Rob Oakeshott

Rob Oakeshott was born in Lismore. His father is still a doctor in the area and his grandfather Captain John Oakeshott was a prisoner of war and survived the Sandakan Death March. So he comes from excellent stock.

Australian prisoners were sent to Sandakan in 1942 to build an airstrip. By late 1944, the allies were moving toward Borneo so the Japanese sent 2,000 Australian and British prisoners to Ranau in Bornio's interior. Weak and sick prisoners staggered 260 kilometres along jungle tracks and many died along the way. Those unable to continue were killed. Only six men - all Australians - survived and Rob Oakeshott's grandfather was one of them.

He attended Barker College and was a boarder in later years. He then studied at the University of Sydney.

Rob Oakeshott is a strange man. He's already alienated himself from the Coalition by dashing Tony Abbott's hopes of becoming Prime Minister when he went with Labor. Now he's made extraordinary allegations against the Labor Party. He says there were traitors within the party who actually wanted Tony Abbott to win. Why? Because then there would be a "bloodbath" and Julia Gillard would be severely reprimanded about the demise of Kevin Rudd, calling the election early and Labor's dissppointing election campaign. He said some ALP figures "wanted us (the independents) to choose the Liberals so they could have a bloodbath in public". But he won't name them.

The Nationals have vehmently denied his allegations of racism within their party and say that he invented his own reasons for his 2002 defection. He said that during a celebration following his election to state parliament in 1996, a senior National saw his wife who is of Pacific Island heritage and said "the party was being taken over by blacks and poofters". Undeniably an ignorant, racist remark but was it enough reason to leave the party? Maybe, maybe not.

We recently found out he approached Labor Premier Morris Iemma in 2007 and asked to be considered for a job in his ministry. He declined the offer.

Rob Oakeshot seems to be under the illusion that whenever he speaks - people are interested in what he's got to say. Last night I saw Bob Katter call him "buckshot" to his face. Unfortunately, his track record shows that he hasn't earned the respect necessary to become a credible voice.

Stonehenge - A Shrine for Healing?

Two British Archaeologists say they have found the reason behind the construction of Stonehenge. It's been standing for thousands of years and although there have been many theories, no one really knew why, until now. It's purpose was to heal.

Professors Geoffrey Wainwright and Timothy Darvill liken it to a primeval Lourds, drawing pilgrims from all around Europe. "We found several reasons to believe that the stones were built as part of a belief of a healing process" Wainwright told journalists at London's Society of Antiquaries.

Wainwright and Darvill have been the first to escavate the sight in more than 40 years and said the key to the mystery was the double circle of bluestones - a rare rock known to geologists as spotted dolomite which lie at the centre of the monument. Dragged or floated on rafts all the way from Pembrokeshire in Wales to Salisbury Plain in southern England, he said the bluestones were prized for their healing properties. Apparently the proof is not only in the stones but also in the bones. Skeletons recovered from the area showed signs of serious disease or injury.

"People were in a state of distress, if I can put it as politely as that, when they came to the Stonehenge monument" Darvill said. Although it sounds logical, surely there's more to it. I suspect there is much more to learn about this fascinating circle of stones - one of the most mysterious places on earth.

Druidism Now Recognised Religion in UK

The Druids were a Celtic pagan faith that came to power in Europe thousands of years ago. Now Britain has recognised Druidry as an official religion for the first time and they share the same status as the Church of England.

A druid was a member of the priestly, elitist class in Gaul (present day France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland, Northern Italy, Holland and Germany and possibly other parts of Celtic Europe during the Iron Age). When the Romans invaded and conquered Gaul, the Druids were suppressed. Very little is known about them because they didn't leave any written records - the little we do know came from Greek and Roman authors. Not one single artefact or image has ever been found that can be connected with certainty to the Druids. In Ireland, they were portrayed as sorcerers from the dark side who opposed Christianity. They were known to perform human sacrifice and believe in a form of reincarnation.

Druidism is now a recognised religion in Britain. Best known for their gatherings at Stonehenge every summer solstice, the commission said it accepted that druidry was an "ancient pagan religion" in its own right involving the worship of nature, particularly the sun and the earth. That means they are classed as a charity and won't pay tax. Scientology is another "church" that doesn't pay tax in many Western countries, including Australia -a cynic would say such a classification is a licence to print money.

There are now about 10,000 Druid practitioners in Britain. The Druid Network fought for nearly five years to be recognised under the semi-government Charity Commission which requires proof of serious belief in a supreme entity and a moral framework. After initially rejecting the Druid Network's application, last week they changed their mind. "There is sufficient believe in a supreme being or entity to constitute a religion for the purposes of charity law" they said.

I'd like to know what their policy is on human sacrifice.

Julia Gillard Visits Troops in Afghanistan

Julia Gillard and David Petraeus

There's an anti-war feeling sweeping Australia at the moment, just like there was way back when the Vietnam war was being fought. That same anti-war feeling finally ended the war but it had a profound affect on our diggers returning home - they were ashamed to admit they were over there. Our government commited our country to the war for what seemed a good idea at the time - it was thought that if Vietnam fell to the communists, there would be a domino effect and it was in Australia's best interests to be there.

Maybe she had this in mind when the Prime Minister made a surprise visit to Afghanistan yesterday and reassured our troops that we were "with them". But that isn't quite true because Bob Brown wants to bring the boys home and a large proportion of the population agree with him. In a gruelling 20 hour day she also travelled to Kabul for talks with NATO Commander General David Petraeus and President Hamid Karzai.

She addressed the troops: "I know it has been a really hard period, a really hard year, a really hard few months and we very much value what you are doing here..... because the mission is so important to our national interest, the mission is critical to making sure that this place does not again become the training ground and a place that sponsors violence and terrorism that is visited on innocent people around the world but particularly on innocent Australians.

She dismissed the Opposition's call for more troops and military hardware. So why did one of our men at the front leak an email saying that help is urgently needed? Someone is telling porkies.

Parliament is preparing for the first full Parliamentary debate on the Afghan war but Ms Gillard told the troops not to fear the debate which the government agreed to with the Greens. She wanted to reassure the troops that this debate would be a great opportunity to tell the people just what Australians were achieving in Afghanistan.

The Opposition is still standing by its claim that we are not adequately protecting our soldiers and more help and support is needed. The Australian death toll in Afghanistan now stands at 21.

Christina Keneally Looks to Federal Politics

Peter Garrett had better watch his back - Christina Keneally is looking to Federal politics. If she loses the state election, and please God, she will, those powerbrokers are at it again, thinking up ways to get her to Canberra.

And guess where they are looking, yes you guessed it, Peter Garrett's seat of Kingsford Smith. I'll never forget how this man was maligned by the whole country as being cruel and uncaring about the deaths of the young men who died in the insulation bat debacle. We didn't find out until after it was all over that he had repeatedly tried to see Kevin Rudd about safety issues to no avail. Kevin had hung him out to dry. You have to give it to the man, he didn't try to save his reputation by leaking what really happened to the media, he took the distain of the country with stoicism and dignity.

But getting back to the subject of Christina. An unnamed Labor source said yesterday "It would be hard for the NSW heavies to remove Peter. Firstly they would be mad to knock off a cabinet minister - one retained by Julia Gillard in her new government and secondly - Garrett is very popular within the party; thirdly he has strong support in the branches. But some of these blokes have form when it comes to doing mad things - you only have to look at the election campaign."

But another senior Labor Party source (also unnamed) said he thought Keneally had enough rank-and-file support to win preselection for Kingsford-Smith. "There's a neatness, a cleanness to it that makes it sensible, if that's what she wants."

Of course Christina denies any knowledge of such a plan and goes on to tell us why the people of New South Wales - the Premier State, should vote Labor back in - an idea that beggars belief. But Peter Garrett is said to be vulnerable - he is factionally unaligned (big mistake) and had a two party preferred swing against him of more than 8 per cent in the federal election.

Julie Gillard's First 100 Days

Andrew Robb

Some members of the Canberra press seem to think that the Opposition camp isn't a very happy one at the moment. Peter Slipper's move to take on the Deputy Speaker's job was a shock out of the blue and the relationship between Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey and Finance Spokesman Andrew Robb, seems to be deteriorating.

Joe Hockey

It was different before the election, things looked great for the Opposition. Julia had knifed Kevin in the back, lots of mistakes were made, and Tony Abbott looked set to win. But after one week back on the job, the Coalition's morale seems to be flagging. No one expected Kevin Rudd to behave the way he has, instead of being a petulant, bitter loser, he's faced up to his assasssination with remarkable dignity. Tony could be forgiven for thinking it would be impossible for Julia and Kevin to ever work together again after what happened but it's working just fine so far.

So Julia Gillard's first 100 days in office have been memorable to say the least, it's a miracle she's still standing. But it's very early days.

Sydney Hospital Crisis

Blacktown hospital has been in need of an urgent upgrade for years. There was a $150 million plan in place to add 100 more beds, plus new renal and cancer units but now it's not going to happen because that money is going to the bush instead. Why? Because Julia Gillard made a deal with the Independents that she would channel health money to regional areas and now she has. Blacktown has the highest demand for health services in New South Wales with the highest rates of cardiovascular and renal disease in Sydney. They have sick people lying in chairs because there are no beds.

Our NSW hospitals are almost at third world level. Blacktown, Northern Sydney, Camden and Campbelltown were on the list for urgent funding, along with many others, but now they won't get any.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon said metropolitan services would not suffer. "Our health reforms mean that for the first time, we will be taking on 60 per cent of capital infrastructure costs of hospitals across the country." Let's hope she can do something, it's way past crisis point.

What the NSW Labor government has done to our city of Sydney and the whole state is unforgivable - the millions of dollars they have wasted over the years could have built new hospitals and upgraded others. Of course no one is accountable but those responsible should be sent to gaol - they simply got away with murder.