Plastic straws are a particular peeve of mine. I am aware that they are cost effective for retailers and consumers but they are so wasteful and bad for the environment. They are frequently sighted in rubbish heaps, on the side of the road and clogging up waterways – they are terrible for the environment and their use needs to be reduced.

Plastic straws are single use, they are not recycled and they are another product that is terrible for the environment. We as socially responsible consumers must embrace products that are not detrimental to the environment, we must demand better products and must boycott products and retailers that do not uphold sound environmental policies.

So what is a better option? We do not necessarily have to stop using straws, what we have to do as a society is demand better products. We as consumers must not use plastic products, plastic straws can be replaced with materials that are biodegradable- we as consumers must refuse the convenience of plastic straws for more environmentally sustainable products, even when they incur a cost premium.

I am not a fan of Australian Labor Party Senator Fatima Payman, nobody knew who she was until she decided to vote against the government, was reprimanded and then quit the Australian Labor Party and took her Senate vote with her. She has a duty to represent the people of Western Australia and she has not done that – she has failed us.

Senator Payman was elected as a Senator of the Australian Labor Party, how the Senate vote works in Australia is where you vote above the line. That means you vote for a party and they pre-select candidates, you do not vote for the candidate. There is an option to vote below the line, then you have to vote for every candidate in order and by party. Therefore, the vast majority of people vote above the line.

Therefore, a Senator is a party Senator and we all know Fatima Payman was pre-selected based on the Australian Labor Party diversity policy. That is not the best candidate by the person who meets the diversity criteria. Now she is looking to join a movement to create a party to be named the The Muslim Vote, this is a concern as these racist policies will target Israel and Jews. Their cry of From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free does a disservice to every government fighting terrorism. Gaza needs to be freed from Hamas, but that is not her policy – just her personal ideals that the people have no interest in. 

What we know is Hamas is a designated terrorist organisation, they support sexual violence against women. All the funding Hamas received did not go to the people of Gaza, they used that funding to construct tunnels under Gaza, store weapons to attack Israel and hide kidnapped women and old people. We now know Hamas has linked tunnels to hospitals, schools and other public infrastructure to prevent Israeli forces targeting these tunnels and entry/exit areas. The last thing we need in Australia is a religious based voting sponsoring terrorism, Senator Payman needs to pull her head in and do her job, that is to represent the people of Western Australia.

I completed my Safety and Health Representative course at Trainwest, a private RTO in Belmont, Western Australia. This five day introductory course gets me started as a workplace Safety and Health Representative, even though I had been acting in the role for around six months at this stage.

The first session of the first day was pretty much all about the Act and the Regulations, importantly, the questions in the trainee workbook allowed us to navigate these two important documents. This is an integral and important aspect of the course. The legalities and the ramifications are absolutely necessary.

The second session involved risk identification and control measures. We were required to create our own workplace checklists then undertake an inspection of their facilities. I appreciate the purpose of this activity to get us involved in an inspection instead of a passive listening process. I developed my checklist with the real intention of developing a specific engineering workshop checklist that I will incorporate in my workplace instead of the generic checklist they currently utilise.

The facilitator was a Director of the company, I had dealt with him before with my Certificate IV in Training and Assessment upgrade, so I have already had contact with him. He was in quarantine as his kid caught covid at school, so he facilitated via MS Teams, it actually worked well. We were all required to bring in a laptop computer to work from, I used this opportunity to navigate safety websites as he spoke. I was able to hold my attention and I was busy downloading documents related to the issues he discussed.

I had a Google Docs page open, a new page every day where I nook notes and copied links for future reference. I organised my notes under sub-headings so I can review my notes in the future. I also used this time to download resources such as the Act, Regulations, Codes of Conduct, Guidance Notes and Safety Alerts compatible with my industry. I also downloaded other pdf resources as required, using a laptop for the course was great. I set up my folders as I was listening, I was taking notes the whole time, even now, I still refer to this course content.

This is adult education, we were a small but motivated group, we didn’t need to be told what to do. With a remote facilitator, he had a camera so could see what we were up to. The more technology enabled assisted those in the class that were a little slower, we worked as a team and made the experience positive for everyone. It was great as people were there because they wanted to be there, it was a motivated group.

The second day was concerned with hazards and risk identification. In the morning we had to draw up our own inspection checklists, that was easy for me. That was concerned with creating my inspection checklist for my workplace, I now use this checklist in the engineering workshops. We then made an inspection of the premises, that was a good practical project. We actually have a similar project for our first year safety assessment for apprentices,they make an inspection of our engineering workshops.

The later part of the second session was concerned with preparing our face-to-face presentation to the group. I decided on my topic and began to create my PowerPoint presentation. I decided to make mine a modified problem-based learning exercise, this would enable group participation. This couldn’t really be a true problem-based learning exercise, I posed a problem to the group and invited discussion to ensure they were engaged.

We had a limited time frame, so I couldn’t request them to research their learning materials, so I provided them with details in order for them to provide an informed discussion. As it turns out, we had a rigger in the class, so a subject matter expert really made the discussion interesting. He provided real insight from an industry perspective.

So after lunch on day four, the second half of the day was reserved for presentations. With masks on, people were hyperventilating, they were shaking and visibly rattled. I was a little surprised, I am used to this now so I didn’t want to let these people catch me out in the emotion. A number of people wanted to get their presentations out first, I was ok with that – although I wanted to go first.

As my presentation was designed around a workplace learning project, the intention was to include all the participants and make the presentation an active process. The problem-based learning exercise was based on the overhead bridge crane in our workshop, who can operate the crane and rig loads. The feedback was excellent and everyone was involved, I received some differing perspectives and formulated some ideas from the session.

I woke up on Sunday morning and decided to turn the television on at around 8.30 in the morning and flicked the news on, I was shocked with what was being reported. An assassination attempt had been made on the life of former president and presidential nominee Donald Trump at a political rally, whilst I do not support his policies, any person or group that supports violence to achieve their goals should be dismantled.

The attempted assassination of a former president during an election cycle is pretty much unheard of. I recall the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan back in 1981 and was shocked at the assassination of Anwar Sadat a little later in 1981. I like to go for a run on Sunday mornings, as it was training I did not consider going outside and instead spent the morning watching news reports and following up on my computer. Former President Trump has been making big statements so let us see if he winds back the rhetoric after this assassination attempt.

The photographs taken by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci are remarkable, the best of the shots was of a defiant Trump surrounded by the Secret Service with his clenched fist raised upwards. Capturing a shot of the bullet flying past former President Trump’s head is amazing, that captured a moment in time. Evan Vucci had previously been awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his breaking photography work during the George Floyd riots, Vucci captured the moment Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi ditched his shoe at President George Bush in Iraq who did a pretty good job of dodging the projectile.

For me, it has been difficult to watch unfold, the hold-ups in US congress, Germany fumbling through and the rest of Europe dithering. I am not thrilled with Australia’s effort either, we should have got the Taipan helicopter to Ukraine to save lives.

The Trump syndrome to appease Russian President Vladimir Putin has been ratcheted up, Trump was a failure as President and will be a bigger failure in a second term. Now Russia is gaining ground in Ukraine, land that had been liberated by Ukraine previously. This is the most stupid thing ever, the Ukrainian lives lost liberating this land two years ago have been disrespected.

This is a failure of NATO, western Europe and the alliance in general. Whilst the Russian threats have been empty so far, they are considered extreme. Western Europe is finally starting to smarten up that Russia is a threat to them also. Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are very concerned as they are so close to Russia, all Russian troops need to do is cross the river. Putin is testing NATO, he is probing to determine how far he can push.

Poland is well aware of the threat, their military is already pretty big and will defend their country. Should Russia have a crack at Poland, Russia will absolutely lose that war as Poland sees this threat and there is no way they will be unprepared. Poland is building a highly respectable military force and Russia will not win a conventional war against Poland, they will try, but I believe Poland would stop any Russian advance through their territory.

I am looking at the newspapers and television news watching anti-antisemitism at Australian universities and I am frankly shocked. I believe Palestine, along with Israel has the right to exist, this is a complicated situation here. There are some viewpoints being pushed by organisations such as Hamas and their proxies on social media, in the community and especially on university campuses. So I am not surprised when I read about pro-Palestinian organisations targeting the universities around the world.

I was appalled at the October 7 surprise attack of Israel, I was not the only one, it was a shocking attack. Watching the young people flee the music festival, they were running for their lives. Those that got to their vehicles were then ambushed on the road out. The sexual violence directed towards the captured Israeli women was nothing short of barbaric, I cannot believe anyone would seek to defend sexual assault, gang rape and mutilation of women. There are even apologists seeking to deflect and deny these events occurred in much the same way holocaust deniers operate.

Women were abducted, raped by multiple men and received injuries related to sexual torture and extreme and barbaric violence. Anyone who supports war crimes of sexual abuse and objectification of women are appalling. The New York Times published a very well researched article based on the sexual abuse of women during the October 7 attacks, the savagery of these attacks against women are beyond denial. Women were targeted, the plans of Hamas involved the kidnapping of women, sexual violence and barbarity of these Hamas fighters must not be explained away.

There was never a chance of Israel not responding. The whole Israeli defensive doctrine is based on immediate and disproportionate action. So I ask, was anyone surprised with the Israeli response? You can be sure Israel will retaliate and that retaliation will be extremely forceful, there will be no half measures here. They can forget their silly from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free slogans. Palestine needs to be free of Hamas, then they will be fully free from tyranny.

Linda Reynolds was finally able to speak publicly after the Bruce Lehrmann v Network Ten defamation trial. Senator Reynolds has been absent from the public eye for the aborted rape trial and the defamination trial. Now she is seeking justice herself, all she requires is for Brittany Higgins to come out and publicly apologise for comments made that were clearly untrue. 

Senator Reynolds spoke eloquently about the role of lawmakers and how she was targeted in the Senate by the Labor women. Katy Gallagher is a disgrace, they targeted Reynolds in a now successful attempt to gain power from the Liberal government. This was already a Liberal government in decline, they had been in power since 2013 and lost government in 2022 that was dominated by the infighting between Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull. Yet the Australian Labor Party resorted to gutter politics to win the election, they were well aware that no political cover up had occurred but set about the false narrative to discredit the Morrison Government. 

Brittany Higgins is wrong and needs to just get on with apologising publicly to Linda Reynolds. Sure, Higgins has been terribly influenced by now husband and Labor Party lackey David Sharaz. Brittany Higgins as a young woman has to learn that you can not just go onto social media and defame people. David Sharaz has backed down, not apologised but thrown himself on the mercy of the court as he does not have the financial resources to fight this case.

Higgins might have to think long and hard here, Justice Lee was scathing as he found no political cover up. Fiona Brown acted properly and Linda Reynolds did not cover up any sexual assault instead attempting to get Higgins to report the sexual assault to the Australian Federal Police. Instead, Higgins wanted to go to the media instead and bypass all facets of legal requirements of determining guilt. Higgins was wrong to make the public statements about Fiona Brown and Linda Reynolds, Justice Lee has determined there was no political cover up and Brittany Higgins needs to come clean and apologise to Linda Reynolds unreservably and not post further accusations. 

I was in the city on a Saturday afternoon having a drink at the Globe Hotel overlooking Railway Lane. There was a pretty good vibe around in the hotel and adjoining lane, there was an older clientele around, there was a Rod Steward concert this evening, so they were in town to watch him.

Then all of a sudden, there was an influx of unaccompanied youths swarming into the area and running riot. I reckon the average age was around 10 or so with some up to 15 years old. Whilst there was a variety of ages, there were a few talker ones, they were young. Regardless, these were a bunch of youths with no parental control. So where were their parents? This is a social issue, you could see these were punks from disadvantaged families; however, their disadvantage stems from their deadbeat parents.

These punks were running riot, they were sitting at the table grabbing the food, one punk had grabbed a steak knife and was vandalising the table by carving into the wood. They were harassing patrons at the Ribs & Burgers food outlet, all the patrons had now moved inside to get away from these out of control punks. Couples and families had come out on a Saturday night for some entertainment and were now subject to undisciplined youths with no boundaries or self-control.

There were around twenty of these punks running around, one of our party was sitting with her back to the lane. There was not much of a retaining barrier to the lane, these punks were now sitting on the wall, I had my eyes glued to the space just behind her, I was watching her back. She could easily be harassed or assaulted, they could easily grab her over the retaining barrier to keep patrons in the licenced bar area.

That is when I noticed the punks had stolen the steak knives from the table and were concealing these weapons. This was highly concerning, not only were these punks using these knives to vandalise property, they looked like they had malicious intents. I left the licenced area and wandered over to ## so I could inform the manager what had occurred. I was a little taken aback by his attitude, he did not seem to be acting in the best interests of his patrons and other businesses in the vicinity.

He was not concerned as he had called security who were on their way, I was now highly concerned as these steak knives could be used on these private security guards, they needed to be warned that these youths were armed and acting in an aggressive manner. I was concerned that their steak knives would be used on the security guards, one of whom was a smallish female in both stature and size who did not look imposing. Her body language was not that she had any self-defense skills and could handle herself.

We have entered a week where we will finally have hope, there is a new beginning as a new management regime takes over. Initially, I would expect minimal changes as the new manager steps in, he should take an observation period to see what is working and what needs rectification. The damage that has been done will take years to repair, this will be a long-run turn-around situation.

Hopefully the cronyism will finally end, the leader of the three stooges has retired, this will now leave the other two exposed, their benefactor has departed and the people who they have wronged are lining up. Without this management protection, the other two would be pretty nervous right now, they know they are in for restructuring. They have been complicit in the abuses that have occurred, they have been fully compliant in the bullying, they know it and they fear retribution.

I have long argued the current management has three major failings, that is a) no quality focus, b) no regard for safety, and c) running a protection racket for their crony mates. We are discussing major compliance failings and shortcomings, this undermines the whole registration process. What individuals are now seeing is the lies espoused by the fab three. The safety aspect has been appalling, I never want to hear these two statements again, a) what is the minimum we need to do, and b) let’s not make a rod for our backs.

When it comes to safety, there is no limit, we have been reported by our clients for both quality and safety breaches, this is how we are perceived and we have lost so many clients in the process that we must now rebuild the reputation. During official inspections, we have willfully misled the safety inspector that represents the government safety regulator. We have previously been issued non-compliance [improvement] notices and every client is now aware of the reputational damage caused by the management failures. I am looking forward to this new beginning, I hope to work in a constructive manner with the new manager to restore our lost reputation and quality.