The first poll of the year comes from Essential Research, and it shows Labor’s two party lead up from 58-42 in mid-December to 59-41. Also featured: leadership approval (Rudd steady since late October, Turnbull up five points), economic expectations, ranking of issue importance and the conflict in Gaza.
Tautology alert. Vacant or vacuous not both. Unless “vacuous” derives from the Latin “vacca” meaning cow. In which case it would be acceptable.
Winston -Good cheap shot! What I meant by that comment was the obvious like the major airport in the inner southern suburbs, the port in the same area requiring trucks/rail to transit suburban areas, the road and most of the rail system feeding into the central city and not efficiently into port Botany, Port Kembla or Port Hunter, the commuter rail mixed up with the freight rail, an inefficient intra state road system frequently funnelling traffic, especially freight traffic through the inner city and only marginally improved by the western orbital (whatever the M # is).
For my sins, I know a long time ALP member and sometime Minister of the NSW Govt, he was my football coach eons ago, and he freely admitted to me that the political pain inflicted by nimbys at any specific plan for transport in metro Sydney was much worse than the general dissatisfaction at the lack of such plans. The current howls about increasing housing density along train lines is just the latest manifestation of a long long saga.
Fulvio, I’ve obviously missed something. What?
The page turned over, Harry. See my last post on the previous page.
Or better still, ignore my poor attempt at humour at Barnaby’s expense.
and so that somehow allows you to make a quote “social equitablty econamicly & politcly foolish in your #208” , and when its exposed in my #220…then “somehow”
you carry on for 2 hours trying to camoflage that blue and/or your ego …pretty ordinary efort , and your last post is just another now I’m down trodden “appeal” You don’t just don’t move on , your stuck in clay 2 hours ago , with a blue that for some strange reason embarasses you …deel with it , you’re making yourself unhappy , but I forgive you but fglad for any scial work done by anyone
You didn’t think I was silly enough to get involved in your little stoush with Ron did you Harry?
Michael Cusack, it’s sort of weird that you’re speaking about pretty much equivalent infrastructure deficiencies in N.S.W that we’re hearing about in Vic. increasingly. It’s probably managed slightly better in Vic., but it’s problematical cause public transport is privatised.
Fulvio, quite right. No. It’s unutterably stupid.
a conclusion you should hav made of yourself in #208 2 hours ago , instead of spaming to camoflage
Don’t know why people just pick on Sydney …its same on alot of main oz cities except sydney biger is more obvious …politcal and polticaleconamic prevent snesible rail infrastucture planned & built which obviousley is far superior , in lieu of freeways & tunnels…until there is serous and i mean reely serous politcal lobby groups to offset pref for roads/freeways & tunnels this will not change
Ron, please see my last response to Fulvio.
but you didn’t obviously see my #260 , i agreed ….re read it in context Then move on
correection but you didn’t obviously see my #259 not #260 , i agreed ….re read it in context Then move on
For Barnabys referense
“On Feb. 2, 2007, the United Nations scientific panel studying climate change declared that the evidence of a warming trend is “unequivocal,” and that human activity has “very likely” been the driving force in that change over the last 50 years. The last report by the group, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in 2001, had found that humanity had “likely” played a role.”
Th addition of “very” is important , it signifies a 95% level of scientific certainty of hypothosos , and this from a collection imput of 3,700 of world’s best scientists fr4om 130 countrys Later Report highlites co2 emmissions as principal cause
Harry
I don’t know about the mobile population (it takes a heap of energy to move a lot of people around) but there are alternatives to Woolworths and trucking fruit from the Ord River to Melbourne. People I know in Adelaide are strongly in favour of people growing more of their own food in backyard gardens. Its surprisingly feasible – you can grow enough fruit and veggies to feed a family on not that big a block as long as rainfall is adequate. In WWII most of Australia grew half its veggie needs at home (needed due to wartime rationing). The main thing that stops people is time.
Xanthippe started a veggie patch here and I was amazed how much she got out of about 4 square metres.
Harry SO. Yes, in many ways the problem is a national one, but Sydney/NSW is the worst example with the other states rapidly catching up. The reasons for Sydneys parlous state can be attributed to two main pieces of maladministration. Firstly, the NSW ALP before it found the benefits of developers with large brown envelopes used to fund its activities by “selling jobs”, particularly in the railways. Hence the historically inefficient nature of the railways, and the tendency of large railway works to be near “buyers” rather than necessarily commuters and freight forwarders.
Secondly, Nick Greiner came to power and made popular the later Costello mantra that state budgets should be run as simplistically as a suburban housewifes budget. The idea of deficit budgets became unpopular with the economic illiterate just as those same people began to wade neck deep in debt and hire purchase on a personal basis. Hence we have just gone through a period of minimal spending on infrastructure because of fear of public debt simultaneously with a period when private citizens have run up historic debt levels on such landfill as 4wds, multiple TVs, mobile phones and personal tatoos.
Socrates, there’s already a number of places in Melbourne doing similar things at a community level. Good on Xanthippe. We’re just trying to get it going here in our local area, with a communal herb garden established, and we’ll expand it to vegies. I suppose I was thinking more about the need to shift people from areas where their jobs have depended on industries that are going to screw the planet, and how that might be done. I only have so many hours in the day to think about this, so very much appreciate coming to speak with the bludgers.
Michael cusack
“The idea of deficit budgets became unpopular with the economic illiterate”
no , do not agree , more importantly liberals fostered th idea of public debt was made by liberals as unpopular and sign of poor econamic mangement , and th liberal financial engineers came up with PPP’s , private equity invovemetn at higher longer term public interst etc costs…plus misdirection to freeways instead of rail & other public infrastucture Its not deficits they just made unpolur but public debt
Michael Cusack, so short of shooting both the current and alternative NSW State gov’ts in their entirety, do you have any idea what could be done with NSW?
If you ar serously intersted in NSW issue , then suggset read by #211 reply to your #208 that i critisised NSW hav increased there capital expenses by over 3 billion in curent year compared to last year…its a stimuli , now Rudd has said he’s prepared to consider for stats further capital stimuli if neede …I feel it wqill be needed , and soon in most states as downturn I tink is worser than people ar predicting
However thats separate issue to direction of that capital into my pref long term rail vs freeways /tunnels , thats a further policy choise
Amigo FINNS
a politcal exercise in cause and efect , and focus on what is and not what is not
he who was a consistent lingo Amigo basher , ventures into politcal coment with foolish assertions but only to find that damn iliterate simply exposes that foolish poltical comment ……but hell now having ones foolish politcal coment exposed ,
would he who Amigo lingo bashs then tink well I just made a blue , i’ll move on , oh no …pride that an iliterate actualy did so is too much for pride of th superior…so spam away to camoflage that pride and when that doesn’t work , well sympathy trick is th last card to play and amazing it works on some bystanders , but one is not observant and can only smile at games played
BTW tributes now flow for Haydo now called a legend…yet by some who so cruely bathed for demise only a week ago
“The current howls about increasing housing density along train lines is just the latest manifestation of a long long saga.”
To be fair, I don’t think there was as much outcry as some of the papers would have you believe.
Regardless, it was a rubbish idea. Urban consolidation is all good, but I don’t think you should start in the inner-west and inner-city which are already pretty bloody consolidated.
Victorian Liberal senator Judith Troeth to not contest next election. No huge surprise there… she would’ve been pushed out in any case I suspect.
With the Nationals promised the number 2 spot on the Senate ticket at the next election, it’ll be interesting to see who the Liberals put as first and third spot. You’d imagine Michael Ronaldson would be fairly safe, the question is whether Julian McGauran is bumped for new blood for the third Senate spot (and in any case, whether the manage to get that person elected).
“Michael Cusack, so short of shooting both the current and alternative NSW State gov’ts in their entirety, do you have any idea what could be done with NSW?”
I know I’m not Michael Cusack, but I’m going to respond anyway. I seriously think the situation is so bad and the problems are rife not just within the government but most layers and sections of the public service that nothing short of some kind of structural reform at government level will do the job.
In Sydney, I think some kind of Greater London Authority-esque body should be set up. Now clearly that’s never going to happen as the politicians won’t want to cede power, but I think even some kind of unelected, quasi-independent authority that can manage transport and development in a cohesive and unobtrusive way. I, of course, should be head of such a body.
Note to self: Never bring up a topic which could lead to interstate rivalry on PB.
Of course, if the states were companies and the Premiers were CEOs, Brumby and Bligh would both be looking at the possibility of a hostile takeover of NSW.
SA would have gone when the State Bank lost $3B.
Big News
Steve Jobs is stepping down for health reasons.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/14/steve-jobs-leave-of-absen_n_157963.html
The ABS has released the latest unemployment rate and it is unchanged at 4.5
%. The doom and gloom merchants are having a bad week.
http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/6202.0
Actually steve, that’s up 0.1%, but check out the classy reporting from the news.com.au site for example:
http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,27753,24915737-462,00.html
[‘Crisis kills 44,000 full time jobs’
AUSTRALIA’S unemployment rate hit 4.5 per cent in December, with nearly 44,000 full time jobs lost. ]
And the SMH:
http://business.smh.com.au/business/massive-drop-in-fulltime-jobs-20090115-7hdk.html
[‘44,000 lose their jobs’
Employers shed 44,000 full-time jobs in December as companies slash payrolls]
Actually, total employment only fell by 1200
could someone please tell me how i can change my avatar, theres nothing i can see on my profile page to help me there, i’m bluddy useless at these things.
just finished reading Tom Switzer *frmr senior Fib adviser” in todays SMH.
A thoughtful and well considered article it aint
basically he reckons they keep their jackboots nice and shiny and if anything turn a tad to the right (not sure if he meant ala Genghis or Tamerlane )
🙁
i think ive worked it out this will tell, sorry for going off subject.
Judith, you need to do it through the Gravatar website, which is at http://en.gravatar.com/ – unless there’s more than one site that does this. It works through these external sites rather than the profile page, so it will appear on any blog that has Gravatars enabled so long as you use the same email address to register.
nup i’ll try again
thanks William maybe this time it will work, fingers crossed ive worked it out, i want to use nemisis –i think it’s time and i believe in karma.
sigh just another try, i’ve followed all the instructions, now i’ll see if it works.
The employment figures are not great but probably still amoung the best in the western world. Remember the US has been losing one million jobs per month and all of Europe is now in recession. Combined with the upturn in housing loans for first home buyers and the governments stimulus policies appear to have worked. They just need to do more of the same. They should consider extending the first home buyers grant, both because it is equitable, and it is underpinning the whole housing market.
I’m a NSWelshman and this might come as a shock but I gotta say I’m happy with my lot. I remember NSW Lib govts and how they treated the workers. This is a bit fuzzy but I recall back when Greiner (or around that time) was in power the state awards were being made so crook that Hawkie (think it was ) offered to allow people to switch to federal awards?
The msm have been trying to get rid of Labor here since before last election, broke their hearts when after election we still had a labor premier 😛 .
Every night 10 news starts with at least a couple of Labor beat up bashings as their main news stories. Hardly a night goes by when the ambulance chaser Skinner isn’t havng a press conference along side some unfortunate member of the public being used for political purposes. My experinces with hospitals here in NSW are all good, sure I had to wait 7 months a year ago to have a tonsil remnant removed but I wasn’t suffering and when I had it done it didn’t cost a cent.
So I”ll still be voting Labor next election, and loving it (as Max would say)
Judith I recently changed my avatar, had a bit of trouble, Finns said I had to empty my cashe so tried that. Funny thing is that on my old desktop computer I still see the old avatar whereas on my laptop I see the new one? Strange.
We’ve been having a lot of trouble with our trains of late in Victoria. The opposition constantly come out with the “this government should have acted long ago” and says no more. As much as this is right how does it solve the problems we face now? What does the opposition propose the government should do? Our government has its transport plan, what is the oppositions? Pointing out the failures of the past may feel good for an opposition but the present and future are now more vital surely.
[We’ve been having a lot of trouble with our trains of late in Victoria. The opposition constantly come out with the “this government should have acted long ago” and says no more. As much as this is right how does it solve the problems we face now? What does the opposition propose the government should do? Our government has its transport plan, what is the oppositions? Pointing out the failures of the past may feel good for an opposition but the present and future are now more vital surely.]
And hypocritical as it was the Libs under Kennett who privatised them in the first place 🙂
Here’s a piece to keep the Oz position in perspective – so far the GFC has cost the US $4600 billion.
http://business.smh.com.au/business/more-please-sirs-20090114-7gej.html
As the article points out
“It has even surpassed the aggregate cost of the Marshall Plan, the Louisiana Purchase, the Race to the Moon, the Savings and Loans crisis, the Korean War, the New Deal, the Invasion of Iraq, the Vietnam War and Nasa combined. And that’s inflation adjusted.”
If Australia’s losses had matched the US in per-capita terms, we would have spent $300 billion. So far we have spent $20 billion. We should be congratulating Glen Stevens and Dr Henry.
What Tony Windsor thinks of Barnaby Joyce
[Mr Windsor is unconcerned at the prospect of an electoral fight against the outspoken senator.
“People are calling him the Sarah Palin of the north here,” he told AAP, referring to the US Republican vice-presidential candidate.
“He sort of wants to be in a party, but when he gets there he wants to be on his own and make his own arrangements.”
The MP doubts Senator Joyce will challenge him at the next federal election, due by 2010.
“All (Barnaby) Joyce is doing is using the media to get his name in the paper rather than do anything terribly constructive.”]
Vera i think i’m going nuts here, i’ve been over and over the damned thing, what do you mean by emptying my cache? how do i do that? any help is welcome.
sorry forgot link,
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/joyce-is-sarah-palin-of-the-north-mp-20090115-7hcz.html
Gary and Frank
I take it the main problem is just straight lack of capacity in the trains? If so there is one more group you could blame – transport economists. One idea that has caused a lot of grief in recent years is the concept of “travel demand management”. In principle it sounds good, but gets badly misapplied. You can change travel demand from cars to something else, and build fewer roads. But you can’t make the demand dissapear. That means, in a growing city, if you don’t build more roads, you need to build more trains and buses. But govenments simply stopped spending on PT in the 90s, so now we have a problem. It takes 3 years to build and commission a rail line, assuming planning is done, so there is no quick fix.
Judith I’m pretty useless at this sort of stuff but this is the link to show how to clear cache
[How do I clear my cache?
This is a pretty concise guide on clearing your cache no matter what browser you use: http://kb.iu.edu/data/ahic.html.
Basically your computer (in an attempt to make things faster for you) keeps copies of things (your avatar image, for example) on your computer, and the next time you request one of those things instead of getting it from the internet it gets that local saved copy. in this case you don’t want the saved copy, you want the new one from the internet. Thats what clearing your cache does… it deletes all the local copies of things that your browser keeps around.]
Poss having a blinder on the Borg’s campaigning in Qld.
“How to lose an election in 27 easy steps”
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2009/01/15/how-to-lose-an-election-in-27-easy-steps/
I think the problem the NSW ALP have stems from the Premier Bob Carr, a LIB dressed in ALP clothing. He did everything the Libs would have done, except he did not sell the NSW Electricity, that was left to Morris Iemma, which the Unions derailed, if anyone believes that the Libs want sell if the get elected they have rocks in thier heads.
Bob Carr gave us surpluses but no infrastructure in Health,Education and Public Transport. Just like Howard’s Government did. He sold the Road infrastructure to Private Companies.
However where I live, on the Coastal part f the Northern Rivers, I am quite happy with the NSW Government.
I tend to agree with the criticism of Carr. Particularly because when he was in NSW actually had high revenue and the money to do something. But he did nothing, although much was wasted. By the time Iemma took over the income was starting to dry up and problems emerge. NSW was a basket case when Reese took over.
Can anyone in NSW think of something big and positive that the ALP government has done since 1995 that they started?
I am not a liberal voter but I just want to get rid of the ALP. Today, there is speculation about dumping Rees and putting in Sartor. There is this perception that the people can be treated like mushrooms. The people of NSW liked Iemma, they like Rees, but they can’t wait to get rid of this lot of do-nothings who are obsessed with their own games.
The NSW ALP treats government as a fiefdom and not as a mechanism to achieve anything positive.
Queensland and WA have both made major impovements to public transport under ALP governments and so it can be done. But what has the NSW government actually done.
Maybe the problem in Sydney is the use of double-decker trains, which was a good idea at the time to increase capacity, but they are slow and costly. Now that demand is increasing it is impossible to increase train numbers.
But we have had major PT announcement after announcement for the last 10 years but nothing gets done. The NW train line, the innner city metro……. What they have given us are the Cross City Tunnel and the Lane Cove extension – both policy and patronage disasters.