Congestion
Crisis is a word that gets used a lot in newspapers. There’s the cricket crisis. The Global Financial Crisis. The sports doping crisis. Crises like these are often unexpected, tumultuous events - they naturally grab the headlines.
And then there are the slow burn crises that sneak up on you. Like the obesity crisis or the energy crisis. They’re like a frog sitting in a pot of water over an open flame. Sometimes you don’t notice the crisis until your frog is completely cooked. And so let me draw your attention to a crisis that is directly in front of us, and about to reach boiling point.
Our cities are in crisis. Deep down, we all know it. When it takes 30 minutes to drive a two kilometre stretch of road. When we’re late for work because the bus didn’t turn up. When our kids are late for school because you were stuck in traffic. When we don’t get home until 7pm because of a traffic incident in a suburb five suburbs away.
Our roads and rail systems are struggling under the weight of our ever growing population and it’s time we did something about it.
Continue reading "There’s no such thing as a free bus ticket" »
There has been much fun for many going through Bob Carr’s writings to embarrass the incoming Foreign Minister by highlighting his private citizen notions about Barack Obama, the Dalai Lama and others.
But so far no one has pointed to the passionate campaign which gave Mr Carr when NSW Premier the nickname of The Malthus of Macquarie Street.
Bob Carr is against a big Australia. He wants a national population smaller - much smaller - than some projections indicate it will be by 2050.
Continue reading "Carr wants to hit the brakes on our ballooning population" »
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Gregary Boyles says:
Can I point out the bleedingly obvious to you booster! If you increase Australia’s population so that everyone is fighting over dwindling water supplies during times of drought, then the major national security threat will come from within rather than from China or Indonesia! Over population relative to limited resources… Read more »
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Mark/Fox says:
You do not need to be a scientist to realise we are oerpopulated. You only need to be a politician to think we are not. Good on Bob for realising we are. Read more »
At the outset I declare that I am unashamedly pro-bike. Cycling is a great sport, a clean form of transport, and has undoubted health benefits for those who regularly ride.
Most years the annual “pollie pedal” route is through my electorate – as was the case this year. Had I not been heavily pregnant, I would have ridden with the team again (albeit for a short distance).
But I have to say: what’s the deal with designated bike lanes?
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Anna says:
You’re right Scott, I was obviously an idiot for assuming that you would understand that I was using a figure of speech with “cost nothing”. I was on the V1 today, or the “brisbane bikeway” as you call it. I suggest you borrow a bike and take it. And take… Read more »
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Arios says:
In Japan people are allowed to cycle on the footpaths - everywhere. Hardcore cyclists can still ride on the road, but is certainly way more riskier. The footpaths provide a safe alternative for children and slower cyclists. The only downside is that pedestrians have to constantly watch out for bicycles… Read more »
Treasury secretary Ken Henry should spend less time hanging around with hairy-nosed wombats and more time talking to working families in suburban Sydney.
That’s not to bag wombats, especially hairy-nosed ones. Nor to question the right of anyone to take a holiday, and to do what they like with their leave.
As Dr Henry said last year amid criticism of his five-week wombat-rescuing odyssey into Queensland’s far-flung Epping Forest National Park, there are 10 times as many pandas in China as there are hairy-nosed wombats in Australia.
Continue reading "Ken’s muddle-headed car tax will hit Labor’s Sydney seats" »
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Carolina says:
Because of the widespread use of digital technology, generating fake pictures has never been easier. Making fake photos of celebrities to impress your friends or doctoring media photos to alter public opinion is just as easy. Because image manipulation happens at the pixel level, detection is not as easy as… Read more »
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Voxpop says:
This proposal comes from an understanding that technology with cars is advancing to the point where electric and fuel efficiancy are going to be the norm which = less tax revenue from fuel (remember tax is evil but we need it to pay for improvements). so as far as I… Read more »
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