but truely it is not. i am curious as to others thoughts. and want to opena discussion... not attack. remember you can always post on my critism thread if you cant talk fairly here.
i understand and accept the terrible tragedy of the tsunami, but how is it that the goverment or those involve can afford to give so much to overseas aid? for hospitals, schools medicines and all else, when here at home, we cant afford to maintain our own hospitals, upgrade our own roads, and look after or own?
i understand support and help, but are we going too far?
where will the moeny come from, when we say we cant give more here?
who ends up paying? does it mean our taxes rise again, but yet we will still ahve long long waiting lists for surgeries, and poor roads and other problems with our own society?
what effect will it have on our system down the track?
how much will we actually give (understanding that in the past many pledges are not fulfilled)?
warb ·
Unfortunately, I was thinking of this today, we give so much (they need it) but what about home?..... a tough topic mate..
maybe get it from the ansett levy :duh
XXX-1.8T ·
green57 wrote:Unfortunately, I was thinking of this today, we give so much (they need it) but what about home?..... a tough topic mate..
maybe get it from the ansett levy :duh
i was thinking that too in NZ they have a natural disaster or war levy for $15 pa on cars or houses if something like that happens and ur uninsured that $15 covers u
i think thats an awesome idea
As for us home i seriously think Australian tourism will benefit from this tragedy as all the european etc will be scared to go back to those islands and come to our beutiful country instead
so maybe the govt knows about my theory and decided to even it out:duh
jenz58 ·
...it is money in kind...military aid etc.....salaries already being paid for ....better training than reading books and sitting at home...this is real life need ...
Already military medical teams are in there....they can also help rebuild roads and services....we do rely heavily on our Asian neighbours as they do us...it's looking after our own back door....without trade with tyhese countries and their use of our education system we would be in trouble....
OK I know the influx of Asian students inpacts on our own kids but I was at uni when there were big cuts...our tertiary institutions were left to suffer with the election of the Liberal government
Bizarre ·
TGs
I think it is more a matter of you cant afford NOT to.
Pretty much as jen said
jenz58 ·
...I've worked in our hospital system...it has also suffered in the same period......
At the moment these people are suffering more than we can imagine....lets hope it all evens out and we have to have faith in our generosity...
It was great that there was a service in Indonesia with all religious factions coming together in mourning for their lost loved ones.....if anything good is to come out of this maybe it is that there will be more religious tolerance in the region
Freddie Fender ·
On the face of it, I agree with you and think that it is rather hypocritical of the Government and it reeks of politics. I am saddened by the disaster, the destruction and loss of life to Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the Maldives but as you have stated, how is it that this money is available for all these good (and necessary deeds) when there are so many needy and deprived here at home in Australia suffering.
What about the Government surplus, there is a lot more than 30 million dollars in the Government coffers!
Why is it that our roads and Hospitals fallinto chronic states of disrepair when there is all this money available.?
Increasing our taxes to pay for this isn't fine, keeping these people alive and healthy is what is really needed. I wonder whether this is a secret way to increase the regions dependence on Australia, to make us a more dominant world player or is it to show the rest f the world that we care. I suspect a primary motive of helping out during the crisis but I also strongly suspect ulterior motives and power play games from our Government in creating deppendant economies and thus influence can be exerted within the region. There is politics involved here, somewhere......the stench is over powering!!
[Edited on 6-1-2005 by Freddie Fender]
jenz58 ·
There is always politics involved....but lets hope that there is also more compassion that politics involved.....keep the presure up on them.....trying to be the optimist here...
God I can't imagine what these people are going through......and the amazing people who are giving their time to help.....I worked with death...but nothing to this scale.....my hat is off to anyone over there right now helping....FARK... lets just help these people...we are so comfortable over here......always so easy to winge....our education and health system will be always in trouble with the way they have it set up
Che Castro ·
Although I think our country could do with some more $$ into our health, roads & education...
but we didn't just lose 70 000 australians in one week.
We have it easy here in Australia compared to most of the world
StenGuns ·
call it a strategic investment.. one that will pay huge dividends at some stage over the next 50 year cycle..
pod ·
maybe georgie bush is pulling on little johnies puppet strings so western influence is greater through this region:blush
but on a realistic note every little bit helps and as l aussies and human beings we help no matter where or what crisis as maybe one day it might be our turn:o
Freddie Fender ·
Yes, we have much to be thankful for. I am all for helping others in times of need but not at the expense of the less fortunate here in our own country. Have a look around at the mental health system if you want to discover where those who are outcasts here live and have to deal with daily. This area of public health is forgotten by all as a taboo subject.
Look at the elderly and what little help they get. Look at our poice forces, our military, our schools and our insurances. Do you feel that we are being fleeced by stealth, legally of course but we are definitely being systematically forced to pay more and more for little or no gain in the key areas of public spending that is what we all seem most concerned about!
I am not demeaning the losses these countries have faced but commenting on the hypocritical nature of the Government here. Seen to be doing one thing but at the expense of the needy in our own Backyard!!
sax ·
It's like this: You are having trouble affording the rego on the third car this year (again) while your neighbour has just had his 1979 Commodore taken out in a big storm and has no way of getting to work to feed his family. No insurance, nothing. Multiply that by many thousands, include a horrendous loss of life and you get the picture.
The true Aussie will give you the shirt off his back if it's all he has left to give. The fact is we are being un-australian if we dont act in a similar way now.
[Edited on 6-1-2005 by sax]
pod ·
I agree Freddie , close the institutions send em out with their medication (if they remember to take it ) into group houses if they are lucky and its look after yourself guys welcome to the real world :cussing
ColumBUS ·
the morew money western fellas like us put into clean up and repair, the more we can mould them into our image. the new indonesia sri lanka thailand etc will be macdonalds this starbucks that methinks. tourism will hit huge heights in australia, with the european market scared of the archipelago or whatever it is.
we can certainly afford this, when you think about it we are one of the richest nations around, blessed by beauty (me) and health (not my liver). the money invested in indonesia will come back very soon.
being unemployed, i am keen to get over there and aid the clean up in person, does anyone know where i can sign up?
toplessbug ·
well bleeding hearts cop this,
Who the bloody hell does jack boot johnny think he is ??? jumps on a jet --funded by guess who with deep pockets:: grabs a handfull of journos to take along for the ride ,gives his bum punching mate downs syndrome a whistle to jump on board and proceeds to spend ONE BILLION dollars of your money folks, not his ,not downs syndrome, but yours and mine ,then parades around making all the politically correct noises and says what a wonderful country are we ...
Meanwhile back in the land of make believe we have record taxes per capita ,people living and dying in the streets due to lack of youth and elderly shelter, highest aboriginal infant mortality rates for indiginious peoples in the western world ,teenage youth suicide --no funds available for help lines, medicare - the medical system you have when you dont really have one , hospital waiting lists so long they go out of sight , pensioners virtually starving, nursing homes that swipe the pensions and feed them a bit of shit once a day to keep them alive till the next generous handout comes along ,abbot and costello,the comedy company, playing with doctors and making sure they dont get to the bush where they might make a real difference ---how much further could i go???
COLD BLOODY OATH im freezing but who cares as long as its got its snout on the tv
jenz58 ·
...it's an unfortunate term that they use now ....right to risk....so many elderly still in their homes in a terrible state with dementia...it's so hard to get them into care...they have to be at 'risk' before anything can be done......and this 'risk' is usually great...it is not until they end up in hospital and no longer able to be quickly sent home that anything is done to help them.....'quality of life' is another term used....keeping them in their own home....to wander off in the rain and get lost...hopefully with someone knowing where they live as these people are often believing they are in a previous time....maybe going to pick kids up from school....going to work....they are not in the here and now...
Dr's and nurses hands are tied in a lot of cases.....families are worn to the bone trying to cope with their aging parents, work and care for their own families.......the people who make these rules need to work in the field to know....
Same in mental health...so many stories....I've travellled in the 'States' 10 years ago there were so many people living on the trains with their bags and using toilets to wash each day....they had no support system basically...all gone...they were literally out in the street....we are going the same way but not so bad yet....I hope we don't ge there
BUT still I do believe we should be helping the victims of the tsunami....what they are going through must be pure unimaginable hell....
I can't believe the low lifes that are moving in to exploit the situation....pedophiles and these adoption scams!!!!! FARK!!!!!!!! HOW LOW CAN SOME PEOPLE BE!!!!!!!
sax ·
The doctors wont go to the bush because of the crappy coffee.
penguin ·
This is aimed at no one in particular.
To all those who are sitting there feeling that we are being duped, are fleeceing our own people, or whatever.
Fuc* off!!
I make no apologies, and if the mod's want to censor me, so be it.
As far as our medial system is concerned, I have mother who has stage two alzhiemers, and for those who don't l know, that means that on a good day, she knows who I am, on a bad day, well lets now go there.
So thats where I am coming from. I know that she if she was who she was before she forgot, and I, would never argue with the spending of australian money on this sort of thing. Who's looking after our neighbours patients? at least ours have access to some sort of medical system. Who the F* are you to talk about our countries health system? My family are looking after her at home so far, why? because we love her, and we can, regardless of what has happened so far. Who can look after the sick of our neighbours? no one, why, because they are DEAD!
Yes, I am in the military, want to talk to me about it? face to face? I don't give a rats arse who or what you look like, I'll speak to any of you right now, right here! want to hit me or anything, I don't give a !
Do you wonder where your next drink of water is coming from?????
wondered if your house will fall on you or your family?
pull your heads out of your arse and look about. We are one of the richest and luckiest countries on earth. I am not just talking about money here, we are truely a very lucky country.
who are you to day that we should not help out fellow man?????? I bet if you had broken limbs and a few other injuries that you would be asking for help.
I don't give a f* about the politics, sure thats involved, when has it never been involved???
Who introduced hecs? who introduced gst? labour followed by liberal
why did they do it? because they though they had to.
Do I feel like I am useless at this point in time. YES! why? because me and my guys are the ones who produce power, buildings and clean drinkable water. Why do we feel useless? because we can see that we are needed and we aren't able to be in there helping.
Just be grateful to whatever/whoever you believe in that this didn't happen to us. Would anyone of you give something up for a member of your family? So what makes Indonesians/Thais/Sri Lankans/Indians/Swedes/Germans/Brits/French/etc different? want to bet that we don't treat other countries nationals in our med centres????
As for money, who cares if there are political undertones to giving it to Indonesia. When has there ever been a free lunch?? Never.
If it helps people in their time of need and makes our country a little less the enemy in the eyes of the Indonesian people, then who will complain?
if it just helps people in their time of need, then feel happy and have that to travel with you with your karma.
jenz58 ·
Fish look on the aide organisation sites....they are usually after professional people...or those with skills they need...ring around....
Must admit I don't fully read the articles about our LEADERS paying a visit to these disasters... they really don't need to go....it is publicity for them and they take up so much time when the officials there need to be doing other things rather than entertain ....If they do have to go maybe it would be nice if they actually got dirty themselves doing something more useful .....
Dannyboy ·
Have to say that when i heard 1 billion $$'s i thought way thats alot!
I agree with some , 1 billion is too much when your own backyard is going nuts! However we have to help out.
One thing i heard that makes a joke of this was on the news. They were rating who's giving the most aid by country and being rated.
Just seemed abit tasteless , almost making a competition from the horror of whats gone on.
Dan😉
jenz58 ·
penguin ... no censoring ...well said :kiss
...your mother has a good family
Unity-28 ·
NOt wanting to piss you off TG, but I bet your thoughts would change if you were there....I mean We have food on the table, a roof over our heads CLEAN water to drink, and yet we ask where is the money gonna come from.....Im sure a few of the promises Johnny made will be broken, which will suck, but at the same time 150K people have died, millions other homeless, Im sure the 1 billion we are giving them prolly wont even start the work towards the rebuild of these countries....I was in thailand not long ago, and I will be going bak later this year, this has only reinforced me going, cause I would love to see my money go to rebuilding their tourism industry (as little money as I will have anyway!). I can however Understand your frustration regarding things that need Fixing in our own backyard, but damn man, I would rather live here with the problems we have compared to living there......
As I said NOt to piss anyone off, Thats just my 2c.
Nectar.
XXX-1.8T ·
i agree with penguin and nectar
and what was said previously too is true an aussie would give the shirt off his back:sandrine
Boozer ·
penguin wrote:This is aimed at no one in particular.
To all those who are sitting there feeling that we are being duped, are fleeceing our own people, or whatever.
Fuc* off!!
I make no apologies, and if the mod's want to censor me, so be it.
As far as our medial system is concerned, I have mother who has stage two alzhiemers, and for those who don't l know, that means that on a good day, she knows who I am, on a bad day, well lets now go there.
So thats where I am coming from. I know that she if she was who she was before she forgot, and I, would never argue with the spending of australian money on this sort of thing. Who's looking after our neighbours patients? at least ours have access to some sort of medical system. Who the F* are you to talk about our countries health system? My family are looking after her at home so far, why? because we love her, and we can, regardless of what has happened so far. Who can look after the sick of our neighbours? no one, why, because they are DEAD!
Yes, I am in the military, want to talk to me about it? face to face? I don't give a rats arse who or what you look like, I'll speak to any of you right now, right here! want to hit me or anything, I don't give a !
Do you wonder where your next drink of water is coming from?????
wondered if your house will fall on you or your family?
pull your heads out of your arse and look about. We are one of the richest and luckiest countries on earth. I am not just talking about money here, we are truely a very lucky country.
who are you to day that we should not help out fellow man?????? I bet if you had broken limbs and a few other injuries that you would be asking for help.
I don't give a f* about the politics, sure thats involved, when has it never been involved???
Who introduced hecs? who introduced gst? labour followed by liberal
why did they do it? because they though they had to.
Do I feel like I am useless at this point in time. YES! why? because me and my guys are the ones who produce power, buildings and clean drinkable water. Why do we feel useless? because we can see that we are needed and we aren't able to be in there helping.
Just be grateful to whatever/whoever you believe in that this didn't happen to us. Would anyone of you give something up for a member of your family? So what makes Indonesians/Thais/Sri Lankans/Indians/Swedes/Germans/Brits/French/etc different? want to bet that we don't treat other countries nationals in our med centres????
As for money, who cares if there are political undertones to giving it to Indonesia. When has there ever been a free lunch?? Never.
If it helps people in their time of need and makes our country a little less the enemy in the eyes of the Indonesian people, then who will complain?
if it just helps people in their time of need, then feel happy and have that to travel with you with your karma.
I agree with that. We ARE very lucky. just imagine if we were the ones to be hit and cop 70,000-whatever dead. We would expect everyone to come to our aid. Why shouldn't we help them? Two thumbs up Penguin for having the guts to say what should be said!
malcolm ·
well said penguin.
57kombi ·
O.K.
Here I go.
I can see what Twoguns is on about, and yes I agree, we should look after our own first.
One other thing just to put the cat amongst the pigeons.
Remember when the bali bombing happened and we all donated money to the red cross, then there was the problem with them not giving the people the money and using it for other projects in other countries around the world.
Whos to say that the money will go the the people affected by this tragedy.???
Cynical yes I am.
Its the same when they had the benefit concerts for the farmers when we had the drought a couple of years ago and they raised millions for them, they have since had bumper crops, where are the farmers offering to give some money back.????
One of the reasons I have become this cynical is I work from home and not a week goes by that some backpackers arnt knocking on my door collecting for charities, I ask them if they are collecting for free, they all say that it is a good earner for them, and this is how they can afford to travel the world. They get paid a percentage of what the collect, then there bosses get paid and so on.
How much are the bosses of these companies actually giving to the people that need it???
Cheers
Dave
Starbug ·
its not 1billion in one go... its a total of 1billion over 5 years, which to me seems alot more helpful...
half in monetary aid, and half in food/housing/health. slowly and compassionately rebuilding the lives of millions of people. dont forget 81million has been DONATED by the australian public alone!!
i think its great that our government is putting its better foot first and helping out in such a big way... who cares about the politics.
penguin ·
Actually I think its about a total of 1.8 billion over 40 yrs.
500 Million is direct aid and 500 million is a no interest loan over 40yrs. the other .8 billion is whatever else we have pledged or spent already.
5PL1TDCS10N ·
I think alot of people born here can't really comprehend what poverty is, and really can comprehend the devastation of what has just happened.
These poor people were born with nothing;and had it bad before the tsunami, and have now lost even that! I know as I was born in this region and think its a #!$@ joke to hear about how hard things are getting here blah blah blah...I've seen what having nothing is with my own eyes!! The value systems are like chalk and cheese.
Lets share the wealth.
We are a blessed country because for what we do for others, and when all is said and done $ is of no value when you have lost a loved one. What we do for others will come back tenfold...
We all need to have some perspective, while we sit here in the comfort and safety of a nice home with a loving, healthy family, on the latest computer, with the luxury of a full belly, with a driveway of not just one vehicle while a child has just seen her whole family vanish in a second!
2guns I do see your point mate, and thought a valid one I feel that under the current circumstances countries like us/we are the only ones that keep this world from falling apart and have to do whatever it takes to help out...
And for all those out there doing their part to help out, well done.
Wayne
XXX-1.8T ·
Boozer wrote:
penguin wrote:This is aimed at no one in particular.
To all those who are sitting there feeling that we are being duped, are fleeceing our own people, or whatever.
Fuc* off!!
I make no apologies, and if the mod's want to censor me, so be it.
As far as our medial system is concerned, I have mother who has stage two alzhiemers, and for those who don't l know, that means that on a good day, she knows who I am, on a bad day, well lets now go there.
So thats where I am coming from. I know that she if she was who she was before she forgot, and I, would never argue with the spending of australian money on this sort of thing. Who's looking after our neighbours patients? at least ours have access to some sort of medical system. Who the F* are you to talk about our countries health system? My family are looking after her at home so far, why? because we love her, and we can, regardless of what has happened so far. Who can look after the sick of our neighbours? no one, why, because they are DEAD!
Yes, I am in the military, want to talk to me about it? face to face? I don't give a rats arse who or what you look like, I'll speak to any of you right now, right here! want to hit me or anything, I don't give a !
Do you wonder where your next drink of water is coming from?????
wondered if your house will fall on you or your family?
pull your heads out of your arse and look about. We are one of the richest and luckiest countries on earth. I am not just talking about money here, we are truely a very lucky country.
who are you to day that we should not help out fellow man?????? I bet if you had broken limbs and a few other injuries that you would be asking for help.
I don't give a f* about the politics, sure thats involved, when has it never been involved???
Who introduced hecs? who introduced gst? labour followed by liberal
why did they do it? because they though they had to.
Do I feel like I am useless at this point in time. YES! why? because me and my guys are the ones who produce power, buildings and clean drinkable water. Why do we feel useless? because we can see that we are needed and we aren't able to be in there helping.
Just be grateful to whatever/whoever you believe in that this didn't happen to us. Would anyone of you give something up for a member of your family? So what makes Indonesians/Thais/Sri Lankans/Indians/Swedes/Germans/Brits/French/etc different? want to bet that we don't treat other countries nationals in our med centres????
As for money, who cares if there are political undertones to giving it to Indonesia. When has there ever been a free lunch?? Never.
If it helps people in their time of need and makes our country a little less the enemy in the eyes of the Indonesian people, then who will complain?
if it just helps people in their time of need, then feel happy and have that to travel with you with your karma.
I agree with that. We ARE very lucky. just imagine if we were the ones to be hit and cop 70,000-whatever dead. We would expect everyone to come to our aid. Why shouldn't we help them? Two thumbs up Penguin for having the guts to say what should be said!
u know whats weird i live near the water and ever since i was young i always have had bad dreams about tsunamis washing away my house and family:cry:cry:cry
its sad it came true and washed away our neighbours
The_Bronze. ·
* Sigh *
sometimes it all just seem too much.
B.
SPRINTSTAR ·
Judging by the number of responses, this thread clearly demonstrates that this forum is mainly composed of caring (not to mention intelligent) compassionate individuals who are either informed or simply cultured and have had the benefit of education or experience on how lucky we are to be in this beautiful country. These recent extreme acts of generosity whether politically inclined or not is what sustains the quality of life we all benefit from...now and for our future generations....
blutopless2 ·
dannyboy67 wrote:One thing i heard that makes a joke of this was on the news. They were rating who's giving the most aid by country and being rated.
Just seemed abit tasteless , almost making a competition from the horror of whats gone on.
Dan😉
i agree... heard this on the news this morning and thought how stupid our news & press people can be to be trying to turn this into some sort of competition about who is giving the most.... and most likely only thought of it coz we are gonna win the race....
very tasteless indeed
squizy ·
Our relationship with Indonesia has always been bad. Anything that we can do to help them out in this crisis will be returned ten-fold in years to come. No doubt there is a long term unsaid political agenda, however the focus is to assist now, no matter what the cost.
Squiz....
HotRodMatt ·
Simple solutionhere is offer aid that is dependant on certain contitions being met.
Offer as much practical aid as possible, materials and labour for rebuilding, medicine and medical expertise but not wholesale lumps of cash until (particularly) the Indonesian government cuts its military spending. The harsh reality is that all the money goping there is nothing but military aid. While their government spends as little as possible, using foreign cash, to rebuild lives and environment their massive military spending will go unchecked.
The Japanese spend more on entertainment than they do on the military - lets see those sort of conditions imposed upon Indonesia.
twoguns ·
i didnt say look after our own first. what i said was it seems that the government seems to be getting carried away with their 'good will'. agreeing to help is great, and actually helping is fantastic. its interesting when you here that we are donating a lot to help rebuild indonesia, and that the USa is helping ot rebuild thailand..... sounds like an interesting slip of toungues.
but it seems that they are getting carried away when there is so much that still is needed here. when you look at teh fact taht we are a modern society with severe problems keeping up with ourselves, then think how lesser countries jsut couldnt keep up with there growth and the problems of health and farming and etc overwhelm them, where are we heading when we knee jerk all this publlic promising. and as i said b4 how much is not forthcoming, is stagering enough so why get carried away with it.
also what about this. indonesia owes australia 2.1billion in debt. so how is it that johnny doest jsut wipe some of htat and give them a head start on their economy. the poor bastards have a hard enough time jsut servicing the interest let alone repaying, and now htat this has ahppened, what is happining then.
i jsut feel that kiss arse reporters on jets dont ask these sorts of q's they jsut wanna suck the ride just like political inclusion. if they were good reporters, you would think they would ask where the funding is coming from and how it is in our 'goodtimes and lucky country' that we cant find this kindness for our own backyard.
penguin i understand your grief closer than you think. also i repspect what you do. your point is taken gladly. my point is are we not getting carried away.
and nectar, i ve been there. i know a local here who is missing there. i understand that generally their way of life is shit. but also i understand that we are a new country compared to a lot of these countries. yes we are fortunate to be 'lucky'. but i am sure not everybody in australia feels that way.
and hotrodmatt youve raised a point i was thinking but not sure to raise. i thought indonesia was a threat to australia... so here we are helping emensly to waht, buy their support, or hope that they remember. i hop eyoure right and that there is this talk happening inthe back ground. would be terrible to see all our assistance to be used to redevelop a country to te stage it was b4 with no improvements in government, military and way of life.
koolkarmakombi ·
At least we have hospitals, bridges and roads...........
twoguns ·
u know whats weird i live near the water and ever since i was young i always have had bad dreams about tsunamis washing away my house and family:cry:cry:cry
its sad it came true and washed away our neighbours
here is a theory to keep you dreaming at night costa. please take light hearted but is based on fact.
the egytian time clock predicts natrual dissasters for the next 5 years. (had man made for the previous three.) as prophecy type things goes its been one of the most accurate. anywya they predicted a great land of the south was to be wiped out by rushing water. it was to happen inthe next two years and maybe the one that jsut happened was it, but it has been thought it was australia to be wiped out.
remember that new zealand is on a huge fault and in fact teh islands are built up on old coral beds. so it is thought that a quake was to happen and that parts of new zealand would collaspe and taht a wave would strike the east coast of australia. .....
where you live???
oh and for anyone curious... the time clock finishes either 2011 or 2013. :duh
[Edited on 6/1/2005 by twoguns]
VolksFolks ·
Its Simple,
Taxes will go up!
Lives will be saved!
Who cares how much it costs, WE drink claen water, flush our waste down the loo, jump in our nice VW's, Geeeesh
We are soo lucky to be here safe and well, if it was australia that had the disaster i am sure ppl would think a little differnt
my 2 cents
Andy
twoguns ·
i donthtink we or anyone else would think a little different. am sure many countries would come to our aid, but i also think that we wouldnt get half of hte promises pledge as has happened in the past and will probably happen this time. i would like to know how the figures a re broken donw, like jenz said i know there is a lot in preivested capital, but it does seem to be getting blown out...
VolksFolks ·
I agree its a hell of a lot off cash Wes, and yeh we should probably get a breakdown as it is 'our' cash, i am also very suprised that Australia can find this amount of funds overnight, i think it proves that we the public are being left out in the cold as far as the countries finances go, i had a 24k tax bill last year, i got no help from the ATO, but still i feel that the disaster needs as much help as possible, i am deeply saddened by this awfull desaster..
Andy
EgeWorks ·
I find it strange that no-one mentioned that fact that most of the human casualties in this disaster could have been avoided if a much smaller amount of money was invested beforehand to implement a working early warning system. It wasn't like earthquake then one second later everyone is dead. True, all the infrastructure still would have been destroyed, but the loss of life seems to be the most important thing.
Governments thrive on being seen to be generous. In times of need they really crow about how much they are giving and blah blah blah. If they really cared about anything besides their own wealth they would be helping out by making the world safe so these humanitarian disasters do not happen. I'm not saying our country should not help out, not at all.
Call me cynical or idealistic if you will.
bertie_beetle ·
Lets just hope that Howard's plan works, and that after giving $1bn to Indonesia, they'll stop hating us so much, then we won't have to spend so much on anti-terrorist schemes.😉
57kombi ·
It also amazes me that the government cant find any money to help pensioners or the disabled or ill here in Australia, yet when another country needs help they find the money,
Dont get me wrong, I think everyone should help, its just where is the money coming from and why have we got this surplus and why hasnt it been used to help people here who have paid taxes to fund the surplus.
Yes I am cynical, but I remember Band Aid when millions of dollars were raised, great idea but the rulers and government officials of the countries were living like kings and the people were the ones suffering.
Yes we do live in a lucky country and we should help those less fortunate than ourselves but who organises where the money or aid goes, there are too many people ready to profit from this.
I heard a stroy that after the flood people where trying to get sanctuary in some government buildings and they wouldnt let them in.
Cheers
Dave
~air fooled~ ·
$1 BILLION to indonesia!? now i must admit that i havnt followed all the news too closely so i may not know the finer points, and as others have mentioned there is also political motives in this giving.... but what the fuck!?
yeah indonesia has been viewed as our biggest potential threat for yonks, i have heard of the children being taught that australia is part of indonesia or something or rather, but must we always kiss their ass and buy our prolonged peace??
i mean seriously, if we are doing all this for the RIGHT reasons then bloody distribute the money evenly or so... is there going to be a country that missed out on these big gifts cos no-one fears em!? is an indonesian life more valuable then a sri lankan one?
now im no racist but i would bet my bottom dollar that all our good will and givings will be forgotten by the indonesians in no-time and they will be once again out on the streets burning our flags and so on... sure there are always bad seeds and they may be great people when alone, but as with most parts of the world, group mentality prevails and people go nuts doin stupid things...
all i wanna see is our money is spent for the sake of helping people in need, not due to political agendas (ESPECIALLY as we will not reap any benefits down the track...) and ass kissing....
if anything, something like HOT ROD MATTS idea about reducing military spending should be the minimal condition if we give all this aid to indonesia.
HotRodMatt ·
The government will do what it wills (when the multinationals let it) so public concern is of little consequence (we do NOT live in a democracy)...
Whatever you do if you give your own money check out the structure of the organisation first! I know a friends mother who is/was reasonable well placed in an aid organisation (not giving away who it was but two letters from the tail end of the alphabet are it's initials). I would never piss on anyone involved in that organisation if they were on fire. She travelled everywhere at least business class if not first. Stayed in a 5 star resort while "studying the problems of Indian poverty" for 3 months - 2 months of this was spent treking the alps. Had expensive soirees (organisation funded) at her house where she would show slides of her fully funded travels - very little to do with any sort of aid work!
The best thing the world can do is send clothing, food and water, machinery, building materials, medicines and labour. Australia's billion bucks should be used sending over huge teams of paid apprentices and masters to rebuild housing, sanitation etc (commercial developments can look after themselves). Medical students can do their internships in critical areas, engineers can get their pracs... there are thousands of ways of offereng real help to these countries without giving money to despotic governments.
The_Bronze. ·
You will laugh and call me a liar but I would like to clarify something:
Indonesia does not hate us!
I'm sure if we invaded them then they would have somthing to hate us for. E.g. Iraq and the US seeking phantom weapons. I can't recall us doing that. Correct me if I'm wrong. Yes we stepped in at East Timor and we lost a couple of journalists 30 years ago (Lest We forget) but the population, the average individual of Indonesia does not hate us.
These generalisations and assumtions are perpetual and you know what happen when you assume somthing. You make an Ass out of "U' and "Me" and get my kids into a war. Sorry but I don't want that. Call me selfish but I can think of better things for them to do with their time.
Be careful what you wish for.
Right now the Average Indonesian isn't thinking about Australia. Sure a couple of Politicians and mabey a General or two but they have more important things to do than invade us. The Average indonesian dosen't even know where and what Australia is. They are more concerned in raising their kids, feathering their old age and food on the table tonight.
Bronze.
penguin ·
Some folk in Indonesia may hate us, but you will probably find the majority view us the way we view them. Most likely just as someone who lives (way) over there.
Yes you get to see the vocal groups protesting, and yes they have some extremists. But so do we.
this was taken from a news site okay, but I believe the figures are roughly correct.
QUOTE[
The five-year aid program is split equally between grants and long-term interest free loans to help Indonesia recover from the disaster.The $500 million in grants will be directed towards areas of high priority in Indonesia and used mainly on small-scale reconstruction, while the concessional finance - interest free loans for up to 40 years - will go towards the reconstruction and rehabilitation of major infrastructure.
AUSTRALIA's $1 billion aid package to help Indonesia recover from the tsunami disaster is the single largest aid contribution ever made by the nation.
The latest federal budget set aside $2.133bn in official development assistance, or aid, to be spent this financial year.
That figure was up $239 million on the 2003-2004 budget figure, which equates to about the cost of a loaf of bread every week for each Australian.
Australia spends about 1 per cent of its budget on aid, compared with 38 per cent spent on social security and welfare.
Before the Boxing Day tsunami – which has claimed the lives of about 100,000 people in Indonesia and up to 60,000 others in India, Thailand, Burma, the Maldives, East Africa, Malaysia and Sri Lanka – the Government had already committed $800 million in aid to Indonesia over five years.
In the immediate aftermath, the Government provided $60 million for direct relief efforts and put military and other personnel on the ground providing food aid, victim identification and other services.
Recent examples of major aid efforts serve as a fascinating comparison.
In the wake of the Bangladesh floods in November last year, Australia provided $25.8 million in food and emergency operations.
The Solomon Islands will receive $201.6 million this financial year as part of our commitment to providing essential services including economic policy, prisons, law and justice, schools and hospitals.
Since May last year more than $30 million has gone towards aid in Sudan, where up to 2.3 million people have been forced from their homes after years of conflict.
Australia currently provides more than $300 million in aid each year to Papua New Guinea, which mainly helps in the areas of education and health. But a five-year package signed last year will boost that figure by an extra $800 million.
Australia's commitment to the rebuilding of Iraq stands at around $126 million.
The key aid agency AusAID uses a range of methods to get money to where it is needed. Some work is contracted to Australian and international companies who use their expertise to deliver specific programs and often train local people to continue the projects in the long term.
AusAID also funds not-for-profit bodies such as World Vision and Oxfam to deliver aid programs at the local level in developing countries.
]UNQUOTE
XXX-1.8T ·
twoguns wrote:
u know whats weird i live near the water and ever since i was young i always have had bad dreams about tsunamis washing away my house and family:cry:cry:cry
its sad it came true and washed away our neighbours
here is a theory to keep you dreaming at night costa. please take light hearted but is based on fact.
the egytian time clock predicts natrual dissasters for the next 5 years. (had man made for the previous three.) as prophecy type things goes its been one of the most accurate. anywya they predicted a great land of the south was to be wiped out by rushing water. it was to happen inthe next two years and maybe the one that jsut happened was it, but it has been thought it was australia to be wiped out.
remember that new zealand is on a huge fault and in fact teh islands are built up on old coral beds. so it is thought that a quake was to happen and that parts of new zealand would collaspe and taht a wave would strike the east coast of australia. .....
where you live???
oh and for anyone curious... the time clock finishes either 2011 or 2013. :duh
[Edited on 6/1/2005 by twoguns]
Im living in Maroubra Beach but moving to Edensor park after the wedding (so ill be safe there out west 😉 )
I also think i worked out why we are giving them $1B to buy our way into the Asia Group for the World Cup Qualifiers. Asia doesnt want to know us now hopefully we get to play soccer with the big boyz 😉
HotRodMatt ·
not-for-profit bodies such as World Vision
Hahahahah. Of course there are no profits when some peole can make a really good living from working for them!
penguin ·
Yeah I know Matt
Want to guess what it looks like you have to get when you go field for the UN?
A white toyota landcruiser, not one between you and your mates, but one each. They were worse than the locals in Bosnia, and from what I have heard were about the same in Timor.
And people wonder why I am very cynical about the UN and the incredibly bloated and complicated organisational system it operates under.
karmen ·
the bottom line re our neighbours is for all of us:-
next land or next door we would /want to and do help if there is distress even for one person.
Just racism and orejudice gets in the way.
Re the toyotas for the big wigs
....do their job , apply , don't whinge .. have a go.
saw Oprah show and glad I did not have to look at Seinfelds $50,000,000 home in the light of tha natural disaster. hey, don't get me wrong he is a great guy and deserves accolades and the beautiful family he has.
WHAT CAN I DO IN YOUR NEED or CRISIS ??
WE ALL JUSS ONLY USE 10% OR EVEN LESS OF OUR brain !!
STATISTICALLY
HotRodMatt ·
Long but interesting read.... [the emphasis is mine]
Australia's eastern seaboard bears the scars of enough tsunami to concern one academic, James Woodford reports.
Like the rest of the world, Ted Bryant is horrified at the images of the devastation caused by the Boxing Day tsunami, but warns that Australia is not immune.
What worries the associate dean at the University of Wollongong's Faculty of Science is that, he says, compared with some of the tsunami that have struck Australia in the past, this week's disaster was relatively small.
Bryant says Australia's east coast is hit often enough by tsunami for governments to plan for them. Waves like last Sunday's probably strike NSW on average every 500 years - the most recent possibly just decades before James Cook sailed up the east coast in 1770.
However, these tsunami are insignificant compared with three deluges Bryant says are clearly recorded in the state's coastal geology.
These tsunami were big enough to break over the biggest headlands and deposit sediments tens of kilometres inland. The erosion caused and the boulders deposited tens of metres above sea level are proof, Bryant says, that Australia is vulnerable to such a disaster.
It is thought these three giant tsunami were caused either by massive slippage on the continental shelf or an object from space smashing into the ocean. The sediments left behind have been dated, allowing scientists to determine how frequently big tsunami have hit Australia.
The most recent one was in 1491, Bryant says. "The wave went over a 130-metre-tall headland at the south end of Jervis Bay, straight over into the bay and peeled off layers of the rock platforms below the cliffs.
"Four to five thousand years ago, a sand smear was deposited across the entire Shoalhaven delta, almost to Berry," Bryant said. "Nearly anywhere you put down an auger about two metres in this area you will find a sand layer about 40 centimetres thick."
Sediment was deposited 10 kilometres up the Shoalhaven River, and vast sand and gravel sheets were deposited at Dunmore, Minnamurra and Shellharbour.
By comparison, most of the sand deposits now being shown on television appear to be only a few centimetres thick.
These three big tsunami were so powerful they have wiped out most traces of the smaller ones. "Politicians can stand there and say there's been no tsunami that have affected my term in office, therefore they don't exist," Bryant said. "But if Sunday's tsunami had happened in the Tasman Sea I wouldn't be here, because my home at Bulli would have been within the tsunami zone.
"They go beyond the mind-set of politicians, but it's not that difficult to make people aware that our coastline is threatened by tsunami. There could easily be sirens on beaches and other tsunami warnings."
Bryant has advised utility companies on how to manage tsunami risks in Sydney; his main advice is to keep cables out of the harbour wherever possible.
But not everyone agrees with Professor Bryant's findings. One of the nation's leading beach experts, Professor Andy Short, says he is plain wrong: "I don't think tsunami are the threat to NSW that he says. The rest of us have not found similar evidence."
Professor Short, of the School of Geoscience at the University of Sydney, agrees some big waves do hit Sydney but they are not tsunami. He says the area has experienced tsunami but they have been so small as to be barely noticed.
Instead, the ocean off Sydney regularly has waves up to 10 metres high caused by storms. About once a decade there are even waves that peak at 20 metres. In 1912, a massive boulder was moved by such a wave and dumped on a rock platform at the northern end of Bondi Beach. Storm waves can dump boulders to heights of 20 metres, Professor Short says, but they have nowhere near the destructive power of tsunami and dissipate easily on beaches and cliff faces.
"There's nothing in the southern Australian region that could be a source of a big tsunami," Professor Short said. "We are well removed from the known tsunami sources."
**** Ummm, there was an 8.6 off Tasmania 4 days before the Indian Ocean event!
But what if Professor Bryant is right?
He says even just a three-metre tsunami would overrun every one of Sydney's beaches.
"A one-metre-high tsunami would certainly dislodge boats from their moorings," he said. "At three metres they would be picked up and smashed and small destroyers at Garden Island would be moved to neighbouring streets. Low-lying areas would be flooded. Tsunami love harbours and it would bounce around Sydney for 24 hours. It would go up all the creeks and rivers. If it got over Lady Robinson Beach, in Botany Bay, it would flood all those low-lying suburbs. It might take an hour to reach Parramatta.
"The airport would be inundated and, if a tsunami went up the Hawkesbury, it would go all the way to Richmond and spill over onto the Hawkesbury flood plain."
If it was a warm sunny Boxing Day and 100,000 people were at the beach, or during New Year's Eve fireworks, then death tolls would be enormous, he says.
He believes many of the state's coastal communities, especially at Batemans Bay, Merimbula and Lake Macquarie, are desperately vulnerable to such an event.
"You can take out a road map for towns on estuaries close to the coast. They're all built up and they would all be flooded."
penguin ·
Karmen,
I do do that sort of work when I am asked to. Would I work for the UN? Yes, I'd love to be paid that much money to eat and sleep in relative luxury.
Would I work for CARE, for Merlin, IRC, OXFAM, IHE, Save the Children, MSF etc, yes. And I would do so in preference to the UN, why, because I have seen them operate in the field and I know that they operate more efficiently, effectively and with more results than the UN does.
Please read the whole thread rather than just one or two posts.
penguin ·
Interesting Matt,
I am curious to see what the damage to our northwest coastline is as well. Something that hasn't come up in the media.
I knwo there are people up there, and a lot of communities are on the coast line there as well.
VolksFolks ·
i was thinking the same penguin, surley the wave must of reached aussie somwhere, i am off to have a look now on google
If any significant effect was felt in Oz it would have been in the south west.
[Edited on 7-1-2005 by HotRodMatt]
Spook ·
Me, I'm just getting sick of hearing about it on the news.
On boxing day there was a tidal wave, thousands dead, just as many missing, millions displaced.
Since then the whole world has responded with money, men & supplies.
This is as it should be.
But this constant film of destruction, dead bodies, different angles of people getting drowned. I GET THE FUCKING IDEA!!
Tonight, near two weeks later; Oh look, heres another film of some poor bastard getting drowned!
Don Henley wrote it down years ago;
"There's a bubble headed bleach blonde, comes on at five
She can tell you bout a plane crash with a wink in her eye
It's interesting when people die
Give us dirty laundry."
Was true then..........still is.
StenGuns ·
Hmmm.. Don't want to join this from the wrong angle.. But
My youngest brother is Country Ops manager for TNT in Indonesia.. They just happen to have a contract with the UN for Logistics support..
Anyway Dave (my brother) has been in a world of chaos since boxing day.. organising, ships, convoys of trucks and helicopters... always more helicopters... supplies, airport operations, personnel,
In the middle of this, (while Dave has been in Banda Aceh, Medan, Jakarta and all over the place) his wife (Paula) has been working in the UN office in Jakarta.. Neither have had much sleep or personal time for the last 13 days..
Dave has an exceptional logistics talent and in my last phone call to him.. (He was getting on a chopper in Medan to sort out some problem somewhere).. he said to not believe stories in the media about relief not getting to where its needed.. he said the relief is getting through and an awesome operation is underway..
I am very proud of him and all the others that are doing what they are trained to do.. All we can do is support them in it..
Rob
penguin wrote:Karmen,
I do do that sort of work when I am asked to. Would I work for the UN? Yes, I'd love to be paid that much money to eat and sleep in relative luxury.
Would I work for CARE, for Merlin, IRC, OXFAM, IHE, Save the Children, MSF etc, yes. And I would do so in preference to the UN, why, because I have seen them operate in the field and I know that they operate more efficiently, effectively and with more results than the UN does.
Please read the whole thread rather than just one or two posts.
koolkarmakombi ·
Stenguns, he da man!
StenGuns wrote:Hmmm.. Don't want to join this from the wrong angle.. But
My youngest brother is Country Ops manager for TNT in Indonesia.. They just happen to have a contract with the UN for Logistics support..
Anyway Dave (my brother) has been in a world of chaos since boxing day.. organising, ships, convoys of trucks and helicopters... always more helicopters... supplies, airport operations, personnel,
In the middle of this, (while Dave has been in Banda Aceh, Medan, Jakarta and all over the place) his wife (Paula) has been working in the UN office in Jakarta.. Neither have had much sleep or personal time for the last 13 days..
Dave has an exceptional logistics talent and in my last phone call to him.. (He was getting on a chopper in Medan to sort out some problem somewhere).. he said to not believe stories in the media about relief not getting to where its needed.. he said the relief is getting through and an awesome operation is underway..
I am very proud of him and all the others that are doing what they are trained to do.. All we can do is support them in it..
Rob
penguin wrote:Karmen,
I do do that sort of work when I am asked to. Would I work for the UN? Yes, I'd love to be paid that much money to eat and sleep in relative luxury.
Would I work for CARE, for Merlin, IRC, OXFAM, IHE, Save the Children, MSF etc, yes. And I would do so in preference to the UN, why, because I have seen them operate in the field and I know that they operate more efficiently, effectively and with more results than the UN does.
Please read the whole thread rather than just one or two posts.
theverybigtallman ·
i think the government is wasting time putting in a tsunami warning system. communications are so crap that there is no chance everyone would be warned anyway. some islands lie just a couple of metres above sea level anyway, so where are they going to go?
twoguns ·
theverybigtallman wrote:i think the government is wasting time putting in a tsunami warning system. communications are so crap that there is no chance everyone would be warned anyway. some islands lie just a couple of metres above sea level anyway, so where are they going to go?
that was actually a coment made byt he guy who first recognised the quake. he stated it wouldntve made a big difference as those taht were most affected, arnt a part of hte countries who run and get warned by the quake stations.
penguin ·
My apologies to your sister in law Stenguns, I guess I should have said that what I said was my opinion based on my own experiences, not the entire organisation. I am sure that she is working hard.
From what you wrote though your brother doesn't work for the UN, he works for TNT under contract. I am sure he is working his butt off as well, just like all our Log folk are (I am scared when I hear that we are using RAAF ADGs to unload aircraft though:O).
I just have had bad experiences with UN personnel and their organisation (and the EU) in the field.
StenGuns ·
No worries.. You make a valid point about misuse of funds.. Any massive org like this has waste.. The people at the sharp end are the useful part of the machine and do a good job.. Mind you Penguin.. Peace Keeping is different and we all know the UN is not set up for that.. Disaster relief though.. I have to give them the thumbs up!!
penguin wrote:My apologies to your sister in law Stenguns, I guess I should have said that what I said was my opinion based on my own experiences, not the entire organisation. I am sure that she is working hard.
From what you wrote though your brother doesn't work for the UN, he works for TNT under contract. I am sure he is working his butt off as well, just like all our Log folk are (I am scared when I hear that we are using RAAF ADGs to unload aircraft though:O).
I just have had bad experiences with UN personnel and their organisation (and the EU) in the field.
eirecooled ·
Just having the ability to send and read these message via a computer and the internet puts you in the top 8% of the richest citzens on earth.
Do not even try to compare a bad day for you to what these people are suffering. compare your day to this scenario :
you wake from sleeping under a tree on a hill because you fear another wave could be coming. you are hungry but the market place were you bought your daily food is wiped off the earth. thirsty? head down to the well to find it full of sea water and dead bodies. nothing to do but search for your missing loved ones you were separated from ( most lost whole families or the major breadwinners) start off at the place your home used to be and search through the rubble, finding your dead friends and neighbours but not your children or wife/husband. put up with the terrible smell of rotting corpses that only a tropical sun can really speed up and the fact that a cut or scratch from the wreckage will probably allow a host of diseases in to your starving body (that you will not be able to treat at your local doctors & claim an 80% rebate back from the government) move on to the local factory where you worked to find it is gone, so no income for you (and no centrelink to tide you over) mossies are starting to breed in the stagnant pools of water from the disaster so you will also have a chance of a blood bourne virus being passed on in the near future.
The hot sun and your thrist finally makes you drink some water you think might be safe ( hello cholera/diptherra/dysentery) continue on searching till dusk turning over rotten corpses looking for your family till you retire to your tree to sleep & start again the next day waiting for some caring person to come to your aid.
I had $200 saved up for some dropped spindles. I will be donating this to help. I can wait, they cannot, look into your soul to find ways to help not reasons not to. The child/person that gets saved could one day find there way to some powerful position in that countries future and I would rather he/she remembers that in their time of need Australia was there to assist.
68AutoBug ·
HotRodMatt wrote:Simple solution here is offer aid that is dependant on certain contitions being met.
Offer as much practical aid as possible, materials and labour for rebuilding, medicine and medical expertise but not wholesale lumps of cash until (particularly) the Indonesian government cuts its military spending. The harsh reality is that all the money going there is nothing but military aid. While their government spends as little as possible, using foreign cash, to rebuild lives and environment their massive military spending will go unchecked.
The Japanese spend more on entertainment than they do on the military - lets see those sort of conditions imposed upon Indonesia.
Did You notice the Indonesian Military helping the US Marines giving out food... All the Indonesians had a Machine gun strapped to their back.... Their Military IS the Power over there.... I AGREE with Hotrodmatt....
Years ago, many Australians were afraid of the Indonesian Military, [Government] and thought they would try to take over Australia..... and the Press helped spread this story....
Because of this I have never liked Indonesia... [Government]
I've never known any Indonesions either, but when You see all these poor people without ANYTHING at all.... No Food No Water No homes or anywhere to sleep....
and their losses of Family and friends....
These people have been thru Hell and their lives will NEVER be the same again....
I do think the aid from Australia was too high Considering the Aid given by other countries...
We Might be a Large country, but We don't have a huge population.... and We don't have to try to beat other countries donations....
The government can never find a few million for Hospital beds... etc... which they take away and never replace....
or for More Nursing staff... the list is endless..... as others have noted....
Our Prime Minister Mr John Howard was going to Indonesia anyway for a conference....
I also see Two Guns and many others views and agree partially with many of them.....
Neil, has another point of View-
It would be very easy to Flame some of the comments made
as We All don't have the same views.....
This is STILL a democracy.... until the Indonesians take over..
eirecooled ·
we just spent more on xmas presents ($1.5 billion retail turnover)than we are donating to these devasted people! fear and mistrust caused the cold war/arms race. when will we ever learn. have a look around your home and garage tonight and image it all gone, half the people you know missing or dead. your suburb leveled and no drinking water. this is the reality! all the rest is just theories and opinions.
Unity-28 ·
eirecooled wrote:we just spent more on xmas presents ($1.5 billion retail turnover)than we are donating to these devasted people! fear and mistrust caused the cold war/arms race. when will we ever learn. have a look around your home and garage tonight and image it all gone, half the people you know missing or dead. your suburb leveled and no drinking water. this is the reality! all the rest is just theories and opinions.
Amen!
N!
karmen ·
penguin wrote:Karmen,
because I have seen them operate in the field and I know that they operate more efficiently, effectively and with more results than the UN does.
Please read the whole thread rather than just one or two posts.
Ok, dear Penguin , firstly I did read it A L L,
secondly there is always somebody good, better , best, perfecter etc hey ??
if we leave it all to the best...would the rest get experience ? get better, would the tiny wheel in the clock mechanism have to do anything at all ? - or be obsolete,dumm, useless.
All good for our philosophy and evolution - our personal -and international development... 😊kiss
the bad make others look good
karmen ·
Unity-28 wrote:
eirecooled wrote:Amen!
Hallelujha
(oh and give us a spell check here if ya want)
twoguns ·
jsut got this message via u2u, from crazy george. dont know where the thinking came from...
dude.. i had a buyer for your type3 ghia!! now that i see ur makin fun of people dying in the tsanami disaster ,i dont think ill be passing on ur details... u & all the others should be ashamed of yourselfs...
sent the following response, and i am jsut posting here for hte sake of mods ( *thinking i am in it again* )
youre a dumb arse crazy george... i havent made any fun of the tsunami victims. i have jsut asked about the go ons of our politicians and reporters.
you seriously either must be really stupid or damn ignorant to say what you have....
57 Panel ·
I think it's a shame it took this kind of devistation for the more fortunate countries to dig deep. All the countries effected needed this sort of help before the tidal wave. I for one are happy little Johnny decided to give 1 Billion dollars to help them. I don't see why we shouldn't help, even if they haven't had some sort of natural disaster. We as tax payers probably won't see much of our budget surplus so why don't we give more. We can afford it......
57kombi ·
Watch it Wes, we'll get this one deleted as well/????
Good reply,
Cheers
Dave
HotRodMatt ·
This is STILL a democracy.... until the Indonesians take over..
Lee is it H.A.M. radio or reactionary talk back radio that you are into?
Indonesia's army would need the support of the rest of Asia to have any chance of a successful invasion. Sure there's millions of them and their military spending in relation to the GDP is appalling but they don't got no NAVY! Indonesia has never been a realistic threat to Australia other than in the words of John Laws, Allan Jones, Steve Price, Ron Casey and other such tools.
rice_girl ·
It's a shame it took the unfathomable loss of life and destruction to make us realise what a rich and flourishing country we really are, I cannot see how anyone could have any misgivings about our country putting $1 billion towards the cause.
But I do hope that when the affected regions start to rebuild their lives and homes that we can keep the goodwill alive by shifting focus into our own backyard. It is true that us Aussies will give someone the shirts off our own backs, but sometimes we get very lazy and need to be reminded when to be charitable.
Noone, not even the government, seems to care about our own homeless or battling, this is evident by the lack of affordable housing, community support and monetary compensations for people who live with disabilities, addictions or just have nowhere to go. How does this happen in our own backyard when we are supposed to have one of the highest resource quotas per head?
The little help these people do receive from charity organisations is hampered by (one example) the recent spate of sickening dilapidation of charity bins from which most of their funding derives.
The bottom line is that the poor victims of the tsunami need our help during these terrible times, but please remember that the quality of life some people endure here at home could do with some improving too.