At first glance it seems a good deal. Lend Lease is developing a huge project at Barangaroo in Sydney and is offering to excavate 600,000 tonnes of soil and donate this - free of charge - to Port Kembla to be used in the reclaiming of foreshore for port expansion. Lend Lease is picking up the bill for moving it here by sea transport.
The only catch is that Barangaroo was once the site of the Sydney gas works and some of this soil is contaminated with lead, zinc, copper and a host of other potentially dangerous minerals.
If this offer goes ahead, it needs to be carefully considered with all aspects covered. Will contaminated soil used as fill in a port expansion leach into harbour waters and cause harm to the environment, or will it be safely contained under concrete decking when the expansion is complete ?
What treatment - and what costs will be involved - in ensuring that this fill is quarantined from leaching ? That is a question that needs answering by qualified scientists and the specification should take into account that such containment must be effective on a very long term basis.
It would be easy for this offer to be rejected on emotional grounds. The very thought of " contamination " raises the ire of many people and there have even been suggestions that if this goes ahead we may end up with nuclear waste being used as fill. Rumour and exaggeration can quickly create a scenario out of reach with reality.
Properly handled, this offer can deliver huge savings to both parties. Port Kembla is going to require fill to expand and it will cost a lot of money if it has to be sourced from a quarry at commercial rates. Lend Lease will need to pay disposal fees if it has to find a suitable site to accept what is dug out to allow the foundations of the Barangaroo development to proceed. This could be a win-win-win situation - if it is handled correctly !
What is needed now is the compilation of a group of people with the technical expertise to evaluate what is needed - and to come to terms with both the risks - and what action can be taken to ensure that this proceeds safely.
Unfortunately, the more logical outcome is hysteria - and the intrusion of politics interfering in the decision making process !
Thursday, 7 June 2012
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
Winter - the house fire season !
Fire brigade statistics clearly show that winter is the peak season for house fires and one of the main causes is careless use of heating appliances. It is just so easy to position a heater close to flammable curtains, or forget to turn off an electric blanket that has become worn and wrinkled - and known for delivering "hot spots. "
Now there is a new menace bringing danger into our homes. The relentless march of cheap imports is seeing new electric and gas heaters turning up in discount stores - many of which do not meet the electrical safety standards of this country. Random checks by the people tasked with checking the validity of goods for sale reveal imports that have escaped customs scrutiny - and many are simply accidents waiting for a place to happen !
In some cases, the safety standards would not meet the laws of any country. It is a case of a factory in a third world country designing and making a heater that defies any logical standards - and selling it at a price to a bulk exporter to move in world markets. What is alarming is the ease with which such items are slipping through customs inspections and appearing in retail outlets.
Dangerous goods can take many forms. We have an annual influx of toys with easily detachable small parts that could choke a child and games with sharp objects that do not pass our safety standards, Each year, just before Christmas safety inspectors do the rounds of retail outlets and order such items to be removed from sale, but often the only respite is brief because they tend to reappear at weekend " flea markets ".
We need a better regulatory system for heating appliances. Fire safety in the home is just so basic that no appliance should be allowed into a store without it having passed an appropriate safety inspection - and that means a law change.
Perhaps all forms of heating appliances - both gas and electric - should require a compliance sticker to be legally offered for sale, with appropriate penalties for any breach of that law. If the nature of that sticker was so prominent that it's absence would generate alarm in buyer's minds we would be well on the way to introducing a meaningful safety standard.
As things stand, dubious heating items are freely available - and about to add to this winter's house fire statistics !
Now there is a new menace bringing danger into our homes. The relentless march of cheap imports is seeing new electric and gas heaters turning up in discount stores - many of which do not meet the electrical safety standards of this country. Random checks by the people tasked with checking the validity of goods for sale reveal imports that have escaped customs scrutiny - and many are simply accidents waiting for a place to happen !
In some cases, the safety standards would not meet the laws of any country. It is a case of a factory in a third world country designing and making a heater that defies any logical standards - and selling it at a price to a bulk exporter to move in world markets. What is alarming is the ease with which such items are slipping through customs inspections and appearing in retail outlets.
Dangerous goods can take many forms. We have an annual influx of toys with easily detachable small parts that could choke a child and games with sharp objects that do not pass our safety standards, Each year, just before Christmas safety inspectors do the rounds of retail outlets and order such items to be removed from sale, but often the only respite is brief because they tend to reappear at weekend " flea markets ".
We need a better regulatory system for heating appliances. Fire safety in the home is just so basic that no appliance should be allowed into a store without it having passed an appropriate safety inspection - and that means a law change.
Perhaps all forms of heating appliances - both gas and electric - should require a compliance sticker to be legally offered for sale, with appropriate penalties for any breach of that law. If the nature of that sticker was so prominent that it's absence would generate alarm in buyer's minds we would be well on the way to introducing a meaningful safety standard.
As things stand, dubious heating items are freely available - and about to add to this winter's house fire statistics !
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
An opportunity awaits !
Former Council chief Rod Oxley makes a lot of sense when he appeals to Wollongong Council to buy the vacant plot of land at the intersection of Crown and Corrimal streets. It is unusual for there to be vacant land measuring a whopping 12,000 sqm in the heart of an Australian city.
When Dwyer's moved their auto franchise to a new site it started a battle between two shopping centre developers. One was interested in expanding the Gateway shopping precinct at the top of the Mall and the other was proposing a totally new shopping option with it's " Gravity " proposal at the other end of Crown street. Gravity is now history - and the Gateway expansion is under construction.
Rod Oxley is proposing a conference venue for this site. That is certainly a possibility, but the biggest gain would be to get this parcel of land into public ownership while the options are considered. The worst outcome would be for it to be broken up into individual titles and lost as the site for whatever Wollongong needs the most.
The most glaring need at the present time - is parking to service the concentration of entertainment venues in that part of the city. We have the new sporting stadium about to open with an expanded grandstand and a new roof, plus the nearby entertainment centres - and when any of these hold an event there is total chaos because of the lack of adequate parking.
The free Shuttle bus option opened up a new dimension when it began service. It would certainly link a major parking station on the old Dwyer's site with the shops at the top of the Mall and the CBD generally, plus providing a service for those visiting the hospital.
The GFC has driven the price of property to the lowest we can expect for many decades and buying that 12,000 sqm parcel now would be a good investment for the city. It would surely be a pessimist who expects future city sites to decrease in value - given the fact that as cities expand their core space expands exponentially.in value.
Opportunity is knocking !
When Dwyer's moved their auto franchise to a new site it started a battle between two shopping centre developers. One was interested in expanding the Gateway shopping precinct at the top of the Mall and the other was proposing a totally new shopping option with it's " Gravity " proposal at the other end of Crown street. Gravity is now history - and the Gateway expansion is under construction.
Rod Oxley is proposing a conference venue for this site. That is certainly a possibility, but the biggest gain would be to get this parcel of land into public ownership while the options are considered. The worst outcome would be for it to be broken up into individual titles and lost as the site for whatever Wollongong needs the most.
The most glaring need at the present time - is parking to service the concentration of entertainment venues in that part of the city. We have the new sporting stadium about to open with an expanded grandstand and a new roof, plus the nearby entertainment centres - and when any of these hold an event there is total chaos because of the lack of adequate parking.
The free Shuttle bus option opened up a new dimension when it began service. It would certainly link a major parking station on the old Dwyer's site with the shops at the top of the Mall and the CBD generally, plus providing a service for those visiting the hospital.
The GFC has driven the price of property to the lowest we can expect for many decades and buying that 12,000 sqm parcel now would be a good investment for the city. It would surely be a pessimist who expects future city sites to decrease in value - given the fact that as cities expand their core space expands exponentially.in value.
Opportunity is knocking !
Monday, 4 June 2012
The " money trap ! "
When the average person breaks the law and receives a fine it is usually quickly paid - and forgotten. That same fine can blight the life of the homeless, those with mental illness or an intellectual disability - or those suffering severe economic hardship. There is no statute of limitations when we owe money to the government - and governments are relentless in pursuing those debts.
Often the fine hanging over a person's head is an indiscretion from their teenage years. Perhaps they tried to make a train journey without buying a ticket - or they rode a bicycle without wearing a safety helmet. Once this debt reaches the government agency tasked with recovering money owed a ban is imposed o getting a driver's license or legally registering a motor vehicle in that person's name. In many ways, this reduces the options of getting a job and being able to pay the debt owing.
It is a fact of life that there are people in the community who will never be able to function normally, get a paying job and settle any fines on the government's books. Handing out fines is simply a lost cause that will continue to haunt them indefinitely.
Someone finally did something to ease this situation and created the " Work or Development Order scheme " which allows those in that situation to come to terms with an arrangement that gives something back to the community in exchange for chipping away at any unpaid fines.
There are no hard and fast rules. The basic intention is to ask the debtor to undertake something that will improve their coping ability - such as group counselling or using a latent skill to improve future job prospects. Each time they continue with this plan a proportion of the debt is erased and the aim is to proceed until they are debt free.
It recognises the fact that some debt on the government's books is unrecoverable and it simply wastes the time of the Debt Recovery office in pursuing it. It is a better option to try and improve the lot of the debtor by a positive reduction programme.
Often the fine hanging over a person's head is an indiscretion from their teenage years. Perhaps they tried to make a train journey without buying a ticket - or they rode a bicycle without wearing a safety helmet. Once this debt reaches the government agency tasked with recovering money owed a ban is imposed o getting a driver's license or legally registering a motor vehicle in that person's name. In many ways, this reduces the options of getting a job and being able to pay the debt owing.
It is a fact of life that there are people in the community who will never be able to function normally, get a paying job and settle any fines on the government's books. Handing out fines is simply a lost cause that will continue to haunt them indefinitely.
Someone finally did something to ease this situation and created the " Work or Development Order scheme " which allows those in that situation to come to terms with an arrangement that gives something back to the community in exchange for chipping away at any unpaid fines.
There are no hard and fast rules. The basic intention is to ask the debtor to undertake something that will improve their coping ability - such as group counselling or using a latent skill to improve future job prospects. Each time they continue with this plan a proportion of the debt is erased and the aim is to proceed until they are debt free.
It recognises the fact that some debt on the government's books is unrecoverable and it simply wastes the time of the Debt Recovery office in pursuing it. It is a better option to try and improve the lot of the debtor by a positive reduction programme.
Sunday, 3 June 2012
A tale of two cities !
The proposal to privatise the State Transit Authorities fleet of 2250 buses highlights the disparity that exists between bus services in inner and outer Sydney. The difference is so great that it is hard to imagine that these are not two totally different cities, sitting side by side, but inhabited by different races between the sea and the Blue Mountains.
It all started a long time ago when the state government decided that in addition to rail transport, it would run a bus service connecting those suburbs not connected to rail with the city. The original intention was to eventually extend this service to other parts of New South Wales and so the government bus service was born in Sydney and Newcastle.
When the second world war ended the government was faced with a dilemma. A housing boom caused by returning service people and our population explosion from war damaged Europe was creating new suburbs far faster than telephone services, shopping centres and schools could be built to service them - and it was decided that extending the bus services was simply beyond state resources.
These new suburbs were serviced by private bus companies. The state run service was restricted to the old, pre-war Sydney that stopped at the inner west and included the city centre, the eastern suburbs and the northern beaches. There was simply no comparison with the difference the services provided.
The state service ran buses day and night and throughout the entire weekend. It ran at a loss, but keeping to schedule was more important than money. Sometimes buses ran empty at unpopular times, and sometimes they were unable to cope at peak times, but schedules were relentlessly maintained in the name of " providing a service ".
In the west it was a different matter. Private buses either made a profit - or went broke ! Bus companies tailored services to demand, hence there were no buses running late at night - on weekends or at times when patronage was uneconomic. Dwellers in western Sydney could only drool at the bus service their city cousins were experiencing - and all this was paid for from the public purse.
Now the entire planet is facing tough times and a reality check means that fat has to be trimmed from public spending - and it seems that the loss making Sydney Transit Authority bus fleet is facing the chop. If it passes into private hands it will face the same conditions that apply in Sydney's west. Services will be trimmed to economic levels - and there will probably be some price increases.
Welcome to the twenty-first century ! We are now in a time of economic rationalism and in the years ahead many things that we have long taken for granted will go under the economic microscope. The catch word for this generation is likely to be - " Use it - or lose it ! "
It all started a long time ago when the state government decided that in addition to rail transport, it would run a bus service connecting those suburbs not connected to rail with the city. The original intention was to eventually extend this service to other parts of New South Wales and so the government bus service was born in Sydney and Newcastle.
When the second world war ended the government was faced with a dilemma. A housing boom caused by returning service people and our population explosion from war damaged Europe was creating new suburbs far faster than telephone services, shopping centres and schools could be built to service them - and it was decided that extending the bus services was simply beyond state resources.
These new suburbs were serviced by private bus companies. The state run service was restricted to the old, pre-war Sydney that stopped at the inner west and included the city centre, the eastern suburbs and the northern beaches. There was simply no comparison with the difference the services provided.
The state service ran buses day and night and throughout the entire weekend. It ran at a loss, but keeping to schedule was more important than money. Sometimes buses ran empty at unpopular times, and sometimes they were unable to cope at peak times, but schedules were relentlessly maintained in the name of " providing a service ".
In the west it was a different matter. Private buses either made a profit - or went broke ! Bus companies tailored services to demand, hence there were no buses running late at night - on weekends or at times when patronage was uneconomic. Dwellers in western Sydney could only drool at the bus service their city cousins were experiencing - and all this was paid for from the public purse.
Now the entire planet is facing tough times and a reality check means that fat has to be trimmed from public spending - and it seems that the loss making Sydney Transit Authority bus fleet is facing the chop. If it passes into private hands it will face the same conditions that apply in Sydney's west. Services will be trimmed to economic levels - and there will probably be some price increases.
Welcome to the twenty-first century ! We are now in a time of economic rationalism and in the years ahead many things that we have long taken for granted will go under the economic microscope. The catch word for this generation is likely to be - " Use it - or lose it ! "
Saturday, 2 June 2012
Risk factors !
It would be nice to think that all risk factors had been taken into account as we go about our daily lives, but that will never be possible. There will always be the unexpected - waiting out there to claim our lives - despite the most stringent precautions.
Such was the case back in 2007 when a thirteen year old schoolboy attended a camp as part of his school cadet training. His school had been warned that he suffered from a dangerous peanut allergy and it was presumed that this was taken into account when meals were planned.
In this instance, meals were sourced from the Australian Defence Forces ( ADF ) and comprised " C " rations. The meal in question was " Beef Satay ", and upon eating it the cadet suffered Anaphylaxis - and died !
The subsequent investigation revealed a chain of factors that combined to bring about this death. The law requires food products containing traces of peanuts to be clearly labelled to alert users, but the C rations do not contain such a warning because they are not commercial food offered for general sale.
The ADF sees no need to have a warning on it's own C rations because no member of the Australian Defence Forces could be susceptible to Anaphylaxis because all allergies are screened out and recruits are rejected if these are evident at a medical screening.
The supervisors at the school cadet camp would reasonably expect that warning labels would apply to all forms of food - and finding none - would expect to proceed with safety.
No doubt this tragedy will result in many procedural reviews. The ADF may have second thoughts about it's labelling needs, with a review of where it's C rations may end up being used, and schools will need to think long and hard about their extra curricular activities and precautions with food.
The chance of such an accident happening again will be reduced, but it certainly serves as a warning that there are untold hazards out there - just waiting for the right combination of time and circumstances to claim an unwary life.
Such was the case back in 2007 when a thirteen year old schoolboy attended a camp as part of his school cadet training. His school had been warned that he suffered from a dangerous peanut allergy and it was presumed that this was taken into account when meals were planned.
In this instance, meals were sourced from the Australian Defence Forces ( ADF ) and comprised " C " rations. The meal in question was " Beef Satay ", and upon eating it the cadet suffered Anaphylaxis - and died !
The subsequent investigation revealed a chain of factors that combined to bring about this death. The law requires food products containing traces of peanuts to be clearly labelled to alert users, but the C rations do not contain such a warning because they are not commercial food offered for general sale.
The ADF sees no need to have a warning on it's own C rations because no member of the Australian Defence Forces could be susceptible to Anaphylaxis because all allergies are screened out and recruits are rejected if these are evident at a medical screening.
The supervisors at the school cadet camp would reasonably expect that warning labels would apply to all forms of food - and finding none - would expect to proceed with safety.
No doubt this tragedy will result in many procedural reviews. The ADF may have second thoughts about it's labelling needs, with a review of where it's C rations may end up being used, and schools will need to think long and hard about their extra curricular activities and precautions with food.
The chance of such an accident happening again will be reduced, but it certainly serves as a warning that there are untold hazards out there - just waiting for the right combination of time and circumstances to claim an unwary life.
Friday, 1 June 2012
" Three Strikes " policy !
The " Three Strikes " policy to reduce alcohol fueled violence at late night clubs and pubs seems to have had limited success, but we still have the problem of drunken brawlers using police and ambulance crews as punching bags.
The idea was to transfer responsibility for the responsible serving of alcohol back to the venue owners by way of time restrictions on opening hours if patrons racked up street disturbances. This seems to be subjected to a wide degree of interpretation. It seems to be one thing if a brawl erupts in or at the doors of a venue, but quite another if it occurs half a block away. This seems to be why some violent venues seem to be able to disregard the three strikes law with impunity - whilst others manage to achieve results.
Alcohol fueled violence has resulted in a lot of law changes. Plastic replaces glass in most late night watering holes and there are restrictions on double and triple measures of spirits, plus the " lock out " laws that are meant to curb drunks wandering from one venue to another late at night.
Perhaps the only way to impose meaningful restrictions on the amount of alcohol consumed is to implement a time factor on various alcoholic beverages. Perhaps midnight should be the end of full strength beer availability and patrons wishing to drink after that hour be restricted to the low alcohol product. At least this would make it harder to reach the degree of insobriety that leads to violence.
Would it be unreasonable to withdraw wine and spirits from patrons choice completely in the lead up to the time the venue closes ? If the only alcohol available after a certain hour was low alcohol beer, that would be a good reason for many people to go home - hopefully in a more sober state.
Perhaps such an imposition would be a big incentive for venue owners to clean up their act. Perhaps enquiries of from where the alcohol was consumed should be the criteria of applying the " Three Strikes " law, rather than where the brawl occurred. Obviously, the more alcohol sold, the greater the profit for venue owners, but if that results in restrictions that reduce profitability - then the incentive to comply with the law increases.
We have a problem ! Fixing it is going to result in measures that will be unpopular with many people. It simply depends on whether we have the fortitude to implement measures that will do the job !
The idea was to transfer responsibility for the responsible serving of alcohol back to the venue owners by way of time restrictions on opening hours if patrons racked up street disturbances. This seems to be subjected to a wide degree of interpretation. It seems to be one thing if a brawl erupts in or at the doors of a venue, but quite another if it occurs half a block away. This seems to be why some violent venues seem to be able to disregard the three strikes law with impunity - whilst others manage to achieve results.
Alcohol fueled violence has resulted in a lot of law changes. Plastic replaces glass in most late night watering holes and there are restrictions on double and triple measures of spirits, plus the " lock out " laws that are meant to curb drunks wandering from one venue to another late at night.
Perhaps the only way to impose meaningful restrictions on the amount of alcohol consumed is to implement a time factor on various alcoholic beverages. Perhaps midnight should be the end of full strength beer availability and patrons wishing to drink after that hour be restricted to the low alcohol product. At least this would make it harder to reach the degree of insobriety that leads to violence.
Would it be unreasonable to withdraw wine and spirits from patrons choice completely in the lead up to the time the venue closes ? If the only alcohol available after a certain hour was low alcohol beer, that would be a good reason for many people to go home - hopefully in a more sober state.
Perhaps such an imposition would be a big incentive for venue owners to clean up their act. Perhaps enquiries of from where the alcohol was consumed should be the criteria of applying the " Three Strikes " law, rather than where the brawl occurred. Obviously, the more alcohol sold, the greater the profit for venue owners, but if that results in restrictions that reduce profitability - then the incentive to comply with the law increases.
We have a problem ! Fixing it is going to result in measures that will be unpopular with many people. It simply depends on whether we have the fortitude to implement measures that will do the job !
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