LNP kibosh Premiers Literary Awards

[blackcat]

the literati up in arms cos Campbell is gonna excise the premiers literary awards from the state budget up in the bananas.

Prey tell, they did award Hicks the award last year for non-fiction?

I think they got that wrong on numerous counts there. Do they deserve to give a prize when the previous winner has never even read a book that is not the koran?

come on, they jest up nth

 

[cancat]

Hicks didn't win. And Bligh failed.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has apologised after her office “jumped the gun” by releasing the winners of her literary awards early.

A media release issued by her office at 1.20pm was taken down a few minutes later after journalists started tweeting that former Guantanamo Bay terrorism detainee David Hicks had not won his category.

​

 

[tandino]

They are very protective of their taxpayer cash.

If you read some of the commentary on the matter, you'd think that the world was going to come to an end.

 

[blackcat]

Hicks didn't win. And Bligh failed.



​

thanks CC for clarifying, I thought he had won not shortlisted.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-23/opposition-concerned-about-hicks-book-award-nomination/2851072

but risible nonetheless. Poor politics in art awards is... poor politics. And not art. I dont claim my posting is art.

For jesus chrissakes, enter Hicks in the fiction classification anyways, major fail. My y12 English teacher was better than the bureaucrats north.

 

[blackcat]

They are very protective of their taxpayer cash.

If you read some of the commentary on the matter, you'd think that the world was going to come to an end.

precious. like Golem and his ring

 

[Chief]

A friend just came back from Victoria. Copped a merciless ribbing for being from Queensland where "they've banned books".

It's a shitty little stab at people far more intelligent and far less religious and racist than 90% of the LNP.

$240k knocked off a $2.8 bil deficit... after Newman blew an EXTRA $3 bil on a tunnel hardly anyone uses.

****ing comedy gold.

Welcome to Sir Joh Mark II.

 

[cancat]

A friend just came back from Victoria. Copped a merciless ribbing for being from Queensland where "they've banned books".

You should tell your friend to spend less time with doctor's wives.

but risible nonetheless. Poor politics in art awards is... poor politics. And not art

Yeah BC the Hicks nomination was bollocks. Then Bligh's outspoken defence of it couched in terms of protecting democracy. Think the people of Queensland got sick of her s**t and these awards were symbolic of the elites having a nice night out at the expense of the taxpayers.

 

[John]

the elites

Whom are these "elites"? Cardigan wearing inner city residences? white shoe brigadiers from Hope island? Port Douglas/Noosa residents whom want to live in a fenced off ghetto with their own Wynns black Label quaffing "non elites"?

I know of an "elite" couple, a husband and wife who have put many along year of non payed work into the local junior cricket club and received not too bad service at all from their previous "elite" local member.
The junior cricket club "elite" duo have approached the new "non etlitist" local member, an ex member of the "non elitist" Family First at local council level, and he, the "non elite" new local member has already told the "elite" cricket club duo that he has no memory of them among his happy clappy speaking in tongues Sunday morning "non elite" congregations and he would, being the "non elite" type that he is get back to these "elitists" when he had served his new "non elitist" constituents. He said this as he got into his brand spanking new "non elitist" beemer.

 

[pazza]

The gerrymander is already out of control.

 

[blackcat]

Whom are these "elites"? Cardigan wearing inner city residences? white shoe brigadiers from Hope island? Port Douglas/Noosa residents whom want to live in a fenced off ghetto with their own Wynns black Label quaffing "non elites"?

I know of an "elite" couple, a husband and wife who have put many along year of non payed work into the local junior cricket club and received not too bad service at all from their previous "elite" local member.
The junior cricket club "elite" duo have approached the new "non etlitist" local member, an ex member of the "non elitist" Family First at local council level, and he, the "non elite" new local member has already told the "elite" cricket club duo that he has no memory of them among his happy clappy speaking in tongues Sunday morning "non elite" congregations and he would, being the "non elite" type that he is get back to these "elitists" when he had served his new "non elitist" constituents. He said this as he got into his brand spanking new "non elitist" beemer.

John, this is for an "elite" that buy their branding in a literary award, but have no rigour in assessing what the hell they are compiling an award for.

David Hicks? Can't throw a whitewash over his, i) bigotry, naivety, soldier of fortune adventure, and ii) his torture.

Focussing on ii) will not ameliorate i) I'm sorry.

And the folks who made the decision to nominate Hicks, are either in the pockets of book publishers, vested interest in moving units, or they engaging in political games that should have no place here. If I was a father I would put them on ice for a coupla years, and then let them back with probation.

 

[John]

John, this is for an "elite"........

I am shocked that I understood you as I usually have no idea what you are trying to say.

My post was not about Hicks. I could not care less about Hicks nor that his publisher put his book up for an award and to be honest hardly care for the literary awards. I am a prolific reader with 100 books waiting in a book case to be read but I am more than capable of finding what I require to read than looking to awards. Then I am not really into awards period. Could not tell you who one last years Oscar nor do I care.

Be that as it may I am a bit bored with the use of the term "elites". It seems to me that anyone that does not support another's world view has silly slurs thrown at them such as accusations of "elitism"! Good grief because a bunch of writers moan a bit about not getting some money they are called "elitist"? They are no more "elitist" than the lobbyist who want taxpayer money used for their own pet project.

I have drunk lots of nice plonk with plenty of LNP members who are good friends and I can tell you now they will do what it takes to get their share as well for their own "Elite" projects. Wanna know about the 100G piano purchased out of taxpayers funds for a North Qld council out of monies supposed to be used for Cyclone Larry? I had that purchase defended vigorously. "good for morale" yada yada yada. Yes men what ever you say and pass the Hill of Grace please.

The reality is that if the LNP had thought up that award they would have been sticking with it. The reality is that they have seen it as an ALP award and a cheap and easy target. Look to the Qld Government branding to go soon. Not that I care because that is the nature of politics.

 

[kimp]

Nicely said John. It's small and petty and does not auger well for a government that is supposed to be focused on the 'big things'.

 

[Chief]

Newman will absolutely alienate just about every one of his new supporters. His MLAs will go mad with power as they try to right 20 years of perceived wrongs and gouge the public purse for all it is worth.

A binge of corruption and petty revenge is now well under way.

 

[cancat]

The reality is that if the LNP had thought up that award they would have been sticking with it

I think it was more that it became overtly politicised towards the left. The Hicks nomination made it embarrassingly so.

Not that I care because that is the nature of politics.

Then you understand it more that the people who are bleating about the award being scrapped.

Be that as it may I am a bit bored with the use of the term "elites". It seems to me that anyone that does not support another's world view has silly slurs thrown at them such as accusations of "elitism"! Good grief because a bunch of writers moan a bit about not getting some money they are called "elitist"? They are no more "elitist" than the lobbyist who want taxpayer money used for their own pet project.

I take your point about pet projects.

I was referring to the intellectual elite. The left leaning university/ABC employed crowd who think they know best because, like Chief said, they are far more intelligent and far less religious and racist than the rest of us.

The awards can be questioned on other grounds. Most of the winners came from outside Queensland and most winners were established writers and/or university paid lecturers or researchers writing in their own field. Why would Queensland taxpayer dollars be used to provide cash prizes for these writers?

 

[Contra Mundum]

I think it was more that it became overtly politicised towards the left. The Hicks nomination made it embarrassingly so.



Then you understand it more that the people who are bleating about the award being scrapped.



I take your point about pet projects.

I was referring to the intellectual elite. The left leaning university/ABC employed crowd who think they know best because, like Chief said, they are far more intelligent and far less religious and racist than the rest of us.

The awards can be questioned on other grounds. Most of the winners came from outside Queensland and most winners were established writers and/or university paid lecturers or researchers writing in their own field. Why would Queensland taxpayer dollars be used to provide cash prizes for these writers?

Don't you just sack the judges and start again? Janet Albrechtsen, Andrew Bolt, Gerard Henderson, and John Howard as the jury. They could have even cut the prize money in half. The decision to give it the arse all together is like Rick Santorum's bullshit that Obama is a "snob" to dare suggest that everyone should participate in further education - its lowest common denominator bullshit.

 

[Cousin Jed]

Newman will absolutely alienate just about every one of his new supporters. His MLAs will go mad with power as they try to right 20 years of perceived wrongs and gouge the public purse for all it is worth.

A binge of corruption and petty revenge is now well under way.

Hilarious

 

[Chief]

Because, cancat, making decisions without education works so well for people.

 

[Chief]

The literary awards: if it was seen as going to established writers interstate, why not apply it only to local writers? New writers? Turn it into awards for unpublished authors?

Because Newman wants to chest-thump a quick victory over the lefty elites.

Hilarious

Watch what happens. Money poured into happy-clappy churches and taken away from anything seen as remotely connected to "the left". The evangelic industry in Queensland will be rolling in our tax money now we've voted in this mob of dodgy religious nutters.

Bloke I know told me it was difficult to deal with Labor pollies because you never knew how much money they'd want, or even if they were bent.

The Libs/Nats, he said, basically had a set price list and you'd be hard pressed to find one not lining his pockets.

 

[John]

I think it was more that it became overtly politicised towards the left. The Hicks nomination made it embarrassingly so.

You "think"? but based on what. Because someone nominated Hicks book? Read on about what I read when looking up as who won what.

Then you understand it more that the people who are bleating about the award being scrapped.

And I also understand why you are happy as a pig in considering that you think that the awards are politicised.

I was referring to the intellectual elite. The left leaning university/ABC employed crowd who think they know best because, like Chief said, they are far more intelligent and far less religious and racist than the rest of us.

All this just sounds like sloganeering for your own world view. Anyone that does not agree with you must be an obvious "left leaning university/ABC employed crowd who think they know best "?

The awards can be questioned on other grounds. Most of the winners came from outside Queensland and most winners were established writers and/or university paid lecturers or researchers writing in their own field. Why would Queensland taxpayer dollars be used to provide cash prizes for these writers?

Not sure I care. If they are going to get rid of this I hope they put the kibosh on plenty of other schemes. The Commonwealth games for a start.





You thinking that this award was an "left leaning university/ABC employed crowd who think they know best" "elite" award got me looking at it. Interesting. There I was thinking that the likes of Hugo Cheves was getting nominations and winning prizes. I had a look and it makes interesting reading. Here is the wiki.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensland_Premier's_Literary_Awards

I have been looking for the communists who are out to ruin your life and I have to admit that even a bloke who likes a book to read such as myself has to say that I am a bit lost as to why the likes of Noel Mengel the Music writer for the Courier Mail would be considered a communist. His love of Neil Young? Is it the Unpublished Emerging Indigenous Writers? I actually own a book that won a gong in the History section. Iron Kingdom by Christopher Clark. Have to say that his radical Marxist view of Prussian history passed me by. Read a bit of Les Carlyon too though not his book gonged. Not sure I remember him as the new coming of Christopher Hill either.

There looks to me that there was in fact some useful categories such as Science, Australian Short Stories, Children and Young adult. I guess the kiddies are "the future left leaning university/ABC employed crowd" who will grow up to "think they know best like chief"?

Mate to repeat myself I could not care less if the awards live or die and get the argument both ways but lets be brutal here, your "think" about why you want this award gone comes down to the fact that the name Hicks immediately had you sure that those awards were nothing but the attempt by "left leaning university/ABC employed crowd who think they know best" to ruin our way of life.

p.s Sounds alright this one. Pasteur's Gambit: Louis Pasteur, The Australasian Rabbit Plague and a Ten Million Dollar Prize. Will try and get this at a later date. Thanks for directing me to this leftist communist elitist conspiracy of a tome.

 

[kimp]

John's on fire.

I will be interested to see what happens with the arts in Qld in the coming years. We've had a few good years of late. Wonder if that desperately needed theatre is built?

 

[Chief]

Only if the right developer gives the right kick-backs to the right people I'd bet.

 

[Caesar]

Leaving everyone's motivations aside for a moment, will this award really be missed?

I always figure that the people who win literary awards have already written a financially successful book (and possibly won other awards for it), so they don't really need the money. And the prospect of winning such an award is hardly going to persuade people to write a book who otherwise wouldn't have.

Whether this award stayed or went, I would have been fairly ambivalent. It seems both superfluous and insignificant.

 

[John]

Leaving everyone's motivations aside for a moment, will this award really be missed?

I always figure that the people who win literary awards have already written a financially successful book (and possibly won other awards for it), so they don't really need the money. And the prospect of winning such an award is hardly going to persuade people to write a book who otherwise wouldn't have.

Whether this award stayed or went, I would have been fairly ambivalent. It seems both superfluous and insignificant.

You may be write. A bookworm such as myself hardly knew about. I am sure that some could make good points either way as to it retention or non retention.

What I will say, and thanks to this thread it was brought to my attention, is that the David Unaipon award is a very worthy award and it would be a travesty of this was not to survive. I see on it's wiki that it has been around from at least 1989, well before the Qld Premiers award. I think that it was/is a UQ award, happy to be corrected there, and hope that they or someone else can keep this going. I would be staggered if anyone could not see the merit in supporting unpublished indigenous writers.

 

[PottSie2]

LOL, if something this small gets Chief so worked up, am looking forward to Newmans future logical decisions.

I'm sure the private sector will be able to invent their own awards.

"OH ... but won't someone think of the children"

 

[medusala]

Because, cancat, making decisions without education works so well for people.

Absolutely, unless one has an Arts degree one really should not be able to vote. The last thing society needs is the unenlightened masses being able to offer their worthless opinions on subjects like literature which they clearly have no idea about.

Now to find the next Blue Poles...