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Melbourne, anzac day

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By Michael Quin

“You’ve got to have a sense of humour about life,” says Ray. “Without it you’re gone.”
Well, he should know because life is something he’s seen a lot of.

Like all our World War II veterans he’s now an older man. But when recounting war stories suddenly he’s a much younger man again – something I noticed in many of the old diggers drinking, laughing and bantering with impressive energy for their age.

The old-style Imperial Hotel, across from Parliament house, was hung with union jacks and old Australian naval flags. Standing by the window as I chatted to Ray, I heard a horse whinney.

Those gathered were all navy men, young and old. Ray described it as a “big family”, spanning wars and generations. The HMAS Sydney was honoured in the service, and was close in the memories of some.

Ray had mates on the Sydney. Unfortunately concussion during the war had erased their names from his memory. But he did remember sharing something with them.

Ray happily volunteered his war stories after knowing me less than one minute, and told them as a series of jokes.

“You know I spent four years on supply boats in the Mediterranean, right under the Germans’ noses and they couldn’t touch me,” he said. “It wasn’t until I returned to the safety of Australia that I almost got killed. Just as the ‘japs’ came in to dive bomb Darwin’s harbour there I was sitting on a ship laden with high-octane aeroplane fuel. I thought well this is it!”

Above all, Ray said, Australia was a free and lucky country. He told me more than once about the 35,000 strong crowd at the service, describing it as an ”extraordinary” thing.

To him, the day was as much about appreciating the freedom we have as remembering the past.

When I asked Ray about two-up his face changed,

“We could get a game going now,” he said.

I wanted to know if he was any good. He laughed again: “No, I always pick the wrong one, heads when it’s tails and tails when it’s heads, you know. But it’s still a fun game, gets the adrenalin going, you know!”

A 90-year-old explaining adrenalin to a man in his 20s confirmed my suspicion that something happens to these diggers on Anzac Day, something about memory taking on a life of its own.
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Sandy Point

Political News

Brendan Nelson Needs More Time

By Michael Quin

Brendan Nelson needs more time to prove himself before any formal challenge to his leadership is made, Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Andrew Robb told the ABC's Insiders on Sunday.

Mr Robb, who voted in last year's leadership ballot for the narrowly defeated Malcolm Turnball, said although Dr Nelson had failed to get traction in his first four months in the job, he deserved the support of his party.

"Brendan won the contest, and we should hold our nerve," said Mr Robb.

Dr Nelson's rating as preferred prime minister is at 9 per cent and critics have ridiculed his recent "listening tour" as embarrassing, opening the way for talk of a leadership challenge from Mr Turnball and others.

But Mr Robb said the problem wasn't just Dr Nelson's and that no one was listening to the Coalition since their election defeat.

"He's suffering from the fact that people aren't interested in us," he said.

Kevin Rudd, whose preferred prime minister rating is a record 73 per cent, was criticised by Mr Robb for "skating axcross thousands of issues" without any results, with specific reference to Mr Rudd's recent meet and greet worl tour.

After this initial phase of symbolic gestures, the Government would have to start taking real decisions and the Opposition's response to these would offer them a chance to define themselves, Mr Robb said.



Amnesty International Reports China

By Michael Quin

China is failing its obligation to improve human rights in the lead up to the Olympics, according to an Amnesty International report released last week.

The report, 'China: The Olympics countdown – crackdown on activists threatens Olympics legacy', highlighted excessive force against Tibetan protesters and the imprisonment of human rights activists, as examples of China’s lack of commitment to human rights.

“Much of the current wave of repression is occurring not in spite of the Olympics, but actually because of the Olympics,” Amnesty International said.

The report has cast doubt on whether the Olympic charter and China’s own promises when accepting the Games in 2001 might affect the Government’s approach to human rights.

Secretary general of Amnesty International Irene Khan said the Olympic Games had so far failed to act as any sort of catalyst for reform.

“Unless urgent steps are taken to redress the situation, a positive human rights legacy for the Beijing Olympics looks increasingly beyond reach,” she said.

Chinese authorities were attempting to portray a stable China to the world at any cost, the report said.

Amnesty International has labelled the near-total media blackout “a betrayal of official promises to ensure complete media freedom”.

The 32-page report also recommended an end to arbitrary detention, intimidation and harassment of activists and the unconditional release of prisoners of conscience.

Activists’ profiles published in the report included that of Yang Chunlin who, for leading a peaceful campaign under the banner “We don’t want the Olympics, we want human rights”, was sentenced to five years’ jail in March for “inciting subversion”.

Amnesty International said these cases, involving the harassment and imprisonment of non-violent protesters, were part of the Chinese authority’s pre-emptive “clean up” of Beijing and surrounding areas in recent months.

The report also raised concerns over increased media censorship, particularly a government announcement that “those who use text messages to endanger public security or spread rumors will be investigated”.

While it remains to be seen if the report will have any affect on the actions of the Chinese Government, early responses have been dismissive.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Jiang Yu, has written-off the report, claiming Amnesty International to be “biased and hostile towards China”.

He said those attempting to politicise the Olympic Games would only humiliate themselves because “any attempt to blackmail or exert pressure on China would lead nowhere”.

The report called on governments and corporate sponsors to step up pressure on China by formally raising their concerns.

“With just four months to go, the IOC and world leaders should speak out strongly. A failure to express concern and demand change publicly risks being interpreted as a tacit endorsement of the human rights violations perpetrated by the Chinese authorities in preparation for the Olympic Games,” Ms Khan said.