Unless you have the misfortune of living in WA or the ACT, this Anzac Day is being remembered just like a regular old Saturday. We all have a sense of the ultimate sacrifice our Diggers paid 94 years ago and in those wars ever since. But while they fought so that we could officially start getting drunk well into the AM, gamble at possibly the most mindless and contrived of all games of chance and shudder at the horror and waste of war (like we know what we’re talking about), apparently this isn’t enough. Many, it appears, would like to have Monday off work too.
Is this not a wonderful opportunity to reflect on how far we have evolved as a nation? One can only imagine the real fear of living in a time of war and being asked to sign up, or say farewell to your life partner as they head off to a war zone. But, in 2009, the closest Joe Public has come to a global crisis is the economy going into recession — and the response is to ask for more time off.
Leading the "I’m tired of work" brigade is of course Unions NSW. Being the proxy entity that runs NSW, it’s rather fitting since they represent the state that is leading the country in bad economic performance and high unemployment. It seems that a fortnight after a four-day weekend, NSW workers are falling in a heap and unable to go on.
Just at a time when we should be increasing productivity and consumption, Unions NSW in fact, "carried a motion which said denying workers a Monday holiday for Anzac Day would see them lose a valued day to spend with family and friends". It is heart-breaking to think kids won’t be able to watch mummy and daddy drink themselves stupid at some godforsaken barbecue on Monday — just the one on Saturday.
Ironically, NSW Premier Nathan Rees just happens to be at Anzac Cove in time for 25 April. Some may presume this is to honour our fallen heroes, but my sneering cynical mind suggests it’s actually a fact-finding mission. Some years ago we all went to town on the cunning Turks when they started digging up Anzac Cove to build a car park. Our man Rees made a big show of a new car park at Wentworthville but months later, has found himself bogged down in a water-logged trench, and — much like his Government — appears lost, without a strategy and nothing resembling a campaign to get NSW back on track.
Tracks seem to be the bane of NSW Labor. The media reports endlessly of the sham that is NSW public transport. We see Railcorp forever cancelling services for trackwork or busily untangling the intricacies of our rail lines. It’s hard to imagine that during World War II bridges could be built overnight, freight moved across countries and people transported to flashpoints under constant enemy bombardment. For NSW, the battle between Railcorp,Nick Lewocki and the Rees Government is just as wretched. One can only imagine the difficulties: billions of dollars, countless reports and inquiries plus some truly outstanding consultancy advice. The results speak for themselves — a bureaucratic blame game and regular ICAC Reports.
NSW may have evolved into the Pedestrian State some time ago but the current phase of ineptness seemed to start with last year’s Kumbaya Festival. It seems as though the Pope’s visit and Iemma’s exit sent NSW to sleep. Who would have thought we’d be wondering: What Would Morris Do? The problems with the proposed Metro rail system aren’t engineering related — the real reason it won’t work in Sydney is because people are too slow getting on and off. The state is in such a daze it even decided to sell off NSW Lotteries.
You only have to look at the fatbench of the NSW Government — literally, check out Tripodi, Della and Campbell (or even some of the back bench). Is this the price the NSW Right pays for spending so many long hours in the war room at Sussex Street?
Nathan Rees does seem to be doing a great job selling Barangaroo to the UAE (literally) and looks desperate to spend big on some critical infrastructure: rebuilding the Opera House. NSW is a state going nowhere fast and we seem incapable of changing this.
Unfortunately the NSW Teachers Federation is the strongest of all unions, and our beloved teachers are having Monday off and a reacclimatisation Tuesday.
This is no doubt because education is one of the things our soldiers fought and died to protect and we’ll appreciate education that bit more if we have to wait two extra days for it to resume.
Lest we forget.