Three independent lower house Federal MPs look like holding balance of power in Australia for a while.

Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott and Bob Katter are presenting a list of seven demands to Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott.

Mr Katter explained his motives: “All I’m interested in are the people back home. I’ll be voting for them . . . .”

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He means rural people, like those inhabiting his king-size electorate of Kennedy . . . mainly bush, plus a few towns like Charters Towers, Cloncurry, Innisfail, Mount Isa and Tully.

The question, of course is, what are his back-home people’s real interests?

Rural districts probably do have a few special needs — including a good, fast, publicly-owned, Internet service, plus decentralisation that is more than just a slogan . . . .

* * *

Otherwise, rural people need pretty much what everybody needs:

* everybody needs to live in a country generous in assistance to underdeveloped and disaster-stricken overseas communities – something rarely mentioned during the election campaign.

* everybody needs to live in a country where unborn babies are not aborted.

* everybody needs an environment free of pornography, which implies Internet filtering at service-provider level.

* everybody needs to live in a country that has no casinos.

* everybody needs to live in a country where traditional marriage is respected — and children, with rare exceptions, live together with both their mother and father.

* everybody needs to live in a country whose culture is based on the Catholic Faith.

* everybody needs to live in a country where childcare is the mother’s role – her husband working to support the family financially.

* everybody needs to live in a country whose soldiers are not fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq – whose defence force exists to defend its shores, but not to impose its brand of democracy on others.

* everybody needs to live in a country where unauthorised, boat-smuggled, asylum-seekers are processed offshore.

Australia can best be considered as being two separate countries.

One, east and south of the Great Dividing Range, has a good rainfall and a dense population.

North and west is another country, drier, hotter and sparsely populated.

Much of the dry area is fertile and — with irrigation — could support profitable primary industries and a growing population.

But big business, and our political parties, want Australia’s people crammed into big cities in the higher rainfall regions.

* * *

So, irrigation is reduced stepwise, until farmers walk off the land and the townships they support become ghost towns (or tourist centres — much the same thing).

If that doesn’t destroy rural Australia quickly enough, another (even more outrageous) strategy could be to pipe water AWAY FROM the dry parts into higher rainfall regions.

If that notion had been suggested to the Monty Python Show scriptwriters, they’d have shaken their heads saying, “Too bizarre by far . . . there are limits to what even crazy people will watch.”

Anyway, water is, this day, being pumped out of the Goulburn River in Victoria’s drier north and into Melbourne’s Sugarloaf Reservoir in the wetter south . . . .

* * *

Once upon a time, there existed an Australian Country Party which would have protested against this — and at least extracted some concessions.

But that party self-destructed. Under its new “Nationals” name-tag, it became just one more party favouring “free trade” and, with it, rural decline.

The Greens are worse.

They must keep city-dwellers happy — only city-dwellers will swallow environment-worship of the sentimental, almost pantheistic variety the Greens peddle . . . .

Greenies will always find a threatened species of bird or frog or something to declare at risk so as to stop any venture that looks like promoting decentralised manufacturing and/or agricultural industry.

* * *

The environment does deserve consideration, of course — but there needs to be some sort of balance.

Have you ever heard a politician say anything balanced about the water issue?

It may have happened, but a lot of us missed it.

Perhaps our now-famous “independents” might offer a rational approach. Perhaps, also, the DLP.

Time will tell.

A few weeks ago, Rebels Motorcycle Club established a new chapter in Mildura.

Its president told local media that Mildura was chosen for its quiet, casual lifestyle, legitimate business opportunities, and weather:

“It’s a good place to raise a family. Many of us have friends in Mildura. We’re regular people who pay taxes – we’re no different to anyone else.” (Sunraysia Daily, 10/7/10)

Translated into English, he’s saying they have to leave Adelaide, where the South Australian Police and Attorney-General’s Department have moved to make Rebels a “declared” organisation under Organised Crime laws.

According to Mildura’s local paper, the Rebels leader has a history of involvement in gang-related shootings — being twice  jailed for gun-related offences in SA.

“His departure to Mildura has been welcomed by SA Police”. (Sunraysia Daily, 26/7/10)

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Having shifted to Victoria, they need to stay far from Melbourne where Deputy Police Commissioner, Sir Ken Jones, recently warned that criminal bikie gangs are being “closely monitored”.

Especially since Hells Angels members created a disturbance at the funeral of murdered Melbourne gangland figure, Macchour Chaouk.

Sir Ken Jones has talked to the State Government about outlawing crime-related bikie gangs.

Mr Brumby has been non-committal — but Opposition leader, Ted Baillieu, says he’s all for it.

Needing to leave SA, yet keeping as far from Melbourne as possible – no wonder  Mildura (550 km away) looks good to them.

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But Mildura’s BIG attraction — making Mildura almost HEAVEN ON EARTH for them — is the prospect of a Casino opening there.

Any serious lawbreaking group needs a Casino nearby, where takings from drug deals etc. can be laundered.

* * *

If Mildura gets a Casino, the danger of its becoming a focal point for organised crime is real.

Criminal elements will be drawn there like iron filings to a magnet — like blowflies to a dead rat.

Mildura will become a most UNATTRACTIVE place for normal families to live in – or even to visit.

This blog recently recommended readers to consider voting DLP. * 

Many people did. Throw in a bit of apparent good luck with preferences — and it happened.

Now John Madigan is a Senator-elect.

What is the Democratic Labor Party all about?

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(1) History

Those interested in Labor Party history know that a good case can be made for considering the DLP the genuine continuing Australian Labor Party.

The present so-called ALP being a (big) splinter-group that split off and took over through a series of dirty deeds at, and following, the party’s 1955 National Conference in Hobart.

On that occasion, a number of anti-Communist ALP members, mainly Catholics, were expelled from the party in a manner contrary to the ALP constitution.

The DLP was formed by those excluded — with policies of anti-Communism, more government funding for Catholic schools, increased defence spending, non-recognition of Communist China etc.

At its peak, the DLP got as many as 11 percent of the primary Senate vote.

But by the late 70s, the DLP hardly existed.

Recently there has been a come-back. Last Saturday the DLP obtained between 2 and 3 percent of the primary vote in Victoria.

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(2) Policies

The DLP is a pro-family party. It supports the freedom of families to decide their own pattern of early care of children and of the education they receive. This means freedom from financial punishment against stay-at-home full-time mums – and against those sending children to non-government schools, or home-schooling.

The DLP opposes abortion and euthanasia.

As the name suggests, the DLP advocates actual democracy – as opposed to today’s fake pseudo-democracy. This includes the setting up of a “Citizens Initiated Referendum” system, applying to all levels of government (federal, state and local).

The DLP supports re-establishing a Federal Development Bank, diversifying and resurrecting our export industries, encouraging import-replacing industries, building new dams for secure water supply and flood control etc.

Read more at their website at: www.dlp.org.au/index.php?page=alias

* * *

Don’t these sound like more sensible policies than those of the big two (or big three) parties?

(* See: www.marymackillop.org/a-spectre-is-haunting-australia-the-spectre-of-the-greens-party)

Jesus Christ was a person of compassion.

Today’s gospel reading in Catholic churches, describes this:

Entering a certain town, Jesus met ten men who were lepers, who, raising their voices, said: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” He saw them and said: “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”

It came to pass that, as they went, they were made clean. One of them, on seeing that he was made clean, went back, glorifying God with a loud voice. He fell on his face at Jesus’s feet, giving thanks. This man was a Samaritan.

Jesus said, “Were not ten made clean?  Where are the other nine?  Has nobody but this foreigner returned to praise God?” And he said to him, “Stand up and go. Your faith has saved you.”

* * *

Everything about God is beyond our understanding — including his compassion.

Why did Jesus heal these ten?

Weren’t there lepers in every town he visited? He could have — if, in fact, he was God.

Why doesn’t God, at this moment, evaporate the water killing people in Pakistan?

We don’t know.

Compassion doesn’t mean giving everybody what they want, that’s for sure.

There is a greater good to which an event must contribute, in order for God to make it, or permit it, to happen.

That’s why Greens Party representative, Adam Bandt, now MP-elect for the seat of Melbourne, should stop using the word “compassion”

* * *

Last night, Mr Bandt claimed that the Greens stand for “a compassionate and helping hand to people who are in trouble . . . more love in this world, not less.”

All rather sickening. His party has no love or compassion whatever for the unborn babies whom the Greens would have aborted for any reason or none.

* * *

Politics brings out the worst in a community. Election time is the season for telling lies and displaying the reverse of compassion — lust for power and perks.

As always, it is up to the Church to witness to God’s love and compassion – also to his commandments and his judgement – if Australia is to be a decent place to live.

Nobody else will be doing it

Today we should pray, as always, the prayer that Jesus Christ taught his disciples.

The prayer that starts like this:

“Our Father, who art in Heaven

Hallowed be thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come.

Thy will be done . . . .”

* * *

There’s no doubt about it. God’s will WILL be done. We WILL get the government we deserve.

Let us pray, every day, for those who govern us, that they will put God first in everything. That they may be motivated always by love for Our Lord and by love for his children – young and old, rich and poor – who make up our nation.

Above all, pray for those who lead our Catholic Church. That all evil may be weeded out of our Church. That, as a Church, we may faithfully lead our families, and the community of Australia, to a fervent faith and to obedience to God’s commandments.

* * *

“O God, Who has appointed Mary, Help of Christians, St Francis Xavier and St Therese of the Infant Jesus, patrons of Australia . . . .

Grant that, through their intercession, our brethren outside the Church, may receive the light of Faith, so that Australia may become one in Faith,

Under one shepherd, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord.

Amen.

Mary, Help of Christians pray for us.

St Francis Xavier, pray for us.

St Therese of the Infant Jesus pray for us.

Saint Peter Mary Chanel, pray for us.

Blessed Mary of the Cross (*), pray for us.

Amen.”

* * *

 (*) that means Blessed Mary MacKillop, Patroness of this blog.

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