Queensland's once honorable Parliamentary System is these days (forgive the pun) deeply rooted, in a great big set of political concrete boots. Queensland’s lack of Senate makes the House of Representitives in Queensland way to authoritarian for a democratic modern society.
The current issue of four year fixed terms is just another example of what can go wrong, to be honest, the Government really do not need to have a referendum on the issue, they could push this through with no help from the public just like Council Amalgamations and water fluoridation. But this would be a much louder noise and they know it.
We need to set two year fixed terms for State and Local Government; we would find more better quality representatives in a shorter amount of time and we should put no limit to the years a representative can serve, if they turn out sub-standard, you only have to put up with them for two years.
We need to move away from this unicameral parliamentary system.
The function once performed by the upper house or Senate is now just a rubber stamp at the Governors General residence over tea. Who appoints the Governor General?
We need to have 5 elected members to replace the GG’s role and form the ‘peoples counsel’. The peoples Counsel then provide truancy to the House on behalf of the people.
We need to retire the two party preferred or preferential voting systems and go back to one vote one value. This needs to be done in conjunction with removing compulsory voting. Compulsory voting removes a person’s right not to vote, which is in itself discriminatory and can lead to the lower socio-economic getting fines when they can’t really afford them. Not to mention informal voting is 6% and that is considered a healthy swing in Government.
The Preferential voting system coupled with compulsory voting is what is distorting the vote here in Queensland and it has to change. People are less attracted to major parties than ever before as more and more people feel they are being offered the choice of the devil or the deep blue sea. If we were to adopt one vote one value non-compulsory voting the parties would be seen as an organised alternative.
We need to demand change in a world of change. We need our Government to see it needs to change too.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Competitive Public Transport Tendering In The Douglas Shire.
The biggest community issue within the Douglas Shire in 2007 was with out a doubt the provision of public transport or lack thereof, this is likely to remain an issue within the new division 10 northern precinct.
Public transport will always be an issue in decentralised or rural communities and that is a given however, when a population cannot sustain a public transport service, it is economically unviable for any Government to offer transport subsidies to cover short-falls in the cost of services.
In most instances, market forces alone drive public transport schedules and cost of service however, a world wide trend is emerging where rapidly growing communities such as the Cairns Region are looking more into a process known as the ‘Competitive Tendering’ or ‘Concession System’, whereby public transport services are subject to open tender but within a defined operational framework.
This defined operational framework maybe as simple or complex as the need dictates. In our case, it would probably be most beneficial to keep things simple, such as definable routes (Port Douglas local shuttle, Mossman – Port via Cooya, Mossman – Cairns via Port Douglas) and separate tenders for each route to start and a portion of the ticket price on high turnover routes to subsidise the costs of new emerging routes. Operators can tender for as many routes as they wish.
Like elsewhere (including Brisbane), this process can only work effectively where there is "definitive separation of policy from transport operations" or where competitive tendering is administered by an organisation other than the transport operator.
Competitive tendering organisations can be referred to as marketing authorities or policy authorities and can be a QANGO, Government authority or a private contractor. The distinct separation of policy from operations has become routine throughout the public transport sector world-wide, to ensure fair administration of the competitive tendering process.
It is difficult, if not impossible for an organisation with an operating division that competes for contracts to objectively administer the competitive tender process. Policy is (or should be) separated from operations in virtually all cases.
Apart from the regulated Queensland Transport school bus operations, the current transport operators are under no obligation what-so-ever to enhance, improve or even run any service they currently provide.
Transport operators in the Douglas Shire currently feed entirely off the Tourism Industry. There needs to be a complete separation of ideology between an organised community based integrated transport network and a bookings only tourism shuttle service.
Public transport will always be an issue in decentralised or rural communities and that is a given however, when a population cannot sustain a public transport service, it is economically unviable for any Government to offer transport subsidies to cover short-falls in the cost of services.
In most instances, market forces alone drive public transport schedules and cost of service however, a world wide trend is emerging where rapidly growing communities such as the Cairns Region are looking more into a process known as the ‘Competitive Tendering’ or ‘Concession System’, whereby public transport services are subject to open tender but within a defined operational framework.
This defined operational framework maybe as simple or complex as the need dictates. In our case, it would probably be most beneficial to keep things simple, such as definable routes (Port Douglas local shuttle, Mossman – Port via Cooya, Mossman – Cairns via Port Douglas) and separate tenders for each route to start and a portion of the ticket price on high turnover routes to subsidise the costs of new emerging routes. Operators can tender for as many routes as they wish.
Like elsewhere (including Brisbane), this process can only work effectively where there is "definitive separation of policy from transport operations" or where competitive tendering is administered by an organisation other than the transport operator.
Competitive tendering organisations can be referred to as marketing authorities or policy authorities and can be a QANGO, Government authority or a private contractor. The distinct separation of policy from operations has become routine throughout the public transport sector world-wide, to ensure fair administration of the competitive tendering process.
It is difficult, if not impossible for an organisation with an operating division that competes for contracts to objectively administer the competitive tender process. Policy is (or should be) separated from operations in virtually all cases.
Apart from the regulated Queensland Transport school bus operations, the current transport operators are under no obligation what-so-ever to enhance, improve or even run any service they currently provide.
Transport operators in the Douglas Shire currently feed entirely off the Tourism Industry. There needs to be a complete separation of ideology between an organised community based integrated transport network and a bookings only tourism shuttle service.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Wet Behind The Years
Wet-season rain in tropical North Queensland is largely due to a macroclimatic (very large area) convergence of weather systems that form what is commonly known as the monsoonal trough.
The monsoonal trough is a band of unstable atmospheric activity that forms at the point where the south-east trade winds (pushing north-west) meet the equatorial westerlies (which blow south-east).
Put simply, it is the collision of these two warm, moist, rising air streams that create the heavy wet season rain that is associated with thunderstorms and tropical cyclones to the north-east.
The monsoon trough appears seasonally on satellite imagery during October to March as a single line of cloud, although at times, it may seem to be a little more scattered or random.
Okay class, now this is where weather gets sexy. What about our own little microclimatic (localised) system, what effect does our local weather system have on our lifestyles (non-condomic) and what influences it?
Our micro-climate has several local influences including the Great Barrier Reef to the east and the elevated Tablelands to the west. As the sea-breeze blows across the warm shallow reef, the sea surrenders moisture, this moisture is then taken as humidity by the breeze and pushed up into the mountains.
The warm moisture laden air tries to rise like a hot air balloon but gets trapped in the mountains by the cool dry air from the Tablelands.
A good analogy of cool air pressure is when you open the fridge on a hot day, you will feel the cold air drop at your feet and not lift up to your face. Cool air is heavy, so, grab us both a tinnie out and close the door before the flies get in!
The cool dry air sits weightily atop of the warm moist air that continues to rise, as it rises, it will eventually come into contact with the cool dry tablelands air. This process cools the once warm air, contracting the moisture particles together which in turn forms rain drops.
In short, humidity is trapped up in the mountains, the hot moist air rises up to meet the cool air of the Tablelands and then drops back down through the warm air and so on it goes.
It will often rain in the mountains as the moisture laden air reaches a critical mass, but generally speaking the humidity will stay trapped in the mountains cycling through warm, cool, warm, lifting and falling until the evening.
Still here? Hey, I am really proud of you for following me thus far, the best bits are still yet to come I promise. In the evenings, we experience a natural phenomena the local farmers refer to as the ‘land breeze’. Its meteorologically correct name is an atmospheric inversion.
To explain, as the sun rises, it warms up the atmosphere to the east and the elevated Tablelands to the west remain cool. As the day progresses and the sun goes over the mountains to the west toward Dimbulah, the atmosphere to the east starts to cool down and the tablelands dry air starts to warm.
These two systems eventually reach an equilibrium, sometime between 7 o’clock and 9 o’clock in the evenings. This is when you will start to feel a gentle breeze coming from the west, as it drops down over the mountains to meet the cooling coastal night air.
It was this land breeze that was very important to the cane farmers in days gone by. It was during this gentle westerly that it was (and still is) the safest time for the farmers to control or ‘draw’ burn the sugar cane fields without setting the entire crop alight!
This inversion or land breeze from the west pulls all of that built up moisture laden rain cloud out of the mountains, raining all the way out to sea and at sunrise the next day, the whole process starts all over again. Have you ever noticed how the rain, falls mainly on the plains, at night?
I find the best way to explain our local weather to the visitors, is to tell them that the Complex Mesophyll Vine forests of the Greater Daintree region are here because of the unique rainforest animals.
These unique little ‘locals’ are here to enjoy an over-abundance of fresh water and this over-abundance of fresh water is a direct result of the natural interactions between the Great Barrier Reef, the Mountain Rainforests and the Tablelands. Howzat for Harmony!
I’m such a romantic!
The monsoonal trough is a band of unstable atmospheric activity that forms at the point where the south-east trade winds (pushing north-west) meet the equatorial westerlies (which blow south-east).
Put simply, it is the collision of these two warm, moist, rising air streams that create the heavy wet season rain that is associated with thunderstorms and tropical cyclones to the north-east.
The monsoon trough appears seasonally on satellite imagery during October to March as a single line of cloud, although at times, it may seem to be a little more scattered or random.
Okay class, now this is where weather gets sexy. What about our own little microclimatic (localised) system, what effect does our local weather system have on our lifestyles (non-condomic) and what influences it?
Our micro-climate has several local influences including the Great Barrier Reef to the east and the elevated Tablelands to the west. As the sea-breeze blows across the warm shallow reef, the sea surrenders moisture, this moisture is then taken as humidity by the breeze and pushed up into the mountains.
The warm moisture laden air tries to rise like a hot air balloon but gets trapped in the mountains by the cool dry air from the Tablelands.
A good analogy of cool air pressure is when you open the fridge on a hot day, you will feel the cold air drop at your feet and not lift up to your face. Cool air is heavy, so, grab us both a tinnie out and close the door before the flies get in!
The cool dry air sits weightily atop of the warm moist air that continues to rise, as it rises, it will eventually come into contact with the cool dry tablelands air. This process cools the once warm air, contracting the moisture particles together which in turn forms rain drops.
In short, humidity is trapped up in the mountains, the hot moist air rises up to meet the cool air of the Tablelands and then drops back down through the warm air and so on it goes.
It will often rain in the mountains as the moisture laden air reaches a critical mass, but generally speaking the humidity will stay trapped in the mountains cycling through warm, cool, warm, lifting and falling until the evening.
Still here? Hey, I am really proud of you for following me thus far, the best bits are still yet to come I promise. In the evenings, we experience a natural phenomena the local farmers refer to as the ‘land breeze’. Its meteorologically correct name is an atmospheric inversion.
To explain, as the sun rises, it warms up the atmosphere to the east and the elevated Tablelands to the west remain cool. As the day progresses and the sun goes over the mountains to the west toward Dimbulah, the atmosphere to the east starts to cool down and the tablelands dry air starts to warm.
These two systems eventually reach an equilibrium, sometime between 7 o’clock and 9 o’clock in the evenings. This is when you will start to feel a gentle breeze coming from the west, as it drops down over the mountains to meet the cooling coastal night air.
It was this land breeze that was very important to the cane farmers in days gone by. It was during this gentle westerly that it was (and still is) the safest time for the farmers to control or ‘draw’ burn the sugar cane fields without setting the entire crop alight!
This inversion or land breeze from the west pulls all of that built up moisture laden rain cloud out of the mountains, raining all the way out to sea and at sunrise the next day, the whole process starts all over again. Have you ever noticed how the rain, falls mainly on the plains, at night?
I find the best way to explain our local weather to the visitors, is to tell them that the Complex Mesophyll Vine forests of the Greater Daintree region are here because of the unique rainforest animals.
These unique little ‘locals’ are here to enjoy an over-abundance of fresh water and this over-abundance of fresh water is a direct result of the natural interactions between the Great Barrier Reef, the Mountain Rainforests and the Tablelands. Howzat for Harmony!
I’m such a romantic!
Ping-Off Buggerlugs!
AS I was walking up the stairs, I met a man who wasn’t there, he wasn’t there again today, I wonder why he went away?
It would seem that all too often in Australian politics, we are witness to the rise and fall of some truly talented and visionary politicians. Luckily for us though, there are those genuinely liberating moments in Australian history when the voters simply say, “Ping off buggerlugs, I’m over the bullshit, sorry. It is no longer funny!”
I can’t help but think that this is what really happened on Federal Election day 2007 and to be absolutely honest I was so totally cool with the result I surprised even myself. Did I predict it? No way. Did I vote for Rudd? No, I did not. Am I disappointed with the outcome? Nope, not at all. Welcome to democracy.
Let’s face it, the election was not entirely judged on the performances of the candidates alone, and sorry, nor was it all about the unions dominating government or Work Choices paranoia. It was not about global warming, health, aged care or the war on stagnant economies. The 2007 Australian Federal election fell rather befittingly into the circa 1972 category: It’s time.
And ‘time’ it was. It was not necessarily John Howard. It was not the fact that Peter Costello actually has a rather wonderful wit, as most previous former federal treasurers seem to have had. It was not even the fact that Tony Abbott lacks a somewhat sincere humanity.
It was time. Time to change; and good on you all for politically edjimacating me. I really needed to be pushed from my comfort zone this time, I really did.
Hey, talk about the really young Libs, I grew up in the Queensland Liberal Party. It was all around me back in the seventies. As you get wiser, though, you start to swing with your vote. Like Dad does nowadays.
But wait, there’s more. When I was only six years old, I remember going to a Liberal function at a truly magnificent home at New Farm on the banks of the Brisbane River and I sat on the knee of a really wonderful man whom I have fondly quoted in the first paragraph of this story, (go back and read it again).
I remember his smile and I remember asking what it was that he meant by this and he replied, “That’s politics, Brendan. When you’re needing a politician most, they’re never around, and when you vote them out they wonder why.”
The man’s name was Senator Neville Bonner. (R.I.P.)
It would seem that all too often in Australian politics, we are witness to the rise and fall of some truly talented and visionary politicians. Luckily for us though, there are those genuinely liberating moments in Australian history when the voters simply say, “Ping off buggerlugs, I’m over the bullshit, sorry. It is no longer funny!”
I can’t help but think that this is what really happened on Federal Election day 2007 and to be absolutely honest I was so totally cool with the result I surprised even myself. Did I predict it? No way. Did I vote for Rudd? No, I did not. Am I disappointed with the outcome? Nope, not at all. Welcome to democracy.
Let’s face it, the election was not entirely judged on the performances of the candidates alone, and sorry, nor was it all about the unions dominating government or Work Choices paranoia. It was not about global warming, health, aged care or the war on stagnant economies. The 2007 Australian Federal election fell rather befittingly into the circa 1972 category: It’s time.
And ‘time’ it was. It was not necessarily John Howard. It was not the fact that Peter Costello actually has a rather wonderful wit, as most previous former federal treasurers seem to have had. It was not even the fact that Tony Abbott lacks a somewhat sincere humanity.
It was time. Time to change; and good on you all for politically edjimacating me. I really needed to be pushed from my comfort zone this time, I really did.
Hey, talk about the really young Libs, I grew up in the Queensland Liberal Party. It was all around me back in the seventies. As you get wiser, though, you start to swing with your vote. Like Dad does nowadays.
But wait, there’s more. When I was only six years old, I remember going to a Liberal function at a truly magnificent home at New Farm on the banks of the Brisbane River and I sat on the knee of a really wonderful man whom I have fondly quoted in the first paragraph of this story, (go back and read it again).
I remember his smile and I remember asking what it was that he meant by this and he replied, “That’s politics, Brendan. When you’re needing a politician most, they’re never around, and when you vote them out they wonder why.”
The man’s name was Senator Neville Bonner. (R.I.P.)
Monday, November 12, 2007
Impossibly Unambiguous
Sorry folks, this may come as a complete surprise to you all but my latest Re:Port ‘Beyond The Chamber’ offering is not going to be centered around the usual lack of left-wing rights for which I am often quite rightly left to handle.
Not only have I left it rather late to submit my latest purging to this months most sacred of local journalistic cash-cows, I am also going to take the right-royal liberty to blame everyone that’s left other than myself for it’s delay and furthermore, I am even going to change my most learned editors brief to suit me, because you see peeps, for once, this article is all about me!
That’s Right! Me-me-me-me-me!
Why? Because today is my 43rd birthday and bugger-it-all, I am just feeling a wee bit selfish at the moment so just go and find yourself an accredited contractor, submit your plans to any relevant Government authority that is sympathetic to your cause, build a financially viable toll bridge whose profits are contractually obliged to fix the feeder roads that lead to it and well, just get over it.
With that said, our esteemed editor Mr. Tall N. Handsome (apologies for the typo – Ed) decided to put the Re:port second anniversary birthday bash on the day before my deadline, which incidentally is about 4 day’s past the real mag deadline because I had already negotiated my own Re:Port equivalent of the German-British Christmas truce of 1914.
So where is all this leading?
Well, nowhere really, as I said at the start, this one is all about me to make me feel good about me, me-me-me-me-me, but hey, as we get chronologically closer to that most frenzied celebration of international consumerism that is X-mas, maybe we need to stop and think with our hearts for a second and not with our wallets, now let’s see, for whom does your bell chime and why?
You guest it folks, Mr. Birthday here is trying to spread the message of love, because everyone I know has been bathing me in it all day, from my very own and very beautiful all grown up children to my somewhat overly competitive siblings, my wonderful partner Lorraine, my father Ted, Haneef, the Indian Telstra dude who rang tonight and even that unnamed evil unbending inflexible servant troll of the Child Support Agency who is going to ring me tomorrow.
To you all I want to say Thank-you,
I have had a truly wonderful day.
Not only have I left it rather late to submit my latest purging to this months most sacred of local journalistic cash-cows, I am also going to take the right-royal liberty to blame everyone that’s left other than myself for it’s delay and furthermore, I am even going to change my most learned editors brief to suit me, because you see peeps, for once, this article is all about me!
That’s Right! Me-me-me-me-me!
Why? Because today is my 43rd birthday and bugger-it-all, I am just feeling a wee bit selfish at the moment so just go and find yourself an accredited contractor, submit your plans to any relevant Government authority that is sympathetic to your cause, build a financially viable toll bridge whose profits are contractually obliged to fix the feeder roads that lead to it and well, just get over it.
With that said, our esteemed editor Mr. Tall N. Handsome (apologies for the typo – Ed) decided to put the Re:port second anniversary birthday bash on the day before my deadline, which incidentally is about 4 day’s past the real mag deadline because I had already negotiated my own Re:Port equivalent of the German-British Christmas truce of 1914.
So where is all this leading?
Well, nowhere really, as I said at the start, this one is all about me to make me feel good about me, me-me-me-me-me, but hey, as we get chronologically closer to that most frenzied celebration of international consumerism that is X-mas, maybe we need to stop and think with our hearts for a second and not with our wallets, now let’s see, for whom does your bell chime and why?
You guest it folks, Mr. Birthday here is trying to spread the message of love, because everyone I know has been bathing me in it all day, from my very own and very beautiful all grown up children to my somewhat overly competitive siblings, my wonderful partner Lorraine, my father Ted, Haneef, the Indian Telstra dude who rang tonight and even that unnamed evil unbending inflexible servant troll of the Child Support Agency who is going to ring me tomorrow.
To you all I want to say Thank-you,
I have had a truly wonderful day.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Tastes Like Chicken
Being the right raving lefty of which I am often accused, I would like to raise two very relevant questions and then possibly offer you some plausible answers. I will then give you some Re:Port homework to complete in your own time.
Here Goes…
Question One: Will the amalgamation of the Douglas Shire Council and Cairns City Council put our local community at risk of becoming just another congruous and politically compatible society, with no real local identity or spirit?
Question Two: What is the difference between a heterogeneous and homogeneous society?
Just for fun, I’ll start with the second question first. If you took the time to look up the meaning of the words in the dictionary you will find that the word heterogeneous (pronounced hetero-genius) means either different in kind or unlike in genes, ultimately making reference to differences celebrated.
In contrast, the word homogeneous (pronounced homo-genius) means a part or elements (plural) that are all of the same kind; not heterogeneous: an homogeneous population.
Now one could argue that the Cairns and Douglas communities are infact both heterogeneous and homogeneous societies; in other words, some things that are different within our communities will remain so and others will become similar. Moreover, some things that are inherently similar between our two communities will no doubt change.
Now here’s your homework, read a book that deals with the issue of conformity like Orwell’s ‘1984’ or De Lillo’s ‘White Noise’, as you read the book, start to observe people as they go about their daily lives. Jot down your observations of both individuals and society in general.
Then read something by Charles Dickens or Toni Morrison that concentrates on celebrating individuality and the richness in cultural difference.
Once again, go through your day observing. After reading Dickens, you will find that you start noticing how individual everybody is. In contrast, after reading Orwell, you will notice how pathologically conformist everyone is.
It is the nature by which we humans perceive the world. In our daily lives we are constantly bombarded with way too much information, we can only focus on a portion of it at once. In order to get through our daily lives, we take our world and we map it onto our consciousness in a way in which all but a very small amount of information is completely ignored.
Now, what was the question?
Here Goes…
Question One: Will the amalgamation of the Douglas Shire Council and Cairns City Council put our local community at risk of becoming just another congruous and politically compatible society, with no real local identity or spirit?
Question Two: What is the difference between a heterogeneous and homogeneous society?
Just for fun, I’ll start with the second question first. If you took the time to look up the meaning of the words in the dictionary you will find that the word heterogeneous (pronounced hetero-genius) means either different in kind or unlike in genes, ultimately making reference to differences celebrated.
In contrast, the word homogeneous (pronounced homo-genius) means a part or elements (plural) that are all of the same kind; not heterogeneous: an homogeneous population.
Now one could argue that the Cairns and Douglas communities are infact both heterogeneous and homogeneous societies; in other words, some things that are different within our communities will remain so and others will become similar. Moreover, some things that are inherently similar between our two communities will no doubt change.
Now here’s your homework, read a book that deals with the issue of conformity like Orwell’s ‘1984’ or De Lillo’s ‘White Noise’, as you read the book, start to observe people as they go about their daily lives. Jot down your observations of both individuals and society in general.
Then read something by Charles Dickens or Toni Morrison that concentrates on celebrating individuality and the richness in cultural difference.
Once again, go through your day observing. After reading Dickens, you will find that you start noticing how individual everybody is. In contrast, after reading Orwell, you will notice how pathologically conformist everyone is.
It is the nature by which we humans perceive the world. In our daily lives we are constantly bombarded with way too much information, we can only focus on a portion of it at once. In order to get through our daily lives, we take our world and we map it onto our consciousness in a way in which all but a very small amount of information is completely ignored.
Now, what was the question?
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Olive Oil
It would appear that our own local community has been both politically and internally violated once again by our elected Council.
This time, a few local Government representatives seem hell bent on scuttling what’s left of our Shires future for their own personal agenda. Cr. Bellero once told me (in his own words) that he wants Newell Beach to be the next Palm Cove. While that maybe fine in theory, is that what the residents of Newell want?
We have an opportunity to place minimum cane land requirements into the Icon Legislation which may offer some legislative respite to an industry that has supported many local families over a hundred years plus. It may be that the mill will never need this respite, but why not use the Icon legislation as an agricultural industry olive branch?
The cane is not dead and the mill does have a commercial future. It is an evolving future that may even include water bottling one day, but it is a future none-the-less for the districts workers, farmers and mill shareholders.
This time, a few local Government representatives seem hell bent on scuttling what’s left of our Shires future for their own personal agenda. Cr. Bellero once told me (in his own words) that he wants Newell Beach to be the next Palm Cove. While that maybe fine in theory, is that what the residents of Newell want?
We have an opportunity to place minimum cane land requirements into the Icon Legislation which may offer some legislative respite to an industry that has supported many local families over a hundred years plus. It may be that the mill will never need this respite, but why not use the Icon legislation as an agricultural industry olive branch?
The cane is not dead and the mill does have a commercial future. It is an evolving future that may even include water bottling one day, but it is a future none-the-less for the districts workers, farmers and mill shareholders.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Feeding The Future - a growing concern
With the next Federal election looming ever nearer, it would appear that the main issues at hand are inevitably the same with our major party leaders. Both say they have found the secret fiscal recipe book for sustained economic growth into serviceable debit.
Politicians are an elastically deionised bunch, often prone to severe bouts of chronic bovinae detritus and uncoordinated flip-flopping when intellectually over-extended or brought back to reality.
Unfortunately, missing from this campaign (like most) is what we mere mortals refer to as policy. There are two distinctly different types of policy, one is good governmental policy and the other is political policy, beware, they are not the same duck, they have a similar quack but you can tell them apart by the amount of guano they leave behind.
Good governmental policy is about doing what is humanly responsible for Earth and future generations with little or no motivation for political self-benefit. Political policy making is about keeping the flat bit of the tyre at the top of the wheel or in other words, defying reality.
In government, a general understanding of reality is as important today as it ever has been or ever will be. Good governmental policy should be borne of this same understanding of reality. With a world population of 6.6 billion that is destined to reach 7 billion by the year 2013, let’s take a quick look at the past in an effort to retrieve our future.
Over 5000 years ago, the Sumerians farmed a rich and fertile plain in the lower Mesopotamian region, these soils had been nourished over the eons by silt deposited from both the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
The ancient city of Mesopotamia was once surrounded by thousands of hectares of extremely productive and mostly irrigated farmlands. This very area is perhaps better known to the world these days as Southern Iraq.
So productive was the land, that small villages started to spring up around the city as settlers came from everywhere seeking employment and opportunity. These small villages later became larger villages and then towns and later cities as the economy started to grow.
Eventually, so many settlers came to live and work in the area that they consumed all the produce the area could physically grow. When it came time to expand the fields to increase production they no longer could, the ever expanding community had built homes and villages on the remainder of the good quality agricultural soil close to the market. This economy eventually fell over.
We all know that this is 5000 year old history and as Human Beings, we just don’t do silly things like this anymore. In Australia, some of the best agricultural soils are located along the coastal escarpments in Far North Queensland, we also have the most consistent rainfall, two critical elements in food production.
Contrary to popular belief, food does not come from ‘the shops’ and there is absolutely nothing organic about hydroponics. If we as a species keep allowing the gratuitous over-development of our good quality agricultural lands for short-term economic gain we are handing future generations of our species, a massive humanitarian crisis.
Politicians are an elastically deionised bunch, often prone to severe bouts of chronic bovinae detritus and uncoordinated flip-flopping when intellectually over-extended or brought back to reality.
Unfortunately, missing from this campaign (like most) is what we mere mortals refer to as policy. There are two distinctly different types of policy, one is good governmental policy and the other is political policy, beware, they are not the same duck, they have a similar quack but you can tell them apart by the amount of guano they leave behind.
Good governmental policy is about doing what is humanly responsible for Earth and future generations with little or no motivation for political self-benefit. Political policy making is about keeping the flat bit of the tyre at the top of the wheel or in other words, defying reality.
In government, a general understanding of reality is as important today as it ever has been or ever will be. Good governmental policy should be borne of this same understanding of reality. With a world population of 6.6 billion that is destined to reach 7 billion by the year 2013, let’s take a quick look at the past in an effort to retrieve our future.
Over 5000 years ago, the Sumerians farmed a rich and fertile plain in the lower Mesopotamian region, these soils had been nourished over the eons by silt deposited from both the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
The ancient city of Mesopotamia was once surrounded by thousands of hectares of extremely productive and mostly irrigated farmlands. This very area is perhaps better known to the world these days as Southern Iraq.
So productive was the land, that small villages started to spring up around the city as settlers came from everywhere seeking employment and opportunity. These small villages later became larger villages and then towns and later cities as the economy started to grow.
Eventually, so many settlers came to live and work in the area that they consumed all the produce the area could physically grow. When it came time to expand the fields to increase production they no longer could, the ever expanding community had built homes and villages on the remainder of the good quality agricultural soil close to the market. This economy eventually fell over.
We all know that this is 5000 year old history and as Human Beings, we just don’t do silly things like this anymore. In Australia, some of the best agricultural soils are located along the coastal escarpments in Far North Queensland, we also have the most consistent rainfall, two critical elements in food production.
Contrary to popular belief, food does not come from ‘the shops’ and there is absolutely nothing organic about hydroponics. If we as a species keep allowing the gratuitous over-development of our good quality agricultural lands for short-term economic gain we are handing future generations of our species, a massive humanitarian crisis.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Who ate the chocolate Jesus?
Before you all start getting uppity about my choice of title, I can assure you it is very pertinent. I am of course referring to the un-clad and anatomically correct sculpture of a life-sized Cadbury Christ that was created for display at the swank Lab Gallery in Manhattan earlier this year.
This very controversially unique and culturally brave piece of confectious Choco L'Art entitled ‘My Sweet Lord’ by artist Cosimo Cavallaro, depicted an au naturel representation of Jesus Christ likeness complete with arms outstretched as if cruelly fastened to a visually impalpable crucifix.
Reaction to this sweetest of heavenly creations by America’s fanatical-right religious sector was nothing short of utter horror. The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights spokesman Bill Donohue said, "They wouldn't show a depiction of Martin Luther King with his genitals exposed on Martin Luther King Day, and they wouldn't show the Prophet Muhammad depicted this way during Ramadan.”
However, some people like Manhattan’s Reverend Jonathon Edwards aren't as bothered, he just would have preferred that the Mars bar messiah not be nude so as the artistic celebrations could have been shared at many different social levels.
“As a pastor, what I find far more offensive than a chocolate Jesus with an impressive 400gm bonus block is the fact that a few self-righteous Christians are intolerant enough to get upset about it.”
Although unintentional, the artist had unwittingly sculptured a somewhat ironic critique of mainstream Christianity that could only have been better delivered if it were wrapped in colourful tinfoil and placed in a giant Easter basket.
So what defines art and what are (if any) the limits to good taste?
Wikipedia states that “Art is a product of human activity, made with the intention of stimulating the human senses as well as the human mind; thus art is an action, an object, or a collection of actions and objects created with the intention of transmitting emotions and or ideas.”
As a young musician, I grew up believing that taste is personal preference. Different people have different likes and dislikes and no one personal preference is any more relevant than anyone else's. Now I am a little older and wiser I believe otherwise.
The problem with the claim that there is no such thing as good taste is that it also implies that there is no such thing as good art. If you remove personal taste from the equation, you would have to discard the idea of art being good and artists being good at making it.
The idea that you can make a piece of art great is not just an egotistical manifestation, it is truth. If an artist believes there is such a thing as good art then he or she will be free to try and create it.
In the past, vulgar art was never such a problem. Some of the great works of western culture were filled with slapstick humor, violence and sex. Homer, Chaucer and Shakespeare are riddled with vulgarity. Chaucer, for instance, loved a fart joke even more than your average aussie male if that’s possible.
When artist Robert Fawcett decided to abandon culturally acceptable ‘fine art’ for illustration his peers claimed that illustration is a tasteless endeavour, to which Fawcett responded; “Good taste is often the enemy of creativity.”I believe that there is such a thing as good art, good art creates the benchmark that becomes good taste. If an artist strives to create good art, people with good taste will notice.
That leaves us with just one unanswered question, if the luscious Choco-lord was never displayed, what became of him and who in fact got to eat the bonus 400 grams?
This very controversially unique and culturally brave piece of confectious Choco L'Art entitled ‘My Sweet Lord’ by artist Cosimo Cavallaro, depicted an au naturel representation of Jesus Christ likeness complete with arms outstretched as if cruelly fastened to a visually impalpable crucifix.
Reaction to this sweetest of heavenly creations by America’s fanatical-right religious sector was nothing short of utter horror. The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights spokesman Bill Donohue said, "They wouldn't show a depiction of Martin Luther King with his genitals exposed on Martin Luther King Day, and they wouldn't show the Prophet Muhammad depicted this way during Ramadan.”
However, some people like Manhattan’s Reverend Jonathon Edwards aren't as bothered, he just would have preferred that the Mars bar messiah not be nude so as the artistic celebrations could have been shared at many different social levels.
“As a pastor, what I find far more offensive than a chocolate Jesus with an impressive 400gm bonus block is the fact that a few self-righteous Christians are intolerant enough to get upset about it.”
Although unintentional, the artist had unwittingly sculptured a somewhat ironic critique of mainstream Christianity that could only have been better delivered if it were wrapped in colourful tinfoil and placed in a giant Easter basket.
So what defines art and what are (if any) the limits to good taste?
Wikipedia states that “Art is a product of human activity, made with the intention of stimulating the human senses as well as the human mind; thus art is an action, an object, or a collection of actions and objects created with the intention of transmitting emotions and or ideas.”
As a young musician, I grew up believing that taste is personal preference. Different people have different likes and dislikes and no one personal preference is any more relevant than anyone else's. Now I am a little older and wiser I believe otherwise.
The problem with the claim that there is no such thing as good taste is that it also implies that there is no such thing as good art. If you remove personal taste from the equation, you would have to discard the idea of art being good and artists being good at making it.
The idea that you can make a piece of art great is not just an egotistical manifestation, it is truth. If an artist believes there is such a thing as good art then he or she will be free to try and create it.
In the past, vulgar art was never such a problem. Some of the great works of western culture were filled with slapstick humor, violence and sex. Homer, Chaucer and Shakespeare are riddled with vulgarity. Chaucer, for instance, loved a fart joke even more than your average aussie male if that’s possible.
When artist Robert Fawcett decided to abandon culturally acceptable ‘fine art’ for illustration his peers claimed that illustration is a tasteless endeavour, to which Fawcett responded; “Good taste is often the enemy of creativity.”I believe that there is such a thing as good art, good art creates the benchmark that becomes good taste. If an artist strives to create good art, people with good taste will notice.
That leaves us with just one unanswered question, if the luscious Choco-lord was never displayed, what became of him and who in fact got to eat the bonus 400 grams?
Saturday, August 18, 2007
My World, My Home, My people - Douglas Shire
Sadly, most people think I am nothing more than a series of inanimate geographical electoral boundaries but really, I am so much more than that, I am your home.
The same home that you should care for, love and nurture as you would a delicate new born. You might see me as a soil rich environment with burgeoning mountain ranges and ample freshwater streams, but I am infact a very old and fragile eco-system.
For many thousands of years I have had a lot of help from a group of very beautiful human beings who refer to themselves as Yalanji, a name which literally translates to English meaning ‘from here’.
Europeans first came to these shores back in 1770 when Lieutenant James Cook passed the coast heading north. His ship the 'Endeavour' struck the Reef and had to be beached at Cooktown for repairs. This is where the first of many subsequent environmental disasters happened.
Cook had live Pigs on board and prior to the ship being listed (put on its side) the Pigs were all taken ashore and penned. Unfortunately, many of the animals escaped the crude enclosures and the rest as they say is history.
I was named Douglas Shire in 1880 after the ‘then’ Queensland Premier John Douglas, prior to that I was known to the Yalanji people as Kubidi. What’s in a name I thought at the time but I have over the years become quite fond of my name, Douglas… Douglas Shire, It has a warm fuzzy homely type feeling about it doesn’t it?
Things were really starting to change around here by the mid 1870’s when gold was found up on the tablelands, the merchants and Government departments started to setup camp in and around Port Douglas. A road was completed on the 6th of September 1877 which became affectionately known as the Bump track, this road was to prove a vital link between the gold fields on the tablelands and the harbour at Port Douglas.
The local population grew to about 6000 settlers over the next thirty years and every year more and more of the precious Complex Mesophyll Vine Forest that once covered a great portion of this area was all but disappearing, as more trees were cut down, more land was planted with crops. Many crops were trialled including rice but by far the most successful was Sugar Cane.
In February 1911, a cyclone caused considerable damage to Port Douglas and battered coastal shipping. Five weeks later a second much more powerful system hammered the area (March 16th, 1911). This second cyclone almost completely destroyed Port Douglas and nearby Mossman, two lives were lost.
In addition, the railway connection between the two towns was wrecked by the destruction of the terminus and the intervening bridge in front of the Sugar Wharf. The 1911 Cyclone is only ever referred to as the 1911 cyclone as the practice of naming cyclones did not actually start until 1964, the reality is that two cyclones that hit that year.
Originally, the custom of naming cyclones was that only female names were used, the use of male names did not begin until 1975. Now the names alternate between male and female and if a cyclone becomes a significant event like Tracy or Larry that name will be ‘retired’ into the history books.
By the 1920’s the main business center of the district had drifted from Port Douglas over to Mossman largely due to the needs of an ever expanding sugar industry. By 1927, One hundred and forty eight cane growers were growing sugar cane in the Mossman district alone.
The 1930’s was a busy time around here as a real community leader was running the show, his name was R.D Rex and he was responsible for many infrastructure projects that still exist today also the hospital opened in Mossman and the Port Douglas hospital closed.
1933 saw the official opening of that wonderfully scenic drive between Cairns and Mossman we know as the Cook Highway and the Mossman to Daintree Road was also completed that same year. The US 2/15 Engineers commenced construction of the Rex Highway over the range to Julatten from the outskirts of Mossman.
Electricity was turned on in Port Douglas in 1957 and the following year saw the last rail and sea transportation of sugar from the Port Douglas wharf. After that it was sent by road to Cairns and the village of Port Douglas started to wane.
In 1960 the Douglas Shire Council started the Daintree ferry service and the road was extended all the way up to Cape Tribulation. The Great Barrier Reef was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1981 and by 1983 protesters blockaded the Bloomfield track to stop a road being dozed between Cape Tribulation and Cooktown.
In 1984 the Cairns International Airport was opened and tourism started to become a major industry in the area. The Sheraton Mirage resort opened in 1988 and the Greater Daintree National park was entered into the World Heritage List.As you can see, many things good and bad have unfolded around here over the years and many more are yet to unfold, but if you love me, I promise to love you back.
The same home that you should care for, love and nurture as you would a delicate new born. You might see me as a soil rich environment with burgeoning mountain ranges and ample freshwater streams, but I am infact a very old and fragile eco-system.
For many thousands of years I have had a lot of help from a group of very beautiful human beings who refer to themselves as Yalanji, a name which literally translates to English meaning ‘from here’.
Europeans first came to these shores back in 1770 when Lieutenant James Cook passed the coast heading north. His ship the 'Endeavour' struck the Reef and had to be beached at Cooktown for repairs. This is where the first of many subsequent environmental disasters happened.
Cook had live Pigs on board and prior to the ship being listed (put on its side) the Pigs were all taken ashore and penned. Unfortunately, many of the animals escaped the crude enclosures and the rest as they say is history.
I was named Douglas Shire in 1880 after the ‘then’ Queensland Premier John Douglas, prior to that I was known to the Yalanji people as Kubidi. What’s in a name I thought at the time but I have over the years become quite fond of my name, Douglas… Douglas Shire, It has a warm fuzzy homely type feeling about it doesn’t it?
Things were really starting to change around here by the mid 1870’s when gold was found up on the tablelands, the merchants and Government departments started to setup camp in and around Port Douglas. A road was completed on the 6th of September 1877 which became affectionately known as the Bump track, this road was to prove a vital link between the gold fields on the tablelands and the harbour at Port Douglas.
The local population grew to about 6000 settlers over the next thirty years and every year more and more of the precious Complex Mesophyll Vine Forest that once covered a great portion of this area was all but disappearing, as more trees were cut down, more land was planted with crops. Many crops were trialled including rice but by far the most successful was Sugar Cane.
In February 1911, a cyclone caused considerable damage to Port Douglas and battered coastal shipping. Five weeks later a second much more powerful system hammered the area (March 16th, 1911). This second cyclone almost completely destroyed Port Douglas and nearby Mossman, two lives were lost.
In addition, the railway connection between the two towns was wrecked by the destruction of the terminus and the intervening bridge in front of the Sugar Wharf. The 1911 Cyclone is only ever referred to as the 1911 cyclone as the practice of naming cyclones did not actually start until 1964, the reality is that two cyclones that hit that year.
Originally, the custom of naming cyclones was that only female names were used, the use of male names did not begin until 1975. Now the names alternate between male and female and if a cyclone becomes a significant event like Tracy or Larry that name will be ‘retired’ into the history books.
By the 1920’s the main business center of the district had drifted from Port Douglas over to Mossman largely due to the needs of an ever expanding sugar industry. By 1927, One hundred and forty eight cane growers were growing sugar cane in the Mossman district alone.
The 1930’s was a busy time around here as a real community leader was running the show, his name was R.D Rex and he was responsible for many infrastructure projects that still exist today also the hospital opened in Mossman and the Port Douglas hospital closed.
1933 saw the official opening of that wonderfully scenic drive between Cairns and Mossman we know as the Cook Highway and the Mossman to Daintree Road was also completed that same year. The US 2/15 Engineers commenced construction of the Rex Highway over the range to Julatten from the outskirts of Mossman.
Electricity was turned on in Port Douglas in 1957 and the following year saw the last rail and sea transportation of sugar from the Port Douglas wharf. After that it was sent by road to Cairns and the village of Port Douglas started to wane.
In 1960 the Douglas Shire Council started the Daintree ferry service and the road was extended all the way up to Cape Tribulation. The Great Barrier Reef was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1981 and by 1983 protesters blockaded the Bloomfield track to stop a road being dozed between Cape Tribulation and Cooktown.
In 1984 the Cairns International Airport was opened and tourism started to become a major industry in the area. The Sheraton Mirage resort opened in 1988 and the Greater Daintree National park was entered into the World Heritage List.As you can see, many things good and bad have unfolded around here over the years and many more are yet to unfold, but if you love me, I promise to love you back.
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