A " Royal " for governor general ?

It has been suggested that Prince William has been dropping hints that he would like to be appointed governor general of Australia. This follows a similar approach by his father, Prince Charles many years ago.
The idea has been firmly rejected by monarchist John Howard, just as Republican Bob Hawke vetoed any idea of a similar appointment for the Prince of Wales at an earlier time.
It is understandable that younger Royals would welcome a breath of fresh air from the cloying,class ridden English society in which they live - but the era when the job of governor general was reserved for some titled Pom has long passed.
There is every liklihood that a renewed push for this country to become a republic and drop the monarchy is in the offing. There will be a general election later this year - and if republican minded Kevin Rudd wins office it is almost certain that one result will be a new referendum to decide that question.
The last referendum was lost 45/55 - but the result was skewed by the choice of who would be governor general being left for politicians to decide. This was totally unacceptable to the general public who very clearly made it known that such an office would be decided by the people casting a vote for their person of choice.
Should a referendum be held with the choice of governor general decided by popular vote it is almost certain that a republican majority would romp home.
Few have any quarrel with our present queen and most agree that she does a good job, but the idea of being subject to a monarch who lives thousands of miles away - and is not even a citizen of this country - is both quaint and against the evolvement of Australia as a sovereign nation.
The post of governor general is the highest this land has to offer. Surely it should be available to one of our own who can claim that honour by popular vote !

Changing crime trends.

One snippet of information released by the police crime unit should make householders prick up their ears and take notice. It seems that households that have experienced a burglary have a very good chance of a repeat performance several months later.
In a way, that stands to reason. During the initial burglary the culprit has made off with valuable items ranging from cameras to plasma screen TV's. Logic suggests that after the Insurance company has settled the claim the householder has replaced those items with new - virtually guaranteeing a returning burglar a lucrative swag of loot.
This information would cause many to think in terms of turning their home into a fortress - but that also presents problems. Bars on windows and deadlocks on doors may help to keep an intruder out, but they can also turn the home into a death trap in the event of a fire. There is no safety factor in fumbling for keys in a smoke filled house.
House alarms are another option - but then think about the alarms every householder hears from time to time - motion alarms in homes nearby and car alarms that may be activated by a gust of wind. Do you see other neighbours rushing to catch the burglar ? Of course not ! The usual response is to assume that somebody forgot to put the cat out when they left - or that the alarm had a faulty operating switch.
These days you are more likely to be sued by the burglar who claims that the screeching siren gave him or her a migraine !
The best defence for any home owner is a good relationship with neighbours - who take note of suspicious car numbers in the street and challenge any person on your property by being seen by the intruder. Few burglars will proceed if they know that they have been observed by an alert neighbour.

The rumour mill !

This week police supported by Army infrastructure workers moved into Aboriginal villages in the Northern Territory. Their initial objective was to establish communications with the Indigenous people and allay suspicions caused by the plethora of wild stories that were circulating.
The rumour mill was running on overdrive. Despite Kevin Rudd's solidarity with John Howard on this issue, cynical elements within the Australian Labor party were suggesting that the " national emergency " was an election stunt dreamed up to create a focus similar to that generated by the " Tampa " affair.
Even wilder stories were running riot in the Aboriginal community. There were suggestions that this was a stunt to wind back Aboriginal land rights and to reclaim land for the benefit of white society. There was talk of Aboriginal children being removed from their parents and spirited away to white run camps where they would be " brain washed " to deny their Aboriginality.
A solid band of indigenous people spoke out to dispel these rumours - and it was suggested that the source of such wild yarns was originating from those who had the most to fear from an investigation of child sex abuse. There was certainly an air of panic in some quarters - and a suggestion that some families had abandoned their villages in the Northern Territory to escape what they believed was a coming purge.
It seems that this attempt to put things right in our Aboriginal community will not be restricted to the Northern Territory. The states are coming onboard - with varying degrees of enthusiasm - and at long last there seems to be a consensus of thinking that we have an obligation to the original inhabitants of this land to improve their standard of living, look after their health problems, protect their children from abuse - and offer them the privileges that are a right for all Australian citizens.
Neither side of Federal politics nor any state government can escape the shame of knowing about this problem for decades - and doing nothing ! That problem is now in the glare of the national spotlight - and it is not going to go away.

Famous ? - or just moronic !

During the dark years of the second world war there was a much loved song that began with the words " The last time I saw Paris ..... "
It referred to " the city of light " occupied by a foreign army.
These days hardly a news broadcast or a newspaper fails to mention another " Paris ".
This one's claim to fame revolves around money - lots of it. She has the good fortune to be the heiress to the fabulous Hilton hotel fortune - but that is not the reason that the media finds her so newsworthy.
The world seems fascinated with a young woman bestowed with beauty and the body of a model - but sadly lacking in brain power. It is said that the juvenile mind does not reach full development until age twenty five - but Paris Hilton can not claim this excuse because she is now twenty-six.
She has adopted the vacuous life of a moron. She has the money to buy the most opulent cars in the world - and then proceeds to get behind the wheel drunk and bend them around solid objects. She displays arrogance by continuing to drive after a court has suspended her license - and as a result a wrathful judge decided to teach her humility by way of a little jail time.
That led to an interesting confrontation between money and justice. Justice won - and Paris was forced to endure a few days behind bars.
So - where does Paris Hilton go from here ? She can continue the pointless life of the super-rich and no doubt she will still be courted by the media, but if the legacy of the brains that accumulated the Hilton fortune still reside in her head she is capable of using her money to achieve something of lasting significance.
All that takes is the will to succeed !

The gathering storm.

Ask the average person to name the most dangerous country in the world and you would probably get a variety of answers - North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq - and a host of middle east states.
It could be that one of our allies in the war against terrorism is in the process of change - and just as Iran under the Shah was our close friend decades ago - internal change can convert friend to foe with bewildering speed.
The country at the cross roads is Pakistan. President Pervez Musharraf is locked in a constitutional battle with his iconic Supreme Court Chief Justice, Iftikhar Chaundhry.
Musharraf came to power by way of a coup and holds both the positions of president and chief of the armed forces. He has ambitions to serve a third term as president, something that is barred by his country's constitution. There is also pressure for the positions of president and military chief to be separated.
Chaundhry is a highly respected juror and the one man who may prevail in stopping Musharraf, but that may be at the price of another coup - and this time the emerging powers could be the sections of the army who have strong sympathy and support for the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan - and lean towards the ideology of al Qaeda.
There is no doubt that many in Pakistan are anti the west - and in particular the United States - and despite Musharraf holding the country on a secular course are giving aid and shelter to those engaged in jihad. If Musharraf falls - his replacement is unlikely to be a friend to the western powers.
That would bring into force a chilling scenario. Pakistan is a nuclear power. Not only has it tested a nuclear weapon but it also possesses rudimentary rocket delivery systems capable of reaching it's near neighbours.
The biggest fear is that a radical Islamic government might be tempted to supply a nuclear weapon to terrorists. The logical target would be an Israeli city such as Tel Aviv - and the repercussions from such an attack would be impossible to gauge.
Fortunately Pakistani nuclear weapons are not believed to include thermo-nuclear hydrogen weapons, but a bomb the size of that dropped on Hiroshima would still kill many thousands of people - and might even trigger world war three.
The emerging struggle in Pakistan should be watched with more than passing interest !

The lure of " instant gratification ".

There was a time - a long time ago - when people saved money to buy something they wanted. Then came " Bankcard " and a whole range of instant credit allowing them to gratify their desires instantly - and pay later !
Now that sales strategy has taken several steps further. The media is saturated with advertisements offering " No deposit - no interest - until a date from eighteen months to several years in the future ".
The message is " You can have it all now " - and huge numbers of people are falling into this debt trap. It is probably manageable for those who have a sensible budget plan and start reducing the loan with regular payments to eliminate it before that distant future date, but many reach that date with the money still owing - and then find that a vast amount of accrued interest falls due.
Another " buy now " scheme is rife with both pay TV and broadband offerings. There are inducements to sign up now - which include free or subsidized installation, free modems - and a very attractive price tag - until you notice that this is for a period of several months.
Most of these offerings have a requirement in the fine print that the contract is for twenty-four months. When the " el-cheapo " introductory offer expires the normal rate cuts in - and the buyer is stuck with that for the rest of the contract period.
Buying with extended credit - which is what most of these schemes really are - is a perilous venture. You are committing your income to an uncertain future and inviting financial calamity should there be an unplanned pregnancy in the family - removing a wife from the workforce - or some form of job loss or injury occurs to the main bread winner.
The first law of commerce applies to all these schemes - and that is - " Buyer beware ! ".

Union Thuggery !

Kevin Rudd is desperately trying to achieve separation between the Australian Labor party and the worst elements of the union movement. Union leaders who have resorted to violence and those that have been found to use extortion to achieve their ends have been kicked out of the party - but the weakness of that approach is that they still retain their union power.
Rudd knows that there are many paid-up union members who are leery of a Labor government in power in Canberra if it means that power is shared with union heavy weights who are little more than criminal gang leaders.
The union movement is big business and those in the seats of power control an army of lesser satraps who extend that power to the workplace floor. Union meetings are closely monitored and the traditional show of hands deters many from expressing an opposing point of view.
Union members face a bewildering choice when they weigh up their options. The Federal Labor party has a preponderance of ex-union leaders in both it's front bench and back bench - and even more are standing for safe seats in the coming election.
How will these people view politics once they find themselves removed from the union floor and actually part of this country's government. Will union dogma prevail - or will they rise to the challenge of delivering sane and fair policies to the twenty-one million residents of this country ?
It could be that Rudd's chance of becoming prime minister may depend on how the voters read his resolve to stand up to the union movement - and whether they believe that he has the backbone to keep a firm lid on Julia Gillard and the party's left wing and it's desire to implement a draconian socialist agenda.
The more the union movement resorts to bully boy tactics and the more it's massive advertising campaign reeks of desperation - the thinking unionist must wonder whether a change of government will let loose a monster that will devour sanity and change the face of Australia forever !

Our lost generations.

Prime minister John Howard has reacted by calling a " National Emergency " in the wake of a report highlighting widespread sexual abuse of Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory. He proposes to take Federal control of Aboriginal affairs, something that is possible in the Territory - but not available within state regimes.
Aboriginal welfare has been a sorry story over countless decades. It's origin was one of paternalistic oversight which resulted in what became " the stolen children " saga - children taken to be brought up by white people in the belief that this would integrate them into society.
Then came the era of allowing the indigenous people to control their own lives. This also was a disaster. Countless millions of dollars was thrown at the problem, to be siphoned away and squandered by corrupt leaders who sought only to enrich themselves. The Aboriginal communities in country areas succumbed to the menace of alcohol. Children were not encouraged to go to school - and without education they had no future. Poverty was endemic. When the fortnightly Centrelink welfare money hit the bank the grog and drug suppliers were handy, ready to make sales that in many cases consumed the entire pension and left nothing for food, clothing or the utility bills.
In this era Aboriginal children took to petrol sniffing. Pornography became rife and sexual abuse was rampant. Mining with large, single male workforces found young Aboriginal girls ready to prostitute themselves for money - and this was the Northern Territory situation that John Howard took to task.
The proposal is to ban alcohol for a trial period of six months. Howard will also tighten the laws that restrict non-Aboriginals from entering indigenous communities and use the welfare laws to see that children are clothed, fed and attend school.
In cases where parents are hopelessly trapped in alcoholism the amount of welfare cash they will receive will be minimal. That money will be directed to supply organizations which will only exchange the balance on hand for food, clothing and other essentials. A proportion will automatically be directed to utility suppliers to see that facilities such as power and water are maintained.
Implementation will require a large workforce which will include police and probably the army to provide infrastructure. All Aboriginal children under age 16 will be required to undergo regular health checks to check for sexual abuse.
Labor leader Kevin Rudd has agreed to stand shoulder to shoulder with Howard on this issue - but the plan will draw immense hostility from the do-gooder brigade. Their only answer is to throw more money at the problem with no change in the present, failed regimen. Many Aboriginal people will be hostile to supervision affecting their lives - but part of the problem is the conception held by many that the white people owe them a living - and they have no obligation to improve their lives. While this remains in place they are destined to remain second class citizens.
Howard has pleaded with the states to implement reforms in their areas. In all probability the responses will be mixed - but the outcome of events in the Northern Territory will set the standard. If they succeed, the push for action by the states will become unstoppable !

The " gravy train ".

Politicians from both of the major parties sat poker faced as the Renumerations Tribunal announced a 6.7% pay rise. This will increase a back benchers salary from $ 118,000 to $ 127,000 - plus the wide array of allowances that will sharply increase that figure.
Under the protocol between Federal and state, the increase will automatically flow to state politicians with state premier's salaries increasing to $ 300,000 per year.
The reaction was predictable. The major parties were quick to point out that they had no say in the salary matter as politician's pay was set by the independent Renumerations Tribunal. The Greens and the other minor parties had a cheap shot by condemning the increase, safe in the knowledge that their lack of numbers would not prevent it.
The timing of this increase is unfortunate as the government has been warning the public service that it will vigorously oppose any pay claims that exceed 2.5%. Anything higher would tend to fuel inflation and have a liklihood of inducing the Reserve bank to increase interest rates. What the government is saying is that the public service in particular and wage earners in general should bite the bullet and accept pay increases set at the inflation level for the good of the country's economy - a sacrifice that politicians reject for themselves.
The decision to increase politician's pay will not have an affect on the coming election. It is impartial that both sides of politics will eagerly grab the money and the public perception of politician's honesty and sense of fairness is at an all time low anyway.
No wonder politicians rate on a scale of honoured professions somewhere between used car salesmen and telemarketers !

A death in custody.

The result of a recent court case has probably set back relations between white society and Aboriginals by decades. A jury of eight men and four women returned a not guilty verdict on a manslaughter charge over the death in custody of an indigenous man.
On November 19, 2004 on Palm Island, off the northern coast of Queensland Mulrenji Doomadgee was arrested by Sergeant Chris Hurley of the Queensland police for being intoxicated and swearing. There was an altercation during the arrest and some hours later Doomadgee was found dead in his cell.
The coroner's inquest reported that the dead man's liver had been cleaved in two. He remarked that it was the sort of damage he would expect as a result of a fall from a tall building or a high speed car crash.
The arresting sergeant suggested Doomadgee probably tripped and fell on the step up into the police station. There was an enquiry and the police office was exonerated - and with incredible insensitivity the Queensland police returned this officer to duty as the senior cop in charge of police on Palm Island.
Following the death in custody Aboriginal people on the island had rioted, burning down both the police station and the court house. It was and remained a scene of high tension.
Public opinion forced a re-think and the sergeant was ultimately charged with manslaughter. At the trial, the coroner conceded that the damage to Doomadgee's liver could have been caused by the sergeant falling on top of him - or by the sergeant using what is known as " a knee drop " to inflict punishment. The sergeant denied any recollection of falling on the prisoner.
Obviously our law system relies on all evidence being presented to a jury of twelve of our peers and in this case that jury has decided that the sergeant had no case to answer. It does not provide an answer as to how Doomadgee sustained such incredible damage to his liver, resulting in death - and it will not satisfy the Aboriginal community that justice has been served.
The perception will remain that if the deceased had been a white person the result of that court case would have been different !

The desalination question.

Yesterday the New South Wales treasurer brought down the state budget - and it included funding for the controversial desalination plant to be located at Kurnell in Sydney.
By a curious coincidence of timing the go ahead for desalination has coincided with the end of the drought and within the time the budget was sent to the printers rain has been falling and the state dams are rapidly filling. In fact the dams in the Illawarra are now overflowing and Warragamba is way past danger level.
What a tempting decision for the government ! It could make a snap decision and put desalination on hold - and free up billions of dollars for other urgent projects such as health and roads. Or, it could stick to it's guns and let this controversial plant proceed in the sure knowledge that whatever the weather there will be a need for water in the growing Sydney basin in the near future that nature can not provide.
Either way will be a hard decision. If the long range weather people are right the building of the desalination plant will be accompanied by the reversal of the " El Nino " effect and citizens will see abnormal rainfall keeping dams full while this plant stands idle - waiting for the next drought.
Governments rarely like to spend money on future projects. State money is usually committed to shoring up infrastructure that is at a critical low because of lack of funding in previous years.
There will be furrowed brows as our leaders consult their crystal balls in Macquarie street in the days between the budget and the signing of the desalination works tender !

The good Samaritan.

Yesterday was a very ordinary winter's morning in Melbourne. At 8-15 am the crowds were streaming through the CBD on their way to their jobs in shops and offices. A taxi pulled up in busy Flinders Lane - and a man pulled a screaming woman from it's interior by her hair and commenced to savagely beat her.
The crowded pavements were appalled - but two men rushed forward to offer assistance. The man doing the beating calmly pulled an automatic pistol from his pocket and fired three shots. The first fatally wounded a 43 year old solicitor, the second and third hit the other helper and the woman in the upper chest. Both are now in hospital in a serious but stable condition. The murdered solicitor is in the city morgue.
The gunman ran off after firing the shots and dumped his distinctive jacket - and the pistol - on a nearby building site. The police were able to identify him as a member of the notorious " Hell's Angels " motorcycle gang. He is known to them and his arrest is only a matter of time.
These tragic events highlight the tendency for people to not get involved in instances where help is clearly needed. Who can blame them ? These days it is not uncommon for a criminal to be armed with a knife or a gun - and have no hesitation in using either.
The once vaunted Australian ethic of " fair play " is under attack - and yet there is a story to be learned from yesterday's events in Melbourne. Hundreds of people witnessed that attack on the woman - but just two courageous men stepped forward to do something about it.
And that is a common theme. How often do we read of a crowd gawking at a fiery car crash - and just one or two brave people risking their own lives to pull the driver and passengers free ?
We live in dangerous times and there is a tendency to do what the Pharisee did - look the other way and cross the road - but it seems that chivalry lives on.
The brave are the few - rather than the many !

The air safety divide.

Clearing an Australian airport for an overseas trip has become an exercise in anti-terrorist management. Bags are X-Rayed, passengers pass through metal detectors, shoes are scrutinised - and personal belongings are restricted in type and size to what can be carried in a clear plastic container. Passengers must feel an overwhelming sense of safety at these precautions.
Unfortunately this strict regimen only exists at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth - the four airports that service the international airlines bringing people to and from this country.
It is a very different picture at the dozens of provincial airports dotted about the country and serving smaller cities and towns.
There are no X-Ray machines and no metal detectors. Passenger processing is more reminiscent of the 1950's. Bags are accepted without question and in most cases passengers have access to the taxiway - and walk across this to board their aircraft.
It seems that smaller aircraft carrying domestic passengers are of little interest to terrorists. Terror is all about publicity and the media savvy terrorist knows that knocking a 747 out of the sky will dominate world news for days. In contrast, the crash of a small commuter plane carrying a handful of passengers will probably only make the local news.
It may be a comforting thought to country people but there seems to be a lack of balance when commuter flights connect with international airlines. In some cases, luggage booked in at a sleepy regional airport is transferred to an international flight without further checking. This seems to be common when a commuter flight is late and there is the need to get an international flight away on schedule.
The need for vigilance extends to all airports - and an upgrade is needed !

The sex industry.

" What a tangled web we weave ". Efforts to regulate the sex industry have taken something that was essentially simple and created a monolith of unimagined complexity.
Decades ago sex for sale was illegal. Despite that, every city had it's share of well known brothels - which the police studiously ignored. The system worked well and apart from an occasional bleat from the churches it was business as normal.
Then the powers that be decided that there was no way of stamping out the oldest profession - so the answer was to legalise it. Conditions were put in place. Soliciting was legal - provided it did not occur within sight of a school or a church. Brothels were permitted, provided that they met the planning laws and had the necessary council approvals.
And thats where things fell apart !
Applications to open a brothel saw moralists and church leaders organising demonstrations and petitions that cowed elected council members. All sort of obstacles were put in the way of what was now a legal activity. A few owners pushed the envelope and took the matter to a higher court - and won.
But - the average brothel owner simply didn't bother making all that effort just to get an official piece of paper called a permit. The brothel industry continued to embrace the " black economy " and remain illicit.
Suddenly the rules of the game changed. Those running a legal, council certified brothel upped the pressure on councils to remove their illegal competitors - and councils found themselves hiring private investigators to actually have sex in illegal brothels so that they could be called at witnesses in court to testify that premises were in fact offering sex - and were therefore illegal brothels.
Some ratepayers found use of their rate money to buy sex in such circumstances appalling - and this created a new headache for councils.
So we now have the bizarre situation where well known stretches of road in certain suburbs are the recognised " beat " of street girls who legally offer their services - and run the risk of predators - while the suburbs contain a mix of legal and illegal brothels offering a better class of service.
Public opinion seems to be a contrast between those who demand that all sorts of sexual services be ruthlessly stamped out - and those who take the liberal point of view that sex has been with us since the days when the pyramids were being built - and as such is a normal service that should be freely available.
The wise people will bet that nothing changes anytime soon !

Shipwreck !

For the next few days Australia's attention will be concentrated on efforts to refloat a huge ship stranded on a popular beach in the heart of a major city.
During last weekend's storm that lashed Newcastle and the northern coast the 70,000 tonne bulk carrier Pasha Bulker was slow to heed a warning to head out to sea. The storm caught her too close inshore - and she was driven hard aground on Nobby's beach.
The whole country watched as television recorded a dramatic rescue. Amid pounding waves and sheets of spray helicopters winched her twenty-two man crew to safety.
For the past few days events have unfolded with a salvage crew dropped from a helicopter to get her generators working - and with power restored water pumped into some cargo spaces to rebalance the ship. It was fortunate that the Pasha Bulker was empty, waiting to enter port and load coal for Japan. Had her holds been fully loaded the chances of retrieval would have been remote.
Television viewers are following the salvage plans with interest. There has been minor hull damage, but so far no leaking of the thousands of tonnes of oil in her bunkers. Booms are in place in case this happens.
A re-floating attempt will probably not take place until near the end of this month when abnormally high tides are predicted. It will be necessary to slightly turn the ship to avoid a reef between it and a safe passage to sea, and high pressure water hoses will be used to create a channel under her beam to break the suction with the sand.
When the time comes for the moving attempt there will be a small navy of tugs on hand. One large tug will trail lines to the ship as it heads out to sea and drops a huge array of anchors. This will establish it as a stationery point against which the Pasha Bulker's own winches will strive to move the ship off the beach. At the same time, several other tugs will lend their pull power to the attempt.
The salvage master has stated that this will be a risky operation - and heaps of good luck will be needed if it is to be successful. Many will remember a similar incident a decade or so earlier when another ship - the Sygnia - was driven aground on Stockton beach, also in Newcastle.
Rescue attempts failed - and now the rusting hulk of the Sygnia is a tourist attraction visited by many.
Extreme weather is again predicted for this weekend - and if huge seas and gale force winds cause the Pasha Bulker to start breaking up the rescue attempt will be abandoned - and Newcastle will have a new and permanent tourist attraction - right in the heart of the city !

A surge of jobs !

The Australian Bureau of Statistics ( ABS ) has just released employment figures for the Wollongong area. This sector takes in an arc from Sutherland,on the southern outskirts of Sydney to Bateman's Bay - and includes a small section of the Southern Highlands.
In previous years Wollongong has had an above average unemployment rate, caused by a variety of factors. The latest rate is a pleasing 5.6% - which compares favourably with the 8.5% of last year and a previous peak of 10.7%.
The improvement can relate to the lifting of draconian unfair dismissal laws. It was simply too time consuming - and far too expensive - to remove an unsatisfactory employee - and so industry settled on a smaller, permanent workforce which met excess demand by working overtime.
With the right to hire and fire restored, industry is again hiring.
Unfortunately Wollongong still lags behind the national average of 4.8% and in part this is due to the unreliability of the railway system to deliver workers to Sydney jobs on time.
Trains are slow and over crowded - and even moderate rain or high winds sees the line shut down and replaced by buses because of slippage and safety concerns. As a result, a Wollongong address on an employment application is doomed to failure because employers know that " on time " attendance from this city is unlikely.
The train problems are reflected in increased traffic flow on the F6 expressway joining Wollongong and Sydney. Despite high petrol prices many workers prefer to drive to avoid the uncertainty of rail, particularly when their job is in western Sydney which would involve multiple train journeys.
Unemployment is falling steadily. All it would take to join the national average would be a decision to upgrade rail from third world to first world in this area !

The uninsured !

The disastrous storm and flood that has hit the Hunter region of northern New South Wales has visited ruin on many people. It seems that at least a quarter of those whose homes have been damaged - and their contents destroyed - were not insured.
The reason is fairly simple. Most inland towns are built around a river and have a history of periodic flooding. Because of this, insurance companies will only write policies offering cover from fire and theft. Damage from flooding is specifically excluded. As a result, many see no point in home and contents insurance.
As long as there has been civilization there have been floods - and after each large event the authorities have been soul searching as to how to mitigate personal losses and protect the community.
One idea that periodically gets an airing is the concept of compulsory home and contents insurance for all, with the premiums tacked on to council rates. Unfortunately the concept is not viable.
The rating system in this state is based on the unimproved land value. This takes no account of the value of any home built on the site. It could be a hovel - or a mansion. Under that concept it would be impossible to balance the value for insurance purposes of the risk to be covered - and forcing insurance on people would probably raise the ire of the civil liberties people.
There is also a matter of equity. Those that do insure have a substantial fire brigade levy tacked on to their premium. The uninsured get the services of the fire department for free - and it has been suggested that this levy should be dropped from insurance premiums and applied as a special charge on council rates so that every dwelling contributes to the service.
It would also sharply drop insurance premiums - and make insurance more attractive to a greater number of people.
All of these ideas do nothing to overcome the fact that a large sector of the population live in areas where flooding is a cyclical event. This ranges from minor flooding once or twice a year to major floods - such as that presently happening in the Hunter region - which may only occur once or twice in a century.
It is not practical to suggest abandoning all flood prone areas and shifting the population to higher ground - particularly as global warming may expand the risk area sharply over the remainder of this century.
We probably have the best - and maybe the only possible way of dealing with such a situation - by way of what is now happening. The government will provide a lot of money to repair infrastructure, repair washed out roads and reconnect electricity. There will be hardship grants to get flood affected people back on their feet - and as usual the public will be generous. Appeals will result in money for welfare agencies to distribute to replace lost personal effects, bedding and electricals - and those who have had this misfortune will grin and bear it - and get on with their lives !

Looters !

From time to time we are amazed at the dedication and courage shown by ordinary people when confronted by an emergency. The media recount instances where the injured are dragged from burning vehicles by rescuers who totally disregards their
own safety. A house burns down and the occupants are left destitute. Furniture, clothing and money comes from everywhere - often from givers who themselves are experiencing hard times.
And then there is the other side of the coin.
The most savage storm for decades struck the Newcastle area last weekend. High winds toppled trees and unroofed homes - and everywhere flood waters caused death and destruction, leaving thousands in temporary shelter and hundreds stranded in homes still isolated by floodwater - without telephones or electricity.
Once again the generous spirit of the community is donating money and lending a helping hand. Emergency services are stretched to the limit trying to deliver food to those stranded and the insurance companies are being urged to quickly settle claims and allow people to get on with their lives.
Amid this spirit of help and assistance there is a darker side at work that seeks personal gain from the misfortune of others. Looters have moved in to abandoned shopping centres, stealing electrical goods and any merchandise that they can manage to carry away - and worse - they are smashing their way into flooded homes - multiplying the damage caused by the flood - to scour the premises for personal items that have value - but huge significance to the owners.
The reaction across the country is one of repugnance. Looting at the time of a disaster is one of the lowest points of human nature. Hopefully, some of these people will be caught and brought to justice - and when that happens the hope is that the justice system will not administer a slap on the wrist. Hopefully, looters will be ordered to serve prison time - and again hopefully their fellow prisoners will show them the error of their ways - somewhat forcefully !
If it came to a referendum - most people would gladly sign on for looters to be shot on sight !

The Mufti exits !

Many in the Muslim community will breathe a huge sigh of relief at the news that the Mufti of Australia, Sheik Hilaly has resigned and is going into retirement.
The Sheik has been a controversial figure whose persistent comments have angered many in the community. Perhaps his most famous gaffe was to describe women in western attire as " uncovered meat " - a comment many took to condone rape.
Australians were insulted that a man who has chosen our society as his home should seek to impose a way of dress more suited to a foreign land.
It would have been interesting to gauge the reaction had a western religious leader commented along the lines " that Muslim women are so ugly that their menfolk can not bear to look at them and insist that they wear the burqa ".
All that is now past history - and a new leader will speak for the Muslim world in this country. Fehmi El-Iman now has the job and from all reports he is a man of diplomatic outlook who will mend relations.
This is very important. Too many Australians have little knowledge of Islam and all they see in the media is Islamic terrorists causing death and destruction in other parts of the world. We do have a few Islamic settlers who support that jihadst view, but the great majority came here to avoid conflict and only wish to live quietly and peacefully in this country.
El-Imn has the job ahead of him - but he has the best wishes of most Australians who hope he succeeds !

The insurance enigma.

Now that the waters are receding from the huge storm that hit the New South Wales coast this weekend residents will be measuring the damage - and making claims on their insurance companies.
It might be an opportune time to hark back to the experience of 1998 - when a similar storm caused massive damage and some loss of life in Wollongong and the Illawarra.
Initially, the majority of the insurance industry refused claims. They contended that the damage was " flood " - which insurers do not cover - and not " storm " - which they do.
A small number of insurers were prompt in meeting claims and issuing cheques and eventually the big two companies which covered most people caved in. That left just four insurers who stuck to their guns and stubbornly declined all claims.
Those claims were never met. One such insurer closed it's Wollongong office, sacked local staff and retreated to it's home state. Two others fell on hard times - understandably given their sullied reputation - and were eventually taken over by a major company - but with no claim retrospectively met.
The aftermath of that storm left strange experiences. One family had a wall of water run down a street and inundate their home, ruining furniture, carpets and electricals. Their insurance company rejected a claim but the wife's mother who lived in a " granny flat " at the same premises - and had insurance with a different insurance company - had her claim promptly met. Such were the vagaries of the 1998 storm.
It will be interesting to see how the industry treats this storm damage - but if any insurance company tries to weasel out of it's obligations the government should step in an appoint an insurance ombudsman to arbitrate - with sole discretion to approve claims.
Insurance companies need a license to do business in this state and any company not prepared to accept the umpire's decision should have that license cancelled and be sent packing.
The 1998 Illawarra experience should not be repeated.

The " pack horse " kids !

Once upon a time - and not so very long ago - one of the rites of passage from " kid " to " teenager " was the first day at high school when the new student was handed the keys to his or her personal locker.
This was a huge step in the area of becoming a " person ". That locker was a place of exclusive privacy where only the student had access - and it was intended by the school as a means of ordering the routine of school life by having all the things needed on hand.
Unfortunately modern times overtook this facility. The world of drugs intruded and every time a student was suspected of using or dealing the police needed to inspect that locker - and that introduced a huge legal problem. Search warrants were required and so the authorities decided that personal lockers would be abandoned.
That decision came at a huge price. Instead of having all the books and equipment needed for the average school day on hand pupils needed to bring them from home - and so came an item called " the back pack ".
Suddenly students were required not only to have all their school needs with them, but to also take them home at night to be able to do their homework - and this introduced a weight problem that can impinge on health.
The back pack for the average thirteen year old starting High school weighs in the vicinity of 8.6 kilo's - including cut lunch and water bottle but excluding equipment needed for sport.
Lugging that weight from home to school - and then back home again is something that concerns medical people. It might be reasonable for young people with big bodies but for those with a small frame there is a distinct risk of health damage and injury.
Perhaps the time is fast coming when the initial promise of the computer age is actually put into practice. We were promised a " paperless society " - and yet we still lug heavy school books as out points of reference. When the day comes that all students have access to a home computer there will be no reason why the contents of all those books should not be available on line. Then the heavy loads will vanish - as will the need for those abandoned personal lockers - but while that is happening the schools would be well advised to give thought to how to manage classes to regulate a smaller number of books needed each day.
A genius level of student is not a fair exchange for one with a ruined body !

Unpunished crime.

The " Daily Telegraph " had the good fortune to have a photographer present when a crime was committed near Central railway station. This photographer captured graphic pictures of the culprits threatening a pedestrian and stealing his valuables - including the pair of high priced big name joggers he was wearing.These pictures clearly identified the perpetrators.
The pictures were presented to the police - who showed no interest. They declined to investigate the crime - or followup in any way.
When this story hit the front pages it provoked an avalanche of irate readers detailing similar police inactivity. Reader after reader told of house robberies that the police failed to attend or even record details. The best they could hope for was the issue of an " event number " which would be necessary before an insurance claim could proceed.
This revelation provoked contrasting comment from the police and other compilers of crime statistics. The police claim burglaries are declining - and quote the 1997-98 statistics that in that year there were 802 burglaries and 299 " stealing from a house" events - compared to 336 and 287 respectively in 2006-7.
The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics chipped in with a claim that there were 127,500 victims of assault, 22,300 people robbed, 26,300 burglaries and 63,100 attempted burglaries that were not reported because citizens considered reporting to be a waste of time. These figures should be taken with a grain of salt because it is difficult to imagine how anyone can provide accurate figures of unreported crime.
What does matter is the fact that if the police consider burglaries and stealing " trivial " and not worth following up then they are missing a huge opportunity to make this state a safer place to live.
If there were 336 burglaries in NSW it is not likely that the culprits were 336 individual burglars. The typical burglar is probably a junkie looking to raise money for his next fix - and he or she carries out multiple crimes.
If the police investigate each burglary report - and take fingerprints and DNA evidence left at the scene - when a culprit eventually slips up - and they all do, usually when trying to flog stolen goods in a pub or fence them to a second hand dealer - the charges are for multiple crimes, not just a single offense that will attract a slap on the wrist punishment such as a bond. A burglar with a long charge sheet can expect a custodial sentence - preventing further burglaries while in prison - and the hope that drug detoxification may prevent a relapse to more crime when released.
The state government - and the police commissioner - needs to understand that resdents do not consider a criminal breaking into the sanctity of their home and stealing treasured items to be " trivial " - and not worth police manpower and resources. We pay taxes to fund the police force, the court system and the prisons. We expect these entities to perform - and in the case of burglary crime it is clear this is not happening !

The demise of the car mechanic.

Mot so very long ago car owners had a wide choice when it came to selecting a mechanic to service and repair their cars. They could go to the brand dealer - but this was expensive - or choose from a wide array of independent service people. Some of these operated out of their garage at home. Some also owned a filling station - and some simply operated the workshop associated with a petrol outlet.
Those days are rapidly fading away - and those mechanics still in business are increasingly being restricted to older cars.
The computer has become part of the automobile and as a consequence it takes a computer to liase and determine what needs fixing. Most mechanics have a computer - but the drawback is that they also need access to the servicing programme for the car they intend to work on - and car manufacturers tend to restrict that information to the service departments of their own brand dealers. Then there is the proliferation of car makers. It would be a daunting task for a small, backyard motor mechanic to have the factory information on every brand of car his customers are likely to present.
So we are destined to see this type of mechanic wither away. They will survive for a while servicing older model cars which do not need computer information and many will diversify into associated work such as servicing lawn mowers, chain saws and other less sophisticated equipment - but as the years progress cars will simply get more complex and the only source of service will be the brand workshop with it's monopoly on the information needed to do the job - and that also means a monopoly on the prices charged !

Church and State.

Cardinal George Pell fired a full broadside at member's of his faith who are members of parliament or teachers in the Catholic school system. He warned that if Catholic politicians voted for the coming therapeutic cloning bill they could expect " consequences from the church " - and he refused to exclude excommunication !
His attack on teachers was no less subtle. Those employed in the Catholic school system will in future be expected to order their personal lives in harmony with the teachings of the church. Presumably that means no gays of lesbians, no couples living together without the sanctity of marriage, no adultery - and all must present at church each Sunday and attend confession.
It's hard to determine if this is just Pell, feeling his oats after being elevated to Cardinal and the new found power bringing out his tyrannical vibes, or if this is an order coming from his boss in the Vatican.
Whatever the cause it is likely to set back relations between church and state by at least a century. Politicians who get elected to this country's parliament take an oath of office to serve the crown. They are responsible to the citizens - but Pell's demand is that they take their orders from Rome at any time that legislation collides with the dogma of the Catholic church.
Basically that means that any Catholic politician who takes his or her elected office seriously can not take the oath of office and at the same time accept the demands of George Pell. In other words, any Catholic with a conscience can not be a member of an Australian parliament !
Things are easier for Catholic teachers. The church is still mired in the deep past as far as accepting modern convention - and many Catholics disagree with it's stance on contraception, the treatment of women and it's attitude to gays - and still smart a their church's refusal to hand over paedophile priests to be dealt with by the law. The church insists that discipline will be " in house " - and in reality this means the priest is quietly moved to a distant parish where he will again reoffend.
Many teachers will simply give Pell the one finger salute, leave their teaching job and find another in the private or government sector. Some will abandon their religion and walk away from the church.
The tragedy of Pell's stance is that the rift between the church and non-Catholics has almost healed from the bitterly divided days of last century when many job vacancy advertisements carried the notation " Catholics need not apply ".
Pell seems to have abandoned the secular approach that has served this country well. Many will see little difference between the Catholic church demanding that Catholic dogma be the law and the similar demands of Islamists that we adopt Sharia law in this country. Both are dismissed because they fail to meet the needs or the views of the vast majority of Australians.
It could be that Cardinal George Pell goes down in history as the man who caused the greatest convulsion between church and state in this country's two centuries plus of religious mix. Hopefully, this is not the intention of his boss in Rome - and hopefully he will be told to moderate his rhetoric !

Speed limits.

Speed limits are a contentious subject to most drivers - but are they an aid to safety or a source of revenue for the government ?
Many would disagree with the actions of the Road and Traffic Authority ( RTA ) when they reduced the speed limit on the four lane extension of the F6 through Engadine to 50 kph. Obviously it is necessary to separate pedestrians and traffic, but the obvious answer would have been an overhead pedestrian bridge. That simply costs money rather than delivers revenue.
There is a school of thought that speed limits should be set by the average speed of drivers using a particular stretch of road. This is determined by cameras recording all vehicles and their speed over a period of a given number of months. Then the lower ten percent of speed is subtracted from the survey and the upper ten percent - which takes care off the few maniacs travelling at very high speed - is similarly removed. The then average speed of the majority of those using that piece of road becomes the posted speed limit.
It makes sense. The average driver travels at a speed that is safe for the conditions and yet speed limits are set by some obscure back room committee who rely entirely on parameters which have no relation to the reality of the road in question.
The " driver averaging " model of setting speed limits recognises the skill and common sense of most drivers - and filters out the " little old ladies " in the lower ten percent - and the " hoons " in the upper ten percent.
The system works well in some overseas countries where it has been adopted, but so far such suggestions have met a deaf ear in this state.
Unfortunately speed limits are a bit of a joke when it comes to inner Sydney. All unposted Sydney streets have a blanket 50 kph limit - but achieving even a fraction of that during the rush hour - which is now the majority of the day - is beyond most driver's wildest dream !

Dental health.

One issue yet to make an impact in the runup to this year's Federal election is dental health. For over half a century this has been the poor relation to the national health system.
Medicaire is probably as good a safety net as any in comparison with the health system of other countries. All citizens are entitled to free care within the state hospital systems and a sufficiently large number of doctors bulk bill to provide service free of charge for those unable to pay. Unfortunately - when it comes to dental care the provision of services for the average person falls far short.
There are facilities for those unable to pay, but the waiting list is years rather than months - and such is the rationing applied that when a patient reaches the front of the queue he or she receives attention to a single tooth - and then goes back to the end of the cheque should additional treatment be required.
Kevin Rudd has seized the initiative and promised that if Labor is elected he will elevate dental care to the same level as medical care within Medicaire. So far the Liberal government has not responded with a counter scheme - but that will probably happen within the short term.
This is one of the benefits of our Federal system. Every three years we have an election to see who controls the levers of power in Canberra - and in bidding for our vote the government and the opposition party are forced to present their agenda for our scrutiny. The people get to pick and choose according to what the political parties promise.
There is just one fly in the ointment. Politics is a strange game totally removed from the laws that prevail in the business community - where a company can be sued and severely punished for misrepresentation of it's prospectus. When politicians speak and make promises - and that applies to both sides of the house - there is no law that insists that those promises will be carried out or not drastically altered to the point when they become worthless.
Basing a vote on promises is a bit like taking numbers in Lotto. Occasionally Lady Luck smiles and bestows a winner - but most simply end up in the discard bin when the election is finally over !

The graveyard of good ideas !

Several years ago there was concern following a spate of accidents involving children alighting from school buses. The state government rushed through new laws requiring virtually all buses to install flashing amber lights and signage requiring traffic to slow to forty kilometres an hour when buses were setting down or picking up children.
For weeks the start and end of school saw a sea of flashing lights. Police were vigilant and drivers ignoring the speed restrictions presented with heavy fines and the loss of demerit points - but there were problems !
Some bus drivers failed to cancel those flashing lights when under way, and as a result traffic was technically restricted to 40 kph and prevented from overtaking these buses.
Today - it is a different story. It is a rare sight to see a school bus or an excursion bus carrying children using this warning system. It seems that there is a plethora of laws to convict and fine motorists who fail to obey those flashing lights - but no laws to insist that bus drivers use them.
Lethargy has set in. Bus drivers simply can not be bothered going to the trouble of hitting a switch when stopping - and remembering to hit it again when under way.
This law - which cost bus owners thousands to have the system installed - only seems to come to life whenever there is an accident and the story of an injured child hits the media. Unfortunately, this flurry of activity slowly grinds to a halt with the passage of time. What does it take to have a good idea become part of the national psyche ?

The culture of violenece !

The APEC summit to be held in Sydney this September brings with it the promise of sharply escalated violence. Police are warning that demonstrators are likely to use a device first seen in overseas demonstrations. This is a small, cheaply produced metal pyramid that presents a sharp spike capable of penetrating the sole of an officers boot - and that would be particularly deadly against police dogs and police horses.
This is likely to join a range of other offensive material such as " Molotov " cocktails - bottles of petrol thrown at police, marbles thrown under police horses and an array of missiles from bricks and cobble stones to metal spikes.
This raises the question of what constitutes a reasonable police response to such tactics. At present, there seems to be a degree of timidity. Despite intense provocation - and in some cases casualties - police are expected to refrain from responding with overwhelming force. They are expected to maintain a defensive stance and cop the full front of the attack - with only the use of batons as a last resort if the demonstrators are likely to break through containment lines.
Under this policy, the degree of violence has been steadily increasing.
A Molotov cocktail is a deadly weapon. Other missiles thrown at defending police are capable of causing death - and maybe the time is approaching when a new set of rules should apply.
Demonstrators are adopting methods of disguise. The ringleaders wear identical hooded garments with their face masked to avoid identification by CCTV cameras. They carry out their attacks and foment the surrounding crowd to violence - and then melt away.
The time has come to arm the police with weapons like .410 shotguns loaded with bird shot. If it is made clear that throwing a missile such as a Molotov cocktail is regarded as attempted murder then the person throwing can legitimately be shot in the legs to prevent the attack - and create the scenario for an arrest and appearance before a court on a serious charge.
Even if fellow demonstrators carry away the wounded before the police can make an arrest bird shot does not deliver a fatal wound, but the wounded would need treatment by a doctor or a hospital - and both have an obligation to report a gunshot wound.
Demonstrations are escalating in violence and the time has come to ramp up the police response. The hard core behind these incidents have no compunction in torching cars belonging to innocent Australian citizens - and torching McDonald's restaurants. That does nothing to hurt the American McDonalds chain - but it likely to financially ruin an Australian family who have taken out a franchise to operate one of these popular restaurants. Apart from the safety of the police controlling demonstrations the public have the right to have their property and livelihood protected from an element that is hell bent on anarchy !

The end of the holiday dream !

At the beginning of the last century a holiday in Australia usually involved a journey by train. By the middle of that century the train had been replaced by the car - usually with a caravan hitched on behind. At century's end the invention of jet planes made holidays overseas a normal event for everyday people. That era is now under threat.
The whole world is alarmed by global warming - and unfortunately one of the worst pollution offenders are airlines. There has recently been a serious suggestion by an environmental group that a thirty dollar tax be slapped on every passenger seat on every airline flight - for the sole purpose of decreasing the number of people flying on airplanes.
The whole purpose of aviation has been to persuade more people to fly and take holidays that broaden their knowledge and perspective - and yet we have a doomsayer group wanting to apply draconian restrictions, virtually economically locking people out of air travel.
The future of the aviation industry is headed towards bigger aircraft that carry more people - and which have more efficient engines that generate less noise, use less fuel - and leave behind less pollution. For that to happen, there must be a supply of holiday happy passengers to fill those seats.
There will never be an aircraft that creates absolutely no pollution - just as there will never be a world where all industry is pollution free. That is something we simply have to live with but the mentality of those who seek to price holiday travel out of existence is on a par with the neanderthals who want to shut down all forms of production and commerce - and go back to the cave man days.
There may be problems living in a polluted world - but it is a better bet than flipping living back several centuries to what we refer to as " the dark ages " !

The carbon trading myth.

Most people are concerned about the disasters predicted because of global warming and many want action to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced by manufacturing industry - and it seems that public opinion and the coming Federal election are pushing this country into adopting a carbon trading scheme.
It sounds good ! But let us have a thoughtful look at the nuts and bolts of how it works ?
Presumably, all polluters will be given a target - which will be less than their present level of Co2 output - and a period of time to achieve a reduction to that level.
Reducing Co2 will mean changes to production methods - probably including installing scrubbers and sequestration equipment - and that will cost money. Increased production costs affect the bottom line - and there will be a huge incentive to hike prices to restore profitability and keep the shareholders happy.
At the end of the period of grace some industries will have been successful in reducing their carbon emissions - and many will not. Those who fail will then be required to buy credits from those who have achieved reductions. For those selling credits the cash will be a windfall to offset whatever costs were involved in achieving a reduction. For those that failed, the impost of buying credits will further increase manufacturing costs - and lead to further price hikes.
By the law of probabilities, the number of manufacturers achieving carbon reductions will be less than those who fail. As a consequence, the demand for credits will be greater than the availability. In that case, the law of supply and demand cuts in and the price of credits rises sharply. The cost of manufacturing for those needing to buy credits increases sharply - and more price hikes enter the system.
Obviously, for a carbon credit scheme to have any effect there must be a penalty for those who fail to decrease emissions - and who also fail to cover that shortfall by buying credits. The obvious penalty will be a fine imposed by the government - and once again this will affect the bottom line. No manufacturer can trade at a loss for long and hope to survive - hence there is only a simple choice of options open to management. Close the doors and shut down - or hike prices to again become profitable.
The purists will applaud this outcome. The world will be rid of the worst polluters because they are unable to reduce emissions or buy enough credits to survive, and if they hike prices to uneconomic levels nobody will buy their product.
There is a flaw in that argument. The worst polluters are those generating the electricity we need for our standard of living. It is impossible to envisage the power stations closing down, commerce ceasing - and the life as we know it coming to an end. There would be no option other than embracing relentless electricity price rises for decades as plans were put in place and work started on alternative energy sources such as wind, solar and wave - and of course - nuclear energy production.
Carbon trading can play a part in Co2 reduction, provided the targets set for industry are realistic - but consumers should be aware that there are no easy answers to the problem - and that if we set a course down that road then we can expect to pay more and receive less to achieve a healthy planet !