http://oliebol.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/404193
Voters have got no way of knowing because we have to rely on the government to actually tell us how much CO2 has been reduced. The only "proof" we have that greenhouse emissions have been reduced is that everything gets more expensive! Carbon dioxide has no taste, no smell, you can't see it and it's mostly emitted a long way from where people live.

The problem with carbon trading is that it puts all the power and knowledge about how to reduce emissions into the hands of bureaucrats and big companies. They are asking us to trust them to reduce greenhouse gases, without giving us any proof back that they are actually doing it except increased prices. We know they can increase prices already for no reason, we don't need another demonstration!

A scheme should give everyone direct ownership for reducing their emissions, by making it easy for them to make lifestyle decisions to produce less emissions. We keep getting told that this is a global problem for the whole of humanity, if that's the case we need a scheme where we can all help, and not get screwed by businessmen. Our scheme would actually put responsibility for climate change into everyone's hands, instead of just talking about it. Our scheme is as follows:

1. Start switching all our power generation over to renewable, and develop the technology enough so it can, but the technology to meet base load does already exist, like solar storage, hot rocks, hydro.
2. Switch our interstate freight transport infrastructure over to be based on rail
3. Switch our intracity transport over to electric cars and compressed air cars as well as electric light rail. Electric cars have a short range but can be recharged at home from power generated by renewables.
4. Help people to change habits in home, and use new technologies to reduce emissions in the home.
5. Work with businesses so that the development of ALL new technologies and production methods are considered for their greenhouse impact. This would help to avoid problems like we saw yesterday with this new gas, Nitrogen Triflouride, being used by makers of plasma screens, which is the worst greenhouse gas yet known, with 17 thousand times the global warming effect of carbon dioxide.
]]> Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:29:00 EDT http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/404193 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/397309
As part of the plan, the CAP will re assess ACT government laws and taxes, in order to reduce barriers for small technology startup firms. If this is not done, the knowledge and information will "leak" to where demand is highest and the barriers are lowest.

At ANU, two technologies stand out as examples of Australian ideas that are internationally competitive:

Seeing Machines is an award winning company that designs vision based human machine interfaces, and grew out of research work at the ANU. It now employs a considerable amount of people and has a client list including some of the world's biggest car manufacturers and their suppliers.

The Solar sliver cell technology is a unique design for flexible, inexpensive and efficient solar cells, developed by Professor Andrew Blakers and Dr Klaus Weber of the ANU. Sliver cells are being commercialised by Origin Energy, who have built a pilot manufacturing plant in Adelaide.

The second stage of the project would utilise urban design to maximise human capital - a key component of value in a knowledge-based economy. Measures to be included would focus on housing, lifestyle and communications infrastructure which would allow people to work from home. Cultural and social design issues that improve cultural openness and social connections within a community would also be considered. Such measures are key to the informal information flows that help a knowledge economy to thrive.

what I mean is that in order to retain and build upon our existing high quality of life in Australia, we need to develop our knowledge economy. Australians are great at coming up with innovative, practical solutions, but we are terrible at making money from these ideas. Business clusters will help Canberra to develop our great ideas and get the rewards in the marketplace.
]]> Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:59:00 EDT http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/397309 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/397317
The Australia's Health 2008 report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) released yesterday shows that some of the greatest improvements to the health of Australians can be made by helping people change their lifestyle.

What I mean is that In the ACT we have a Department of Health which is in reality a Department of Illness. I would like to establish a Wellness Department which would have as its mission the improvement of health and wellbeing for all ACT residents. We need to recognises that most people find it difficult to make lifestyle changes, so we want to help people to make these changes.

The new Wellness Department would introduce schemes to help Canberrans improve their nutrition, increase physical activity and reduce or eliminate alcohol and tobacco use, in line with the recommendations from the AIHW report. The schemes would be voluntary, and free or inexpensive to access. Basically We know the causes of ill health, we know the lifestyle changes needed to improve health, so what are we waiting for?"
]]> Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:06:00 EDT http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/397317 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/389369 Haven for the have-nots

http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/haven-for-the-havenots/789430.aspx

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REPLY

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Great article James, its good to see that someone is noticing the good work that they do at Havelock house. Well done! Affordable housing is such a complex issue even the term ‘affordable housing’ is assertoric. Affordable to whom? Its disturbing to me that many of the people I speak to see homelessness as just a ‘welfare issue’ and that they have very little idea of the larger impact. Housing is a critical determinant not only, of social cohesion and household well-being but also of labour market efficiency. A serious shortage of affordable rental housing represents an increasing constraint on economic growth in Canberra and significant barrier to the economic and social participation of residents. The housing market in Canberra is failing to provide affordable rental accommodation close to the labour markets that depend on a lower-skilled, part-time and casual labour force. Recent research clearly demonstrates that ‘affordable’, private, low-rent housing is concentrated in our urban fringe As a result, tenants face geographical barriers to the low-wage jobs in the Civic and other town centres. Current taxation arrangements do not stimulate investment in the supply of low rent housing. Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) similar to that of the USA Tax Reform Act of 1986 would be one way of tackling the issue. As per the proposal put forward by the Brotherhood of St Laurence in 2004 the LIHTC could be made available for housing delivered to low-income households by community housing organisations, funded in part by changes to the Building Write-Off Allowance this will make an impact on the current lack of supply and could be introduced in the next Commonwealth budget.]]> Sun, 15 Jun 2008 18:45:00 EDT http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/389369 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/380333 ]]> Thu, 29 May 2008 19:51:00 EDT http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/380333 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/369003 Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:06:00 EDT http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/369003 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/368961 Sun, 13 Apr 2008 19:20:00 EDT http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/368961 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/368959
The number of publicly owned dwellings as a proportion of all housing stock has fallen from 11% to 9%, and is still falling. This decline must be reversed, so public and community housing levels stabilise at 10% or higher. The ACT has the highest proportion of tenants in public housing who are not receiving a rent rebate. This is because the ACT Government has no strategy to assist public tenants who have long-term stable employment to enter the private housing market, including through purchase of their ACT Housing dwelling. It is pretty clear that more public housing is needed to replace stock sold off in the last ten years or so. It makes sense that the number of public and community managed dwellings should keep pace with population growth, because the number of homeless is still rising. As the needs of the community change, public and community housing should be adaptable so it can accommodate older people and those with disabilities.

All newly purchased housing should be located close to shops, schools, and public transport routes. It would be beneficial if the ACT Government would build most of the housing acquired by ACT Housing so they are not competing with first home buyers for the cheaper properties, and at least half of the dwellings they acquire having accessible design. This would also go some way in helping the house construction market slowdown. We should promote schemes to assist long term tenants with adequate incomes to move out of public housing, to make room for those on the public housing waiting list who are suffering housing-related poverty. The simple equation is that there needs to be ore public housing and better management of public stock and tenancies.


]]> Sat, 29 Mar 2008 21:16:00 EDT http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/368959 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/354869
I think that these people get these ideas from the European model of public transport which seems to work so well. I think that the major flaw to most of this thinking is the fact that European cities have always been densely populated (at least for the past few hundred years) so all of the agriculture, housing, general lifestyles of the people who live around the city have been concentrated on that particular city as its centre. Is not a difficult intellectual problem to put a bus service or a train service in to meet up with these traditional routes.

However here in Australia our population spread out along the transport corridors as they were formed, Sydney is a great example. As railways where built the suburbs sprang up around them Here in Canberra we have a ideal transport corridor and that is the railway/highway route to Sydney where there seems to be a lot of people living these days and into the future more and more people come to live in the small towns in the Southern Highlands and Southern tablelands.

I actually think the opposite before going to make Canberra in the capital region work as a metropolitan centre the population needs to stay a spread out as possible. The simple reason for this, is the problem with water that we have here in the southern tablelands. I mean we can go on building dam after them but if the catchment that we are trying to get the water from has a static or diminishing rainfall them all of our efforts will be in vain. It seems to me that the best way forward for a sustainable population is to increase the water catchment area for the population size.

Therefore a fast rail system between be small towns and cities of the Southern tablelands and capital region would be an ideal situation to progress this. Especially with the new diesel electrics that are coming out Rail is the most environmentally sustainable way the transport large amounts of people over 100km. We could utilise the used and disused rail infrastructure, such as the railway line out to Captains Flat the railway line out a Goulburn and the railway line south to Cooma. We could actually get a rail service that would allow people to commute from places like Goulburn and Cooma in less than half an hour. Even if the commute was up to an hour this would not be all that ridiculous to many people. This would also be able to solve a lot of the housing problems that we have here in the ACT because houses in these smaller towns and cities are significantly cheaper than that of the ones that are closer to the city centre of Canberra. Moreover I think that we should build two new railway lines to fully utilise the local capital region population base. One line would go from Civic through Gungahlin Gundaroo and Gunning. The other would go from the city centre through Belconnen and Murranbateman to Yass. We would then be able to linkage of these main carrier lines with light rail through to the other centres in Canberra such as Tuggeranong Woden Manuka Dickson.


]]> Sat, 22 Mar 2008 19:14:00 EDT http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/354869 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/354871
What can any government do to help out the situation? Stuffing around with people's house prices is not really that good things the government to do. Its frustrating that many people believe that price of housing is the only way to affect things such as standard of living, quality of life and attracting people to the ACT to work. Because the ACT government actually owns all the land in the ACT there is a lot of pressure from many groups for the ACT government to play a larger role in fixing people's housing prices, or not fixing people's housing prices depending on which side the argument you standing on. I really do believe that the way to attack housing affordability, quality of life and lowering the barriers to participation to the workforce in the ACT is to actually attack the housing market from the rental side of things.

I won't go into the public housing versus social housing argument because I feel strongly about as well. But I really do believe that the way to solve the rental market in the ACT in the sort term, without affecting people's house prices too much, is to actually build a significant amount of full-time students housing, close to the Universities and strictly controlled for only full-time students only. We have a large amount of students here in the ACT, because of the six large tertiary institutions. If we were able to provide a significant amount of housing at a very low cost (I'm talking around $50 - $75 a week) student accommodation that was very basic, I think that there would be a large number of students that would move out of the group houses in the inner suburbs to move closer to university(into this Student accommodation) primarily because it would be cheaper. This would free up a lot housing in the inner suburbs and hopefully bring down rental prices slightly which would allow young families to actually rent houses in the inner suburbs (going some way to addressing the 'greying' of the suburbs phenomenon that is responsible for things such as closing schools and declining services). In saying this we would need to have an investigation and also look at some economic modelling so that we wouldn't do a great deal of harm. But we need to encourage more people to study the ACT through cheaper accommodation, for younger families to move into the inner suburbs and for the entry-level of the workforce 23yo - 30yo to be able to afford housing so that they can work in Canberra.
]]> Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:15:00 EDT http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/354871 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/352279 Sat, 02 Feb 2008 21:04:00 EST http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/352279 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/352273 Sat, 02 Feb 2008 18:53:00 EST http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/352273 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/368963
It’s hard to get exact figures on homelessness in the ACT as figure range between 1,200 and 2000+ people in the ACT are homeless at any given time, and more than one in five of these have been homeless for more than 6 months. This is not taking into account that most young people end up couch surfing. It is estimated that between 150 and 350 sleep out ‘rough’ each night. It’s been a long time since Emergency housing services have been able to meet demand. Canberra also does not have enough public housing or affordable private housing to accommodate all our homeless, and its only getting worse. I mean as it becomes tough for the middle income families to afford rent the more pressure is put on the bottom of the market. It is quite clear that more emergency accommodation must be built, particularly for families and for people recovering from mental illnesses. New services are needed for Belconnen and Gungahlin so people can achieve continuity of schooling and maintain links with family and other support. This needs to be coupled with more effective outreach services to assist people leaving crisis accommodation, as many people repeatedly return to crisis services because problems in their life have not been resolved.
]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:22:00 EST http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/368963 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/352271
Basically the ACT Bar Association wants to have a judicial commission to decide future judicial appointments. Basically all judicial appointments in the ACT should be decided by a judicial commission consisting of the Bar Association, the Law Society, the DPP and other relevant community organisations.

Coming back the ACT City State idea Does the ACT really need a Supreme Court at all? An institution like the ACT Supreme Court costs a lot of money, as the ACT is so close to NSW would we not be better off the let the NSW Supreme Court look after it for the ACT? I will have to admit I have not really thought it all through but we should have a inquiry weather or not ACT Supreme Court is economically and socially viable?
]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2008 19:44:00 EST http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/352271 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/352283
I noticed that John Hargreaves had put out a media release on the web saying that he has allocated $5000000 for re-sealing of roads throughout the ACT. Well its about time! I always thought that it was like painting the Sydney harbour bridge, they just kept doing it. Things like Welfare and the Environment are all very important concern for any Government but if they can’t get “roads, rates and rubbish” right then what hope is there.
]]> Thu, 06 Dec 2007 18:36:00 EST http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/352283 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/352285
Sorry I have not been in touch in the last couple of days as I have been 'off the grid' enjoying the bush and my motorcycle Gretel. The result was a shock to me, I needed a few days to take it all in.

All I can say to you is thank you for your hard work and congratulations on keeping the faith - it was a really tough campaign.

We really did run one hell of a campaign though, we took it too the other parties and we made the public think about the more important issues. Many people have commentated to me that they where surprised at how much fight was still left in the Democrats. I really do want to thank you all for helping make that happen. It was a fantastic journey one that is not often travelled.

As for me I am committed to the Democrat Ideal, I really did mean it when I stated that the Australian Democrats are the only political party which has the track record and the independence: to be even-handed, to strive for the best practical outcome on each issue, and to serve the best interests of all Australians.

So where to from here?, well it's a wide open road.

Thanks again

Norvan
]]> Thu, 29 Nov 2007 22:56:00 EST http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/352285 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/285195
The simple assumption that Australians like to bet and Gamble and therefore there is not much that the government should do, is not one that I share. The thing that really annoys me is the once any pastime becomes industrialised then the people who partake in the pasttime can often be exploited as is the case with gambling. There is nothing wrong with putting a few dollars on a horse, or popping your loose change through poker machine. It's when organisations conspire to set up scenarios where they exploit people to maximise profits, when the government needs to take the initiative and minimise the harm that people can find themselves in

Gambling to me is an accountability issue, I really do believe that the public knew the true cost to the community of gambling and where the money really goes that people would be absolutely appalled by the situation, Establishment of the following independent bodies that report directly to the State Parliament:
-a Gambling Services Commissioner to conduct monitoring,
-a Gambling Ombudsman, and
-a Gambling Foundation to conduct independent research and promote responsible gambling.
]]> Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:17:00 EST http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/285195 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/285197
Although there has been some decline in the use of marijuana in recent years, it remains the most frequently used illegal drug in Australia, with 800 000 Australians aged 14 and over using the drug each week. Young people are starting to use cannabis at an earlier age and more frequent use is also being reported among young people. There is increasing evidence of the links between cannabis use and mental health problems.

Drug use-both licit and illicit-is associated with crime and violence, sexual assault, domestic violence, and also impacts on health through premature death, injury and illness. Although the vast majority of drug related harm in Australia comes from alcohol and tobacco use, there remains around 120,000 heroin users and illicit drug use has been estimated to cost the Australian community more than $6 billion a year when the costs of crime, health, lost productivity and road accidents are taken into account.

The major health problems caused by the use of illicit drugs are associated with injection, either drug related overdoses or the transmission of blood borne diseases.
There is little reliable evidence on the medium to long term effects of the newer designer drugs or of multiple drug use, and little is known about the best ways of preventing use of these substances. Social factors, such as unemployment, low income and insecure housing, play a role in drug use and drug-related harm, although the exact process is unclear.

More funding for treatment and support and rehabilitation services, with increased flexibility for those that caters for drug dependent adults with children. We also need to expand supervised detoxification facilities as well as expand specific drug courts and diversion programs that offer an alternative to the traditional justice system. Introduce a regulatory framework for the prescription of pharmaceutical cannabis for therapeutic purposes. Also to continue investment in needle and syringe exchange programmes and support medically supervised injection centres where needed and continue methadone maintenance treatment for the majority of people addicted to heroin, with research into medical prescription of heroin in some circumstances. We also need to establish targeted training for health, welfare and criminal justice professionals in responding to inhalant abuse and the comprehensive roll out of non-sniffable fuel throughout regions of Australia where petrol sniffing is a problem, along with increased resources for indigenous substance use programmes. It is also necessary to research into the medium to long term effects of the use of designer club drugs such as ecstasy and speed and effective preventative and harm reduction interventions and treatments for designer drug use and addiction.
]]> Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:21:00 EST http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/285197 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/285191 Gambling is one of those things that really get me fired up. My I attended a Salvation Army church that has a rehabilitation centre attached to it. Therefore a lot of my friends have been through the rehabilitation service. On top of the addiction issues that a lot of them face gambling is a catalyst for their slide into troubles.

The argument that the money that goes into poker machines is required for government revenue to provide services to the people is just ludicrous. As well as that licensed clubs provide support to the community through community grants. I would really like to see someone to a longitudinal study into the benefits and cost the Society of gambling.

Obviously there are a number of complex issues around the industry and because people make their livelihoods within the Gambling industry. It is not a simple knee-jerk reaction of banning all of the poker machines in the country that will solve the issue. This is just a extreme news grabbing opinion, because in the end it may cause as much social harm is the current situation.

And it does not have to be all that difficult a number of small changes at the venues would be helped to ensure that less harm is caused. Such as require venues to display clocks on the wall and ensure natural light is visible from poker machine areas during daylight hours. And remove ATM's and EFTPOS facilities from all buildings with a gambling license to avoid unplanned spending. As well as require venues to provide nongambling, socially interactive activities at poker machine venues.

In a government level it would be good to replace the current license system with one in which poker machines are owned by the state government with a fixed operator's fee paid to venues for running the machines. This particular model has worked quite effectively within Canada. All poker machines to be located in licensed clubs (not hotels).

]]> Tue, 23 Oct 2007 18:05:00 EDT http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/285191 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/271853
The fight against poverty may appear daunting but the efforts arising from the Millennium Declaration in 2000 shows what can be done when the world works together to solve a global challenge. The Declaration gave rise to the establishment of eight Millennium Development Goals targeting key indicators of development, including extreme poverty and hunger, education, gender equality, child mortality, and disease control.

Progress against these goals has been encouraging but more needs to be done if we are not to fall short of achieving the Goals by 2015. The Australian Government has committed to spending 0.7 percent of Gross National Income on overseas development assistance (ODA), yet did not set a timeline for when this level of spending would be reached. Our level of ODA as a proportion of Gross National Income is currently 0.3 percent.

The Australian Government's in-principle commitment to increasing aid expenditure to 0.7 percent of Gross National Income extends all the way back to a 1975 United Nations General Assembly resolution but was more recently affirmed at the 2002 International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico.

Australia has not yet set a timeline for the achievement of that spending level, unlike five countries that have already met that level and 16 that have committed to reach it by 2015. Australia's ODA as a proportion of Gross National Income is currently 0.3 percent, significantly below even the OECD average of 0.46 percent.

This stands in stark contrast to the generosity of Australians, who are the second most generous amongst the 22 OECD countries when it comes to private giving. This corresponds with growth in the number of people who approve of official development assistance and who feel that Australia should spend more on aid.

Focus development resources intensively on high-priority nations, with the intent of achieving a more rapid and sustained improvement in economic and social conditions for example work towards an increase in basic health education and the availability of micro-credit. We should support further cancellation of developing country debt. As well as work for the resumption of multi-lateral talks aimed at the further reduction of trade barriers.

]]> Wed, 17 Oct 2007 22:25:00 EDT http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/271853 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/266901 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That the perpetrators of the Bali bombings need to be brought to justice is and should be unquestioned. But the death penalty is not about justice. It is about revenge.

It can only lead to an escalating cycle of violence. The taking of a life is a horrible and evil act, that we as a tolerant society rightly condemn. But if we are to continue to condemn the taking of a life, we must be consistent in opposing it. And that means opposing the death penalty.

It is the mark of a fair and compassionate society that we lead by example on human rights issues. The right to life is a fundamental human right. It exists regardless of race, nationality, religion, gender, creed or any other distinction. Those who take life should be condemned in the strongest terms and brought to justice. But that does not involve retaliation by committing what is essentially the same crime.

The strong stance taken by the Australian Democrats in opposing the death penalty shows that that there is one political party in Australia prepared to take a stand on human rights. Labor appears to want to take a stand but is frightened of the Howard Government playing wedge politics.

We need some consistency. Australia needs to take a strong, fearless stand against human rights abuses and violations in our region. We must not allow our opposition to the death penalty to be seen as in any way ambiguous.
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]]> Thu, 11 Oct 2007 18:07:00 EDT http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/266901 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/271863
Petrol prices have been gradually rising for almost two years. Crude oil is probably going to hit $100 a barrel soon compared to $35 in 2004. The rising global oil price translates to rising domestic fuel costs. Given Australia's heavy dependence on private transport - rising fuel prices along with the cost of living, interest rates and inflation are all contributing to the household affordability pressures and debt levels.

Our dependence on a rapidly depleting resource will mean sooner rather than later need to reduce our dependence on oil and switch to sustainable alternatives in order to have continued energy security and minimise the impact to our economy. Australia must undertake as soon as possible, aggressive actions on both transport supply and demand side. On the supply side, develop all feasible options for producing alternative liquid fuels. On the demand side, Australians should increase the fuel efficiency of the national fleet, increase expenditure, availability and patronage of public transport, mass transit, rail and light rail infrastructure.

Back in the late 90s are really helped with the plan for a very fast train project there was going to link Canberra to Sydney using the Siemens MagLev technologies. It was evident back then that the whole approach that we have two developing infrastructure in this country is based around road infrastructure. This is becoming even more of an urgent problem due to the impending climate change scenarios.

There is a distinct lack of government policy to address greenhouse emissions from the transport sector, peak oil and energy security. Most notably the recommendations from the Government’s own House of Representatives inquiry into sustainable cities have not been implemented.


The Democrats have been pushing pretty hard on this issue for a fair while now a lot of the things that we would like to see are things like;
- fringe benefits tax reformed to encourage public transport, cycling and car pooling.
- Excise on alternative fuels removed until agreed targets have been met
- Tax incentives for fuel efficient and low emission vehicles, funded from higher taxes and registration fees for inefficient vehicles and the reintroduction of fuel excise indexation (abolished in 2001).
- The ban on blends of more than 10% ethanol lifted and mandatory biofuel targets of 20% of all petrol and diesel sold phased in by 2020. Ethanol petrol blend (E10 and E85) availability mandated at all outlets,
- All government vehicles switched to alternative fuels and fuel efficient vehicles on re-leasing.
- Democrats-negotiated alternative fuel vehicle conversion maintained and extended to electric and LNG vehicles of all sizes.
- Grants for compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, hydrogen and electricity refuelling infrastructure.
- Auto industry subsidies conditional on producing high efficiency vehicles including hybrids
]]> Sat, 06 Oct 2007 22:58:00 EDT http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/271863 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/263143
62% of people with mental health disorders do not use mental health services, because there are not enough services, they are difficult to access, they cost too much and they do not provide the right types of treatments and assistance

The Democrats want Federal government support for the proposals of Patrick McGorry, Professor of Youth Mental Health at the University of Melbourne, who says “people aged between 12 and 25 are most at risk of mental health problems, and early intervention can save the health system millions of dollars in the future.”

Of the 38% of people who do access care, it’s mainly through GPs, and the decline in bulk-billing is making it even more difficult for people with mental illness to obtain even basic primary care services.

We need a fundamentally different approach to providing mental health care - one that is community-based not hospital-based, and focused on promoting well-being and prevention and early intervention, rather than only treating people when they become seriously ill

The Democrats want to see a national roll-out of youth mental health services designed specifically to provide intensive early intervention services for people aged between 12 and 25

There should also be substantial increases in the number of short, medium and long term supported accommodation places to foster recovery and help prevent relapse, including specialist crisis accommodation services for people with dual diagnosis and complex conditions involving disruptive behaviour.
]]> Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:42:00 EDT http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/263143 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/271857
Poor oral health causes pain and difficulty eating, which can mean dependence on medication, nutritional deficiencies and associated health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Visible tooth loss can affect self esteem, restrict social and employment opportunities. There are 650,000 people on waiting lists for public dental care with an average waiting time of 27 months. A study of public dental health patients from 1995/6 to 2001/2 showed a decline in oral health with increases in the number of decayed, missing and filled teeth, particularly for 25 - 44 year olds.

Whilst each state and territory provides public dental services, per capita spending varies markedly from state to state, services are confined to concession card holders prepared to endure long waiting times and school students. Each state requires some form of patient co-payment, the introduction of which has led to a decrease in use. Oral dental health is the least subsidised area of state health care at $369m/year. Many adults receive only 'emergency' dental care, teeth are extracted at 122% higher rates than in private dentistry and little is invested in improving adult oral health.

'Strengthening Medicare' provides dental treatment for people with chronic illness but this is limited by GP and dentist willingness to participate, a three-visit cap, a restricted list of treatment items and a upper limit fee of $275. Information on use of these items suggests that there has been a low level of referral by GPs.

It is absolutely clear that we need to establish a national public dental health program that is free for concession card holders and special needs groups, and which includes a full dental check-up and basic dental treatment every two years. This program should be funded at per capita levels that will meet the goals of the national oral health plan and delivered in a timely manner, as determined by national benchmarks - with costs to be shared equally between the Commonwealth and the States. As well as dental health assessment and follow-up by dental hygienists in residential aged care and a long range dental health workforce planning and more university places for dentists and dental hygienists.
]]> Sun, 23 Sep 2007 03:46:00 EDT http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/271857 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667 http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/263141
These powers would allow authorities to glean huge amounts of information. Every mobile phone could potentially become a tracking device for security agencies. And the real problem is that without judicial oversight we can never know what the government is really permitting.

These powers would allow federal and state police forces as well as ASIO to demand that phone companies and internet service provider's stream information to them just a few moments after calls are made or websites visited. These new powers, which are being justified as a counter-terrorism measure, have unfortunately already been passed by the Coalition, with support from Labor, through the House of Representatives.

Where are the checks and balances where is the oversight, who ensures that there is a justification for the tapping, who ensures the protection of civil liberties, is this going to turn into another Haneef debacle? Security agencies would be told what website addresses and chat rooms the user has visited and what files have been downloaded. The laws would also enable authorities to track internet conversations.

It is deeply concerning to me that as well as not requiring a warrant signed by a judicial officer these powers could be used by these agencies in any criminal investigation into any suspected offence that carries a jail term of three years or more. There is a great lack of accountability and transparency in the process.
]]> Sun, 16 Sep 2007 18:40:00 EDT http://oliebol.tigblog.org/post/263141 -35.2833333 149.2166667 -35.2833333 149.2166667