Great editorial, but.......... PLUS what do Lightning Bolts, Cosmetic Surgery and Prayer Towers have in common?
Monday March 12's editorial in The Examiner entitled "Most vulnerable in need of help" was a good piece, but it only told part of the story.The thrust of the article was undeniable - State & Federal Governments should do more to help the vulnerable in society.
"Both State and Federal governments should use looming Budgets and even the federal election campaign to take another look at the way we treat some of the most vulnerable members of society"....
...."the simple fact is that thousands of Tasmanians are still struggling to meet their commitments. While political parties at all levels generally talk up their commitment to ensuring the disadvantaged in our communities get the help they need, they rarely seem to be a target audience during elections nor a genuine focus at Budget time. How we spread the benefits of the good times should be a measure of the success of our community. (Italics mine) The cases of people like...show that as a society we often fall short of the mark."
Yes, as a society we do often fall short of the mark. Why then is there no mention of individual and business responsibilities in the editorial? Governments assume the majority of society's responsibility to assist the vulnerable on our behalf (and they should allocate a greater proportion of the funds to that task), but don't we as individuals, as well as businesses that profit from many sources in a community, have our own obligations to share "the benefits of good times?"
If we want a better community; a community where more people want to live; a more diverse community where businesses have a greater range of staff to select from, and consumers to sell to; then everyone has to contribute something to the welfare of others. That's the whole reason for this Blog - to alert people to some of the possibilities.
After all the need is not declining. Just today the following information arrived in my Inbox courtesy of ProBono Australia:
"Community services are struggling to meet the public's demand for help, according to a national survey by the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS).
Called Australian Community Sector Survey 2007 the survey found that a lack of funding or resources meant 1 in every 16 people who accessed a service were turned away from community services last year.
ACOSS Director Andrew Johnson says community services are under strain trying to meet the needs of disadvantaged Australians."
Readers can access the full ACOSS report from www.acoss.org.au
Finally, I'd love to know what people felt about the news last week that Launceston has just received a $100,000 48m Lighting Bolt for the Inveresk precinct as a gift from the University of Tasmania and various corporate donors.
At the risk of alienating the artistic community, have we really reached a point as a society where we can justify these extravagant examples of public art? Personally, I'd have rather seen the equivalent amount of steel go into building a home for Blokes United. Surely the art was in the creation of the original concept in the artist's mind and didn't need to take physical form to have validity?
For me, this is up there with elective cosmetic surgery amongst the best ways to waste money and human resources..........but fortunately we live in a democracy where such things are a matter of individual conscience. :-)
Post script
Not long after this post I found another local example of dubious spending. Did you see the story in the Religion column in Friday 16 March's Examiner? Zions Hill Church (located in the second most disavantaged suburb in Launceston, Ravenswood) are planning to construct a Prayer Tower for the use of churches throughout Launceston. Meanwhile, kids in the immediate vicinity will go to be hungry through no fault of their own, either because their parents don't have the economic resources to both feed and shelter them, or because they have prioritised drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and gambling ahead of their kids needs.
Now I've got nothing against prayer, I just thought it could be done anywhere and for free.
Although I got a bit (overly)excited about the story, the irony is in that in a community which opposes EVERYTHING (eg Pulp Mill, Gorge House, Regional Aquatic Centre, Tip Road etc etc) this development will probably proceed without registering a trace on the EEG of community consciousness.
As Mal Garvin says "It makes you think, doesn't it?"
Read the full Post!
posted by Alan Melton @ 2:01 pm
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