Note: Originally Published On June 15th 2017

In the modern world, the one thing that all countries hope to someday achieve is peace. Peace is something that eludes so many individuals and so many nations these days. It appears to be constantly out of reach. And it appears this is to continue for a while yet. The issue is, if peace cannot come to the world, then inevitably, we are going to be subject to a force which may be unstoppable: chaos. And if chaos is allowed to reign over one nation, it will spread like wildfire, like a disease, until it infects the entire globe. And so it must be stopped before this occurs, because how would the world go on attempting to achieve peace when chaos is knocking on their doors?

One of the major issues in our world is that of refugees and asylum seekers transporting themselves from country to country, attempting to seek out a place of safety, away from the wars that are occurring within their respective home nations. For example, those who are seeking asylum from countries such as Syria and Iraq, mainly Middle Eastern countries where war has broken out over the years. Currently, a war is being fought in Syria on a range of fronts. Put simply, the war started out as a civil war between the State and a group of Rebels, who were extremely dissatisfied with Syrian President Bashaar Al-Assad’s regime, and simple protests quickly escalated into riots and broke out into an all out civil war. However, the civil war became something much bigger when, somewhat inevitably, a third party decided to use the war as a means of undertaking their own plots; the terrorist organisation known by many a name, but quite commonly as Islamic State. This terrorist group has since launched and carried out terror plots in nations worldwide, such as in France, and more recently, Manchester and London. They aim to invoke terror in all people who are in areas that are attacked. And in order to combat this, people must unite together, stand together as one, and display courage and strength, both in number and as individuals. In doing this, terror can be eradicated, in fact it may actually happen sooner than later.

And now, back to the topic of refugees and asylum seekers. These individuals are travelling, most often by boat, to countries where they hope to find peace and live a quiet, easier life than they have in the war torn nations which they have recently escaped from. They just want peace for pity’s sake. And the majority of them aren’t getting it. Why? Because of the governments. Take a look at Australia for example. So many individuals flee their respective countries to come to a somewhat peaceful nation that is Australia every year. And what happens when they arrive? Well, to put it simply, they are sent to live even more miserable lives. They are denied entry into the country, and then sent off to detention centres, basically prisons, to live out their lives indefinitely, unless of course they are eventually released at an undefined point in time because the government finally found some generosity in their heart. But you know, we can’t blame the government entirely. I mean, they’re only trying to keep the country safe from terrorists. And rightly so, because who knows whether or not a terrorist is hiding amongst asylum seekers, attempting to disguise themselves so that they can gain entry to a country in which they aim to wreak havoc. It is quite true that this could happen. But why should these other people, these other terrified human beings, have to be punished? Why should they have to endure a very similar life to the one they only just escaped from? Sometimes, one individual has to ruin it for everyone else. Sometimes it’s because one person has done damage to the country previously and the government simply cannot allow for that to occur again. And we wouldn’t even have this problem relating to asylum seekers entering the country the wrong way if those individuals who’s responsibility it is at the embassies actually did their jobs and processed requests for migration to other nations from individuals living in the real-life nightmares that are war torn countries like Syria. It’s not a question of whether asylum seekers and refugees are doing things the right way, it’s a question of why they have to resort to going this way rather than taking the legal options. Some food for thought there.

And there we are, another analysis of another issue held in place by the world. I sincerely hope you found this an interesting and intriguing read. As always, make sure to leave any suggestions or ideas in the comments, and thanks for reading!

JJ

Note: Originally Published June 17th 2017

Australia. The so called ‘lucky’ country. Sure, we are lucky in some aspects, such as the great culture we have, the mateship that makes Australia, well, Australia, and the peace and freedom we have, away from war torn countries and dictatorships. But boy oh boy did we get unlucky when it comes to politicians. I mean, really, it may not seem all that bad in comparison to some other countries (here’s looking at you America). But, in the words of Hamlet (which I honestly never thought I’d actually quote in my out-of-school life), ‘Seems madam? I know not seems.’ Yes, that’s right, Australian politics may seem alright, but in reality, it is one giant mess. Let’s take a look.

We’ll start with a brief outline of how everything works in the Parliament of Australia. In all it’s simplicity, Parliament consists of the House of Representatives (Lower House) and the Senate (Upper House, and no, not the Senate as in Star Wars). These two levels of government are responsible for decisions made in regards to our nation and its overall welfare. They can be broken down further into a number of parties. There are two main Australian parties, the Liberals, currently in government and currently led by Prime Minister Malcolm Turncoat, sorry, Turnbull, and the Labor Party, currently led by Bill Shorten. The Liberals are also currently in a coalition with the National Party, headed up by Barnaby Joyce. Other parties consist of ones such as Katter’s Australian Party, led by Bob Katter, One Nation, led by Pauline ‘Please Explain’ Hanson, the Nick Xenophon Team, led of course by Nick Xenophon, the Greens, led by Richard Di Natale, and the newly formed Australian Conservatives, led by Cory Bernardi. There are so many more, but we’ll go with these ones for now.

Currently, the Prime Minister of Australia is Malcolm Turnbull. I say currently because of the so titled ‘revolving door’ of Prime Ministers Australia has seen over the years. John Howard was our last Prime Minister who actually held the position for a decent length of time, a few months short of 12 years in office. And then came Kevin Rudd, taking over from Howard in 2007, becoming known as Kevin 07. And this is when the chaos began to rise. Rudd was forced out of power by his own party, his own government in 2010, being replaced by the Australia’s first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. Julia brought with her uncertainty about the future of Australian politics, turning on what promises she had previously made in the form of the notorious carbon tax. Julia, like that of her former, was challenged in her position of leadership by none other than the somewhat dissatisfied Kevin Rudd, who wanted another shot at the game. Resulting from this, in 2013, a leadership change occurred within the Labor Party, with Gillard being usurped by Rudd. However, it didn’t last long, as the next election was coming up quite rapidly, and with it, the next partition of the revolving door. The September 2013 election went pretty much as expected, with a Liberal Party led by Tony ‘Stop The Boats’ Abbott taking out the vote in a landslide result, which also led to the imminent departure of Kevin Rudd from Australian Politics, or at least Parliament House. And now to the next part of this somewhat amusing story.

After Abbott took over in late 2013, all he wanted was one thing. Beside his passion for a variety of sports lay another passion. One that enforced a particularly noteworthy policy of his own creation. All Tony ever wanted to do, was stop the boats. He seemed really hung up on this idea, on this spectacular policy of his. Many speeches he gave included that golden phrase: ‘We are going to stop the boats.’ What a phrase, made particularly better when it was spoken by Tony. But, tragically, Tony ran out of time before he could achieve his dream, being back stabbed by a somewhat envious Malcolm Turnbull, or, as many have called him, Malcolm Turncoat. In a leadership challenge that occurred in September 2015, after a failed one just earlier that same year, Abbot and his dream to stop boats were diminished, when the Liberal National coalition made the decision through a vote to install Malcolm Turnbull in the position of Prime Minister in place of Tony Abbott. Julie Bishop also made the big decision to switch sides, joining up with Turnbull so she could gain a promotion of sorts within the government. And so ended the revolving door’s motion, for now at least.

The Labor Party, after the downfall of Kevin Rudd, or should I say the second downfall of Kevin Rudd, made the decision to appoint Bill Shorten as the new opposition leader. And so bringing us to early last year, when an election was called in late April, but not just the standard election everyone would have been expecting. No, Turnbull, in all his confidence and wishing to reinforce his leadership, thinking he could gain even more seats than he already had, called a double dissolution. The first one since 1987. And to go with it, the most ridiculous, extensive election campaign, lasting around eight weeks in total. And by the end of it, the whole of Australia was left bored and tired of hearing the same things repeated over and over for two months. And so it came to be that the election proved what many were thinking would happen. Rather than a significant gain of seats for the Liberals and Turnbull, there was more of a significant loss of seats. This election really couldn’t have gone better for Bill Shorten and his Labor Party, gaining 14 seats in total to bring the tally up to 69 seats for the Labor Party, while the Libs took out 76. A number of other parties also rose up, such as that of the Nick Xenophon team picking up a seat, Katter’s Australian Party also picking one up, and the Greens also picking up their usual one seat. The Senate vote took four weeks to reach an outcome, with the Libs taking out 30 seats (loss of 3), Labor taking out 26 (gain of 1), the Greens taking 9 (loss of 1), One Nation taking out and gaining 4 seats, and the Nick Xenophon Team gaining 2 seats to make it 3 in total. And so began the Parliament that we know today.

Now let’s have a look at the goings-on of Parliament, in particular that of the House of Reps. After the somewhat chaotic election of 2016, Parliament became somewhat of a mess. Although really, for the last decade, it’s been a mess the entire time in all honesty. Nevertheless, Parliament was and still is a mess of sorts. I’ll take a moment here before I go on to just make a small recommendation. If you like great comedy, and you’re looking for a great television show to watch, then have I got the show for you. Parliament Question Time: Tuesdays 2:00pm on the ABC. And if you want more (because they only show an hour of Question Time), you can stream it online. Trust me, it’s great comedy. All politicians that feature are comedians in their own ways. Some notable ones: Barnaby Joyce, the Deputy Prime Minister who does a great impersonation of a tomato. There are three states that you will find Barnaby in when he’s in Parliament: having an afternoon nap, ridiculing other politicians with ridiculous analogies, or laughing so hard that his face becomes a tomato. There was one time, this was mentioned on radio by a caller, he laughed so hard, this guy thought he would have to call emergency services because he thought Barnaby would asphyxiate himself from laughing so much. And then there’s the Manager of Opposition Business, Tony Burke. He gets up from his seat to make a remark, well, attempt to make a remark at least, and usually a ridiculous or humorous one at that, maybe even a snide one taking a swipe at another politician in a subtle sense, and then gets told to ‘resume his seat’ by the speaker, Tony Smith. I feel sorry for Tony Smith, really I do. I really doubt it was in his job description to have to deal with a bunch of children all the time. He’s always giving out warnings, telling people to ‘resume their seats’ and occasionally asking some to leave the room. Even the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader have to be put in line. The government really needs some fixing.

Now we may have to go into a separate article about government policies and money, although I can sum up the money situation right here. Our absolutely brilliant Treasurer, Scott Morrison, has recently stated in this year’s budget, that we are looking at ‘A Better Future’, hoping to be in surplus by 2021. Do we really believe him? Not really. The main reason for my disbelief is that we are currently overdue for a new Prime Minister, and there is a high chance there will be a change, or multiple ones at that, in leadership before 2021.

There’s one more thing I want to touch on before I wrap this one up. That is the man himself, Cory Bernardi. Bernardi has, in recent months, turned the political tables. After being seconded by Malcolm Turnbull last year when he was still a member of the Liberal/National, Party, specifically that of the Libs, he visited the United States, being there to see the chaotic vote that occurred that saw Donald Trump become the 45th President of the United States of America. After seeing what the people of the United States had done, he was, in a sense, inspired, and his return to Australia saw the media rife with rumours that he was preparing to leave the Libs just months after he was re-elected in Adelaide. The rumours were played down for some time, until, on February 7 this year, he made the announcement to the Senate, the Government and to the rest of Australia that he had decided to leave the party. And it was brilliant. Whilst a part of the Libs, Bernardi expressed some controversial viewpoints, such as comments made against same-sex marriage, his opposing of abortion, his expression of doubt of human activities as something that contributes to global warming, his opposing of the safe schools program, and his criticisms of Islam, leading him to express the call for a ban on the burqa being worn in public. Bernardi made a very noteworthy comment when he spoke to the press shortly after announcing his breakaway from the Liberal/National Party to the Senate, stating that all the politicians running the country were living inside the ‘Canberra Bubble’. In essence, this is his way of showing how the people who are running this country are living in their own world, one existing in Canberra, in particular in that of Parliament House itself. Anything that is done or said in this so-termed ‘Bubble’ is typically in favour of the politicians which inhabit and collude within it. These politicians need to recognise that they are not above everyone else, but that they are equal in their humanity to all other individuals who are living within the country of Australia. They need to learn to take into consideration anyone and everyone, and their needs, whether they be financial, sociological, psychological, physiological, humanitarian or whatever else, and meet the requirements of the general public, rather than just their own selves. When they come down to the level of everyone else in the country, away from the multiple properties which many of them own, away from their increasing riches, away from their somewhat easy away-from-work lifestyle, away from the added benefits which they receive, only then will they be able to envisage the right and proper future for Australia. Cory Bernardi has shown us what has not necessarily been recognised by many others. And that it comes directly from a long-standing politician makes it all the more greater in its effect, ensuring the point is highly noteworthy and valid. Bernardi has since begun the endeavour that is the creation of his own party, the Australian Conservatives, which stand, in essence, for common sense. Common sense: something that has been lacking in the political scene for so many years. Bernardi has brought forward a brilliant idea, a spectacular view on the world of politics, particularly of the one which exists in Australia. And, one day in the not-so-distant future, we may see the ultimate demise of the major parties of Australia, and the rise to power of relatively minor parties. We might just see politicians like that of Cory Bernardi, or even Pauline Hanson, attain the currently not-so-coveted role of Prime Minister of Australia.

So I’ll wrap up by saying this. I have seen the mess that constitutes that of the Australian political scene. I know that this disarray of politics needs to be patched up and set right. I strongly believe, in fact I couldn’t agree more, that Cory Bernardi’s idea, his reality of the Canberra Bubble is all too real. I believe in the common sense that Cory Bernardi has released into the world of Australian politics and hope that it allows for the current government, as well as the rest of the politicians who constitute the political scene of Australia, to open their eyes to the rest of the world around them, and to see the diverse range of people who inhabit this nation. I’m sure we will see a number of changes occur within the political scene of Australia in the coming years. My one hope through all of this however, is that politicians will finally be able to realise they are not above everyone else, and that they will be able to finally envisage a better and brighter future for the nation that is Australia.

So there we go, that’s my take on Australian Politics. I know it’s a lengthy one, but I feel that there is a need for these issues to be addressed, and in that I mean properly addressed. I hope that you might have learnt something along the way, and please, I’d love to hear from you on your own opinions on the Australian political scene. So, as always, please leave anything in the comments, in particular your opinions on this topic, and thanks for reading!

JJ

Note: Originally Published on 21st June 2017

Australia is quite lucky in the sense that many Australians are able to have a great education. It is somewhat affordable, depending of course on the types of schools chosen (ie. public or private), but it’s worthwhile. But whilst it may appear to be that we have a spectacular education system, that it is creating a better future for many generations to come, there are flaws within the system that, well, should be addressed.

We’ll start by addressing schools in general and the ways in which they operate. This will typically be geared more towards high schools rather than that of primary schools, although I’ll just make a general statement by saying that primary schools have been operating quite well, and are able to take more of a focus on students, providing them with an enjoyable yet reasonable education. But onto the main context: high schools. High schools operate a system under the rule of the Board of Studies in what they teach and what students must learn throughout each year of their schooling. Typically, faculties are divided up into English, Maths, Science, Creative And Performing Arts (CAPA), Languages, Computing, Technical And Applied Studies (TAS), Personal Development, Health And Physical Education (PDHPE) and Human Society And Its Environment (HSIE). Each year, students are required to take classes from a mix of the subjects provided by these faculties, with English being the one subject that is compulsory for the entirety of a student’s school life. In most cases, students are also required to take maths and science classes from Years 7-10, as well as PDHPE, a combination of History and Geography, and Sport. Most high schools also require students to take Music classes in Years 7 & 8, as well as a language from a refined selection for both years. Students then typically select three electives to undertake in Years 9 & 10 from a variety of different subjects. Some schools may provide accelerated courses whereby the students undertake the Preliminary and HSC courses over an extended period of three years, and complete the HSC for these subjects in Year 11. In terms of the senior years of schooling, Years 11 & 12, students are required to select electives which come to a total of 12 units for the Preliminary Course (that is, Year 11) and 10 units for the HSC Course (Year 12). All students are currently required by the Board of Studies to undertake at least, 2 units of English, with all other elective subjects being optional. Most elective subjects are worth 2 units, however there are some which amount to 1 unit. These are usually extension subjects, such as Extension English or Extension Maths, of which there are two courses for each. So yes, it is a bit confusing at first, but once you get your head around it, everything becomes a bit simpler.

In each year of schooling, students must undertake and complete a range of assessment tasks which will attribute to their final marks/grade. These tasks may present themselves in a variety of forms, such as in-class or out-of-class essays, in-class tests, research tasks, performances (CAPA), viva voces (a question and answer/ interview/1-on-1 conversation format assessment), compositions (CAPA), and many more. In Year 12, some subjects also require a major work to be completed, whether it be a work of art, a work of literature or the like. The issue with assessment tasks is a major one that needs to be resolved. The issue is that the various faculties of high schools do not convene with each other too often, if at all, and therefore a reasonable schedule of assessment tasks is not drawn up. Students are given assessment tasks at various intervals throughout the year, typically with two week turnaround periods. And the workload and stresses that accompany it can really start to stack up when more and more assessment tasks are distributed in close proximity to each other. When coupled with added homework that must be completed for upcoming lessons, as well as personal life commitments of students, such as sporting, acting, music, or family commitments, the workload really starts to stack up. This can result in what could be seen as unnecessary stress being loaded onto students, in particular in the senior years of high school, and this can really change them as an individual. Students could begin staying up at night to complete work, in some cases doing ‘all-nighters’ just to be able to get through their schoolwork. And take it from me, this shouldn’t be happening. The sheer fact that students are keeping themselves awake all night with work or just thinking about all the work they have to do is ridiculous, it’s an obscenity. Staying up late to work through the heavy workload is highly detrimental to an individual’s sleep. A student might only get 2-3 hours of sleep on one occasion, maybe even less. This is in itself damaging enough when it occurs only once, let alone if it occurs multiple times. It is essential for any student, in particular those who are in their busy senior years of schooling, to try to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night, if not more. So it is therefore necessary that the faculties of high schools coerce more often so as to determine an even spread of assessment tasks and homework in order to avoid piling work upon students until they simply cannot handle it anymore.

The next issue that needs to be addressed is the pressure put upon students nowadays by their own families, in particular their parents. You know really, this should go without saying. I really don’t think I should have to make this point. But unfortunately, I do. Now and again, I’ve seen students feeling enormous pressure stemming from their parents as to marks they must achieve in examinations or various assessment tasks in order to please their parents. They approach assessments with the hope that they will not disappoint their parents. Ok so when I said ‘now and again’ I wasn’t completely being truthful. In reality, I see this literally all the time. And it makes me feel somewhat disappointed with what the world of parenting has come to. Now let me get this straight, I’m no parent. And I fully respect, ok fully is a powerful word, I respect the methods of parenting employed by many around the world. But seriously people, look what’s happening to the next generation. They are being ruined by this. Kids, well sorry they aren’t exactly kids, teens, well somewhat, maybe students would be best. Students are feeling the pressure coming from their parents. I’m completely serious in saying this. They are feeling the pressure so much so that they are pulling all-nighters just to somewhat ensure that they get that result that their parents want. I think parents need to have a bit of a look into their methods being honest. Sure parents might have these certain, mass expectations for their children, but please, when did it become a matter of the mark they want? Shouldn’t it be what the student wants? In fact no, shouldn’t both parents and students be happy as long as the student has done their best? That sounds a bit better, doesn’t it? Now I’ve never experienced these pressures myself. I’m quite lucky in that I have a brilliant family, with two amazing parents who are proud of me no matter what. But there are many students out there who don’t have this. They actually wish they had this. And that’s not something that should be presenting itself in the modern world. So to all the parents out there, I say this: don’t expect perfection. Expect what is real, not what is fabricated. Only expect that your child does the best that they possibly can, and love and be proud of them no matter what the outcome. All you can really do is give them food and drink and make sure that they are mentally and physically healthy. So that’s that issue.

One more thing that I want to address. The famous, or in actuality infamous, Board of Studies. That group of people that call themselves an organisation, but change their name every couple of years just to, well, irritate everyone it seems. We’ve seen them as the Board Of Studies (BOS), then as the Board Of Studies, Teaching And Education Standards (or simply BOSTES or just the Board of Studies), and, more recently, as the NSW Education Standards Authority (or NESA or The Authority or just the Board of Studies). They seem to think they’re above everyone else. They love changing the syllabuses for various subjects every few years or so, they love prescribing some debatably ‘fun’ topics and texts, and if there’s one thing I can practically guarantee they love doing, it’s ruining the lives of students in schools all over the state. Ask any student, they’ll most probably, in fact, almost certainly tell you that the Board of Studies is one of the most irritating organisations they’ve ever come across in their entire life. Even some teachers have expressed some dissent at the ways of the Board of Studies and the topics they set down for teaching students. They are just a group of people who don’t really understand how hard they are making it for students out there. So it would be great if these people actually went out and observed the piles of work being placed upon students, and how hard they are working just to diminish the stacks slightly. If they could see what the life of a high school student, in particular that of a senior was like, then they might just understand. Who knows?

So there we go. A bit of a take on the education system. Let me know what you think, and any opinions you might have can be left in the comments as always. Thanks for reading!

JJ