State of the world
I never thought I would agree with Jeff Kennett about anything, but I most emphatically and wholeheartedly support his defence of the mother of "baby Catherine": "Yes, this is outside our norm but most of us are probably fairly stable, fairly settled, (with) good support structures.If you had just given birth, if you left the child at a hospital, you're less likely to come forward because you've been so demonised by the press who have no idea about the reason why (she's) done it."
I wouldn't be a politician for quids. I guess that the pension for life and the other various perks have something to do with the reasons people do it. I'm sure there are also people out there who at least begin with the desire to make the world a better place. But the problem is that you have so many demands and expectations, and really, what most people want is not necessarily what's best for the community (and by community I mean all of us; business, families, the sick, the overlooked, the successful, everyone.)
For instance, we have dramatic problems in this city and this state. There's the problems with public transport and with climate change. Our water storage is at 29.3% of capacity, and we're better off than other capital cities (Brisbane is down to something like 17%) and way better off than the regional towns which have to buy in water (Bendigo is down to 7.7% and many small towns have run dry.)
We all expect the government to fix it. Fair enough; we pay taxes, they supply services. But it seems clear that we need two things: a massive investment in infrastructure (public transport) and in new technology (water recycling? desalination? wind power?), and a massive but gradual change in our lifestyles (since it should be blatantly obvious to everyone that we lucky Westerners can't go on living and consuming the way we have been). Neither of those things is going to be pleasant and they will both require us to make sacrifices. No wonder no government is willing to step up to the plate and do it. In a world where the Federal Budget is almost uiniversally reported with headlines like "BUDGET: what's in it for you?", and tax cuts are the only thing people seem to want, no government wants to tell us to tighten our belts that much. And yet it's happened before; look at the world wars and the putting up and making do that people did then.
(When I go to the Northern Territory later this year, I'm going to make sure I stay somewhere that has a bath. I haven't had a bath for months, and I won't have one until the water levels are over 35% and on the rise. But Darwin's at 100%, so I will take advantage :D)
I wouldn't be a politician for quids. I guess that the pension for life and the other various perks have something to do with the reasons people do it. I'm sure there are also people out there who at least begin with the desire to make the world a better place. But the problem is that you have so many demands and expectations, and really, what most people want is not necessarily what's best for the community (and by community I mean all of us; business, families, the sick, the overlooked, the successful, everyone.)
For instance, we have dramatic problems in this city and this state. There's the problems with public transport and with climate change. Our water storage is at 29.3% of capacity, and we're better off than other capital cities (Brisbane is down to something like 17%) and way better off than the regional towns which have to buy in water (Bendigo is down to 7.7% and many small towns have run dry.)
We all expect the government to fix it. Fair enough; we pay taxes, they supply services. But it seems clear that we need two things: a massive investment in infrastructure (public transport) and in new technology (water recycling? desalination? wind power?), and a massive but gradual change in our lifestyles (since it should be blatantly obvious to everyone that we lucky Westerners can't go on living and consuming the way we have been). Neither of those things is going to be pleasant and they will both require us to make sacrifices. No wonder no government is willing to step up to the plate and do it. In a world where the Federal Budget is almost uiniversally reported with headlines like "BUDGET: what's in it for you?", and tax cuts are the only thing people seem to want, no government wants to tell us to tighten our belts that much. And yet it's happened before; look at the world wars and the putting up and making do that people did then.
(When I go to the Northern Territory later this year, I'm going to make sure I stay somewhere that has a bath. I haven't had a bath for months, and I won't have one until the water levels are over 35% and on the rise. But Darwin's at 100%, so I will take advantage :D)