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O Melbourne, Where Art Thou?
As an Aussie expatriate from Melbourne, I’d hear frequent jokes about Victoria Premier Dan Andrews and his obsession with lockdowns. Mostly because Andrews has had six of them. But lately, no one is finding the humor in them anymore. After watching a live-streamed protest held at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, I saw why.
That particular protest consisted of construction workers, trade union members, and the general public decrying the excessive vaccination mandates/lockdown lunacy. It’s been compounded by the state of emergency the premier announced in March 2021 that was later extended nine months until NYE. Live-streaming coverage conducted by Melbourne independent media via Real Rukshan and Rebel News has been invaluable for showing the unbiased truth. The Shrine of Remembrance protest, and others that occurred during that week, showed a collective representation of the public, who had reached their limit. Their grievances had enormous validity, and the subsequent actions by the Victoria Police were excessive, and unnecessary. That’s not including the rubber bullets they fired.
It’s often said that Australia needs to become a republic because of our lagging reputation in Asia. Many believe, for example, that our institutional attachment to the British Monarchy puzzles the masses and implies an old-world attachment that tugs on our standing in the region.
Just two years ago, Australians were told that “push factors,” not our government’s policies, were responsible for the increase in refugee boats arriving on our shores. Fortunately, the Australian people elected a new government with new policies designed to “Stop the Boats.” The results are to your right. And no, 2014 and 2015 aren’t lacking data: they properly indicate that there were, in effect, no more boats.
