But Then It Was Too Late

Guest Author Uncategorized

This is from the always worth reading Kaye Lee at The Australian Independent Media – I hope she will forgive me for reblogging without her express permission (and I note that several Pubkateers have commented already).

(Image Credit: Daily Fumes)

An excerpt from They Thought They Were Free – The Germans, 1933-45 by Milton Mayer:

What no one seemed to notice was the ever widening gap, after 1933, between the government and the people. Just think how very wide this gap was to begin with, here in Germany. And it became always wider. You know, it doesn’t make people close to their government to be told that this is a people’s government, a true democracy, or to be enrolled in civilian defense, or even to vote. All this has little, really nothing, to do with knowing one is governing.

What happened here was the gradual habituation of the people, little by little, to being governed by surprise; to receiving decisions deliberated in secret; to believing that the situation was so complicated that the government had to act on information which the people could not understand, or so dangerous that, even if the people could understand it, it could not be released because of national security. And their sense of identification with Hitler, their trust in him, made it easier to widen this gap and reassured those who would otherwise have worried about it.

This separation of government from people, this widening of the gap, took place so gradually and so insensibly, each step disguised (perhaps not even intentionally) as a temporary emergency measure or associated with true patriotic allegiance or with real social purposes. And all the crises and reforms (real reforms, too) so occupied the people that they did not see the slow motion underneath, of the whole process of government growing remoter and remoter.

The dictatorship, and the whole process of its coming into being, was above all diverting. It provided an excuse not to think for people who did not want to think anyway. I do not speak of your ‘little men,’ your baker and so on; I speak of my colleagues and myself, learned men, mind you. Most of us did not want to think about fundamental things and never had. There was no need to. Nazism gave us some dreadful, fundamental things to think about—we were decent people—and kept us so busy with continuous changes and ‘crises’ and so fascinated, yes, fascinated, by the machinations of the ‘national enemies,’ without and within, that we had no time to think about these dreadful things that were growing, little by little, all around us. Unconsciously, I suppose, we were grateful. Who wants to think?

To live in this process is absolutely not to be able to notice it—please try to believe me—unless one has a much greater degree of political awareness, acuity, than most of us had ever had occasion to develop. Each step was so small, so inconsequential, so well explained or, on occasion, ‘regretted,’ that, unless one were detached from the whole process from the beginning, unless one understood what the whole thing was in principle, what all these ‘little measures’ that no ‘patriotic German’ could resent must some day lead to, one no more saw it developing from day to day than a farmer in his field sees the corn growing. One day it is over his head.

How is this to be avoided, among ordinary men, even highly educated ordinary men? Frankly, I do not know. I do not see, even now. Many, many times since it all happened I have pondered that pair of great maxims, Principiis obsta and Finem respice—‘Resist the beginnings’ and ‘Consider the end.’ But one must foresee the end in order to resist, or even see, the beginnings. One must foresee the end clearly and certainly and how is this to be done, by ordinary men or even by extraordinary men? Things might have. And everyone counts on that might.

Your ‘little men,’ your Nazi friends, were not against National Socialism in principle. Men like me, who were, are the greater offenders, not because we knew better (that would be too much to say) but because we sensed better. Pastor Niemöller spoke for the thousands and thousands of men like me when he spoke (too modestly of himself) and said that, when the Nazis attacked the Communists, he was a little uneasy, but, after all, he was not a Communist, and so he did nothing; and then they attacked the Socialists, and he was a little uneasier, but, still, he was not a Socialist, and he did nothing; and then the schools, the press, the Jews, and so on, and he was always uneasier, but still he did nothing. And then they attacked the Church, and he was a Churchman, and he did something—but then it was too late.

You see, one doesn’t see exactly where or how to move. Believe me, this is true. Each act, each occasion, is worse than the last, but only a little worse. You wait for the next and the next. You wait for one great shocking occasion, thinking that others, when such a shock comes, will join with you in resisting somehow. You don’t want to act, or even talk, alone; you don’t want to ‘go out of your way to make trouble.’ Why not?—Well, you are not in the habit of doing it. And it is not just fear, fear of standing alone, that restrains you; it is also genuine uncertainty.

Uncertainty is a very important factor, and, instead of decreasing as time goes on, it grows. Outside, in the streets, in the general community, ‘everyone’ is happy. One hears no protest, and certainly sees none. You know, in France or Italy there would be slogans against the government painted on walls and fences; in Germany, outside the great cities, perhaps, there is not even this. In the university community, in your own community, you speak privately to your colleagues, some of whom certainly feel as you do; but what do they say? They say, ‘It’s not so bad’ or ‘You’re seeing things’ or ‘You’re an alarmist.’

And you are an alarmist. You are saying that this must lead to this, and you can’t prove it. These are the beginnings, yes; but how do you know for sure when you don’t know the end, and how do you know, or even surmise, the end? On the one hand, your enemies, the law, the regime, the Party, intimidate you. On the other, your colleagues pooh-pooh you as pessimistic or even neurotic. You are left with your close friends, who are, naturally, people who have always thought as you have.

Now, in small gatherings of your oldest friends, you feel that you are talking to yourselves, that you are isolated from the reality of things. This weakens your confidence still further and serves as a further deterrent to—to what? It is clearer all the time that, if you are going to do anything, you must make an occasion to do it, and then you are obviously a troublemaker. So you wait, and you wait.

But the one great shocking occasion, when tens or hundreds or thousands will join with you, never comes. That’s the difficulty. If the last and worst act of the whole regime had come immediately after the first and smallest, thousands, yes, millions would have been sufficiently shocked—if, let us say, the gassing of the Jews in ’43 had come immediately after the ‘German Firm’ stickers on the windows of non-Jewish shops in ’33. But of course this isn’t the way it happens. In between come all the hundreds of little steps, some of them imperceptible, each of them preparing you not to be shocked by the next. Step C is not so much worse than Step B, and, if you did not make a stand at Step B, why should you at Step C? And so on to Step D.

And one day, too late, your principles, if you were ever sensible of them, all rush in upon you. The burden of self-deception has grown too heavy, and some minor incident, in my case my little boy, hardly more than a baby, saying ‘Jewish swine,’ collapses it all at once, and you see that everything, everything, has changed and changed completely under your nose. The world you live in—your nation, your people—is not the world you were born in at all. The forms are all there, all untouched, all reassuring, the houses, the shops, the jobs, the mealtimes, the visits, the concerts, the cinema, the holidays. But the spirit, which you never noticed because you made the lifelong mistake of identifying it with the forms, is changed. Now you live in a world of hate and fear, and the people who hate and fear do not even know it themselves; when everyone is transformed, no one is transformed. Now you live in a system which rules without responsibility even to God. The system itself could not have intended this in the beginning, but in order to sustain itself it was compelled to go all the way.

You have gone almost all the way yourself. Life is a continuing process, a flow, not a succession of acts and events at all. It has flowed to a new level, carrying you with it, without any effort on your part. On this new level you live, you have been living more comfortably every day, with new morals, new principles. You have accepted things you would not have accepted five years ago, a year ago, things that your father, even in Germany, could not have imagined.

Suddenly it all comes down, all at once. You see what you are, what you have done, or, more accurately, what you haven’t done (for that was all that was required of most of us: that we do nothing). You remember those early meetings of your department in the university when, if one had stood, others would have stood, perhaps, but no one stood. A small matter, a matter of hiring this man or that, and you hired this one rather than that. You remember everything now, and your heart breaks. Too late. You are compromised beyond repair.

Note: Thanks to mars08 for this chilling reminder

958 thoughts on “But Then It Was Too Late”

  5. I will add I’m not toooo confident in that raw newspoll figure, as recent polls are jumping in different directions. Its volatile out there. Nielsen & Roy Morgan moved towards the Coalition, Essential & Newspoll towards the ALP. We’ll need a few more weeks to get a solid trend.

  6. Hmm, 54-46 is one hell of a distraction; trouble at t’mill? (I doubt Rups would have let a rogue poll escape without reason, particularly when the poll aggregate across the road is close to 50-50…)

  7. Oh, dear!

    Currently watching a replay of “The Drum” and I can’t believe that the likes of Sue Helen Coonan and that shelia with the bulk curly hair, spew out their Liberal love to the extent that they have tonight, is close to breathtaking.

    Blimey ABC, you better make sure that that far more than 50% of the voting public will support you if this mob go for your throat.

    Scratch me off your support group. You are on your own here and well deserve it. Hope you enjoy every bit of it, especially the results of the pink batts RC and others.

  8. Stuffed up a bit. Sue Cato was the one I meant. Does the ABC check to make sure that their guests are paid up members if the liberal party before they let them on their show?

    They must do! The rest are what they consider as “waverers”!

  12. Puffy.

    Tried that a few times & worked out it was the fault of the cheap cardboard wine and not the keyboard in every instance.

    The others, I am not so sure of!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!keyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy boopardddddddd…………… wineeeeeeeeeeeee

    Probably all Tony Abbott;’s fault……………..:evil:

  13. Puffy, the keyboard is fine!

    Definitely the keyboard is fine. I am sure that we can find many other good reasons to blame the Mob though!!

  15. http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/feb/24/wikipaella-rice-dish-paella-tradition-valencia-jamie-oliver

    Wikipaella on mission to save rice dish from being lost in translation
    Valencian trio hopes site brings traditional recipes to masses and rescues paella from further bastardisation by Jamie Oliver et al
    Ashifa Kassam in Madrid
    theguardian.com, Tuesday 25 February 2014 00.24 AEST

    Horrified by chefs making paella with ingredients including poached eggs and avocados, three men from Spain’s Valencian region have banded together to fight what they call the increasing “prostitution” of one of the country’s most emblematic dishes.

    Wikipaella aims to help “police” paella around the world, said co-founder Guillermo Navarro. “It’s a dish that’s really trendy these days. And there’s lots of people taking advantage of it and selling what they call authentic, traditional or Spanish paella.”

  16. Longer article, worth googling the title to read it all. Good for us in Oz, shunted away from public life.

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/higher-calling-pope-summons-george-pell-for-senior-vatican-role/story-e6frg6nf-1226836464437#

    Higher calling: Pope summons George Pell for senior Vatican role
    Tess Livingstone The Australian February 25, 2014 12:00AM

    POPE Francis has appointed Australia’s Cardinal George Pell to one of the church’s most senior jobs in Rome.

    Cardinal Pell’s new position, as Prefect for the Economy for the Holy See and the Vatican, ranks on a par with the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, an Italian, second behind the Pope in the church’s hierarchy.

    Cardinal Pell, who has been spending increasing amounts of time in Rome, will relocate there before the end of next month. All sections of the Vatican curia will be answerable to him for financial and administrative matters, regardless of which other cardinal prefects they report to on other matters.

    No Australian cardinal has been appointed to such a senior Vatican role before. Cardinal Pell’s departure will leave a vast gap in Australian public life, to which he has been a major contributor for decades and for which he was made a Companion in the Order of Australia in 2005.

    ………………….

    Attention will now turn to Cardinal Pell’s replacement in Sydney. Parramatta’s Bishop Anthony Fisher is regarded by Sydney priests as the frontrunner. Brisbane’s Archbishop Mark Coleridge is also seen as a contender, with Bishop Bill Wright of Maitland-Newcastle a rank outsider. The rector of Sydney’s seminary, Anthony Percy, is also tipped for promotion to the episcopal ranks.

  18. Well the further away made this country the better. Cannot do much harm to real people, dealing with money.

  20. On Sunday it was revealed the Australian government had asked Cambodia take refugees off Australia’s hands, which Mallinson described as a wealthy nation “trying to outsource its human rights responsibilities”.

    “It was only a few years ago that the UNHCR actually put forward to the UN that Cambodia was forcibly sending vulnerable refugees back to China,” she said.

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/24/amnesty-international-australia-refugees-reputation

    The Idiot wouldn’t know a human right if it hit him on the jaw.

  21. TIBM is on another winner:

    A pregnant Rohingyan couple seeking asylum in Australia but transported to Nauru say the conditions are so bad there that they decided to get an abortion.

    The father says he and his wife made the decision to terminate the pregnancy because of the heat in the camp, the long waits for food and the poor state of facilities such as toilets.

    Immigration Minister Scott Morrison, however, has denied that the conditions were to blame and labelled the claim “outrageous”.

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-24/asylum-seekers-opt-for-abortion-in-face-of-nauru-conditions/5280826

  22. Valencian trio hopes site brings traditional recipes to masses and rescues paella from further bastardisation by Jamie Oliver et al

    Why haven’t they slapped an Appellation of Origin on paella? (Champagne, Tequila, Feta cheese, Prosciutto di Parma etc.)

  23. To answer my own question, the answer seems to be “would the real paella please stand up”:

    Its international expansion has led to the creation of so-called paella dishes that have little to do with the Valencia original. Some add peas, brown rice and wine. Some meat mixed with seafood, shellfish and vegetable variety. To avoid the confusion created by this situation, a group of chefs from Valencia, led by Rafael Vidal and which include the Restaurant Association of the Province of Valencia Dining & Living and the Valencian Association of restaurateurs, have stated the need to formalize a single recipe, and therefore apply to other recipes the appellation of origin and never less than that of paella. Although not officially accepted, the Generalitat Valenciana also offers a recipe similar to the adjective Valencia.

    http://www.mascastells.cat/The_paella-ENG.html

  25. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.
    Mark Kenny goes after the “suppository of decency” Morriscum. And has six questions for the toy soldier.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/scott-morrison-knew-he-was-wrong-on-brawl-death-20140224-33d5f.html
    And more from Kenny on the same subject.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/tony-abbotts-plain-speaking-on-scott-morrison-descends-into-nonsense-20140224-33d5h.html
    Tony Wright has a lash as well. He also reckons Marles isn’t up to being a good inquisitor.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/no-wimp-morrison-a-man-of-few-words-in-manus-death-climbdown-20140224-33d5c.html
    Now, about all that wasteful spending!
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/second-george-brandis-bookcase-costs-15000-after-first-was-too-big-to-move-20140224-33cm1.html
    This entirely misses the root cause of the problem. There is simply insufficient distance between the seats.
    http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/i-am-a-prisoner-passengers-angry-rant-on-seat-reclining-20140224-33cth.html
    An interesting insight into the difficulties faced by ASIC.
    http://www.smh.com.au/business/intelligent-investor/why-asic-lets-the-big-fish-go-20140225-33diw.html
    Yes, he is highly respected.
    http://www.smh.com.au/national/cardinal-george-pell-named-by-pope-francis-to-head-vatican-finance-ministry-20140225-hvdn3.html
    George Williams on the dangers of releasing Cabinet documents.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/killing-cabinet-confidentiality-destroys-democracy-20140224-33cbl.html
    With all these jobs to go from Customs just what services and protections will have to be foregone?
    http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/customs-may-cut-hundreds-of-jobs-after-minister-says-no-to-deficit-20140224-33d4v.html
    Big Alcohol is under the spotlight in this report. I’m sure Fiona Nash will look after the children.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/report-slams-tv-alcohol-ads-20140224-33d55.html

  26. Section 2 . . .

    Lenore Taylor casts light on the difficulties ahead for the Direct Action Plan.
    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/24/banks-and-big-business-warn-direct-action-will-lift-costs-and-deter-projects
    Alan Moir has a nice one on Morriscum and Popeye on Manus.
    http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/federal-politics/cartoons/alan-moir-20090907-fdxk.html
    Cathy Wilcox with an example of having to work until 70.
    http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/federal-politics/cartoons/cathy-wilcox-20090909-fhd6.html
    David Pope gives us Brandis and his new bookcase. And who is the lapdog?
    http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/federal-politics/cartoons/david-pope-20120214-1t3j0.html
    MUST SEE!! David Rowe with a candlelight vigil for Scott.
    http://www.afr.com/p/national/cartoon_gallery_david_rowe_1g8WHy9urgOIQrWQ0IrkdO
    Ron Tandberg says it all.
    http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/federal-politics/cartoons/ron-tandberg-20090910-fixc.html

  27. And from the Land of the Free –

    Is this what Abbott means by “green tape”?
    http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2014/02/24/scotus-hear-gop-plea-allow-chemical-poisoning/
    South Carolina – a great place to work.
    http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2014/02/23/nikki-haley-job-kick-unions-out-of-south-carolina/
    This might just work for the Democrats.
    http://crooksandliars.com/2014/02/can-getting-medicaid-state-ballots-save-0
    Trouble at Walmart?
    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/24/1279989/-No-one-wants-to-drive-out-to-Wal-Mart-stores-anymore
    Arizona is bloody mad!
    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/24/1279934/-Will-Arizona-Gov-Brewer-sign-bill-allowing-businesses-to-turn-away-gay-customers

  28. Gorgeous George’s new bookcase – couldn’t we have just bouht the arrogant little sod a Kindle? Maybe several Kindles, given the humungousness of his library.

  29. About those jobs going from customs – that is part of TIBM’s portfolio, something that journalist forgot to mention. . Scrot has not only lost control of our borders and can’t maintain order in detention centres, he has now lost control of his budget as well. How much longer can Abbott hang on to him?

  31. Did anyone hear Chris Uhlmann’s interview with John Singleton on The Chris Uhlmann Show ABC Radio’s “AM” this morning.

    It WAS a shocker!

    Singleton sounded like he’d just staggered out of the early opener and had a bad dose of the shits about something. It was a real public bar rant, reminiscent of the whingeing talkback callers on his own radio stations.

    (Although it was nice to hear him describe Alan Jones as “only a minor shareholder” and Ray Hadley as having “no say whatsoever” in how the Macquarie Radio business is run.)

    Who knew?

    When you listen to these two shock jock drongos you’d think they ran the state, or the nation, the way they summons Coalition politicians onto their shows demanding this or that rectifying action be taken (usually involving, even if tangentially, the eliminationl of NSW’s problems in one foul swoop by sacking Greg Smith Q.C, M.P., its A-G).

    On the subject of laura norder… didn’t I hear something else on AM, along the lines of Barry O’Farrell being told (and I paraphrase Jaws here), “We’re gonna need a bigger jail,” if all those who have been mandatorially sentenced lob at the front gates of Long Bay after a bout of random king-hitting drunken coward-punching?

    I hope Barry has Serco’s phone number on speed-dial.

    What I didn’t hear on AM was any mention at all, nary a whisper, about the Newspoll this morning. You’d think that a 54-46 Newspoll would have been a major story. They sure were when they had Labor in the “46” role, during Julia’s tenure.

    But no, nothing.

    Instead we were treated to the breathtaking scoop that… wait for it… sit down bwfore you read this… OK, ready?… the Business Council supports the government’s employment and economic policies.

    There! I told you you’d be surprised.

    With the quality journalism that a guru of the stature of Uhlmann brings to morning radio – ignoring a massive wipeout poll, a 10 minute live interview with a raving John Singleton cranky about one of his business deals not going through, reporting that a conservative bizoid “council” the bankrolled the Liberal PArty’s election campaign supports a government plan to sack workers, take away penalty rates and lower company tax – I can see its ratings soaring just as when 7.30 received the Uhlmann Touch Of Class.

    Rumours that disgruntled ABC Radio middle management types have been heard muttering, “He f**ked 7.30 and now going to f**k us” in the corridors have been dismissed as “quoted out of context” and “merely the opinion of a small number people”.

    They love Chris at the ABC. They really do.

  33. LOL “@SpudBenBean: Finally mention on ABC702. Linda to Mark Riley "there's a Newspoll out but I don't want to dwell on that" End of mention”— George W. Bludger (@GeorgeBludger) February 24, 2014

    Their ABC certainly did a lot of dwelling on Newspoll results when they were bad for Labor. Now it’s bad news for the Abbott government they don’t want to talk about it.

  35. Has there been any discussion of the NRMA report on fuel security in this country. Shell have just sold off their Australian operations to Vitol, we currently import 90% of our fuel and bunker less than a 60 day supply

    http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2013/s3950922.htm

    http://www.watoday.com.au/breaking-news-national/refine-policy-for-fuel-security-nrma-20140224-33cxz.html

    As Deutscher Bank is predicting the Australian dollar will be 66 cents by the end of 2015 see Gwenda Kwek

  36. The Prime Ministers announcements that there will be big cuts to big ticket items that effect Australian families ie
    – education
    – health

    I suppose many people believe the are wealthy enough to be able to insulate themselves from ‘socialism’ and ‘communism’ by purchasing the education and health they need.

    However as many teachers will tell you, paying for your education is no guarantee of getting a quality education and when it comes to adult training the only sure thing about paying for your education is that you have paid the trainers wages and made a profit for the operator. Also the user pays education system is not interested in the disabled and troubled student.

    The truism of health care is that if you can afford to pay for your health care, you are essentially well.
    The big health users are chronically ill and unable to pay for their health care through age or infirmity.

    As jobs are being lost from the economy, by the next election, most people are going to know people who have been looking for work for long periods of time. But will the voters have forgotten how sweet life was when the dollar was high, there were jobs, health services were better and TAFE training existed

  37. Customs job losses

    Will those officers involved in fisheries and border protection lose their jobs or just those pests at the airports reading our passports and checking our bags for food

    Maybe we will be able to import drugs more easily. Woo hoo!

  38. From across the road

    Dave @ 240

    CTar1@232

    Plan to slash US army to pre-WWII levels to meet spending caps announced by Pentagon

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-25/pentagon-plan-to-slash-us-army-to-pre-wwii-levels/5281496

    My current book is “Blackwater” ie the huge outfit of former soldiers from many countries, but mainly US, who act as mercenaries, but who are officially recognised by the US Government and are counted as a vital part of the US ‘total’ force. Also the vast majority their funding is from the US Government.

    Is this the ultimate end of globalisation where unaccountable corporations provide armies?

  39. billie11

    Iraq was a practice run. At one stage half of US forces were private contractors.

  40. It’s taken 2 years but the ABC programmers have weaned me off
    – ABC current affairs through appointment of broadcasters who are committed political players for conservative politicians.
    – Radio National through their revamping of Radio National to make it information lite and repeat programs 4 times a week

    I have an inherited ornery streak a mile wide that resists people telling me what to think, even if they use low dulcet tones like John Laws, especially if they tell me I’m stupid like Alan Jones. Trained low opinion of policemen made me avoid the bullies of the airwaves like Ray Hadley and Mike Smith

    So this blog fills a great hole in my appetite for news

  41. When you outsource natural monopolies like armies to private contractors you can throw a veil of secrecy over the operation by claiming commercial in confidence

    While we doubt the soundness of thought processes behind the decision to go into Iraq ie Murdoch bullied Blair we can almost guarantee Blackwater will start wars to improve the corporate bottom line. As Naomi Klein pointed out in her book Shock Doctrine corporations to not have the same levels of accountability and responsibility as government bodies

  42. Apparently there was a protest march th Abbott’s Electoral Office on Saturday completely unreported by the Media. Can anyone provide any more info?

    March on Abbott’s Manly office today..photo by Lee Rhiannon Message to big to ignore pic.twitter.com/8aIl7fOh9j— Betty T
    (@bettsie2u) February 22, 2014

  44. Billie,
    Commercial in confidence will certainly be invoked, just as it is now with the death camps, privately-run prisons, and private hospitals.

  46. That’s a pretty big protest!

    pic.twitter.com/8aIl7fOh9j

    More crickets from Their ABC.

  48. The headline on the Financial Review this morning said ‘Budget cuts to health, education’, with a claim that Abbott would take these cuts to the next election. That had Chrissy Pyne out in The Oz with yet more of the ‘that’s not what we said, you only thought we said that’. spin.

    A SENIOR federal government minister has rejected reports Tony Abbott will go to the next election promising spending cuts to health and education as part of a long-term strategy to balance the budget.

    “That’s not what he said,” Education Minister Christopher Pyne told ABC radio on Tuesday.

    Mr Abbott, in a speech to the Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum on Monday night, insisted the government would honour pre-election commitments to maintain health spending and school spending.

    But the prime minister said the rate of spending growth in the longer term had to be reduced if good schools and hospitals were to be sustainable.

    Mr Pyne said it was true that current growth in health and education expenditure was unsustainable but the prime minister had not flagged any cuts to health or education expenditure.

    “It suggests growth in health and education spending needs to be arrested,” he said.

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/pyne-rejects-health-education-cuts/story-fn3dxiwe-1226836590570

    Taking cuts to health and education to an election is risky for a popular government. Come the next election the Abbott government will be so much on the nose it will make a six month old whale carcase smell like Chanel No 5. But we can relax, Chrissy assures us there won’t be cuts, just ‘arrested’ spending.

  49. NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli won’t have a bar of Christopher Pyne’s push for more independent public schools, Piccoli says he will refuse federal funding if necessary.

    NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli says he has clear evidence of the benefits of a centralised school system, in a direct rebuttal of federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne’s push for independent public schools.
    ……………………………………………………………………………
    Mr Piccoli has been at odds with Mr Pyne’s push to develop independent public schools along the lines of the model used in Western Australia, saying he will refuse federal funding if necessary. He said NSW had got the balance between central control and local autonomy about right at the moment, and “we have no plans of changing that.”

    He did not name Mr Pyne but added, “I’m trying to be really diplomatic here,” in justifying NSW’s determination to resist the federal push to create independent public schools.

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/policy/no-mr-pyne-school-system-suits-us-fine-says-state-minister/story-fn59nlz9-1226836398687#

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