"...fund rebuilding efforts by ditching wasteful spending programs."

Dump flood levy idea: tax expert

Digger dies

Young Digger Richard Edward Atkinson killed by bomb in Afghanistan
Sad for family and friends but in the past Chapter 13 – The Fall of Lae

9 Sept CROSSING THE BUSU
"Obviously such a crossing could not be made without cost, but for the results achieved, the cost was small. Thirty men had been carried towards the sea and did not make the crossing. Of these, 13 were drowned, and the remainder were saved by the bar where the water was only 3 feet deep."

"...scrapping the NBN was the most popular way to raise money for flood relief..."

Australians split on NBN following floods

Penny in Cairo 'disgusted' with Gillard

Radio 2GB Sydney interview: Aussie tourist Penny in Cairo 'disgusted' by unhelpful Gillard.
Now link.
Ray Hadley talks to Penny Flick, an Australian tourist stuck in Egypt, who says..
Tuesday, 01 February 2011
Australian tourist stuck in Egypt
Ray Hadley talks to Penny Flick, an Australian tourist stuck in Egypt, who says she is receiving no assistance from the Federal Government.

DFAT incompetent - Julia 747 to the rescue

Gillard government has organised a Qantas charter flight to evacuate Australians trapped by the political crisis in Egypt.

“DFAT have been completely incompetent,” Mr Brigham, 67, said today

Where is Kev 747?

Obama follows Carter?

Egypt crisis be worst disaster since Iran’s revolution
Carter abandoned the Shah and gave us Iran of today
While Syria pretends.

ALP gay daze

First we read: Prime Minister Julia Gillard's chief of staff, Amanda Lampe, has taken maternity leave after her female partner gave birth to twins. Now we read: Amanda Lampe had decided to "move on" because of changed personal circumstances, Ms Gillard said in a statement today. "I wish her and her family the best for the future."

ALP siphons off funds

Biting the boom that feeds us

22nd NSW Labor MP jumps ship

NSW upper house Labor MP Tony Catanzariti has announced he will not contest the March state election, saying he wants to devote more time to his farming interests and family.

NSW ALP and drugs

With the ongoing story of Verity Firth now on leave after husband's drug arrest, we can remember Michael Coutts-Trotter married to federal Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek. Mr Coutts-Trotter, once asked: Give me a chance.

Julia another new tax for Cyclone Anthony?

As Tropical Cyclone Anthony approaches, will Julia need more money?

Samantha Gregg, at her home in New Farm, Brisbane, is happy to help neighbours, but says she's done her share.

As the poll result below shows, many are not happy.
Do you support, or oppose, the government's flood levy proposal?
* Support 18.45% (2540 votes)
* Oppose 81.55% (11227 votes)
Total votes: 13767

NSW ALP spins again

Victoria Rd Busway opens in Sydney
But no mention of Inner-west's bridge of sighs, the Roads minister or Education minister.

NSW ALP drug deal arrest

NSW Education minister Verity Firth has revealed her husband has been charged with drug possession. Matthew Chesher has resigned from his job as chief of staff to NSW Roads Minister David Borger.

While police report: Man charged with commercial supply of drugs – Pyrmont

Media postpone Israel bashing

Egypt’s Military Is Seen as Pivotal in Next Step

Red China reports on Demonstration in Egypt

Demonstration in Egypt leads to government sack
Meanwhile: Chinese dissident Wu Yuren faces 'fake' charge of assaulting police

Meanwhile the NSW stories continue

A bridge too far for Premier, Roads Minister

Shh... Iron Cove Bridge to open with no fuss

Keneally says levy will hurt Sydneysiders more

Levy, Levy likes her money

Could we hear Julia singing Levy, Levy likes her money
She makes a lot they say - She spends her days counting
in a Lodge by the Canberra way.

Adapted from Levon by Elton John Album: Madman Across The Water - Released: 1971
Music by Elton John Lyrics by Bernie Taupin

Egypt, China, Pakistan review Australia

Australian officials appeared before the United Nation's Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday for what's known as a universal periodic review.

Following is the list of members of the Advisory Committee and expiration dates for their respective terms of office: Mr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann (Nicaragua – 2012); Mr. José Antonio Bengoa Cabello (Chile - 2013); Mr. Ansar Ahmed Burney (Pakistan - 2011); Mr. Shiqiu Chen (China - 2012); Ms. Chinsung Chung (Republic of Korea - 2013); Mr. Emmanuel Decaux (France - 2011); Mr. Héctor Felipe Fix Fierro (Mexico - 2011); Mr. Wolfgang Stefan Heinz (Germany - 2013); Mr. Latif Hüseynov (Azerbaijan - 2011); Mr. Baba Kura Kaigama (Nigeria - 2011); Mr. Alfred Ntunduguru Karokora (Uganda – 2013); Mr. Vladimir Kartashkin (Russian Federation - 2013); Ms. Purificacion V. Quisumbing (Philippines - 2011); Mr. Shigeki Sakamoto (Japan - 2013); Mr. Dheerujlall Seetulsingh (Mauritius - 2011); Ms. Halima Embarek Warzazi (Morocco - 2012); Mr. Jean Ziegler (Switzerland - 2012); and Ms. Mona Zulficar (Egypt - 2013).
The Chairperson was Purificacion V. Quisumbing, Vice-Chairpersons were Wolfgang Stefan Heinz, Vladimir Kartashkin, Dheerujlall Seetulsingh. The Rapporteur was Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann.

Bligh's levy thanks - So she should

Bligh thanks Australians for levy
Now bring on her re-election campaign.

Ann Bligh re-election campaign levy?

Wealthier to bear brunt of flood levy as victims, low-paid are exempt
The government of Queensland, where the floods hit hardest, will tomorrow announce cutbacks to its budget to help pay for the recovery.

“This is another government spending program for which no one is going to be held accountable if things go wrong.” Tony Abbott

Coles, the milk of human kindness?

Milk price decrease sparks concern

Oppn calls in watchdog over milk debate

Julia's new flag

With Julia's new flag comes Julia's new tax

Jessica Watson wins again

Solo sailor Jessica Watson is named Young Australian of the Year

Aboriginal lawyer and novelist loser. Racism!

Australian of the Year for 2011 is Simon McKeon, a high-flying investment banker who decided to work part-time to dedicate himself to social causes at home and abroad.
Mr McKeon, 55, succeeds psychiatrist Pat McGorry as Australian of the Year, in recognition of his many years of community service.
He beat the bookies' favourite Professor Larissa Behrendt, an Aboriginal lawyer and novelist.

Perle, a Sydney-based firm, entered receivership last week

Perle owes Coffs subbies $1.3m

Directors may face fraud charges

Sydney radio 2GB report stat decs signed that payments were made for another project but no money was forthcoming.

ALP creates new frugalism

"new frugalism" mortgage rate and utilities price rises.

Sydney Morning Herald In times of hard Labor

In times of hard Labor, party goes for super women - Anne Davies
So are we to assume the same when SMH gets first female editor - Tim Dick

Rudd-Gillard to face charges?

Government expects Christmas Island disaster charges

Rearranging the deck chairs on the ALP Titanic

“Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic” (a futile or pointless activity in a losing situation)

Gillard's survival questioned, ALP Tasmania going, ALP Victoria gone, ALP Queensland pretending, ALP NSW going, ALP WA gone, while ALP NT does not care.

NBN all wet

National broadband vulnerable to the wet

"It's the classic story of having one singular network. All your eggs are in one basket."

Gillard to reform aged MP care?

Gillard told to tread lightly on aged care reform

Tobruk surrenders to Australian 6th Division

2 January 1941
Tobruk surrenders to Australian 6th Division

The senior Italian officer looked with disdain at the dusty Eather in a drab greatcoat and over it, concealing the badges, a leather jerkin and scarf.

ALP dud deal coverup

Then

Tony Maher, a former Eraring director and the national president of the mining and energy division of the CFMEU, said the politics of the sale "were dreadful". "It was just a mad dash for cash,'' he told ABC Radio. "I do have a view that it was a dud deal.'' He said the timing was ``appalling'' because of uncertainty about upcoming carbon pricing.

Now

Don't pull court trigger, Maher says
Former Eraring director Tony Maher on Thursday spoke out against the plan to compel the eight directors to give evidence at an inquiry into the $5.3 billion power asset sell-off.

Gillard says she is now out of money

Gillard warns of cutbacks and flood levy

The final strongpoint to hold out was Sanananda.

Remembering the war in New Guinea

On 12 January 1943, the 18th Army's commander, General Adachi, ordered the evacuation of Sanananda. About 2,000 troops escaped by sea or on foot by the end of the battle. The Allies had nearly given up hope when it became clear that most of the Japanese had left. On 22 January, the 18th Brigade finished mopping-up actions and the Papuan campaign officially came to an end the following day.

"...unnecessary and avoidable spending commitments and that’s what the NBN is."

Press Conference, Sydney
Posted on Tuesday, 18 January 2011
18 January 2011

Ex-TCs - NZ Heavy rain falling, winds building

Heavy rain and strong winds are beginning to be felt across the NZ this afternoon.
After Norfolk Island spared cyclone's wrath

Tropical cyclone Zelia is forecast to strike Norfolk Island

Severe Weather Warning for for Norfolk Island.
Latest Colour Mean Sea Level Pressure Chart
Top Priority for Immediate Broadcast
NORFOLK ISLAND TROPICAL CYCLONE ADVICE
Current Tropical Cyclones
Tropical cyclone Zelia is forecast to strike Norfolk Island at about 12:00 GMT on 17 January.

"Bob Brown Junior" coal and climate change

Our changing climate brought flood
Matthew Wright is the Environment Minister's Young Environmentalist of the Year 2010

Spy who enraged and saddened ALP

Spymaster stirs spectre of covert foreign activities
* Max Suich
* From: The Australian
* March 20, 2010

It was on October 21, 1975, that an enraged Whitlam sacked Robertson, who was one of the founders of the ASIS in 1950 and who for most of the following 25 years was variously chief of operations, deputy director or director.

Statement on William Thomas (Bill) Robertson CBE OBE MC
Statement: Martin Ferguson, Minister for Resources and Energy, Minister for Tourism, Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs 5 January 2011

I was most saddened by the news of the death on 2 January of Bill Robertson, a man with a distinguished war service record and a former head of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service. Following his departure from ASIS, Bill was appointed as an advisor to the Royal Commission head by Mr Justice Hope that inquired into Australia’s security and intelligence operations.

Anna Bligh washed, rinsed, spun.

"Calamity may be the Premier Anna Bligh's only chance - January 08, 2011

Anna Bligh joins NSW Labor on critical list: Newspoll - September 09, 2010

Anna Bligh's hospital stint is just a stunt
- September 11, 2010

Meanwhile the war continues

Man shot in drive-by shooting – Merrylands

Sam Ibrahim shot in the leg

Joh and Wivenhoe Syndrome

Joh Bjelke-Petersen born 13 January 1911
Wivenhoe Syndrome

"Well, I think one of the things we should be grateful for is the vision and foresight of an earlier generation of Queensland political leaders who built the Wivenhoe dam. Bad though this flood has been, disastrous though this flood has been, it could have been far worse but for the dam."

That’s right and this is where I think that we can be grateful for the foresight of the State Government back in the 1970s, putting the Wivenhoe Dam in place. Sure, the dam hasn’t entirely prevented a major flood but it is not nearly as bad as it could’ve been thanks to the foresight of an earlier government.

I think it’s pretty clear that the disaster that this flood has been, it would have been significantly worse without the Wivenhoe Dam and it’s a tribute to the foresight and the courage of an earlier generation of Queensland politicians that that dam was built.
So, I think we should be grateful to them for that and obviously in the weeks and months ahead it will be important to reflect on the experiences of these floods and to work out how we can best ensure that the community is safe-guarded as far as it can be against a recurrence.

Cyclone VANIA to hit Brisbane?

Latest Colour Mean Sea Level Pressure Chart shows location at 00 UTC. And warning TROPICAL CYCLONE VANIA 03F CENTRE 988HPA CAT 1 WAS ANALYSED NEAR 19.2S 169.3E AT 120000 UTC. EXPECTED TO MOVE TOWARDS THE SOUTHWEST.

Rivers and urban-based ideologues

Now we have Brisbane flood alert as Wivenhoe threatens to spill over after Wild rivers legislation in which the Indigenous people 'forgotten' in Wild Rivers because of Bligh's callous land grab

"The gazettal of 13 rivers under the Wild Rivers Act was, I believe, a last-minute, backroom deal between the team lead by Bligh and adviser Mike Kaiser, and the Wilderness Society. The Queensland public has also been misled about this matter. These gazettals could be seen as a pay-off by the Labor Government to the greens who delivered them preferences and seats. For the Wilderness Society's urban-based ideologues, the gazettals are prized acquisitions, easy pickings from the Aborigines."

Oikophobic media attacks Palin

Tea Party rhetoric and Oikophobia defined, while Roger Scruton explains oikophobia.

ALP Brown Australia Policy

PM wants to flood-proof Bruce Highway
With a dam? Would make Brown unhappy.
But the other highway flood continues.
With Australia facing record numbers of boat arrivals
Which makes Brown happy.

In the year 6565

Our next child must be a girl

In the year 6565 Ain't gonna need no husband, won't need no wife
You'll pick your son, pick your daughter too From the bottom of a long glass tube - Zager and Evans "In The Year 2525

Well another crazy day, you’ll drink the night away

Gerald "Gerry" Rafferty (16 April 1947 – 4 January 2011) was a Scottish singer and songwriter best known for his solo hits "Baker Street" and "Right Down the Line".

For two decades, alcohol had dominated this creative and intelligent man's life.

"But you're going, you're going home."

ALP whale of a tale

ALP says it rules out deals on Japan whaling
Now who believes this?

Dam the floods

Water, water, everywhere, and treated you could drink it, or untreated use it for agriculture or drive turbines for power.
Barnaby Joyce

So we need a BER for building environmental revolution not just school halls.

"...viability and priority of projects had to be carefully scrutinised, ..."

Howard warned of wages blowout in big spending

"Mr Howard and his finance minister, Eric Robinson, said the viability and priority of projects had to be carefully scrutinised, as they could compete directly with the private sector for limited resources."

Now we have the NBN.


1981 – Fraser government

NSW ALP Zipper left open to ridicule.

Pic: Ross Schultz - Source: The Daily Telegraph

Victoria Rd - our $1 million asphalt bungle An engineering stuff-up has forced the RTA to rip up and re-lay 2km of one of the state's busiest roads, costing taxpayers more than $1 million.

Victoria Rd no-go zone for drivers Starting on December 26, the Drummoyne section of Victoria Rd will be reduced to one lane in each direction for up to three weeks to allow workers to complete the Inner West Busway.

The “Zipper” has landed from the US, ready to improve traffic flow on the Inner West Busway, the State Government announced.

Climate based on current understanding

"Scientists have the responsibility of providing the best evidence to help policy makers reach conclusions that are founded in science, that are based on the best current understanding."
Climate change: the black, white and grey in the science
Kurt Lambeck December 28, 2010

Today we may know. Tomorrow we guess.

he didn't know he was driving a car

A drink-driver more than five times the legal limit tooted his horn at a highway patrol then told stunned officers he didn't know he was driving a car, police say.

In the beginning was the Word

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.

GG FIFA NBN

The Governor-General's trip to Zurich to support Australia's World Cup soccer bid delayed the process.

NSW ALP closes down

NSW Premier Kristina Keneally closes parliament three months before election
Turn off: Keneally blocks probe into power sale by closing parliament
Parliament wrapped up before power sale inquiry

ALP hot air-money musical chairs

Climate change chief to replace Ken Henry

Brumby to the knacker's yard

Brumby quits politics

"Before last month's election defeat, Mr Brumby had pledged to serve out his full term in the new parliament."

NBN risks

NBN RISK MANAGEMENT - The failure to achieve budgeted construction costs is a significant risk.

NBN report - link at news.com.au

As the report says at the end:

This page is left intentionally blank.

Like the final cost?

openly homosexual Marines - rear flank protection needed?

GENERAL JAMES AMOS, U.S. MARINE CORPS COMMANDANT: The law has changed, successfully implementing repeal, and assimilating openly homosexual Marines into the tightly woven fabric of our combat units has strong potential for disruption at the small unit level.

atheos - humbug

You don't need Jesus to enjoy Christmas

Bill wants GST evasion Shorten

Online buying sparks retail inquiry

Blake Edwards

Blake Edwards (July 26, 1922 – December 15, 2010) was an American film director, screenwriter and producer. In 2004, he received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of his writing, directing and producing an extraordinary body of work for the screen.
Edwards also created, wrote and directed the 1959 TV series Peter Gunn, with music by Henry Mancini.
View or download: Peter Gunn - The Fuse (1959)

ALP urged to have open doors migrant policy

Or as spinster says ALP urged to be more humane on asylum-seekers

Jack Marx-ist solution

It’s a moral question about whether we have the right to declare a piece of earth our own to the exclusion of all humanity but those we deem “appropriate”.

Sounds like appropriation of property, Jack.

Hopeless Julia - Helpless People

“We do not know with any certainty how many people there were on the boat,” Ms Gillard told reporters in Sydney.

Wayne Swan Song and Dance

Wayne Swan on Hockey field.

"The opposition last month pre-empted the government's package by tabling its own bill to boost banking competition that handed Australia's competition watchdog extra powers to crack down on price signalling in the sector."

wiki-treason and the truth

Oaths, witnesses giving evidence in court take an oath, that they will tell the truth.
While Operation Bodyguard "In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies."
What happened in Tiananmen Square?
How many others died under Mao?
How many traitors have existed, still exist, in UK, USA, Australia, ...?
Or as Jessup said You can't handle the truth!

Oprah by Golli-wog

Golliwog doll removed from shop for Oprah visit

Oprah Winfrey's production company has sparked a debate over golliwog dolls in Australia after reportedly asking a Melbourne shop to remove them from its display fearing they would offend the talkshow host.

KGB supports Assange

Putin leads support for Assange
Putin's Career Rooted in Russia's KGB

ALP Rats Now and Then

WikiLeaks outs America's Aussie mole: Labor's Mark Arbib named as embassy source
Labor and the Communist Party by John Ballantyne
COLD WAR: Communist 'bombshell' rocks the Labor Party

wiki-treason silent on Murphy. Why?

Evatt said things about Menzies. We can read in DFAT archives.
Lionel Murphy said or did what? We cannot read in archives. Until 2016.

The Love of field and coppice - Of droughts and flooding rains.

My Country By Dorothea Mackellar

A wilful, lavish land

Wagga Wagga major flood

Macquarie Fields teens kill driver - update

Fatal crash accused is tragic Macquarie Fields teenager's relatives
Police yesterday confirmed Hyde was a relative of a 17-year-old who was one of two passengers killed in a car driven by Jesse Kelly in February 2005.

Macquarie Fields teens kill driver

Three teenagers, aged between 13 and 16, a stolen black Holden Commodore sedan following three break and enters in Camden Park, the Macquarie Fields teens fled on foot when their car crashed into another vehicle, killing a man in Narellan Road, were found with a screw driver and stolen jewellery in their possession. The three males have been taken to Campbelltown Police Station.

wiki-treason

WikiLeaks also known as: wiki-treason from the word treason which is defined as betrayal of country: violation of the allegiance owed by a person to his or her own country, for example by aiding an enemy, from the 12th century, via Anglo-Norman treisoun, ‘treacherous handing over, betrayal’, from the Latin stem tradition-, from tradere, ‘to hand over’

Will wikileaker face the same fate as Patrick Stanley Vaughan Heenan

Brumby knackered

John Brumby concedes defeat as Ted Baillieu visits Government house to be sworn in

Brumby broken?

Baillieu set to become Victorian Premier

Vic colt regret joined Brumby

Who gets 1000 pound?

Penny Wrong wants a wife

Gay senator Penny Wong calls for change in ALP policy on gay marriage

Telstra being Xenophobic?

The bill split to Telstra was passed 30 votes to 28 with the government securing the support of the Greens, Family First's Steve Fielding and independent senator Nick Xenophon.

Bank goes bust

NAB computer glitch hits wage, Centrelink payments

"We got to them in a miracle..."

Teens rescued after 50 days in the Pacific

Julia digs another hole

NBN debate stripped down to footpath damage

Now they should never reopen that worthless pit

Now they should never reopen that worthless pit
They should just placed a marble stand in front of it

The media seemed to be fixated in NZ, on rescue and trapped as if we were following the Chile mine rescue again.
The media should have reported there were unaccounted for miners and search for missing miners.
The media raised unsupported expectations.
The relatives were misled.

Yuendumu erupts again

One Yuendumu resident said it was "just a continuation" of the two-month-old conflict between two family groups.

Gandangara "bloody awful development"

John Brunton, the director of environmental services at Sutherland Council believes the area will eventually see some form of development but he is dubious about a large residential project.

That's not a excuse! Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee: [chuckling]

ACC drops Paul Hogan tax investigation

"It is the ACC's assessment that continuing with its investigation of Mr Hogan and (Mr Hogan's manager) Mr (John) Cornell is not justified in the public interest having regard to a range of factors," the statement said.

Most Afghans in southern states 'clueless' about 9/11-AFP

Most Afghans in southern states 'clueless' about 9/11:

(AFP) – 18 hours ago

KABUL — Most people in two key Afghan provinces that are witnessing the fiercest fighting between foreign forces and the Taliban have not heard of the September 11, 2001 attacks, according to a new survey.

Research conducted in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar last month suggested 92 percent of the 1,000 respondents were unaware of the attacks on Washington and New York that prompted the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

The findings, published late Friday by the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) think tank, come as NATO leaders met in Lisbon to determine the transition of responsibility for security to Afghan forces.

But ICOS suggested that even after nine years of conflict, with military and civilian casualties at their highest, NATO still needs to do more to convince ordinary Afghans that their presence in the country is beneficial.

"We need to explain to the Afghan people why we are here and both show and convince them that their future is better with us than with the Taliban," ICOS president Norine MacDonald said in a statement.

A total of 42 percent of a further 500 men questioned in northern Parwan and Panjshir provinces were unable to name positive aspects of democracy.

The survey suggested that 40 percent of respondents in the south believe foreign troops are intent on destroying Islam or want to occupy or destroy the country.

A majority (61 percent) in Helmand and Kandahar were also pessimistic about the ability of the Afghan police and military to provide security after the transition.

And 81 percent said they believed Al-Qaeda -- which claimed responsibility for 9/11 from Afghanistan under Taliban protection -- would return if the militants regained power and would use Afghanistan to attack the West.

MacDonald said grassroots support was "critical" to the handover of powers.

"The international community must build an effective strategic collaboration with the local population that supports the military operation if we are to achieve a successful transition," she added.

"This would not only reformulate the security landscape but respects the sacrifices that Afghan people are making in the war."

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.

Police to flood bushfire arson hotspots

Victoria Police will today launch Operation Firesetter in response to recommendations from the Bushfires Royal Commission.

But the trees will die if they are underwater. And upset Brownose.

Oakeshot, Sykes and Rangel

Greens MP has stood up for Lyne Independent Rob Oakeshot and tributes flow for activist Roberta Sykes. While NY Gov. Paterson supports NY Rep. Charlie Rangel.

political journalist Laurie Oakes denies playing politics

political journalist Laurie Oakes

Burma stage-managed affairs

Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi freed in Rangoon as crowds celebrate

One pale face gets adios. While another gets a job.

I am a pale-skinned Aboriginal says a Wiradjuri woman


While with him

Dark Felt wins the Melbourne Cup

Dark Felt wins the Melbourne Cup
And the crowd cheers:


A section of the huge crowd at the Flemington Racecourse for the 1943 Melbourne Cup. Australians could not be denied the thrill of racing even in wartime. Australian War Memorial photo.

Australians re-entered Kokoda.

314 OIVI-GORARI 2-3 Nov
link
To the west the 25th Brigade was closing in. The 2/31st was still forward along the track, the other two battalions completing the circle of their wanderings with the 2/25th between Alola and Deniki and the 2/33rd at Alola.
On the eastern track, on the 2nd, the 2/3rd went forward to Kobara where the men began to prepare a dropping ground in an open kunai patch. One patrol quested as far as Pirivi - the area in which the 39th Battalion had fought to delay the Japanese approach on Kokoda on that 8th August, less than three months before. The whole brigade then camped in the Kobara region hungrily waiting for the food which would be dropped to them next day. Had it not been for the fruit and roots they had gathered from native gardens they would have fared badly. They made their evening meal from yams, paw paw, sweet potatoes, taro root and cucumber, all slightly green. But the going had been easier during the day - the track falling from Siga into the valley and, after passing through Fila, becoming well defined and level - so that, although the men were tired and hungry, they were not as distressed as they had been in the mountains.
There was good news from the western track. In the morning patrols of the 2/31st had been early astir. One, under Lieutenant Black, 1 entered Kokoda itself and found that the Japanese had been gone two days. By 11.30 a.m. the main 2/31st Battalion group was moving forward and had Kokoda firmly covered by the middle of the afternoon. By 4 p.m. Brigadier Eather was there with his advanced headquarters and the other two battalions were approaching. Preliminary engineer reconnaissance suggested that aircraft would be able to land after two days' work on the strip and dropping could go on from dawn of the 3rd.
So, quietly, the Australians re-entered Kokoda. Apart from its airfield its significance lay only in its name which would identify in history the evil track which passed across the Papuan mountains from the sea to the sea.

Gaels and Samhain

Samhain and Gaels leads to To North-western Spain

PM disheveled, with bleeding knuckles

Second Conscription Referendum
The violence which characterised the first conscription campaign in 1916 was exceeded by that of the second in 1917, and the fact that the momentous decision had to be given a few days before the commencement of the traditional season of goodwill did not lessen or weaken the heat infused into the campaign oratory. The supporters of the Government stressed the point that the general election of the previous May proved that the mind of the country had undergone a radical change, and that the people were convinced that the seriousness of the military situation made compulsory service necessary in the interests of Australia and the Empire. The opponents of the Government maintained that the decision given in October, 1916, ought to have been accepted as final; that the issue was then closed; and that the reopening of it was a political trick on the part of a discredited leader anxious to save himself from the consequences of his own party’s distrust.
On this occasion, the form taken by the campaign in opposition was anti-Hughes as well as anti-conscription. The Prime Minister was assailed with the most vehement fury. When he was on his way back from Brisbane, a crowd rushed the railway platform at Warwick (November 29th), where supporters of his cause had gathered to hear a few sentences from him while the train waited at 3 o’clock in the afternoon An opponent threw an egg of indubitable antiquity, which just missed Mr. Hughes, but a second from the same source broke upon his hat. A returned soldier threw himself upon
416 AUSTRALIA DURING THE WAR [Nov.-Dec, 1917
the egg-thrower, whereupon the station platform became the scene of a fierce fight. Fists and sticks and a varied assortment of missiles gave emphasis to the cries of rage. Mr. Hughes was in the centre of the disturbance, from which he at length emerged disheveled, with bleeding knuckles testifying to his personal participation in the melee. When Mr. Hughes asked the police officer in charge to take action against his assailants, the officer ( Senior Sergeant Kenny) refused to do so. Upon Mr. Hughes repeating his request as Attorney- General of the Commonwealth. the sergeant replied that he recognised the laws of Queensland and would act under no other. The Prime Minister then attempted to address the crowd, the policeman appealing to it to give him a “ fair and square deal ” ; but after these sensational occurrences nobody was in the mood for listening to a speech.
Mr. Hughes despatched a strongly-worded telegram to the Premier of Queensland, Mr. Ryan, blaming the police at Warwick for the inadequacy of their arrangements and their indifference towards the chief instigator of the disturbance, who, it was alleged. after being ejected from the platform, was not placed under arrest, but permitted to return and resume the offensive. Mr. Ryan, in a frigidly polite letter, expressed his regret, and his hope that Mr. Hughes had not suffered any personal injury, but added that a preliminary enquiry showed that “ the affair was not so serious ” as Mr. Hughes’s telegram indicated. But Mr. Hughes was satisfied that the police at Warwick had inclined in sympathy towards the unruly crowd. He therefore intimated his intention to form a Commonwealth police force. The very few officers subsequently engaged, however, could never have prevented so unexpected an occurrence as the unfortunate Warwick incident.44
In all parts of the country there were disturbances at meetings held to support or oppose the policy of the Government I n some constituencies it was impossible for speakers to secure a hearing, and it required no small amount of courage and determination to face the angry crowds who surged into the halls where one human voice, endeavouring

44 The jest of the day was that the Commonwealth had “one policeman.” The Commonwealth Year Book for 1919 and 1920 overlooked even that one.