i should put this on my public blog. but i wont.
So, we've got a new Prime Minister. Julia Gillard, too - the atheist childless democratic socialist, of all people. Fuck yeah, people. I sincerely hope that the Australian public votes Labor back in. I am doubting it, but I really hope I am surprised and they do. She seems as though she knows how to handle douchbag press people too, if that press conference was anything to go by. I hope that as labor leader she abolishes the clean feed and focuses more heavily on asylum seeker/refugee programs and funding. And ofcourse mental health. Those are the three platforms that i feel most strongly about, with education standards coming in at a close fourth.
I wrote to my nearest Labor senator as part of the GetUp! campaign over mental health reform and improvement. I actually wrote a pretty long letter, and suggested a number of ways they could improve inpatient/outpatient services without increasing costs. And then i talked about the government setting up a preventative mental health program where anyone could receive ongoing care (in the form of psychology, psychiatry, group services, etc). All we have currently is really acute care; I think having free services would improve a lot of people's lives. That's such a huge undertaking though, and it would cost a lot not only to set up but to maintain. Sigh.
Ever since I saw Kevin Rudd's debate against John Howard I have disliked him. He's been such a smug bastard throughout his whole term as Prime Minister, and i have heard since he was such a perfectionist he often made his staff work 22 hour days. If it's true, that sucks. That being said, his farewell speech made me SOB, I was at Ri and Suzie's house at the time and i was bawling. Especially when he mentioned how he'd improved cancer research/prevention, and the organ donation rate rising. UGH, SO EMOTIONAL. If you are not on the organ donor register, i implore you to join up. At the very least, tell your loved ones you want to donate your organs after you die; you probably will be saving more than one person's life.
I think 99% of Aussies were watching KRudd's speech, and it was a pretty good one. I would've been more inclined to like him if he had shown that kind of emotion earlier; I felt as if I really saw his passion for politics only during that speech. Whether he's just a good actor or not? I don't know. I guess I feel sorry for Rudd the person, but definitely not Rudd the politician. I just don't like some of the decisions that he personally has enforced.
If i were leader of this country/the world I would
I wrote to my nearest Labor senator as part of the GetUp! campaign over mental health reform and improvement. I actually wrote a pretty long letter, and suggested a number of ways they could improve inpatient/outpatient services without increasing costs. And then i talked about the government setting up a preventative mental health program where anyone could receive ongoing care (in the form of psychology, psychiatry, group services, etc). All we have currently is really acute care; I think having free services would improve a lot of people's lives. That's such a huge undertaking though, and it would cost a lot not only to set up but to maintain. Sigh.
Ever since I saw Kevin Rudd's debate against John Howard I have disliked him. He's been such a smug bastard throughout his whole term as Prime Minister, and i have heard since he was such a perfectionist he often made his staff work 22 hour days. If it's true, that sucks. That being said, his farewell speech made me SOB, I was at Ri and Suzie's house at the time and i was bawling. Especially when he mentioned how he'd improved cancer research/prevention, and the organ donation rate rising. UGH, SO EMOTIONAL. If you are not on the organ donor register, i implore you to join up. At the very least, tell your loved ones you want to donate your organs after you die; you probably will be saving more than one person's life.
I think 99% of Aussies were watching KRudd's speech, and it was a pretty good one. I would've been more inclined to like him if he had shown that kind of emotion earlier; I felt as if I really saw his passion for politics only during that speech. Whether he's just a good actor or not? I don't know. I guess I feel sorry for Rudd the person, but definitely not Rudd the politician. I just don't like some of the decisions that he personally has enforced.
If i were leader of this country/the world I would
- Donate all extra money (ie after personal bills) that I earned during my time as PM to a charity of my choosing. I'd rotate my pay between the Schizophrenia Fellowship, Kidney Health Australia, Amnesty International, and the Australian Red Cross
- Start up a HAES program in schools
- Implement mandatory non-crap empathy and diversity training in schools and workplaces
- Begin a nationwide a mental illness prevention plan
- Create a humane and respectful way to help, accomodate and process all refugees, asylum seekers and anyone else who needs our help
- Offer tax-incentives for venture capitalists to invest in the arts in Australia
- Raise all educators' rates of pay by a minimum $20,000 a year
- Begin a rewards program for teachers, where the more they can contribute to the craft, the more money they earn. Who receives the rewards will be judged by a nationwide peer-review system, and any teacher can take part.
- Work with farmers to improve environmental standards without sending them bankrupt
- Build more renewable energy plants
- Provide equitable care and funding to those in indigenous communities, particularly with regards to health and education
- Encourage more community building/creating activities by offering more public festivals, social gatherings and free arts programs
- Abolish bandwidth caps
- Start a green car company
- Buy an ipad