Posted on 05/15/2016 7:49:05 PM PDT by naturalman1975
FAMILIES relying on food parcels to survive; pregnant women being whisked away to give birth because the hospital can’t help them, pot holes that just keep getting bigger and a community that can’t afford to look after itself.
It sounds like a damned corner of a faraway land. But it’s actually a forgotten fragment of Australia whose handful of residents were given unprecedented power to look after their own affairs. According to some, the experiment in self-rule has failed so miserably it’s end can’t come quickly enough.
In just over a month Gai Brodtmann, the Labor member for Canberra, will add another 1800 people to her electorate when Norfolk Island, 2000 kilometres east over land and sea, becomes just another part of Australia following 36 years of semi independence.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
I don’t know much about Australian affairs, but I dislike seeing what seems to be the capitulation and total domestication of the “Can Do” Aussie spirit.
Surely the spark of freedom exists there somewhere?
Give everybody a one way ticket off the island and let those who remain behind fend for themselves. Give the stayers some copies of the lessons learned by the Plymouth Colony.
In 2010, the Islanders asked the Australian government for financial support - in essence, they wanted access to our welfare system but did not want to pay taxes or have any 'interference' in their self government. The Australian government's position is that Norfolk Island is simply too small to handle its own affairs and if they are going to ask for our help, then the best way to do that is as a fully component part of Australia. It becomes part of the state of New South Wales, although somewhat oddly will be part of the electorate of Canberra, rather than a New South Wales electorate in terms of Federal government,
The secret ingredient which has leached away is Christian faith, and I don’t mean just the easy peasy praise the Lord at convenience kind.
This looks like social Darwinism, the opposite evil from official government socialism. Churches could be a private factor in ameliorating the harm. This was a microcosm in which they could have stepped forward and it looks like they just failed.
From Wikipedia:
One of the island’s residents was the novelist Colleen McCullough, whose works include The Thorn Birds and the Masters of Rome series as well as Morgan’s Run, set, in large part, on Norfolk Island.
Helen Reddy also moved to the island for a period, and still maintains a house there.
Hmmm...Who knew?
The problem is while a majority of the Islanders don't want the takeover, they do want access to Australia's welfare system. The position of the government is basically that if you want our support, you have to be part of the country. I have some qualms about the takeover myself - but they don't want full independence - they want to pick and choose the bits they like.
Sort of like, Puerto Rico!
Feel your pain, Aussie mate.
That is somewhat along the line of what I was thinking. What an opportunity! But it would be potentially a hard life.
That makes sense. People are being weakened by having their faith stripped from them. And they so often just don’t realize it. They are way too cool and modern for those fairy tales.
And the Church itself has been under assault and been weakened from within.
Every corner of the Globe is engaged in spiritual battle - whether or not they realize it or want it.
*sigh*
The “gibmedats” at work again. What a deal with the Devil.
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