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Articles by Frank Lynch
Removal of Medicare rebate
Many citizens have long held private health insurance and would be alarmed by the proposal, currently before the parliament, to remove the Medicare surcharge rebate they receive in exchange for carrying the cost of private health insurance. The rebate, first introduced in 1998, was designed to take pressure off the public hospital system.
KPCW hosts a tribute to Bob Weir and the Dead's living history
Mitch Elliott and KPCW's resident "deadhead" Frank Lynch honor the late Bob Weir with a deep dive into the music and legacy of the Grateful Dead.
Learning to row at 85: ‘Hands away, body over, slide to the catch, row’
Editor’s note: Among the 2,500 boats and 11,000 rowers making their way down the Charles River this weekend for the 60th Head of the Charles regatta, two boats of rowers aged 80 and above will represent CRI rowing club’s “Octogenarian 8,” a crew led by coach Catherine Saarela.
What the duck!
Most days I ask myself ‘what the duck’ is happening here? How could Trump be president again if he has to spend every second day in court? How can Mr Dutton go even more nuclear than he normally does after Chernobyl, Fukushima and Nine Mile Island? Will I be accepted on the Raya dating app this year or should I start my own app? How many reruns of reruns of the Lehrmann-Wilkinson defamation evidence will we get before the actual decision?
Punishment
There is a justice problem in criminal assault cases if a person who claims to have been assaulted makes a formal complaint, such that criminal charges are laid, and then the evidence is found, by a jury, to not support a guilty verdict. I refer to the accusations recently aired in the Kurtley Beale case. The name of the accuser is protected from publication but the details of the case, and the identity of the accused, appearing in open court, can give rise to a news media frenzy.
Still in shock
Waleed Aly writing in The Age (27 January 2023) said: The Voice ‘… is [was] a subtle proposal, but it lands in an age with the least subtle of temperaments… Ours is now a politics of perpetual deconstruction in which majorities only seem to gather around disaffection, with very few exceptions.’ Then Ed Coper, (author of ‘How to defeat Fake News’) also wrote, in [ITAL]The Age[ITAL] (19 February 2023), ‘It’s our first social media referendum… Social media was never intended to be the place...
Presence and purpose
Consider the Voice in the context of recent revelations of the lack of transparency in government which, amongst other things, threatens government revenue raising and expenditure. There are daily reports of rorts.
Going the ‘Full Donald’
If, as the polls report, there are more than 80 per cent of Indigenous Australians in favour of the Voice, who do Warren Mundine and Jacinta Price actually represent? The recent Conservative Political Action Conference (19 August) had all the elements of the hard right’s navel-gazing. Central theme: whatever happened in the past should stay in the past. It’s time for Indigenous Australians to get over it. A cameo from former PM Tony Abbott: ‘This generation of Aboriginal Australians are not victims.
‘No’ opportunists
I ask myself what happens if the referendum records a ‘No’ vote? Consider what the alternative might be if the ‘No’ vote gets enough support to sink the referendum. Who do we turn to then? There is rank political opportunism amongst politicians pushing this outcome such that given the double majority hurdle the ‘Yes’ vote faces (majority of voters AND, critically, a majority of states), we could end up with a minority of voters standing in the way of reform.
Staying positive for the Voice
In these politically divisive times leading up to the Voice referendum, I’m impressed with the calm, positive approach by the ‘Yes’ side. This contrasts with the alarmist, ‘sky’s gonna fall’ approach of the ‘No’ side. Hypocrisy is front and centre of the ‘No’ campaign.
Giving voice to The Uluru Statement from the Heart
I have only limited understanding of ‘The Dreaming’ despite listening to and reading Indigenous explanations of how fundamental ‘The Dreaming’ is in Indigenous culture. I don’t well appreciate what it means to be ‘on Country’ except that it is deep attachment to ancestral land. I don’t really have an Indigenous view of ‘Mob’ and how it binds cultural groups together, nor of the taboos that apply within and between Indigenous people. But all these, and more, are fundamental to Indigenous culture.
Voice and conscience
Some issues that parliamentarians have to vote on transcend partisan political positions. Oftentimes the issues relate to deeply-held moral, religious, or ethical views. In my view the Voice is such an issue. All parliamentarians should have a conscience vote on this, even the Nationals, who classically said (28/11/2022) that the party’s decision to oppose the Voice was not binding and individuals ‘could choose how they would be involved’, whatever that means.
Peter’s shadow
So now it’s the turn of the Deputy Leader of the opposition, Sussan Ley, seeking to sow dissent over the Voice. Perhaps, because Mr Dutton’s messages are not cutting through, she’s coming to his aid. But her defence of Peter Dutton has its own form of irrationality. She claims Mr Albanese has been ‘lashing out at Peter Dutton’. On the contrary Albanese is aware of the need for seeking consensus and the need for maintaining sensitivity in this delicate matter.
Why vote for the Voice
Warren Mundine, representing Advance Australia, and the ‘No’ case, recently proposed that instead of having a First Nations peoples’ body constitutionally established, there should be a change to the preamble to the Constitution to symbolically acknowledge both First Nations peoples and migrants in that preamble. This generated strong criticism, particularly in respect of the addition of reference to migrants in what has been a process to acknowledge First Nations peoples’ disadvantage.
The Voice
I’ve been ruminating and researching on how best to support a ‘Yes’ response on the Voice referendum. I always come back to principles… devoid of details. To me the overarching principles are: What do Indigenous folk need to give them hope and a pathway to better lives? How can Australia as a nation best acknowledge and begin to correct the injustices that flowed from the false assumption of British sovereignty in 1788?
The Rocky ring road
When Michelle Landry MP called a ‘presser’ last week to publicise what she believed was the PM’s criticism of her over a question on funding for the Rockhampton ring road, some glaring inconsistencies emerged. It seemed that she viewed the PM’s answer to her question about funding for the Rockhampton ring road as a personal attack on her. We expect political interactions to be robust.
Moral compass and the former PM
As I reflect on the Morrison government I wonder how it was okay for the former Prime Minister, who fervently professes faith in his God, to treat with such disdain so many people for so long. In the early days of COVID-19, it appeared he was being guided by a superior force, even if in fact it was the chief health officers showing the way. I give him credit for his initial response of putting protections in place quickly, though not without problems.
It’s (beyond) time
Seventy-three per cent of respondents to a recent ABC Vote Compass question on whether the constitution should be amended to establish a representative body to advise parliament on laws affecting Indigenous people said, ‘Yes’. That was Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt’s, firm position soon after being sworn in, in 2019… and that it should happen ‘before the next election’, ie; the one we are about to have.
Beam me up Scotty
Scotty, you have the knack of rendering all of life’s complex problems in simple, meaningful terms. I used to rely on Facebook to give me the true ‘behind-the-news’ analysis but I have had difficulty in keeping up with the plethora of views, and the arguments being advanced. Now I’m putting my faith in you and Angus. Legends! There were misgivings I had when, clasping that lump of coal, you told us ‘it was nothing to be afraid of’. But now I understand how astute you were.
Gladys’ resignation
The entrenched corruption that tied senior politicians and police to notorious underworld figures in NSW for decades from the 1950s until recently shows the need for an ICAC with strong inquisitorial powers. Yet, quite recently, the secret deal was still tried on by Ministers like Messrs Obeid and Macdonald in respect of mining leases being granted to an acquaintance, John Maitland.
Equitable allocation
In properly-scrutinised vaccination rollouts it is to be expected that vaccines are used as a device to protect the most vulnerable and otherwise to provide the most effective shield against spread of disease. In our federation the starting point is an equitable pro rata state allocation of vaccine. However, allowance should be made for targeting susceptible communities. These matters should be thrashed out at national cabinet. We should not have allocation unilaterally determined.
On being prepared
In recent commentary on the Commonwealth’s proposed quarantine facility in Brisbane, Simon Birmingham said, ‘Whilst it will be used for any ongoing quarantine requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic it will also be there in the years to come to support responses to natural disasters or other crises.’ Sort of begs the question doesn’t it?
Percutaneous Amplatzer Septal Occluder Device Occlusion Of A Large Portal Vein To Pulmonary Venous Atrium Collateral Resulting In Severe Systemic Hypoxemia Post Fontan
By Howard S. Weber, MD, FSCAI; Farrah Munir, MD; Bryan P. Stefek, MD; Frank C. Lynch, MD Introduction The development of decompressing veno-venous collaterals is common following the bidirectional Glenn shunt and Fontan operations which can result in varying degrees of systemic desaturation. This phenomenon is thought to be a biologic reaction to the increased systemic venous pressure changes associated with this type of circulation.
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