Yesterday morning, I collected my Herald Sun to find this image on the cover:

And I thought, that’d be right.

That would be bloody right.

High heeled ugg boots. Seriously?

An Indigenous inspired swimsuit? Give me a break.

Ruffles? Leave that to Spain.

A lambswool shrug? Keep the shops open late, there’ll be a rush on those.

And I couldn’t help but feel terribly disappointed, and incredibly embarrassed, that in Las Vegas next month our country will be represented by Jesinta Campbell wearing an outfit resembling vomit on a footpath at 3am on a weekend morning.

Let’s call this outfit what it is; disgusting.

And let’s say what no one else is saying; the whole thing’s a crock.

Let me start with the swimsuit. If Indigenous art was so well revered by Jesinta, the designer, or the entire competition, then may I suggest they do more for the Indigenous community than perhaps they are? Yes, I’m pointing the finger, and I’m calling it like it is – it’s tokenism, alive and well at its very best.

And how about Jesinta’s comments? “I have a nice little sheepskin shrug, which I think is very Australian – very Outback.” How many Australians do you know that wear sheepskin shrugs? And, Jesinta, how much time have you spent in the Outback?

The New Melbourne. Image thanks to The Age.

And then, later that day, I discovered the Victorian Government’s plan to extend the urban growth boundary and I got in one of those moods where I knew violence towards my computer and television screen were imminent.

Because there is something very wrong in this country. Very wrong.

We are constantly represented by people that, quite honestly, have very little idea and very little to do with the general Australian public. Because if someone, up there, working for the man, actually understood us, we wouldn’t be sending a young girl off to a beauty competition looking like rubbish. And we wouldn’t dream of ruining prime farming land and extending the boundary of a city that is already in disarray.

We, the people, would probably encourage the Government address issues that are long overdue; such as housing affordability, sustainability, public transport, health, traffic and do I need to go on? We all know the issues, all we’re asking is for someone to look at them with a touch of reality and a hint of honesty.

Where are the people with foresight? With a real plan? With intelligence? With talent? And style?

If people in this country start thinking about the future, as opposed to living in the past and dreaming of what once was, perhaps we could actually adopt the Labor Party’s campaign and move the f#!k forward. (I think Labor’s slogan is just Moving Forward, but adding ‘the f#!k’ gives it a little extra punch, don’t you think?)

No one could ever declare me as being a person that hates their country. Because I don’t. And this entire magazine is testament to that.

But sometimes, like yesterday, I feel so dispirited I can’t help but think that the real Australia is full of suit-wearing, latte-swigging pollies that know very little about what the people within Australia want.

And full of poor excuses for designers wanting to make a mockery of the talent within Australia that actually exists.

Sometimes I think that there are people within the real Australia that would actually think a high-heeled ugg boot is a wonderful idea. Paired with a nice pair of leggings, perhaps.

Because I see it every day.

I see people dressed like slobs in public places, and it leads me to think we’re moving further away from resembling anything along the lines of class. Because, and I’ll be honest here, so many Australians are such tight arses they’d rather wear ugly, cheap crap from chain stores than support an Australian designer. They value quantity over quality.

I see middle-aged women who are so fuddy duddy when an Indian with little English sits next to them on the train – and I get so mad inside I could break their nose. Because, as much as we don’t like to admit it, this country is rife with racism and I see it all the time – in the turned up noses of old men, and the snarls from middle aged women, and the vulgarity that comes out of the mouths of teens.

I see the divide between the classes furthering, I see the difference in the students between public and private schools, I see the differences between suburbs and communities within Melbourne and I wonder why we’re even contemplating furthering the boundary of the city when so much needs to be done within the one we’ve got – so much needs to be done, here and across the entire country, and no one is acknowledging it. Apparently it’s just easier to make new suburbs.  That’ll just cause the issues to disappear, right?

I see it every day in this over-governed, over-regulated, over-taxed country of ours.

So, on days like yesterday, I wonder where we’re really heading and if anyone at the helm of this big land also has a clue.

And I wonder if it’s up to us – you and me – the people within this country that actually keep it churning, that make it look good, that fight against the accusations from overseas countries that we’re backward, that want to see nothing but the best happen within it – I wonder if it’s our job to create the change.

To, most importantly, start with the truth, and build from there.

To talk about what we think, until we’re sick of hearing it.

To stand up against those suit-wearing wanks that hold a meeting and form a committee every time something needs to be worked through – then come up with peanuts in the end.

Yep, I reckon it’s up to us. Because if there is anything looking back has taught us, if there’s anything from the past we can learn, it’s that it’s up to the people. We know, from past history, not to rely on what we’re told is good for us, because very often it is not.

I think the decision to expand Melbourne’s boundary is a bloody stupid one. And I think the outfit Jesinta Campbell plans to wear in Las Vegas is rubbish. And I won’t say any different, until I’m sick of hearing it.

Which will be never.