I was once a proud Australian.
Then I took part in an electoral process which led to tony abbott becoming Prime Minister.
tony abbott, who began by lying about something his predecessor said and who, after his election, continued to lie about everything he said and ignore all facets of truth.
He lied about how he was going to tax us. He did say that there would be no changes to the GST.
He lied about no changes to Pensions even as he reduced the increases.
He lied about cuts to the ABC and SBS, calling them “efficiency dividends” before finally admitting they were cuts.
He lied about his education policy.
He, and his Ministers, lied about so many things.
Australia’s foreign aid was changed from being aid to help the needy to aid to help Australian Business people.
All of which made me sad but not discouraged for these are the actions expected of a Tory Government. Even if they did lie about them before the election.
What has destroyed my faith in Australia is what we have done to those refugees seeking our help.
We used to be the country of a “Fair Go”, of “Mateship”. Now we are a Nation which has chosen to ignore our international obligations to help others.
We have chosen to thumb our collective nose at the UNHCR. We have chosen to incarcerate the innocent. We have chosen to lock up children. All in the name of “saving lives at sea”. And we have accepted the secrecy our Government has imposed so that we do not even question whether lives have been saved.
Yes that has destroyed my faith in my Nation.
Yet even all that did not cause me to reach the depths I have reached in this past 48 hours.
I now must give up my conscience.
We have a Prime Minister who was once intending to become a Priest, with an Immigration Minister who is a member of an Evangelical Church, with most of the rest of the front bench and a large group of back-benchers being avowed Christians of assorted persuasions. Yet those Biblical strictures appear to have no relevance.
They have, individually and collectively, broken almost all of the Old Testament’s Ten Commandments and the New Testament’s New Commandment which Jesus gave to all who follow Him. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
So we have a Government of Christians who, in other circumstances would be declared “Apostate”.
It is this Government which has destroyed my faith in my country.
Now my taxes, your taxes, will be going to schools set up to educate new priests, parsons and ministers. The ones who hope to be a part of Churches which have histories of Child Abuse.
That’s correct.
Our taxes are going to support and educate child abusers.
That is the final straw.
That is the real cause of my anger and my tears.
I need to join the rest of my Nation and sell off my conscience!
Ærchies Archive - Digital Detritus 
It breaks my heart that every word you said is true, there is no greater shame than to persecute those who fled horrifying situations all in the name of ‘border protection’ and thinly disguised religious intolerance combined with racism. If ever they had a soul they’ve well and truly sold it and it makes me sick to know they lead this country.
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They may well have sold their souls for power but I am horrified that they have sold our Nation’s soul for their own profit.
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Yes they’ve taken us on the ride with them and for that there is no forgiveness in me.
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Reblogged this on Unload and Unwind and commented:
I want to share another voice from Australia who has been crushed by what our country has become and I would like to hear from any other bloggers writing about this so I can share their stories also.
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BS ARCHIE
you have NOT sold your conscience. GET UP OUT OF THE FOG keep fighting. I love the fight you have, your exposure of what is happening out there in the waters north & west of Aus. Bloody hell Archie what wld little old ( i was abt to say ladies but i’m no lady) womenfolk like me do without your contacts, your thoughtful pieces your your, sorry angry now.
Deep breath. On a positive the rise of Lazarus in the Senate & his blocking Pyne’s higher education bill, for now, means that private institutions such as Frances Abbott’s and the priests training ponds will not be getting taxpayer support. And I know it didn’t emerge until after the bill was defeated but its out now so good luck getting that through while the RC is still in progress.
I don’t know how long until the truth about Manus, Nauru, OSB happens but in a way Morriscum may have won too much with his bill. Muir has already said sorry about FOFA. Maybe just maybe the truth will trickle through as good people continue the fight. And now the voters are finally realizing that Abbott is a LIAR, he is our worst PM, he is our most untrustworthy. So just maybe articles on how 100 boats have set sail to Aus so HAVE NOT STOPPED will get accepted as geez another lie. Not a big result but a start on this baaaad policy
So as for abandoning your conscience and the joining the nation, well you’re just too bloody late.
Cheers archie
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I fear the conspiracy theorists may be right. This is not just Australia. This is the U.S. too, and more. It’s frightening. My hope is that people will catch on and they, the grabbers of power, will fail in the end. Remember how we wondered why people joined Hitler instead of stopping him? I hope the story will be different in this case,with people of good will on the lookout and still feeling free to speak up.
I remember being a student visitor in German shortly after WWII when one of our student guides said to me, “This will come to your country one day.” I’ve been a member of the ACLU ever since.Thanks for that group’s “eternal vigilance” being the price of liberty.
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It’s so crazy, you’re on the other side of the world, but you could be across the street from me, right here, in the USA. It’s a disgusting state of affairs.
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“Yes that has destroyed my faith in my Nation.”
For such a clearly switched on bloke, I’m surprised you had any faith left in the nation state… 🙂
No doubt Abbott’s congregation of colonial missionaries (aka the LNP) have governed at the extreme end of politics, but putting all specific ideological considerations aside, did we really expect anything else as the economic royalists fight to keep thier system of control (civilisation) alive?
I need no ruler… the sooner this whole mess collapses under its own weight (debt/environmental destruction) the better.
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Don’t despair. All is not lost while you can choose to always make your choice so that you can be one of millions of other gnats/plebs in their faces.
Hinder and distract, don’t buy a corporation’s products, where unconscionable behaviour has occurred, no matter how cheap it is.
Do something else, rather than help those that hurt you, by the giving of your consent and money, by accepting their product.
Expose them. Know your truths and how to point others, to also investigate, so they can decide for themselves.
Yours is to show, but not to coerce, as that is their methodology.
Put your disgust to work and deny them the only thing they care about. That is your wealth and your relevance of their domination over you and within your life.
We, the Commons, are the law in the end, as it has played out many times before. We the Commons are the Legislature and not those who deceive us, in order to gain our acceptance within our Laws.
To modify the Conduct of our acceptance to live as a Community, together, under a Law which we obey out of respect and not coercion.
We are fighting a creature of our own code of Law.
It came to life at a stroke of a pen. That is all it is.
In the end, it is always us. I don’t think this smart little child, called the human race has grown up yet and is playing with matches, in a volatile atmosphere and doesn’t care.
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