Two items on tonight’s news got me annoyed for different reasons.
1. Politicians pay rises. No, I’m not against them getting a pay rise… lets face it, it’s a shit job!. No, the annoying thing was the smug way they say the raise was ‘fair‘ because it was awarded by an ‘independent judge’. That sounds alarmingly like the old Wage Tribunal process dismantled by this government in the process of setting up it’s current unfair system. In fact, isn’t it almost collective bargaining? I thought that had been outlawed? Truly, one law for them, another for all the rest of us.
2. Chris Hurley found not guilty of killing an Aboriginal man in custody. No, I’m not saying he’s guilty or any of that. Like anyone, he’s entitled to the benefit of the doubt, and there is room for doubt in the circumstances (it’s a squeeze, but it’s definitely there!). No, the really sad thing about this story is the perpetuation of mistrust and division, when 17 years ago a Royal Commission made recommendations that, if implemented, could possibly have avoided this terrible situation altogether. Another life lost and another ruined, arguably through government inaction.