richard.obrien's blog

The Turnbull government has promised faster speeds when responding to leaks about the National Broadband Network.

Following a string of embarrassing leaks the government will now devote more NBN resources to improving the speed at which AFP officers execute search warrants to recover any compromising documents.

Dear Mr Storrar,

You are a low income earner with mental health issues. According to the front pages of a number of Australian newspapers you have a criminal history, did not pay tax and are disliked by some of your children. Those newspapers have therefore deemed your opinions irrelevant.

Dear European Union,

I note with equal amounts of resignation and disgust, that many within your borders are calling for the EU to adopt Australian government policies in relation to asylum seekers.

Now I'm sure I don't need to warn the EU that this is a dangerous path to go down. And I certainly shouldn't need to point out the consequences of when the inhumane treatment of people becomes condoned and institutionalised. Although history shows you can be bloody slow learners at times. That however is not my reason for writing to you.

Fair Go Australia, the nation's largest manufacturer of compassion, will cease operations in Australia next month.

After years of poor domestic returns, competition from non-compasionate producers, and a general lack of political leadership on either side of parliament, the Australian compassion industry is winding down local production.

"Cynical dole-bludgers making us sick"
- Headline in several of today's Murdoch papers

Now I could respond by talking about the impact of mental health on unemployment, or the impact of long term unemployment on mental health.

Or I could talk about the irony of a string of News Corp journalists who, every time a Coalition government gets in, line up for taxpayer funded positions on committees where their only contribution is political bias.

I would like to point out that the actions of the Governor General of Australia are largely determined by convention, rather than codified laws.

The Australian Christian Lobby, sponsors of this year's Sydney International Bullshit Festival, have announced the lineup for next Saturday's event.

This year's festival - under the bullshit title "Cultivating Courage" - includes a star-studded lineup of both local and international bullshit artists.

Keynote speaker will be the American Conservative commentator Eric Metaxas, who took out the 2011 US bullshit award with his comparison of the advancement of LGBT rights to the rise of Nazism in pre-war Germany.

Full page advert from this week's edition of the Australian financial services magazine "Complete Banker":

"Bank customers of Australia

Please take a moment from your pathetic lives to heed this warning from the Bankers Association.

Your way of life is under threat!

A royal commission into banking is an attack on the four pillars of the Australian banking system - Honesty, Trust, Fairness and Customer Service - values for which the Australian Banking industry continues to set new standards year after year.

The Federal Government has begun trials of a taxless welfare card, with entitlements not allowed to be spent on paying tax.

The cards have been distributed to 8,000 of Australia's wealthiest beneficiaries of the taxpayer.

Payments to the card holders are then funnelled through a revenue placement network of shelf companies, foreign bank accounts and Panamanian legal firms.

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