http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/water/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/who-wants-to-win-200-billion-in-infrastructure/ One day, Gina Rinehart is projected to be worth $100 billion. In the past, I’ve argued she should use a big chunk of that money to do something grand, like fund an entire Aussie space program. So imagine what two particularly philanthropic Ginas could do if they both decided to invest $100 billion into Australian infrastructure. According to reports this week, during secret mining tax negotiations the day before he was knifed as Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd struck an in-principle deal with mining exec Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest that would’ve allowed mining companies to avoid liability for the 40 per cent mining tax by instead writing off their capital expenditure on Australian infrastructure. Estimates suggested the plan would’ve pumped at least $200 billion into Australian infrastructure every five years. A huge deal for the country. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/who-wants-to-win-200-billion-in-infrastructure/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/who-wants-to-win-200-billion-in-infrastructure/#item8287 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Australians do not need to be told that today is World Water Day to remember that water is both a giver and taker of life. This is the driest populated continent and we know well the impact of both floods and droughts. But how many people are aware that billions of people across the world still lack access to a hygienic toilet, a tap and soap? Or that the failure to provide sanitation and safe drinking water causes about 4000 children to die every day? The preventable diseases caused by poor sanitation cause more child deaths than malaria, measles and HIV/AIDS combined. Almost one in three people live in unsanitary conditions. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/water-everywhere-and-still-millions-without-sanitation/ Australians do not need to be told that today is World Water Day to remember that water is both a giver and taker of life. This is the driest populated continent and we know well the impact of both floods and droughts. But how many people are aware that billions of people across the world still lack access to a hygienic toilet, a tap and soap? Or that the failure to provide sanitation and safe drinking water causes about 4000 children to die every day? The preventable diseases caused by poor sanitation cause more child deaths than malaria, measles and HIV/AIDS combined. Almost one in three people live in unsanitary conditions. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/water-everywhere-and-still-millions-without-sanitation/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/water-everywhere-and-still-millions-without-sanitation/#item8061 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Australians do not need to be told that today is World Water Day to remember that water is both a giver and taker of life. This is the driest populated continent and we know well the impact of both floods and droughts. But how many people are aware that billions of people across the world still lack access to a hygienic toilet, a tap and soap? Or that the failure to provide sanitation and safe drinking water causes about 4000 children to die every day? The preventable diseases caused by poor sanitation cause more child deaths than malaria, measles and HIV/AIDS combined. Almost one in three people live in unsanitary conditions. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Murray-basin-plan-is-nobodys-darling/ The Murray-Darling Basin Authority Draft Plan, released yesterday, includes a reduction in water use of 2,750 gigalitres per year, compared to 2009 baseline diversions. So there will now be extra 2,750 GL/y in environmental flows. Does this give the right balance? The candidates for the biggest loser are (1) the irrigators, (2) the Basin communities and (3) the environment. The extra environmental flow is estimated to lead to a reduction in irrigated agricultural production of about 11%. But the irrigators won’t be the big losers because they will be compensated by the water buyback scheme. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Murray-basin-plan-is-nobodys-darling/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Murray-basin-plan-is-nobodys-darling/#item7256 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Australians do not need to be told that today is World Water Day to remember that water is both a giver and taker of life. This is the driest populated continent and we know well the impact of both floods and droughts. But how many people are aware that billions of people across the world still lack access to a hygienic toilet, a tap and soap? Or that the failure to provide sanitation and safe drinking water causes about 4000 children to die every day? The preventable diseases caused by poor sanitation cause more child deaths than malaria, measles and HIV/AIDS combined. Almost one in three people live in unsanitary conditions. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/watering-down-the-murray-darling-plan-would-be-fatal/ Many of us learnt at school that the great Nile River sustained Egypt through floods that nourished the fertility of the river’s floodplain. Our Murray and Darling Rivers are no different. It’s in Australia’s national interest to protect and restore the Murray Darling Basin. Disconnect the river from the floodplain and you destroy the fertility of the land. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/watering-down-the-murray-darling-plan-would-be-fatal/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/watering-down-the-murray-darling-plan-would-be-fatal/#item7238 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Australians do not need to be told that today is World Water Day to remember that water is both a giver and taker of life. This is the driest populated continent and we know well the impact of both floods and droughts. But how many people are aware that billions of people across the world still lack access to a hygienic toilet, a tap and soap? Or that the failure to provide sanitation and safe drinking water causes about 4000 children to die every day? The preventable diseases caused by poor sanitation cause more child deaths than malaria, measles and HIV/AIDS combined. Almost one in three people live in unsanitary conditions. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/somethings-really-fishy-in-the-gladstone-waters/ It’s official. The water quality in Gladstone Harbour is fine despite one of the world’s biggest dredging programs. Sick fish are getting better, there are no health problems and the three week fishing ban over 500 sqkm of waterways has just been lifted. Apparently more than 20 fishermen who presented with serious infections and skin lesions after coming into contact with what they claimed to be infected fish and contaminated water are mistaken. Queensland Seafood Association president and cardio-surgeon Dr Michael Gardner doesn’t think so but swimming in the harbour has also been officially sanctioned by State Government authorities and all the kids who had to pack their fishing rods away during the school holidays can dust them off and get back out in the harbour while the dredging continues as part of a program to move 46 million cubic metres of silt. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/somethings-really-fishy-in-the-gladstone-waters/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/somethings-really-fishy-in-the-gladstone-waters/#item6878 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Australians do not need to be told that today is World Water Day to remember that water is both a giver and taker of life. This is the driest populated continent and we know well the impact of both floods and droughts. But how many people are aware that billions of people across the world still lack access to a hygienic toilet, a tap and soap? Or that the failure to provide sanitation and safe drinking water causes about 4000 children to die every day? The preventable diseases caused by poor sanitation cause more child deaths than malaria, measles and HIV/AIDS combined. Almost one in three people live in unsanitary conditions. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/i-would-not-like-to-be-under-the-sea/ Is it un-Australian to be scared of the ocean? If so, I’m a traitor of the worst kind. As New Year’s Eve countdowns by carefree, salt-encrusted water rats echoed around our beach resorts, I was thinking of the Poseidon Adventure: “... five, four, three, two, one, Happy New… Oh, Christ, a tidal wave!”... and the passengers who are having the most sex, drinking the most, laughing the loudest and having all the fun die horribly. Aussie surf champ Stephanie Gilmore considers the sea a refuge from nutcases with iron bars - but really it is a cold and forbidding place. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/i-would-not-like-to-be-under-the-sea/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/i-would-not-like-to-be-under-the-sea/#item4840 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Australians do not need to be told that today is World Water Day to remember that water is both a giver and taker of life. This is the driest populated continent and we know well the impact of both floods and droughts. But how many people are aware that billions of people across the world still lack access to a hygienic toilet, a tap and soap? Or that the failure to provide sanitation and safe drinking water causes about 4000 children to die every day? The preventable diseases caused by poor sanitation cause more child deaths than malaria, measles and HIV/AIDS combined. Almost one in three people live in unsanitary conditions. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-we-think-about-water-is-a-classic-progress-trap/ I just returned from almost three weeks in Hong Kong. It is a city that I fell in love with some five years ago when I worked there with Oxfam Hong Kong. There is a great deal that Australia’s major cities could learn from Hong Kong: it is a city that promotes and rewards efficiency, cleanliness and creativity – aspects that we often neglect. This is clearly evident in the integrated design of the public transport system that is regular, clean, safe and on time. (Please note NSW State Rail Authority: the definition of ‘on time’ does not change at regular intervals but is kind of set). For example, last Saturday I missed a bus – my irritation was subdued when I informed the next one was ‘four minutes’ away. We can compare this to the two-hour gap between busses on the 370 route between Leichhardt and Coogee which I was faced with only a week later: and this is in the eastern suburbs if Sydney – the best served public transport corridor. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-we-think-about-water-is-a-classic-progress-trap/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-we-think-about-water-is-a-classic-progress-trap/#item4261 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Australians do not need to be told that today is World Water Day to remember that water is both a giver and taker of life. This is the driest populated continent and we know well the impact of both floods and droughts. But how many people are aware that billions of people across the world still lack access to a hygienic toilet, a tap and soap? Or that the failure to provide sanitation and safe drinking water causes about 4000 children to die every day? The preventable diseases caused by poor sanitation cause more child deaths than malaria, measles and HIV/AIDS combined. Almost one in three people live in unsanitary conditions. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/youre-meant-to-sit-on-the-cross-bench-not-the-fence/ Independent MP Tony Windsor yesterday continued what is becoming a pattern of rather cryptic and fencing sitting statements.  He told The Australian that he wasn’t sure he supported the Murray Darling Basin plan to buy back 3000-4000 gigalitres of water from irrigators, and that perhaps the Government should look at other methods to return water to the system like diverting water from other areas. This is a perfectly legitimate stance, although it was his other comment about the likelihood of any legislation on the plan succeeding in Parliament that is confusing. Windsor told The Australian and later the ABC that he didn’t think any legislation would see “the light of day” in this Parliament: penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/youre-meant-to-sit-on-the-cross-bench-not-the-fence/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/youre-meant-to-sit-on-the-cross-bench-not-the-fence/#item4247 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Australians do not need to be told that today is World Water Day to remember that water is both a giver and taker of life. This is the driest populated continent and we know well the impact of both floods and droughts. But how many people are aware that billions of people across the world still lack access to a hygienic toilet, a tap and soap? Or that the failure to provide sanitation and safe drinking water causes about 4000 children to die every day? The preventable diseases caused by poor sanitation cause more child deaths than malaria, measles and HIV/AIDS combined. Almost one in three people live in unsanitary conditions. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/even-sa-is-going-to-water-on-saving-the-murray/ As far as political slogans go, “No Dams” had an absolute simplicity about it which resonated with the vast majority of Australians. Despite the localised concerns of Tasmanians, some sympathy from blue-collar mainland communities reliant on industries such as logging, and the arcane constitutional quibbles of a few States’ rights enthusiasts, most Australians happily bought the clear message conveyed by the bright yellow triangular bumper sticker. The Franklin River was saved. The year was 1983. Twenty-seven years on and it’s obvious that while “No Dams” might have worked as an effective call to arms, “Save the Murray” is struggling to get beyond being an empty slogan as the nation remains paralysed as to how we should save it. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/even-sa-is-going-to-water-on-saving-the-murray/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/even-sa-is-going-to-water-on-saving-the-murray/#item4249 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Australians do not need to be told that today is World Water Day to remember that water is both a giver and taker of life. This is the driest populated continent and we know well the impact of both floods and droughts. But how many people are aware that billions of people across the world still lack access to a hygienic toilet, a tap and soap? Or that the failure to provide sanitation and safe drinking water causes about 4000 children to die every day? The preventable diseases caused by poor sanitation cause more child deaths than malaria, measles and HIV/AIDS combined. Almost one in three people live in unsanitary conditions. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-forget-sustainability-in-the-population-debate/ Australia’s population will be a major issue at the coming federal election.  Not just because of the ongoing problems with Labor’s border protection laws but because Australians are increasingly concerned with the sustainability of our country. Last year in a rare moment of clarity the Prime Minister made very clear that he ‘believed’ in a ‘big Australia’.  He made these comments on the day that his government announced its population target for Australia of 36 million by 2050 penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-forget-sustainability-in-the-population-debate/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-forget-sustainability-in-the-population-debate/#item2955 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Australians do not need to be told that today is World Water Day to remember that water is both a giver and taker of life. This is the driest populated continent and we know well the impact of both floods and droughts. But how many people are aware that billions of people across the world still lack access to a hygienic toilet, a tap and soap? Or that the failure to provide sanitation and safe drinking water causes about 4000 children to die every day? The preventable diseases caused by poor sanitation cause more child deaths than malaria, measles and HIV/AIDS combined. Almost one in three people live in unsanitary conditions.