent a video message to CPAC, which was roundly booed or at least groaned at. A great example of someone who talks the talk, but stumbles in the walk, as previously-stated convictions are not anywhere to be seen when true leadership is grasped. Same could be said for Peter Dutton. Perrottet and Dutton say they value small government, free speech, freedom of association, and sensible energy policies.  Both have stated a dislike for the woke agenda. And yet, neither are speaking up or acting in a manner that supports these values. When Malcolm Roberst spoke towards the end of the final day, the audience were keenly attentive and supportive. Mr Roberts took aim squarely at the Liberal party. He said: “In this last Parliament, Australia’s Covid response asked many questions of our elected leaders. Questions like: What happened to my body, my choice? What happened to the vaccine approval process? What happened to freedom of movement and freedom of association? What happened to the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship? What happened to free speech? And how could a virus infect you in a small business, but not in a big business?” Mr Roberts (and, previously, Mark Latham) went on to call for a grand coalition. Where the Liberal and National parties work together with the minor parties to make sure that the toxic wokeness of the left is severely restricted in both houses of the Australian Parliament. The so-called “Freedom Parties”, mainly the Liberal Democrats, One Nation and United Australia Party, are all at their core right-leaning conservative/Libertarian parties. However, at the last federal election, the Liberal Party still preferenced Labor ahead of parties such as these in many seats. All very valid points from Mr Roberts, that reflected the thoughts of the majority of the audience. And, so to the most surprising, gob-smacking and dismaying panel discussion of the conference.Up until this point, late on the Sunday afternoon, all of the speakers had been positive, open, upbeat and encouraging, despite the sometimes troubling subject matter. But that changed with the next panel discussion entitled “The Road Back for the Coalition”. The panel featured three popular Liberal Party heavyweights: Teena McQueen, Amanda Stoker and Nick Minchen. The panel was moderated by Nick Cater. Mr Cater’s opening remarks reflected upon the diversity of views expressed during the two days, to which Ms Stoker replied that it would “be good if we spent a bit of time kicking the other side and not our own side”. Immediately, the audience realised that these three leaders within the Liberal Party had not been listening, and certainly not learning from previous, well-received and thoughtful speakers. You can’t win elections by simply bagging the other side. You need to offer something to the voting public that has more meat on the bones than “we are better because they are bad”. It seemed that the Liberal party was expecting full support from the audience, despite not earning that support! Mr Minchin, totally misreading the audience, supported Ms Stoker’s comments and took aim at the minor parties, saying that the only way to defeat Labor is through the Liberal Party. “You’re not going to defeat the Labor Party by joining UAP or Malcolm Roberts, you do it through the Liberal Party,” Picking the audience’s unhappiness with this, Mr Cater then asked Mr Minchin if the party was “an immutable force or can people still actually get in and change it from within?”. Things really got heated when Mr Minchin replied that he didn’t think that “...the Liberal Party needs a whole lot of changing”. The audience interrupted into boos and heckles. Mr Minchen then responded loudly “Hey, calm down will ya?” he said. “You’re worse than a socialist audience!” The audience then erupted into an indiscernible rabble of exclamations directed at the panel and Mr Minchin.  Mr Minchin said “I’m not going to take any rubbish from you lot, I’m sorry. The Liberal Party’s values are values you should all support. Go and read the platform of the party, read ‘we believe’. We stand for small government, we stand for low taxation, we stand for federation, we stand for good government.” The first line from the Liberal Party’s page Mr Minchin referred to reads: (We Believe:) In the inalienable rights and freedoms of all peoples; and we work towards a lean government that minimises interference in our daily lives; and maximises individual and private sector initiative.  Obviously, someone within earshot of Mr Minchin must have suggested that the party candidates and elected representatives need to familairise themselves with these very beliefs! He replied “The candidates we select are a function of you, it’s a function of the members of the party. We have plebiscites around Australia, we select the candidates and we decide who goes into parliament, and it’s our job as party members to keep them honest, OK? Again, the crowd called it’s displeasure with his apparent lack of self-awareness. I’m sure that I wasn’t the only one there who called out to Mr Minchin to try to remind him that the party by-passed this democratic process by appointing no less than 12 “Captain’s Picks” candidates last election.  Mr Cater and Ms Stoker then tried to bring the crowd back into unity with the panel, changing the conversation and referring to the audience’s heroes, such as Tony Abbott,  Alex Antic, Jacinta Price, and the popular Matt Canavan, which was met with polite applause, until Ms Stoker suggested Angus Taylor, at which point the applause fell near silent.  The Liberal party power brokers displayed in full that they don’t understand just how angry their grassroots constituency is with them, but the audience did their best to smack reality into them.  You cannot tell a group of people who are obviously conservative in nature that it was their fault that the Liberals lost the election. You can’t tell them they should stick with the Liberals when the inaction of the Libs over the last two years was a large cause of the audience’s pain. The Liberals need to flush the green-left powerbrokers out of their systems, and accept responsibility for their spectacular mistakes during covid. It’s not a coincidence that when the Liberals lost their conservative values, they lost the election. Because that is exactly what Morrison did. He adopted Net Zero, was blind to the human rights abuses during covid, tried to justify abhorrent situations such as babies dying because they couldn’t use their nearest hospital over a state border. He enabled the egregious Vaccine Passport regime, and watched as tens of thousands of good people were sacked from their jobs and an untold number of small businesses pushed beyond the brink. And while the display of the senior Liberal’s lack of self-awareness was one thing, the fact that they doubled-down and counter-attacked the crowd in response was reprehensible. If these party leaders feel that they cannot be criticized, and think that ‘they know better than the voters’, we are in for an extended period of the Liberal Party being consigned to the wilderness. There is only one way forward for the Liberal Party. They need to change their leadership, sack the political advisors who always urge caution, change their policies, act upon their own stated “beliefs”, apologise for their  failures, and start again. Voters don’t want popular politicians, they want politicians who stand by their own shared beliefs in liberal democracy and conservative values. Now it’s up to Peter Dutton to decide whether he will embrace liberal conservatism, or will he join the belief that “...the Liberal party doesn’t need to change.” And if they truly need some guidance on what the common voter is thinking and feeling, all they need to do is scrap their inner-city focus groups and reach out to their supporters and members. Personally, I have voted Liberal/Nationals all of my life up until recently. I can’t see myself going back to the fold until they show in action, not just words, that they support me and my fellow conservatives across the country.

Are the Liberal and National Parties Lost? August 2022

 I’m convinced that the National and Liberal parties are being controlled by morons.

It seems to me that the Lib and Nats of late have been spending way too much energy listening to / taking advice from Multi-nationals businesses, local focus groups, Twitter and our biased Australian legacy media pack. The people that they are clearly not listening to is their grassroots base, their members, those interested but non-vocal individuals that Morrison referred to as the “quiet Australians”, and Menzies called the “forgotten Australians” 

The Libs almost lost an election under Malcolm Turnbull, and then they did under Scott Morrison. These two inept Prime Ministers were more interested in personal promotion and ambition than actually serving the people of Australia. They both suffered from a lack of conviction and neither had a clear vision for our country that they could successfully articulate to the Australian people.. They took from the office far more than they ever gave. Turnbull and Morrison were seemingly unpopular with everyone, especially conservative voters. They were, however, at least at the beginning of their Prime Minister postings, popular with the legacy media.

Being popular with the Media does not guarantee political success, and certainly not electoral success. For example, John Hewson and  Andrew Peacock were both popular with the media, but were not trusted by the conservative and swinging voters and both failed to win Government. 

John Howard and Tony Abbott, however, despite being disliked by our media, especially the powerful ABC, did in fact win government as leaders, and by a large majority. Tony Abbott remained unpopular right up until he was knifed by Malcolm Turnbull, an act cheered on by the legacy media and left-leaning voters alike. But Turnbull remained unliked and untrusted by conservative voters.

The Liberal and National parties, both federal and state, are failing the “quiet Australians”. I’m sure I’m not the only one yearning for a strong, sensible and viable right-of-centre alternative, as the Libs continue moving left, just to please twitter, the ABC, and upsetting their base in the process.

For example, look at NSW, where Conservative types celebrated the new leader Dom Perrotet. Since then, internally powered self destruction of the Government continues without any sign of conservative ideology. Not to mention the celebrated elevation of Matt Keen to Deputy leader. Keen is clearly in the wrong party with progressive ideology dominating his words. and actions. Keen, never forget, actually celebrated the defeat of the Morrison government at a private party at woke leftist Peter FitzSimons.

It appears to me that today’s Liberal and National parties have abandoned their long-held guiding principles. They clearly don’t believe in smaller government. They obviously don’t believe in sensible economics, the recent state budget being a case in point. They don’t believe in reduced business compliance and complexity, They don’t believe in minimal taxation. They don’t believe in minimal regulation. They don’t believe in the sovereignty of individuals.  And, sadly, it appears as though they don’t believe in the sanctity of family and community. 

The Liberals no longer hold the reins in Canberra. And they only hold two state Governments, NSW and Tasmania. But, the NSW Government is actually in minority at this point, and I doubt that they will be returned at the next election this upcoming March (2023). The Libs were decimated in recent elections in  Western Australia and South Australia. And in each case, the Libs have no one to blame but themselves as they failed to uphold democracy and failed to offer up any argument during the Covid crisis. They never even questioned the gross acts of liberty-destroying human rights abuses dished out on the public by narcissistic dictatorial premiers who delegated their responsibilities to unelected bureaucrats. These same unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats did not hesitate to act with narcissistic recklessness and gob-smacking impunity. 

I haven’t seen any Liberal leader willing to stand up and support conservative values and ideologies - both verbally and in action - since Tony Abbott. Peter Dutton seemed to be saying the right things, until he became party leader. The silence from him since has been breathtaking. 

Even British Prime Minister Boris Johnson only seemed to realise his neglect of conservative values when he spoke for the final time as PM, when he said:
‘Stand up for freedom and democracy everywhere. Cut taxes and deregulate wherever you can to make this the best place to live and invest. Focus on the road ahead but always remember to check the rear-view mirror. And remember, above all, it’s not Twitter that counts, it’s the people that sent us here.’

I think the Liberals could learn a lot from these 50 words. Until they do,  I don’t think I can ever vote Liberals/Nationals again. They no longer reflect my views. They no longer reflect the ambitions of their constituents. They no longer reflect the ideology that has made Western democracies the wealthiest and healthiest nations in the world.

To paraphrase Ronald Reagan- I didn’t leave the Liberal Party, it left me.. 

Covid Mandates Are Over - Or Are They? - Serving with the RFS - July 2022

 

On New Year's Eve 2019, My wife and I were getting ready to attend a party at a nearby town. Just as we were packing the esky, my phone rang. It was my employer who I was expecting to catch up with that night and find out what he and his family have been up to over the last couple of weeks since we commenced Christmas holidays. He told me that our presence was requested to assist with what would become the infamous 2020 Bushfires. My Boss, Duncan, operates a family-owned earthmoving business. I had worked for him for something like nine years operating scrapers, skid steers, wheel loaders, truck & dog tippers and crushing plants. But most of my time was operating bulldozers.  The Dunn's Road fire was out of control, and the RFS and State Forests wanted our dozer to make and clear roads, build fire breaks, clear tree-lines, remove obstacles, etc. So, I packed a bag with a few day's change of clothes, a lunch box, and set off to Rosewood in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains. The journey to Rosewood took a couple of hours, the big D10R dozer on the float being hard and heavy work for the prime mover, as it dragged it's way into the hilly country east of Tarcutta. Before the first couple of hours of operation was up, it was dark. We were clearing an access road into a pine plantation, and a new access road around the boundary of the forestry. To my right, fire was approaching slowly, thanks to a cool night and just a slight breeze. The fire slowly made its way downhill on the forest floor, keeping out of the trees until it found blackberry, when it would flare up and erupt up into the canopy. Despite these scary moments, the fire was advancing very slowly against the cool breeze. To my left beyond the dozer’s lights was pitch black. The electricity and mobile phone towers had been taken out by the flames, and the lack of lights from buildings meant that there were no points of reference down into the valley. The ground dropped away sharply into a valley, and I was told that there was a farm on the other side, but I had no way of knowing for sure, and no way of knowing exactly how steep or deep the fall of land was. We pushed through and finally came out onto some very welcome open and relatively flat ground. It was about two am and my boss took over the operation of the dozer while I returned to the staging area for a snooze. The next morning after a few hours of sleep in the front seat of the Landcruiser, we were approached by a local farmer named Johnny. He is the owner of the property that we had skirted in the dozer. He shook my hand and told me that the work that we had done had saved his farm, the house, sheds and machinery. It was a nice start to several weeks of operations when we had no idea what was in store for us.  Over the following weeks my work colleagues and I worked at Rosewood, Taradale, Wondalga, Gilmore, Tumut, Argalong, and assisted the heroic efforts of the Batlow RFS volunteers. (Personally, I was not assigned to Batlow until after the fire storm had passed through, but the mopping up operations were distressing enough). We slept in our trucks and utes, or on the lawn of the RFS sheds, or at the footy grounds. We ate from plastic bags filled with generous donations from a concerned public, and bought the occasional counter dinner. We showered occasionally thanks to the generosity of RFS brigades, local farmers and publicans. Upon returning to home once the rains achieved what millions of man-hours couldn’t and extinguished the fires, I resolved to re-join the RFS. In the days before the RFS was created (1997), during my teens and early 20’s, I volunteered with the local Bushfire Brigade. In those days the local brigades were self-funded, we built and serviced our own trucks, bought our equipment, built sheds or stored the equipment in privately owned sheds. Government support was minimal other than what we received from the local shire council.  Like most young people in small towns, I moved away for work, and I never actually joined the RFS upon my return several years later. Over the years, however, I did assist from time to time, by driving a fire truck, and also providing assistance in my position as an earthmoving contractor. So in 2021, after assisting with another bushfire in the dozer, I joined the RFS.  Things are very different to the old Bushfire Brigade days. Purpose-designed and brilliantly constructed response trucks, loaded with all of the equipment that we might need in almost any situation imaginable. The availability of training in all aspects of fire control are readily available via face-to-face training and online training modules. In the old days, a siren situated at the fire station would be the alert of the need to attend. Hopefully you were within earshot of the siren, which also brought everyone out to the front of their homes for a sticky-beak and guesses of where the fire actually was. These days, my phone alerts me of a call-out. A text message, and an alert generated by an app not only tells me the nature of the call-out, but also the location on a map. Since joining, I’ve completed several online training modules and attended one day-based training event. I’ve attended four fires, one Motor Vehicle Accident, and an “Assist Ambos” call. Then, last October (2021), I received an email from the RFS asking me to declare my Covid Vaccination status. Following the instructions, I logged onto the RFS volunteer portal and found the page. There are “check boxes” for One Dose, Two Doses, Booster… but nowhere to indicate No Doses. So, I left it. A month later, the same request came through on another email.  I logged on, same result, so I left it. By April or May 2022, another email requesting the same came through, this time the language sounded more authoritarian, and demanded notification of my Covid vaccination status before 30th June. After that date, if I have not notified my status, my RFS membership would be changed and I will no longer be called upon to assist. Again I logged on, but again, I was unable to declare “unvaccinated” as my status.  This was followed by a letter in the mail, marked “urgent”, again asking me to notify my vax status. So I rang the local (Wagga Wagga) Fire Control Centre, where I spoke to a polite and helpful  person who told me that I was the first person to tell them that I was unable to nominate myself as “unvaxed”. She also told me that a lot of the letters were mailed out from the Wagga centre. She would not tell me how many, but she did say it was “a lot”. I have now been deemed unfit to attend training days, brigade maintenance days, RFS social engagements, meetings, and non-emergency call-outs. Of course, my first instinct is to throw my arms in the air, even display a middle finger, and walk away from the RFS. My resignation won’t hurt or worry the Brass of the RFS that have made this decision. It won’t hurt or worry the Local Fire Command controllers, I believe, because if it did, they would register protest at these mandates and defend their volunteer base which, in this part of the world at least, is struggling for numbers. The departure of any volunteer will however affect  the local community and fellow brigade volunteers. At our AGM at the end of June, my brigade Captain, President, and all of the volunteer members unanimously supported me in my decision. We resolved to ignore the RFS directive and I will continue to attend all manner of call-outs. A pleasant outcome for sure. So I’m not really sure why this particular RFS policy has gotten under my skin and is irritating me so much. I don’t know why they care about my vaccination status. There’s ample evidence that the Covid vaccinations do not prevent the contraction of, or the spreading of, the Covid virus. They do say that the vax will prevent the severity of your illness. When I contracted covid last February or March, what I experienced was what I described as a very mild hangover. So who cares if an RFS volunteer is Covid vaccinated? I don’t think someone whose property is on fire would care. Someone wanting to be freed from a crashed automobile wouldn’t care. The elderly gentleman who took a tumble in his backyard and couldn’t get up didn’t care. My fellow volunteers don’t care. My employer and fellow employees don’t care. Why would it matter so much to the management of the NSW RFS?

All I can put it down to is narcissistic malevolent megalomania.

Edit: I received this message from a reader:

RFS hierarchy is totally over the top, in the absence of fires they appear to be searching for answers to problems that dont exist, their budget cannot be sustained going forward with the number of carreer uniformed people.

Time to Vote - 2022 Federal election. April 2021

Time to Vote

So Mr Morrison has called the federal election for 21st May 2022.  If you’re like me (and thankfully not many people are) you may be wondering how to vote in this election.
This is actually the first time that, four weeks out from the election, I haven’t yet decided where to cast my vote. For background, I’m a right-leaning conservative. I dip my toe into the warm and welcoming waters of Libertarianism occasionally, but I’m closer to the centre than that. Conservatives believe in individualism, self-reliance, free trade, minimum government, minimum taxation, freedom and personal liberty.
Back to the election; People tend to forget that they aren’t actually voting for Mr Morrison or Mr Albanese. While those two are the leaders of their respective political parties, you and I do not get to vote for them (unless you are reading this as a resident of their respective seats). We get to vote for our local representative in the lower house (House of Representatives) and also get to select members of the Upper House (The Senate).

I’d like to discuss my own electorate here, but I’m sure the thoughts here can be applied to most of the electorates around Australia with this upcoming election
Firstly, in the House of Representatives, my federal seat is called Riverina, and our current sitting member is Michael McCormack. Mr McCormack is a member of the Nationals, former leader of the Nationals, former deputy Prime Minister and has held several ministerial and secretarial portfolios. He is friendly, approachable, and a nice fellow. I’ve met and interacted with him a few times over the last thirty years or so, and have always found him to be polite, attentive, and interested in what others are saying. Last election he was returned with an increased majority.

Probably because at the last election, there was no real competition. 

The local Labor candidate was Mark Jefreson, who is also standing in this election. I know Mark well, being a former workmate who became, along with his wife Kylie, good friends with my wife and myself. It’s one of those friendships where we don’t ring each other very often, and meet up for a social evening maybe once every few years, but we always pick up where we left off and always enjoy each other’s company. Mark is a good man. His disappointing results at the last election, I’m sure, had more to do with the unpalatable policies of the Labor party, and a distrust of Bill Shorten, rather than his personal approval.
Also, at the last election, there was limited competition in the seat, especially from the conservative side, which saw some people (such as myself) begrudgingly giving Mr McCormack the prized “1” vote.

I think this year, things may be different in many seats across Australia, including the Riverina. But I don’t think these differences won’t necessarily benefit Labor. Here’s why:
Across this great nation of ours (the world’s best place to live), people are angry and upset with, not only our Governments, but the entire political system. And it appears to stem from their (the Government’s) response to Covid. Sure, during the first six or eight months of the pandemic, the disease was unknown. We didn’t know how it would affect people, what the long term ramifications were, how to treat it, or how to avoid it, let alone where this virus came from.

Governments responded strongly. And their first course of action was, in my summation, the biggest and most reprehensible “mistake” in the whole Covid saga - Our Governments suspended the democratic process, and handed ultimate legislative power to a handful of people: the state Premiers, the state Health Ministers, and their Health Advisors. When this step was announced, I had a sinking feeling in my gut that said “this can only end badly”. Government was now free to impose whatever law or rule that they decided upon, without being evaluated by an opposition, and without being answerable to the people. This step into despotism was lauded and somehow justified by a compliant and obedient press. 

Total lockdowns meant that businesses that couldn’t support a ‘work from home’ arrangement were effectively closed. This, of course, hit the smallest businesses in the private sector hardest, as public sector employees were, by the very nature of their jobs, able to diverge into a work-from-home arrangement. 

Air transport ceased. All hospitality venues closed. Our governments took away our basic rights and liberty. Our freedom of movement, freedom of association, our ability to provide for our families, our ability and want to care for our elderly, sick and dying. All of these fundamental human rights were removed because, we were told, this was the only way to beat this mystery virus which threatened to kill us by the millions. Our media were complicit with spreading and fanning the fear. We were all told of horrendous death projections, made my our most respected scientists, and we made too afraid to leave our homes. The nation’s people, stuck at home, watched morning, daytime and evening television news. We were told we should be afraid- and we were. We all accepted these draconian and previously unthinkable measures, believing that it was all for the “Greater good”, designed to save lives, by preventing our health system from becoming swamped and stretched to the point of breaking. We all love our health professionals. We love our nurses in particular, and were afraid of the consequences of this virus upon them. While we all cowered in our homes, the doctors, nurses, paramedics and medical support staff continued to serve the community; they were putting their own safety above ours.

Six or eight months into the pandemic, however, data started to become available which showed some interesting statistics. It appeared that Covid-19 (by now, it had an official name) wasn’t the broad and indiscriminate killer that we initially thought. It was becoming apparent that your chances of succumbing to Covid increased as your age increased. The over 70 cohort were clearly the most vulnerable, as were people with obvious comorbidities such as cancer, renal failure, cardio-pulmonary complaints, or poor lung capacity/function.
People started to ask questions: Why are kids unable to attend school, when their health suffered little impact from the virus? Why are family businesses being destroyed (along with the family's financial security)? Why have our freedoms been removed when it is evident that “zero covid” - the elimination of the virus - was obviously an impossible dream.
People started asking these questions the only way that they could - on social media. Our Governments weren’t answerable to the people, and our media showed no interest in asking questions of our leaders. Our media became nothing more than stenographers, simply telling us what they were told to say, without questioning any of the measures or challenging our leaders at any time. Those few journalists that were starting to think for themselves and ask questions were banned from the daily press conferences and their personal independence was shut down by their management upon orders from the government. Our state governments, ALL of them, regardless of which party they belonged to, were out of control. Sure, some more than others, with Labor governments being the most dictatorial, but the Liberal/National governments do not get a pass here either. 

People, who were losing everything that they love and need, started to protest. Firstly on Social Media. Police, now acting as a militant arm of the Government, started to visit people in their homes, advising people that their right to free speech has been revoked. Those that did not comply were arrested in their own homes. Something you might expect from the old USSR, or today’s China, or North Korea. But not a free and liberal society like Australia. The actions of police against verbal and physical protestors during the last couple of years has been an abomination.

Meanwhile, some scientists were experimenting with different treatment drugs, namely hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. Australian Doctor Thomas Borody, best known for discovering a cure for peptic ulcers, devised a treatment that proved effective - namely ivermectin taken with ZInc and Doxycycline. This safe, cheap and readily available course of action was shut down immediately by governments and the media. Reasons for this are unclear. (I have my theories, but I don’t want to sound conspiratorial, so I’ll leave that for another day). We were told that the only way out of this nightmare is vaccination, with several pharmaceutical companies, universities and research centres working feverishly to develop and test a Covid Vaccine.
Then, thanks to modern science and the free market system, a vaccine was made available just 12 months after the Covid virus escaped into the community.
We (I) thought that this was our way out. With an effective vaccine, life could return to normal. We would soon have all of our freedoms returned, we could return to democracy, and live a normal Australian life.
Nope.

We were told that freedoms would be returned (which, I remind you, were never the government’s right to remove in the first place) after 70% of the population is vaccinated. Then the goal posts shifted. It was declared that herd immunity would not be achieved until 80%. As we approached that target, they shifted the goal posts again ; we had to have 80% vaxxed and boosted. Then 90% double vaxxed. Then 90% double vaxxed and boosted. And on, and on.

Now people were getting really jack of it. Still, governments remained “strong”, making the “tough decisions” and self-sacrificing for the good of the people. 

Twelve months after the release of the initial vaccine, and with several different vaccines now on the market, life has still not returned to normal.
Sections of the community have had their individual rights removed seemingly permanently. There are people in our community that are not allowed to work and earn a living. There are people who have refused the covid vaccination that have been sacked from their positions, and are not allowed to ever work for the same employer, or any government department, again. To disallow an individual from earning a living, providing for their family, and contributing to society, is an egregious abomination. These same people are not allowed to travel by air, they are not allowed to leave Australia. They are effectively second-rate citizens and government prisoners.

Our governments, of all persuasions, have divided the population into two groups: Those that can, and those that can’t. This is how all of the evil and destructive regimes around the world have come to power: by setting one portion of the population against the other, and feeding the resentment and sometimes hatred of the differing groups. Think communism, dictators, fascists and despots. The 20th Century was riddled with examples of how this kind of thinking always leads to the same thing: misery and death on an industrial scale.
Now, back to our discussion of the election. 

The left side of politics (Labor, Greens) are always dividing the population, usually on income status, with the poor being told that their misery is a direct consequence of other people being wealthy. Nowadays they are dividing us, (thanks to political correctness and postmodernism), by coupling wealth with race, gender, religion and sexuality to name a few. A wealthy white Christian man is the ultimate pariah in the eyes of those that subscribe to this doctrine, and this very doctrine is being pushed and developed by the left side of politics throughout the world, including Australia, by people that may be well intentioned, but are grievously mistaken at best, pure evil at worst.
What has this got to do with the upcoming election in Australia?
All of the government imposed injustices and Marxist measures imposed upon us are things that you might begin to understand if all of our governments were leftists. That might sound hyperbolic, but you only have to look at the popularity of Dan Andrews among the left. He was seen as the “most courageous” leader. His impositions and iron-fisted oppression of any dissention is being lauded and celebrated by leftists and our media alike.
But supposedly “Conservative” state governments, and our Liberal federal government, also drank the kool-aid, and revelled in their self-appointed power trip. The state Premiers - all of them - got lost in their own new found power, acting like Kim Jong-un, presenting themselves as being “tough”, “determined”,  “single-minded”, and our saviour. An opinion reflected by large sections of the community and the media. 

The Federal Government, being led by Mr Morrison, has been complicit in fanning the flames of the Premier’s egos. But what’s worse, is an absolute lack of strength in leadership.
Mr Morrison could see injustices. He complained. He took no action.
Mr Morrison could see the despotism. He complained, but did nothing.
Mr Morrison could see people’s pain. He complained, but did nothing.

Mr Morrison saw hypocrisy, desperation, protest, division, fear, anger, violence, unrest, outrage. He did nothing.

Mr Morrison has shown that he is not worthy of re-election.

My local member, Mr McCormack, has typically been silent. I don’t know where he stands on all of this. So I’ll take his silence as compliance. 

Labor is not a viable alternative. Mr Albanese has shown no leadership, either.

However, it looks like we will be spoiled for choice this election. For those of us who politically lean to the right, there are a few alternatives to the Liberal and National parties.
Do yourself a favour. Look into your local candidates. Find out what motivates them. Find out where they stand on the issues that are important to you. What are their ideas for the future? What are their policies? What is their vision?
You have a month to find out. Get cracking. Vote wisely.
Hot prediction - Morrison minority Government with support of a couple of minor parties or independants. To me, that’s the best case scenario.

Why Did I Go To Canberra? February 2022

 A massive protest rally took place at Canberra on the 12th February 2022.
The day before the rally I was talking to a neighbor over the fence, and he asked me what I was doing on the weekend. When I told him I was going to Canberra to attend the protest, he laughed and asked, “What on earth for?” 

Fair question, and one that I struggled to form a coherent answer to. In my own mind, I knew why, but expressing why proved difficult. So, in this page of scribble, I will attempt to work out exactly why.

You know that sinking feeling that you get in your gut, a feeling of dread, fear and anxiety? You might get it when a highway patrol car flashes and turns to follow you to a stop. Or when you accidentally send an email to the wrong recipient. Or maybe when you get home and your wife has “that look” in her eye - you’ve done something wrong. You know the feeling.

Two years ago, I got that feeling when a news broadcast announced that, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, a state government (Victoria, I think) announced that it would declare a state of emergency. This emergency would allow decisions to be made without having to be approved by parliament. The reasoning was the initiative would shorten the time it took to implement the necessary health orders. Other state governments followed suit. I knew in my gut that this was going to end badly. 

The suspension of democracy was the first and, in my estimation, the second most grave mistake taken by our governments across the Commonwealth. Democracy works by having ideas challenged. One person has an idea, other people help develop that idea, and then that idea is challenged by an opposing set of people. The idea is thrashed out until a good and sensible (hopefully) compromise is reached. Putting total authoritarian power over the lives of the population into the hands of one person is a dire and unforgivable mistake. But that’s not the worst mistake that was made. Giving similar powers to unelected bureaucrats who, unlike politicians, have no accountability and do not answer to the people that their decisions and directives effect, is nothing short of reprehensible. 

I’m happy to be corrected, but to the best of my knowledge, there has been no society that has survived for long, and where the people of that society prosper, under such conditions. 

Then came lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, curfews, mandated closures of businesses, rules about who you can see, when you can see them, in what circumstances, where you can go, and whose company you can keep. Manifestly outrageous draconian measures that we just accepted. 

We were told it was for the greater good, so we went along with it, naively thinking that our governments had the best intentions and were working to ‘keep us safe’. 

Personally, I hated the idea. 

Turns out, however, there’s a portion of the public that likes - even rejoices - in living under such conditions. Apparently, some people prefer order over freedom, instruction over liberty, regardless of how tyrannical that order is, or how aggressively the instructions are enforced. And none of these barbaric policies would have been possible under a democratic system in a free society. Not only did our governments let us down, but we were let down by political oppositions and especially by our media, who all toed the line, and played to the narrative that was conjured up by the likes of the World Health Organisation, and backside-covering lying bureaucrats such as Dr Anthony Fauci. 

Then, after the lockdowns, they trumpeted that they would return our freedom!*

*Conditions apply. 

Some freedom! We could go to the shops, as long as we told the government that we were there via QR codes and paper sign-ins. We were allowed to go to the pub, as long as we didn’t stand up while drinking, sing or shout, and of course QR in and tell the government we were there. We couldn’t travel interstate. We still can’t visit hospitals.  And they wondered why we didn’t drag out the maypole!?

Then we were told that the vaccine was the answer. “When we hit 80%, we’ll open back up and life will return to normal”. Then the goalposts were moved  to 85%. Then it was 85% double vaxed. Then it was 90% double vaxed. And on and on. Why? 

It wasn’t long before our authorities went full mental. 

People arrested for thought crimes, for posting anti-government material on Facebook. Tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets fired at protesters who simply just wanted to go back to work to provide for their family. People of all ages, including the elderly (weren’t we meant to be protecting the elderly?), knocked to the ground, punched, kicked, kneed. The Police became an iron-fisted arm of government, oppressing the very people who they are sworn to serve.

I see it like this: Countless times, every day, we make decisions for ourselves in the name of safety. It’s automatic and sometimes we decide without really thinking about it. We make decisions that keep us alive, while achieving goals at the same time. 

For example, it’s dangerous to drive a car - but we need to get to work, or the shops, or pick up the kids, or attend social events. Risk V Reward. Your mind does a thousand calculations, and you decide that the enjoyment of having a beer with a friend is worth the risk. 

Then came the vaccinations. A miracle of modern technology, (and a miracle of democratic capitalist free markets - but that’s another story) the vaccines were developed, tested and released in around a year. Like everyone else, I thought “Great! This is our way out”. We were told that the vaccine was “100% effective in stopping transmission, highly effective in stopping contraction of Covid, and will stop you from being ill.” 

The vaccine was slow to reach Australian shores in big numbers, and personally I was living and working in a country area, mainly outdoors. So I didn’t worry about the vaccine not being readily available in my area, so that there was more available for the vulnerable, and our city cousins who were getting hit hardest from the disease, and by government policies.

As time went on, I made a few observations about the vaccine. There didn’t seem to be any reduction in cases or hospitalisations outside of infection ‘waves’. This was an anecdotal observation, of course, and I found factual information hard to find. So I reached out to a friend, a retired medical professional who had a few specialities including surgery. He helped me find the data I was looking for, and also helped me understand the data conclusions. He also supplied me with copies of scientific medical publications relating to Covid. I had two suspicions confirmed to me. 

Firstly, I’m not smart enough to be a doctor of medicine. 

And secondly, what the media and politicians were telling us was not the whole truth. It may have been the best information at the start of the pandemic, but as the effects of the disease changed, and information and data around the disease’s seriousness changed, their narrative didn’t. I smelled a rat.

Information from these resources provided to me also indicated that death was rare in the under 70s age bracket if the patient had no comorbidities. When you think about comorbidities, it’s easy to assume they are serious conditions such as cancer, bronchial disease, chronic organ disease, heart disease, etc. But what I was reading also indicated more common and less serious conditions such as obesity, diabetes, asthma and low physical fitness. When vaccines became available for all, I did a risk-reward calculation.  

Result: I would decline the vaccination. Other than saying “I do” way back in 1991, it’s the best decision I have made.

As time went on and covid statistics became easier to find through various government websites, they displayed what many of us had already suspected. That being, the vaccines were not effective in eliminating (or even limiting) the contraction of, or the spreading of, Covid-19. Doubts have also surfaced recently from countries such as Israel on whether they assist in any great way against severe illness, although I can’t find any factual data supporting this hypothesis. 

Late in 2021, the evil of totalitarian and drunk-on-power health bureaucrats tore into our social fabric once again, with the announcement that Covid vaccinations would be mandatory. Well, not by law. It’d actually be illegal to perform a medical procedure upon a person without their consent. You can’t be dragged before the courts and thrown in jail for not being vaccinated. But, if you aren’t vaccinated, we were told, you won’t be able to go to the pub, or a concert, or a live show. You won’t be allowed into registered clubs. You can't visit sick or dying relatives in hospital. You can’t support your wife and attend the birth of your own child. And these rules were accepted by the majority of people. 

I have never heard of such evil, dead hearted, cold bastardry being enforced upon a free society. That is, of course, until we learned about the new rule stating that sections of the public would not be allowed to work, to contribute and to provide for themselves, their family and their community. These were the actions of an iron fist, designed to frighten these non-compliant people into submission. 

I don’t think this policy had the desired effect that the government had hoped for. I know that I didn’t change my mind. And neither did thousands of other people. Personally, I doubled my resolve to remain unjabbed. And resolved to help facilitate change, and make sure this abominable situation will never occur again.

So that is why I went to the Canberra protest. I don’t want to live under such oppressive measures. If we don’t push back now, I fear that things could get a lot worse before they get better. My kids and their kids deserve to live in the nation of Australia as it was in my youth, even as it was up until two years ago. 

That is why I will die in this ditch. 

No government has the right to an individual’s body. A person’s body is sacred. It is theirs alone. And the separation of, and removal of freedoms, removal of liberty, and the deliberate victimisation of a minority body of people, is unjustified, unprecedented in this country, and abhorrent. 

NoVax Novac. January 2022

Guess what? I’m on Novac’s side. 

Novac Djokovic applied for an exemption to the vaccination mandate, in an anonymous submission overseen by a panel of six doctors, as well as the Victorian Department of Health. He was subsequently cleared to attend and play at the Australian Open. Novac applied for, and was granted, a Visa before he stepped onto any plane bound for Melbourne. He knows the rules. He’s no stranger to traveling to a foreign country. He’s done it before.

To me, if the above is true, and I’ve seen no evidence to the contrary, Novac’s detention is no more than political posturing by inept, directionless, bumbling and incompetent State and Federal Governments. 

Novac Djokovic is a political prisoner.

The reason that people are hating Novac right now is because of two reasons. Firstly, (unsurprisingly), because of inaccurate and inflammatory reporting by our pathetic legacy media. Secondly,  he has turned a mirror onto the Australian people. Novak has the guts to do what more than 90% of the Australian public don’t. He stood his ground.

Novac sees himself as an individual with unalienable birth rights. Whereas the majority of Australians have allowed themselves to be abused and have forfeited those same rights to authoritarian Governments and unaccountable health bureaucrats. And I think that we Australians are embarrassed to admit that.

Novak is living and earning his income on his own terms, while most Australians forfeited their rights and submitted to an endless regime of government mandated medical procedures, just so that they are allowed to work, provide, contribute and even socialise.

This is little more than another scare campaign. “If they can treat a famous and likable millionaire like Novac like this, what can they do to me?”

That the Government is now detaining other players, who have been in Australia for some time and who have already been playing under the same exemptions as Novac’s, is clear evidence that they have overstepped the mark with Novac’s detention. This is little more than a populist move by a floundering inept government facing defeat at an election later this year. 

UPDATE: 18th Jan 2022

So Novac Djokovic has been sent home under an order by Federal health minister, Alex Hawke. According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, Mr Hawke "concedes the unvaccinated Djokovic entered Australia with a valid medical exemption and poses a low risk of contracting the virus while in Australia and passing it on to  others due to his recent infection." Novac was deported  because of a "... risk by increasing anti-vax sentiment and disregard for Covid-19 rules". 

So nothing to do with health at all, then. He's out because not because he has broken any laws, but because he dared to make a stand for something he believes.

I've seen many comments on Social media cheering on this decision. If you are one of those people, I'd like to ask you a few questions:

Given that Novac was arrested upon his arrival because of his beliefs, I'll assume that you're OK with that. And I'll assume that you're OK with him being 'detained' overnight. I'll also assume that you are comfortable with the fact that he was arrested and detained a second time, even though a court of law found no wrong with Mr Djokovic's entry into Australia. 

Having said that, you must be feeling OK about a politician then finding another reason to send Novac home, and despite the earlier court ruling, arbitrarily exercising his power to do so. 

If you are comfortable about the above, are you comfortable about the same being applied to other visiting sports people? Footballers, Cricketers, Race Drivers. 

How about Australian Citizens? Are you OK with them being arrested because their ideas and conclusions are different to the Government narrative? If you are OK with their arrest, are you OK with their detainment? Are you OK being arrested a second time when a court sets them free? Are you OK with them being detained upon the whim of a government minister? 

Let's say that you're OK with these people being detained. Where should they be held? Obviously, prison isn't the correct place for them. After all, just like Novac, they haven't broken any actual laws. Perhaps we need to send them to a "camp"? Would you be OK with that?

Getting dangerous, isn't it.

Please. Think about what you are proclaiming. And be careful what you wish for. 

UPDATE: 22/01/2022
OK so it turns out I was correct. This from Mr Hawke, from the court documents:
"I consider that Mr Djokovic’s presence in Australia may pose a health risk to the Australian community, in that his presence in Australia may foster anti-vaccination sentiment leading to (a) other unvaccinated persons refusing to become vaccinated, (b) other unvaccinated persons being reinforced in their existing view not to become vaccinated, and/or (c) a reduction in the uptake of booster vaccines.
‘Specifically this may lead to one or more of the following: (i) an increase in anti-vaccination sentiment being generated in the Australian community, leading to others refusing to become vaccinated or refusing to receive a booster vaccine; and/or (ii) a reinforcing of the views of a minority in the Australian community who remain unvaccinated against Covid."
NOTHING mentioned to do with health or safety of Novak, players, officials or spectators.
It was a strategic political decision. Bastrardry.