Open Letter to Scott Morrison

DH is a regular recipient of Cookmail, the newsletter of Scott Morrison, currently Shadow Minister for all things immigration and population control. She met him on the historic occasion when she popped into Canberra during his stint as Shadow Housing Minister. She found him lacking in knowledge or understanding of housing issues, but personable and willing to listen. Perhaps his lack of understanding was due to his newness in the role. Besides, at that time, the Liberals were wedded to a very simplistic line on the housing crisis that they had so miserably failed to foresee or prevent during their decade of power. The Lib's simple mantra: blame the states for not releasing more land...  

Morrison to the rescue!
Safeguarding our borders

Mr Morrison's newsletter solicited  feedback, so DH couldn't resist the opportunity to influence Liberal Party policy. Here is her advice:

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Dear Scott Morrison,

Thank you for sending me your newsletter and request for feedback. As I consider you to be one of the more balanced members of the Liberal Party, I am pleased to give you a response.

Let me say that I was very disappointed by the Liberal Party's election tactics. In fairness though it was the Australian public who shocked me for responding so strongly to the negative campaign run by Tony Abbott.

From my perspective, the campaign pandered to the most ignorant and resentful members of the public. It lacked all substance, with figures in billions of $$$ plucked out of thin air, and a mish-mash of back-to-the-future and wild-leaps-into-the-unknown policies, chopped and changed to suit the moment.

I am now appalled to find that the Liberal Pary has switched from the nonsensical enough idea of being "kind and gentle" to an all out determination to destabilise the Australian government. We need an effective opposition to raise important, well-researched questions on the feasibility of the NBN, on a continuation of efforts to create affordable public and private housing. We need a serious debate about sustainable population growth and humane treatment of asylum seekers. We need to make up our minds whether people on welfare benefits should be at least lifted to the poverty line, or whether we should jettison them into a new caste of untouchables. And as a former Home Sustainability Assessor (unemployed), I am keen to see that an effective opposition keeps tabs on Labor's management of ambitious projects.

Instead, what we are hearing from people like Messrs Abbott, Hockey and Pine, is a barrage of sledging, wrecking and personal attacks reminiscent of the tactics of the mean girls at my high school.

I hope you will be a force for an Opposition committed to the long-term good of the nation rather than a short-term grab for power at any price.

Regards

DH

Welcome to Social Housing, Ya Arbibi... And where's Tanya?

Trust me on this. A housing
offer you can't refuse.

Ummm... is this a demotion for Arbib, Housos, or both?

Does it mean mo' betta social housing, or the opposite? 

If Arbibi is poll-driven, he'll be wanting to get rid of us all, such is the general hatred whipped up against housos by a succession of the luminaries of the NSW Right: Housing Ministers of the calibre of Joe Tripodi, Cherie Burton, and the Right Honourable Mr Fancy Pants.

DH excludes David Borger, and was sorry to see him go, for he had a genuine vision for social housing and urban regeneration.

The current minister Terenzini remains an unknown quantity, as measured by the flatlining of excitement levels generated in the housing sector.

But back to Mark Arbib. If he want to get rid of us, though, surely he can't knife all of us in the back, can he? Not here in Australia?

DH proposes a protest cavalcade of BMW's stretching all the way from Airds to Canberra, to nip in the bud any plans to ship us all off to Christmas Island.

And where's Tanya?

And has the Ministering Angel of Housing,  Tanya Plibersek, been kicked, cajoled, nudged, or invited, upstairs, downstairs, or sideways?

Can anyone who understand the workings of the constant ministry renamings and rebadgings enlighten us?

Some vignettes of working class life.

Just a couple of stories DH heard this week.

Case 1.

Started chatting with a saleswoman at one our biggest electronic retailers, who shall remain unnamed. Let's call them HN. On her feet from 10.30 till 7pm, with just 30 mins off work and no tea break. She has just left an abusive husband, and moved into a flat at $280 a week with her two primary school aged kids.
Has a 1.5 hour commute each way.

Her wages? $15.75 and hour.

Case 2.

A building worker in his 50's. No job security. Contracting. Very fit for his age, but worried about what will happen if he can't keep going. Would like to be more involved in his community but too exhausted at the end of the day. Does a lot of driving. Is terrorised by speed cameras, and now mobile cameras. Can't relax - a momentary lapse or two, and he could lose his livelihood.

Meanwhile over there in the Ministry of Social Inclusion, Tanya Plibersek's new portfolio, you might think that it's all about being nice to people, and designing brochures about how not to diss people with disabilities. Not at all. It's all about how to pressgang Aussies into similar low paid stressful jobs.

Apparently, the underlying principle of Social Inclusion is "Arbeit Macht Frei"

Mark Arbib, Minister for Social Housing... he can't knife all of us in the back ... can he?

If Arbibi is as poll-driven as they say, he'll be doing his darndest to get rid of social housing ... DH has recently been exposed to a live specimen of the Resentful Classes, who has obviously majored in Political Economy at the University of Late Night Talkback. According to Ms Resentful's guru.  Emeritless Prof Jock Shocker, the housing shortage is caused by housos, and the people who are in public housing should be out, while those who are waiting should be in, until they are in, of course, in which case they should be out on their ears again.  All replete with the slogans dreamed up by the NSW Right, Tripodi, Burton, and Fancy Pants. "A hand-up, not a hand-out", "A privilege, not a right".

Wonder what slogans Arbibi will dream up for us?

Fred Nile, pull another!

Oh come on. It's the oldest story in the DMS-IV. Scratch any anti-sex crusader and you'll find a closet perv. It's called projection.. The beauty of being an anti-sex crusader is that you get to think about porn 24/7 while blissfully ignorant of your own lust. You're merely monitoring the evil "other".

OMIGOD, if this is true, given her close watch on Howard and his evil seed, DH may be a closet free-marketeering venture capitalist.  Or worse yet a budgie fetishist.