Don’t Stop at Desalination

Well done Morris Iemma. Despite the protests of a handful of Kurnell locals and the alarmist complaints of even fewer ‘scientists’ (“the drought is over”), Iemma is pushing ahead with a $1.8 billion desalination plant for Sydney. As Warragamba Dam hit 33.9% capacity a few months back, the plant project was tendered and the contract awarded. Regardless of the recent downpours – and dam levels reaching 50%, the plant is still going ahead, and rightly so.

The problem with the press and with our adversarial form of government is that you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Had Labor done nothing to combat the drought and growing water shortage except pray for rain – they would’ve been crucified had said rain not fallen. The Opposition were sweating on it. Now, having ponied up the dough for an ambitious desalination solution, a few weeks rain have prompted some to call the plant a white elephant, and to predict that Warragamba will soon be over flowing (Opposition leader Barry O’Farrell said: "Iemma ignored two months of record rainfall, and is still determined to put billions of dollars into this desalination plant,"). What a difference a few weeks makes.

This Administration’s view is that desalination is a great idea, if not an obvious one. Desalination of sea water is hugely popular in the Middle East (being mostly desert - Duabi wouldn't exist without it) and is growing fast in the USA, North Africa, Singapore, Spain, and China. If anything, Sydney is uniquely placed to meet the challenges of brine disposal (with the vast Pacific handy for dilution) and with a budget surplus to pay for the infrastructure. Employing some long sightedness not usually associated with our political leaders, Iemma’s view is that "the nation's largest city will not be brought to its knees by drought," – and he has implemented a practical solution. Water bills are expected to rise $30 a year over 3 years, and I think that’s a fair price to pay to be able to wash your car, flush your toilet and water your garden - guilt free.

Still, while he’s on a role, I’d like to see him press forward and bring nuclear power to NSW. The benefits seem obvious to me, and I have said as much previously. While we’re addressing water issues, it seems only logical to address expected power shortages and the challenges of reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Mr Iemma said it was "possible" the state would need not just one, but two, baseload power stations by the middle of next decade to meet rising demand. Any new stations are likely to be coal-fired, mostly because of the fear campaign surrounding the use of nuclear technology (and the standing of the coal lobby) – adding further to our carbon emissions. Without going through my pro-nuclear stance again it telling that the US safely operate over 100 nuclear power stations and France has both the cleanest air and cheapest electricity in Europe because of its harnessing of the atom.

Chernobyl was a long time ago, 21 years in fact. Given that we build a first class reactor, and man it with sober, (non-retarded) trained engineers, it just won’t happen here. Spent nuclear fuel (waste) will only need to be stored in 50 years time, and then easily enough underground somewhere in the vast tracts of uninhabited land in the middle of our great continent. It’s time the fear campaigns were set aside and we employ practical solutions to real problems. Our future is inevitably a nuclear one, spend your political capital while you can Morris.

Driving Commandments

Ah the Vatican, I love it how they keep their finger on the pulse. Only 100 or so years after the mass production of the automobile, they’ve decided to update their regular 10 Commandments and issue 10 ‘Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road’. It’d almost be funny if they didn’t issue them with a straight face. According to theologians the 36-page report was aimed at curbing increasingly unacceptable driving behaviour like road rage and hit-and-runs.

However, the guidelines also encourage people to pray while driving - something that nutbags like the Rev. Steven Sabo of Christ the King Church says he already practices. “I pray the rosary when I drive,” he said. “Unlike cell phones, prayer offers you a direct line to God.” That sounds real safe Rev. Sabo (nothing like being mid rosary when a kid runs in front of your car). My view is that in Australia at least we already have ‘guidelines’ for driving – we call them LAWS. We even have uniformed people who enforce said laws. It’s really a very convenient system, relying significantly less on an omnipresent, omniscient creator and much more on mutually agreed values. For the record, the full 10 are listed below, in case you’re seeking divine driving inspiration.

1 - You shall not kill (I’m sure I’ve heard this one before)
2 - The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.
3 - Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.
4 - Be charitable and help your neighbour in need, especially victims of accidents.
5 - Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.
6 - Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.
7 - Support the families of accident victims.
8 - Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
9 - On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.
10 - Feel responsible toward others.

The good people at the Daily show gave this report a much fuller and funnier treatment than I, so enjoy.

77% of Aussies are Racist

Australia’s treatment of refugees and its attitude to immigration generally have been shameful for some time now. During the 2001 election campaign, immigration and border protection became hot-button issues, following the Tampa affair, Children overboard affair, and the sinking of a dilapidated Indonesian fishing boat that was en-route to Christmas Island carrying over 400 asylum seekers (353 of these, mostly women and children, died). Our Governments response was the controversial Pacific Solution.

One of my first posts as faux President was the criticism of the Pacific Solution. The policy, which calls for mandatory detention and off-shore processing of asylum seekers was aimed primarily to be a deterrent and had no long term viability. My suggestion at the time remains relevant: have defined short detention periods necessary for health and background checks and use the time to teach English and other skills relevant to integration to Australia. Having ignored this fairly commonsense approach, Howard has finally fielded criticism he may find difficult to ignore – from his own regulatory body, The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC).

The HREO commissioner stated that "[It is] unacceptable in terms of human rights instruments to detain people and send them to be processed off-shore". It’s that simple. A no-brainer if you will. Typically though, the Howard Government change their policies only after the political tide has turned – and to save their own skins. Given that President Bush is on the verge of closing his preferred detention centre, Guantanamo Bay, Howard may need to return to the Pacific Solution drawing board. Hopefully it’ll be a little less Auschwitz this time.

Still, Howard can’t take all the blame, given that he is a leopard that will happily change his spots – to suit those of his electorate. To their credit, Sydney Hip-Hop outfit, The Herd have been trying to spread the word and educate an oblivious public. Their 2003 track ‘77%’ featured the line "77% of Aussies are racist", referring to the number of Australians announced in a survey that agreed with the Government's response to the Tampa incident. Their message is clear: we’re increasingly and generally a racist nation – despite most of us being recent (within 200yrs) immigrants ourselves. That’s right; each of us has some responsibility in the way this has all gone down. The song is now 4 years old, but much of it holds true (I like particularly “channel 9 fostering prejudiced mentalities” and “captain cook was the very first queue jumper”), and its well worth listening to. Maybe all of us could do with a bit of a wake up.

(Warning, the song includes not only the f-bomb, but the c-bomb. JJJ were happy to play it, in fact it was #46 in the hottest 100 in 2003 – but if you’re sensitive to that sort of thing, watch the clip without the sound).

Obama Girl

My Decree must already be taking effect, as I just got word from a good friend of the Administration (nice work Stu) about a new pro-Obama campaign sweeping the US. I appreciate that not only have you heeded my proclamation and knocked off for the day mate, but you’re keeping AFP readers out on the cutting edge.

It seems someone has a crush on my man Barack Obama. She’s calling herself ‘Obama Girl’ and is getting a reasonable amount of airplay, if her blog is anything to go by. While Barack is happily married, I’m sure he’s very flattered – and there’s no such thing as bad publicity. Enjoy the video and thanks again Stu.

Presidential Decree

There are plenty of perks to being a faux President. My secret service guys are always clearing areas before I get there, not to mention fitting my mortal enemies with concrete shoes. I get to veto stuff. I don’t like it – it’s vetoed. I don’t yet have the option of holding expensive fundraisers at Kirribilli, but my day will come. In the meantime let me exercise another of my preferred fringe benefits: the Presidential Decree.

For background this, my first Decree, was inspired by none other than Adam Sandler, who you might remember from such films as Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison. Restricted to bed the last couple of days with some sort of Avian Flu/Ebola hybrid (I’ve beaten it for the record), it came to pass that I watched Sandler’s 2006 box office hit Click. Given my past experiences with Happy Madison productions, I was expecting hilarity, but not necessarily a deeply penetrating social message.

It came as a surprise to me then that Sandler’s antics, in combination with the Hoff and the delightful Kate Beckinsale, left me deep in thought. The premise of the movie, in painfully short summary, is that Sandler has a remote that he uses to fast forward through the boring bits of his life (arguments, showering, dinners with his parents). He ends up spending several years on ‘auto-pilot’. Finally, he ends up running his company but is fat, divorced and unsatisfied. The movie is full of clichés and has many a similarity to the 1946 Film, It’s a Wonderful Life (not to mention Dickens’ 1843 classic, A Christmas Carol) – but was a stark reminder to me of the transience of life, and the ever increasing speed and length of our Rat Race.

With that said, I hereby order you all to take the rest of the day off. Decree issued. Go home and surprise your kids by picking them up from school. Play catch with little Johnny in the front yard. Take your dog for a walk. Call your parents. Buy your wife flowers and take her to dinner. If all else fails, run outside and dance around in the rain like an idiot (we live in a drought!). Sure, these are all clichés too, purposefully so – but life is short, so pick your favourite and get to it. I expect a full report on Monday.

Excommunicating MP's

Try as I might, I can’t seem to escape the fact that Religion is increasingly part of our politics. I could choose not to post about it – but that doesn’t make it less of a problem. In the past I have trained my fire on Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott, but increasingly I see that to make an impact I have to look further up the chain. If I’m to cure our society of this gangrene, I need to take off the whole limb.

With that said, the source of many of the “In the name of Christ” edicts handed down in Australia (and in NSW particularly) is the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell. In general, Pell has a hard time keeping out of the public eye and is outspoken on the role Catholicism should play in our society, but he has been particularly vocal of late. Pell has steadfastly maintained an opposition to homosexuality (even when challenged personally by his gay cousin), is against the ordination of women and has tied global warming to an unhappy God. More recently, he was accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy at a Catholic youth camp in 1961, revealing an attitude to child abuse that I find alarming. At best, he was passive in response to child abuse cases brought before him, though accusations of his role in cover-ups abound. His ambivalence on this issue is emphasised by his assertion that "abortion is a worse moral scandal than priests sexually abusing young people". A remarkable statement from the Church’s moral leader in NSW.

Earlier this month Pell piped up with his plan to require Catholic School principles to swear an oath to uphold the moral teaching of the Church. According to catholic news, the oath demands "religious submission of intellect and will" on questions of faith and morals - even if these are inferred but not defined by the pope and his bishops - and an acceptance that everything solemnly taught by church tradition is divinely inspired. This would be applicable both to their personal lives and in their interactions with, and pastoral care of, their students. His plan would most obviously affect the issues of homosexuality, birth control and abortion – topical to us all, but most pressing to teenagers forming their sexual identity. However, this obvious attempt to brainwash a generation of young people isn’t my biggest criticism of Pell – parents can easily choose a public (indoctrination free) education.

By far the greater evil is Pell’s unveiled attempt to influence Australian politics by appealing to (and threatening) Catholic parliamentarians. Yesterday, Pell pressured NSW MP’s to vote against stem cell legislation that would lift a ban on therapeutic cloning, bringing the state into line with the Federal law. He stated that there could be “consequences” for those voting for the bill, the implication being that they could be refused communion, or even excommunicated. How medieval. Thankfully, a conscience vote allowed the bill to pass 65 votes to 26 – despite the archbishop’s threats.

Members of Federal Liberal have been quick to defend Pell’s right to voice his opinion, including his protégé (and preferred page boy) Abbott, the PM and hand puppet Joe Hockey. However, Emergency Services Minister Nathan Rees was amongst the most vocal opponents, suggesting: “I think he's got three options: he can apologise; he can run for parliament; or he can invite further comparisons with that serial boofhead, [Sheik Taj Aldin al-hilali]”. In this Administrations view, the Archbishop should pipe down. He should be made to face a proper investigation surrounding his tacit acceptance of child abuse – but overall the position of Catholic Archbishop should put back in its place. Tend to your flock George, and leave the rest of us alone.

War Anthems 1

Such is our culture that some of the most meaningful commentaries are made by musicians, authors and other artists, who are free from the constraints of other public figures. Some bands, make their messages part of who they are (like Anti-flag) – while others will just occasionally produce a song whose message is all the more powerful because it’s different from their usual fare. A couple in particular have gotten trough to me lately, in the context of the raging Iraq war and I’m going to post them in the next few weeks.

The first is by long time friends of the Administration, Dashboard Confessional (DC). Known primarily as an Emo band, DC traditionally plays songs about finding and losing love and has had tracks appear in Spiderman 2, Shrek 2, and on One Tree Hill. While I won’t bore you with how much of a fan I am, I’ve heard all their albums and was surprised when ‘Slow Decay’ appeared on their new album Dusk and Summer.

The song is below, overlayed on some footage from the 1996 Film, the War at Home. While the film was about a returning Vietnam Vet, with post-traumatic stress disorder – I think the clip is particularly relevant to those returning from (and being quickly sent back to) Iraq with the same issue. Listen carefully to the lyrics, Chris Carrabba is an amazing songwriter.

Note: The good people at YouTube have pulled the video for the time being - I'm looking for an alternative source and will try and fix it asap, because it was a great clip.