Mark Dolling

Why does it feel like the Governments in Australia punish us for our very existence? The problem is, they clearly don’t care about Australia or any of us. Last time Plibersek was in government, she devised the nastiest and most punitive system for smokers you could imagine. For those of us addicted to smoking, it is not the stupid colour of the packet, it is the tobacco product inside. Since that time, the costs have spiralled up and the quality of the products have nosedived. More to the point, people still smoke. The insane taxation system is like a form of financial prohibition, it is probably cheaper to buy illicit drugs. Just like the time the Americans banned alcohol, the whole thing went underground. Organised crime got completely out of hand and the ban on alcohol was reversed. People will never stop smoking; I will continue to smoke even if it is made illegal. I am a law-abiding citizen, but like so many other things, the government force us into a corner. I am rapidly losing respect for the legislators and the legislature. We have too many taxes, too many rules, too many hurdles to jump to get consent for just about everything, everywhere. They even heavily regulate your bedroom. Whether they are well meaning but foolish, uncaring, desperate or just corrupt is of no consequence. It is reaching the point of unsustainability; it will collapse under its own weight, as people start solving the problems themselves. Meanwhile real crime is getting out of hand, it is only a matter of time before innocent people are caught in the crossfire of the illicit cigarette trade, the vast car theft industry, the drug business and the rest. I am not suggesting we decriminalise everything, but please stop criminalising the innocent, and hold the real criminals to account – including reversing the softness on youth crime. The system is upside down, it is ungainly and with 2.44 million public servants, NDIS scammers, gigantic healthcare bills and insane council regulations for starters, supported by a dwindling private sector. We must bring much of this down in a controlled demolition, before it collapses, and we lose complete control. It is inevitable. We have traded freedom for security and privacy for convenience for too long and the only product left on offer is shut-up and pretend with the ‘leaders’, that energy is getting cheaper, as they replace real power generation with s-wind-le farms, and so-liar power. So-called green energy is a scam. They smoke cigars as they congratulate themselves on another grift well done, while those on middle incomes pay more, get less and cop a fine for answering the wife’s call on the way home from work. Another license lost, another punitive nasty policy taking effect. More intended, un-intended consequences. Another rock in the rucksack as you trudge up the hill of hope. The Australian dream is being destroyed, not by accident but by vapid, narcissistic, talentless jerks, too afraid or corrupt to stand up to lobbyists, corporations and international forces that hold us down and milk us dry. I don’t believe anything currently on offer from the major parties is particularly attractive. None of them want to fix the problems, they just want to have their turn milking us and moving on. We want a strong positive alternative to the politics of selling out, not more of the same, for at least the last 20 years, everything has become slowly, progressively worse. Just look at the birthrate, people are so miserable they don’t want to have kids. That is the report card, F minus. We need a government that does not treat us like naughty children, so we might start having children again. We need a government that will reform and repeal. That will act in the national interest and in the interest of the people. A government that are mature and understand that the politics of stupid, from the insane #metoo movement to the climate zealotry has caused more harm than good, more misery and pain, for absolutely nothing in return. It seems like the government hates us, and it is causing us to hate each other. If you can see it, feel it, get it, then step up and call it out. Be vocal in your communities and on social media. Get active and involved - join a political party, get on the P&C, run for elected office, or be a community activist. Show the people around you that there is a better way. I love this country; but we must clean out the corrupt, disgusting and feckless bastards that ruin it for all of us. Get involved. I just want Australia back. #Auspol