The Prize is a term commonly used inside politics to describe being in government. The prize is to be gained and once gained, never surrendered. There aint no second prize. Matters of policy, good governence and honesty take second place. To lose the prize is the most shameful, inept crime one can commit. The Little Tramp is an observer and commentator. Here are his observations on the politics of the province of Titanuranus. The Little Tramp
Thursday, April 5, 2012
The Prize: The Great Kangaroo Point Oval Swindle!
The Prize: The Great Kangaroo Point Oval Swindle!: Political Football Football is big in Titanuranus. Titanuranusians love their football. Every province has at least one footb...
The Great Kangaroo Point Oval Swindle!
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| Political Football |
Football is big in Titanuranus.
Titanuranusians love their football.
Every province has at least one football team they can call their own - except Titanuranus!
Football is administered by the Provincial Football League or the PFL.
The CEO of the PFL is Alex the Greek.
Alex the Greek is known to yell out at board meetings, in the street or in his sleep "I AM the PFL".
The Greek knows there are too many clubs in that province and he wants them to die a natural death or move to Titanuranus.
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| Alex the Greek |
Anything but kill them off himself.
The Kangaroos are the poorest club in the province of Victoria.
The Kangaroos have the lowest support base in the entire league.
The Kangaroos are bloody desperate.
Many years ago in Titanuranus it was decided to upgrade The Domain football ground [AKA 'The Sun Bowl'].
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| An Administrative Error |
However, due to a public servant coming back from lunch three parts cut and his compass landing in the wrong spot, the oval was built in Kangaroo Point.
Kangaroo Point is a windswept shit hole on the wrong side of the river with no parking, no character, no sunshine and no decent drinking facilities.
Cricket is also played at the Kangaroo Point oval and the Titanuranus cricket authorities have been to "clean up that shit hole' or no more first class games of cricket.
However, they cannot afford it.
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| Kangaroo Point |
But they can encourage funding for a football team to play there.
That way they get an upgrade for nothing.
A plan is hatched.
The plan is hatched in the tool shed on Parliament Lawns.
Inside the tool shed are Alex the Greek, Kangaroos President James Crayshaw, The Titanuranus Premiere, the local Mayor and several disgruntled rats.
The Eagles tune 'Desperados' is playing in the background.
The local Mayor was a show pony who knew nothing of policy but loved the limelight.
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| The Tool Shed! |
He was planning to step up a level in politics and this was a good photo opportunity.
All he had to do was hand over some ratepayers cash to the Kangaroos.
Many of his fellow alderman were only too happy to oblige at the council table.
James Crayshaw would go for a swim with the devil to get his hand on some cash so he was 'in' straight away.
The Titanuranus Premiere was doing somersaults thinking of votes in a constituency that has been crying out for football for years.
'Votes' is the 'operative word here.
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| 'Votes' being the operative word |
Especially among women.
The Premiere will not get anywhere near a quota in an election.
The opposition leader will get two.
In order to try and curry favour with the constituency the Premiere is as desperate as James Crayshaw and agrees to pour money into the venture.
A few more nurses will need to be sacked but so what!
Alex the Greek has found the suckers he was looking for.
After a few more meetings in the tool shed the official announcement was ready to be made.
There were so many people at the photo opportunity no camera lens ever made could fit them all in.
They then go onto the oval for more photos.
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| Announcement |
There were so many people at the photo opportunity no camera lens ever made could fit them all in.
They then go onto the oval for more photos.
James Crayshaw flies straight back to Victoria Province as he is on 'The Footie Show' that evening.
The Premiere gets out the beer and the popcorn and waits for the big story to be announced.
James Crayshaw is grinning from ear to ear!
He has a temporary 'Get out of Jail Free' card thanks to the ineptitude of the powers they be in Titanuranus.
The Premiere waits and waits.
No mention of the deal.
No mention of Titanuranus.
No mention of the Premiere.
The Premiere is furious.
"No mention of me! No mention of me!!!
Northern Titanuranus already has an established arrangement with the Victoria Province team 'The Goshawks'.
The Premiere gets out the beer and the popcorn and waits for the big story to be announced.
James Crayshaw is grinning from ear to ear!
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| Get out of Jail Free |
The Premiere waits and waits.
No mention of the deal.
No mention of Titanuranus.
No mention of the Premiere.
The Premiere is furious.
"No mention of me! No mention of me!!!
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| The Goshawks Ground |
There is a stark contrast between those in the South of Titanuranus and those in the North.
Northern Titanuranusians are the salt of the earth.
They are mostly blue collar workers and when a hail ball lands in their meat pie at the footy they do not bat an eyelid.
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| Hail in your pie - no problem! |
Southern Titanurasians are a different breed.
They are a limp wrested lot who would rather ponce about in an art gallery than go to the footy.
"It is too cold"
"It is too windy"
"It is too this"
"It is too that"
"It is too windy"
"It is too this"
"It is too that"
The Kangaroo Point oval is on the other side of the river anyway and "who would want to go over there?".
Monday, March 5, 2012
Ashes to Ashes
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| Ashes to Ashes |
Being in the Province of Titanuranus Press Office is like being in the TV show 'Ashes to Ashes'.
It is a sheltered workshop for has-been journalists who are all labouring under the misapprehension it is 1981.
It is rare indeed to find one that knows anything about politics.
The exceptions are all serving time.
As a rule they are clueless and witless.
They are good at Scrabble.
But Scrabble is interrupted every afternoon around 4.30 while they gather together to play a different game.
That game is called 'What will be on the front page tomorrow?'
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| Billion Dollar Babies |
The main function of the Province Press Office is putting out press releases.
Nobody reads these archaic, turgid offerings except the opposition and a handful of lazy journalists looking for a line to fill up a story.
The only time they attract any real attention is when they stuff up.
This is one of those times.
They are about to send out a press release that is not just smoke and mirrors.
Not just gilding the lily a bit.
It is a blatant porky and it is titled "Billion Dollar Babies"
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| The Premiere arrives after inspecting asbestos |
The Premiere's white cane can be heard tapping the walls of the hallway.
There is an air of expectancy.
The press release is in response to opposition claims the government had some how managed to flush one billion dollars down the toilet.
The press release is the most fanciful piece of fiction ever concocted.
It is read out almost sermon like to the Premiere who is nodding furiously.
They did not flush the billion dollars down the toilet it states.
They 'invested it' in health.
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| Some Smart Alec ... |
The fact is that during the period in question the Premiere was in fact the Health Minister.
The Health Minister did a fantastic job of keeping health off the front page.
As the former Premiere of the Province of New Wales, Morris Yemen, stated "If you want to fix the health system you will need to spend the entire budget on Health.
Keeping it off the front page is the main game.
Keeping health off the front page does not come cheap.
It costs money.
All problems must be stamped on immediately.
This means bloating the Health dept with bureaucrats.
Not ordinary bureaucrats either.
Expensive ones!
No one in Titanuranus can run a hospital apparently.
They must come from another Province or another country even.
And their girlfriends must come too!
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| The Health Minister's Resident GP |
It is bloated beyond belief.
It is so bloated there is a dedicated General Practitioner on staff.
This comes in handy as many of the Ministers and their staff suffer from gout due to all the good living.
Having a GP on hand to write out scripts save hobbling to the medical centre.
According to the press release the real evil here is the completely out of the blue Goods and Services Tax Receipts and Province Tax Revenue surprise.
We have even gone as far as to stand in front of an angry mob and liken Titanuranus to Greece and Italy before being booed off stage.
Such a press release is usually backed up with a doorstop press conference.
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| Tattoo and Steady |
Tattoo is from the Province run News Agency Northern Cross.
Tattoo is well known in Titanuranus for pointing to the sky and yelling out "the plane! the plane! the plane!
Tattoo is from the Peter Gilligen school of journalism -
"This fantastic news for Titanuranus Premiere - would you like to embellish?"
Tattoo's only question is "How would you like me to present this one Premiere?
The Premiere tells him to sort it out with 'Steady'.
Steady and Tattoo like to go 'exploring' together down at the beach.
The doorstop continues.
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| The Premiere's White Cane |
In relation to:
The 12 Year Old Girl Strip Search Disgrace.
The Great Kangaroo Point Oval Swindle.
The Great Police Boat Scandal.
The Integrity Shop Fiasco.
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| The 12 Year Old Girl Strip Search Disgrace |
The Forestry Round Table Debacle.
The Snouts in the Trough Legislation Outrage.
The Great Community Cabinet Confidence Trick.
The Cover Up.
The list goes on.
The Premiere is forced to prevaricate.
To each question the Premiere answers "I cannot see that. I cannot see that at all".
The Province Press Office is not alone in being stuck in 1981.
The Premiere is firmly entrenched in 1981 as well.
The white cane is waved about and the Premiere proclaims "It is all the fault of Facebook".
The Premiere is clearly having an ongoing struggle with reality.
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| Gene Hunt and Alex Drake Rescue the Premiere |
Gene tells Steady to run off and write the 'State of the Province' speech.
"That should be good for a laff" he says.
"Who would have thought that a pollie with so much promise would turn out to be such a failure?" Gene asks Alex.
"Never did set the house ablaze that one" replies Alex.
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