Is Australia becoming a Police State?

This may seem an absurd question after all we are a parliamentary democracy with its balance of the separation of powers. The climate of fear based on keeping the country secure from would be terrorists has been ramped by our government anaesthetizing the population in accepting any law or imposition in the name of security.


It worries me when people don’t understand the underpinning of the rule of law. The law is not arbitrary but there for everyone be they people we like as well as people we hate, it is what is written in the law that counts and judgments are made on this, not an arbitrary decision from a politician. Thus, centralizing power in a minister’s hands with no chance for review leads us down this path.

 If judgements are arbitrary it makes us no different from a totalitarian state where no-one can be sure what the decision is based on. 


A number of years ago I listened to a talk on this subject by Professor Philip Alston, international law scholar and human rights practitioner. He outlined the characteristics of a police state and the list really concerned me considering the state of our government today.

The denigration of law when Tony Abbot worried about if a suspect terrorist was tried and was freed. What happened to being presumed innocent until proven guilty a basic tenet of the rule of law? Removal of legal restraints from government and exemptions granted to agencies from the coverage of normal execution of the law. A person can be taken into custody on suspicion without the normal recourse to access to a lawyer.


Limits on press freedom and curtailing public access to information this has been seen when questions have been asked about the detention of asylum seekers and turning back the boats. The press and public have been fobbed off the high-handed response about the need for secrecy for security reasons. It is easy to stamp ‘Top Secret’ on a document but it doesn’t necessarily make the information in it an actual security risk, but rather that politicians do not want to be embarrassed.

Authorizing the surveillance of the citizenry, nobody objects to surveillance of those possibly perpetrating crimes but it must be authorized in the strictest way through the courts. Limiting the freedom of movement of citizens, there is no limits on how this can be used. The demonization of certain groups also lends itself to abuse.


Truncated Parliamentary proceedings of which I would add the blatant way in which to push through questionable security laws by denigrating anyone questioning them as being soft on terrorism. This builds a further sense of fear in the population. 


Once there are exceptions to the rule of law it becomes open to the possibility of abuse. With the aggregation and reductions of these freedoms they can easily be expanded. The government can point to the many joint committees in this area, the Human Rights Commission and the media but they are fig leaves when the government denigrates and abuses anyone who criticizes their decisions and behavior.


Much of the population is inured to these accumulated changes. The usual refrain of, ‘if you haven’t done anything wrong, what have you got nothing to worry about?’ But it worries me, what they can do to one person or group today it can do to anyone, history tells us this.

Benjamin Franklin’s statement about freedom still holds true. ‘Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve either one’ 


Australia has no Bill of Rights, like Britain, Canada and the United States to measure any new law against and we are now walking away from International law. Where does this lead Australia? On the road to a police state, I hope not.


I think we all should be fearful considering the raids we’ve seen on NewsCorp and ABC journalists as well as the accumulation of power in Peter Dutton’s hands in his now expanded ministry.

Helsinki for New Year's Eve

The population of Finland is 5.5 million with 700,000 in Helsinki, which makes a smallish city. I had no preconceptions about Helsinki so I was open to whatever I discovered.

Frozen Harbour

We arrived in Helsinki around 2.45 in the afternoon and it was easy to get from the airport by train to the main railway station from the airport. Our hotel wasn’t far from the station, but as there were two parts to the street and the map, we had was indistinct we managed long way round. As it gets dark early it throws one’s perspective of time out. We conducted an initial exploration of the city the various streets, pedestrian malls, parks and shops. While we were looking in one of the shops that sold beautiful glassware, they had mugs with these cute little creatures on them ‘Moomins’, they sparked a memory of a children’s book I knew about from a study I did of children’s literature over thirty years ago. I gave it some thought and up popped the name of the book ‘The Finn Family Moomintroll’ by Tove Johansson, then we discovered souvenirs of these little book creatures everywhere and in all the museum shops, it became quite a joke. There is even a Moomin cafe!

"Moomintrolls!

The Christmas decorations were still around and were beautiful. Like Vienna these decorations look spectacular and I think because it’s dark and the lights on them show up to their advantage. We found a small place called Venn for dinner, we had hamburgers, mine was a veggie one.

We made our way down to the market square and stopped at Tuomiokirkko (Helsinki Cathedral) which dominates the area as it’s on a hill.  It is a fine chalk white neo-classical Lutheran Church as such is quite plain inside compared to Baroque and Gothic cathedrals designed by the architect Carl Ludwig Engel.

We then continued down to the waterfront the sea close to the coast was frozen the stark leafless trees presented a haunting scene against the mist and snow. As walk along the waterfront we found a café open so we warmed up with some coffee and I it turned out to be one of the very well-known ones.

Just above the waterfront is Upsenskin Kathedral which was originally built as a Russian Orthodox Church in 1868 from eye-catching red brick and towers over Katajanokka Island. It has the classic golden topped onion domes and now serves a Finnish orthodox congregation.

The famous indoor market at the water’s edge was a good place for lunch with stalls selling a wide range of delicatessen treats such as bear, reindeer and elk salami as well as fish, salmon and smoked salmon galore and a great range of baked goods.

Upsenkin Kathedral

We then went to the Anteneum – Art Gallery, which had an extensive art collection, mainly of Finnish artists. I love looking at the local artists of various places as one often doesn’t get to see them anywhere else. It was set in a manner that provided information about the social history of the time which is reflected in the art work. After we left the gallery, we watch the ice skaters in the square next to the station, marvelling at their ability, even little children showed confidence on the ice.

The following day a short ferry ride to Soumenlinna Island. It was worth a visit. During the Swedish era beginning 1748 fortification on the island began ending 40 years later. There are 6 museums on the island and we visited just a couple as we were only there a day. There are some delightful cafes to indulge in a coffee or lunch. Everything is well set out with various routes marked so one can get a feel of the history of the island.

On our second full day we went to Finnish Museum which presents Finnish history from the stone age to the present day as well as cultural history through a range of artefacts. The building itself is magnificent with ceiling frescoes in the entrance hall. Whenever I visit museums of non-prominent countries of the world, I always feel just how little I know, even though I’ve studied European history.

We then went to the famous Temppeliaukion Church, known as the ‘Rock’ Church. It is a Lutheran church which was designed by the architects the brothers Suomalainen and is built directly into solid rock and was completed in 1969. The church furnishing was also designed by the architects and the organ is magnificent with 43 stops and 3001 pipes. The church itself plus the simplicity of the interior which give the church its special awe-inspiring atmosphere.

Finnish Museum

We then wandered back to base and that evening dined at the restaurant ‘Lost in Helsinki’.

New Year’s Eve we decide to go to the Botanical Gardens however as it was winter the greenhouse was closed much to our disappointment. We then walked down to the coast to visit the City Museum, which had some interesting exhibits but was geared to children. After which we wandered around the shops again and just for fun, we went to the Moomin Café. After lunch it had started to snow so back to the hotel for a while before dinner. 

Then around 10.00pm we went down to the square where there was New Year’s Eve entertainment and the eventual countdown prior to midnight. This was the square of Helsinki cathedral, security to get into the area was tight, the crowd was exceedingly well behaved and not overly squashy. The entertainment was great with a variety of music and as the time was getting closer to midnight the snow became heavier, then the countdown. At midnight the fireworks all came off the cathedral, it was absolutely magic. It may not have been as spectacular as many of the larger more prominent world cities but there was a very special atmosphere and experience. Afterwards a very orderly crowd made exited without any incidents.

Kamppi Chapel

New Year’s Day in Helsinki is basically a dead day as there isn’t much open.  The shops were closed though the Christmas markets were still open so gave me an opportunity to buy some presents, we had some lunch at the market then went to the Kamppi Chapel (Chapel of Silence) is quite small and is located in Narinkka Square near a shopping mall and is intended to give people a chance to have a calm moment in one of the busiest areas in Helsinki. It is an ecumenical chapel and is very popular. Just entering it has a calming effect. Overall for the day we just relaxed.

The following day we were off to Iceland and as we were going on a small group tour we were met at the airport and taken to our hotel we saved us negotiating the transport.

Helsinki's Main Railway Station

Christmas In Vienna 2018

Going from an Australian summer to winter in Europe seemed madness to many, however we bought all the suitable cold weather gear and we assured ourselves we would be able to manage the cold climate. This proved to be true.

Christmas Decorations Vienna

Vienna is one of our favourite cities and it certainly was magical around Christmas time. We booked the hotel we’d staid at a few times before not far from Stephansplatz, it’s a small family run hotel. Prior to leaving home I’d booked dinner for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

We were tired when we arrived early in the morning and were lucky to be able to access our rooms straightaway so we able to shower and go out. We hadn’t gone far when we came across some stalls serving mulled wine, so we had to indulge then went off for a real morning tea of ‘café and kuchen’ one of the best things about Vienna. We wandered some more but then decided to go back to our hotel for a rest then have dinner at the hotel restaurant, which has a really tasty menu.

The next day we were more adventurous, found the Shakespeare & Co bookshop had a coffee at the Herrier café then wandered the back streets to Karlsplatz and a Christmas market lunch of a ‘potato pancake’ and of course a mulled wine. There are many Christmas markets dotted around Vienna and we frequented most of them. There was an interesting Exhibition of the paintings of Monet, Chagall, Picasso & Munch. That night we went to a delightful trumpet and organ concert at the Maltese Church.

We decided to do a side trip to Bratislava the capital of Slovakia as it was about an hour away by train. Being a Sunday I assume it was a little quieter than usual. I would would describe it a mini Vienna, as it has some of the Baroque buildings and churches like Vienna but much of it seemed run down, which is understandable after being under Communist rule for such a long time and nothing was done to upkeep the old buildings. As it was such a quick trip, we didn’t have time to visit the

Bratislava

castle but we managed to visit the museum and roam the streets and gain a feel for the city. On the way back to the bus there was a small Christmas market we visited it had our usual mulled wine, then returned to Vienna. Dinner at the restaurant Jama in Hoher Market.

The next day was Christmas Eve and we went to the Kunsthistorisches Museum the magnificent art gallery, there was a special Brueghel exhibition but unfortunately it was booked out for over a week. We still ventured inside and strolled around the various galleries and had morning tea in the grand surroundings of the café with their grand prices to match. Just outside another Christmas market, there were a range of local products and of course mulled wine and we also indulged in a Viennese hotdog a waffle and later some chestnuts. We then returned to base then ventured out for dinner at Café Morris before going to midnight mass at St. Stephan’s Cathedral. We’re not particularly religious but it was a very moving mass with the pageantry which fitted the location and beautiful choir and organ music. The down side being a number of people near us at the back who don’t know how to behave in a church especially during a service. It doesn’t matter what religious building one enters, be it temple, mosque or synagogue surely a bit of respect for surroundings shouldn’t be that difficult.

Christmas Day, we got up late but most places were closed today and it was raining quite heavily but fruitlessly meandered around and had a hotdog, mulled wine then scurried back to base due to the rain. Later we ventured out again tracked down the Jewish quarter and memorial, as well as the museum close by it.

Christmas decorations

We eventually found the restaurant we were going to during our morning walk and it was very close to our hotel. It is a traditional restaurant when we arrived for dinner that night as we walked in the entrance, I realised we’d been there before(twice) on previous visits to Vienna. We had a very enjoyable dinner that night.

The next day was our last here and we always like to just stroll around, we love the Hofburg area and always visit the magnificent National Library and they had another interesting display of their historical collections over the 650 years of its establishment.

Restaurant where we had Christmas dinner

We then had lunch and walked in the direction of the Rathaus, and there again was another exceptionally good Christmas market, we had our usual and I bought some Christmas decorations and presents. The had coffee close by and on our way back there was a really long line outside the famous Café Central, I certainly wouldn’t be doing that.

Dinner again at our hotel that night as we were leaving early the next day for Helsinki.

Mongolia 2018 continued

The following day we had a morning flight back to Ulan Bator (UB). In the we had a short city tour Bodj King’s Palace (Religious ‘King’) Zaisan Memorial which is on the hill overlooking UB and depicting the Mongolians gratefully celebrating their ‘liberation’ by the Soviets.

Later that day we visited the big Ghengis Khan a huge stainless-steel statue erected outside UB where he won a decisive battle against the Chinese. 250 tons of stainless steel was used and it is possible to get an interesting view by making your way up to the head of the horse. It was definitely an overwhelming experience.

The stainless-steel statue of Ghengis Khan

Another morning departure this time to Ugii Lake which is in the centre of the country and the vegetation is lusher than the Gobi. We end up taking a roundabout way due to quarantine in the area. We arrive at the lake settle into our gers and walk to the information centre as 150 type of water birds visit the lake. Unfortunately, not while we were there. That evening we watched as a while terrible storm cross the lake, with strong winds and a downpour of rain. We now understood why they had sandbags weights on the gers.

The next day we drive to the little town of Tsetserleg and visit the Buddhist monastery which is now a museum, then to Tsenkher hot spring after lunch we head for our accommodation.

Milking a mare

We have a free day but  were given the opportunity to taste fermented mare’s milk, I heard it was disgusting but it to me it tasted like vey acidic yoghurt, we also had some yak milk yoghurt as well as dried and fresh curd. They showed us the still in which mare’s milk vodka is made and we also had a taste of that but the alcoholic strength was more like beer than a spirit.

We even were lucky to see how they milk the mares. The foal is brought to its mother so the milk will be let down then the mare is hand milked. They milk the mare 7 times a day, but the foal still has access to its mother in between times.

While at this accommodation we saw some men constructing a ger and many little ground squirrels, some who used our ger a short cut, also there were a number of wild flowers around.

A drive to Kharkhorin, to visit Erdene Zuu monastery is the earliest surviving Buddhist monastery in Mongolia, it is a huge complex surround by a wall of stupas. In 1939 the Soviet government destroyed the monasteries however in 1990 they were returned to the lamas. Now Erdene Zuu has a monastery (one temple) and a museum which entails the rest of the buildings. It is a very impressive complex. After this visit we went to the Archaeological Museum also very interesting and informative.

Erdene Zuu

In the evening a group of performing arts students and their teacher gave us a concert of traditional Mongolian music which included throat singing the whole performance was very professional and enjoyable.

Another long drive to the Khustai National Park with the hope to see some marmots and the native Takhi horses. We visited the information centre and we went hiking with a biologist we learnt a lot about the area and flora and fauna but unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the horses who were so far away even with the binoculars they were hard to see.

Another early start to attend the horse races at Kui Doloon Khudag as part of the Naadam Festival/ It was a rainy day but we preserved. We huddled in one of the ‘foodie’ gers and some meaty pancakes. Then out to watch the race at the finishing line.

Only children are allowed to ride (5 -13 years) the distance of the race is 10 -25 km depending on the age of the horse. It’s a tough race and the children are responsible for their horses but there are also trainers around.

We returned to UB for a free afternoon. That night we went to cultural show similar but more extensive than the one we had seen earlier.

Opening Ceremony Naadam Festival

We were looking forward to the opening ceremony of the Naadam Festival the next day. It was disappointing that it was raining but it didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. It was wonderful to see some of the participants wandering around before the opening. It was beautifully done like a mini Olympics opening ceremony. After its conclusion we stayed on to watch the wrestling, very big in Mongolia, the wrestling is different to the western style, then onto the archery, the targets are small and close to the ground and harder to hit than the large round targets we’re used to, the knuckle bone shooting, all the events are considered the manly arts, but girls are allowed to be riders in the horse racing and women can participate in the archery contests now.

Last day in Mongolia we spent it wandering UB again discovering a few other interesting areas, buying some presents and a cashmere beanie for me for our European winter trip on the horizon.

I loved  Mongolia and would love to see a different area of this huge country.

Mongolia 2018

We left Beijing late in the evening and arrived in Ulan Bator nearly at midnight. As we decided to go on a small group tour, we were relieved that we would be met at the airport and whizzed to our hotel without having to think.

We had a whole day to check out the city before we met up with the group and tour leader. We visited Genghis Khan Square there was a lot of activity there with groups of locals visiting the city, wedding parties, associations etc many in the local costumes, from there we went to the National History Museum which was well worth the visit, then we found the Lama Temple Museum originally built in1904 it is worth a visit but has a hefty fee if you wish to take photos inside.

Genghis Khan Square

In the evening we met the tour leader and the rest of the group (12 in all including us). We discovered we were having an extremely early start the following morning as we were flying to Dalanzagad it seemed quite a large but unremarkable town, though we had no time to explore much as we shopped for snacks and water then into one of the three four wheel drives and we then sped off to explore the Gobi Desert. We stopped for a short hike at Yolyn Am /Vulture Canyon. It was really an easy stroll and I saw a cute native rodent, birds and interesting flora. We arrived at a slab of thick ice between the walls of the canyon rocks that looked like it could have been part of a glacier, but it’s just the remnants of the ice field. After this we had lunch then headed to our first ger camp (Gobi Mirage). We were allocated our gers, I learnt very quickly to bend low to enter and leave due to low doorways.

Vulture Canyon

The following day we drove to our next camp, the drive through the Gobi Desert was fascinating, it is not sandy but made up sparse shrubs and gravel there were a number of wild horses that look very emaciated some on the verge of death. We also saw many herds of goats and sheep, however goats predominated as there is more money to be had from there cashmere fleece.

Cashmere Goats

We arrived at our next ger accommodation at the Khongor Dunes we had a packed lunch then we were on our way to visit a nomadic family.  The family we were set up to visit had moved on our drive we went in search of another family. We literally saw a ger with children playing and asked them to get their parents and our guide asked if we could visit. The 12 of us plus our guide shuffled into their ger sat around while the woman made us a milk tea with barley then dried meat cooked in it. We all had a taste not wasn’t as bad as it sounds. Our guide had bought supplies on our behalf to give the family as a thank you.

The next day we had a camel ride. The Bactrian camels have an ideal place to sit between their humps, unfortunately it’s on the spine and the saddle was not comfortable so the whole ordeal was very painful. I have ridden both types of camels and neither has been an enjoyable experience (never again). We arrived at some of the dunes and in front of them was a stream and the area was green with a number of families with their flocks camp by.

Sand Dunes

The Khongor dunes are beautiful and extend 180km along the north side of the mountains and due the prevailing winds they don’t encroach into the countryside. We climbed the dunes which was not too difficult but nearing the top it seemed one step forward two back but eventually made it with a little help from those already at the top. We then had a free afternoon to wander around the countryside near our camp.

The next day off to Bayanzag, The Flaming Hills where the first fossilized dinosaur eggs were found. It’s a stark brilliant russet red landscape similar to Central Australia. I was exhilarating to walk around the area imagining the excitement of making that discovery.

We then headed off to a rather nondescript town for lunch followed by a long drive to our next ger camp (Gobi Mirage).

Back again with Beijing 2018

Temple of Heaven

I was interested in visiting Beijing again with my husband as he had never been there. We had accommodation near the Forbidden City which was handy. It was a basic little courtyard hotel in a Hutong which we enjoyed. After booking into our accommodation we went to the Temple of Heaven, I still enjoy this place even after visiting for the third time. It is a huge temple complex with so many remarkable highlights. Many of the locals come here to meet for various recreational activities as well as socialise.

On the first full day we were going to go to the Forbidden City but it was closed. I booked a trip to visit the Great Wall at Mutianyu a little further out than Badaling so not quite so crowded, the trip also takes in the Spirit Way which is a 7km approach to the tombs which is lined with 18 pairs of giant guardians – stone statues of court officials, imperial warriors, animals and mythical beasts.

After booking our trip we went to the Lama and Confucius Temples. The Lama Temple was a major centre for Tibetan Buddhism however during the Cultural Revolution it was shut down and only saved from destruction by Zhou Enlai. The Confucius Temple also suffered during this time the temples within the complex being converted to other uses or just abandoned. The attitude to Confucian values has changed as the leaders now can see how they use them for their benefit; however, it is disappointing to see the important temples in the complex neglected.

Our trip to the Great Wall followed the next day and it certainly was an eye-opener for me. I had visited this part of the wall 5 years earlier, apart from the fact the weather was very different, the whole entrance had changed so much that I thought there must be two entrances to it. On the first visit, a cobbled path led to the entrance with souvenir shops on either side, now there is a wide paved path and a cable car up to the entrance to the wall proper. On the first visit there was only one large souvenir shop that also had a small café which sold hot drinks, now there is the franchise of a ‘Subway’ that not being a great improvement in my mind.

The Great Wall Mutianyu

The Forbidden City beckoned on the following day and another change which was very noticeable was the security around this area, you have to pass through this just to get to buy a ticket, they scrutinised our passports thoroughly even checking our visas. Not only police but military were everywhere with large intimidating police trucks on the corners of the streets.

The Forbidden City is just awe inspiring and the crowds are even greater than my previous visits. I’m still not sure what the optimum time of the day is best to avoid the hordes.

We then went to Hou Hai Lake north of the Forbidden City. We took the subway to Gulou Dajie, then got was talked into taking a Hutong tour in a pedal rickshaw, I agreed only if he dropped us off next to the lake when finished. The tour was enjoyable and interesting and even passed Mao Zedong’s house. The lake is very picturesque and worth a visit.

Mao Zedong's house

We also visited Tiananmen Square also with the same high security checks to actually set foot in it as was to buy a ticket for the Forbidden City we wandered through the square to the south and came across the street Liulichang which has had old buildings restored Chinese old world feel about it and sells a range of local products. We had a very nice lunch in one of the many little cafés along this street.

Hou Hai Lake

We left Beijing after just over 4 days as a stopover before heading to Mongolia