YESTERDAY'S IDEALS

for those Democrats who betrayed them


Yielding 141 documents to a small request
about the culture of Democrat leaders,
my new file server laughs in my face
about how I have misspent too much of my life.


Upfront champions of 'intellectual property',
Bond, Connell, Burke and now Parker
are serving time for learning about politics,
and the imperative of cash over integrity.


As old, sad, true Democrats
reel from the senators' scuffles of career and conscience
(though some still grope for incorruptible ideals)
I must force a smile and wait for the final election.


So, from Adchron to Woodley, I am served the answers
to pass to my children, to keep them honest.

From Daintree to d'Entrecasteaux, the sun smiles, too,
over the extinction of yesterday's species of hope.



BRIAN JENKINS
19.9.94

[unpublished]

BACKGROUND NOTES

Alan Bond and Laurie Connell (millionaire businessmen and 'sportsmen'), Brian Burke (former State premier) and David Parker (former State deputy premier) were all convicted and imprisoned for crimes connected with governmental and corporate corruption in Western Australia during the notorious 'WA Inc' decade of Labor government (1983-1993).

In 1993-94, Western Australian members of the Australian Democrats political party who had supported the ejection of the corrupt WA Inc government were purged from the party by pro-Labor senators of their party who exercised a controlling influence over the party's federal executive.

Daintree (Queensland) and d'Entrecasteaux (Western Australia) are uniquely important native forests whose values and integrity have been seriously compromised by governmental, corporate and party political corruption.