The regular media of print, television and radio are often more concerned about influencing politics rather than objective reporting of news.

The relatively recent phenomenon of social media, made possible by the Internet, is essentially still unregulated, let alone controlled. There are myriad websites, all pushing their own barrow commercially or on behalf of some cause or crusade, many without conscience or being conscious of ill-effects.
Determining validity of material on websites (let alone on social media) is not for the faint-hearted!

Articles

Hot Media Topics – Letters to Editor

In the boxes below are recent letters to the Editor of the Canberra Times, Canberra City News and The Australian about some prevailing media topics. In particular, the proposed referendum to enshrine the Voice (Uluru Statement from the heart) in the Constitution is a primary election promise of the Labor Government, which is doing all it can to publicise and even indirectly subsidise the “Yes” vote and with zero consideration of the ‘No” vote. Many people feel strongly about this issue, which, like climate change, has been turned into an emotional crusade by the Labor government and rent-seekers who will profit most from a change. As with climate change, rational thought in the best interests of the nation is being cast aside.

Please see the article “Uluru Statement from the heart” under Media.

Another most important topic to warrant letters is that of the Federal Budget, handed down on the 25 October 2022 by the Treasurer. Letters collected on this subject will appear in the November update.

The River (La rivière)

Included herein is the poem “The river”, by a French lady, now an Australian citizen, which expresses whimsical reflections of her childhood in the Ardeche region of south-eastern France.  It has been translated into English for the enjoyment of all who may read it.

Critique – Labor Government Performance Since May 2022

Labor and its camp-followers would claim that all or most of legislation, decisions and actions taken by Labor since in office in May 2022 are consistent with its 2023 Constitution and Platform. However, it has been argued in the critique below that most decisions and actions by Labor have been, are or will be detrimental to the primary national interests of an affordable standard of living, economic stability, care for those who cannot care for themselves and national security. Some will be seen to be inconsistent with or contradictory to the Labor Platform and others deliberately not mentioned by Labor before the 2022 election.

Compared to the Hawke/Keating governments, the Albanese/Chalmers government is hard-Left on the political spectrum, is allowing the union movement free reign, is very spendthrift and is neglecting, even damaging national security.

Under Mr Albanese, as long-standing, hard-Left political warrior [“I fight Tories!”], Labor has made a Faustian deal, in sacrificing the economy, standard of living and security of the nation to stay in power.

poèmes/poems par/by Max Flint

What follow is a collection of all the poems that I have written and a small selection of translations that I have done over
some 20 years of my trajectory through the French language.  All my poems (37) were written in French in the first instance
and later translated into English.  Not all these efforts would be of the same level of interest to readers, so, the Table of Contents is coded to show for each  entry what I consider to be the best, those which would probably be of most interest and those not quite so.

While not strictly an item that would normally appear on this website, the contents are, nevertheless, a commentary on
the world around us.
Max Flint, Canberra, January 2025

The Voice Referendum

This article complements the original “Uluru statement from the Heart’, posted on this website, 10 July 2022.
The Voice referendum is arguably the most important of any since Federation and has the clear potential to permanently split the nation instead of bringing it together.
So far, the Yes case being made by the Labor government, the representatives of the Aborigine and Torres Strait Islanders (ATSI) peoples and other proponents has been based 100 percent on emotional appeal, as the ‘right thing to do’, rather than to advance concrete examples of how an enshrined Voice would make any significant improvement to the lives of aborigines living in poverty and distress in remote communities.

On the other hand, the No case addresses the many important ramifications of the Voice should it succeed, as currently worded for the referendum.

The Prime Minister’s Voice

After considerable analysis of the debate, over the past few months, I need to say that, as it is with climate change, enshrinement in the Constitution of the Voice (Uluru Statement from the Heart) has been completely politicised – 100 per cent emotion and zero per cent logic in the best interests of the nation. My analysis of the three lines to be inserted into the Constitution, as proposed by the Prime Minister at the Garma Festival and of the four requirements of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, concludes that the Federal Parliament already has the power to legislate for what the Voice seems to be proposing. So, why the proposed change to the Constitution, if it can all be done by legislation? This is the fundamental question to be answered by the PM and supporters of the Voice. The answer lies in the probable ulterior intent of the Uluru Statement from the Heart to achieve constitutional recognition of what spokespersons for indigenous communities claim to be their birthright and thereby obtain recognition, rights and powers (that no other citizen would have) which could not be changed back without another referendum. There is actually no logical, rational case for enshrining the Voice in the Constitution.

COVID-19 Lockdown

COVID-19 Lockdowns Two years of lockdowns during the COVID-19 scourge will most probably have some very profound consequences for the Australian psyche and for the health, work regimes and economic status of its citizens. What will be the lasting effects of the authoritarian regimes instituted across the country by the state and federal governments during the two years of COVID and, even since, in some of the states?

Uluru Statement from the heart

In July 2017, representatives of aboriginal communities throughout the country met at Uluru and, after considerable discussion, issued the “Uluru Statement from the Heart”. It has since developed into a full-blown campaign by activists to have it or an enabling statement enshrined in the Australian Constitution. The Labor Party, elected 0n 21 May 2022 has made such enshrinement a top priority for the Federal Government, as soon as possible, with a mooted date of 27 May 2023.