Desalination Plant

Here in Victoria our Premier has just announced a Desalination plant to provide 150 billion litres of water per year, at a cost of $3.1 billion. This in turn is going to double the price of water to the consumer over the next five years.
I thought desalination plants were a complete no no. Environmentally unfriendly, big CO2 producer. It must be the most expensive way of making clean water. In Saudi Arabia they can afford to get their water this way, but here where many users are on low incomes I don't think it will be fair to ask everyone to pay twice as much for their water.
I hope we can see an comprehensive plan for this project. It's not good enough for the Premier to say. "I'm confident we have the right plan for the future," we all need to see what outcomes we can expect from a large desalination plant.
Have they considered collecting rain run off, or recycled water plants?
And when we have above average rain fall again, [like the floods in NSW at the moment] and we are awash with water again. How will the people of Victoria react to higher water prices and cost over runs. As our experts tell us it is the best plan. Just dig deeper in your pockets to pay for it.

Woof.



Any additional comments can be sent to mark_brickel@hotmail.com

Dalai Lama

Yep the Dalai Lama is over here, not his first trip, he is relatively well known here and well liked. Over the years he has probably been a bit of an embarrassment to the government, because he hasn't always had nice things to say about China, one of our biggest trading partners.

We all know that human rights in China since the 1950s hasn't always been good. He has told it how he sees it and the people of Tibet have been hurt by the occupation of their country by the Chinese.

The fall out from this is our politicians don't necessarily agree with his views [in regard to china]. Especially in an election year when, leaders on both sides of the political spectrum could be in power in the near future.
The current foreign minister is Alexander Downer. He has come out and attacked the leader of the opposition for playing politics with seeing the Dalai Lama, calling it a political stunt. A direct quote from the Downer states that,

"I think it just is a reflection of the fact that Mr Rudd just plays politics the whole time."

And then goes on to deny that the Prime Minister has played politics at all on this issue.
Now let me get this right; They are all politicians, that is the name of the game. If I went to see a doctor of medicine and he stopped being a doctor while he performed his examination, I would not be too happy.

"A round of tiddly winks on your belly while I listen to your heart beat". I don't think so.

So of course he is playing politics, maybe that is why Downer [a failed party leader] just isn't up to the job. On issues like trade and foreign affairs it has always been and always will be a matter of diplomacy which is the language of politics. If you don't get that much you oughtn't be a politician.
Woof.


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The John Howard years

I have just read David Marr's piece in The Age on the John Howard's years. He starts the article with this paragraph.
The Howard Government has been the most unscrupulous corrupter of public debate since the Cold War was at its height. Our passivity and trust have let this happen.

It is compulsive reading for anyone who believes in free speech.

Here is David Marr's piece.


Woof


Any additional comments can be sent to mark_brickel@hotmail.com

Banks and Postings

At last the Macquarie bank is being publicly questioned about it's methods. I have said for a long time it is ethically not a good look. Now the man who told the world about Enron has come out publicly and questioned Macquarie. Last night on the Telly here, 4 Corners [documentary show] looked at their take over of Thames water in the U.k. and their attempted take over of Qantas. I think it is a case of greed and very clever corporate lawyers. It is disgraceful that our government gave the go ahead for the failed Qantas bid. They are either blind or worse to the realities of Macquarie.

The state government is being asked to lay more train tracks. They were asked to do that 30 years ago. Now they have sold off the railway network they will have a much harder job to achieve this. I don't think the modern day economists have thought through their economic modeling very well.

The future fund set up from the funds raised from the 50% sale of Telstra and made really to pay the super annuation of retired public servants. [a dishonest joke] is now being questioned as to it's mandate being appropriate in a world of carbon trading and climate change.

We are certainly entering a new world on so many fronts. I reckon that soon it wont just be a carbon tax on airline tickets, it will be a case of show a need to travel by air and it will have to be legit for x number of flights per year. Has anyone considered alternative fuel to av gas for aeroplanes. Electric, Nuclear, Solar?????

A program on the idiot box the other day dealt with Crude Oil and was frightening in it's assessment of how long we have left for oil, and just how much we use of it every day. No wonder the Americans are fighting over in Iraq.

Woof.


Any additional comments can be sent to mark_brickel@hotmail.com

John Howard

Below is a statement showing that interest rates under John Howard when he was the federal treasurer were at 21%. The foreign debt we now have is at record levels. The now Treasurer has played the short term money market over the last ten years and by and large lost. They have sewn up billions of our money derived from asset sales and over taxation in the form future fund which is already looking like a white elephant. They have manipulated the Australian public for 10 years making fools of thinking fair minded people. And they still think they should be reelected, on what grounds? That they are better financial managers. I don't think so. They have been incredibly lucky with world growth and low interest rates. But still they felt a need to over tax and abuse the luxury it gave them. I would like to see John Howard go to The Hague and be tried for war crimes along side Blair and Bush. Based on the fact they have waged an illegal war in Iraq. Lets call an election now so we can be rid of these politicians. Woof JOHN HOWARD is continually and deliberately
deceiving the Australian people by chanting that
‘interest rates will always be lower under a
Coalition Government’ when he knows the
opposite is the case.
The Reserve Bank of Australia's historical
interest rate data shows that the highest 90 day
bank bill interest rate of 21.39% occurred in April
1982 during the Fraser Government’s last term in
office and when John Howard was Treasurer of
Australia.
John Howard’s record 21.39% interest rate level
was not fully reflected in home loan rates because
in those days there was an upper limit of 13.5% on
home mortgage rates

Jack's Birthday

It's Jack's birthday tomorrow, he will be thirteen. So happy Birthday to Jack.
Woof

Any additional comments can be sent to mark_brickel@hotmail.com

Low income and housing

The Brotherhood of St. Laurence is a charity that works with the poor of our community. Many years ago they helped a project I was involved in for kids. They were the first to see the benefits of the program we were running and gave seed money [when government wouldn't] to get us going.
Today I read in the paper their assessment and proposals for dealing with the chronic shortage of housing for low income people. I have added their link here . In times of large surpluses why are we giving very rich people tax relief, when they are already wealthy and ignoring an ongoing problem in housing. The price of houses is way too high and in part it is because of government policies and tax incentives.
Lets hope that if the Labor party win the next federal election we will see more public housing built.
Woof.


Any additional comments can be sent to mark_brickel@hotmail.com

The Future fund Etc.

Firstly here is an article in todays Age newspaper written by Kenneth Davidson. Explaining the whys and wherefores on the Future fund that the federal government has set up. It is a multi-billion dollar lie.

Secondly I had a thought about the use of energy in our society. One of the best ways of conserving future [carbon based] energy supplies is to use less. And that is where I realise we have a problem. Not only have we been encouraged over the last 50 years to consume more. We now have privatised power supply companies that have been bought from governments with the belief that they will have ongoing consumption. There is no incentive to conserve or use less. Less use means less profits.
I think we will find that the economic rationalists that have taken over economic debate and policy have come at the worst possible time for this planet. Their, spend at all costs, approach to wealth creation. Doesn't sit well in this environment of global warming and restraint in fossil fuel usage.
Woof.


Any additional comments can be sent to mark_brickel@hotmail.com

What have they done to deserve this?

What has this bank been up to, to make such a profit that it can pay it's CEO a staggering $3.5 million. I have nothing much to add to the article below except to say I think it is reprehensible and must be adding to societies costs. To say it is a private matter between employer and employee is wrong. This bank enters into numerous publicly financed contracts from which they are making excessive profits. This is the bank behind the attempted takeover of Qantas from which they had hoped to glean billions of dollars.
It stinks.
Woof.

May 16, 2007 - 8:14AM

Macquarie Bank boss Allan Moss's staggering $33.5 million pay packet is an example of "corporate social irresponsibility", a leading welfare campaigner says.

Mr Moss was yesterday rewarded with a $12 million pay rise after overseeing a record annual profit at Australia's largest investment bank.

Michael Raper, of the National Welfare Rights Network, said today Mr Moss's salary was unjustified, but conceded little could be done about it.

"It's certainly excessive, it's unjustified, it's unnecessary, and I think it's actually harmful to the overall social fabric to our whole society," Mr Raper told the Nine Network.

"But there isn't much we can do about it. It's a private company; they can do what they like.

"It's not corporate social responsibility we're seeing here, it's corporate social irresponsibility - to be paying such excessive wages and increasing income inequality to the detriment of society generally."

Macquarie - sometimes dubbed the "millionaires' factory" - yesterday reported a 60 per cent lift in annual profit, a record $1.463 billion for the year ending March 31.

Last year, its executives pocketed a total of $207.1 million - up 50.9 per cent from $137.2 million in fiscal 2006.
"People save lives day in, day out. That sort of thing is worth enormous amounts of money, they don't get that kind of money," Mr Raper said.

"How can this be worth 109 times what the prime minister gets in a year? The most responsible positions in the country - the treasurer, the PM, the head of treasury, those sorts positions - they get nowhere near this."

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Hurry up with the next election

Having heard the Treasurers budget on Tuesday and the Opposition leaders response last night, I just hope they have this inevitable election sooner rather than later. Though my waters tell me it will probably be later.

The longer they leave the Opposition leader to stew in his own rhetoric the better chance the government have of retaining office. A month ago I would of not thought this, but Mr Rudd [Opposition] is proving to be a boring sort of speaker with little or no charisma. Already he is playing to an imagined television audience that likes to see hand wrenching and false smiles.

I still think he has a chance to win the next election, mainly because we are ready for a change. The old saying we don't vote knew governments in we vote old ones out. I do believe it is going to be a very boring campaign and I for one will be reading something other than political speeches. Here are a couple of funny blogs I recommend as alternative reading.

London Girl

The Japing Ape

Woof

Any additional comments can be sent to mark_brickel@hotmail.com