A tax by any other name...

... stinks just as much!

Deficit Levy

Abbott: " There will be no new taxes!"

Oxford School Dictionary c.1974  Levy n. collecting of tax or compulsory payment.

The electorate rests its case! 

Eddie 'everywhere' bombs out again!

Whilst conducting a post-AFL match interview over the week-end, Eddie McGuire dropped the 'C-bomb' on national television.

This is not Eddie's first on-air clanger. It will be interesting to see how broadcasting authorities deal with this one on a program which would normally be considered suitable for family viewing under present classification 'standards'.

Small Potatoes Strip

This comic strip was part of a fairly short-lived feature appearing in the magazine TravelWeek during
2004/5.

Direct Action 2

This take on the D.A. 'float' was prepared yesterday but put aside in favour of the cartoon actually posted.

However, today turned out to be a quite traumatic one in the 'rim' household. All good in the end... but insufficient time to comment on a new subject, so I've resurrected this effort to fill the void.

Direct action?

Must say Minister Hunt's remarks supporting implementation of 'Direct Action' yesterday sounded like he is as unconvinced about the policy as are I and many other observers (?)

Still... onward regardless!

ANZAC

This piece (in slightly different mode) first appeared in in an earlier blog of mine on ANZAC day, 2011. The design was intended to convey the dual military and reverential nature of the commemorative date... and, I think it came close enough to warrant another outing here.

Fortunately, the original was digitally worked in a vector application... enabling it to be reproduced now at twice the 2011 published size.

Shorten's task.

Resurrecting a viable and vibrant party from the current shambles will be more arduous than a Sunday 'stroll' in the Alps for Bill Shorten one presumes (pun intended).

If the trip is to be worthwhile, the accompanying baggage train will need to be lightened severely. 

Spending on really, really important stuff?

Let's hope the seventy-odd f-35 joint strike fighters gracefully rust away to obsolescence without ever having experienced a shot fired in anger (ala the f111s before them). With alleged budget constraints such as they are, a large proportion of the population may well have succumbed to lack of adequate funding for health, shelter, welfare etc, during the life-time of these aircraft... so will not require defending from aggressive enemies anyway?

Bloody expensive toys though!

Hooroo uluru!

None of the dingos are republicans as far as we know.

Vale Neville Wran

Perhaps a genuine giant of Australian politics. One of the longest reigning state premiers, he never suffered a defeat in in any form of election during his long career. He always presented himself to me (an observer) as intelligent, witty and seemingly on top of his game as a leader. Many (including me) would've liked to see him apply his talents in the federal arena. It wasn't to be, but I think his influence probably had a lot to do with the ascendancy of the Hawke-Keating administrations of the 80s and 90s(?)

Though my cartooning career spanned his entire time in politics, I recall being asked to depict him a couple of times only in 'spot' caricatures. They were both B&W when drawn originally, but I have applied back-ground colour to both of these repros in highlighting the caricatures.

Incidentally, NW bore the nick-name Nifty from his pre-politics time in law. However, a colleague or maybe someone in media must've bestowed the appellation 'Never Wrong' upon him, during the latter part of his career. From what I know of the man, it was probably coined to hail his un-erring ability to read the mood of the electorate at critical times in the political cycle... hence his no loss record? Although I have a habit of nick-naming pollies and other notables with nick-names using their real initials... I had nothing to do with 'never wrong' except to follow someone else's handiwork.

This day in...

Firstly 2011. The first full year of this blog was hosted in a different format as part of an over 50s chat site. The layout initially provided space for a daily cartoon measuring 8 x 8 cms only... which seemed postage stamp size to someone accustomed to drawing BIG originals. At the time, most of my work was initially digitized in a vector application, one of the main features of which is the ability to enlarge a graphic  almost infinitely without loss of detail or clarity. Thus, this Easter Egg repro is twice its original published size.

Secondly is the daily for April 20, 2012... still associated with the above-mentioned site. Space availability for the cartoons had increased slightly to 12 x 12 cms , so this fantasy piece about an  'ER for broken Dolls' is reproduced here as it appeared originally. Though it probably began life as  a vector graphic, I could only locate the final Photoshop version in my scrappy archive.

Climate change vulgarity?

In my view Mr. Brandis ... alleged use of rough mediaeval language by 'climate change' believers is a damned sight better than the uttering of 'sweet nothings' by climate change 'obscurantists' and/or the doing of SFA about remedial action by political leaderships around the globe!

Graffiti?

Graffiti is more often than not mindless and well deserves to be treated by the law as criminal damage to property. On that basis, I am generally implacably against such antics.

However, now and again some examples of defaced property are obviously humour driven and thus perhaps a couple of levels of potential understanding and forgiveness above those which feature the likes of moronic 'tagging' and nothing more. I came across one today during my morning 'constitutional walk.

An otherwise unadorned van parked in a neighbourhood street outside an average suburban dwelling had an obviously hand-written sign in medium blue paint on its dark glass rear window (see the above cartoon). It made me LOL!

There has to be a story behind this little event. Maybe malicious... but, I'd like to think it's some kind of  family in-joke and not intended to cause personal distress to the owner of the vehicle(?)

Sea food Mmmm.

Apparently, sea-food is the new IN thing around this neck of the woods.

Except for the dwindling fish stocks, that is.

Lost his 'bottle'?

Who among us would 'forget' receiving a $3000 bottle of Grange wine as a gift, for which we had taken the trouble of acknowledging in a hand-written note?

Short of being a diagnosed sufferer of dementia, that is.

Bone to pick?

Today's dust-up between Ms Pratt and Mr Bullock over the likely WA senate result, gives ample evidence of why the ALP, its murky deals, disunity and apparent lack of direction for the future have led to losses in recent elections.

Less talking the talk and more walking the walk look to be the urgent GO for Bill Shorten and Co.?

Retirement at 70?

Moving the end to justify the means?

Ride the Ghost train...

... from Melbourne's CBD to Tullamarine Airport! Your freeway and missed flight nightmares will be over.

If, you're fortunate enough to live to see it started, let alone finished, that is! Victorian premier Dense Naphthalene has trotted out the hardy perennial once again to perhaps help salvage his prospects of winning this year's state election.

Odds are that flight has already flown?

Oldest items in the portfolio?

Today's delve back into my past takes us to 1958, when I was scratching out stuff to try impressing the editor of the West Australian newspaper that I should be added to their art department to supply cartoons/illustrations... which were not a feature of the morning daily historically. Frank Sinatra and  Alec Guinness must've been prominent among film fans at the time.

I do believe these were among the very first graphics I ever attempted to employ coloured wash to enhance(?) basically B & W illustrations. These are +/-25% reduced from their original sizes. Sadly, the Sinatra piece in particular seems to have been attacked by silver-fish whilst lying in my archives for half a century plus!

Bob's Book.

The foreign adventures of a former Super Bob. (Foreign to whom, you may well ask.)

Footy bets?

Concern is rising about the extent of penetration gambling is achieving at elite levels in various sports.

Cab fares to rise (Melbourne)

In an effort to get more taxis on the road (particularly in the wee hours of the morning at closing time of CBD nightclubs)... a long awaited fare rise schedule has been released today.

Whether it encourages drivers to resume plying their trade in drunken thug heaven is moot.

Joe's Ploy?

Mr. Hockey seems to be making a big song and dance about how I.M.F. predictions of sharply slowing growth in the Australian economy support his intention to drop a nasty dose of budget medicine on us next month.

But wait... The I.M.F. assumptions are apparently based on trend growth figures which are now redundant. Instead of maintaining a developing slump evident in the last quarter of 2013, key indicators in the economy (eg. housing and retail) have resumed an upward curve along with the Oz dollar. This may well expose the treasurer's action and pronouncements as a desire to reshape the economy to conform with his party's political doom and gloom scenario rather than be justified by the real situation?

Could our Joe have pulled a swifty on the I.M.F.?

Feel free to speak?

Our self-appointed master of 'free-speak' George Brandis has travelled to the 'Land of the free and home of the brave' to apparently tell them how to suck eggs on the subject of 'free speech'. However, his reported remarks about the fugitive secrets-leaker Edward Snowden don't seem to quite gel with his previous liberal interpretations of what is legitimate 'free speech' and what isn't(?)

Maybe George is simply barracking for the home-side whilst a guest in their country?

Stray dogs home?

Early reports indicate that the success of Clive's PUP candidate in Saturday's WA Senate rerun was due to preference support obtained from up to eleven splinter party candidates.

Pundits suspect Clive may have undertaken to represent some of the donor's main policy planks through P.U.P. representation in the senate?

A kinda kennel club?

When in China shops...

... don't trade insults!

In a Fog?

This morning in Melbourne was described as 'deep in fog'. Actually, it was not the London-type pea souper restricting visibility at ground level. Rather, it appeared to be an ominously threatening dark grey low-lying cloud mass which seemed to be hovering about 100 metres above our heads. As I was walking through our local village, a 'heavy' aircraft passed over-head at low altitude making a horrendous noise as if less than a thousand metres or so above us. It was obviously on 'climb' after just having taken-of from nearby Tullamarine International AP. Yet not a glimpse of it was visible to those of us directly under its path. Moreover, the sound quickly abated whilst the aircraft must've still been within a kilometre of our position. Very eerie. Apparently a very, very dense cloud mass!

The incident reminded me of the very last current affairs comic-strip comment I had published in TravelWeek magazine before it was made-over into an on-line sans cartoons newsletter during the first half of 2005... thus ending my quarter of a century association with the publisher. The gloomy connection should be obvious as it was prompted by a similar extended period of foggy days endured by this city during that year as well.

The great hot-air race

UP, UP, UP the hot-air goes... how it will finish, nobody knows.

Fearful advice?

The Australian parliament is full of unelected personnel other than legitimate members and parliamentary staff. Among these are political advisors, most of whom are almost invisible. Now and again an exception to the rule emerges to gain notoriety challenging even that of their employer.

The 'Paled Cretin' may be just such an example?

The invisible man?

Good ol' Arthur sees nothing, hears nothing and as a consequence, says nothing. In point of conjecture, is good ol' Arthur just a figment  of imagination surrounding the ICAC enquiry in general, the subject under scrutiny in particular... or  just a bit-part player in the norms of public life in Australia?

Witch hunt?

Or... skeletons, anyone?

Shot across their bow?

Are we prepared to adopt gunboat diplomacy if Japan tries to skirt the court decision on southern ocean whaling?

Whales win!

There'll be a whale of a time in the old antarctic ocean tonight!