A New Year

A new year is upon us and we look forward to all the good that it brings. Already we see changes thrust upon us and I guess that time will tell whether they impact on us positively, negatively or they don’t make a jot of difference to the way we live.

A few interesting ones that have come across my desk over the Christmas break are:

It appears 7 day trading is raising its head again here in the West. Whether you are for it or not, and for the record I’m against it, we have had a referendum and the people have spoken. But apparently, our learned Premier believes that the questions were misleading which led to an incorrect result so he, in all his wisdom, is going to set it straight. Is that right? And if so, who removed the PUBLIC SERVANT out of public servant?

It is now politically incorrect for Santa to say Ho, Ho, Ho. And they are also petitioning for slimmer more athletic Santa’s that promote healthier lifestyles. Well, to all those that seriously believe that Santa should lose 50kg and say tee hee hee next Christmas, I say actress, manhole..... and I will still open the door for a woman to walk through first.

Peter Garrett has finally been allowed to speak in his role of Environment Minister and he wants to ban plastic bags. I applaud his enthusiasm, and though I think its totally do-able and not before time, I have to wonder why he is silent over the Japanese whaling fleet and the disposable nappy problem. For those of you that don’t know, disposable nappies present a far greater long term problem than shopping bags due, mostly, to the huge number of them and the way they are disposed of every day. And, Whaling, well, in my humble opinion its just barbaric and disgusting.

The Federal Government are concerned that too many people are failing the citizenship questionnaire, so they are going to simplify it. At the time of writing, the questionnaire consists of 20 simple multiple choice questions, the answers to which are contained in a free book that the Government will post you or you can download from the internet. A 60% pass mark gives you the green light. It appears to me that you don’t have to speak English in order to study for or sit the test. And it needs simplifying???

The Pope has told his following that he has created a "get through purgatory free" card for 2008. It appears you just have to A. Be a Catholic and B. Travel to some "spiritually specific" locations and you go direct to heaven without hanging around in purgatory for the undisclosed length of time. Excuse my skepticism but....

So, with all that said, I hope everyone has a great 2008 and that at least some of you are still holding to our new years resolutions.