“Lest We Forget” counts among Australia’s most meaningful words.
In my case, with fond memories of my father Charles Manners.
ANZAC Day, afternoon, was the only time he ever spoke of the endless World War I, where life in the bottomless mud of the trenches at the Western Front was not ‘glorified’, as in some war movies.
Dad’s ultimate price was to have his life shortened by about 20 years as a result of his wounds and, in particular, lung damage from the enemy’s experimental use of lethal gas as a weapon.
The Australia, my father fought for is again under attack, but this time from bloated governments, Federal, State and Local. Our war is against government ‘inefficiency’ and their process of stealing from some to ‘give’ to others.
Their efficiency is shown to be at around 12%.
This means they must steal $8 to give $1 to the chosen few.
There are not many areas where government excels but recently we have seen them excel in bringing on Australia’s Fuel Crisis at a time when Australia should be stepping forward and providing the world with LNG / coal and uranium; we see our Prime Minister, with begging bowl in hand, trying to scrounge a few litres from ‘here and there’.
Demonizing our natural resources, withholding permits, and deterring investment has brought us to this sorry situation.
When will we learn?
Government has ceased to be our servant. They are, instead, emerging as our ‘new enemy’, Lest We Forget.
The below four links will take you to important memories of War and provide reflections of the important contribution to our nation of the sacrifices of our many veterans.
https://www.mannwest.com/anzac-day-2025-as-we-hear-the-several-drumbeats-of-war?
https://www.mannwest.com/anzac-day-matters-more-than-ever/
https://www.mannwest.com/the-pointless-tragedy-of-war/
https://www.mannwest.com/the-pointless-tragedy-of-war-part-II/
Regards,
Ron Manners AO
