I remember everyone bragging in the 1990s and the turn of the century on how much money we were all making in Australia from the mining boom. China was our greatest purchaser. Why did they want it? No one really cared why. In the end China probably stockpiled over a 120 years worth of Iron Ore. And all I can remember from the time John Howard came to power in 1996; Tienanmen Square stopped being mentioned. That’s when Australia started the big ideological change to Privatisation and Neoliberalism. Many couldn't or chose not to see it. Gee! I even I voted for John Howard that year. John was quite lucky because the internet/ computing was now coming into play. And many of us were floundering around trying to work it all out. And many like me are still floundering with it now. Around this time many a new start up computer companies were listed on the stock-exchange for the boom and bust in the Dot- Com period. Many a pony-tailed geek were heading up new and old companies and the old guys and their years of experience and wisdom were laid off. And after the Port Arthur massacre John was as popular as “Simon The Likeable” from TVs; “Get Smart”. A cricket tragic that older folk saw as their hipdedo rock star. I am not sure if John was just ignorant, manipulated, or a victim or deceptive. Though through his deep conservatism, his sell out to everything bad about USA capitalism, Thatcher-ism and Royalism ; he was nothing but a betrayal to egalitarian Australians. Basically John was a sucker to Pom and Pageantry and con artist’s from the USA on how we should run our country. And he was man of zero imagination. And in the end a terrible leader. And his ego brought his own party down. I've always been a bottom up person. Who’s more valuable in society someone who’s going to look after you when you are old and demented or some self satisfied empathy deprived CEO. Bottom up is a perfect measure of what sort society we want live in, And when the shit hits the fan who’s there for you? In Australia no one is. I’d rather be living in a village in Kalimantan when you are old and decrepit than Australia. Surely we can pay someone $40 an hour in a Nursing Home to look after the elderly. Since John came to power CEO pays sky rocketed to a crazy level. Though his Piece de resistance policy was turning residential housing into an asset class; like a stock market. Halving Capital Gains Tax. Incorporating Residential housing in Super. Giving Rich kids home loans grants to buy Million Dollar homes. Home loan grants are the worst idea of all. Now large companies are just buying existing blue chip blocks of flats as an investment and for Tax minimisation purposes. And allowing overseas investors to buy up residential property with potentially laundered money. Allowing investors to maximise their rents via Air B and B; which puts so much financial stress on people wanting long term rentals. Degrading Public Housing to such a small levels. And Negative Gearing continues . Then there was Morrison’s Renovation Rescue to the wealthy middle class instead putting money into public housing. John started it and it’s still going on. And the questionable wisdom of The Reserve Bank. They are still pumping this Residential Housing boom/ house of cards along for as long as they can. The residential property market is 50% overvalued. Its an absolute rort and this government has been the architect of this joke. It’s time to shut this corruption down. It’s our own version of Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed is still in power. This governments ideological focus has been it’s masters; ie, The Rich and wealthy middle class status quo. And like all fundamentalist's oligarchs absolute power corrupts absolutely. In the end a roof over your head is a human right. Like the mining boom was all about $ signs in our eyes as to is the housing boom. Homelessness is rampant. China is now going to govern law and order in the Solomon Islands. Blind Ideology got us here in the first place. Make no mistake population growth was all about money and growth of GDP. What's next armaments for war of course we will have buy them from the USA. Because we don’t even make our own water pistols here anymore let alone a car or a tank. We are all drunk on American idealism with Ocker Australia Day’ Renovation Rescue, with a Married at First Sight, Farmer wants a wife twist. Stupid and Greed is what you get if your only focus is the dollar. Though when China does officially take over. I do hope they let us keep The Moomba Festival for old time sake.