Month: November 1994

Those manic user-pays, economic rationalists are at it again with the Australian War Memorial _ memorial, that is, not museum.

They want to charge people to go in. They tried it in 1991 but it was knocked back by the Senate after a storm of protest by ex-service groups.

A confidential report (leaked to soften people up for the fees suggestion) by KPMG Management Consulting warns that the memorial faces a shortfall of $9 million in the next four years.
Continue reading “1994_11_november_awmfee”

Two families have been evacuated from their Tuggeranong homes after arsenic residue from an old sheep dip was found.

The arsenic levels were found to be higher than the recommended levels.The ACT Government has offered to buy the houses from the families. In the meantime it has found, and paid for, alternative accommodation.

ANU chemistry professor Ben Selinger said arsenic was not an immediate threat to life and limb but if children were crawling about the garden and sticking their hands in their mouths “”you have got to be concerned”. Arsenic was a long-term problem and could chronic problems because it took so long to leave the body _ through the hair and fingernails.
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The ACT is following a long Australian history of what should be unnecessary legal rigidity. The latest example comes out of what is likely to be the ACT’s first binding referendum _ on February 18. Opposition electoral spokesman Gary Humphries has at least in-spirit support from the independents for his plan announced this week to entrench the provisions of the Hare-Clark voting system.

Of course, it should not be necessary. The spirit of the referendum held in 1992 should have been enough. However, the Labor Party followed a long Australian tradition of resorting to legislative tricks, semantics and legalisms to defeat the substance of the referendum result.

The Liberals have done the same thing. They defeated the Australia Card on a legal technicality. They refused to abide by the 1974 election result and tipped Whitlam out of power. The Nationals in Queensland loved the gerrymander and so on.
Continue reading “1994_11_november_actref”

Ronald Regan believed in the trickle down effect _ help the rich and society will benefit right down to the bottom. Some wits responded with comments that only one thing trickles down.

Trickle down also works with government, especially in a three-level federation.

In the past week Graham Richardson revealed _ almost as an aside _ a prime example. His main point was that John Kerin was a hopeless Treasurer because he did not query programs brought to Cabinet.

Richardson wrote: “”One of the proposals in the Budget was a “better cities” program [they are Richo’s cynical quote marks], to cost $800 million over five years. It was proposed by Brian Howe and the only explanation for Hawke’s supporting it was that he owed Howe and the Left for backing him in the leadership ballot. When it was discussed at the ERC [Expenditure Review Committee], it had no support at all; hundreds of millions of dollars were sought with virtually no detail on how they should be spent. . . .
Continue reading “1994_11_november_actpol05”