Let us deal with Australia Day first. Cranky Lizard has created a list of the days set aside for all Australians to contemplate our circumstances and our great gift of living in this magnificent land – Australia. These days are National Holidays and are different from the religious holidays of Easter and Christmas. There are several other State-inspired holidays, but apart from the religious aspects, the two listed below are the ones that count.
Australia Day 26 January Each year.
ANZAC DAY 25 April Each Year.
Because of the noise created by the self-serving media, and make no mistake, this issue is created by a self-serving media; about the date of Australia Day and how it affects Australian Aboriginal people. Cranky Lizard had a quick look at the days set aside for the Aboriginal People, in Australia, each year.
And that meant that Cranky Lizard had to create another list.
Here is the list:-
13 February National Apology Day.
19 March Close the Gap Day.
21 March Harmony Day.
27 May Reconciliation Week.
03 June Mabo Day.
01 July [ for a week ] NAIDOC.[ a day that takes a week to celebrate.]
04 August National Aboriginal Children's Day.
09 August International Day of World's Indigenous People.
05 September Indigenous Liberty Day.
Cranky Lizard makes no comment about these days except to say that these days are holidays for Aboriginal People.
Most of the time, the whingeing, salaciously encouraged by the electronic media, is based upon the arrival of Captain Cook; they look quite foolish really because Captain Cook did not colonize the place. He found the East Coast. The Dutch had long discovered the North and the West. The intellectual rigour that is applied to the early days of Australian discovery and history is best summarized in the existence of the rather artistic aboriginal musical/film, written to note the occasion –
"Looky, Looky, here comes Cooky. "
Cranky Lizard is anxiously awaiting the referendum on the establishment of a separate Voice for Aboriginal people.
Cranky Lizard wishes to bust a myth being peddled about the place – the idea of One Nation or First Nation People. This term derives from 20 th century American politics, and it has been hijacked to Australia in some vain attempt to cloak reality…no such entity ever existed!
History determines the truth, which is that Aboriginal People were widely spread across Australia in the form of distinct tribal or cultural groups. Each of these lived their own lives, had their own languages, their own cultures and their own boundaries. They were much like large extended families. These tribal/ family groups never ever acted as a sovereign nation – they never did!
Aboriginal people did not cede sovereignty; before the English settlers' arrival, aboriginal people had no sovereignty to surrender.
"Sovereignty "is a term from international law developed in the 18 th century, and it has no relevance to Australia's reality at the time of English settlement.
None. So "BANG "– there goes that myth!
But. On to far more important matters!
DO WE STILL NEED OUR STATES?
Prior to 1901, the current Australian States were separate colonies of the British Empire. For various reasons, all of them sensible, the colonies decided to join together in a federation. A series of meetings were held, constitutional conventions, and a new constitution was created.
A Constitution for a new Nation.
The Australian Nation was established on 01 January 1901. It was called the Commonwealth of Australia.
And the new Nation was to be governed by the new Constitution – The Constitution of Australia; a document which has a special status in that it cannot be changed in the way that other laws can be changed.
It is a supreme law – it overrides all other Australian laws.
Cranky Lizard leaves the extensive detail of all this for you to research but points out that the Constitution sets out the relationship between the former colonies, now States and the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth Parliament can make specific laws, which are exclusive to that Parliament. Those laws include : international and inter-state trade, foreign affairs, defence, immigration, taxation, banking insurance and a number of other matters of lesser strategic and economic importance.
The Commonwealth has certain exclusive powers in some matters, foreign affairs, defence, taxation and no State can legislate in these areas. On other issues the Commonwealth and States have concurrent powers where each may legislate and the State retain legislative powers over matters not explicitly listed in the Constitution.
Cranky Lizard knows, and most of you will know, that common usage breeds contempt.
And.
It was ever thus in matters of the Constitution. Legislative blurring has occurred in a number of areas, in particular, States have legislative powers on education and health, and yet we have Commonwealth Health Departments and Commonwealth Education Departments. Why?
The duplicated cost to the taxpayer is enormous, absolutely enormous.
Cranky Lizard could list any number of inconsistencies and duplication of legislation and Government Departments – that is not hard, and these matters have been discussed quite broadly, by a number of academics and parliamentarians over many years.
The arguments blunder on; vested interests prevail, and the Nation struggles on under an increasing economic burden of duplication.
None of this was meant to happen when these matters were first drafted by the Constitutional Conventions of early days.
But is has happened, and, until now, most Australians have shrugged their shoulders and accepted the fact that the Nation is over-governed to hell and saddled with an economic burden of duplicated Government functions.
What happened next was that the Rider of the Pale Horse came amongst us, spread his vile pandemic seeds and tipped the whole model of Government, States and Commonwealth, on its head!
Just like that!
State Premiers invoked Public Health Acts, clung to advice from senior public health servants and quoted them as legal Gods when locking up States, economies, businesses, personal lives and previously accepted freedom of travel.
Cranky Lizards points out that in a matter of weeks the Nation returned to a disparate collection of colonies, vying with each other for political advantage over whose Premier was protecting their State populations more effectively than others.
Sadly, but inevitably, partisan politics popped in to add absolutely nothing of substance to the debate – no surprises there!
Australia flopped about like a grounded catfish – borders closed, borders opened, travellers in, travellers out, big sports bringing money and virtue signalling nonsense by kneeling everywhere, could arrive, individuals without substance were discarded like old rags.
Elections were held on the basis of "vote for me because I saved you ", and it worked.
Australia survived all this not because of the strength of its institutions but because of the power of its people.
Australians accepted the nonsense, the incompetence, the outright lying, in some cases, and the parochial dysentery of myopic State Premiers.
There will be more pandemics, that is inevitable. Why? Simple. When you have Nations conducting state-sponsored experiments of interchange of biology between, animals, birds, reptile and humans, some of the infected vile matter is bound to escape.
When the next pandemic arrives will we have to do all this again? Or will we have a better system to deal with these matters on a national basis? Or will we have to put up with the next round of parochial posturing from various State Premiers.?
Cranky Lizard reckons that it is time that we opened discussions about the contemporary Federal model of government in Australia – it is not working well, for many reasons.
Those reasons are complex and the basis of a rational discussion for another day.
Cranky Lizard assumes that it is possible to have a rational discussion about any significant changes to life, government or community living these days?
Think about the future of Australia.
Enjoy your days.
Don't the forget the 800+ dead Victorians…they are still waiting to be heard.
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