A Simpler Solution !

There seems no doubt that Sydney is the draw card destination when the cruise industry plans excursions to the South Pacific.   Sydney is the glamour city known and recognised by ordinary people in most world countries.   The bridge and the Opera house are icons that rank alongside the Statue of Liberty in the US  and Big Ben in London.   We are accustomed to receiving a steady stream of these ninety thousand tonne monsters gracing our harbour.

The Sydney port of call is usually for just one day.   The ship sails through the heads in the early morning and the passengers tour the city, spending very welcome money before departure time in the early evening.  All that time the ship is a blaze of lights.  Part of that is to draw attention to what the tour industry describes as the experience of a lifetime, but it is also very necessary because a ships interior is otherwise like a very dark cave.

While cruise ships are welcome in this city, the effluent that is discharged from their smokestack is not.   The bunker fuel that cruise ships use to run their engines is little modified or refined from the crude extracted from oil wells and it has a high sulphur content.   That is fine while the ship is travelling out to sea on an ocean voyage, but when it is in port the engines are kept running to generate the electricity that blaze of lights is consuming.

People living anywhere near a cruise ship berth are subjected to fine particle fallout and this can cause severe medical disabilities and trigger events like asthma attacks.  A law to require cruise ships to convert to a cleaner bunker fuel while in harbours like Sydney came into conflict with Federal law.   The state law required the use of bunker fuel with a 0.1 percent upper limit for fuel oil sulphur content while Federal law allows a higher 3.5% for general shipping.   That cleaner fuel also costs about $ 250 a tonne more than the polluting alternative.

Another problem is the complex nature of changing from one type of fuel to another while the ship is in motion - and that raises the risk of a fire.   The newer ships of the main cruise companies have this conversion built in to their systems, but it is a safety problem for most older vessels.

It seems astonishing that the existing dock facilities for cruise ships in Sydney lack the facilities to allow these ships to plug into the local electricity system.  While in port they need to run their engines to generate the electric power necessary for the ships operation - and to keep all those lights burning.

It is a matter of simple arithmetic.  Arrival and departure accounts for about an hour of engine time.   That entire day sitting at a wharf can be eliminated if the ships engines are shut down and it relies on the local power source for the energy used - and the price of that power would be billed to the cruise company.

We need to install power infrastructure where cruise ships berth and legislate to require that to be used when ships are in port.  Not only would that deliver a cost saving to the cruise industry, it would also ensure that we have a better air quality in Sydney and people living near an arrival and departure point would not be inconvenienced.

It would be the long term solution to both a health and safety problem !

Disarray !

We are seeing a world phenomenon in the rejection of how politics worked in the past.  The days seem long gone when the voters sat close to radio broadcasts on budget night to learn which taxes would rise and what new laws would come into force.  Today's national budgets seem more like a wish list that may - or may not - become a reality.

The fiasco masquerading as parliament has given the voters more reason to turn away from both of the traditional political parties that used to have the public trust. In recent decades the voters have chosen to give neither a mandate to govern and the balance of power has been entrusted to cobbled together minor parties which form a shifting array of self serving alliances.

We now learn that the ACCC bill which was meant to reign in the most militant unions holding the building industry in their nefarious grasp has past the last hurdle and become law - except that it has been virtually gutted by the various compromises necessary to gain the support of those Senators who hold the balance of power.

Sadly, a tax bill to determine the rate of tax to be paid by backpackers has fallen short of the numbers - because a Senator who had given his handshake on the deal has chosen to renege.   The fate of this years harvest hangs in the balance.  Unless some sort of agreement is reached the overseas visitors who provide the labour to pick fruit and tend vegetables will be taxed at 32.5 cents on each dollar they earn - and may choose to go elsewhere.   Determining the tax rate has descended into a spiteful clash of political point scoring which could seriously damage one of our vital industries.

The danger is that the more the traditional political parties splinter the greater the tendency for voters to widen their choice and "Balkinize " the parliament.  In each of the past elections the number of "independents " has grown and we now have tiny political alliances coalescing into ever changing voting blocks.

This seems to be a disarray that is sweeping the world.   Perhaps the most disturbing outcome has been the recent American presidential election. That political convulsion saw Donald Trump emerge from the pack running for office and change from "unelectable "to become "President elect ".   He will take office this coming January - and the world will hold its breathe to see what sort of regime emerges.

The British have taken a rather irrational decision to leave the European Union and across the channel in France their presidential election looks like delivering victory to the National Front. There are similar tendencies in other European countries and we are seeing a new form of isolationist thinking creeping into and replacing common market thinking.

It is a fact of life that as voters become desperate for political sanity they are forced to make decisions that they later regret.   In 1933 the citizens of Germany saw no other option than to elect Adolf Hitler to run their country.   The outcome of that decision - was the second world war.

The danger is that politics as we knew it is no longer working for us - and it seems that the world is on the cusp of change.  Just what shape this new emerging entity takes will control our lives and the direction in which Australia develops !

Clogging up the System !

"Public Money " is what the various levels of government scrape together from taxes, fines and all those myriad charges that are levied on the average citizen.  It is constantly fought over by the various departments that provide services in the public sector.  Lack of sufficient funds is the universal excuse for shortfalls in health, education and what is now called "social housing ".

We constantly hear gripes about the waiting list to access surgical procedures in the public hospital system. As is usually the case, delays inflicted by one service provider are on-flowing to clog up availability to allow other services to proceed.  It is a lack of available beds that halts the flow of surgery because they are taken by patients awaiting discharge. In many cases this involves an elderly person and discharge awaits a decision by the bureaucracy on the "guardianship "issue.

When the ambulance service attends an elderly person it is normal procedure to present them to the public hospital emergency department for assessment.   As part of that procedure their circumstances are evaluated and it is often found that such a person would be unsafe returned to where they had been living alone.  If they have no family, the government appoints itself their guardian - and that takes time.

On average, such elderly folk occupy a hospital bed for eighty-three days while that decision is made and arrangements for alternative care are processed.  There is no other alternative and even when the guardianship decision has been made the lack of available accommodation for the elderly may extend the use of a hospital bed for a longer period.

Unfortunately, our public hospital system has become the "option of last resort "! No matter how overcrowded and under stress, that is where the ambulances deliver their loads.   The hospital simply has to cope as best it can, and when serious shortfalls gain media attention it come under very unfair criticism.

Obviously, the provision of more nursing home beds and living facilities for the elderly would alleviate the strain on the public hospital system, but to allocate the funds necessary  would deprive all those other "essential "services of money to attain service levels.   The gaps this would create would quickly flow on to other departments in the crisis management chain.

There is a growing tendency for fewer but bigger regional hospitals equipped with all the expensive medical machinery that is required for modern medicine.  As a result, many smaller city and country hospitals are being downgraded and their use as recovery centres can take the pressure off bed availability in those major units.

It seems that our demographics are heading towards a bigger but older population.   The trend towards childless families will exacerbate the number of elderly eventually looking for public support in their old age.   It seems that the care industry is a growth factor that needs to be exploited, not only to save our public hospital system but to create the job opportunities and career prospects of those living in a more robotic world.

Care of the aged seems to be a "job opportunity " for the future !

The " Twin " Evils !

It seems strange that the things that are killing the majority of Australian citizens are the opposite of each others tastes.   We are likely to die because we absorb too much sugar, or because our body is absorbing too much salt.

Even stranger, these " Evil Twins " seem to be freely on offer just about everywhere that food is sold to the public.   When we patronise a restaurant or a coffee shop, sitting on the table in front of us are pepper and salt shakers - and some form of sugar.

We are constantly warned to reduce the amount of sugar going into our bodies and the medical people despair at our salt levels.  The visible outcome from too much sugar is obesity.  The damage from too much salt is less visible, but sufferers will surely increase the risk of kidney disease and it is known to contribute to cardio vascular problems.

The main thrust of the anti sugar campaign is singling out sugar heavy soda drinks.   These drinks are heavily promoted on supermarket shelves and manufacturers are urged to reduce the sugar content. Unfortunately, it is that sweet taste that users are after and people who consume several cans of soft drink a day are unable to avoid an unhealthy sugar level in their bodies.

Salt is even more insidious.  It is the ingredient that makes most processed food so tasty and about seventy percent of the salt in our bodies comes from that source.  Unfortunately, where manufacturers heed the pleas of the health people and reduce the salt content the product loses taste appeal - and customers switch brands to another with a higher salt level.

This matter of salt and sugar reduction to improve the nation's health has been a conundrum for the government.  There is an obvious reluctance to dictate the extent that they are present in food and the main impetus has been on public education.  By law, food products now require a disclosure on their label of both the sugar and salt levels.   The onus is on the buyer to make healthy decisions when making a purchase.

Unfortunately, the human body quickly develops what is known as a " taste memory ".  That is the reason we add sugar to tea or coffee, and why most traditional meals end with a dish referred to as " Sweets ".   That level of sugar content becomes "normal " to satisfy our taste and if it is missing we tend to add to it.

That same addiction applies to salt.  To many people, drinking a beer needs to be accompanied by a salty snack.   That is why salty potato chips are so popular. or pretzels or salted peanuts.  Most beers themselves have both a high sugar and salt level in their composition.

The medical profession is becoming more strident in warning us that unless we reduce the intake of both sugar and salt we will experience elevated levels of cardio vascular disease, stroke, kidney disease and the afflictions that are shortening life spans.

It is unlikely that salt and sugar will disappear from the tables at cafes and restaurants.   With improved education, just less people actually using them !

Punishment - and the Death Penalty !

Plans are being drawn up to to build a mini "Supermax " within the existing state prison at Long Bay.  The problem with the original Supermax at Goulburn is that it is a two hour drive from Sydney and that is costing both time and money transferring dangerous prisoners to and from for court appearances and medical evaluation.

This work will be purely a temporary measure.   The Long Bay prison is on valuable housing land needed to expand the Sydney housing stock and it will be demolished once a replacement is built in a yet to be decided rural location.

Many people will be wondering about our policy in housing the ever growing number of Islamic State terrorists held in our prison system.  It is necessary to keep them separated from one another - and the general prison population - because their efforts to plan terrorist attacks are ongoing and they actively try and convert others to their religious point of view.

A case raging in the media concerns Australian Islamic State terrorist Neil Prakash who was a front man in Islamic States drive to recruit followers in Australia.  He openly urged radicalized youth to slit the throats or decapitate ordinary Australian men, women and children in the streets and he achieved a degree of success.   Two radicals were shot to death by police after attacks, and in one instance a police accountant was brutally murdered.

Prakash was caught slipping out of Syria into Turkey and now Australia is seeking his extradition to Australia.   To many people that sounds insane !  Half a dozen other countries want to deliver justice for his crimes and some of them still condone the death penalty.  If we bring him here and put him before a court he will get a life sentence and that will cost us millions housing him in a high security prison for the rest of his life.

Perhaps we need a re-think on that death penalty question.  A century ago that  "a life for a life " attitude still prevailed, but the courts were starting to look closely at the events that led to acts of murder.  Today, murder usually brings a twenty year sentence.  It is only the most depraved of killings that now attract a "whole of life "sentence with the case marked "never to be released ".

We abandoned the death penalty for a number of reasons.  High on that list was concern that an innocent person might be convicted - and executed.  Can there be a more despicable crime than trying to create an army of killers willing to snuff out the life of innocents simply because they do not follow the form of religion favoured by their host ?

We may find it repugnant to even consider reintroducing the death penalty in this country but many of those following terrorist regimes are on the "wanted " list of other countries.  In many cases they have fought in foreign wars and are responsible for atrocities on foreign soil.   We would do our country a service by acceding to deportation requests even where the outcome may lead to that persons execution.

Perhaps it is time to retreat from refusal to grant deportation to countries that retain the death penalty.  There is no doubt that the presence of Islamic State terrorists in our prison system is both creating tensions and increasing costs - and there is the expectation that this will be ongoing.

This terrorist creed welcomes martyrdom and death.    Removing them from our prison system delivers mutual benefits !

Fidel Castro !

The man who presided as president of the tiny island of Cuba for nearly fifty years and established a Communist state on America's doorstep is dead at ninety.   He was both reviled and admired across the world and he certainly left his mark on history

Cuba had been part of the mighty Spanish  empire and towards the end of the nineteenth century that empire was in serious disarray.  The Spanish/American war of 1898 was a Spanish defeat and both Cuba and the Philippines came under American control.   It was not American policy to annex countries won in wars and so both were ruled by American proxy, with dictators installed in office.  Cuba became an American playground with gambling casinos under the control of criminal interests.

The Castro name came to world prominence on New Years eve 1959 when Fidel Castro led a revolutionary army out of the hills and into Havana and deposed dictator Fulgencio Batista.   He installed a Communist regime and swept away all forms of capitalism.   US efforts to unseat him were unrelenting and led to the unsuccessful Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961 which was a serious embarrassment to President John Kennedy.  Castro was to go on and outlast nine US presidents.

The world came close to nuclear war in 1962.  Fidel Castro conspired with Russian leader Nikita Kruschev to secretly install missile batteries on Cuba and this led to a sea embargo by the US navy.  For thirteen days the world held its breathe - and then Kruschev capitulated and the missiles were removed.

Cuba under the green fatigue clad, cigar smoking Castro was an enigma.  Health and education were free of charge to all citizens, but no private enterprise was allowed and citizens were paid in a currency that had no value outside the island.   Very quickly Cubans began to put to sea in boats, trying to cross the Florida strait and migrate to America.  Cuba became a virtual prison and America gained a vast number of new citizens with intense anti Castro feelings.

The United States was openly hostile to Cuba and it is rumoured that the CIA entertained plans to assassinate Castro.  He was famous for the length of his speeches and set a record in 1960 when he addressed the United Nations in New York for four hours and twenty-nine minutes.   The Cuban economy was propped up by Russia and when the Soviet Union collapsed the island was no longer commercially viable and slipped into abject poverty.  Fidel Castro's health declined and in 2006 he relinquished control in favour of his brother Raul.

The long cold war between America and Cuba eased in 2012 when President Obama and Raul Castro held face to face meetings and since then diplomatic relations have been reestablished.  Cuban is slowly abandoning the rigours of Communism and Americans will soon be free to openly visit the island.

Fidel Castro was admired by many people with leftish views.  He claimed that Communist Cuba was a utopia, but the fact that he had to imprison those caught trying to escape the island was a common theme of other Communist states scattered across the world.   Utopia does not seem to be an apt description of those forced to endure a regime they are powerless to change.

Castro was certainly a larger than life figure and he will be prominently recorded in the history account of the twentieth century.

Communal Living !

It is a fact of Australian life that those living in a house on a quarter acre block of land are fast diminishing and being replaced by apartment blocks where the residents are subject to strata by-laws to govern the new art of communal living.   As the ratio of those who smoke some form of tobacco retreat these by-laws to control tobacco smoke become more restrictive.

In many cases, the body corporate simply passes a by-law that outlaws smoking in all areas of common property and that includes the car park, grounds and entrances.   The area of controversy is then concentrated on apartments that have their own individual balconies, and that can cause huge friction where a smoking family finds themselves next door to a fanatical non smoker.

The law is very firm on tenants rights.   Smoking is a perfectly legal habit that a smoker is free to practice within the confines of their home, and those who pay rent to occupy an apartment certainly have the right to regard it as their home.   The problem is that their tobacco smoke may not remain within those four walls - and if it becomes invasive and drifts into another residents home it opens a huge bag of legal worms.

One hotly debated topic is the issue of smoking on those balconies.  They are usually open to the weather and the typical balcony has an identical appendage located above and below - and to either side.   Each of these is regarded as an integral part of the residents "home " and yet smoke from one balcony is free to enter the domain of several others.

This right to smoke on an individual apartments balcony has been to court many times without a definitive answer.   It usually devolves to negotiations between the aggrieved parties and some sort of compromise.  It can result in ongoing neighbourly friction in many apartment blocks.

New strata laws that come into effect next week will tend to tip the balance in favour of those complaining about tobacco smoke.   Where fumes from people smoking drift into nearby apartments this is being termed a "nuisance "by the body corporate, although the issue of smoking on balconies has not been made clear.

The government is seeking to create a "safety valve " for unit blocks by suggesting that body corporates consider setting aside a designated are of common property as a smoking area. Obviously, this would need to be located where smoke could not easily drift into other apartments but it would defuse the refusal of smoking rights entirely.

Perhaps this might require application of what is now called the "Seventy five percent " law that applies to the consent needed to force the sale of all units for a building to be demolished and renewed.   If setting aside a smoking area requires a hundred percent approval by residents then the objection of one anti smoking fanatic would deem that compromise to failure.

Applying the seventy-five percent ratio of approval would certainly introduce the prospect of a more harmonious settlement in a gathering of fair minded people !