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Senin, 11 April 2011

Telstra Should Not Have Been Compensated for the NBN Using Fibre Instead of Copper

It seems odd for the Government to compensate Telstra for building the National Broadband Network considering fibre optic cable is a modern version of old copper. If a rival company in the market place builds a new factory with modern equipment established firms are not paid a cent. Besides, the copper was funded by Australian citizens and not by Telstra per se.

Selling Telstra was a stupid idea anyway. People who bought shares should have known that the monopoly would eventually die. Perhaps John Howard saw the writing on the wall and decided to sell it. In recent times Testra has barely made a profit so it could no longer be relied upon as a cash cow.

The Australian Government is paying Telstra $11 billion in compensation. Laws should have been changed to prevent this public liability taking place. Telstra's ownership of the copper should have been changed before the sale. It's control should have been altered to protection of the copper network which was paid for by Australian taxpayers.

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Communication

Sabtu, 09 April 2011

Australian Will Have a Higher Cost Of Living With a Carbon Tax

What has happened to Australian society that the support for a carbon tax, so high when Kevin Rudd was in charge, has vanished? It seems everyone thought that a tax on pollution wouldn't really mean a financial burden. With the sudden hits from water and electricity price increases they know that it will cost - a lot. Kevin is crying into his handkerchief saying they made me do it - his cabinet told him to give up his push for a carbon tax, so he says. Julia Gillard has apparently had a change of heart and it is now her baby.

Australians will have to accept that they will get less for their money in the near future. All countries will have to join the carbon club eventually. Not using as much petrol is a possibility, but doing without air conditioning particularly the wealthy that will be difficult. It seems the pillars of capitalism will be challenged. This is the kind of post-capitalism that twenty years ago hardly anyone would imagine. A society that really cares for the environment? That is something new. We have spent two centuries running rough-shod over the countryside, dumping pollutants everywhere. The time has arrived to get out the shovel and broom and start cleaning up.

Lower consumption will not be a problem. Permanent prices rises are in order across the board, with national GDP remaining at about the same level. The cost of living will be significantly higher. House prices will probably fall, though, due a lower capacity to pay. The problem lies in convincing those in developing countries that they will never enjoy the standard of living we in the West had for such a long time.

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News

Kamis, 10 Maret 2011

Foster Care Is Still an Issue

Australians are not doing their parental duties very well. A record number of children are in government care due to abuse and neglect. Authorities say that out-of-care has grown largely because of improvement in information gathering. However, an increase of 44 per cent in 4 years is worrying.

Putting children in care is seen as making life better for badly treated children. There is debate about this issue. A child living on a quasi temporary basis in an institution or foster family situation certainly grows up with a "skewed" outlook on life. Their upbringing is not "normal". And they know it.

Saying there are multiple issues at home is really a cop out by the government. It doesn't explain why the problem exists nor offer a satisfactory solution. Holding that reuniting them with their families is too much work sounds very much like the department has given up. The desire to be with their families is strong even when they are young adults.

Foster care has always been a second-best cure. Children move from family to family and never trully fit in. They feel isolated and this isolation continues into adulthood. A problem that is never examined is that a child from a family with poor parenting skills grows up to be a bad parent also.

~~~~~Society~~~~~

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Rabu, 02 Maret 2011

The Government Is Wrong to Fund Chaplaincy in Schools

Most people don't attend church, synagogue or mosque yet Nations pander to those who hold religious beliefs with outdated ceremonies. It seems one hasn't the right not to believe in anything other than accepting the fact that humans live and die.

Ron Williams tried to send his children to a school that taught all religions but also taught secularism. He couldn't find one. Schools identified with one faith and virtually condemned all others. He saw requests for gold coins to fund scripture union classes as offensive and something he wasn't going to give. Indeed, chaplains seemed to be at war with teachers over the minds of students. What he found most difficult of all to accept was that the government was already partially funding Access Ministries which were "transforming the nation for God." Adolf Hitler tried similar brain washing systems to control the Hitler Youth.

What is driving the wads of cash? All political parties need the support of the church to win elections. Indeed, it is the silence of the churches that is the objective.

The issue is now being taken to the High Court by Ron Williams with the intent of stopping the funding. He probably won't win. His attempt is worth loud applause from the community.

~~~~~Religion~~~~~

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Jumat, 11 Februari 2011

The NBN Will Be Scrapped When the Coalition Wins Government

Will Australia ever have a National Broadband Network? It seems it will only be partially completed before the Coalition wins the next election and puts a red line through it all. Telstra will remain the controlling body when NBN.com takes over. Not much will change in Australia's communication sector. Those who miss out will be terribly bitter about the mish-mash of a system we are left with. Just why the Coalition hates the NBN is hard to clarify. Why don't they want the nation to move forward with a world-class Internet network?

Telstra is being criticized for being too competitive in price cutting. There is not much profit left for small telcos. Surely, this is the way of the market, but is Telstra trying to "grab" the market before it gains control over a market that will be opened up again with a coalition win?

Telstra will survive a re-adjustment when smaller firms will fail. The Labor Government sees the deal "done" and a majority of the population believes this to be the case. It is certain however, that a new government will bring a stop it all - bloody minded or not. The NBN company will be dissolved. Australian right wing parties are dead against formation of the new national body. After all, they sold off Telstra.

Only one thing will stop this happening: that is Labor, The Greens and Independents could retain control of the upper house. Perhaps the Coalition will not need the upper house in order to scrap it?

~~~~~Politics~~~~~

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Rabu, 02 Februari 2011

Could the Australian Government Turn Off the Internet

Could what has happened in Egypt occur in Australia? That is Turning off the internet. It is as easy as clicking a switch. A government would just contact the main telecommunications company explain the state of emergency and the telco would turn it off. Minor internet providers would follow.

A major problem for a government would be cutting off internet access of journalists. Much of their system is outside of public providers. Turn off that system and you stop government agencies talking to each other.

Cutting off access for major cities would be a waste of time. Television, radio and the print media could not be stopped. In a place like Australia where information transmission is decentralised there is no one person to instruct.

Let's face it - any Australian government that did pull the plug would self-destruct. There is no way the people would ever trust it again. There is also the problem of "leakage" as a few minor Internet providers refuse to submit - some are foreign owned.

Australians are just as smart as other people and many would find "work-arounds", so even if the switch was flicked it would not have much of an effect on communication to the outside. Business would be affected because the Internet is widely used.

~~~~~Internet~~~~~

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Senin, 29 November 2010

Ethics as a Subject in Schools

According to the NSW government, ethics is the nearest thing to religion. There is an admission here that religion somehow dictates the mode of behavior in adulthood. In centuries past this was most definitely true. You have only to read the accounts of people who were at deaths door, like being adrift at sea in a boat, to perceive that life after death was paramount in people's thinking. Not going to hell was also important.

Teaching ethics as an alternative to religious education in schools seems to be a logical option. Next year the NSW government will allow parents to choose secular ethics as a subject for their children instead of religion. Some would argue that religion does not really teach people how to behave in society. It is more important than that. Believing in God is paramount, not how one behaves toward his/her fellow Man. Behavior is secondary to being submissive to God.

The problem with ethics is the supposition that there is a correct way of social interaction. Stealing and lying, for example, are condemned. But business is part of our daily lives. Isn't the act of selling really stealing? There is something unethical about buying a tonne of apples on the cheap, then putting them is small bags and selling them at a high price. That is basically what all trade is - the act of buying in bulk and selling individually. To live in an ethical manner would involve the adoption of non-market principles of activity. Living in a commune where everything is bartered would be ideal.

The NSW Government has confused ethics with abiding by state laws and the rights of people as determined by the state. If ethics as a subject is to be a building block of education there will inevitably be calls for the "correct' curriculum. There will be difficulties because what is right for one person is wrong for another. Is it wrong to take a life for example? Most governments "dictate" that doctors shall not take a life under any circumstances. If you are a soldier though it is perfectly okay to kill someone.

Ethics then is similar to religion in that the most important facets of the "subject" are hard to pin down. And like religion, ethics is a battleground for differing views. Making ethics a school subject is not going to be a simplistic way of "settling" the issue of religion vis-a-vis society. Indeed, it may cause more problems.

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Selasa, 05 Oktober 2010

Muslims Will Not Take Over the World Via Multiculturalism

What is multiculturalism? It is the acceptance of multiple "micro" cultures within a national culture. Many believe that it is ethnic groups taking on a national culture. This is where the problem arises.

In Europe at the moment there is the issue of the burka, worn by traditional Muslims. Furthermore, there is the problem of mosques to be built in New York and Moscow.

Some European political parties are taking a stand against multicultural polices, saying they will stop more immigration and even take away the rights of ethnic groups in their own communities. Popularity for banning the burka is increasing.

Australia has been suggested as a model for other countries in regard to multiculturalism because of the way ethnic groups have integrated into the wider Australia. But the reason for its success is the way new Australian have been absorbed into society not for the traditions of ethnic groups surviving for generations in this country. As new arrivals looked for homes and work in their new country so the hands of Australians reached out to them. Ex-Brits fitted in easily and over one generation eastern and southern Europeans took on the Australian identity. Despite the white Australia policy of the early twentieth century many Chinese and other Asians have been accepted as well.

Today, however, Australia has the same problem as other countries. It is the perception that the apparent intention of Muslims from any country is to change the culture of their new country, That is the crux of the matter. This will not happen even though Muslims have a higher birthrate than any other group: note that it is falling. Even in France with 4 million Muslims out of a population of 62 million, they will never be a majority at the election polls. People in Australia saying Muslims will take over is scaremongering.

It is unfortunate that new Muslim immigrants do seem to resent their new country - the way people live irks them because it is not condoned by Islam. No Muslim country has a democratic government. Afghanistan and Iran may claim to be democratic, though the validity of their governments is questionable. Maybe new arrivals want change forced on the majority in a Muslim led takeover. This is far fetched and unlikely to happen.

In the long run Islam will have to accept that it will not greatly influence Western countries, terrorism notwithstanding. The truth is, even non-believing Westerners prefer to live in countries led by Christian governments.

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Sabtu, 25 September 2010

Restricting School Food Is No Fun

Restricting food at school canteens takes all the fun out of life for kids. Though increasingly many school are ignoring state government programs and selling "banned" food. Allowing "junk" food to be sold only twice a term is too limiting and quite meaningless. At lunch times high school students are going to the local shop and buying what they want.

There is nothing wrong with pies and sausage rolls in a normal healthy diet. Octogenarians have regularly eaten such food all their lives. Elderly people also have a sweet tooth and eat cakes and ice cream. Couples are seen at shopping centres partaking of coffee and and cake. The key word is moderation. Packets of chips with empty calories are the real culprits.

Obesity starts in the home not at school. It is what parents feed their children that is the issue. The colour-coding system is farcical and childish. Of course children don't want to be seen by their peers eating the good stuff. If tasty food is not sold schools will have to subsidize canteens. They certainly won't make a profit.

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Selasa, 21 September 2010

Cane Toads Go Where They Want

The toads cannot be stopped - cane toads that is. Some do-gooders are pressing the United Nations to act to stop the vermin from moving in to the Northern Territory and Western Australia. This won't do any good, Territories, states and the Federal Government have given up already. Even annual kills have not reduced the population one iota.

Because the pests are moving into the Purnululu National Park, the Wilderness Society is pressing the World Heritage Centre in Paris to take action. The Australian Authorities would welcome any extra funding they can get, but it is common knowledge that nothing can be done. World Heritage rules hold states, territories and national governments responsible to control pests in protected parks. In this instance it would be foolish for legal action to ensue. Trapping and fencing will not work.

Australian laboratories are working on a biological control mechanism. Other countries with similar problems are working on such a solution. Until an answer is found the little varmints will just go where they please.

P.S. See this Article: Cane Toad New Weapon

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Minggu, 19 September 2010

An Educated Elite Runs the Labor Party Not Union Leaders

A University educated elite runs the Labor Party. Look at members of Australia's Government and you will not see anyone who learned a trade before entering politics. They are all middle-class professionals despite talking loudly about their working class origins. They are no longer called the "Left". When They hear the word "progressive" they put their hands up. Just like the early Marxists they are university educated elitists who claim to have the answers to society's woes. Interventionist policies in capitalism are the norm, though they willingly partake of the benefits from free markets.

Most do not follow historical leftist beliefs apart from their condemnation of capitalism. They put into practice social "isms" Originating in the US. John Howard may well have said universities are controlled by Labor. For indeed they are. They also make the ABC, SBS and civil service government their own. Most journalists are of the same ilk but their editors restrict their influence.

Why is this so? Though many do originate from the working class, they are freer to indulge in thinking and "knowledgeable" dreaming than their parents. They think the answers are in their minds only. A little knowledge is surely a bad thing. When they don that hat and get that "scroll" they grow wings. Because they believe that the answers lie in cumulative knowledge from the past they force themselves upon us.

Bob Hawke, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard wear their badge firmly stuck to their breasts. They proudly strut with their noses held slightly above the horizontal. One must not be seen as being a member of the working mass. We are born to lead and must show them the way.

These days though people are wise to them. With daily updates about the share markets and analysis of international and national events the general level of knowledge is rising. Their domination of the nation is strong, however, as right wings protagonists keep proclaiming. Sadly they are mocked for telling the truth.

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Senin, 13 September 2010

Money Should Be Spent on Technical Colleges Not Universities

Just what do Universities offer? Much has been said about the intended cuts to education leading up to the election. Now its seems more spending is in order due to the independents in government. Lecturers have been saying that we will lose the international education industry without more spending. This industry does add foreign income to Australia's GNP, but the Government provides 46 per cent of university income. Australia has the highest proportion of international students than anywhere else in the world. Yet this drain on public funds should be considered when evaluating the income.

With tighter immigration laws the education of foreign student will decline. This is inevitable due to the refugee problem. For years it was used as a backdoor way of getting Australian residency. Many students are now looking to other Western countries in search of a future home. Maybe without this concentration on the education of non-Australians universities can get on with what the are for - to do research and educate the community.

It could be said that too much money has been spent on universities. Australia needs tradespeople not academics. Support should be given to employers to keep young workers while they get a trade ticket. More technical colleges should be built and staffed. Sure it is good to give academics free reign so they can criticise government, but this is a luxury that Australia can ill afford. It doesn't affect the way the country is governed anyway.

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Rabu, 08 September 2010

We Have the Government We Deserve

Well we have a government. There could be shaky times ahead but it seems the independents did the rational thing. Supporting the coalition would have given them only a one vote working majority. It was assumed all three independents would go one way. With the two independents Labor has two votes in hand under the new agreed system with Bob Katter voting against the government. Bob Katter is a real National Party person - no ifs no buts. He would have known what the others were going to do. For all his talking his electorate got nothing. He obviously knew which way he would fall all along. It was all show.

Ironically, the Coalition has given Labor an extra vote by having a member of the opposition as deputy speaker with no voting power. Tony Abbott was not thinking clearly when he made that decision. Not giving in to this could have swung the two independents the other way. The Western Australian National must have had an effect. He said he would not block supply for the Coalition. His decision to sit on the cross bench gave the impression that he was not fully supportive though.

After the treasury analysed the Coalition election promises, throwing more money at the independents had no effect. A brand new hospital was clearly far too much for the Tasmanian representative. It seems Tony Abbott had lost credibility. His behavior in the election came back to haunt him. Something fishy was about when his promises were not costed initially.

The real "swinger" was the National Broadband Network. If the Coalition had just said it would review the NBN it would have won office without this fiasco. You can sometimes be too stubborn for your own good. Many have said if labor had not brought the mining tax in the coalition would have done so. It was like the GST - a Labor idea adopted by the coalition. Pity Tony Abbott was not more like John Howard who saw some good in Labor concepts.

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Selasa, 10 Agustus 2010

Higher Taxes and Charges Will Pay for the Elderly

It is always amusing when politicians say such-and-such will be dire in the latter half of this century or in 2050. Most of us will be dead by then! Treasurers in particular are good at saying ridiculous things about the future, just to frighten us I suppose. Few are scared by this though. Most ignore such thoughts as being irrelevant.

An aging population and the imminent care crisis are cases in point. How are these problems to be solved? Well, the elderly could be taken out and shot. Political parties would like that because the aged are the largest voting block.

Many things will change before these crises. In Australia superannuation is mandatory. Apart from the idle few who have managed to stay on welfare throughout their lives, precious few will be eligible to claim the state funded aged pension. Some post-baby boomers will have a difficult time. Starting superannuation late in life will provide just a pittance in income, but they will be knocked back for the aged pension.

The elderly with their memories fading will need state money spent on care for them, So spending will be reallocated from pensions. Not all is lost. Even now, when people are "forced" into government care their houses are sold from under them by the Government. Indeed, a large slice is taken from a lifetime of wealth building. The offspring can complain. Without power of attorney the state wins out.

No matter what happens in the future, ways and means will be found to offset a prevailing problem. One thing is certain - taxes and charges will go up to pay for it.

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Kamis, 29 Juli 2010

Coalition Election Campaign Paid for by Mining Companies

Australia's new mining tax gets support from Nobel prizewinner Joseph Stiglitz. He says mining companies have too much say in Australian politics. This is particularly the case when one sector of politics, namely the Coalition, gets free adds for its re-election to government. The only way to "equalise" this situation is for unions to dig deep and pay for Labor ads. It is obvious who has more to spend - the ones who owe back tax to the Australian people. Over the last few years output and income has gone through the roof for the mining industry.

If the Coalition wins office then Australians will pay the tax foregone to mining companies. Executives will be driven in luxury limousines to the bank to check their bank balances. Then on the way home they will check in for $1,000 meals paid for by their mining companies, out of income before it becomes profit on the books.

Promises have been made on cutting company tax on businesses. But where is the money going to come from? It will come from higher income taxes on the majority of Australians.

Will Tony Abbot break the unwritten rule of new governments - never remove a tax put in place by an earlier administration. Labor condemned John Howard for introducing the GST. Yet it wasn't removed when Labor won government.

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Jumat, 23 Juli 2010

Less Qualified People Could Distribute Prescriptions

It seems that the new registration system is doing what is needed - getting rid of surplus pharmacists. The government has messed up again, overestimating the capacity of qualified pharmacists to "monitor" newbies.

The Pharmacy Board of Australia seems to have no knowledge of any problem. Considering that there is a chemist shop on just about every corner in cities it's no wonder the Board can't perceive of any hold up. Of course, the pharmacists could be too busy checking on prescriptions.

It is ridiculous that with 99 per cent of medications being prepackaged the nation still relies on an old system of qualified pharmacists who learn chemistry but never use it in their jobs. Surely there is a way of licensing less qualified people to do this job. After all, most consumers have generic brands these days and hardly any ask for advice. Patient GPs could give all the advice needed.

It was quite amusing recently in the town where I live to see a pharmacist arguing with a local doctor protesting that the medic should not stock flu shots at his surgery and should stay out of the pharmacist's market.

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Sabtu, 03 Juli 2010

Australia's New Broadband Is Launched

Tasmania turns the new broadband network on. Well the initial phase has been hooked up and is working. The project is going to be a vast enterprise with optical fiber being laid in place of copper. It will offer consumers video streaming that is 100 times faster than at present. The difference will seem magical to most people.

Hopefully and I mean hopefully it will be no more expensive than existing services. The Government has promised that it will be cheaper, a miserly $29.95 a month. Time will tell on the price. The service is being set up as a virtual non-profit business, a public system aiming for only 6 percent profit.

Apparently, e-health is coming to Australia. Patients will be monitored from home. In the Us such a system has resulted in hospital admissions being cut by 60 percent. Sick children will receive schooling direct to their sick bed. Buildings will become 'alive' with remote monitoring cutting power bills. Traffic lights will be synchronized. Mobile connectivity to broadband will be everywhere.

Unlike Japan and South Korea who have led the charge to broadband via subsidies, Australia's system will not be solely privately operated. The Australian Government will have control. Mind you, most consumers will have to wait for many years to get online, up to eight years for those in the outback.

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Selasa, 29 Juni 2010

The State Governent and Councils Use the Water Fiasco to Charge More

The high cost of water is going to break the back of family finances. People must have water and even if you don't want it and town water comes to your fence line you will be charged for it. It is infrastructure that everyone must pay for whether you can pay for it or not. If you pay rent then the extra cost will soon be passed on to you.

What is quite surprising though is the reason why water costs so much. A high population you say. Well, if that is the case then why has the cost been reasonable per head over the last 200 years? Why does it cost so much per individual now? Dams have been built in the past that sustained supply. The building of dams in Queensland has stalled. In the 1980s 20 were constructed, in the 1990s 15. Over the last 10 years only two have been put into service. Other states have an even worse record.

The truth is Queensland is not short of water. New desalination plants will not be needed until 2017. Did the piping of water from the Sunshine Coast down south cost that much? It didn't cost very much actually. But overall, the panic investment in water was overinvestment. It is a problem caused by the Labor Government. Anna Bligh was at the helm and she gave the "yes" to go ahead. The price of bulk water will rise from $683 a megaliter to a whopping $2,755 in 2017. Councils have subsidized water in the past. But the new water bodies are under State control and Councils are taking the opportunity to grab some money by not reducing rates by the full amount of the now defunct water charge.

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Minggu, 27 Juni 2010

Dump Green, Family First and Independent Senator

As many implied when the Greens did not support the Labor Government's Emissions Trading Scheme: They will live to regret it. This certainly seems to be the case when the new Prime Minister Julia Gillard says an ETS will have to wait until a clear majority of Australians support such a scheme. The Greens acted to block the ETS when they did not get everything they wanted. It was a silly thing to do. After all, any scheme is better than no scheme at all.

Labor bent over backwards to get the Greens to support the policy. The scheme was extremely weak compared to the original plan. But no, the Greens wanted a draconian pollution reduction program in place. Now there will not be an ETS for many years. Even if Julia Gillard calls a double dissolution and wins the next election it seems unlikely that Labor will get control of the upper house. Indeed, the troublesome Family First and Independent could lose their seats to the coalition.

Ironically, the Greens actually did Labor a favor. By killing the ETS more money was there to fatten up government coffers. This took some steam out of the opposition's ongoing complaint about the government deficit.

Australians clearly have a choice at the next election. Either give Labor control of the upper house or forget about ever having an ETS. For a start, the Family First, Independent and Greens could be dumped. This would end the problem of disruptive deadlock on issues. It is not really the opposition that causes legislation to be reviewed constantly. It is those who actually hold the balance of power - the minor parties and Independent.

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Rabu, 23 Juni 2010

The Mining Tax and Bank Tax Are Similar

Is a bank tax the same as the Australian minerals tax? Mining companies are playing a dirty game by paying Olympic stars good money to say the mining tax is bad for the country. There isn't much doubt that such a tax is tremendously beneficial to the Australian economy. This is because other countries will quickly follow suit and bring in their own mining tax.

Olympians who go for the money will soon lose support of the community. This has happened in the past when celebrities let their political leanings been known. Straight away half the population doesn't like them anymore. If you belong to the public there are certain things you should keep to yourself. People have long memories.

Not much is being said about the new bank tax proposed by European countries. However, this is much like the Australian minerals tax. There are dangers there for European countries. If the US doesn't bring in a similar tax, banks will re-register there to avoid paying the tax. Perhaps that is why the banks are relatively silent about the whole issue. They could be waiting for an outcome, then jump off the ship and take off in the lifeboat.

Another issue is, who is going to police what governments do with the proceeds of the bank tax? Such a large amount of residual money is a temptation to at least "charge" a fee for looking after it. And the banks have no say in what governments do with the money. Let's face it, it's really a huge tax ripoff. We may not have another financial crisis for fifty years.

There certainly is a similarity about the bank and mining taxes. I wonder why the banks are so quiet?

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