Neighbourhood tree

More pictures from a decorated tree in my neighbourhood.

He said-she said

This week Tony Abbott actually appeared on the ABC's 7.30 program, where his inability to answer serious questions about substance rather than slogans was embarrassingly obvious.   24 hours later Julia Gillard faced a barrage of questions from the press gallery to deal with allegations about her conduct as a lawyer 17 years ago.  She spent 50 minutes answering all questions until journalists had no more to ask.

The contrast in media behavior between Tony and Julia was stark.

And one media outlet published one claim about the PM's past behavior, then retracted it and  apologized.  Again! (This claim had been published  by them,  then retracted on another occasion)  No prizes for guessing  which newspaper!

If only

Quick thinking by First Dog On The Moon when discussing on ABC RN an article by Barrie Cassidy.  Cassidy was critical of main-steam journalists for never really challenging Tony Abbott's claims or proposals, when they interview him.  Cassidy thought they let TA off too lightly.  Whereupon First Dog On The Moon agreed, but also lamented the lack of an hour-long TV show in which to really test TA out.  Ouch!

But perhaps, on second thoughts, Cassidy can't do much, if TA refuses to subject himself to the same degree of probing questionning that the PM has repeatedly undergone on Q&A; 7.30; Insiders etc?

Where next?

It seems that the best our politicians can do about asylum seekers is to come up with a fix rather than a solution.  No surprises, really

We have to be grateful for small mercies, I suppose.  At least the government has been successful in its campaign against the big tobacco companies and should be congratulated for that.  And now, rather than pursuing a total ban on tobacco products, couldn't this successful policy model be used to more effectively tackle the problem of alcohol abuse in Australia?

Family tree

On a neighborhood street the branches of an old tree reach over the footpath into the garden of a family home.  The family have taken to decorating the tree with mementos of family life, including soccer balls, shoes, models of family life, parties and so on.  It adds to the charm of West Hobart.

The answer is blowing in the wind

In 15 years Tasmania has gone from the state with the most homophobic laws in Australia to the first state to decide to legislate for same-sex marriage.  However, it has taken almost 30 years of conflict over the management of Tasmania's forests for conservationists and timber workers to enter into serious negotiations.  These peace talks have proceeded for two years and it is now decision time.   Social attitudes towards marriage equality have changed,  Gunn's Pulp Mill looks finished, NASA has landed its Curiosity Rover on Mars, but will we still be banging our heads on old growth trees for another thirty years?   Kudelka says it all, as usual.

UPDATE :  Final week-end talks lasted for 15 hours from Friday evening, but, as yet, all parties agree that no solution has been found.
UPDATE : It's now the 16th August and an interim report has been issued with the expectation that another 4 weeks will bring a conclusion to the peace talks.

To the rescue (again)

Another marvellous Tasmanian icon was the venue for a second uplifting experience this past week. MONA hosted a filmed production of the Ring Cycle from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. I count myself really fortunate to have seen Siegfried and Gotterdammerung.  The filming was imaginatively done and the singing, acting and orchestral performances were absolutely wonderful.  The elevator descent past magnificent sandstone cliffs to the underground setting of MONA's theatre was eerily appropriate and the intermissions spent absorbing MONA's inimitable atmosphere only added to the ambience. It is such a pleasure to have a first class gallery here in Hobart, which is free for any Tasmanian to explore. And to view a performance of the Met in Tasmania is indescribably inspiring.

TO THE RESCUE

The public discourse in Australia has been so crass, intemperate and unrelated to reality these last months that I haven't been able to bring myself to add to the noise.  However two events have conspired to persuade me try again. One was a celebration of 123 years of continuous literary activity in Hobart and the other was a visit to one of the special offerings of the Museum of Modern and New Art (MONA).

The Hamilton Literary society was established in 1889 by Lady Theresa Hamilton, the wife of the Governor of the day, to promote the appreciation of literature among young women.  123 years later the Society has remained true to its origins and is still promoting friendship between people who share a love of reading and writing. The President of the Society is by tradition the wife of the current Governor of Tasmania.

 On the anniversary of the foundation of the society a special lecture is given.  This year the lecturer was Dr Danielle Wood  (a Tasmanian award-winning author and academic) who spoke about well-known Tasmanian identity and author, Mrs Marjorie Bligh  The lecture was given at Government House, followed by High Tea.

This was an uplifting occasion - an enjoyable, interesting and well-crafted lecture held in the beautiful surroundings of a  treasured Tasmanian icon - Government House.