Australia Day!
Today is “Australia Day” – Australia’s national day.

It marks the raising of the British flag at Sydney Cove on the 26th of January 1788, and the establishment of the first European permanent settlement.

Eighteen years earlier, our country had been claimed by the British explorer Captain James Cook on the 1st of January 1770. He had named the eastern half of the continent “New South Wales”.

The settlers who raised the flag at Sydney Cove 237 years ago were led by Captain Arthur Phillip and he was appointed the first Governor of New South Wales.

Governor Phillip commanded the “First Fleet” of eleven ships which had taken 250 days to sail around from Portsmouth in England. The eleven ships consisted of two small warships of the Royal Navy, HMS Sirius and HMAT Supply; six convict transports, Alexander, Charlotte, Friendship, Lady Penrhyn, Prince of Wales and Scarborough; and three storeships, Borrowdale, Fishburn and Golden Grove.
The ships contained 565 officers, sailors and marines; 54 wives and children; and 1,030 convicts (of whom 767 were male, 222 were female and 41 were children). The new settlement also had seven horses, seven cattle, 29 sheep and 74 pigs.

The fleet had first landed on the 20th of January at Botany Bay, which is to the south. But Phillip didn’t like the area and his further explorations discovered the magnificent harbour where the city of Sydney would later develop.

Two French ships were following the First Fleet but fortunately Governor Phillip’s forces were sufficient to deter them from causing any trouble and they departed peacefully.

Phillip also frequently met with the indigenous people who followed a paleolithic way of life in the area. Phillip required that the colonists treat the indigenous people with respect and some of them were recruited as native guides. The manly appearance of their warriors led to the naming of the Sydney beachside suburb of Manly. The eastern end of Sydney Cove was later named Bennelong Point after Woollarawarre Bennelong, a Wangal Man who was the chief of the local Eora clan.

On the morning of the 26th, Governor Phillip and a small party of marines assembled at the head of a small cove which he had chosen for the new settlement. Phillip named the settlement after Lord Sydney – the British Home Secretary who had devised the plan for the penal settlement in New South Wales. Sydney Cove is now better known as “Circular Quay”.

Some sailors raised the Union Jack on a makeshift flagpole and the marines fired a volley with their muskets. The assembled crowd gave three cheers to King George III and a toast was drunk with cups of porter (brown ale).

The 26th of January was subsequently celebrated in the 19th Century as “First Landing Day” and “Foundation Day”. It became Australia’s official national day ninety years ago in 1935.

For me, the most memorable Australia Day was the “Bicentenary of Australia” on Australia Day in 1988. It was a huge day of historical reenactments; the “Parade of Sails” which was the largest gathering of sailing vessels ever assembled in Sydney Harbour; long distance camel racing; and a massive party across the country.

Today we are especially proud to be Australian and, in the words of our national anthem:

“Advance Australia Fair!”

FIRST THOUGHTS ABOUT THE RESULT OF THE UNITED STATES PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

igrwing
Nov 7, 2024
5 min read

Updated: Jan 10, 2025

Blog post by Dr Ian Wing dated 7 November 2024 The US presidential election has been decisively won by former President Trump and current Vice-President Harris gave a concession speech earlier today.

My background is in political science and international relations and so for those of you who may be interested, here is my take on the result. I will welcome your comments and critiques but please keep them civil.

THE ELECTION

Trump’s campaign proved itself to be far more inclusive and therefore more successful than Harris’s campaign – and it gained majority support from both the rich and the working class.

In much the same manner as in other populist countries, the working class has shifted from supporting the left side of politics and crossed over to support the right. Trump’s ferocious style and threats against illegal immigrants were more appealing than the calm and sensible style of Harris.

Trump’s promises to fix the economy and reduce inflation through isolationism and tariffs were more attractive than the Biden/Harris formula of steady global leadership.

During the four months of her campaign, Harris couldn’t shake the negatives of her close association with Biden (who is an unpopular president) or her female gender (notably white women and black men both tended to vote for Trump instead of her).

The American people have chosen to forget about the stink of Trump, and his many crimes, impeachments and bankruptcies, while embracing his promise to “Make America Great Again”.

Trump has created a transcendent political movement that seems likely to win all seven battleground states. As of now, he already has sufficient votes in the Electoral College to take power, although counting will continue for days until the final results are known. Perhaps most importantly, unlike Trump’s narrow victory in 2016, or Biden’s narrow victory in 2020, this time Trump has won a commanding majority – plus the majority of the popular vote.

Nonetheless, it is important to remember that almost half of the US population chose to vote for Harris and now the country remains weakened by political polarization; social disharmony; distrust for the media; and widespread conspiracy theories that are being spread by irresponsible social media channels (led by Trump’s number one supporter Elon Musk). For example, this morning some American women explained that they voted for Trump because they had learned from the internet that Biden supported abortion up to nine months during pregnancy – including after a normal birth (which is of course utter nonsense and would constitute the murder of the baby!). As the infamous Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels said “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it“.

THE NEW GOVERNMENT

The Senate will now be controlled by the Republican Party and the House seems likely to also be controlled by them. In that case, Trump will have won the presidency, control of both elements of the legislature, control of the Supreme Court, and have presidential immunity (as was recently ruled by the Supreme Court).

When these powers are added together, they give Trump virtually unassailable power. Once he is inaugurated as the President, Trump will be able to do almost whatever he wants. He could, for example, use the armed forces to round minority people up and have them deported (as he promised to do). And he can use his power to make it far more difficult for the Democratic Party in the mid-term election of 2026 and the next presidential election of 2028.

Trump will also face less opposition in his coming term than his previous one. In his first term he was viewed as a dangerous aberration and he faced opposition from “Never-Trumper” Republicans, the leadership of the armed forces, the mainstream media and women’s groups. However, during his next term, Trump will be seen as the genuine leader of the US. The American people will have little choice other than to get used to that reality. The mainstream media is already falling into line with its repeated failures to call out Trump’s lies and the rising belief that “self-censorship” is necessary to avoid being threatened by Trump.

POLITCAL SCIENCE

This election represented yet another shift away from post-Cold War neoliberalism towards populist authoritarianism.

Neoliberalism was the unbridled capitalism of the 1990s which moved American jobs overseas and left behind the disgruntled and poor American working class who wanted someone to save them. These people became deeply suspicious of the “college-educated elites” who appeared to care more about stopping climate change, respecting minority rights and promoting gay rights, than about them.

On top of that, the failures of the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – added to the negative effects of the Global Financial Crisis and Covid pandemic – left many Americans feeling like pulling up the drawbridge and withdrawing from the world.

These interconnected social undercurrents were perfect for Trump – and he provided all the answers by announcing: “only I can save you”; “I am the only one”; and “God spared my life for a reason”.

Trump’s rhetorical agenda is of course unachievable. He will be unlikely to bring peace to Ukraine in one day (as he promised) any more than during his last term of office he could fulfill his promise of building a “beautiful wall” along the Mexican border and getting the Mexicans to pay for it! His glib and empty promises are not important now that he has won the election.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

The leaders of the world have generally congratulated Trump on his victory (although Putin and Xi Jinping have so far kept quiet at the time of writing). The next few months – starting officially from 20 January) will show whether the US is about to radically change its foreign policy and place in the world.

It is reasonable to expect to hear no more about the “rules-based global order” and “democracy” and lot more about “putting America First” and doing transactional deals.

It seems likely that America will now change back to its isolationist roots as the country that tried to avoid joining the First World War for three years (1914-17), and tried to avoid joining the Second World War for three years (1939-41). It was only during the final three years of the Second World War (1942-45) – and throughout the Cold War (1945-90) and the “unipolar” decades that followed (1990-2010) – that the US led the world. Those days are now history.

The modern world is multi-polar and increasingly chaotic. The American people have spoken and by a relatively narrow majority they have endorsed “America First”. In response, we can expect to US to behave less as a “global hegemon” and more as a very powerful bully. The US is also likely to become less of a reliable ally and more of a ”fair-weather friend”. In short, the US will get involved internationally when it suits its ends – but otherwise it will sit back and watch for business opportunities.

FIRST THOUGHTS ABOUT THE RESULT OF THE UNITED STATES PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

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