To be unemployed is to not have a job.
In the traditional sense, a real job is a permanent full-time job.

But government measures of unemployment have been watered down so much so that the unemployment rate excludes so many people in order to make the statistic portray the economy better than it really is. Governments get savagely criticised in the media for high unemployment rates because government is regarded by the people as an outcome of how the government is running the economy. So if the published unemployment rate is low, government economic performance looks good.

As Australians we pride ourselves with the presumption that we live in a democracy benefiting from the universally accepted principles of 'equality and freedom'.

We are supposed to have a "government of the people, by the people, for the people" [Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865]. But in reality we are denied full or 'direct democracy' and are expected to tolerate the more compromised version of 'representative democracy'.

But those so-called 'representatives' repeatedly let us down. They are instead controlled by their own political party agendas. Legislative voting is along party lines, not according to the say of local electoral seats that our 'representatives' are supposed to represent.

In fact we have what's branded an 'illiberal democracy' - a narrower definition of full democracy and one in which, although elections take place, voters are excluded from government agendas, denied any say into party policies, denied any say in drafting legislation, denied any say in constructing government budget priorities. Party politics is where the real political power lies in Australian politics, not with the people.

Urgent action is required! International pressure valued. Please take 5 minutes to email or phone Peter Garrett's office letting him know that you want this rally stopped. It's insane to have any rally in such an extremely biodiverse area as Tweed/Kyogle Shire, NSW, going through national parks, koala colonies, endangered species habitat and World Heritage areas with nationally listed threatened species let alone in breeding season, let alone for the next 10-20 years, let alone four of them at once (Speed on Tweed, Repco Rally International, Classic Outback Trial Rally and Australian Tarmac Challenge) converging on Father's Day! SIGN INTERNATIONAL PETITION TO SAVE AUSTRALIA'S ENVIRONMENT AGAINST RALLY NOW

Please attend protest rallies on Sat 29 August, Fri 4, Sat 5 and Sun 5 September.

See also: Repco Rally route - the calm before the storm of 26 Aug 09, REPCO Rally injunction raced through court up blind alley of 31 Aug 09.

There are plans afoot when we vote for a new Federal Government later this year to also hold a referendum to change the constituiton in order to extend the Federal Parliamentary term from three to four years.

This must be rejected emphatically.