Good fish ! Bad fish !

There is something weird about the attitude we exhibit towards the fish that swim in the sea.

On the one hand we are praising an eleven year old schoolgirl who caught a Mako shark on a six kilogram fishing line - fifty kilometres off the coast of Wollongong. She achieved this unassisted and as a consequence her name will be recorded in the record books and she will become a minor celebrity.

The Mako shark is considered aggressive and has a habit of turning on the boat from which it is hooked. This shark recorded a weight of I8I.I kilogram - when it's dead body was hoisted onto the scales for public display.

Compare that with the Japanese " scientific " harvesting of whales. Instead of using a line and bait, Japanese whalers fire a harpoon with an explosive power head into the body of the whale. Its a gory business - and the body is hauled aboard a factory ship and dismembered. It's hard to see where scientific research comes into the picture - because clearly the Japanese only want whales for the dinner table.

So - we seem to have a " good fish - bad fish " attitude to denizens of the deep.

It's OK to butcher sharks because they are bad lads - but whales are our friends.

There must be some sort of rationale in there somewhere. But just at the moment it is a little hard to see !

The danger down below !

The hunt for new sources of energy is relentless - and coupled with danger, as the deep drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico illustrates.

Coal has been mined for centuries and still remains one of the world's most prolific energy sources, and as any coal miner knows - a great danger is the chance of a fire breaking out in a coal mine. Such a happening would not be easy to contain - and it could go on for years - and even centuries.

Now we are deliberately setting fire to coal seams under a scheme labelled " underground coal gassification " ( UCG ) - under test in Queensland.

This method leaves the coal in place deep underground. It is burnt in situ using heat, pressure and water to create a synthetic gas which is pumped to the surface - and used to fuel power stations.

In theory, this eliminates the need to create a coal mine, extract the coal and build a plant to turn this coal into energy. The problem is that the method can contaminate ground water with carcinogenic material - benzene and toluene.

There is also the danger that once a coal seam is fired it can spread to a vast network of other coal seams - and destroy most of the state's groundwater system.

We need new energy sources - but we also need to know what tests have been carried out - and what guarantees of safety exist - before we jump from the frying pan into the fire !

The " unlucky Australian ".

David Hicks admits that he had sympathies for the Taliban - and he further admits that he received military training while he was in Afghanistan - but at that time neither act broke any laws in either America or Australia.

Despite this, when he was captured by coalition forces in December 2001, he was shipped off to the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba and held there as a prisoner for five years without charge.

Eventually he became an embarrassment to the United States government - and a deal was set. He agreed to plead guilty to " material support for terrorism " - and was handed over to Australian authorities to serve a few months in an Adelaide prison - before being released.

The sticking point is that Hicks broke no laws in place when he spent time in Afghanistan - and the law he agreed to accept in return for his release is both retrospective - and probably illegal !

It seems Hicks is " the unlucky Australian ". He has spent more time in prison that the offence warranted and now he is caught under the " proceeds of crime " act from gaining any benefit from a book on his experiences.

About time his case went back to court for justice to apply !

An end to native birds.

The humble Sparrow is not an Australian native bird. Like many other birds and animals, it was imported from England by the early settlers, no doubt hoping to introduce a little cheer from home.

The Sparrow lived peacefully alongside the existing birds of Australia and in time became a very welcome migrant in our gardens. It is distressing to find that they are now rare - and with them the vast assortment of small birds that lent colour to our gardens.

Ever growing gangs of Indian Mynah birds are changing the bird scene in Australia. This import is aggressive and attacks other birds, destroys their nests and has no concept of sharing territory. In many suburbs, all other forms of birdlife have disappeared.

Indian Mynah birds have been declared noxious pests, but there is little action being taken to curb their numbers. If this continues, we face the prospect of species loss - as has happened to many other species of Australian animals since the arrival of European settlers here.

Tomorrow may be too late. What we need - and need on a most urgent basis - is a trapping programme to reduce the numbers of Indian Mynah birds present in our suburbs, followed by council action to destroy their eggs and nests to eliminate future generations.

It is unlikely that this will fully succeed, but at least a reduction in numbers will give the native bird population hope of survival.

Death of a million trees !

If - as expected - the prime minister calls on the Governor General this morning and calls a Federal election - the scene will be set for the vast expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars to try and secure your vote !

During the course of the campaign your letterbox will be stuffed to overflowing with campaign material. Listen to radio or watch TV and you will be bombarded with political advertisements exhorting you to cast your vote for one of the major parties - or perhaps for one of the hopefuls inhabiting the fringe.

There will be debates. There will be public meetings in town halls. There will be rallies in public places. People will come knocking on your door to deliver a spiel.

In the end, the result will be delivered by a small number of people - those who actually are politically impartial and make up their minds after giving the issues due consideration.

For the rest, their vote will depend on into which family they were born !

Political alliance - just like religion - mostly depends on our early days brainwashing. Children absorb the political credo of their parents, just as the religion of those parents depend on which church they attend.

The pity of it all is that huge forests of trees will be turned into wood chip to feed the presses that will churn out political material that few will actually read.

Lets hope that those thinking few arrive at a wise conclusion !

The " Moped " battle revisited.

Shortly after the end of the second world war the " Moped " emerged in America - and became the choice means of transport for thousands. The Moped was an ordinary bicycle - fitted with a tiny little motor to assist when climbing hills. In most parts of the world it required neither registration or insurance.

Not so here in Australia. The powers that be in all states insisted that it was a " motorcycle " - and would be required to comply with all the laws and licenses that applied to a motorcycle.

That killed the Moped dead in this country.

Sixty years on - and we have had a change of thinking.

Bicycles are now politically correct as a preferred means of transport - and the opposition to a small motor assistance to the rider has become legal - as long as that motor is no more than 200 watts.

But once again the heavy hand of the law seems determined to stamp out the Moped. A rider - who presented his Moped to the Roads and Traffic Authority ( RTA ) and was assured his bike was legal - has been fined by the police and handed a $ 1000 fine - because they consider that the motor exceeds 200 watts. Consequently, the police claim the Moped must be registered and insured as a conventional motorbike - and the rider requires a rider's license to operate it.

It seems that this should be a matter to be settled between the police and the RTA.

As usual the poor member of the public is left out there in no man's land. Both the police and the RTA retire behind their legal barricades and leave this unfortunate to shoulder the work - and costs - to prove himself innocent.

About time the government stepped in and kicked a few bums to sort this out !

Rip 'em out !

The consequences of that disastrous decision to impose parking meters on the citizens of Wollongong is now becoming apparent. The beating heart of this city is dieing ! We have an under performing Mall surrounded by a contingent of small businesses that have seen their customers decrease - and profits drop - since those meters became operational.

In sheer desperation the council is tinkering around the edges. There has been fine tuning of allowed timing. Now the move is away from that flat $2 fee to a more rational fee for time parked system.

It must be remembered that installing parking meters in Wollongong was not the product of a decision by an elected council. It was a decision made by a trio of flunkies appointed by the state government. These " administrators " were not of this city - and as " outsiders " they had no obligation to listen to the residents wishes. In all probability - an elected council would not have even considered installing parking meters.

It is clear that what is tolerable in metropolitan Sydney does not work in regional cities - as evidenced by the business downturn in Newcastle - which was similarly inflicted with parking meters and is fast become a " ghost city " of failed businesses.

Its time to " bite the bullet " and face reality.

Parking meters are a disaster in Wollongong and there is really only one solution - and that is to " rip them out ! "

Sure - we will face a financial loss, but it is better to face something that was forced upon us and rectify it - than to see our city centre fade to zero !