Fighting Fake News with REAL 30/5/23, Truth in Humor, Inter national Consultants, Racialism & Discrimination, Fadden, Byelection,

 

Plans for a First Nation’s Voice to Parliament have been abandoned, with Indigenous leaders saying it will be easier to have a say on Government policy via a rolling contract with consulting firm PwC instead.

Source: Voice to Parliament Scrapped After Indigenous Leaders Realise Hiring PwC Will Give Better Access to Government — The Shovel

Predatory capitalism has become visible across the world as neo-liberalism becomes fully transnational. Consultancies working to authoritarian rules have consumed big business by making executives richer. They may be set to engulf governments and even entire societies.

This litany of world-wide probity scandals suggests something more sinister, more frightening. This interlocking network of advisors provides group-thinking to business and government executives worldwide, the advice is accepted and practiced everywhere. ‘Best practice’ it seems is ‘make as much money as fast as possible, regardless of consequences. Highly intelligent people run international business, yet they act as if the planet is a Monopoly™ game.

Is there a world government of big business? Probably not, but the big consultancies with such international influence must be candidates, coordinating common attitudes and practices. Where does tax avoidance and tax havens and the growing disparity between the few very rich and the numerous poor of the planet fit with this scenario? – right in the middle of course – with 1 trillion dollars moved annually into tax havens with little international regulation.

As citizens we must wonder – over 50 years of scientific evidence of global warming still strenuously denied, seen in the failure of industry and governments to seriously combat it. Why do so few leaders act to stop all CO2 emissions? Do business consultants provide ethical climate advice to address accelerating emissions? – I fear they don’t. If business and governments have but one view, where then is democracy heading? We must first be rid of their pernicious neo-liberal ideology.

Source: The swarm: International consultancies – Pearls and Irritations

 

 

Leaders warned not to racialise Voice

Australia’s race discrimination commissioner has appealed to political leaders and the media to steer clear of making race the focus of the Voice to parliament debate, warning it will embolden racists and expose Indigenous Australians to abuse and vilification. After Opposition Leader Peter Dutton last week declared the Voice would “re-racialise” Australia, commissioner Chin Tan, pictured, said politicians in particular have a responsibility to ensure debate does not become a “racial bun fight”.

“The concern I have is when the debate degenerates into a more racialised discussion,” he said. “That, for me, is always a dangerous sign.” Tan did not directly address his comments towards Dutton, but issued a general call for a “very clear reflection, particularly by our leaders, about what they are saying and how they say it”. He said the “Voice in itself is not racist and it does not racialise Australia”, arguing that it is not about granting one group of people rights at the expense of another, but about elevating the rights of Indigenous people to participate in democracy.

But his perspective is at odds with that of his colleague, Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay, who wrote in The Australian recently that the Voice “inserts race into the Australian Constitution in a way that undermines the foundational human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination”. However, her view has been rejected by five of her predecessors in the role and the Australian Human Rights Commission has formally endorsed the Voice as consistent with human rights principles. The parliamentary debate on the Voice and the legislation that will authorise the referendum later this year will continue in the lower house this week.

— Photo: Eddie Jim

 

 Stuart Robert and the up and coming byelection for the seat of  Fadden. Dutton is between a rock and a hard place with the LNP 's integrity rating below zero. He does find places under rocks it seems where people listen " Mr Dutton spoke to a News Corp conference for weapons manufacturers about relations with Beijing." How inclusive he is in the company he chooses to keep.

About $375 million in contracts have been subject to scrutiny, all won by clients of a company part-owned by his friend and former fundraiser, Synergy 360, which lobbied on behalf of multinationals looking to win Australian government tenders.

Mr Robert opened doors for their clients and gave advice to them while serving as an MP, an arrangement that first drew calls for Mr Dutton to relieve him of his frontbench duties months ago.

Source: National Times – With Robodebt report looming, Dutton prepares for… | Facebook