What this bright New Year brings !

At the stroke of midnight six million dollars worth of fireworks lit up the Sydney sky, bringing in the year two thousand and twelve. Some people made new year resolutions, but what this new year delivers seems to be set in stone.

The old year saw three hundred and seventy four residents of this state die in road accidents - and a whopping eighteen thousand three hundred suffered serious injury. Despite the best efforts of the police and those tasked with road safety, there is no reason to believe that the figures will be greatly changed this time next year.

We have had the coolest start to summer in fifty years, and yet the combination of a mild winter and copious rain has greatly increased the fuel load surrounding our cities and towns. If the anticipated very hot conditions arrive and bring with them north westerly winds, there is every chance that this late summer will see the worst cyclical fire storms in decades.

There will be the usual inevitable increase in the prices charged for electricity, gas and water, and at the same time the lowest paid in the workforce will drop about $ 30,000 from their superannuation payout when they retire - because of money saving changes to the rules. At the same time, economists expect the stock market will surge as we begin a new cycle, helping to widen the gap between the rich and the poor.

Few will be surprised to learn that dishonest politicians charged with a crime are expecting taxpayers to pick up the tab for their legal costs. They will naturally hire the most experienced - and most expensive - lawyers and we will be treated to the " theatre " that passes for justice in this unequal world.

Those found guilty will be severely punished and lambasted by the judge, but an appeal will be lodged - to be heard long after the matter has faded from the news. Inevitably - this appeal will result in the sentence being drastically reduced or even waived - and the legal bill will again be sheeted home to the taxpayers.

We live in a world of " bread and circuses " - where that old adage - " The more things change, the more they stay the same " still rings true !