The Rustling Army at the Dawn of Time

 


It's complicated enough as it is, a Watcher on the Watch declared of the many schemes now circulating. The ground had shifted. The ancient regime of ossifying officers were finally reaching retirement age, their figures and their health disfigured by long lunches and bold camaraderie only the most blatant grifters could survive.

Much had changed since last he was here. The randy, newly married police officer who liked to sleep naked had moved to another suburb, the grief stricken, heartbroken woman tending for her cancer ridden husband had also moved moved on after he died; bereft she never recovered from his loss. Whether she went to an old age home or to relatives he could not tell; but suspected institutionalisation.

The mood of the country had soured.

Once upon a time, seemingly now a lost era, ask an Australian how they were going they would tell you they were "good". "Yeah, fine," was about as low as that octave went. A musical note of optimism.

Now they would tell you straight: Everything's fucked. And shrug. And those around would agree: everything was fucked. 

He heard them in his head: You mean, you can just go down the shops and buy butter, milk, bread? The recession was comping; well the recession was already here, it was The Depression that they needed to worry about. And there was nothing any of them could do about it.

NEWS

In Australian federal politics this week, the government and Coalition are advancing the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill (No. 2), with a vote scheduled for Thursday that critics describe as rushing expanded compulsory questioning powers through Parliament. These powers, originally introduced post-9/11, would cover additional matters such as the promotion of communal violence, sabotage, and attacks on defence systems, while allowing questioning of individuals as young as 14 with limited rights to legal representation or silence under threat of penalties. Greens Senator David Shoebridge and others have labelled the measures an erosion of freedoms and a bipartisan “dirty deal,” though supporters emphasise ongoing national security needs and retained periodic reviews.


It's a bipartisan dirty deal, of course it is.

'

@DavidShoebridge


Housing and rental costs remain a major focus, after reports of a National Australia Bank analysis suggesting rents in Sydney and Melbourne could rise 25-30% if investors raise yields to offset the loss of tax benefits from negative-gearing and capital-gains changes (assuming unchanged house prices). The scenario, which featured in prominent coverage including headlines linked to The Australian, prompted NAB to clarify it was not a formal forecast and that adjustments would likely involve a mix of higher rents and lower prices; the government maintains any impact would be modest (around $2 a week) and points to grandfathering for existing arrangements plus policies aimed at boosting housing supply. Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have rejected the higher projections as unrealistic.

news.com.au

Separately, Parliament has progressed major social-policy reforms: controversial National Disability Insurance Scheme changes passed the Senate after Labor secured Coalition support via dozens of amendments focused on sustainability, fraud reduction, and related measures, while gambling-advertising restrictions advanced with last-minute deals that drew criticism from independents and the Greens as insufficient. Defence ties with Japan were highlighted by the visiting Japanese defence minister’s meetings in Canberra amid discussions of expanded cooperation, including potential missile testing, even as Australia expressed ongoing concern over North Korea following US announcements. Other developments include crackdowns on unlicensed superannuation switching schemes and ongoing responses to migration and housing pressures.Broader domestic stories this week include an AFL investigation into Sydney Swans players over a Melbourne hotel incident, severe weather warnings in Victoria, and various state-level issues such as rail deals and workplace accidents. Overall, the parliamentary sitting has centred on security legislation, disability scheme sustainability, and housing affordability debates against a backdrop of tight rental markets and evolving international partnerships.


News Summary Courtesy of Grok xAI.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sensory Deprivation

Image
  Under attack from some of the most corrupt elements within the Australian government, or that's how it felt, he had no idea how to deal with the torment being inflicted upon him. They were dishonest. They were liars. They had gained advantage through their lying. They had been tormenting him for three years now. It had begun at exactly the same time as his mother was dying a sad sad death made worse by the Australian government's endless Covid restrictions.  And it continued to this very day, chasing him across Asia. It was his 73rd birthday. And they were determined to destroy even that. Cloak yourself in armour. Be strong. Be brave. Let the storm pass over you.  How was it that these things could be allowed? How was it that this dishonesty ran rampant through the system? Surrounded by the buzz of an Asian city, he ran into an old acquaintance, Robyn, who had been stranded in Australia for three years during the Covid era. And that's what he said about Australia, it wa...
Read more

It Began

Image
  It began in cyclonic circumstance, with the wind whipping off Bondi Beach as he struggled through a gale up and down the beachfront. There was no life. The bars were all closed or closing. There were few people about. The gale was a dark force, or remained dark within him, as he fled sanity and constellations of connected intelligences and instead buried himself in the ordinary, a collapsed individual seeking abnegation.  It was hard to know what brought it on; although the Sense8 style hiding from other operatives was always a part of it.  He could hear them echoing in the land beneath the escarpment, propelled from the deep spirits of the forest, caring for what he did not know.  He really did not know. He moped around the house and lamented getting older, more ordinary, more convinced of deceit and abnegation and ordinary things; longing for purpose or confidence or identity, or just youthful determination. He prayed for courage, strength and determination, and ...
Read more

Fraud: Clamouring Dissent

Image
  Foul beasts stalked the Earth. Australia became the kingdom of liars. Dissent was quashed. Fraud was everywhere. The government lied, the politicians lied, the intelligence agencies lied, and deceit permeated every aspect of everybody's life. Taxed into oblivion, taxed into servitude, modern day slavery, overwhelmed by strangers, forced out of affordable accommodation, he'll be lucky to afford a van by the time we're finished with him, the cruel hoax these people represented was literally everywhere. A sharp dagger rammed up through their guts and disembowelled them. A sharp bird flew overhead, squawking with piercing eyes, knowing too much and avenging strangers.  The sacred and the profane. We are all guilty, chanted the Christians, while the spirits swirled in indifference, and time flowed over all of them. It was the injustice, and it was the dishonesty, it was the deceit, and it was the blatant fraud perpetuated by taxpayer entities, that's what got to him. MAINS...
Read more