Join me for an early morning walk around Shepparton

Join me, if you will, on an early morning walk through the streets of Shepparton.

This will be shorter than usual, but still equally interesting and we will get to meet some local heroes, well, not meet them, but see them.

Just for the day will be flâneurs, that’s French for someone who saunters around observing society, but we won’t sauntering, we’ll be walking, although still observing.

To make it easy, we’ll meet at the Caltex service station in Archer St and remember it’s early morning, probably cold and the sun hasn’t cracked the horizon yet.

We’ll head north and almost immediately we are passing what was Karibok Park where for years the small sports oval was used for cricket, soccer and occasionally, illegally for golf practice.

And of course things have changed.

The Karibok Park sign is gone and behind the pole on which it once hung is the partly built $10 million new Shepparton fire station.

Walkers once had to keep and eye out for a fast moving cricket ball driven by an enthusiastic batsman which has eluded all the fielders or an errant soccer ball, but now it is tradies, trucks or some sort of excavation.

And here we see our first local heroes as although not yet daylight, some of the tradies are all ready busy setting up for the day, rugged up against the cold, and yet some are wearing shorts.

We cross the nearby Woolworths car park and we encounter another hero, a company employee armed with a mechanical claw picking up discarded bits and pieces. It’s cold, but she keeps warm as she enthusiastically scouts the area for rubbish.

Let head around past the SPC factory and again we see a whole bunch of our heroes filing in for a day putting the stuff we produce on our farms into cans.

Into Andrew Fairley Avenue a place where a few years ago a whole bunch heroes took to the street to successfully protest plans to close what they considered to be, and is, an important thoroughfare.

Then we walk around the corner into Hawdon St to be ambushed by controversy - here the old Shepparton High School is being demolished to make way for the new Greater Shepparton Secondary College.

One fellow helping with the demolition of old multi-story building next to the original part of Shepparton High School thought the idea of combining all the schools in one site sounded good,

although he was unaware of social disruption the new school had brought down upon the city.

Again, more heroes, knee deep in rubble mostly unaware the some in the city are equally deep in robust discussion about the rights and wrongs of what will be a whole new way of educating our kids.

Then we head past the partly completed new GV Connect building in Bowenhall St.

The multi-storey commercial-like building seems a little out of place in what is a residential area, but the centre has operated there for many years and it has always be quite comfortable in the neighbourhood. That place is packed with heroes.

We head down Knight St and and the revamped and freshened Notre Dame College is on one side and on the other St Brendan’s Catholic Church behind a fence; a fence that became one of Victoria’s “loud fences” acknowledging the heroes who had survived institutional abuse.

Pressing on, next we pass the Maude St site of the new Ace College and although it is still quite dark a cement delivery truck is perched on the footpath, ready to unload just as soon as the tradies are ready to go - more heroes, it’s cold, some are in shorts and hard hats, which appears to be a contradictory combination.

Let’s keep going, down Fryers St, through Monash Park, but as you pass and over to your right is a monument to our heroes from Australia’s many conflicts; through the colourful underpass between the park and the shared path that leads to Victoria Park Lake, simply an heroic place.

Daily walks take me past it most days and soon it will be even grander and richer place with the completion of the new Shepparton Arts Museum.

Art itself is another of our heroes as it is at the root of the renaissance of our lives and it only seems right that we celebrate in such a magnificent way in such a wonderful place.

Let’s head home, checking as we go the pedestrian path at the High St rail crossing where someone, frustrated they were being directed by a purpose built fence had kicked part of it down only to see their efforts denied by some good soul who had reassembled it with coat hanger wire.

Back home, about 6000 steps later, feeling refreshed, more aware of what’s happening in Shepparton and pleased to be in out of the cold and ready for breakfast.

Beautiful indigenous girl born in the shadow of George Floyd's murder.

Last week I meet an indigenous girl, she was just six-weeks-old, and beautiful!

The first weeks of her life have been shadowed by the protests and events following the death of American black man, George Floyd.

Watching her lie on the nearby couch with her spectacular crop of hair and bathed in innocence, I struggled to understand how and why this small black girl, well, at least her colour, could have such a seismic-like impact on the world.

It was a knee on the neck that killed George Floyd and it saddened me to contemplate the challenges ahead for this tiny girl.

Yes, we will have our “knee” on her neck and unless we change our behaviours, and that’s almost completely, this tiny black girl faces difficulties that us “white-fellas” simply don’t understand.

Azaria is family and interestingly, and coincidently, that connection runs much deeper as I went to secondary school with one of her mob, worked with another and knew the third through a rock band all three played in.

The trio of brothers have been remarkably successful - the eldest, whom I worked with, was born in Mooroopna after his parents were among those who walked off the Cummeragunja Station near Barmah to protest poor living conditions and settled at “the flats” just off The Causeway been Shepparton and Mooroopna.

Clive was a printer, and I a young reporter at Echuca’s Riverine Herald, when we first met and Clive, who has travelled the world, is now a celebrated commercial artist.

His young brother Graham, whom I went to the Echuca Technical College with, has long played a lead role in social justice and land rights for indigenous Australians.

The State Government’s Aboriginal Victoria website says: “Graham Atkinson is a community leader committed to social justice and empowering individuals. The Dja Dja Wurrung and Yorta Yorta Elder is an untiring advocate for Traditional Owner groups and was one of the architects of an alternative system for settling native title claims in Victoria”.

Their brother, Dr Wayne Atkinson, is an honorary doctor of political sciences lecturing at the University of Melbourne - Azaria has impressive linage.

Racism in Australia is, despite what many think, deep seated and this tiny, absolutely innocent and beautiful girl has a difficult path to walk as she confronts stereotypes dating back to the arrival of white man in the 18th century.

Attitudes to our indigenous people have barely changed as we have always brutalised and killed them, marginalised them and at every turn put them in the category of the “other”, and always, despite those injustices, most have remained silent.

Talking  with Ben Fordham on 2GB, our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison,  lamented what was happening in America and then went onto to say: “And I just think to myself how wonderful a country is Australia. We have our problems. We have our faults. We have our issues. There's no doubt about that. But when I see things like that, I'm just very thankful for the wonderful country we live in.”

Well, that “wonderful country” appears to look the other way, close its mind and remain silent when it comes to caring for our indigenous people.

A 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody documented  99 deaths in custody and since then more than 400 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have died while in our care.
Yes, 432 deaths in custody and not one perpetrator named. Let’s repeat that, 432 indigenous people have died in our custody and no-one has been held accountable.

Charges subsequent to that string of tragedies were rare, none were proven and we, as a nation, have sidestepped responsibility at every turn.

I wish Azaria well and I wish, Australians would do more to ensure no knee will ever be pressed upon her tiny neck.

If you love Australia, climate change should scare the hell out of you

I love Australia.

Australia is a nation on the extremities, where climate change
 will affect and strip away what we love much sooner than
will occur in Europe and North America.’

It’s not a thing you hear too often from progressives. Mostly this is because we don’t go in for the pathetic jingo-nationalist, quasi-militaristic “love it or leave it”-style patriotism that John Howard attempted to link with a love of country.

But I do love Australia. I get an absurd amount of irrational pride when I hear of Australians doing well.

When I read stories that Indigenous rock art might be among the oldest in the world I get excited and think, yeah suck it, caves of Cantabria!

I can still remember where I was when John Aloisi scored the winning penalty against Uruguay (jumping up in my home in Cairns and cutting my hand on the overhead fan), and like all sensible Australians I let out a deep groan whenever I hear someone start yet again an “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” chant at the tennis.

Read the story from The Guardian by Greg Jericho - “If you love Australia, climate change should scare the hell out of you.” 

Wondering about the difference between a nice person and a good person

Have you ever wondered about the difference between a nice person and a good person?

It’s not something I had thought about much, well, not at all really, until my son said he considered himself a “nice person”, while his sister, he said, was a “good person”.

A nice person, he argues, is someone who never upsets another, lives a quiet life, is agreeable in every sense, avoids any sort of confrontation - verbal or physical, is polite, courteous and never refuses a request for assistance, but of course help is never offered until the request is made.

Associate Professor Anitra Nelson.

His sister, according to him, is a good person and while she has all those “nice” attributes, she never avoids a verbal confrontation and without hesitation calls out anyone whose behaviour, verbal or otherwise offends personal or societal mores.

My son, I like to think is a reflection of myself as I have always considering myself a “nice person”, a claim, I’m sure, many would question, doubt or even laugh about.

Whatever, I’ve always seen my life though the prism of “nice”, but sadly events have forced a serious rethink as nearly 15 years of listening and reading have left me with no option to reconsider how I respond to the musings of others.

The damage you and I have done to Earth’s atmosphere is clearly evident and anyone who doesn’t respond by helping mitigate our carbon dioxide emissions or help us better understand and employ adaptive ideas, needs to be called out as by implication they stand with those who deny the reality of the climate crisis.

A nice person would “roll with the punches” and good person would demand better, and so say.

Of course there is another option; an option suggested by former New South Wales fire commissioner, Greg Mullins, who’s said that when people doubt and question the connection between climate change and Australian bush fire crisis, we should just smile politely and walk away.

Sound and “nice” advice, but for me “walking away” is over.

This is going to be tough as to confront another and question their values and ethics is contrary to my nature and in keeping with youthful climate activist, Greta Thunberg, I rely on the facts and trust the people will see the error in their thinking, and behaviours, and change their ways.

That doesn’t work, facts don’t change minds, but as Scott Morrison illustrated in the last year’s federal election victory, emotion and stories based on fanciful information structured around fear of the other, and baseless numbers seem to comfort people and carry the day.

To further complicate matters, while able to understand the broad concept of climate change, I struggle to regurgitate the facts and so argue my position.

The facts, it seems to me, are so clear, so damning and so obvious that simply presentation of them should be evidence enough.

The recent bushfires that swept through parts of Australia are little more than a taste of what is ahead - the world has warmed by just over one degree Celsius and the Paris agreement, which is championed repeatedly by many, including our PM, and has programmed the world for an increase of about 3.5 degrees Celsius.

The root of our troubles is the prevailing economic system, commonly known as “neoliberalism” that promotes and encourages individualism, an idea that puts the success of one ahead of the many.

With that system comes privatisation and the steady erosion  of the public sphere and what Canadian author Naomi Klein describes in her appropriately named latest book,”On Fire”, as the “gig and dig” economy where jobs are not jobs, but precarious “gigs’ and the ‘digging’ up of fossil resources.

And contrary to what former Nationals leader, Barnaby Joyce, argues, we need more government in our lives for a thorough and honest examination of what make this modern life possible illustrates it all began through the government, that is public, intervention.

Thinking of what exists reminds me of the American Indian adage: “If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together”.

So, fundamentally, if we want to navigate this dilemma we need to invest heavily in the public sphere, redistribute wealth (an anathema to many), stop the wholesale privatisation of our lives, understand that our status is not attached to our acquisitions, and as RMIT associate professor, Anitra Nelson, points out, we all need to learn how to share.

Others, of far greater importance than I, have also stepped aside from nice and and taken up the”good” baton and one of the those is Nobel laureate, Professor Peter Doherty.

Professor Doherty, who spoke in Shepparton last year, said in a tweet: ”Get mad not sad! Be mad as hell at politicians who won't act and the media liars who support them. Be mad at stupidity and ignorance. Rage at the fossil fuel types who screw your world (and theirs) for a few lousy $”. 

Thanks, Peter, I’m not sad, rather I’m “good”, and mad.

UN climate change talks in Madrid end with no agreement on carbon market rules or stronger pledges

Marathon international climate talks have ended with major polluters resisting calls to ramp up efforts to keep global warming at bay and negotiators postponing the regulation of global carbon markets until next year.

Those failures came even after organisers added two more days to the 12 days of scheduled talks in Madrid.

In the end, delegates from almost 200 nations endorsed a declaration to help poor countries that are suffering the effects of climate change, although they did not allocate any new funds to do so.

The final declaration called on the "urgent need" to cut planet-heating greenhouse gases in line with the goals of the landmark 2015 Paris climate change accord.

Read the ABC News story - “UN climate change talks in Madrid end with no agreement on carbon market rules or stronger pledges."

Taking 'possession' of a public space

Long have I admired those who take “possession” of a public space and make it theirs.

An example of that can be seen just off Shepparton’s Broken River Drive near the Melbourne Road bridge over the Broken River .

It was once the home of the Jackson family, but with the sale and removal of the house it became a neglected piece of river frontage until a local took “ownership” of it, treated it like his own, cared for it, beautified it to make it a place people frequently visited - there has even  been marriages there.

The City of Greater Shepparton came to appreciate its value to citizens, took it over and named it “Jackson Park”. It’s a beautiful spot, simple but   worth a visit.
In a similar case, I watched, during several annual visits to Queensland’s Sunshine Coast as something similar happened.

A war memorial had been established in the small park on the banks of Maroochy River at Maroochydore and although the memorial itself appeared OK, the surrounds were in need of maintenance, some simple love and attention.

A local fellow, who was a veteran of the Vietnam War, was distressed about the state of the memorial surrounds and so decided to do what he could to make the site worthy of the people it honoured.

He mowed the lawns, weeded what garden still existed, planted some new flowers and generally broadly improved the memorial’s surrounds.

My friend, yes I met him and talked with him about what he was doing, fell foul of what might be called “officialdom”.

His volunteer work was spotted by the local council and he was told he must stop immediately as the council’s public risk insurance did not cover him and the likelihood of him being injured in a “workplace” accident was risk it couldn’t take.

Fortunately a workaround was agreed on, my friend became a part-time, unpaid council employee and he was able to continue with his work on the memorial site.

My visit to the Sunshine Coast have become less frequent in recent years, but I understand the council now recognises its responsibility for the memorial gardens and so it is now a rather pleasant spot.

Where’s this all leading to?

Not for a second did I imagine that such a sense of ownership of a public space awaited me.

It’s not so much a space, more a piece of public infrastructure.

Living not far from Shepparton’s railway station and traveling whenever I can by “human-powered transport” - that’s walking, but it can be cycling - I frequently use the southern pedestrian crossing at Shepparton’s High St railway crossing.

For some inexplicable reason people seem to think it’s good place to dispose of their rubbish - bottles, cans, food wrappings, bits of clothing and packaging from store bought goods.

Picking up and disposing of the rubbish was just a casual thing at first, but it has become something of an obsession and I get grumpy when people drop their rubbish there as this is “my” spot.

Just recently things took a turn for the worst when somebody decided they wanted to make some adjustments, commonly called vandalism, to the metal fencing put there to protect pedestrians.

At first it was just a small dent, then a whole panel was knocked loose, which for a while I could stand up and make the place look presentable, but then one of the metal posts was knocked out of the ground and a whole panel flattened.

Unsure what to do, I inquired at the railway station and a fellow behind the counter said such things were not really their responsibility and so he gave me a Melbourne phone number.

That call quickly became a long and difficult phone affair as the fellow there thought I wanted to move a boundary fence on railway property in Shepparton and after being put on hold, twice, while he talked with his supervisor, I was then given another number.

The second phone call was, in its own way, equally difficult, but I had some success and the fellow said he would organise the repair work, and even gave me a case number.

Although encouraged by what seemed like success, I imaged months would pass before anything happened, if at all.

Surprise, surprise! In less than a week a team of three men, well equipped, appeared and in just few hours repaired “my” damaged fence.

It now looks wonderful and “my” space is back in good order, and I’m chuffed.
Our Earth needs us to be more attentive to our home however, if that is too big, too complex then how about “taking possession” of tiny public space right here in Shepparton.

Coping with Climate Change Distress

There has been a recent flurry of articles and radio stories regarding the rise of climate grief and ecological anxiety in Australia and abroad. 

For some support and advice on living with such distress a number of groups came together to publish this pamphlet on coping with climate change distress.

Read the pamphlet, download it here - “Coping with Climate Change Distress.”