Among the many major health awareness campaigns to be observed in October is National Carers Week 2024 which will run from Sunday 13 to Saturday 19 October.
Pictured with my mother Elizabeth who I have been the fulltime carer of for 13 years. Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2023-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
National Carers Week is about recognising and celebrating the outstanding and selfless contribution primary (and most often unpaid) carers make to our nation.
The theme for this year’s national campaign is “millions of reasons to care.”
Carers week is a time to raise awareness, recognise, acknowledge, celebrate and care for the estimated 2.65 million Australians who provide care each and every day to a family member, loved one, or friend.
Anyone of any age can become a carer at any time.
Carers make such an enormous contribution to our communities as well as our national economy.
Carers Australia has estimated that if all carers decided to stop performing their caring role, the cost to the country, and the Australian taxpayer – you – would be between $77.9 billion at the least, to a staggering $126.2 billion dollars per year to replace those supports.
The 2021 census chronicles the number of persons who provided unpaid assistance to someone with a disability, health condition or due to old age at 2,476,306 nationally.
Snapshot of the number of Australian carers as enumerated in the 2021 census. Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2022-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
The realities of caring for an aged, infirm, disabled, or incapacitated person 24/7, 365 days a year are far from the idyllic picture painted by the government.
Successive federal governments have spruiked that older Australians should be encouraged to live longer at home before moving into nursing homes; easier said than done when carers are neither being legally or morally recognised, nor appropriately remunerated for their efforts and the burdens saddled upon them.
As a fulltime carer and national carer advocate I can tell you with the absolute authority of lived experience, becoming a carer increases one’s financial, emotional and social vulnerability as we sacrifice – among other things – career, income, future income potential and superannuation, our family dynamics, relationships and our own physical and mental health to look after someone we love.
Advocacy in Action. Pictured with Toowoomba Regional Council Mayor Cr Geoff McDonald and Sue Waters, unpaid carers state advocate and founder of the Darling Downs Warrior Carers Support Group (DDWCSG). Image Copyright (C) and courtesy of Geoff McDonald: Australia; 2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
According to the Commonwealth Department of Social Services (DSS), of the estimated 2.65 million carers as at June 2024, only 314,320 (11.86 percent) were receiving a carer payment and 657,275 (24.80 percent) the carer allowance. Begs the question what assistance, if any, are the remaining 1,678,405 carers receiving?
Item 4 of Schedule 1 (The Statement for Australia’s Carers) of the Carer Recognition Act 2010 (No. 123, 2010) states “the valuable social and economic contribution that carers make to society should be recognised and supported.”
But whilst we carers continue to allow ourselves to be designated unpaid carers by the government, those peak bodies that are supposed to represent us, and the media, our roles, all we do, and our many sacrifices will continue to be largely unrecognised, undervalued and unrequited.
Carers should be applauded, appreciated, appropriately financially recognised and respected for their selfless efforts, sacrifices and the noble contribution they make to the community.
Yet for far too long successive federal governments have treated and abused primary carers as a source of cheap labour to be exploited like sweatshop workers.
Whilst politicians, bureaucrats and peak body CEOs (who are supposed represent us) give themselves most generous pay rises, benefits and perks, a person receiving a carer payment gets $3.41 dollars an hour, whilst at the same time, a person in receipt of the carer allowance gets a paltry 46 cents an hour; 25 years ago it was just 23 cents an hour.
It’s a national disgrace.
As Carers we need, and quite rightly deserve the same respect, proper legal recognition and comparable financial remuneration and benefits as paid support workers who take home at the minimum $24.10 an hour.
Carers should not be confused with paid support workers.
Whilst carers saddle the burden of underpinning the aged care, NDIS (disability), health and social service sectors, paid support workers are receiving just, fair, and proper respect, recognition, financial remuneration, statutory, legal and other entitlements and benefits.
The disparity between carers and paid support workers. Carers carry the burden whilst paid support workers reap the rewards. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
Paid support workers are legally recognised, usually engaged by a care support organisation, are formally trained, qualified and appropriately remunerated to look after clients on an employed basis with various statutory entitlements, benefits and rights.
Primary carers, or care givers – often with years of lived experience – are persons who regularly look after the needs of an aged, infirm, disabled, or incapacitated person on a permanent or temporary basis usually in return for a government benefit.
But until carers are recognised as somebodies, rather than anybodies, the same respect, recognition, financial remuneration, statutory, legal and other benefits and security afforded to paid support workers will continue to elude us.
What we allow ourselves to be called creates or negates any obligation on the part of the government, the Australian Fair Work Commission, other statutory authorities, the public service, associated providers, etc. to legally recognise, morally treat, value, appropriately remunerate and requite carers as a valid labour force that contributes so much to the stability and growth of the Australian economy.
The caring community is disadvantaged and vulnerable, with many living way below the poverty line.
We know you care, and now more than ever – and along with the 25,000 people who have already signed – we need your support.
Please help carers in our campaign for proper recognition and appropriate remuneration by signing and sharing my national Petition with your family, friends and contacts.
After all, you never know when you might find yourself a carer or in urgent need of one.
I shouldn’t be forced to have the Covid Vaccine – it is just too risky!
How many fought and died to end racism, segregation, discrimination, persecution and genocide; does Nazism and Stalinism ring any bells? Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2021-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
CORPORATE MEDIA CENSORSHIP: Within 15 minutes of posting this article and accompanying video to YouTube on Friday 26 November 2021 it was promptly deleted and replaced with the text message: “This video has been removed for violating YouTube’s Community Guidelines (Medical Misinformation).”
I received email advice from YouTube stating “YouTube doesn’t allow content about COVID-19 that poses a serious risk of egregious harm.
“YouTube doesn’t allow content that spreads medical misinformation that contradicts local health authorities’ (LHA) or the World Health Organization’s (WHO) medical information about COVID-19.”
Appeal against decision laid and promptly rejected!
IMPORTANT UPDATE: 9 DECEMBER 2021
“May all those who could of, should of, but didn’t attempt to prevent Humanity’s Slide to Dictatorial Totalitarian Rule, Medical Apartheid, Segregation and Discrimination, may you be Damned to Hell!” Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2021-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
G’DAY Everybody!
My name is George Helon and I live in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.
Today I’d like to tell you why some people like myself are holding out, and against having the Covid-19 Vaccine at this time?
First of all, none of us has, or had any choice in having this ‘so-called’ vaccine!
Let’s just call it ‘the jab’!
CHOICE is having the power or right to choose between 2 or more of any number, possibilities, varieties; well – anything!
Should I eventually be left with no option but to have ‘the jab’ – and suffer any ADVERSE REACTIONS, or worse still, DIE – this video is my living testament to be cited, held and used in evidence against any person, private entity, company, organisation, government agency, or politicians.
I can’t reconcile in my mind any reason how having ‘the jab’ could mitigate the risk of not having it.
The ODDS and the GODS have never favoured me; it’s Just TOO RISKY, and I am not a gambling man!
Hear me out, make up your own mind, and honestly ask yourself if you walked a mile in my shoes – “would you risk having ‘the jab’?”
Like many others – and should existing and proposed government mandates prevail – I will find myself treated like a leper: ostracised from society, alienated, discriminated against, marginalised, segregated, excluded and punished because of my ethics, moral principles, religious convictions, personal views, and my quite valid concerns?
I alone should have free will; the choice to say what goes into my body, especially when I firmly consider the consequences for allowing myself to be a guinea pig in a medical trial to be disproportionate to any mooted benefits from having an under-tested, possibly debilitating and potentially fatal bio entity administered to into me.
I’m not an anti-vaxxer, tinfoil hat nutter, vaccine hesitant, or vaccine resistant; I was born a free thinking and free-willed human being who is concerned for my well-being, life and for the future of my family and the human race; more particularly my elderly and infirm mother for whom I am the primary 24/7/365 carer of.
WHEN the administration of a ‘so-called’ vaccine is not by voluntary choice, but forced upon everybody through mandates, coercive tactics, forced compulsion, threats, bullying and duress;
WHEN over 4000 qualified and independently minded Queensland health care workers (including doctors and nurses) have been suspended or stood down for refusing ‘the jab’;
WHEN thousands of police, emergency and volunteer service workers have been forced to resign because they have chosen to not be forcibly injected with an unknown bio entity;
WHEN hundreds of thousands of ordinary people have to choose between submitting to ‘the jab’ or lose their livelihoods;
WHEN governments, political and religious leaders and their representatives openly promote alienation, discrimination, marginalisation, segregation, persecution and vaccine/medical apartheid;
WHEN bribes are offered by the establishment to ‘encourage’ people to submit to ‘the jab’;
WHEN having ‘the jab’ does not guarantee one not getting Covid-19;
WHEN there is no thought or discussion about the potential for long term and intergenerational health impacts;
WHEN basic ‘freedoms’ are used as an incentive for getting ‘the jab’;
WHEN both governments and pharmaceutical companies have liberated themselves of any liability from any responsibility for adverse reactions, their effects and resulting deaths, and when any information, views, comments and opinions contradictory to the government’s narrative are moderated, vetted, edited, censored, or deleted from the internet in order to maintain and promote a biased mainstream media agenda, what we are being forced to have put into our bodies is not a vaccine by any stretch of the imagination but an experimental bio entity administered through unconstitutional medical procedures which no person, entity or government has the right to force anybody to be subjected to.
What governments are compelling and coercing people to do amounts to crimes against humanity.
Being explicitly forced to submit to having ‘the jab’ is tantamount to being given a death sentence in the hope that it might be commuted to life and you live to tell the tale.
Freedom of choice and health care are inherent human rights that should always be upheld without question or doubt, fervently protected and vehemently defended.
I have very sound and exceptionally valid reasons for my opposition against mandated and forced vaccinations.
You see, since I before I was born the ODDS, and the GODS have never been good to me!
When pregnant my mother took thalidomide, a drug that was marketed as a sedative and treatment for morning sickness in pregnant women in the late 50s and early 60s.
This drug subsequently caused some babies to be born with a range of disabilities.
My mother also contracted German measles early in her pregnancy.
I was born with an extremely rare genetic disorder called Pallister-Hall Syndrome (or PHS), of which there are only about 600 cases known about the world over.
Pallister-Hall Syndrome (PHS) is it is a multiple anomaly congenital disorder affecting many parts of the body and is responsible for innumerable medical, health, neurological and psychological issues, conditions, abnormalities and malformations.
Myself personally, I am affected by physical anomalies, an enlarged heart with regurgitating valves, throat defects and ongoing kidney and other issues; just to name a few!
I have a large 3 to 4cm hypothalamic hamartoma, or brain tumour, deemed inoperable because it is of, not in the hypothalamus.
Not many of you would know just how important the hypothalamus is to one’s very existence?
By definition, the hypothalamus is one of the most important parts of the brain for it participates in a number of vital activities. It regulates a variety of hormonal functions by action on the pituitary gland, and it exerts magisterial control over the blood vessels and glands of the body via the autonomic nervous system. It is an integral part of the limbic system which influences important aspects of our behaviour and even our very survival.
The hypothalamus controls heart rate and blood pressure, body temperature, fluid and electrolyte balance, appetite and body weight, endocrine processes, sleep cycles and most automatic functions of the body.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (or ASD) is often one of the tell-tale calling cards of a hypothalamic hamartoma, and well, yours truly has that too!
Symptoms include seizures, cognitive impairments, emotional difficulties, behavioural issues, episodes of hypothalamic rage and endocrine disturbances.
As a direct result of my brain tumour I have suffered all my life from an extremely rare form of epilepsy which results in generally uncontrollable gelastic (or laughing) seizures and narcolepsy; I also have profound neuro-sensory hearing loss and hormonal deficiencies for which I am taking hormone replacements.
Fortunately for me, my epilepsy has been stable these past years so l am able to drive my mother everywhere she needs and wants to go: specialist appointments, weekly doctor visits, weekly blood tests, x-rays, scans, shopping, errands and irregular travel.
I have read ‘the jab’ can trigger seizures.
That stated, if l have a seizure l am off the road for a minimum of 12 months!
Who is going to look after our appointment and other travel needs and accept responsibility for the costs to get us about?
More burden on the tax payer and the already over stretched and under resourced support organisations!
In 2008, and quite by accident, I was found to have a 4.1cm (now 4.4cm) lesion in the presacral region (that’s about the tail bone) of my spine later identified as a retro rectal hamartoma, or tail gut tumour / teratoma.
Retro rectal hamartomas are rare in women, and almost unheard of in men; these tumours are usually benign, but can turn malignant very quickly so they need constant monitoring.
Once again the odds are against me.
In August 2016 I had a TDAP (Diphtheria Tetanus Pertussis) vaccine and became violently ill within weeks.
My GP has told me that because I had a more than 24 to 48 hour delayed reaction to the TDAP vaccine I can’t get an exemption from ‘the jab’.
Yet I was terribly sick for over 3 months with: breathing difficulties, a lung infection, crippling body aches and pains, the loss of my voice, headache, fever, diarrhoea, red and irritated eyes, conjunctivitis and general malaise; and over a dozen people can attest to my suffering!
In September 2016 a sputum test resulted in my being diagnosed with haemophilus influenzae type b, or Hib.
Considering the preceding symptoms, was it really the flu I had, or was it Covid?
And for all of this I have copies of my medical records and imaging as proof of my claims.
According to the CDC (USA), “adults of any age WITH CERTAIN UNDERLYING MEDICAL CONDITIONS are at increased risk for severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccines are recommended for and CAN BE ADMINISTERED TO MOST PEOPLE with underlying medical conditions.”
My multiple and chronic health conditions in no way give me any reprieve or exemption!
There are some out there who have no understanding of my complex medical conditions and who would argue quite vehemently that having chronic medical conditions is more the reason to have ‘the jab’.
Those who have had ‘the jab’ and survived with little or no effects – for the moment – are lucky, and they shouldn’t be pointing the finger at, and passing judgment on others who are genuinely concerned for their health, wellbeing, and most of all, life!
Having pre-existing medical conditions makes you more vulnerable to the consequences of many of those things compromised by adverse reactions; it is not a precarious situation one wants to put oneself in.
Now please excuse the pun, but I am not a normal person so to speak, I am a vulnerable person with already altered DNA; I am a person who has never had the odds and the Gods in one’s favour, therefore I consider myself potentially more at risk of adverse reactions, or even death if I have the so-called Covid-19 vaccine – ‘the jab’!
These ‘jabs’ have been tested on – let’s say – normal people, not those with chronic genetic disorders and rare diseases.
Our veterans, fathers and grandfathers fought and sacrificed so much combating Fascism, Nazism and Stalinism so that we could enjoy many basic freedoms; they must be turning in the graves with shame and regret!
And to think that (like my family) so many refugees who fled totalitarian regimes were welcomed into our communities to live in freedom with choice and dignity only to find themselves jumping from the pot into the frying pan!
Instead of effecting mandates, punishing, dividing people and encouraging them to turn on one another, governments should be asking what they can do for those who either can’t have, or don’t want to have ‘the jab’ vaccine for medical, ethical, or religious reasons.
Let’s stand together as one – the vaccinated, the unvaccinated, war vterans, the peoples of Australia; shoulder-to-shoulder – and say no to government mandates!
UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL!
Revisions:
Article originally published 22 November 2021. Revised: 30 November 2023; 16 January 2023; 31 December 2021; 10 December 2021; 2 December 2021; 25 November 2021; 24 November 2021.
PAL-LA-SHAY you might be encouraged to say of our Queensland Premier’s surname, but nothing could be more erroneous; culturally, historically and linguistically insulting to those of fair dinkum Polish ancestry.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk pictured in 2016. Image source: Wikimedia Commons. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
As a genealogist, etymologist and nomenclaturist (retired) I am occasionally asked by persons of Polish and eastern European descent to assist them with their family history research when the going gets tough.
When locating ancestors overseas appears an impossible task, and access to vital records seems an elusive dream, researchers often forget to utilise the simplest facts right in front them to elicit new avenues of enquiry to discern the origins of their family – names; personal and place!
It is interesting just how much information you can glean from an individual’s Christian name, surname, and the names of the places they originate from.
In the case of our esteemed Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, it is written in her Wikipedia biography that she is “the daughter of veteran state Labor MP Henry Palaszczuk, who was born in Germany to Polish parents.”
According to the Palaszczuk family immigration records publicly available at the National Archives of Australia, Annastacia’s grandfather Hipolit/Hipolite was born in Wolka/Wulce and her grandmother Ludviga/Ludwiga born in Racje/Rajca/Rajzca, Poland.
Extract from National Archives of Australia (NAA) public record: PALASZCZUK, Hipolite born 2 July 1922; Series Number A12155 (Migrant Selection Documents – NAA: A12155, 81-84); Item ID 4260617; p. 3 of 51. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
Now the surname Palaszczuk is both a toponym (i.e. a place name derived from a topographical feature) and a blended patronymic derived from the word PALASZ (say, pow-w-ash), which in the Polish language means ‘broadsword’ – basically a nickname for a combative or fierce individual, a soldier – and the suffix CZUK (say, chook).
In Ukrainian and Russian Cyrillic script the surname Palaszczuk is rendered Палащук.
The suffix CZUK is particular to surnames found and originating in western Ukraine, an area that was once occupied by Poland.
CZUK (sometimes spelt CIUK – and yes pronounced chook) when written singularly, means a ‘mouth’ or ‘snout’ in Ukrainian.
When used as a surname suffix, CZUK, sometimes transcribed CHUK, designates one as being the son of.
Palaszczuk, basically, one who is the son of a soldier, or one who points out errors in others – someone who is censorious or pedantic?
As for the correct rendering of the name, the ‘L’ in the surname Palaszczuk originally had a diacritical (or accent/pronunciation) mark through it (Ł); this being best described as a forward slash ‘/’ through the ‘L’.
So the correct pronunciation of the Pałaszczuk surname is Pow-w-ash-chook NOT Pal-la-shay!
The actual rendering of the Queensland Premier’s surname is Pałaszczuk, and the correct pronunciation is Pow-w-ash-chook! Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2021-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
Annastacia is more rendiscent and common of an eastern Slavic (Ukrainian) Christian name than Polish.
The Polish rendering of Anastasia is Anastazja – not Annastacia; just as the correct form of Ludovica is Ludwika – not the eastern Slavic Ludviga or Ludwiga!
The place name Wolka (usually spelt with a diacritical mark, or an apostrophe, over the o) is indicative of a hamlet, or a new settlement and is in most cases conjunctive with another appellation to form a place name, e.g. Wólka Lubieszowska.
Wulce on the other hand, more correctly spelt WOLCZE (the ‘L’ having a diacritical forward slash ‘/’ through it) is now known as Vovche (sometimes Volche, or Volchýe – 49°21’ N x 22°91’ E) and located in the Ukraine about Turka (49°15’ N x 23°03’ E).
Now given that the surname Pałaszczuk is most certainly eastern Slavic, or Ukrainian in its origin, it is more than likely the family originates from that area about Palashevka/Palashivka in the Ternopil Oblast in western Ukraine (48°98’ N x 25°57’ E).
Original map of Western Ukraine sourced from Google Maps with original additions showing localities of Palashivka, Turka and Vovche. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
Palashivka is only 195.57 kilometres directly due east of Volche it is a 5 hour 27 minute, or 325 km road trip.
Pałaszczuk is a surname commensurate with that of an ethnic Ukrainian, and for all intents and purposes the family originates from the Ukraine; it is not of Polish origin!
In plain sight; the truth hidden in a shadow! Pałaszczuk is a Ukrainian surname NOT a Polish one. Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2021-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
So why does our Premier insist on the pronunciation Pal-la-shay?
Well, Pal-la-shay does have a distinctively nice sound when enunciated, a bit like the French palais – a palace, especially a French government or municipal building.
Or could the pronunciation be more a case of family lore, or even an attempt by the Pałaszczuk family to hide their true ethnic roots by passing themselves off as Poles.
Passing-off one’s self as being of Polish ancestry was typical of an earlier era of immigration in the twentieth century when linguistic hostility prevailed against eastern Slavic (Ukrainian) families who tried to mask the stigma of their true ethnic identity and origins in order to cross international borders, emigrate, and assimilate into unwary foreign populations unacquainted with their history and inherent animosity towards Poles.
Of course, not saying that our Queensland Premier’s family was involved in anything untoward or mischievous.
Eastern Europe was in turmoil, a bloodbath during the first decades of the twentieth century and the animosity between Poles and Ukrainians was particularly vehement as a result of a series of bloody conflicts and ethnic cleansing perpetrated mainly against Poles by Ukrainians over lands won by Poland during the 1919-1921 Polish-Soviet War.
The Polish-Soviet War saw the birth of the Second Republic of Poland (Polish, Rzeczpospolita Polska) and the reclamation of her lands lost through years of partition, cultural, political and economic suppression.
Coat of Arms of Poland 1919-1927 (Godło Polski z lat 1919 – 1927). Image source: Wikimedia Commons. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
Poland had not existed as an independent sovereign state since the Third Partition of her lands by Prussia, the Austrian, and the Russian Empires in 1795.
To reduce the probability of further military and political aggression and incursion into her newly acquired lands, the Polish State settled ethnic Poles (mainly those with a military background) along her eastern borderland corridor (the Kresy); this resulted in a growing and well-entrenched animosity between Poles and Ukrainians which continues to this day.
And contrary to some claims, rumours and wishful thinking, the name Pałaszczuk does not appear in any of the registers of the Polish nobility and our Queensland Premier is certainly not a Princess.
About me? With William F. Hoffman I co-authored First Names of the Polish Commonwealth: Origins & Meanings. Polish Genealogical Society of America: Chicago, USA; 1998.
In September 2018 I was asked by Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia to consult on the WDYTYA? Australian Television Series episode of Dr Karl Kruszelnicki which SBS Australia aired at 7.30pm on Tuesday 21 May 2019.
The lead researcher and field producer remarked: “it really helps with making sure we tell the right facts on our programme. You clearly know your stuff so it is great for us to have found you. Your help has been invaluable on this and I am very grateful.”
As well as holding an M.A. in Foreign Languages, William F. Hoffman is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Polish Genealogical Society of America (PSGA), a prolific writer, translator and professional linguist.
Revisions:
Article originally published The Chronicle: Toowoomba; 8 May 2018. Revised: 30 November 2023; 16 January 2023; 31 December 2021; 6 December 2021; 2 December 2021; 31 October 2021.
From the outset, is is important to understand there are notable distinctions defining and differencing professional and unpaid carers.
As well as being a proponent for aged care and carers, I am a fulltime 24/7/365 carer of an aged, infirm and ill parent diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia (LBD). Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2022-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
A ‘professional carer’ (more commonly known as a ‘care worker’ or ‘paid support worker’) is usually engaged by a care support organisation, is trained, qualified and paid to look after people on an employed basis.
An ‘unpaid carer’ (more commonly referred to as just a ‘carer’) might be a spouse, partner, parent, child, sibling, family member, friend, or neighbour who regularly looks after the needs of an aged, infirm, disabled, or incapacited person on a permanent or temporary basis in return for a government benefit.
Carer Versus Caregiver?
There seems to be a prevalent and public misconception about the appellation carer which is often misused as a broad, or umbrella term for professional and unpaid carers alike.
The fundamental distinction between paid and unpaid carers is now blurred and seems irrelevant.
So until the clear delineation between paid and unpaid carers is restored, the selfless efforts and personal sacrifices of unpaid carers cannot be properly recognised, and their financial needs sufficiently addressed.
Potentially the most ideal solution to the conundrum is to delineate professional carers as paid support workers and unpaid family and community caregivers as carers?
Food for thought.
Carers are Exploited!
So sweatshops are illegal, slave labour is a crime; yet some carers receive as little as 41 cents an hour to look after an aged, infirm, disabled, or incapacitated person 24/7/365! We need to stop the exploitation of carers …. now!
Sweatshops are illegal, slave labour is a crime; yet some carers in Australia receive as little as 41 cents an hour to look after an aged, infirm, disabled, or incapacitated person 24/7/365! Images are in the public domain. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
The federal government cannot continue to ignore the thoughts, views and everyday realities faced by carers and their families; the exploitation must stop – NOW!
Together, we can, and should put more pressure on the government to do the right thing by carers who are being exploited by an unfair, unjust, and reprehensible benefit system.
Seven Policy Priorities for Change!
Carers Have Seven Policy Priorities for the federal government!
1. Without further excuse and delay, the federal government must commit to immediately implementing the principles of the Statement for Australia’s Carers as set forth under the provisions of the Carer Recognition Act 2010 (No. 123, 2010).
2. Increase the Carer’s Allowance to at least $493.80 per fortnight; this being fifty-percent of the current March 2022 Carer Payment/Pension Rate of $987.60. This should be payable in addition to any Centrelink Primary Income Support Payment.
3. Remove the income tests that apply to Carer’s Allowance and Carer’s Payment.
4. Pay the current Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contribution on behalf of the carer who should be able to access it (tax and income-test free) upon ceasing to be a primary carer.
5. Prohibit any fully or partially funded government aged care and/or disability service provider, grant recipient, or contractor from levying and/or charging gap fees or co-payments.
6. Facilitate a public education campaign to restore and reinforce the fundamental distinctions between paid support workers and carers.
7. Establish regional service hubs where information is acquired, distributed, disseminated and free-flowing directly between carers and the government.
Unpaid Carers: A Workforce Unrecognised, Undervalued and Underpaid!
Successive federal governments have spruiked that older Australians should be encouraged to live longer at home before moving into nursing homes; easier said than done when carers are not being duly recognised for their efforts and the burden saddled upon them – with some carers receiving as little as 41 cents an hour to look after an aged, infirm, disabled, or incapacitated person 24/7/365.
Carers are not being duly recognised for their efforts and the burden saddled upon them. Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2022-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
On Wednesday 15 June 2022, it was announced by the Australian Fair Work Commission “the minimum wage will be lifted $1.05 an hour from its $20.33 base from 1 July 2022, an increase of 5.2 per cent, to $21.38 an hour;” that’s $812.44 for a 38 hour week, $1624.88 a fortnight!
For working 168 hours a week, those receiving Carer’s Allowance now only get 8.40% of the National Minimum Wage – down from the 2021 rate of 8.83% – for working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days of the year.
Now we’re told “all employees working in Australia are entitled to a minimum wage. This is the minimum amount an employee can be paid for the work that they’re doing;” but alas carers are not considered employees but Australian government benefit recipients.
This is disgraceful, inexcusable and an affront to carers and their families!
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings (ABS, 2018) there are 2.65 (2,650,000) million unpaid carers in Australia providing care and support to a family member or friend; 37.4% of carers themselves have a disability; there are 235,300 young carers aged under 25 and there are 533,400 carers in Queensland alone.
It is estimated that those caring for family members actually save the government – the Australian taxpayer, the community, you – more than $77.9 (77,900,000,000) billion a year providing informal/primary care across Australia.
In saving the government more than $77.9 billion dollars a year, CARERS GET AS LITTLE AS 41 CENTS AN HOUR to look after an aged, infirm, disabled, or incapacitated person 24/7/365! Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2022-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
Now, crunching the numbers, if there are 2,650,000 unpaid carers in Australia saving the government a whopping 77,900,000,000 billion dollars, the reality is each carer is worth, at the least $29,396.23.
Carers don’t just sacrifice their time or money.
Carers often have to give up fulltime work, they put their lives on hold, they often become socially isolated, they are in poor physical health, they ignore their own social, personal, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being and are not adequately supported by the government or service providers, let alone by members of their own family.
For many carers, thoughts of financial ruin, destitution and homelessness are very real!
More often than not long-standing and cohesive family relationships will become strained and families fracture.
The increasing plight and suicide rates of distressed and desperate carers is continually ignored.
Caring for a loved one isn’t just a labour of love, it is a burden in countless ways that many could never appreciate or imagine, lest of all our financially over-endowed politicians and our out-of-touch federal government which offers carers a paltry Carer’s Payment of $987.60 per fortnight: that’s just $493.80 a week, $70.54 per day, or just $2.94 an hour to look after an aged, infirm, disabled, or incapacitated person 24/7/365; provided of course the carer is prepared to give up work and sacrifice a generous income, benefits and superannuation.
Persons already in receipt of a government pension/benefit cannot receive a Carer’s Payment in addition to their pension/benefit, but may qualify for a Carer’s Allowance of $136.50 a fortnight, $68.25 a week, $9.75 a day, or just 41 cents an hour to look after someone 24/7/365.
The Carer’s Allowance of $136.50 a fortnight, or $3549 per year is reprehensible to say the least; it is not even enough to cover the basic costs of keeping a vehicle on the road.
It’s time the federal government rightly recognised Australia’s 2.65 million unpaid carers and the need for immediate, realistic and proper financial recognition.
The Carer’s Allowance of $136.50 a fortnight is reprehensible to say the least; it is not even enough to cover the basic costs of keeping a vehicle on the road. Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2021-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
In this case in point, the cost to keep my car on the road totals $5044.55 a year, $420.37 a month, or $194.02 a fortnight; quite disproportional to the Carer’s Allowance of $3549.00 a year – leaving me out-of-pocket $1495.55.
Carer’s Payment Versus Carer’s Allowance?
Firstly, Carer’s Pension no longer exists – it was renamed Carer’s Payment in July 1997; see Bills Digest No. 148, 1998-99 Assistance for Carers Legislation Amendment Bill 1999 (Background, Carer Payment, paragraph 8).
According to the Australian Government Social Security Guide: Guides to Social Policy Law (1.2.5.20 Carer Payment (CP) – Description; Ver. 1.291; 7 February 2022) Carer’s Payment – which is income tested – “is a fortnightly income support payment for people who are unable to support themselves through substantial paid employment due to the demands of their caring role.”
Services Australia (Income and assets test for Carer Payment) states that “your rate of Carer Payment depends on what you earn and own. The person you provide care for also has to have income and assets under certain limits.”
Whereas Carer’s Allowance – which is also income, but not assests tested – “is a fortnightly payment that recognises the care provided to a person with disability or medical condition in a private home” (Australian Government Social Security Guide: Guides to Social Policy Law; 1.2.5.50 Carer Allowance (CA) – Description; Ver. 1.291; 7 February 2022).
According to figures provided in the ‘Caring Costs Us’ report (op. cit.), in “June 2021, some 300,121 people were in receipt of the Carer Payment (p. 14)” and “some 623,742 people were in receipt of the Carer Allowance (p. 15).”
Carer’s Allowance: A Short History!
According to the Australian Government Social Security Guide: Guides to Social Policy Law (5.2.5.20 CA, Child Disability Allowance & HCA -December 1974 to Present Date, DNCB 1987 to 1999; Ver. 1.291; 7 February 2022) Carer’s Allowance (CA) “replaced Child Disability Allowance (CDA) on July 1999. CDA was previously called Handicapped Child’s Allowance (HCA).”
“HCA was introduced from 10 December 1974. HCA became payable in respect of students aged 16 to 24 years from 31 October 1978.”
“CDA replaced HCA from 15 November 1987.”
“CA was introduced on 1 July 1999. CA combined CDA and Domiciliary Nursing Care Benefit (DNCB).”
The annual increases to the Carer’s Allowance from 1999 to 2022 have been trivial and of little value to say the least.
The annual increases to the Carer’s Allowance in the 23 years to 2022 have been trivial and of little value to say the least. Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2022-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
In the 23 years to 2022 the average increase to the Carer’s Allowance has been just $2.65, or 2.61% per year.
The Negative Financial Impacts of Being a Carer!
As at April 2022, Australia’s inflation is at its highest rate in 20 years; the cost of living is skyrocketing; many can’t afford to put nutritious food on the table, and in fact many skip meals altogether; rents have hit the roof forcing many on the street; essential utilities, electricity, gas and rateable services are proving a luxury – having the internet connected is wishful thinking; the cost for support services is spiralling; countless carers and those they care for barely survive with many almost destitute – carers are among the hardest hit!
According to a recent report commissioned by Carers Australia and the National Carer Network ‘Caring Costs Us: The Economic Impact on Lifetime Income and Retirement Savings of Informal Carers (March 2022)’ carers not only forfeit potential lifetime earnings, but miss out on thousands of dollars in superannuation retirement savings.
Carers get no superannuation entitlements.
Carers get no holiday leave entitlements.
Carers often dip into, and deplete their own financial reserves in supporting the person(s) they care for.
When their caring role is at an end, carers under retirement age, or ineligible for a primary income support benefit from Centrelink will often find themselves literally punished and thrown on the Jobseeker scrap-heap; a harsh reality for many older Australians!
Family carers deserve the same respect, recognition and comparable financial remuneration as paid support workers.
FACT: Carers Do Not Receive an Extra Wad of Cash from Centrelink!
Time and time again I have encountered some seriously misinformed and confused people who vehemently believe between a carer and the person being cared for there is a wad of cash called a Carer’s Pension received by a carer in addition to any government primary pension or benefit, e.g. the DSP, or Aged Pension.
Contrary to what some might surmise, there is no third income shared between two people. Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2022-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
Contrary to what some might surmise, carers do not receive a secondary $987.60 pension each fortnight to look after an aged, infirm, disabled, or incapacitated person 24/7/365.
There is no third income shared between two people; albeit some may qualify for the $136.50 fortnightly Carer’s Allowance.
So let’s set the record straight!
The fact of the matter is Carer’s Pension no longer exists; it was renamed Carer’s Payment in July 1997 and is, by definition, a fortnightly income support payment for people who are unable to support themselves through substantial paid employment due to the demands of their caring role.
Carer’s Allowance came into being on 1 July 1999; it replaced and Combined Child Disability Allowance (CDA) and the Domiciliary Nursing Care Benefit (DNCB) and was paid at the rate of $75.60 per fortnight.
In the twenty-three years to 2022 the average increase to Carer’s Allowance has been $2.65, or 2.61% per year irrespective of increases to workloads, inflation, the cost of living, support services, and to the Carer’s Payment.
By definition Carer’s Allowance is a fortnightly payment that recognises the care provided to a person with disability or medical condition in a private home.
Carer’s Allowance is paid at the rate of $136.50 a fortnight, $68.25 a week, $9.75 a day, or just 41 cents an hour.
Over the decades no government has faced the reality of the sacrifices and price we pay as carers head on, but they’re happy to have us quietly working away in the background for next to nothing, saving them billions of dollars in unpaid care whilst we suffer physically, mentally and financially.
Federal Government Continues to Patronise and Insult Carers!
In December 2021 the federal government announced that caregivers would receive a “boost” to their Carer’s Allowance from January 2022.
Payable only after the first full fortnightly payment cycle after January 1, the “boost” of $4.60 (or 3.49%) a fortnight (or $119.60 a year) is far from adequate; it doesn’t even reasonably cover the significant increases to the cost of groceries, medications, essential living items, utilities and services – doesn’t even buy a loaf of bread!
Touting a paltry increase to the Carer’s Allowance is not something the federal government should be gloating about, it is patronising, shameful and an insult to those who are the backbone of Australia’s aged care and health systems.
The new Carer’s Allowance of $136.50 a fortnight equates to $3549.00 a year, $273.00 a month, $68.25 a week, $9.75 a day, or just 41 cents an hour to look after an aged, infirm, disabled, or incapacitated person 24/7/365.
To add further insult to carers, the average price of Ultra-Premium Unleaded Petrol (UPULP) in late 2021 was $1.75 a litre, now (as at 14 March 2022) it is on average $2.32 a litre – that’s an increase of of 24.57%, or 57 cents a litre.
So now carers have to pluck more money out of a chook’s butt just to keep their car on the road!
The Commitment of Unpaid Carers is Seriously Undervalued!
The commitment, sacrifice and benefit of carers who support and devote themselves to looking after older and vulnerable Australians is by-and-large unrecognised, underestimated and seriously undervalued!
The commitment, sacrifice and benefit of carers who support and devote themselves to looking after older and vulnerable Australians is by-and-large underestimated and seriously undervalued! CLICK picture above to view larger image.
Carers do so much more than just care – they change lives!
Carers are jacks of all trades, masters of none!
Carers afford physical, social, personal, mental, emotional and spiritual support on a daily basis.
Carers should be applauded, appreciated, appropriately financially recognised and respected for their selfless efforts, sacrifices and the noble contribution they make to the community.
Carers don’t just play an integral part in Australia’s aged care and health systems, they underpin them!
Unpaid carers don’t just play an integral part in Australia’s aged care and health systems, they underpin them! Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2022-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
The Australian and State governments should be ashamed of themselves; they could do so much more!
Carers, especially those only in receipt of a Carer’s Allowance, need immediate, realistic and proper financial recognition.
Then there are those government and grant funded service providers who have the gall to charge Australia’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable citizens gap fees for nearly every essential service provided; forcing those that can least afford it to have to prioritise and choose between necessary services.
Government funding and/or grants to support organisations should be conditional on 100% service cost provision with no obligation on clients to make co-payments, pay gap fees or subsidies.
In some cases, what the government gives carers barely covers the costs associated with keeping a car on the road: petrol, insurance, registration, finance, servicing and repairs; usually for the benefit of the person being cared for.
Carers are usually parents, children, siblings, spouses, and friends.
Many carers are on low incomes and find it hard to cover even basic living expenses, let alone having to scrounge around for money to afford essential personal or allied health services, medications, disability aids and to meet the financial burden for increased usage of utility services.
Carers throughout Australia face a significant economic disadvantage with many neglecting their own wellbeing.
Carers themselves often become chronically ill with many suffering from health problems directly linked to their caring role: persistent tiredness, stress, depression, anxiety, back problems or other physical and mental ills.
And just as come carers might abuse their charges, some are themselves subjected to emotional blackmail and coercive manipulation, physical and (often clandestine) emotional, mental and financial abuse at the hands of those being cared for.
For many carers, thoughts of financial ruin, destitution and homelessness are very real!
The increasing plight and suicide rates of distressed carers is continually ignored.
Then there are often siblings who will distance themselves from an aging parent (or parents) and saddle one of their number with the responsibilities of looking after the parent (parents).
“Well, someone has to!”
“We have to work!”
“We have our own responsibilities!”
“You were always the favourite – you do it!”
It’s called inequality in family caregiving when one sibling is expected to carry all, or more responsibility for the provision of a loved one’s care than the other(s).
Some siblings don’t even consider offering a parent carer a break, time alone, time away, an ear to unload, the benefit of company, the opportunity for respite and relief.
Siblings often become distant and make excuses not to visit, save there might be a request for help or assistance to do something.
“Out of sight – out of mind,” goes the old saying.
Much of what carers do goes unnoticed, unrequited, unrewarded.
Could you do it?
The Precepts of Being a Carer!
Have you ever thought about what carers do, their responsibilities and the issues they face each and every day?
The next time you’re about town and see a carer, why not stop, think and wonder for a few moments what that person might be going through; why that person is the way they are and what that person has committed his or her life to; what sacrifices that person is making to care for another – a parent, family member or a friend?
Could you commit to, and honour the precepts of being a carer?
A CARER COMMITS to being there and making oneself available 24/7/365: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days in the year for the benefit of the person being carer for.
A CARER IS RESPONSIBLE for affording continued personal company, emotional, physical and spiritual support so as to ensure the safety, wellbeing and good health of the person being cared for.
A CARER PROVIDES security, comfort, encouragement and reassurance so as to ensure a continued quality of life and independence of the person being cared for.
A CARER MAKES the person being cared for his/her priority, often ignoring and neglecting their own physical and mental health, personal well-being and circumstances.
A CARER ADVOCATES to secure and defend the rights, needs and entitlements of the person being cared for.
A CARER GIVES UP his/her own time willingly, or regardless, to cater to, and meet the priorities and needs of the person being cared for.
A CARER OFTEN puts his/her own desires, wants, interests, needs and health to one side in order to meet the needs of the person being cared for.
A CARER TAKES ON additional household duties and basic chores including: shopping; bill-paying and banking; mail despatch; the completion of form-filling, paperwork and correspondence, and medication dispensary, etc.
A CARER UNDERSTANDS that the person being cared for will be desirous to attend to personal shopping matters from time-to-time and will need transport to get, and assistance to be there.
A CARER UNDERTAKES to, organises and sometimes carries out maintenance around the home.
A CARER GIVES personal, business, and health advice unreservedly so as to promote the independence, personal safety, active health, wellbeing, and community interaction by, and of the person being carer for.
A CARER LIAISES with all third parties – and intervenes accordingly – to ensure that any bothersome financial, health, or other administrative matters are addressed and resolved in a timely manner to the satisfaction of the person being cared for.
A CARER TAKES ON the responsibility of seeking out and ensuring that medical care and assistance can not only be obtained, but attended to, and delivered in a timely manner.
A CARER ENSURES that the person being cared for is taken to all medical appointments and for diagnostic tests in a timely manner.
A CARER UNDERTAKES to ensure that a means of transport is available at all times by committing and undertaking to provide an accessible, ready, and reliable mode of passage as required.
A CARER RECOGNIZES and appreciates that the person being cared for can have unique mobility issues and undertakes to assist the person being cared for in any way possible by providing the means to access and utilise available mobility assistance devices so that he, or she can retain a certain level of independence.
A CARER ENDEAVOURS to preserve consistency and familiarity of life for that person being cared for by ensuring that there is minimal disruption to routines, disturbances in surroundings and upheavals in the life of his or her charge.
A CARER ACCEPTS that unexpected situations may arise where contingency plans will need to take priority over all else so as to ensure that the rights and interests of the person being cared for are vigorously defended.
……
And as the sun sets, the carer’s day and opportunity to do something for self are gone.
About Me?
I am a fulltime 24/7/365 carer of an aged, infirm and ill parent diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia (LBD).
As well being an abuse victim survivor campaigner, I am a patient, mentor, counsellor and advocate for those with rare diseases and genetic disorders, and a proponent for aged care and carers.
Revisions:
Article originally published 19 September 2021. Revised: 30 November 2023; 16 January 2023; July 2022; June 2022; May 2022; April 2022; March 2022; February 2022; January 2022; December 2021; October 2021.
WARNING [RDA]: Some of the details contained in this article are graphic, can be quite confronting and may cause sadness and distress to some. Reader discretion is advised.
Many of the 2,636,000 million Poles deported and exiled to the wastelands of the Siberian Tundra, Kazakhstan and the Russian Arctic by the Soviet NKVD between February 1940 and June 1941 were children; they too were forced to work, to scavenge and forage about in order that their family might survive. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
This year 2022 marks the 77th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on Saturday 27 January 1945, the cessation of the Second World War after Japan’s formal surrender on Sunday 2 September 1945, and the ending of the Holocaust as we know it on Tuesday 8 May 1945; but did you know there were two major genocidal Holocausts of the Poles in the twentieth century: one perpetrated against the Jews by Hitler and his Nazi henchmen and one perpetrated against ethnic Poles by Stalin and his NKVD cohorts?
There were two major genocidal Holocausts of the Poles: one perpetrated against the Jews by Hitler and one perpetrated against ethnic Poles by Stalin! Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2013-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
Twenty-twenty-two also marks the 82nd anniversary of the beginning of the systematic deportation and exile of 2,636,000 Polish peoples from the fertile Eastern Borderlands (Kresy Wschodnie) of Poland to the inhospitable wastelands of the Siberian Tundra, Arkhangelsk, Kazakhstan, Kolyma, Uzbekistan and the Russian Arctic (collectively referred to as Siberia by many deported Poles) where they were enslaved, starved, repressed and murdered in ‘special settlement’ forced labour camps (‘Specposiolki’) and Gulags by the communist regime of the Soviet Union.
Location of the Soviet ‘Special Settlement’ Labour Camps (‘Specposiolki’) spread throughout the Archangelsk Oblast (Region) of the then U.S.S.R. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
Those Poles deported, exiled, and who suffered greatly under the yoke of Stalin’s communist utopia – and the hundreds of thousands who never returned – came to be collectively known as ‘Sybiracy’.
The United Nations has still not recognised the event, nor World leaders condemned; there will be no marches, no memorials or other events across the globe remembering this Forgotten Holocaust – the silence of the media will be deafening. Of the unspeakable suffering and loss: No one recalls! No one mourns! No one acknowledges! No one commemorates!
The silence of the media is deafening! CLICK picture above to view larger image.
Of this Forgotten Holocaust you will never read about because the Allies were complicit in burying it.
Not one person who ordered, organised, aided and abetted, or condoned the actions of the Soviet terror machine and the actions (and inactions) of the Allies has ever been outed, apprehended, charged, indicted, tried, or convicted of any wrong doing against the Polish peoples.
History’s greatest cover-up for which no one has been held responsible or accountable for! Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2013-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
Now the evening of Friday 9 and Saturday 10 February 1940 was one of the coldest winter nights on record (about -30C); families were woken in the middle of the night and given no more than 15 minutes to pack.
Most families were woken in the middle of the night and given no more than 15 minutes to pack. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
After the formalities of reading the orders of conviction, arrest, forfeiture of property and deportation, the families were evicted from their homes and marched at gunpoint to waiting trains, 50 to 60 men, women and children at a time were herded and crammed into rancid smelling cattle wagons to be transported in their thousands to Siberia.
So began the ‘Forgotten Holocaust’.
Many succumbed to starvation, frostbite, dehydration, mental derangement; some even resorted to eating their own extremities and cannibalism.
Some mothers smothered their babies and infants because there was no food and children were sometimes murdered because they wouldn’t stop crying.
The only view of the outside world many had during the horrific odyssey was through small openings under the roof top, or in the floor which were used for passing out excreta and corpses.
Fifty to 60 men, women and children at a time were herded and crammed into rancid smelling cattle wagons to be transported in their thousands to Siberia. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
After a most incomprehensible journey lasting for some over two or three weeks, families and communities were often dumped in the middle of nowhere, in the deep snow, with no shelter and wearing inappropriate clothing, no food; they endured unimaginable hardship and suffering.
Their destination was the northern and central regions of the Soviet Union; the area between the Arctic Circle in the north and the Mongolian border in the south: to the Siberian Tundra, Kazakhstan, Arkhangelsk, Kolyma and Uzbekistan – to Siberia!
Families and communities were dumped in the middle of nowhere. Their destination was the northern and central regions of the Soviet Union. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
The rations provided by the selfish and pitiless guards en route were meagre, infrequent and hardly palatable to say the least: black sour bread, often mouldy, dirty, or dry; fish soup (known as ‘Komsa’ or ‘Ukha’) which consisted of salted fish entrails: heads, bones, eyes – but rarely any meat; cabbage soup (known as ‘Shchi’, or ‘Szczi’ which was made from scraps and/or the core of the cabbage) and Russian ‘tea’ (called ‘Kipyatok’) which was made from boiled water flavoured with just about anything you could get your hands on like grass or general vegetation; but if you were fortunate enough, chicory or tea. Sometimes all the deportees received was just simply hot water.
The consequence of partaking in such putrid banquets was usually diarrhoea and dysentery!
In many cases the wagon doors were not opened until the transports were safely on Soviet territory.
Arriving at the Siberian labour camps and settlements red painted planks adorned with white letters read in Russian Cyrillic: “КТО НЕ РАБОТАЕТ ТОТ НЕ ЕСТ (KTO NIE RABOTAJET TOT NIE KUSZAJET – WHO DOES NOT WORK SHALL NOT EAT).”
Greeting the deported Poles on their arrival at the Siberian labour camps and settlements were red painted planks with white writing: “WHO DOES NOT WORK SHALL NOT EAT.” Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2021-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
The Poles were told by their captors to forget about Poland, that they would not see their homeland again, Poland was no more and they had to resign themselves to their new lives as Soviet citizens.
But unlike the tender mercies extended to the Jews by the Nazis, there were no such comforts awaiting many of the Poles when they arrived in Siberia. The Poles were thrown meagre tools and told “if you want to survive and live – build!”
Whereas Hitler’s preferred modus operandi for resolving his ‘Jewish question’ was mass murder on an industrial scale using gas and summary executions, Stalin’s M.O. for dealing with his ‘Polish issue’ was to inflict as much suffering as posible upon the Poles so that they would perish slowly, painfully and in a most excruciating way: deportation, starvation, frostbite, dehydration, mental derangement – the elements of nature!
But unlike the tender mercies extended to the Jews by the Nazis, there were no such comforts awaiting the Poles when they arrived in Siberia. Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2013-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
A complete cross-section of Polish society had been deported: government and civic officials, clergymen, academics, military personnel, industrialists, merchants, land owning veterans (soldier settlers) of the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921 (‘Osadniks’) and land owning peasants (‘Kulaks’) – they were branded rebels and enemies of the Soviet State and no matter how bad the circumstances they had to adapt, and to survive they had to work; that meant working each day, no matter the weather, even in temperatures as low as -50°C below zero.
Children too were forced to work, to scavenge and forage about in order that their family might survive.
Working twelve to fourteen hours a day with no rest in the week many suffered from malnourishment and exhaustion, and after a very short period succumbed to disease – dysentery, typhoid, malaria and cholera – which ultimately led to their deaths.
Many Poles suffered from exhaustion, sickness and disease; many just froze to death. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
Of those eight members of my father’s family (HELON) deported during the evening of Friday 9 and Saturday 10 February 1940 to the ‘special settlement’ in Mucznaja, Arkhangelsk (see Location of the Soviet ‘Special Settlement’ Labour Camps (‘Specposiolki’) map, Camp number 82 boxed in red) only 4 survived. My mother’s (MISIURA) family fared not much better in their deportation to Ujma in Arkhangelsk (see above map, Camp number 45 boxed in blue); only 6 out of 10 members of her family survived.
On Friday 2 August 1940 my great grandmother Karolina Helon died after a short illness brought on by starvation; on Saturday 14 September 1940 her distraught husband Pawel followed her to the grave, and on Tuesday 28 January 1941, my only paternal aunt Jozefa perished from malnourishment and starvation. She had chewed and sucked the end of her fingers off!
Pawel and Karolina were buried in makeshift graves; Jozefa – even in death – was forced to endure more humiliation because the ground was frozen solid when she died and her scantly wrapped body was left for weeks in the doorway before the permafrost melted sufficiently for her to be finally buried, but alas not before the process of decomposition had begun.
But on Sunday 22 June 1941 when Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa and invaded the Soviet Union, the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, made a radio broadcast in which he held out the hand of friendship to the Russians.
Through Churchill, the Polish General Wladyslaw Sikorski initiated negotiations with Stalin for the release of all Poles, which included thousands of soldiers and officers kept in captivity through the vast expanses of the Soviet empire. The Polish-Soviet (Sikorski-Maisky) agreement brokered in London on Wednesday 30 July 1941 – with the blessing of the Allies (Britain and the United States) – only allowed for an ‘Amnesty’.
The Sikorski-Mayski Agreement was signed in London on Wednesday 30 July 1941. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
But the term ‘Amnesty’, applied to the many hundreds of thousands of civilians carried off by the NKVD, was regarded by most Poles as being both insulting and compromising. It begged the question of the deportees’ guilt, since, after all, only those who had been convicted of a crime can be given an ‘Amnesty’. Wherein lay the guilt of the many thousands of mothers and children, the sick and elderly, who had been swept up in the NKVD’s maw?
Of the 2.636 million Poles condemned and sentenced in absentia to an arduous life in exile, only 115,000 (or 4.36%) made it out alive and were officially accounted for! Where are the other 2,521,000 lost souls?
Of the 2,636,000 million Poles deported and exiled to the wastelands of (among other places) the Siberian Tundra, Kazakhstan and the Russian Arctic by the Soviet NKVD between February 1940 and June 1941, only 115,000 (or 4.36%) were officially accounted for. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
After the ‘Amnesty’, those who made it out of Siberia journeyed through Persia (now Iran) with the remnants of their families to displaced persons’ camps far away in Africa; later to join Anders’ Polish Army under British command to distinguish themselves at Monte Cassino and in other theatres of war fighting for the Allies, for a free Poland!
Stalin’s evil Soviet empire committed this Holocaust with the full knowledge of the Western Allies and the silence, secrecy and concealment surrounding the hardship, suffering, inhumane treatment, torture, murder, execution, and extermination of the Poles still continues to be perpetuated.
Stalin was grateful to the Western Allies for their conspiracy of silence, for preserving his good name. He was even more grateful after the Yalta, or Crimea Conference (Sunday 4 to Sunday 11 February 1945), when the Western Allies granted him the right to enslave all of Eastern, and half of Central Europe under the yoke of communism.
Sold-out and betrayed, the Poles were not even allowed to march in VE (Victory in Europe Day) commemorative parades until their first in London on Sunday 10 July 2005; and that was only after fierce campaigning – and coincidently on the 60th anniversary celebrtating the defeat of Nazi Germany and Japan in World War II.
Poland was sold-out and abandoned by the Allies at the Yalta Conference in February 1945. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
It is time that the silence, secrecy and concealment surrounding the wanton and inhumane treatment, hardship, suffering and ruthless genocide of the Poles at the hands of Stalin’s sadistic apprentices was acknowledged, remembered, recognized and proclaimed – it happened; we who survive are living testimony to that!
And sadly to this very day there are destitute descendants of those Polish citizens abandoned by the Allies still stranded and helpless in former satellite states of the Soviet Union!
The United States and Britain – supposedly the upholders of democracy and freedom – were then, and are still reluctant to acknowledge that they aided and abetted the Soviet communist regime at the expense of Poland and the freedom of her peoples as promised by the Allies.
The United States and Britain aided and abetted the Soviets at the expense of Poland and the freedom of her peoples. Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2013-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
It is time that those who were complicit and conspired to commit genocide and ethnic cleansing, those who aided and abetted in crimes against humanity, and those who abused, mistreated and murdered ethnic Poles are brought to account.
The persons so named are WANTED for genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2013-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
This is one of history’s greatest cover-ups! A whitewash for which no one has ever been held responsible or accountable for; a Pandora’s Box of home truths, broken promises, lies, conspiracy and betrayals.
This is one of history’s greatest cover-ups for which no one has ever been held responsible or accountable for; a Pandora’s Box of home truths, broken promises, lies, conspiracy and betrayals. Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2013-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
SYBIRACY! The Conundrum of Accounting for the Deported, Victims and Survivors!
As there are no definitive figures to be found from gleaning ‘official’ government, archival, institutional, historical, or scientific sources, determining the actual number of ‘Sybiraks’ deported and exiled to the wastelands of the Siberian Tundra, Arkhangelsk, Kazakhstan, Kolyma, Uzbekistan and the Russian Arctic by the Soviet NKVD between Saturday 10 February 1940 and Sunday 22 June 1941 is always going to be a problematic endeavour, a vehemently provocative matter, a rather contentious subject, and a perpetually debatable issue.
However, utilising the personal testimonies of the survivors and independent witnesses – and by systematically re-examining, re-assessing and re-evaluating extant sources of credible data – a comprehensive, unbiased and accurate conclusion can be reached to quantify the actual number of deportees and survivors.
Albeit some highly regarded and respectable historians, academics and scholars estimate and concede the number of deportees to be between 1.2 and 1.7 million (Piotrowski: 2002; p.11.) their figures are devoid of the actualities, dumbed-down for reasons of political and financial favours and pander to the whims of governments and their sensitivities to known wartime atrocity statistics revealed to them.
Not surprisingly the personal and horrendous testimony of my late father and dozens of other survivors consensually contradicted not only the accepted bureaucratic estimates as to the number of Poles deported to Siberia, but the number of those purported to have survived.
The synopsis of my studies, research, investigations, findings and conclusions were the subject of the article Kresowa Czystka Etniczna (Purging the Ethnic Borderlands) penned by the late Professor Roman Antoszewski (20 January 1935 – 27 November 2017) who was at the time editor of the Kurioza Naukowe (Scientific Curiosities) Journal which was published online in New Zealand (Antoszewski: 2005).
Screenshot of the article Kresowa Czystka Etniczna (Purging the Ethnic Borderlands) penned by the late Professor Roman Antoszewski who was at the time editor of the Kurioza Naukowe (Scientific Curiosities) Journal. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
In re-visiting the conundrum I corresponded with a number of Sybiraks from all parts of the world; those people who were actually part of history as it was being made, living witnesses to the historical and tumultuous events they were swept up in.
Aged or not, these observers, eyewitnesses and survivors were not only articulate in recounting their personal experiences, but steadfast in their observations and testimony:
M.O. (United States of America) – “Fifty to a wagon was often reported. I know for a fact that the train carrying my family was packed 50+.” T.P. (United Kingdom) – “My uncle and mum confirm 65 people to a wagon.” E.G. (Sweden) – “My mother said that there were 72 people in her wagon.” Z.H. (Australia, my father) – “There were over 60 of us in the cattle wagon I was in.”
Of the mass deportations and the journeys of the exiled Poles, Dr Keith Sword, Research Fellow at the University of London’s School of Slavonic Studies and East European Studies wrote: “after the trauma of being ejected from their home, the long train journeys to the east were a further terrifying experience for the deportees. Most were transported in freight wagons, packed with as many as 50 or 60 people to a truck” (Sword: 1994; p.19.).
The “transports, or ‘eszelons’” (Sword: 1994; p.19.) as they were called, were “organised in columns of 65 wagons” (Sword: 1994; p.15.).
Now according to noted author, lecturer and Professor of Sociology in the Social Science Division of the University of New Hampshire, Manchester (USA), Tadeusz Piotrowski, any ‘official’ figures do not take into account “both children and adults (who) froze to death by the thousands on their way to the stations and in the box cars in Poland and all along their long journey to their final destinations” (Piotrowski: 2002; p.16.).
Calculating the Number Deported, the Victims, and Survivors?
“Figures produced by the Ministry of Justice in London in 1949 suggested that around 1 660 000 Polish soldiers and civilians were deported to the USSR” (Allbrook & Cattalini: 1995; p.17.).
“In addition, there were approximately 647,000 POWs, Red Army recruits and concentration-camp victims in the Soviet Union as of June 1941” (Piotrowski: 2002; p.12.); so when coupled with the Ministry of Justices’ accounting for the number of soldiers and civilians deported, the number of deportees swept up in the NKVD’s maw would total 2,307,000 persons.
Now considering the observations, testimony and accounting of observers, eyewitnesses and survivors as previously stated, it is possible to judiciously reckon the average number of people per wagon for the purposes of statistical calculation, analysis and evaluation: (M.O.) 50 + (T.P. ) 65 + (E.G.) 72 + (Z.H.) 60 + (Keith Sword) 55, or 302 ÷ 5, which would equal 60.4 persons per wagon.
Sword (1994; pp.15 & 19.) states each ‘eszelon’ (transport) was made up of a “column of 65 wagons,” therefore if the number of wagons (65) is multiplied (X) by the average number of persons per wagon (60), then it can be reliably concluded there was on average 3900 persons per column being deported from each location.
Another promising approach to the “question of numbers is provided by Polish railway employees who, after all, had firsthand knowledge of the preparations being made for the deportations and who operated the trains bound for the interior of the Soviet Union. According to their reckoning, the occupation authorities utilized from 120 to 150 trains for each of the deportations” (Piotrowski: 2002; p.12.).
Having this vital evidence on hand and relying on additional information, it is estimated that: “110 trains were used in the first deportation (Friday 9/Saturday 10 February 1940), 160 in the second (Friday 12/Saturday 13 April 1940), 120 in the third (Friday 28/Saturday 29 June 1940), and 120 in the deportation of (Friday 13 – Sunday 22) June of 1941” (Piotrowski: 2002; p.12.).
Therefore, based on the fact that the transports were to be “organized in columns of 65 wagons” (Sword: 1994; pp.15 & 19.), and in view of the number of persons occupying them at estimates ranging from “sixty or so” (Sobierajski: 1996; p.25.), to “50 or 60 to a truck” (Sword: 1994; p.19; Allbrook & Cattalini: 1995; p.27.) it would be pragmatic to conclude the total number of persons deported would have been in the vicinity of 1,989,000, or 2,636,000 when coupled with the known “647,000 POWs, Red Army recruits and concentration camp victims in the Soviet Union as of June 1941” (Piotrowski: 2002; p.12.).
Of the 2.636 million Poles condemned and sentenced in absentia to an arduous life in exile, only “about 115,000” (Piotrowski: 2002; p.21.) were evacuated from Soviet territory and officially accounted for by the Allies. Some 2,521,000 ethnic Poles remain unaccounted for.
Doing the Math!
The first deportation of 9/10 February 1940 @ 60 (persons per wagon) X 65 (number of wagons per column) = 3900 persons X 110 transport columns = 429,000 persons deported.
The second deportation of 12/13 April 1940 @ 60 (persons per wagon) X 65 (number of wagons per column) = 3900 persons X 160 transport columns = 624,000 persons deported.
The third deportation of 28/29 June 1940 @ 60 (persons per wagon) X 65 (number of wagons per column) = 3900 persons X 120 transport columns = 468,000 persons deported.
The fourth deportation 13-22 June 1941 @ 60 (persons per wagon) X 65 (number of wagons per column) = 3900 persons X 120 transport columns = 468,000 persons deported.
Therefore, the total number of Sybiraks deported from February 1940 to June 1941 would have numbered in total 2,636,000 persons; being 1,989,000 civilians plus the 647,000 POWs, etc.
It is time the world acknowledged and accepted there were two major genocidal Holocausts of the Poles during World War 2: one perpetrated against the Jews by Hitler and his Nazi henchmen and one perpetrated against ethnic Poles by Stalin and his NKVD cohorts!
It is time that the silence, secrecy and concealment surrounding the wanton and inhumane treatment, hardship, suffering and ruthless genocide of our Polish kin, kith and brethren at the hands of Stalin’s sadistic apprentices was acknowledged, remembered, recognized and proclaimed – it happened! We who survive are living testimony to that.
It is time that those who ordered, orgainised, and were complicit and conspired to commit genocide and ethnic cleansing, those who aided and abetted in crimes against humanity, those who abused, mistreated and murdered ethnic Poles, and those who condoned the very same are brought to account.
References:
Allbrook, Maryon and Cattalini, Helen. The General Langfitt Story: Polish Refugees Recount Their Experiences of Exile, Dispersal and Resettlement. Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra; 1995.
Piotrowski, Tadeusz. Deportation, “Amnesty,” and the Polish Diaspora. The Soviet Ethnic Cleansing Campaign Against the Poles During World War II. Occasional Papers in Polish and Polish American Studies, Number 12. The Polish Studies Program, Central Connecticut State University: New Britain, Connecticut; 2002.
Sobierajski, Telesfor. Red Snow: A Young Pole’s Epic Search for His Family in Stalinist Russia. Leo Cooper: London; 1996.
Sword, Keith. Deportation and Exile: Poles in the Soviet Union, 1939-1948 (Studies in Russia and East Europe). St Martin’s Press Inc. New York; 1994.
Revisions:
Article originally published 2013. Revised: 30 November 2023; 16 January 2023; 8 February 2022; 10 January 2022; 7 January 2022; 31 December 2021; 2 December 2021; 4 October 2021; 27 September 2021; 11 February 2021; 10 February 2021; 9 February 2021; 3 February 2021; 1 February 2021; 30 January 2021; 1 February 2020.
Australia Day is almost upon us and right on cue personal opinions and views are becoming passionate and provocative, galvanizing camps of sentimentalists, naysayers, and Australia Day revisionists.
Emotional tensions run high, arguments flare-up and become heated, acts of needless violence are perpetrated and wanton vandalism ensues, normally cohesive communities polarise and fracture – we are a nation so bitterly divided; even more so now whilst we’re in the throes of the Covid pandemic.
Proposed design for the SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA National Flag. Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2021-2024. Unrestricted use of image permitted provided creator and source credited. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
As the former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam touted in his 1972 election campaign – “IT’S TIME!”
It’s time to dispense with the them and us mindset: ALL AUSTRALIANS should be united as “ONE NATION, under ONE FLAG, as ONE PEOPLE!”
It’s time to recognise and enshrine Australia’s First Nations within our Constitution.
It’s time to become one modern Australian Tribe.
It’s time to dispense with the tripartite of flags that continue to divide us: the Australian, Aboriginal, and Torres Strait Islander ensigns.
The tripartite of flags that continue to divide us: the Australian, Aboriginal, and Torres Strait Islander ensigns. Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2021-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
It’s time to revitalise and change our National Flag to be truly representative of all of Australia’s peoples, and recognise Australia’s history past and present.
It’s time to rename Australia Day to something far less controversial and more embodying of all Australians past and present: Cooee Day, Settlement Day, Unity Day.
Cancelling Australia Day, or any other commemorative occasion, NO!
Australia, like every other nation needs a national day of significance where its peoples can celebrate and express their pride in their country.
Designing Our Revitalized National Flag.
Any revitalized Australian National Flag should be acknowledging of our status as a fully-fledged Pacific Nation, Australia’s First Nations Peoples, their lands and Australia’s immigrant history past and present.
The design of any flag should be bold and as simple as possible, yet sublime, personal and representative of all Australians.
Like many contemporary Australians I would like to see an Australian Flag that is the personification of Australia’s ancient past, dynamic present and its prosperous future as one peoples – a SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA National Flag.
Another proposed design for a revitalized Australian National Flag. Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2021-2024. Unrestricted use of image permitted provided creator and source credited. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
A rejuvenated Australian National Flag could incorporate the following elements:
The eight-pointed star solidifies our status as a united Pacific Nation of 6 states: News South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia, and two principal territories: the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.
The representation of the Southern Cross constellation (a canting of Australia, the Great Southern Land) made up of five white stars: one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars.
The tripartite colours black, yellow and red acknowledging and honouring the First Nations Peoples of Australia.
The colour blue, the night time sky, or the seas that have been crossed to reach this land we occupy.
The colour black, representing the First Nations Peoples of Australia, or the night time sky.
The colour yellow, representing the sun, the infinite giver of life.
The colour red, the earth upon which we stand, its meets the sky – the guardian of life.
Together – the SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA.
Revisions:
Article originally published 1 February 2021. Revised: 30 November 2023; 16 January 2023; 19 January 2022; 6 January 2022; 4 January 2022.
GELASTIC (jell-lass-tic) – of or pertaining to laughter; from the Greek gelastikos, ‘able to laugh’.
Gelastic Seizures are NO LAUGHING MATTER! Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2013-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
A rare syndromal related type of neurophysical event, a gelastic seizure (GS) could best be described as a paroxysm; i.e., a sudden and involuntary outburst of emotion, action or activity.
Typically associated with the presence of a Hypothalamic Hamartoma (HH) – a benign, non-cancerous, non-malignant and usually not life-threatening tumour – gelastic seizures are often mistaken for unprovoked stereotypical laughter, or crying.
Gelastic seizures are one of the central diagnostic features of Pallister-Hall Syndrome (PHS) – an extremely rare pleiotropic genetic disorder and multiple-anomaly congenital syndrome.
Experienced by day, or nocturnally (at night), gelastic seizures are generally preceded by an aura (sensation) of deep (often euphoric) feelings of déjà vu (a feeling of familiarity).
Patients can be heard to make involuntary and out of context expressive vocalisations strikingly similar to laughing, coughing, barking, grunting, crying (dacrystic, i.e., stereotypical crying), or even cooing; there can even be sudden and involuntary outbursts of emotion, action or activity; quite often these are followed by signs of ‘partial’ (‘focal’) seizures.
When observed, patients may look like they are smirking, giggling, laughing, crying, mumbling, disorientated, or in a state of altered awareness.
So there I was doing my regular shopping at one of Toowoomba’s major shopping centres.
Security tags in pre-packaged meats are of absolutely no deterrence to fine-dining shoplifters. Image Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2020-2024. CLICK picture above to view larger image.
I am down by the fresh meat section in Coles when I overhear a male customer ask his female companion “which steak would you like tonight hon?”
Normally I wouldn’t bat an eyelid – and I know this seems like stereotyping – but when you have a dishevelled couple wearing unclean track pants and loosely hanging hoodie tops with dirty hair in disarray looking at packaged Drover’s Choice premium meat cuts at 20 bucks a kilo, you sort of know the supermarket is about to be fleeced.
He looks left, he looks right, and in the blink of an eye, down the front of his track pants go two 20 buck or so premium steaks.
Then the man walks calmly over to where the sausages are and selects a nice big pack of traditional English beef sausages which he effortlessly shoves down the back of his track pants without batting an eyelid.
After adjusting his garments to disguise his precious plunder, Clyde coolly walks over to his Bonnie.
Not to be outdone, his female companion in crime waltzes over to where the energy drinks are, looks about, and up the front of her hoodie top swiftly go a few cans.
Then not forgetting dessert, they both casually walk over to the freezer section where she just nicks a pack of Peters Drumstick ice cream cones without a second thought.
A quick and clear announcement over the P.A. address system rings out, “security check camera 3.”
Staff have obviously noticed and are fully aware of what is going on but can do absolutely nothing to deter the shoplifting spree.
Approached and spoken to by staff after their exit from the store, the soon-to-be fine-dining thieves just flip the bird, mutter incoherently, and make a run for it.
You see, shoplifters it seems have more rights than store owners, managers, staff and we customers.
According to information posted to the Queensland Police website “you do not have a legal right to use force to stop a person (i.e. a shoplifter), you (cannot) physically touch a suspected shoplifter, you do not have a legal right to search a person’s bag or property” – it is a bloody a free-for-all.
So what is shoplifting?
Shoplifting is when one selects, takes physical possession of, conceals, and removes items from a retail or other establishment without any intention of paying, or having paid for them.
Now in epidemic proportions, shoplifting – as it has been for decades – is the scourge of retailers and traders, it accounts for a large proportion of reported annual retail, shop and store losses.
Shoplifting is law-breaking pure and simple, it is not a victimless crime!
The effects and ramifications of pilfering and shoplifting by career shoplifters, robbery with violence by petty crooks, and wanton theft by professional thieves can be financially devastating, physically crippling and emotionally distressing.
Stealing from retailers and traders increases store overheads, results in price increases, costs livelihoods; it can result in staff losses or the dropping of convenient products – everybody suffers in some way.
Many times I have seen people audaciously walk out of shopping centres with full trolley loads of groceries, partially paid for goods, substituted goods, even someone who put a whole hot cooked chicken down his pants.
There is no use even reporting it. Why bother?
The fact pre-packaged premium meat bears a security label that reads ‘Security Protected Chilled Foods’ is of absolutely no deterrence at all as the culprits – obviously career shoplifters – just brazenly walk out of the store.
Okay, an alarm might go off as the thieves boldly exit the premises, but all it does is alert the store that more meat has just walked out the door.
Now thinking I was doing the right thing I once called-out a shoplifter but was promptly admonished and chastised by the Store Manager.
COVID-19 it seems is being used as a convenient and lame excuse to justify wanton theft, the increased bludging off and hoodwinking of charities, and the sponging off the goodwill and honourable intentions of people desirous to help those less fortunate.
With Christmas around the corner, not having a job, having children, or not being well is no excuse for stealing from others, charities and the government.
At the very least the government gives every person some sort of financial support.
People need to get their priorities in order, take a reality pill and look at themselves in a mirror.
Forget living beyond your means, forget the drugs, the booze, the fags and the gambling; be up-front and honest with yourselves, your children and your families.
And stop nicking things!
Revisions:
Article originally published 9 December 2020. Revised: 30 November 2023; 16 January 2023; 4 January 2022.
The following articles by and about me first appeared in The Chronicle (Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia), were published online at URL www.thechronicle.com.au and subsequently syndicated throughout the News Corp media network.
On Thursday 1 October 2020 The Chronicle completed its transition to the centralized News Corp (Murdoch oligarchy) Press digital media system resulting in the loss of nearly all digital media published regionally before that date. Masthead included for illustrative purposes only.
On Thursday 1 October 2020 The Chronicle completed its transition to the centralized News Corp (Murdoch oligarchy) Press digital media system resulting in the loss of nearly all digital media published regionally before that date with no explanation other than “unfortunately reader contributed content couldn’t be migrated across” and “links posted prior to October 1 will no longer work” – and they don’t!
Albeit it was too late to obtain downloads of all the original publications in The Chronicle, it was possible to get some downloads from its sister sites within the News Corp network.
Because some of these articles were of a controversial nature they were very popular with, and extensively shared by readers, referenced and quoted from.
As to how long these jottings will remain online is anybody’s guess, so I have republished them here for reasons of posterity and future reference.
“Welcome to 1984 …. BIG BROTHER!”
Queen’s Call to Arms! (Sunshine Coast Daily, Monday 14 September 2020) Just before his eldest daughter Catherine Middleton married His Royal Highness Prince William, the future Duke of Cambridge on 29 April 2011 in Westminster Abbey, Michael Middleton was granted a coat of arms by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as a personal gift. Click HERE to read more.
Confiscate Mobile Phones. (Toowoomba Chronicle, Wednesday 29 July 2020) Today, more so than ever before, mobile phones are not only an essential part of peoples’ lives, but for some they are an extension of their lives; indeed for many more, mobile phones are their lives – they are glued to them 24/7! Click HERE to read more.
Cartoon Characters. (Toowoomba Chronicle, Wednesday 15 July 2020) Ever noticed most animated and cartoon characters have only four fingers – well, three and a thumb? Click HERE to read more.
Pell’s Acquittal: Victims’ Right of Reply! (Daily Mercury, Tuesday 5 May 2020) Warning: this article contains details of child sexual abuse which some people might find distressing, upsetting and triggering. Click HERE to read more.
Toowoomba and Complacency – a Disaster Waiting to Happen! (Toowoomba Chronicle, Wednesday 26 February 2020) Well, Mayor Paul Antonio might still “clearly remember the death and devastation the 2011 Toowoomba floods caused” (TC, 13/01) but like many ordinary residents, I can still remember the empty supermarket shelves: no bread, no milk, no water, no fresh produce; their being power outages, no access to fuel supplies, the ATMs and phones down and many public services disrupted and utilities inoperative! Click HERE to read more.
Remembering the Forgotten Holocaust of February 10. (Toowoomba Chronicle, Monday 10 February 2020) This year not only marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the ending of the Second World War and the ending of the Holocaust; but did you know there were two Holocausts: one perpetrated against the Jews by Hitler and his Nazi henchmen and one perpetrated against ethnic Poles by Stalin and his communist Soviet Comrades? Click HERE to read more.
CBD Exodus More Sinister Than a Parking Problem. (Toowoomba Chronicle, Friday 2 August 2019) Some regional councillors, city planners, academics, CBD business owners, community leaders and customers would have us believe a lack of parking is responsible for the retail downturn and economic demise of Toowoomba’s central business district. Click HERE to read more.
16:8 – The Diet to Dine For! (News Mail, Monday 17 June 2019) I began my weight loss journey on 13 September 2018 tipping the scales at a shirt bursting 94.5 kilograms. Click HERE to read more.
Call for City Bible Museum. (Toowoomba Chronicle, Fiday 7 June 2019) Toowoomba resident George Helon has a passion for rare, antique and ancient Bibles and religious texts, and now the keen collector is looking to share his interests in Bibles of all kinds. Click HERE to read more.
JP Recognised for 25 Years of Service. (Highlife Downs Living Magazine, Tuesday 23 April 2019 – Hayley Hinze) Toowoomba citizen George Helon has recently been recognised for his 25 years of distinguished service as Justice of the Peace. Click HERE to read more.
Deaf Customers Disadvantaged and Discriminated Against. (Toowoomba Chronicle, Friday 21 December 2018) Contrary to stereotypical community perceptions, not all hearing impaired people are simply deaf as a post and unable to hear anything, and most certainly, they are not stupid or dumb! Click HERE to read more.
My Health Record Could Mean a Death Sentence! (Toowoomba Chronicle, Friday 14 December 2018) Living with multiple, complex and chronic health conditions I have been in-and-out of hospitals (general and emergency admissions) throughout my life and attended at numerous specialist appointments both here in Australia and overseas. Click HERE to read more.
Why is it Taking so Long to Raise Money for Mosque Rebuild? (Toowoomba Chronicle, Wednesday 14 November 2018) On Saturday, October 27, the Garden City Mosque opened its doors to the public once again as part of the fifth annual National Mosque Open Day. Click HERE to read more.
Abuse Victims Reeling from Clayton’s Apology! (Toowoomba Chronicle, Monday 29 October 2018) On Monday 22 October 2018, the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon Scott Morrison MP, delivered the National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse at Parliament House in Canberra. Click HERE to read more.
Is it Time to Reclaim Free Speech? (Toowoomba Chronicle, Friday 8 June 2018) Editor Steve Etwell penned: “Surely there are people out there with an opinion” (TC, 02/06). Click HERE to read more.
Say My Name: The Enigma of Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Surname. (Toowoomba Chronicle, Tuesday 8 May 2018) PAL-LA-SHAY you might be encouraged to say of our Queensland Premier’s surname, but nothing could be more erroneous, culturally and historically insulting to those of fair dinkum Polish ancestry. Click HERE to read more.
Summer Can Really Be the Pits! (Toowoomba Chronicle, Tuesday 19 December 2017) Summer is now in full swing and the weather is getting much warmer; there is something in the air and it’s not the fragrant smell of flowers, that’s for sure. Click HERE to read more.
Man with Life-Threatening Disorder Needs NBN: ‘It’s a Joke.’ (Sunshine Coast Daily, Tuesday 25 July 2017 – Meghan Harris) A Toowoomba man has slammed the NBN after trying unsuccessfully for months to have the network installed in his home. Click HERE to read more.
Toowoomba Man With Rare Disorder Creates Life Saving Kit. (News Mail, Friday 7 July 2017 – Meghan Harris) TOOWOOMBA man George Helon has lived with an extremely rare disorder his entire life. But he is using his experience with his disorder to help others. Click HERE to read more.
Are You MedicReady in Case of Emergency? (Toowoomba Chronicle, Monday 19 June 2017) When I was growing-up, I was always told that “in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” But what about accidents, emergencies, hospitalisations, or sickness? “Not if – but when?” Click HERE to read more.
Starting a Business: When Crowd Funding is Not Such a Good Idea! (Toowoomba Chronicle, Wednesday 22 February 2017) Lately there has been a proliferation of crowd fund sourcing enterprises like ReadyFundGo.com and RegionalPitchFest.com (whose catchphrase is “It’s just like Shark Tank, but live on stage”). Click HERE to read more.
White Christmas ‘Golliwog’ Display Labelled Racist. (Toowoomba Chronicle, Thursday 1 December 2016 – Andrew Backhouse) An Aboriginal activist has labelled a display at a Toowoomba chemist racist and demanded its removal. Click HERE to read more.
The Freedom of the City of London: a Peculiar Privilege to Die For! (Toowoomba Chronicle, Wednesday 16 November 2016) Steeped in long-held tradition, and believed to have been first presented in 1237, the Freedom of the City of London sports one of the oldest surviving traditional ceremonies still in existence. Click HERE to read more.
Family History: Digging Your Own Grave! (Toowoomba Chronicle, Thursday 25 August 2016) Captivated and spurred on by the advent and promulgation of documentary reality television programs such as ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ and ‘Finding Your Roots’ some people have become obsessed with the science of genealogy – the study of families and the tracing of one’s lineage and history – in the hope that they might descend from some royal or noble personage, or be related to some famous mega star or historical character of notoriety. Click HERE to read more.
MasterChef Australia Serves Up Mediocre Judges. (Toowoomba Chronicle, Tuesday 12 July 2016) There should be a parental guidance warning given before MasterChef airs advising parents that of the judges appearing, one in particular lacks some of the cooking, table and dining manners that parents try to instil in, and expect of their children! Click HERE to read more.
Is Your Business Really Yours for Keeps? (Toowoomba Chronicle, Monday 11 April 2016) So you have got a great business name and a brand that is easily identifiable and known to many; you survived the GFC; you have built-up a considerable trading reputation over many, many years and you are a market leader – you’re here to stay! Well – just may be? Click HERE to read more.
Toowoomba Tourist Sees Bus Roof Ripped Off in London. (Sunshine Coast Daily, Tuesday 4 August 2015 – Andrew Backhouse) A tourist from Toowoomba on holidays in England has witnessed a London bus collide with a tree as it was going through Bloomsbury, slicing its entire roof off. Click HERE to read more.
Ark of the Covenant Comes to Toowoomba. (Toowoomba Chronicle, Thursday 4 December 2014 – Andrew Backhouse) Watch out Indiana Jones fans, the Ark of the Covenant has arrived in Toowoomba. Click HERE to read more.
Heavy Rain Causes Graves to Sink at City Cemetery. (Sunshine Coast Daily, Wednesday 2 April 2014 – N. Houghton) Heavy rain and flooding has caused serious damage to the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery with sunken grave plots, broken headstones and erosion creating a confronting scene for visitors. Click HERE to read more.
Unusual Link Connects Theologian with History. (The Chronicle, Saturday 22 March 2014) You might wonder where George Helon developed his love of Bible history, given he’s a non-practising Christian. Click HERE to read more.
Revisions:
Article originally published 12 October 2020. Revised: 30 November 2023; 4 January 2022.
Today, more so than ever before, mobile phones are not only an essential part of peoples’ lives, but for some they are an extension of their lives; indeed for many more, mobile phones are their lives – they are glued to them 24/7!
CLICK picture above to view my YouTube Road Safety Campaign Video “SMART PHONE – DEAD DRIVER” (Your Death Sentence: Narrated). Copyright (C) George W. Helon: Australia; 2014-2024.
For drivers a mobile phone in a vehicle is a wanton distraction, period!
Drivers using mobile phones to speak and text with others and checking their social media status and likes when driving are playing Russian roulette with the lives of everybody.
This past week I have been almost rear-ended on three occasions, rammed twice and cut-off at turns by distracted drivers more times than I can remember.
Thank God I have a crash-cam!
The high number of fatalities and carnage on our roads is a slaughter, not so much the result of sheer stupidity, unintentional mistakes, dumb carelessness, uneducated drivers, or ignorance of the law, but rather the culmination of calculated arrogance and a premeditated contempt for the law! Consequence, it seems, is little considered!
You have witnessed the bad behaviour of drivers on the road all too many times, and so to have I: young or old, man or woman, fully licensed driver or P-plater, truck driver, car driver, cab driver, tradie, lay person or professional, it makes no damn difference!
Driving whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs, fatigued, speeding, using a mobile phone, failing to give way to emergency vehicles, distracted, or just blatantly flouting the road rules, drivers just don’t get it – do they?
No matter how good a person thinks he or she is in handling a motor vehicle, other drivers can be unpredictable, erratic and impulsive.
Accidents will happen – it is only a question of when, not if, and as to whether a collision will result in just an accident, damage to life, limb or property, or fatalities?
The likelihood of serious accidents and/or fatalities on our roads is further compounded by reckless and culpable drivers.
Culpable drivers are known for their sheer audacity, arrogance for the rule of law, and wanton stupidity when it comes to them intentionally taking chances.
One only has to watch RBT (Random Breath Test) on the television to see the ludicrous and idiotic lengths that speeding, distracted, drunk, drugged and fatigued drivers will go to ‘avoid’ not only apprehension, but detection, roadside speed cameras, breathalyser and drug tests.
The extant premise of thought and action seems to be that “if I can see it, I can avoid it!”
And fortunately for many law-abiding road users, that “catch me if you can” mindset and stratagem adopted by culpable drivers is self-sabotaged by their predictable body language, diminished co-ordination skills, reduced reflex responses, glazy eyes and impaired intelligence; all of which are no match against the training, wits and diligence of our police service.
Drivers just don’t get it; they openly flout the law, laugh at the penalties and joke about losing points – their bravado knows no limits.
Using a mobile phone when driving is illegal, everybody knows that and everybody (well most) understand the morality of right and wrong.
Tougher penalties need to be considered for drivers who continually give a finger to the law.
I am not talking stiffer fines and the loss of demerit points, I am talking about hitting drivers where it really hurts!
Drivers and front seat passengers caught using mobile phones should immediately be forced to surrender them for a period of at least seven days for a first offence, and so on.
Inconvenience is about all people understand, but sometimes you just have to be cruel to be kind.
Efficient communication devices, mobile phones were made to make our lives easier, whether by connecting people in an instant, banking, productivity, medical support, entertainment, or for social gratification; but yet in bringing us closer together, mobile phones have pushed us further apart as we have become so anti-social and care little of those more than a finger-tip away.
Revisions:
Article originally published 20 July 2020. Revised: 30 November 2023; 16 January 2023; 4 January 2022.
