The Entrenched Culture of Corruption

We have longed for the day when our political representatives will actually speak for the masses. When the people denied a voice will have a champion who speaks for them. When they bother to focus on the issues that affect us rather than finding ways to fulfil and satisfy their own self-centred ambitions and desires. But that day seems unlikely to ever appear. Instead, we must make the most of the opportunity where they say things that temporarily align with community needs and expectations. http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/this-is-outrageous-liberals-rush-to-defend-colleagues-facing-contempt-of-court-charges-20170615-gwrlpt.html In this case it is the fact that the Legal System and those that lurk within its folds (preying upon the most vulnerable to profiteer from their misery by reducing legal outcomes to commodities accessible, and sold, only to the highest bidder) are too often so out of touch with the community, not to mention morally and ethically...

Meanwhile… Hayley Ernst dies under incredibly suspicious circumstances, in her own home, after she allegedly falls down and hits her head on a coffee table while her estranged boyfriend is there breaching an Apprehended Violence Order issued against him to stay away from her. The news footage showed him out the front of the house speaking with police. Max Spencer looked shifty, with tattoos on his arms, neck, and up the side of his face. Before the AVO was even mentioned, or his role at the house, people like me knew exactly what he was, what he’d ‘allegedly’ done, and what his bullshit story would be. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/police-investigate-suspicious-death-of-woman-at-kingswood/news-story/626f9aba134a8d5a1398b838fbfef1bc What Spencer had actually done didn’t really matter. In an environment where we have come to expect women to be brutalised, terrorised and murdered by gutless ‘men’, with a fatality rate of around two every week, his presence and story...

There is a reason why people must start at the bottom and work their way up. There is a reason why merit is used to determine suitability for certain roles. Staff performance and the effectiveness of an agency or a service depends heavily upon ability and suitability. People out of their depth perform badly and take-out their frustrations on those below them, driving off better, more competent personnel whose performance may outshine their own lest they be replaced by more qualified staff.  http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/working-for-minister-made-me-sick-ex-aide/story-e6frfku9-1226759257527 And for evidence of that kind of behaviour we have no further to look than Ros Bates herself, and what happened to one of her staff, a man called Epstein. While what (allegedly) happened to Epstein is not an isolated incident in the public service, it is rare for the simple fact that the media bothered to report on it. The vast majority of these incidents go unreported,...

In April of 2014, Ken Lay, as Chief Commissioner of the Victoria Police, wrote the following on the topic of family violence, a definition that mashes together two words that are fundamentally opposed as concepts, and neatly removes the disturbing nature of what family violence really is: brutal physical, psychological, and emotional abuse inflicted on (mostly) women and children. As a community we are again searching for answers that will prevent some men from abusing, bashing and killing those they profess to love. Whilst the first response of many is to blame someone other than the killer, the challenges and issues are sometimes very clear. We need to look no further than the victims like Rosie Batty, together with the thousands of other anonymous victims, to understand the depth and complexity of our challenges. Many victims speak of the terror of living and dealing with unpredictable, violent and possessive men. They also speak of the frustration of the inconsistent respons...