Wednesday 18 April 2012

Down Under Dissent

Real life is interfering somewhat in the past couple of days with various work and other commitments, and a Ruby Murray with our now retired ex-accountant beckons this evening, hence the sparse content this week.

In the meantime, you may be interested to see this first TV appearance by Tim Andrews of the Australian Taxpayers' Alliance on the plain packaging issue down under. Tim - who I have met on one brief occasion in London last year - is a reader of this 'ere blog and therefore, I am honoured to be able to claim, is an antipodean fellow jewel robber.


For a newcomer, I think he did very well. Nice one, Tim.


13 comments:

CDB said...

Wow!
They gave him a chance to speak.

Barman said...

Excellent!

He did very well!

tim.bone said...

Excellent.  Impassioned, direct and articulate.  Tim is a magic number...

Junican said...

Well, I must admit that Tim's interview was one of the best I have seen. He didn't beat about the bush - he went straight in. None of this, "I know that smoking is bad for you, bu....." No, straight into personal responsibity. That was how he answered the Catch 22 question, "What would you do about smoking?" In other words, he said, "Nothing - it is for people to decide for themselves and take personal responsibility for their actions".

Good on him!

nisakiman said...

Yes, very good. As CDB points out above, he was at least given half a chance to say what he felt without being interrupted and overridden. That in itself is a refreshing change. And what he had to say, he said very well. He made strong and salient points without getting embroiled in the minutiae.

Articulate, crisp and pertinent. Excellent stuff.

philhandyman24-7 said...

Bloody hellfire! I don't think Arnott/Sandford would feel comfortable with him! Brilliant.

Marthaj said...

Notice at the end, the guy said "Whats coming next? Fat tax?" and the bimbo starts to say " That'll never.... "  I guess she was gonna say "happen".    They really can't see the full picture can they?

Tim Andrews said...

Thanks for the kind words everyone! Very much appreciated! :)

ivandenisovich said...

You deserve the praise Tim. This is a great
performance and it’s good to know that at least someone in Australia has not yet surrendered free will. Every
time I get depressed about our government I look at a picture of your PM and am
reminded of my grandma who told me that “no matter how bad you feel, there is always
someone worse off than you are”.  


 

Sad But Mad Lad said...

Similarly if asked directly if smoking is bad for you, just answer "Well people sky dive, rock climb, ride horses, as they seek pleasure. All of which is bad for you if you are unlucky to fall, or in the case of smoking to have the genes that make you more likely to get cancer. But the pleasure seekers have safety devices they will say. Well you can just use e-cigs you can reply. You take a proper risk assesment and decide the appropriate safety device you want to use, or none if you are like those who free climb."

Why does life have to be a process of being as boring as possible for the longest period of time possible.

Ajb7876 said...

You did brilliantly,well done.

George Speller said...

Great interview. Well done. We need you here!

Frank J said...

You've got to say that he had a somewhat supportive interviewer as well (other than the addiction remark, another unproven assumption) or, at least, he didn't come out with a lot of the usual tripe. Much better than the spoon fed prats we get.

Excellent, Tim, get over here!