Security!

Praise the Lord we don't have squillions worth of oil or the like as security is looking a bit skee-wiff around these parts of late...

A Senate committee has heard the Royal Australian Navy is struggling with staff shortages, contract disputes and malfunctioning equipment.
The Navy is relying on other nations to provide rescue services* should one of its submarines falter.
Rear Admiral Boyd Robinson says safety is not being compromised.
"We've made arrangements for an overseas rescue vehicle under contract - it's in the UK," he said.
Rear Admiral Robinson assured the committee it can be mobilised quickly.
The contractual dispute, which has forced the navy to send some submariners to Canada for training, has also exacerbated a staffing shortage.
The navy needs 662 submariners, but it only has 429.
Liberal Senator David Johnston has criticised the situation.
"So we're at two thirds strength, on an objective assessment," he said.
The Chief of the Navy, Vice Admiral Russ Crane, has conceded it is not an ideal situation.

Yeah. Not entirely 'ideal' seeing as all our borders are water.


Additionally, in WA our police minister has thought it a good idea to go without a counter terrorism unit providing security for our North West Shelf.
Hmph I say!
(that'll show 'em)



PS - It might also be noted that our poor WA police are surely feeling less secure as yesterday one was set alight and another knocked on the noggin with a replica pistol. (Plus, it would be nice if we had more of a police presence instead of them having to cut back their budget 3% - especially as people seem to be rather violently dropping off the perch around here lately.)





* Not always a good thing.

La la land

Well, dear Perth boy Heath has won an Oscar today. I was especially pleased as he was my boyfriend last night and this made it quite touching for me.

Not touching in that way. I mean, yes it was a dream, and yes we were in bed together for some of it... but it was more like we were a married couple. So, yeah, no sex.

But, you know, the coziness was nice and hey, it could've been someone else who's been in the news and such recently.


Like Peter Costello.


Or worse again.



A three-way with Peter Costello and John Hewson.


I'm guessing this would have involved a bit of bondage... Hewson likely holding the whip and Costello being the gimp or something...


At least then I could have confirmed whether or not he has balls...



(Oh politics. It's so dirty. Thank God for the movie industry.)

Hello. I am here. rly.

Sorry for my lack of blogging (she says as though it's something worth apologising for, when quite more likely the world has only been a better place for its wonderful dearth of Eleanor Bloomishness-ness). There has been a fair bit of sadness around lately, as you all well know, and more personally I've had a friend die the same weekend of the fires so it all just becomes a rich, heady mix of gloom and a persistent overwhelming pressure to try to comprehend what seems incomprehensible. Death alone is a strange one. Add 'loss' and 'horror' and you just have an abstruse (supposed) reality.

In other words: Blah, blah, blah.

OK then. Onto something lighter.

And, as always, one can find amusement in the the antics of the Liberal Party.

Let us speak of 'damning' and 'praise'.

Joe Hockey (new shadow Treasurer) told 3AW that Mr Costello had rung him on Monday and said: "Mate, I'm here for you, anything I can do."

Mr Costello said he had offered Mr Hockey "every help. Joe was my junior minister for quite some time and I am very happy to help him."

Oh yes. Very helpful.