Sol Trujillo, an American who was running Telstra, the part state-owned telecoms giant, has just left the building after an eventful few years which saw the company battling with the government and its share price plummeting.
He wasn’t popular. But now he’s caused a new controversy with his claims that Australia is both racist and backward.
Of course, Aussies are rushing to deny it, saying Sol is a loser.
Well...if I’d got a dollar for every time I’ve been called a Pommy bastard – er, just to my face – I’d be driving the latest Bentley GTC now and have had it pimped up too, with enough change to buy a Rolls-Royce convertible. Pom and Pommy are a derogatory terms that Australians believe are acceptable because they so commonly use them. So, Paki bastard is obviously okay too, as is Jew bastard.
People of Italian descent are commonly referred to – sometimes by themselves it should be said – as Wogs. Can you believe it?
And when you scratch the surface a lot of Australians really hate the English. Some of them think we’re arrogant. I have no idea what they mean.
I mean, really, all we did was send Captain Cook across the oceans for six months, find this country, tell the Aborigines it was now ours, told the French to bais off, brought over some blokes to get some buildings and roads put in, installed democracy and the rule of law and then handed it over lock, stock and barrel, and not a farthing changed hands.
And do you know, I’ve never had one Australian thank me.