Robin Williams On Australians: "I Hate Them, They're So Smug In Their Board Shorts"

Comedian Robin Williams knows more about Australia than most Australians might think. He practically lived here, in a beach house on the Central Coast, for many years during the 1980s. This gave him opportunities to make unannounced appearances at Sydney stand-up comedy venues, like The Harold Park Hotel. During one of these shows, he improvised about Australian men and culture for more than 20 minutes, and it was absolutely brilliant.

Williams is still riffing on Australia, in his new show The Crazy Ones about a NYC advertising agency:

In a recent episode, he pitched a campaign to officials of the Australian Tourist Board, who kept telling him to “dumb it down”.

Williams improvised this aside to his colleagues: “Oh God how I hate them. They’re so smug in their board shorts. And that accent. It’s like sand in your ears. Gday mate, no worries, put another shrimp on the barbie, Sheila this is Bruce. Their two dollar coin is smaller than their one dollar coin. Every single animal down there can kill you. And it takes forever to dry your hair.”

One of his colleagues protested that “they gave us Naomi Watts”. Williams replied:  “They also gave us The Wiggles, which are only enjoyable if you’re high. What kind of message is that for kids?”.

Williams admits his only experience of Australia was a drinkathon, after which “I woke up in a speedo on a beach in Perth, being pulled into the bush by an eastern grey kangaroo. An Aboriginal woman fought him off and I was with her for a while. There’s more, but I don’t want to bore you.”

Eastern grey kangaroo? In Perth?

 

Williams sparked a mini-controversy in 2010 when he called Australians "rednecks":

PM Tony Abbott On Australia's Booze And Violence Culture

Australia's prime minister Tony Abbott writes for the Daily Telegraph, in a front page "exclusive" about Sydney's drunken street violence culture, and reveals details of his personal opinions about alcohol and it's role in Australian society that may surprise some:

"...there's a world of difference between having two or three drinks a night and occasionally a bit more on a Saturday night and this new binge culture which sees young people drinking nothing from one week to the next and then, when they drink, not knowing when or how to stop."

So it's not drinking, it's not knowing how to, well, hold your piss (as Australians used to say).


Here's the full piece by PM Abbott:

Like most Australians, I enjoy a drink on social occasions.

However, as a father and as a citizen, I'm appalled by the violent binge drinking culture that now seems so prevalent, especially at "hot spots" in our big cities.
I'm sick of the fact that alcohol-fuelled violence has turned places that should be entertainment precincts into "no-go zones".

Hospital emergency departments should not be overflowing with the victims of substance abuse every Friday and Saturday night. The media should not be full of stories about the latest casualties from our own streets.
 
We've got two problems. The first problem is the binge drinking culture which has become all too prevalent among youngsters over the last couple of decades. I'm realistic enough to know that young people won't always be perfect and that making mistakes along the way is a normal part of growing up.
I certainly made a few mistakes as a younger man and have got into some embarrassing situations.

However, there's a world of difference between having two or three drinks a night and occasionally a bit more on a Saturday night and this new binge culture which sees young people drinking nothing from one week to the next and then, when they drink, not knowing when or how to stop.

The second problem is the rise of the disturbed individual who goes out looking not for a fight but for a victim.

We are seeing these king-hits, or coward punches as they are now being called. They are random acts of unprovoked, gratuitous violence.

Inevitably the target is an individual quietly getting on with life. This is a vicious, horrible change.

Brutal people, often with a history of violence, are getting it into their heads to pick on a vulnerable individual. It is utterly cowardly. It's brutal, it's gratuitous, it's utterly unprovoked and it should be dealt with very severely by the police and the courts.

It is well known that as a university student I played rugby and boxed. Boxing taught me many things, including the power of a single punch. If there's danger from a single punch in a boxing ring, it is multiplied exponentially when it's delivered to an unsuspecting or unprepared victim on a concrete footpath, or in a crowded pub or club.

Tragically, it's not just one young life that is destroyed but many. In an instant, one person becomes a victim, another a criminal - and the lives of their families are irrevocably damaged.

As Prime Minister I accept that the fundamental responsibility in this area lies with state governments. It's not just Barry O'Farrell's problem, it's an issue that communities are facing in suburbs and regional centres across Australia.

While we all want to see the courts absolutely throw the book at people who perpetrate this kind of gratuitous, unprovoked violence, we have to recognise that courts can act only after a crime. The challenge for officialdom at every level, for the police, for pubs and clubs as well as for parents and young people is to tackle the binge drinking culture and the violent behaviour that is accompanying it.

We also have to identify if drugs like steroids are also contributing to this outbreak of violent behaviour. There is enough anecdotal evidence from police and our emergency rooms that what we are seeing is not fuelled by alcohol alone. Alcohol is consumed along with other drugs such as ice and other amphetamines.

We need to tackle this issue in a comprehensive and considered way. We don't need kneejerk reactions and stunts that give the illusion of action, but don't make any real, lasting difference.

We need community solutions between police, local government, pubs and clubs and residents. Some communities have already demonstrated that progress can be made and many pubs, clubs and alcohol providers have discovered it is better to solve a problem and be part of the solution, than have a solution imposed on them.

We have to approach this in a way that makes our streets safer. That means resisting the idea one single action will change everything; that one group is responsible for this problem or one politician has the answer or is the cause. While this is not an easy area, with much control in the hands of state and local governments, the Commonwealth stands ready to work with the states, parents and communities. to tackle this scourge.

Alcohol has and always will be part of life in our country - and most countries. Our challenge is to get the balance right.

Abbott is giving a free pass to alcohol profiteers, saying alcohol is a part of Australian society, and that's it. Is this really the right message to be sending out to youth? It's OK to drink 20 or more alcholic beverages a week, as long as you learn how to hold your piss?

He is also claiming that alcohol alone might not be responsible for drunken rages, and while that may be true, the proof is not in yet. Violent idiots are getting pissed and attacking innocent people. This was happening long before steroids or amphetamines infiltrated Australian culture.

The rest of the story is here

Education Minister Christopher Pyne Warms Up For His Rewriting Of History Curriculum

This piece written by federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne was paywalled by The Australian. Here is is for free:

A robust, relevant and up-to-date Australian Curriculum is essential to improve the quality of education of all school students.

The Australian government wants a curriculum that delivers what students need for their future, what parents want and what the nation requires in our increasingly competitive and globalised world.

It must be both content-rich and, importantly, focus on the 21st-century skills of critical thinking, team work, problem solving, creativity, analytic reasoning and communication.

It must help students to be the best they can be. It must be based on high standards and high expectations for all students.

A modern and relevant curriculum must also be one that teachers are excited to teach.

More than anything else, we want to take the politics out of this issue. What really matters to students and parents is whether the curriculum is the best possible that we can create.

That means a curriculum that is balanced in its content, free of partisan bias and deals with real-world issues.

But that doesn't mean the curriculum should be dull. Australia needs a curriculum that helps teachers to breathe life into a child's time at school, one that challenges students and assists them to make the right choices for their future.

It means a curriculum that is dynamic and evolves as necessary while maintaining an independent, robust foundation so it is effective in meeting student needs.

A small nation like Australia must develop a curriculum that is national in breadth, rigorous in content, flexible and innovative in delivery and is a key driver in our goal to improve genuine education quality results for all Australian students. We cannot afford to do otherwise.

Working with the state and territory governments, the Howard government got the ball rolling. The previous government continued this work and now it is timely to review the content of the curriculum to take into account the many views expressed so far.

In particular, concerns have been raised about the history curriculum not recognising the legacy of Western civilisation and not giving important events in Australia's history and culture the prominence they deserve, such as Anzac Day.

Today, I am announcing the appointment of Ken Wiltshire AO and Kevin Donnelly to review the Australian Curriculum so we develop and implement a curriculum that is on par with the world's best.
Between them, Professor Wiltshire and Dr Donnelly have enormous experience in education and improving the performance of educational systems.

The time is right to bring this exceptional expertise and insight to bear on examining the robustness, independence and balance of the Australian Curriculum. They will do this by evaluating both the process of its development and the content.

I have asked them to gather the views of parents, state and territory governments and educators to inform their analysis.

I am excited about putting the Australian Curriculum on a robust and sustainable path, but this is just one aspect of how we are putting students first in our education policies.

In his new year message, the Prime Minister reminded us that we are a strong, resilient and smart people, and that the strength of our country lies in the willingness of Australians to improve their own lives by "having a go".

That's why the two principles I always come back to are putting students first and implementing what works.

There's a great deal of research that shows higher school achievement depends on teacher quality, school autonomy, a robust curriculum and parental engagement in their child's education.

Adequate funding for schools is obviously necessary, but increasing funding should never be an end in itself.

Countries that spend a high proportion of their GDP on education do not automatically produce high-performing education systems.

So this year I will be working hard with the states and territories to ensure our children are getting a high-quality, world-class education by focusing on those four key areas of teacher quality, principal autonomy, parental engagement and strengthening the curriculum.

I'll be focusing on these areas because they will make a real difference to students and their education.

Professor Wiltshire and Dr Donnelly have a great responsibility to help the government ensure that what we are teaching our children is true, worthwhile and meaningful.