NSW Labor: Out With the Old, In With the Same Old

While NSW Labor leaders may come and go, one thing never changes - their mode of dress. These days, they all sport Zionist straitjackets (hairshirts?). (Even ex-Labor Premier Bob Carr only managed to shuck his when out of office.) Which brings me to the current change in NSW Labor Party leaders:

The old leader was, of course, John Robertson. Once securely strapped in, he'd happily spout waffle such as:

"It is an eternal truth that the state of Israel... will always have a proud friend in NSW Labor," and "I've proudly visited a Max Brenner outlet in an act of solidarity against the BDS movement."  (See my posts Pollies in Love (4/11/12) & Marching Orders (8/5/13))

His same old, same old replacement, Luke Foley, belted and buckled seemingly in the cradle, and alas, infinitely more verbose than Robbo, already has a long history of Ziobabble behind him. For example:

"I recognise that the Palestinians have suffered greatly in pursuit of their legitimate aspiration - a national homeland of their own. I also recognise that Israel cannot make peace with those that seek to deny its existence. International campaigns to impose trade and cultural boycotts [on Israel] feed the eliminationist narrative of Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran and all those who want Israel wiped off the map, and they align themselves with the putrid racism of those groups, their holocaust denial, promotion of anti-Semitic stereotypes and raw sewage Nazi ideology." (See my 4/4/12 post Where's Luke Foley Coming From.)

Now what it is exactly that causes the Robertsons and the Foleys of NSW Labor (not to mention their Liberal countrparts) to wear the wretched thing remains one of life's mysteries.

After all, what has Australian state politics got to do with Israel?

History, of course, tells us that it hasn't always been this way.

Take Queensland Labor for example. As historian Evan Whitton points out:

"Labor stood four square for authoritarianism; intolerance of dissent; union-bashing; politicisation of the police, public servants and the law; a rigged electoral system; public and private corruption; agrarian socialism; abuse of the Westminster system; institutionalised ignorance; and 'development'." ('The Hillbilly Dictator': Australia's Police State, 1989, p 3)

All proud Labor values, I'm sure you'll agree.

Face it, if Ziobabble like 'A land without a people for a people without a land' and 'Making the mulga bloom' had been part of that mix, a historian as sharp as Whitton would have included it in his list, right? I rest my case.

Is the present juncture not an opportune time then for NSW Labor to return to such time-honored values as the above?

Maybe Luke Foley could begin by modelling himself on his Queensland namesake, Tom Foley (1886-1973), and advocate for something that might actually benefit the people of NSW - as opposed to those of distant Israel.

For example, as Whitton writes: "In 1927, Lands Minister Tom Foley, intent on developing a fur trade, declared an open season on koala bears; in August of that year, 584,378 koalas were trapped and killed."

Oh well, no doubt it seemed like a good idea at the time...a bit like Zionism, I guess.

Tom Foley's brilliant career, however, didn't stop with wiping koalas off the map of Queensland. For example:

"Tobacco continued in short supply after the war and commanded high prices on the black market. In 1946, a large quantity of tobacco was found in the garage at the home of the old koala-killer, Cabinet Minister Tom Foley. He said that he had no idea how it got there and was 'cleared' of criminal activity. He was thereafter known as 'Fine Cut' Foley." (p 5)

1946?! Howzat for longevity!

In fact, Tom Foley was still at it well into the 1950s, tirelessly serving the people of Queensland:

"A public servant, V.R. Creighton, disclosed in 1956 that Lands Minister Tom 'Fine Cut' Foley was extorting money from Goondiwindi graziers as the price for renewing their leases." (p 6)

Now that's what I call real Labor!

So c'mon Luke, remove the straitjacket, cut the Ziobabble, and get back to those good old-fashioned state Labor values so beautifully exemplified by one of the greats of the Foley clan.