After Church on Sunday we members took cigarettes and newspapers to the old pensioners.

As a lad of 17, Warren told me, "It's not the papers and durries - the old blokes just want someone to talk to - we can give them an hour or so, hey?"

Father Carrol's presbytery's rickety stairs had given up the guard rail.

He had only one chair which he attempted to give to me. At 6 pm he said "Got to leave now and feed these kids".

A dozen kids from the no-hoper Copper Mine Creek mob was staring up at us. He explained "They don't get fed much, I feed them".

"But you've got no money, you're the poorest person I know". His answer "Well if I don't feed them, they don't eat".

One of the toughest political warriors of Australian history, Clyde Cameron, when asked "You were very close to your mother?" replied stammering with his voice breaking...

"I...I... can't talk about my mother".

I, like Clyde Cameron, whilst my mother died nearly 40 years ago, still cannot talk about her. The thought that my mother could be dead - gone forever - is a burden I could not bear.

Christ's birth means my mother lives and I will be with her again.

And if some modern scientists say my beliefs are simple and primitive, then might it be suggested that these beliefs are much more plausible than their explanation - that we descended from a firecracker.

Worse still for their position it all happened via 'laws of nature' but they can't produce the legislator nor a bloke that lit the firecracker.

The history books generally agree that the six greatest scientists of human history were Pasteur, Newton, Einstein, Mendel, Galileo and Faraday.

Some were clergymen, some priests.

All were profound partisan (Judeo) Christians.

And even if you don't like thinking about things, you'd have to admit this Bloke was one of us:

"You can't knock a bloke that turned water into alcohol."

"A bloke that decked a few shylocks when they went right over the top."

"And decided to get himself born in a little bush town in a shed at the back of a pub with only a few ringers around to help out."

"When everyone was picking on this poor woman he started writing on the footpath what all the boys had been up to, cleared the street real quick."

"Not to mention calling the powers that be whited sepulchres."

The most beautiful piece of music in human history Handel's Messiah says:

"Joy to the World the Lord has come."

Bob Katter,

Federal member for Kennedy

Congratulations to Mayor Joyce and her Council team for their Isa Street Bridge upgrade, a forward thinking move which reinforces that Mount Isa is looking toward a long and secure future. I do however have a favourite piece of Infrastructure, which Joyce's Team secured for our city, and that is the Regional Art Gallery.

The Gallery at Outback at Isa Complex, is displaying one of the most exciting Indigenous Art displays that North Queensland has ever seen, and Mount Isans must be delighted the works were painted by two young Indigenous sisters from Mount Isa.

This Exhibition follows a memorable season provided by three other World Class local artists, which included Pottery from Michelle Savoye. Mount Isa should be proud of their super talented Artists, and the superb Art Gallery which can accommodate Painting from the Worlds best Galleries. It might be worth adding that the current exhibition continues into January 2020.

Ron McCulloch, Mount Isa