Violence, booze a nation's shame as police prepare for Australia Day assaults

by:
Aaron Langmaid From:
Herald Sun January 23, 2013
12:00AM In

AUSTRALIA is earning itself a reputation for violence and drinking to excess because young people can't handle their booze, experts have warned.
It comes as police gear up for a spike in violent assaults on Australia Day.
Our day of national pride is second only to New Year's when it comes to the number of punches thrown by goons.
Last year 109 assaults were reported to police on Australia Day and 122 were reported on the same day in 2011.
Deputy Commissioner Tim Cartwright said the figures were an alarming revelation for a day that was supposed to be one of our proudest.
"There is a real association with alcohol and violence in Australia and it's embarrassing," he said.
"Lots of other cultures drink alcohol but it seems like Australians use booze as an excuse. Especially, on Australia Day, it's not something to be proud of."
. He said the Australian Open and music festivals such as the Big Day Out and Rainbow Serpent, as well as the city and bayside regions would be a focus for police on Saturday.
Dalgarno Institute director Shane Varcoe said we lived in a society where people thought they were "entitled to get drunk".
"Australia Day should be a chance to celebrate our liberty, to look after our neighbours and our mates, not get smashed," he said.
"We no longer understand what it means to be a mature Australian."
A tougher stance on the responsible service of alcohol, starting from how it was advertised to its sale across the counter, would be key to any cultural shift, he said.
Police warned yesterday warm weather and an over-indulgence in alcohol and drugs were the main drivers behind the spike. Males aged 18 to 24 account for a huge slice of the offences, which mostly occur after 5pm.
Extra resources will be rolled out across Victoria this weekend, with a focus on known troublespots including the city, coastal and foreshore areas such as St Kilda and the Mornington Peninsula. Lake Wendouree in Ballarat also will be targeted.
Police will patrol entertainment precincts and transit police will patrol public transport hubs.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/violence-booze-a-nations-shame-as-police-prepare-for-australia-day-assaults/story-e6frf7kx-1226559588345

Nothing.

Public holiday.

The first person to use the phrase 'invasion day' should be perma-banned.

Technically it was you..

Well, I'm working Australia Day, so for me it means gearing up for a 10-hour shift, hoping we have no fights during the afternoon in the bar. Security isn't being put on until the normal time of 7pm. :lol:.

Flag is our greatest Australian divide

by:
JESSICA MARSZALEK From:
News Limited Network January 23, 2013
12:00AM

FOUR in 10 Australians think the flag needs to be reclaimed as a symbol of unity
And only a third of people would vote yes if another referendum to establish a republic were held today.
A Galaxy Poll of more than 1000 people, conducted exclusively for News Limited in the run up to Australia Day, reveals how some feel the flag has slipped as an icon of togetherness.


*One word is required for each field.
Forty per cent said there was "a need to reclaim the Australian flag as a symbol of unity", while 33 per cent said there was no need. The remainder were uncommitted.
Sydney University researcher Ben Moffitt, who wrote a thesis on the Cronulla race riots, said the use of the flag during that violence had left an ugly mark.
. The wearing of the flag as a cape there, and at other events like music festivals, had turned it into a weapon, he said.
"It was not a symbol of unity, it was a symbol of otherness... as if to say this is what is really Australian, you are not," Mr Moffitt said.
The riots was a "perfect storm" of symbolism with lasting connotations, he said.
"You had life savers, the beach, the Australian flag, the southern cross, the Eureka tattoo," Mr Moffitt said.
"Chuck in some beers, the hot sun. It's all those Australian symbols turned into a nasty cocktail."
People who had southern cross tattoos prior to the riots now looked like "nationalist boofheads" because of the changed symbolism, he said.
University of Technology Sydney associate professor Katrina Schlunke said the flag had become a confused symbol, both filled with meaning and deprived of it.
"It can be used as a kind of rallying symbol for a racist action, so it's too heavily imbued with meaning," she said.
"And on the other hand, it's as if it's being emptied out of meaning by its popular uptake and casual use on cars and everyone flying one in their back yard and here and there."
Meanwhile, the poll revealed even fewer people would vote for a republic if the 1999 referendum question were put to them now, with 33 per cent answering yes, compared with 45 per cent who answered yes 13 years ago.
Monarchist David Flint said support for a republic had been down in polls for years, even before the latest royal marriage and the Queen's diamond jubilee.
He said people were "peeved" with politicians, but not with the Queen.
But republican David Morris said the original question had been so flawed, the result was unsurprising. Research last year by UMR showed 48 per cent supported Australia becoming a republic, he said.
Mr Morris said the question had been off the political agenda for too long and a national conversation needed to happen on the best way to frame a republic.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/flag-our-greatest-australian-divide/story-fncynkc6-1226559592125

Our day of national pride is second only to New Year's when it comes to the number of punches thrown by goons.
Last year 109 assaults were reported to police on Australia Day and 122 were reported on the same day in 2011

Eureka flag to become our national flag!

When is Australia Day?

I don't believe in Love it or Leave it and I don't think we're full, I think we have plenty of room for anyone who genuinely wants a better life like my Father and grand Father did.

Those aren't the problem. I concur with that. Majority of Australia's populace has emigrated here in the last century or so. The problem is people bringing their own problems here.

I work with plenty of New immigrants and refugees and honestly, the ACA TT ones are few and far between the ones that actually want to be Australian and Asimilate into our culture (geez I hate that term). become functional and constructive members of our society