Yahoo Answers! I’ve belittled it [1]. But when I sought the provenance of the aphorism ‘The more things change the more they stay the same’, Yahoo Answers! offered the best account [2]. (Its origin is French, dating from the nineteenth century.) Why did I search for it? Because Farmdoc’s Blog’s 2009 Australia Day post [3] is just as applicable today. If not more so. I continue to feel blessed I live in a free and democratic nation. But simultaneously I’m ashamed of its weak-kneed approach to the mankind’s greatest problem – due to its subservience to Big Business and especially the coal industry. Fie! The 2009 Australian of the Year – Mick Dodson – was well known, a celebrity even, but at least not a sportsman or entertainer. Which is a step in the right direction. His 2010 successor – 57-year-old Professor Patrick McGorry (pictured) – was, until his appointment last evening, not even well known. Which is a further step in the right direction. From Victoria, he’s a youth psychologist and an advocate for mentally ill young people [4]. I’m 110% in favour of his appointment. Talking of numbers, he was clear favourite to win, with betting agency Centrebet rating his odds at $1.36 – well ahead of his nearest rival at $3, with the third favourite a distant $9 [5]. This year’s the 50th anniversary of the first Australian of the Year [6]. Unless major global warming abatement happens soon, there mightn’t be an Australian of the Year in 2060. Ho hum.
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