Xenophondness?

Sometimes quixotic Senator Nick Xenophon has decided to quit direct involvement in federal politics and return to his home state of South Australia where he hopes to stand for election to the state parliament. Noted for his campaign stunts when previously in state politics, this time he intends to form a new party BEST SA with an initial aim of becoming a 'third force' alongside the major parties.

Pundits have already opined that he may achieve a balance of power position after the upcoming state election... and have gone as far as saying he could be a future premier of SA? I suppose anything is possible in today's fraught Australian political landscape, though 'Premier X-man' does sound like a bridge too far in one gigantic leap for 'Nick'.

Modifying laws to accommodate the FEAR card.

Sounding somewhat like the saviour of all mankind, our PM joyfully announces that among other legislative white-anting he has now brought us into the 21st century by enabling law enforcement agencies to extend incarceration of suspects for 14 days without charges having to be laid. And, it seems that includes minors 10 years old and above!

What is it about this ruling mob that attracts them to locking people up without any proof of evil intent or actual law-breaking activities?

Australia Day controversy.

I'm the product of paternal seeds which were sewn by a former Londoner who first set foot on this continent during the last half of the 1850s.  He was a free settler obviously attracted to this country by the then gold rush, because after disembarking in Melbourne he was soon a citizen of Inglewood right among the diggings. I believe that town remains well populated by Masons and off-shoots of that tree even to this day.

The country remained a collection of colonies until the federated nation of Australia came into being on January 0l, 1901. I'm therefore non-plussed by the fact thats many Australians still regard their national day of celebration as January 26th on which date in 1788 the 'great southland' was hi-jacked by the British Empire primarily as a dumping ground for convicted felons they no longer wished to house in the 'old country'!

I'm immensely proud of my country of birth, but not by the way it was first established. Our forebears finally achieved some form of honourable independence as a nation by forming the Commonwealth of Australia as a separate entity from Britain on 01/01/1901... which intentionally or not, seems to be echoed by latter-day national sports fans in their chant 'Aussie, Aussie, Aussie OI,OI,OI!

 

The great Postal Survey?

Well, the government has had its day in the High Court and now awaits the decision on whether or not their decision to substitute a simple legislative method of determining 'Marriage Equality' with what looks more and more like an attempt to boost the coffers of Australia Post with mis-directed tax-payers funds passes the test of constitutional constraints.

Lesson may well be 'don't promise things you can't deliver'... which should be the main premise in chapter one of the Political Bible?

The Perils of Pauline?

I used the caption 'If the hat fits, wear it!' as the text associated with 'Barnaby the bi-national' earlier this week. It would've fitted this piece about the perils of Pauline just as well... but I couldn't fore-see her idiotic stunt in the Senate.

Barnaby

Barnaby Joyce is undoubtedly talented in many aspects of his life's work.  Sadly, political leadership does not appear to be among his best attributes. That is not to say his contribution to parliamentary activities will not be missed should his dual-citizen status be found by the High Court to be incompatible with the meaning of section 44-(i) of the constitution.

All other considerations aside... Barnaby is one of the most entertaining of the Buffoon Troupe at present performing for us in Canberra. Should he be enjoined to vacate the 'House', our ability to laugh-off the continuing failings of our political leadership will be sorely strained!

Plebiscite blues?

The persistence in avoiding a parliamentary vote on legislation to enable same sex marriage is beginning to look like a 'death wish' on the part of the coalition government. Instead they want to waste millions of dollars of tax-payers money to skirt around the need to show leadership and/or back-bone in prosecuting their right to implement representative governance already bestowed upon them by the last election result. OK their 'policy pitch' in the lead-up to the election may have included the promise of plebiscite on 'marriage equality' ... but Billy the blind miner's dog knows that was purely a sop to quieten the rabid right wing of the Liberal party.

With the general consensus being that any form of nation-wide vote on the question would result in a substantial YES victory... the electorate will look upon the exercise of a nation-wide plebiscite or postal vote as a pure and simple waste of money which could be put to better use in the government's constant bleating about 'Budget repair' or better still in support of better HEALTH, EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT opportunities, ENERGY reform and/or INFRASTRUCTURE building!

As the accompanying cartoon suggests...maybe the people have already given their response to the stupidity of plebiscite by stripping the coalition of fourteen seats at the election?!

'Collision' Parties meet

The governing parties are meeting today to try getting everyone on the same page about how to proceed with satisfactorily taking the 'Marriage equality' question off the 'to do' list.

With the back-stabbing far right clique actively trying to ham-string legislative processes which don't fit their view of the world and a contingent of rebels vowing to short-circuit expensive and fragile public plebiscite or mail-in voting schemes with direct legislative action in the parliament... today's talk-fest will be attractive media bait, if nothing else.

Pseudo Italianization?

There's nothing essentially wrong with being known as a 'mother's boy'... except, perhaps, if you happen also to be an elected member of Australia's parliamentary elite subject to section 44 of the Constitution?

Senator Canavan now has the job of wading through the coagulated bowl of spaghetti Momma has included him in as an apparently unwilling ingredient.

Good luck with that Matt.

Dual Citizen-ship disease

It seems the federal parliament has been suddenly stricken by an epidemic of the dual-citizenship  virus, the main symptom of which appears as memory-loss.

Unless it is quickly brought under control, the knife-edge balance in the house of reps. is likely to be upset by members being obliged to resign willy-nilly due to strict eligibility requirements of the constitution.

Goodness gracious!

Fixed Terms for Federal Parliaments?

An extra year ostensibly giving elected representatives more time to implement their policy promises?

Judging by their average accomplishments over recent parliaments... one wonders if even 10 year stints would produce results from these professional snails?

 

Madagascar Ahoy!

Today I looked back over the past week's news stories to see if any logical or even remote connections could be fashioned into a cartoon theme.

Massive berg breaks away from the antarctic ice sheet and sails off to who knows where?
Could that involve migrating penguins seeking a warmer clime? If so, what destination?
Madagascar...of course! But, TV News tell us the indigenous Lemur population is facing
a bleak future because of habitat loss due to a mad rush to mine sapphires where once were
great rain forests!

    

Menzies' Legacy?

Having lived through the Menzies era, I can confidently opine that R,G. did not have people like Tony Abbott in mind when he became founder of the Australian Liberal Party. It was meant to be a centrist party based on liberal policies (note the 'small L') and in no way fostering the extreme right- wing aims of the British Conservative party. Indeed, one of the wartime leaders he is reported to have most disliked was Winston Churchill and that may well have partially driven his intentions to mould the Liberal party as a 'middle of the road' entity in the spectrum of Australian politics.

ANTipodes revisited.

Back in 2011 I authored a Cartoon blog hosted by an 'over 50s' web site based in Brisbane. One of the  regular mainstays of that effort was a single panel series titled ANTipodes which was a parody built around english language words containing the letters ANT (in that order) describing supposed activities of an ant colony.

At the time the space available for illustrations was quite restricted (e.g. initially 8x8 cms only) necessitating fairly simple drawing /text arrangements. I was then mostly using a VECTOR based drawing application which allows expansion or contraction of digital artwork without any loss of line clarity, so 'postage stamp' sized pieces of 2011 can be readily enlarged to 20x20cms with a key-click as was applied to the example on this post.

The G 19 Summit

I've been marooned in the doldrums since the end of June, lacking the drive necessary to produce cartoons even though an almost continuous parade of likely subject matter was passing my field of awareness on a daily basis. I'm happy to report that the G20 ...err G19 summit meeting in Hamburg has sparked a flicker of interest mainly focussed on the Trump appearance at his first big international political bun-fight.

Never thought I'd feel anything but disgust at this imposter's antics as he play-acts his tenure in the role of POTUS. However, I actually felt sorry for the bloke after viewing footage of his reaction to inter-action with the flock of other world leaders yesterday. He is obviously being cast as an 'outsider'
... largely (IMO) because he clearly acts as if he doesn't know what he is supposed to do and say in this level of leadership.

Citizen speak?

How lucky are those of us who were born in Australia? We never had to go through the largely ridiculous mine-field of Q & A being put together by those doyens of language, values, sporting stats,  and gawd knows what else masquerading as a federal government in Canberra at the moment. I imagine most of us 'natives' would fail the test now being prepared for hopeful immigrants seeking citizenship in Australia. We'd probably fail the present test for that matter(?)

The preferred level of English required of future applicants is said to be 'level 6 university'... whatever that is. My only recent exposure to 'university' standard language has been viewing a variety of professors being interviewed as expert spokes-persons on ABCTV news programs seeking input on matters of education and its role in the social sciences. I've been appalled by the number of them who start virtually every sentence with the word 'SO' and pepper their statements with other now hackneyed business world expressions such as 'around' instead of about; 'reaching out' instead of seeking; 'going forward' instead of ahead or future; and lately the ancient Roman 'cohort' in lieu of group or crowd! Is this the 'university standard' rubbish prospective Australians need to learn in order to fit in with the new order of things?

Well, at 82 y-o-a I don't propose using that version of English any time soon, so why should new-comers be compelled to?

Jack Frost calling...

This cartoon first saw the light of day during 2012 in support of a blog dealing with a run of then
extraordinarily COLD weather in the greater Melbourne area. During the past week or so, the same pattern of foggy, freezing starts to each day has been repeated enough to justify a second run for Mr. Frost as well.

Originally drawn @12 x 12cms (to suit the space provided for illustrations in the host web-site), it was also fortunately constructed in a Vector application which has enabled me to increase its size to 20 x 20cms without any loss of clarity or sharpness of line.

Taking a Liberty?

Here's a bonus post of something I did c. June 2012 when the then projected TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement) was first out-lined to the public in nations expected to participate.

I recall one onerous factor was the proposed built-in ability of Multi-national corporations (mostly U.S. based) to sue any member nation they felt might have stunted their profiteering 'rights'.

The drawing of 'Liberty' was actually made in 2009 for another illustrative purpose. The smile, eyes and URL tag on the fold of her gown were added to support the TPP disquiet.

Three blind mice?

Many of our so-called elected officialdom strive mightily to convince us that they are fit for the task of representing us despite our collective doubts to the contrary... then do something which proves the basis of our doubts to be correct.

Just stupid!

Mrs May's dismay?

When you allow EGO to dominate your vision of what's possible in politics... you often end up with Egg 0n Face. Such is the fate of British PM Teresa May who thought a snap election would increase her power profile for up-coming Brexit negotiations with the EU. Wrong! The 3 year early general election has left the Tories with a 'hung' parliament instead of the anticipated 100 plus seat majority they and Mrs May thought they would  have.

As I've said elsewhere... I think it is poetic justice especially for extraordinary hubris displayed by a so-called political 'leader'. All others of the MAY ilk beware!

D-day, June 6th 1944.

This is a re-run of a cartoon first published in 2012 to celebrate the day when Allied forces invaded German occupied Europe thus invoking the beginning of the end for Adolf Hitler and his Nazi forces.

I was 9 years of age at the time of the actual event and still remember the childhood fear of radio news war reports which had always seemed to engender a feeling that the German/Japanese axis was invincible. After D-day... I think I was finally able to resume being a child and to enjoy life normally outside of the black shadow of war.

Budget Land

In tabling the 2017 Federal Budget in May, the Treasurer made a big deal out of a scheme to release a parcel of Defence Dept. land in the Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong to enable development of a housing estate to help alleviate a severe shortage of stock in the current Victorian market. On the face of it, the proposal  would potentially allow construction of 3000 homes in an attractive river-side environment... forming what could become a new and desirable suburban area out of an otherwise waste-land.

It's only now, several weeks after the Treasurer and his government colleagues have been basking in the aura of their wonderful 'gesture', that we learn the site is heavily affected by almost 100 years of pollution with by-products of a munitions factory established in 1908. To restore the site to suitability for human habitation is going to cost 'someone' tens of  millions of dollars in clean-up costs and a waiting period of between 2 and 6 years before actual development of housing can begin!

Still, we could start thinking up names for the housing precincts of the future. Asbestos Acres, Hydrocarbon Heights or even Toxic Towers come immediately to mind.

Rogue ASSteroid?

Actually launched myself into scribbling a new original cartoon late yesterday... and further surprised myself by completing it today.

Credit where it's due... thanks for your continued stupidity Donald!

Grey Nomads 2

Here's another c2012 cartoon I've fished out of my archives to entertain the reader should I fail to post something new based on the world today.

Bugged by the June Bug?

Posting new cartoon material has proved to be 'a bridge too far' over the past month or so. The mental block started because I simply got tired of the political theatre we were being fed by the slapstick and custard pie material generated from our Canberra masters, which was only topped by the hapless tedium emanating from the top billing in Washington/London/EU et. al.

The trouble is, IMO you can't make a joke of stuff already replete with comedy material. So, to ease back into some form of 'new' material, I'm selectively using some of the daily stuff I was publishing before my current blog site was inaugurated. Hope it helps restore my own sense of the ridiculous thus providing the reader with a modicum of enjoyment for their effort in bothering to look in on my day(s).

Grubby politics?

Different species but with a shared liking for Black Holes?

Fairly un-fair?

Presenting the federal budget as based on fairness for all will be a difficult task for our current political leaders as everyone with an axe to grind will have a different notion of what is a 'fair go' for their particular sphere of interest.

William Ellis Green (AKA) WEG. 1923-2008.

Bill Green's work as a cartoonist for the H&WT newspaper group was always the key reason for me to buy their daily publications. His output was prodigious and I still consider his style of drawing and comical on the spot caricature to be the best of have ever encountered. As essentially a consumer and admirer of his product I never thought I would ever meet the bloke let alone be accepted as a fellow pro-'toonist and friend.

But, c.1985 I was invited to join the Victorian chapter of the Australian Black&White Cartoonists' club and 'WEG' became 'Bill' from then until he sadly passed away in 2008. Bill was never a keen adopter of computers as a tool in the cartooning profession, whilst I was quick to see the role IT could play in simplifying colour cartoon reproduction. We had many jocular debates on the subject over the odd beer or two but it never dimmed my respect for the giant Bill was in the history of Australian cartooning.

Here's a caricature I did of my 'cobber' in 2003.

Vale Lou Richards 1923-2017

I saw my first live VFL football match c1943 when my Dad brought myself and younger brother from the Latrobe Valley district of Victoria on a day trip to see a Carlton v. Collingwood match at Princes Park. My lasting impression of the game was 'big blokes' in dark blue jumpers against 'little fellows' in black and white stripes. I don't remember which team won, but from then on I became a
'magpie' supporter, perhaps purely on the basis of sympathy for the apparent 'under-dog' in any contest? On that day, one of the 'little guys' would've been Lou Richards who had joined Collingwood in 1941.

Today's illustration is an original mapping pen and india ink drawing of Lou made by me from a press photo sometime before November 11, 1949 (I know that because it was part of a submission of similar sporting star drawings in the 'hobby' section of a Morwell Flower Show held on that date. The work achieved 'second prize' according to a card accompanying this and the other age-yellowed 183 x 273mm sized original pages in my archive.)

Little did I know then that within 3 years I would be training with Lou and other magpie heroes on the Collingwood ground at Victoria Park as a 'March wannabe' who became captain of the Third 18 in 1954, before moving temporarily to Perth to pursue 'other interests'. But, that's another story.

Gonski 2.0

Education Minister Simon tries to explain the new schools funding arrangements.

It aint simple!

Budget fixer?

As Sco Mo's day in the spotlight fast approaches, we wonder if he can 'cook the books' more successfully than his pre-decessor Smoking' Joe's multiple cake-burnings saw him rewarded with banishment to the colonies?

Debts unlimited?

The upcoming federal budget is reportedly being built on a framework of debt, good, bad and presumably, indifferent? A veritable 'truckload' of debt,

By the way, whatever happened to the once upon a time celebrated debt truck?

The MARS 'bar'?

Among his latest grand ideas Donald Trump has included a shade of JFK admiration (or one-upsmanship?) by suggesting the US should put a man on Mars during his presidential incumbency.

Why not go the whole hog and volunteer to be that MAN himself?

Art from the Heart.

At the risk of being seen as out of step with mainstream thought in Australia, I have to tell my reader that I do not share the belief that various military undertakings by Australian forces during the so-called War to end all Wars were central to the building of our reputation as a nation state. To the contrary, I think the enormous casualties attributable to that un-holy conflagration served to set back our nation-building efforts for almost two decades due to the cavalier waste of human resources in a conflict that had absolutely nothing to do with antipodeans (i.e. Australia and New Zealand) other than as outposts of European Empires fighting among themselves... and ALL destined to be defunct within 50 years of the 'Great War' anyway!

The only sentiment I share with mainstream 'opinion' is astonishment at the bravery of those adventurous young men who were slaughtered at the alter of crass imperialism. The war had absolutely nothing to do with 'freedom' as we accept the meaning of that word today. It had everything to do with greed for power, xenophobia and elitism. The treatment of troops in the field by  military and political leaders of the day was nothing shy of barbaric and most would've been charged with war-crimes if judged by the legal imperatives of today.

Circa mid-1950s I was moved to make a pencil sketch of a scene which might illustrate my attitude to WW1 in the face of ANZAC Day 'celebrations' of military prowess which I find mis-placed. I can't remember doing any research preparatory to the sketch... thus I consider it is more a product of heart rather than mind alone. It speaks to me of humanity, which I believe would not have been lost by ordinary combatants despite the horror they found themselves facing day after day.

 

Into the UN known?

Even Oligarchies suffer dog days when nothing seems to work...

Fertiliser?

About a decade ago I was driving to an Apple computer users* weekend meeting on the other side of Melbourne when I was delayed in Mt.Alexander Road by a huge green truck backing out of the Essendon plant farm after making a delivery. It was emblazoned with a well known fertiliser Company's name (not Mutual) supported by a slogan which had both pedestrian and motorist spectators in stitches.

When I got to the meeting, even the most straight-laced elderly members couldn't hide their amusement when I related the en-route experience.

* AUSOM... Apple-users Society of Melbourne.

Manus mess

Well... here's something you don't see very often (in recent times anyway).

That's it!.. a cartoon and blog post originally drawn/composed by yours truly AND posted to various social media outlets within 24 hrs!

Will wonders ever cease?

Oh... the subject there-of? The 'brass-alloy' response of our Prime Minister to news media questions about what the government is doing in the aftermath of shooting violence at the Manus Island 'detention' centre' was to gesticulate with his hands whilst blurting out 'that's PNG's problem!'

What???!

Traffic jams

The things that destroy any latent joy which may have attached itself to motoring in the past.

Speaking of the past, this cartoon originally accompanied a blog during the second half of 2012, almost certainly after some massive motor-way screw-up affecting commuters in the Melbourne area. These occurrences are by no means unusual, but the sign tells me that either Roads or Government 'authorities' must have reacted to the grid-lock in a cavalier fashion which did nothing to assuage the anger of motorists caught up in the mess(?)

Shock Jocks...

... you've gotta love 'em or despise 'em.

Back in September 2012, I fell squarely in the latter group where I remain firmly entrenched today. Mr. Jones' trumpeting must've especially stirred my bile at the time for me to conjure up this depiction of him. It accompanied an entry in an old blog of mine but the text element of that post is temporarily out of reach on a HD trapped inside an old computer which ceased operating only a few weeks ago.

Yes, I know...BACK UP, BACK UP!!

Labour Day?

I'm currently in a bit of a miasma over the medical tests aftermath of a fall from an exercise machine in our local municipal park last Monday morning. The momentary brain fade was identical to a series of the same 'VASA VAGAL' fainting incidents I had become familiar with during a long surgical battle with twisted bowel syndrome from 2005 to 2008. As often happens in these circumstances, the accident itself did little physical damage beyond the odd bruise and minor soreness, but an X-ray has thrown up a couple of ancillary mysteries which require more elaborate scans from next Monday. IMO, the medical tests treadmill is always far more stressful than actual treatment for disorders.

It also hogs your mind to the detriment of creative thoughts like lampooning the news or social behaviour in cartoon form. Hence, I am left to post re-runs of older work for a while until the medical test tunnel is fully negotiated. Today's slightly re-worked post is from my blog for Labour day in March 2012.

April fool?

Feeling quite wan in recent days. This is just a bit of fluff illustrating a random comment from a conversation with my son a couple of days ago.

Water Birds?

As I've mentioned here before, my first cartoon blog was hosted by an 'over 50s' web-site called
GOT (for Good Old Talk) located in Brisbane. I had been a member for a year or so before the site owner suggested I might like to author a Blog based on daily cartoon posts. Always up for a challenge, I agreed and the blog commenced on January 01 2011. The hot topic of commentary at the time was a monster flood event affecting Queensland as the aftermath of a horrendous storm which occurred during late December 2010. A whiff of Deja vu considering the storm related flood trauma now being suffered by Queensland and N.S.W. in the wake of cyclone Debbie?

In the event, my cartoons for Jan.1st and 2nd tried to inject an element of humour into the general atmosphere of horror, loss and frustration being experienced by thousands of people in the affected areas. I should also repeat advice that the space reserved for blog illustrations was limited to 8 x 8cms... so the following illos have not been reduced for this post...

Was the bird reformed as ordered?  Evidently not!

Early Learning?

I guess I'm very much old school when it comes to identifying my ingrained social inclinations with many of the habits demonstrated by public figures in the 21st century.

When my son (now in his 50s) was at preschool, (or kindergarten as it was then known universally), I would've been appalled if I came upon him being fondled and/or slobbered upon without my permission by some upstart political figure trying to animated a legislative program aimed at reforming 'early learning'. I could be wrong, but I don't think Bob Menzies would've thought that was an essential part of his campaigning either. He, of course, was renowned for his ability to paint recognizable word pictures without the need to wear funny hats, safety vests, or utilize children as policy props!

Had I ever stumbled upon my son being thus employed... I guarantee that no matter how inarticulate the miscreant might be... he/she would have no difficulty in understanding my view of the procedure!

Ham and Cheese...

... an idea for a single panel cartoon series which emerged from my filing cabinet circa 2011 after languishing for about a decade whilst I was either engaged with contracted cartooning work or recovering from major illness.

Today's offering was among a few ideas I had put together as a possible 'pitch' to one of the U.S. comic syndicates once I convinced myself the idea had 'legs'. Before that happened though, I stumbled over the fact that one of America's favourite strips at that time happened to be one which featured none other than a pig and rodent.

Back into the dungeon and quickly forgotten was thus the lot of my duo. Here's a taste of the theme.

Foyled?

Browsing through 'kept' cartoons today, I came across a photocopy of a Bulletin page (108) of August 11, 1981. Among other things, a cartoon by the inimitable Lindsay Foyle took pride of place at the top of the centre column.

A day or so ago, I was lauding (not for the first time) the simplicity of Frank Winter's cartoons. I've always admired 'toonies who are able to carry a gag with the absolutely least quantity of drawn lines. Now I realize my admiration of that talent goes back at least 36 years, because this example of MR. Foyle's work would only have been kept for that reason.

Thus, this post is a tribute not only to the brevity of Lindsay's art, but also the fact that his style of drawing then is virtually the same as today's work. In that same frame I've had more drawing style changes than square meals. Great work Lindsay!

St. Paddy's day 2012.

With limited time available today, no time to dream up new Irish gags.  Thus, here's the 'toon published in my 2012 blog which hopefully the Emerald Isle reader will have forgotten 5 years later.

Laughing Gas?

Remarkable how our political chieftains have apparently bungled the exploitation of Australia's natural gas assets. With almost the entire volume of recovered gas being sold and exported overseas, our Prime Minister has to go virtually 'cap in hand' to beg processors of OUR energy resources to please allow some of the product to be supplied to meet domestic needs in the shadow of massive shortages predicted to descend upon us in the next couple of years.

Why are these 'Gas Companies' not operating under the shadow of imminent nationalisation of Australian energy resources unless they DO AS THEY'RE BLOODY-WELL TOLD or get the hell out of our gas fields?!

The KAT in the Hat.

A week or so ago Bob Katter's name popped up in a media piece about the crumbling state of the coalition Government in the House of Reps. I used to have a blog hosted by a website in Brisbane... so was fairly familiar with the 'doings' of Bob. However, he doesn't cross my path very often these days.

Yesterday I was lost in the search for a current event to cartoon, so naturally fell back on the bog-standard idea of invoking something 'from this day' in the past. Voila! Who should emerge but the KAT in the Hat up to something or other on March 14, 2012! Obviously to do with 'pulling a rabbit out of his hat'... but I couldn't find the accompanying text so the viewer will have to think up a scenario appropriate to Bob's usual modus operandi.

Whatever, here is Bob as he was then with my only tinkering being to enlarge the original and change the background colour to better highlight the caricature.