Character matters

This was unsuccessfully submitted for publication to a newspaper's letters column. The good thing about having a blog is that enables opiniated people to self publish instead. You have an alternative outlet. 

Reports of Labor caucus dissatisfaction with Premier Jacinta Allan's leadership, combined with the Victorian government's challenging fiscal situation, and endemic maladministration, invite comparisons with the former Cain/Kirner governments (1982-1992), but with one important distinction.

Rather than spin and obfuscation, the likes of former Premier John Cain (1982-1990), his deputy, Robert Fordham (1982-1989), and Treasurer, Rob Jolly (1982-1990), resigned from their positions because of their conviction that it was the only way to take responsibility and accountability either for their, or the government's failed policies.

By comparison, their present-day successors seem to be lacking in such character and integrity. 

 

Bottomless pit of shonkiness

With reports of widespread corruption in the Victorian government's multibillion dollar infrastructure programme, the Big Build will turn out to be a massive rort. 

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/alleged-big-build-union-corruption-may-have-cost-victorians-up-to-30-billion/ar-AA1W7HN7?ocid=BingNewsSerp

 

Why the ABC needs more funding

For years, it has been blatantly obvious that political campaign finance in Australia is hopelessly corrupt. Today,  the ABC reported on an ongoing investigation by the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) into alleged illegal donations from a Sydney restaurateur family to the New South Wales Labor Party. 

This is an important story, but that isn't what this post is about. Whoever wrote it made a small typographic error. New South Wales is a proper noun, so it must always be capitalised. 

As Australia's national broadcaster, millions of people rely on it as their main source of trustworthy news and information. Pardon the sarcasm, but it seems that they cannot rely on it for error-free articles on their website. 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-04/chinese-donations-to-nsw-labor-examined-icac/10636610

The wild dogs cry out in the night

I just finished reading The Looting Machine by Tom Burgis. This book is the written equivalent of the blues bar that Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) visits in The Naked Gun 2 ½. There were pictures of the Hindenburg disaster, the sinking of the Titanic, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and failed US presidential candidate Michael Dukakis hanging on the walls. In other words, quite depressing. Despite having highly productive oil, mining, and diamond industries, African countries such as Nigeria, Niger, Congo, and Angola are mired in poverty. Corrupt local and  international government officials, corporations, and financial services firms collude to loot the wealth generated from these industries, while ordinary people subsist. It seems that there is neither the will nor the prospect of these problems being solved, and Burgis doesn’t offer any solutions either.

Lurking in the darkness

Several faith based organisations and non governmental organisations including the Bible Society, Micah Challenge, Salvation Army, Tear Fund, and World Evangelical Alliance have joined forces to highlight the issue of corruption.

They aim to collect 1 million signatures to present to world leaders attending the G20 Summit in Brisbane in November 2014.

Every year Transparency International releases its corruption perceptions index. In 2013, Denmark and New Zealand were deemed to be the world's least corrupt countries, and Aghanistan, North Korea, and Somalia judged as the most corrupt. That's hardly something to brag about, is it?

It is estimated that the cumulative cost of worldwide corruption is $1 trillion per year. This figure is comprised of the cost of corporate tax evasion and tax evasion by wealthy individuals. Think of the public goods that such a some of money could be used to provide, like healthcare, education, clean water, and food security, for example. This alone would save thousands of lives.

As well as being a justice issue, this is also a spiritual issue. It is a clear reminder, if any is needed, of a world under the curse of sin (Romans 8:22). It also gives the Old Testament warnings against those who acquire wealth through unjust means fresh resonance (Proverbs 16:8, 21:6, 22:16, 28:16, Jeremiah 17:11, 22:13, Ezekiel 22:13, Habakkuk 2:9).

http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2013/results/

http://www.exposedcampaign.com