Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Bride Running Away


When our daughter Helen was about ten years old she painted this pic...
It's not bad at all..she hadn't perfected her human figures at that stage.

Just kiddin...it was painted by Arthur Boyd in the early 1950s and was just auctioned for the princely sum of A$1.68 Million. I am, even at the age of 72, a bit puzzled as why such art is so valuable. I guess it is investment value.

The Australian government has just caved in to the opposition about how to deal with boat people arriving at Australia's Christmas Island. Christmas Island is just a spit away from Indonesia from where most of the boats depart. Everyone (except the Greens) now agrees that offshore detention in Papua New Guinea and the small nation of Nauru will deter reffos who think they will get a quick trip into Australian residency. Not sure that will actually work.... but?

The government previously built expensive detention centres in Australia and now these will not be needed. Two of these in Western Australia; one at Leonora which is desert-side of Kalgoorlie and the other at Northam which is about 60 miles from Perth city will probably fall into disuse. The Mayor of the small town of Leonora is whinging about the fact that the town relies heavily on the detention centre for its local economy. The Mayor of Christmas Island is also saying the same thing. Both communities initially whinged about the establishment of the detention centres, but now have changed their mind.

No comments: