tonygoodson

Happy Australia Day – Time for a New Flag

What makes Australia, Australia? What has the Union Jack on the Australian flag got to do with modern Australia?  Not a lot.  A heritage and a respect for building and defending the country, but it also hides indigenous guilt.  I think it’s time for Australia to stand up and be an independent country of the world, honour the past and build for the future.  And changing the flag is a statement of intent.  Changing the constitution and becoming a Republic is more complex and may take a little longer, changing the flag declares our intent for the future. 

Look at the new and old Canadian flag.  The Maple Leaf flag is beautiful, symbolic, strong, iconic. 

 

Before I lived in Australia I thought it was a progressive push ahead type country.  I got that impression from Australia’s sporting prowess.  But in fact it’s quite a conservative country set in a post colonial hangover.  The hangover cure is a new flag!

My favourite, is this flag. Past – the blue and Southern Cross.  The culture, Boomerang and Aboriginal Art, Green and Gold, and I like that the curve looks like a part of the West Australia coast with the coastal sand and land.  It’s not a simple flag that any kid could draw, nor does it have the simple lines and colours of traditional flags, but I like the look of it.

Here are a few more designs taken from FlagsAustralia;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course there are these two flags;

 

Gold Coast 2010 v Benidorm 1970

The parallels are remarkable!  The thing is, my Dad married my Mum, and had 2 kids, me and my sister.  I am at the same age now as when my Dad was married, married my wife and have two kids of same age.  So 40 years on, I have a direct comparison of life.

I’m on a Gold Coast holiday in Queensland, Australia.  Holy Shit, I thought as I arrived, this is like Benidorm!!  And I wondered where I was 40 years ago this year, err, Benidorm!  Yep, World Cup year, 40 years ago, I was in Benidorm, Spain, during the World Cup.  40 years later, I’m with my kids, World Cup year, in the Gold Coast, Surfer’s Paradise, Australia.

What’s changed?  The swimming pools are more landscaped and there’s a bit more shade!!  Same people, Aussies in Australia, not Brits in Spain, and no Spanish waiters to play football against!

Now you’d think that the quality of life would have improved, but other than aircon and TVs in the room, not much has changed, except Factor 30 instead of frying oil.  We are probably the first generation with an equal or lesser financial quality of life than our parents, and I was thinking how those package holidays of 40 years ago were all inclusive.  “Like Club Med.” my wife said as I tried to explain 1970s package holidays, “Yeah, but at a fraction of the price.”  Everything was inclusive then, except the drinks.  Flights, hotel, transport to and from the hotel, food.  The lot.  I guess many of the package tour and airlines of that era went bust, so maybe it wasn’t such a good business, but surely it’s possible to still put low coast all inclusive holidays together, here in Queensland.  Maybe it happens, but I haven’t heard anyone bragging about it.

The airlines would love it.  The hotel and accommodation places would love it, the restaurants and food places wouldn’t love it, because that’s where the money is made now, charging us day after day for food and drinks.

But you know, kids are kids, and what they want is to be in the swimming pool all day, with their friends.  Just like me 40 years ago.  C’mon Ingerland to Go Aussie.

When is a skin burn not urgent?

As if an accident isn’t bad enough, the actual A+E experience is absolutely dire.  Do hospitals deliberately make the experience dire, so we’re not too attracted to going.

My daughter burnt herself on her leg with an electric lamp last night.  It didn’t look like your average burn and was a biggish oval.  Yes, we could have treated it ourselves but it looked serious, so off to Clayton Hospital at 9pm.  Firstly, if something is urgent, where do you park?  There are a few 10min parking bays. Does that mean we’ll be seen to in 10mins and someone will look after my distressed daughter whilst I move the car?  Dream On.  So she hobbled from the carpark to the Emergency desk.

When we arrived at the Emergency desk, three women behind the windowed desk are gassing to each other, no exaggeration, for over 5 mins, and didn’t even turn to acknowledge us.  I was patient, but in the end, rudely caught their attention.  Another 5-10min standing at the desk to wait for the triage nurse.  Now they know they’re admin staff and it needs a triage nurse to attend to us, but when patients show up in distress they don’t know that, and the signage isn’t clear until after you’ve been attended to and sit down.  If no triage nurse is at the window, you have no context for what a triage nurse is, especially as it’s an emergency.

Next, the triage nurse has a look and they tell you to sit down and wait, but without telling you her assessment.  Maybe they’re scared to tell you in case you kick stink at not being top of the queue.  People are really suffering in the waiting area, but only the most urgent (or those who kick stink) are treated quickly.  Why must the rest suffer because the experience of the staff is that most presenting cases aren’t that serious.  We’re encouraged to go to the doctor or hospital just to be on the safe side, but are then made to wait for hours on end in terrible conditions.

So here’s the thing.  If you don’t think my daughter is that urgent and you make us wait for over 2 hours, I trust your assessment, therefore I’d like to take her home and use Google to treat her!  Is that ok.  It’s not as though we don’t know what the problem is, she’s burnt her leg with an electric lamp.  We are then capable of reading up a few treatments and see which ones look like best groupings.  The only issue is finding a late night pharmacy and not being able to use anything that needs a prescription.

Why do we have to wait for over two hours to have a burn treated?  Doctors hate it when we self diagnose and use the internet, but you try waiting for a few hours with many suffering people, and a feeling that the hospital really doesn’t care, until they each apologise in turn for keeping us waiting for so long!!