OPINION & ANALYSIS Vic bitter or the NSW Topics today blues under O’Farrell Phillip Today’s fact O’Neill St Bernard rescue dogs carried food, not brandy. PARLIAMENTARY democracy is a Today’s word funny thing. You throw a government out and another appears straight Contretemps: An awkward or away. Which could be a good thing or unfortunate occurrence; an a bad thing, depending on how you unexpected mishap. think society should run. At the next NSW election, democracy could well do its thing: It happened today goodbye one, hello the other. If Kristina is told to get “on ’er bike” by From our files – 1966: No mail voters then a Barry O’Farrell-led will be sent from Newcastle to Coalition government will probably Sydney until further notice after be the replacement. a work stoppage by sorters What would an O’Farrell caused a significant back-log. government look like? The simple answer is that we don’t know. But maybe we can be guided by two Today in history similar goodbye-hello events in recent Australian history. 1614: Native American princess One was the election of Nick Pocahontas marries English Greiner as premier and leader of a colonist John Rolfe in Virginia. Coalition government in NSW in 1887: In Tuscumbia, Alabama, 1988, after 12 years of Labor rule. Anne Sullivan teaches her blind The other was the election of Jeff and deaf pupil Helen Keller the Kennett in Victoria in 1992, after 10 meaning of the word ‘‘water’’ as years of Labor rule. COALITION: Nick Greiner, Barry O’Farrell and Jeff Kennett. – Artwork by David Coleman spelt out in the Manual The interesting thing is how Alphabet. differently each of these Coalition exuberance. Both were committed steady-as-she-goes, nice bloke who allow mining in national parks and 1896: Start of the first modern premiers approached his task. Both to modern liberalism. They were could well have been a Labor native forests were sold off to wood Olympic Games in Athens. were elected to parliament in their progressive on social and moral premier, and few would have seen plantation companies. Industrial 1932: Phar Lap, Australasia’s 30s and quickly took on the role as issues, at least compared with more him as out of place. awards and worker protection greatest race horse, dies leader of the opposition during traditional Liberal leaders. Greiner’s reform agenda was measures were pared. Local mysteriously in California. periods of Labor dominance. Each man was also pro-business, frustrated by a range of government amalgamations were 1998: The world’s longest Greiner secured the job as believing that the role of government circumstances and NSW changed pursued aggressively. suspension bridge at 3911 metres premier when a tired-out Labor is to provide the circumstances for not too much as a consequence. On the plus side – depending on opens in Japan, linking Shikoku government under the leadership of individual effort and enterprise to be In contrast, Kennett attacked the your point of view – Kennett rescued with the main island Honshu. Barrie Unsworth struggled to the rewarded handsomely. way business, government and trade the Victorian public balance sheet, 1999: Libya hands over to the UN 1988 election beneath a stench of Otherwise, they believed, unions operated in Victoria with a but did this through the sale of state two former government agents to claims concerning secret party government should get out of the zeal not matched then in Australian assets like the electricity and gas stand trial for the bombing of a donations, corrupt planning way. Government spending, political history, or since. utilities, metro railways, trams and Pan Am aircraft over Lockerbie practices and jobs for the boys, therefore, should be cut, and the Kennett changed the public several prisons. New infrastructure, in 1988. The UN lifts sanctions especially for former union officials. more the better. Trade unionism was service dramatically. A report to the like the marvellously efficient City against Libya the next day. Kennett’s rise to power was also seen to stifle individualism, so it Australian Senate in 2002 shows that Link motorway system, was handed similar. Long-serving Victorian too was a force to be curtailed. the Kennett government closed more over to the private sector for premier John Cain had stood aside In reality, Greiner’s premiership than 350 state schools and removed construction and operation. Born today in 1990 for Victoria’s first woman never lived up to the ideals he 9000 teachers from the payroll. The So what sort of liberalism might we premier Joan Kirner. Unfortunately espoused. His government proved to Victorian hospital system suffered a get under O’Farrell should we wake Thomas Hobbes, English Kirner had to manage a rust-belt be a clumsy mob, and Greiner reduction of 10,000 staff, and 1400 on March 27, 2011, to a Coalition state philosopher (1588-1679); Joseph Victorian economy and the mess of himself was caught up in an hospital beds were removed, 12 government? A Kennett version? A Lister, English surgeon, two financial collapses, the State investigation by ICAC, the body he hospitals closed and capital works on Greiner version? Or a version not discoverer of antiseptics Savings Bank and the Pyramid had created with a view to cleaning hospitals cut by 40 per cent. So, too, seen before? We’ve got a little less (1827-1912); Algernon Swinburne, Building Society, both significant up corruption in NSW. the public housing budget was than 12 months to find out. English poet holders of household savings and Although eventually cleared of slashed, housing stock sold off and (1837-1909); issuers of housing mortgages. corruption claims, Greiner was left maintenance funds reduced. Country Spencer Tracy, Greiner and Kennett won office on with a weak minority government ambulance services were cut, six US actor the back of disgruntled Labor-voter after the 1991 election. country rail lines were abandoned Professor Phillip O’Neill is director (1900-1967); backlashes but each man also Frustrated, he handed over the and police stations in rural towns of the Urban Research Centre, Bette Davis,US projected refreshing, youthful leader’s reins to John Fahey, a closed. Legislation was passed to University of Western Sydney. actress (1908-1989); Gregory Peck, US actor (1916-2003); Jesus provides us with a framework of trust Colin Powell, US Secretary of State (1937-); Jane Asher, English actress (1946-); Agnetha Hope lies beneath, writes development to partake in an then row hard and in time. humanity from God and from each Faeltskog, pictured, member of experience of extreme sports. After In Australia, for some people, the other. This framework enables us to Swedish pop group ABBA (1950-). Felicity Amery. categorically ruling out bungee Easter weekend is time for some build life-giving relationships and jumping, I agreed to what could be extreme remembering of the makes possible our personal the ultimate Easter experience of significance of the violent death and transformation and, ideally and Odd spot WHETHER you have been getting whitewater rafting. restored life of Jesus the Christ. This ultimately, the transformation of the together with family, attending What followed was a two-hour ancient story of violence and non- world. Topeka is Google, and now Google religious services, catching up on joyride over rapids and down a violence is the journey of a prophet On this Easter Monday, might is Topeka. Weeks after the Kansas jobs, doing something you have series of falls, the climax being a who offered radical criticism of the hope be in the life-threatening task capital unofficially renamed itself never done before or considering seven-metre drop into the ice-blue existing political system and the of working together to face head-on after the internet search giant, the the state of our world over the waters of the Waikato River. oppressive religious and social the enormous challenges in our company returned the favour in Easter weekend, have you pondered Several aspects of this amazing order of his day. For many community? the form of an April Fool’s Day the question of where is hope? ride are permanently impregnated generations and people, Jesus’s Might hope lie in our willingness joke. Topeka had jokingly Around the nation families are in my mind. The instructor sat in the journey has become a personal to brave the complex task of changed its name in a bid to gathering, debating venues, dodging back and worked his novice team, symbol or image for a path to building relationships with those we persuade Google to choose the showers of rain, intent on lighting the building our skills, muscles we spiritual, psychological and understand least? Might hope lie in city as a test site for its planned barbie. For many the day will go never knew we had and our communal transformation that leads risking everything to be part of a super-fast fibre-optic network. well, celebrating life, belonging to awareness of the stunning but to a new way of being a human. transforming world? community and revelling in all that is dangerous landscape, equipping us Whatever you think about the Australian. For others it will require for a complete immersion church, this is a story of an Today’s text a few too many beers to survive the experience. immeasurably great man who traditional family argument about The risk of falling out of the boat advocates for radical loving and a Reverend Felicity Amery is the Jesus said, “The people who politics and each other. was high and if we panicked, waving gracious way of living. It provides chairperson/executive officer for have faith in me without seeing Recently my three adult children our arms and legs around in fear, we people with a framework of trust the Hunter Presbytery of the Uniting me are the ones who are really felt it important for my professional would drown.