THE tears of relief shed over the Mary River’s reprieve have been many, but let’s not get carried too far down stream by this flood of emotion. Now, alternatives have to be considered, but not in the stridently reactionary way of premier Bligh. Why the rush to build more desalination plants, Anna? This smells more of payback than planning. The first one at Tugun, plagued as it is with problems, doesn’t strike me as much of a model to be duplicated or trebled or even quadrupled. Why not raise the walls of existing dams like Wivenhoe, Borumba, Baroon and so on? By the time that’s done, say in five or 10 years, the technology for desalination could well have improved to make it much more viable. Meanwhile, why not a “Tanks a Million” campaign to capture more of the wasteful run-off from roofs?

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The Traveston dam decision has bolstered Kevin Rudd’s “green” credentials ahead of a federal election likely to be dominated by environmental issues. But things aren’t looking so rosy for Queensland Premier Anna Bligh.

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One of the laziest arguments put forward by proponents of a bigger Australia is the need to feed more taxpayers into the system to fund the looming mass retirement of baby boomers. The theory goes that if we don’t grow by the 60% the prime minister projects, to a national population of 35 million in the next 40 years, either the existing workforce would have to pay more tax or baby boomers would experience a meaner retirement. Property council darling Bernard Salt and certain state government demographers say the cost can be met simply by increasing the tax base through growth and young migrants, who they presume won’t get sick or require a pension for at least 40 years. Also forgotten is the cost of educating their children. The laziness of this argument is both apparent and dangerous.

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Updated on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 07:10AM by stevem

Updated on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 07:15AM by stevem

Updated on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 07:48AM by stevem

Updated on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 01:48PM by stevem

Updated on Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 03:35PM by stevem

FLEETING it may have been, but anti-Traveston dam protesters believe their meet and greet with Kevin Rudd yesterday can still have a lasting effect. Every time the Prime Minister sips his morning coffee from the ‘I Love Mary’ mug he was presented with yesterday, he just may be reminded of the controversy surrounding the proposed Traveston dam. He may also think long and hard about the effects Queensland Labor Government plans may have on the south-east corner of his home state when he picks up his new ‘No Dam’ pen. And his memories of swimming in the Mary River may even be jogged every time he glances at his new Mary River book. That would please protesters anyway, who gathered outside Hervey Bay Hospital yesterday morning to hand over the presents to the prime minister during what was a very brisk stop. As Mr Rudd climbed out of his car to a pack of media he by-passed the hospital entrance to introduce himself to a group of anti-Traveston dam campaigners wearing their signature yellow t-shirts and holding their bright ‘Don’t Murray Our Mary’ placards.

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BRISBANE’S population will double to 4 million and Australia will have an extra 35 million over the next 40 years, federal Treasury projections show. Treasury secretary Ken Henry, who revealed the projection yesterday, questioned whether Australia’s environment could accommodate an extra 13 million people by 2049, saying: “With a population of 22 million, we haven’t managed to find accommodation with the environment.” “Our record has been poor, and in my view, we are not well placed to deal effectively with the environmental challenges posed by a population of 35 million.” Melbourne and Sydney would each grow to be cities of 7 million by 2049, Dr Henry said, while Brisbane’s population would double from its current size which, for the greater Brisbane area, is 1.95 million.

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He said the recent funding announcement from the Federal Government budget was good but considering it was only a small part of the $6.2 billion needed to upgrade the whole Cooroy to Curra stretch, it was a little disappointing. “Obviously after a lot of campaigning over a number of years it is a step in the right direction and an admittance that something needs to be done,” he said. “Maybe the Queensland Government will now contribute something to towards it. But it’s hard in today’s economic climate.” He said despite lots of awareness about how unforgiving the Bruce Highway is, driver attitude doesn’t seem to change.

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Updated on Friday, May 29, 2009 at 11:02AM by stevem

KEVIN Rudd has bought the equivalent of half of Sydney’s annual water usage in a $303 million deal with a NSW pastoral company aimed at returning water to the ailing Murray Darling river system. The Prime Minister announced the purchase of 240 billion litres of water entitlements from the Twynam Agricultural Group, which has interests in 285,000 hectares along the Murrumbidgee, Lachlan, Macquarie and Gwydir River systems.

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INTO the “Valley of Death” at Federal rode the Prime Minister, the Treasurer, the Transport Minister and the their conscience - Gympie ambulance boss Wayne Sachs. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s surprise whistle stop yesterday was something much bigger than a 12km Bruce Highway quick fix of what Mr Sachs labels the deadliest road in the country - and he has a shocking scrap book of fatal call-outs to prove it. It was his self-funded flight to Canberra to implore Transport Minister Anthony Albanese to take action that finally galvanised the Rudd Government into action. Flanked by a smiling but muted Treasurer Wayne Swan, Mr Albanese and Mr Sachs, Mr Rudd had come to the mountain where a section of the $613 million Sankeys Road to Traveston Road four-lane upgrade will go.

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PAUL Neville says he’s watching any Traveston Crossing dam developments “like a hawk”. He’s concerned “something a bit sinister” is going on behind Labor government doors. The Member for Hinkler’s comments follow the Federal budget announcement of $488 million dollars for upgrades to the Cooroy to Curra stretch of the Bruce Highway. That’s despite the State Government promising $200 million for the stretch before the election in March, Mr Neville says. “It’s a bit funny because the State Government only a few months ago promised funding.” Also raising red flags is the decision for the upgrades to be carried out on a stretch of road that skirts the edge of the proposed site of the dam. “Are they softening everyone up for the Traveston dam?” The Nationals MP wants the Federal Government to answer a few questions.

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THANK heavens Kevin Rudd solved the Murray-Darling water crisis last year so that he can fix the global financial one this year. If only. Co-operative federalism, the boom political industry of last year, has become about as sick as the economy. The Council of Australian Governments process is grinding forward at the pace of a glacier, except for those areas that are going backwards. The Adelaide COAG meeting a year ago agreed to set an overall cap on water use in the Murray-Darling Basin and to remove the individual states’ veto power over decisions, giving the federal Government the final say. It wasn’t going to be fully implemented until 2019, when the last of the state water management plans expired, but considering it had not been possible to reach an agreement in the previous 107 years of federation that was real progress. The politicians went to town, with the word historic sprinkled about like confetti and Rudd pronouncing dead the blame game between Canberra and the states.

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