The Coalition had relatively good numbers this week from Essential Research, but unchanged ones from Newspoll. The first of these is cancelled out by the fading impact of the Coalition’s improved result from the post-budget poll from Ipsos, so BludgerTrack once again goes nowhere this week. Newspoll’s leadership numbers have the net approval trends improving for Malcolm Turnbull but deteriorating for Bill Shorten, but the opposite is true on preferred prime minister, so take your pick really.
P1 Adani are wasting a lot of time, effort and money if they aren’t serious about making it work. But they are squeezing as much out of the state and federal governments in the process.
Personally I think it’s more likely than unlikely.
Finally some honesty about this “terrorist” crap. A bunch of losers trying to be important and the press and the conservatives helping them on their way.
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/terrorists-crave-the-attention-of-those-they-claim-to-despise-20170606-gwlbk6.html
bemused @ #1449 Tuesday, June 6th, 2017 – 7:39 pm
That’s never been her argument. She’s always said it was a transition via gas to renewables over time.
You’ve just been blinded by your beligerance, misogyny and stupidity.
frednk @ #1452 Tuesday, June 6th, 2017 – 7:44 pm
Sounds like your team in the Electricity Wars!
I knew it would be our fault these idiots want to kill us.
Player One @ #1448 Tuesday, June 6th, 2017 – 7:36 pm
You can’t see it at the moment, can you?
After all is said and done, more is said than done!
greensborough growler @ #1453 Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 7:49 pm
I rarely respond to is nonsense.
Others are much better qualified than I am so I leave it to them.
Thanks Barnes – I love spiders (am tempted to send the link to my arachnophobic daughter but I doubt she’d speak to me for a month!
bemused @ #1457 Tuesday, June 6th, 2017 – 7:52 pm
Bullshit!
Barnes = Barney (damn spell correct!)
Re Davidwh @7:41PM: Personally I think it’s more likely than unlikely.
I fear that you’re probably right. There’s an awful lot of capital going into this exercise, not least of the political variety. The conservative side of politics are pulling out all stops to make it happen. Our Deputy Prime Minister becomes utterly incoherent with anger that anyone might oppose it.
Cui bono?
greensborough growler @ #1459 Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 7:53 pm
Oh, so you think I am better qualified?
Sadly, no. I only did 2 years of Electrical Engineering and that was a long time ago.
Just arrived home to hear a highly favourable, indeed verging on the moronic report on the Adani mine on 7.30.
Apparently it will be a ‘shot in the arm’ for Bowen.
Only those damn environmentalists are against it.
bemused @ #1462 Tuesday, June 6th, 2017 – 7:57 pm
The bullshit is “you leave commentary to others that are better qualified than you’. That could include everyone from my cat to the exalted engineers running the Electricty wars.
Your contributions are pretty much low level trolling which you seem to think qualifies you as some sort of savant.
Label people and marginalise them.
Propaganda 101, and ABC is expert.
Anyone just see 7.30!?!
Bastards just accused the NSW Branch of the Labor Party of being bought and paid for by the Chinese Communist Party!
Labor should sue the arse off them for slander or libel or defamation, or whatever the hell else they can come up with!
Just a few tangential references to the Liberals but no accusations like that.
Booleanbach
Neither did I but it sure looks like it. Not that the Saudi pot is any less black that the Qatari kettle. The UAE are also along those lines so the current squabble is a fundy family tiff.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Qatar
Luckily I missed that parf C@Tmomma.
Tha Adani report was bad enough.
You can blame Dastari for that C@t
Here’s a critique that might rock your socks.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/forget-trumps-bluster-world-walking-090001198.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw
ADANI
It is not as if the state of the company isn’t well known:
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/earnings-business/adani-power-net-loss-at-rs-4961-cr-2290945.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-22/adani-companies-facing-multiple-corruption-probes/8140100
https://adanifiles.com.au/
The accounts are here
http://www.moneycontrol.com/financials/adanipower/balance-sheet/AP11
A report is here; you cannot continue losing money as they are for long.
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/earnings-business/adani-power-net-loss-at-rs-4961-cr-2290945.html
1 crore is about US$150.000. So the total share capital is 150,000* 2180 = 327 million US dollars.
BHP’s ordinary share capitcal is about 2 billion dollars US.
The whole thing is a joke.
One
DWH
No you can blame Uhlmann for that. Fortunately Senator Bernadi is busy reminding people the LNP do it too
greensborough growler @ #1464 Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 8:03 pm
Actually they have mainly been based on a couple of simple mathematical facts.
1. Since gas still produces 50% as much CO2 as coal, you need to replace coal with gas at twice the rate you would need to replace it with renewables to get the same rate of CO2 reduction.
2. Since gas produces 50% of the CO2 that coal does, if you replace 100% of coal with gas you still have 50% of the CO2 you had with coal and gas will take you no lower.
3. Since to get below 50% you will have to replace gas with renewables, it seems a poor investment to go for a temporary gas solution when you can go straight to renewables.
I leave all of the fine technical detail to others.
Guytaur but Dastari did it so bad and stupid all the focus is on him and Labor.
DWH
Yes thats Uhlmann agenda. It wont last. Senator Bernadi is making sure of that
Davidwh
So it’s all cool that for decades we can invade, bomb and decimate people in the region, killing untold 100,000s of civilians for political games be it empires jostling,Cold War manoeuvres or a Dubya “Crusade”, backing up and installing dictators, displacing elected governments. All the while we and it is we because it is our collective governments doing it in our name should not expect some tiny fraction of the pain we have inflicted on innocent civilians over there happening over here ?
Not to mention the fact the political class in the West have chosen to turn a blind eye to the people who have for decades been funding the fundy nutter version of Islam. But hey they got oil and we can sell hundreds of billions $ worth of military gear to them.
Here endeth rant.
DAavidwh in my world $800,0000 is more than the trivial bill Dastari got paid. I can’t argue with stupid.
Guytaur it’s not an agenda just the result of what the clown did.
bemused @ #1473 Tuesday, June 6th, 2017 – 8:16 pm
More self serving Bullshit!
You arrive regularly with no other motive than to blackguard other posters. It’s basic trolling 101. You have it mastered. It’s a pity for you that you’re just a figure of fun these days like Rex.
Robb must be a very special sort of individual to be able to hold down two full time jobs at the same time.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jun/06/coalition-defends-andrew-robb-after-revelation-he-started-job-while-an-mp
DWH
Its an agenda when you ignore the LNP doing the same thing.
Poroti the rant is fine I’m just not sure why you are aiming it at me.
One thing of interest in the ADANI accounts is the increase in secured loans; wonder if they are secured against a little coal mine in Australia.
Hola Bludgers
In Sinkers in transit.
This may be my last post.
Nothing I could in Oz would permit me to post.
If that still obtains when I get back then it is ciao for keeps.
Just in case this is goodbye, thanks for the fun.
Of course I must take this final opportunity to congratulate the Nobel Lauriate for taking enough time to make the speech that ensures he gets to pocket the $1.2 million for keeps.
Guytaur I don’t believe anyone from the LNP did what the clown did in China. It was bloody stupid and seriously wrong.
greensborough growler @ #1479 Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 8:23 pm
Oh really GG? So who are all these posters I have an issue with?
DWH
To be clear. My solution is public funding and a Federal ICAC.
take the temptation away
7.30 – current affairs for morons with aspirations
Simon Katich from back at 1:41pm..
Sorry for the delayed response. It would cost about $15B to deliver full high speed rail from Newcastle to Sydney. This can be done in stages starting with a fast(er) train. The end game however looks like this.
A HSR main line from Olympic Park through to Tarro (near Hexham). A spur running directly to both Woy Woy and Gosford. A spur running directly to Glendale and Broadmeadow. So both Gosford and Broadmeadow would be HSR termini.
In addition a HSR main line station at Morisset and at Hornsby.
There would be interchange between conventional rail and HSR at every station.
This proposal relies up on a fast metro style transport system from Olympic Park to both the CBD and Parramatta. The ideal is a fast (180Km/hr standard) metro-style train line that would get you from Olympic Park to Parramatta in 3 minutes and from Olympic Park to the Sydney CBD in 7 minutes. Its interesting to me that the Metro West announcement made last year included four minimal stations. Parramatta, Olympic Park, White Bay and the CBD. Which strangely enough is what I proposed. Of course now its a matter of seeing if they finally understand it needs to be fast.
Now about the Newcastle to Sydney rail line. There’s some documents you might want to google for. One of them is the Drivers Route Knowledge Diagrams. Here:
https://railsafe.org.au/diagrams/drivers-route-knowledge-diagrams
Look for the Main North (Central Coast) line – Berowra to Hamilton
The other is the curve and gradient diagrams here:
http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/b2b/railcorp/Curve_and_Gradient_Diagrams_V2-0_b.pdf
Look down to the Main North section pages 1-9.
Here’s a precis. Although some segments of the rail network are perfect capable of running a 140Km/hr train those segments are are only a fraction of the whole line. In any case, the electric fleet has a blanket maximum speed of 115Km/hr. The XPT enjoys its own speed boards. Even so the XPT only gets speed limits beyond 115Km/hr in some stretches between Lisarow and Morisset.
The only track worth curve easing is between Morisset and Lisarow. Here you could run a 160Km/hr train at speed, but you need about 5 curve easings and a level crossing removal.
Between Cockle Creek and Morisset any attempt at curve easing to a reasonable standard (say 130Km/hr) results in so much new track that its cheaper not to do this but instead build a bypass track.
Between Gosford and Hawkesbury River the track is what it is. There’s no point in curve easing because you just don’t have space.
The section between Hawkesbury River and Cowan has both tight curves and steep grades. Its notoriously slow and it would be pointless to straighten. In today’s world it is simpler and cheaper to bypass it with a tunnel.
Hornsby to Central you can do what you like with but the reality here is that any train will run at sub 100Km/hr speeds because of timetabling requirements. In other words, you’re stuck in traffic.
Hence, simply running a faster train is a wasted effort without substantial work on the track. I think the best estimate I’ve seen is for a Talgo class vehicle (200Km/hr diesel tilt train) running Broadmeadow to Central in 1h55m, but this was a bit optimistic as to what you can do south of Hornsby, plus it required some extra track (to get freight out of the way) and some level crossing removals.
What I propose in Phase 1 is to build a bypass track between Cockle Creek and Morisset. Then do some curve easings from Morisset to Lisarow. Plus 3 level crossing removals and some general grooming of the track. An XPT class train (160Km/hr class) would run from Broadmeadow to Central in 1hr 45m. Which is at the point where it makes a difference to some people. But its not going to make Newcastle a place where you could commute and it would only be marginally compatible with car travel to Sydney, for some subset of people. Nevertheless it is relatively cheap. Under a billion dollars, minus rolling stock and overheads. Incidentally you build the Cockle Creek to Morisset bypass on the HSR alignment, so you’re bringing forward some of the civil works. The HSR tracks will sit parallel to the conventional tracks and the conventional tracks will eventually go on to form part of a freight network.
Phase 2 simply brings forward a project that has had some support from freight operators for quite some time. Its a 13Km tunnel from Mt. Kuring-gai to Hawkesbury River. You build this tunnel and initially configure it for a mixed freight/passenger service. Now you can bypass Cowan and you can do Broadmeadow to Central in 90 minutes. More so, you’re cutting 15 minutes off the train trip to Gosford so it adds a lot of value to the Central Coast. This is for a fast (160Km/hr class) passenger diesel. This adds a billion dollars to the cost, so you’re getting a 90 minute trip for around $2B. Again, not including rolling stock, overheads and so on. Just basic civil engineering cost.
Phase 3 builds an independent HSR line from Olympic Park to Gosford. Almost all of it tunnel. This will set you back an additional $7B. At this point you can take a fast diesel from Broadmeadow to Gosford and then change to a high speed train to Olympic Park. Even with interchanges, the total trip from Broadmeadow to Town Hall takes you about an hour. Not perfect, but the neat thing is a sub-30 minute trip from Gosford/Woy Woy to the CBD. That delivers massive value to the Central Coast. An hour or so from Broadmeadow finally puts the whole system into the zone where it is preferable to take a train (from much of Newcastle and the lower Hunter) rather than take a car. That delivers a many-fold increase in patronage.
And then Phase 4 is to complete the HSR line to Tarro and the spur to Broadmeadow. Now you’re talking 40 minutes from Broadmeadow to Town Hall and a few minutes less from Tarro. Tarro of course means you can interchange from the Hunter line. Its also directly connected to the existing highway network and the M1 extension.
This is where you get to $15B. However you’ve generated value along the way, you’ve obviated the need for a duplicated M1 and you’ve made much of the lower Hunter another part of Sydney. Hence, housing affordability.
Eventually you also improve the Hunter rail line, extend it to Kurri and build out the light rail network in Newcastle. And this gets paid for through development.
Going back to the original question. There’s no cheap way to deliver a rail service Newcastle to Sydney that’s going to make much difference to behaviour. The existing line is mostly beyond redemption physically. Its time to think about a phased introduction of HSR and have a fast(er) train in the intervening years while HSR is being built.
Oh and the other question. The Woy Woy tunnel would remain as it is, primarily catering for freight.
davidwh @ #1485 Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 8:27 pm
You are not very observant. Didn’t Dashtyari openly declare everything?
Tears from me as murder of Australian Nurse is confirmed.
“As she ran towards danger, in an effort to help people on the bridge, Kirsty sadly lost her life”.
http://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-40147014?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_breaking&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=news_central
Guytaur basically agree.
bemused @ #1486 Tuesday, June 6th, 2017 – 8:27 pm
You could start with the Phone Directory.
greensborough growler @ #1491 Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 8:30 pm
Indeed. I am not sad the bastards got shot. Pity they didn’t die slowly though.
GG
Frontline service and ordinary people have been the heroes in these cowardly attacks.
Sad to hear another has died
greensborough growler @ #1493 Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 8:32 pm
I think you mean the Phony Directory.
Now lets see who’s in it.
GG, P1, Confessions and Rex Douglas.
Oh… that’s all.
DWH
Oh dear. What are we going to do now. We avoided a flame war 😆
Uhlman will blow his top when it sinks in that the Liberals have accepted 900 million from the communists. give him a break.
bemused @ #1496 Tuesday, June 6th, 2017 – 8:35 pm
How Donald Grump of you.
paaptsef @ #1498 Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 8:36 pm
Huh??? Where do you get that from?