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Category: General news

Managing director of Ebono Institute and major sponsor of The Generator, Geoff Ebbs, is running against Kevin Rudd in the seat of Griffith at the next Federal election. By the expression on their faces in this candid shot it looks like a pretty dull campaign. Read on

  • Railcorp improving updates for passengers on trains when delays occur

    Both Guards and Drivers have two way radios and are in contact with signal boxes. Most of our trains have communication systems fitted. I can see no reason why passengers cannot be kept informed. Train Controllers seated in front of an array of monitors upstairs at Sydney Terminal are very busy people. When the system fails they would be flat out to maintain services. There may be a problem there in getting info out to station/signal boxes etc. Transposition advices to trains running out of order is a very responsible business, requiring train controllers full attention. Perhaps staffing levels are not adequate in this section.

    RailCorp improving updates for passengers on trains when delays occur

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    RailCorp

    NSW Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian. Picture: Justin Lloyd Source: The Daily Telegraph

    FRUSTRATED rail commuters caught up in major disruptions may soon have one less thing to complain about.

    RailCorp is overhauling the way staff update passengers sitting on trains and platforms, particularly when there are big delays across the network.

    Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian yesterday said improving communication to passengers will reduce one of the biggest complaints people have when they are delayed.

    The so-called “passenger information improvement initiative” calls on the private sector to help RailCorp improve passenger information.

    “As part of a commitment to continually improve the way RailCorp delivers customer information, we are requesting information from the market on technology that will manage passenger data and deliver real-time, accurate, clear and useful service information to our customers where and when they need it, especially during disruptions,” a RailCorp spokesman said.

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  • L-Plater driver courses to slash 20 hours of practice under NSW cabinet approved plan

    Driving tests must be much more stringent and include a phychological assessment before issuing drivers licences. We are seeing incidents with P/Platers where other responsible drivers and their passengers are being killed or maimed. Perhaps the licensing age is too young

    L-plater driving courses to slash 20 hours of practise under NSW cabinet approved plan

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    Major change for L-plate drivers to be announced. Picture: Dave Highet Source: The Daily Telegraph

    LEARNER drivers can practise for 20 hours less – if they take a safe driving course, the government will announce today.

    State cabinet has approved a policy that allows L-platers under 25 to cut their practice hours from 120 to 100 if they finish the optional course successfully.

    The course is being developed by a board of road safety and education experts, chaired by VicRoads former director of road safety Eric Howard.

    Are you on your Ls? Are you the parent of someone on their Ls? What do you think of the changes? Drop us a line at news@dailytelegraph.com.au

    It is expected to be made up of five hours of combined on-road training and classroom education and will focus on safe driving practices as well as driver attitudes.

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    Hot Topic: L-plater hours

    WHAT is more important: The costs to parents or ensuring your teenager learns to be a responsible driver? If the Government really wants to help families on lower incomes, offer them financial assistance. There are too many young lives being lost on our roads already.
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    THE father of one of four teens, whose car crash death led to new laws forcing L-platers to drive 120 hours before sitting for their licence, has opposed a move to wind back the scheme.

    The proposal was mooted before the state government came to power and yesterday Roads Minister Duncan Gay said he was pleased the government was on its way to developing the course.

    “Sadly young people are over represented in fatalities related to speeding and poor decision making while driving,” he said.

    “This will give young and inexperienced drivers the opportunity to have hands-on practice with experienced instructors.”

    The policy approved by cabinet said the course’s design would be based on recent road safety research, and would be available across NSW.

    L-platers under 25 currently have to log 120 hours of driving before they can qualify for their red P-1 licence.

    The Auditor-General has found the number of fatal crashes involving young drivers has gone down since learner drivers were made to graduate from their L, P-1 and P-2 licences before getting a full licence. The auditor-general also found high-risk behaviour in young drivers contributed to their over-representation in fatal crashes.

    The government estimates that 95,000 learner drivers would be eligible for the safe drivers course each year.

    Learner drivers are currently able to reduce their log-book hours by completing structured classes with an instructor.

    A one-hour lesson with a certified instructor is the equivalent of three hours practice with parents, family members or other holders of a full licence.

    But under the scheme, announced by the previous government in December 2009, L-platers can only use this method of fast-tracking their experience for up to 10 lessons.

    The latest policy was approved by cabinet after research showed some risks taken by young drivers were about bad choices, not driving skill.

    That is why the government has said the safe driving course would also be about changing attitudes as well as enhancing on-road skills.

    About 43 per cent of drivers under 26 are found to have been speeding when involved in fatal crashes, compared with 23 per cent of drivers aged over 26.

    Mr Gay said the board of safety experts would report back on its findings by August.

     

  • Antony Green’s Queensland Election Blog

    Will Jeff Seeney be the Next Premier of Queensland?

    This blog post is prompted by a Courier-Mail article last week by Madonna King that began “Jeff Seeney is likely to become Queensland Premier – at least in the short term.”

    In one of those great journalistic stand bys, the article stated that “Mr Seeney did not rule out taking on the role of interim Premier until a winner is declared in Ashgrove”.

    I don’t think this is likely at all. The idea that Jeff Seeney must become Premier if the result in Ashgrove is unclear ignores that it is normal constitutional practice for a period to elapse between polling day and the swearing in of a new government.

    Indeed the last two changes of government occurred around two weeks after the election, 13 days in the case of Peter Beattie in 1998 and 16 days for Rob Borbidge after the Mundingburra by-election in 1996. Even Wayne Goss had a delay of five days after winning a clear victory at the 1989 election.

    The table below sets out in detail the number of days between elections and the swearing in of new governments for most changes of government in Australia since 1970. The average delay between an election and the swearing in of the new ministry is 9 days. That means it is perfectly normal for the defeated government to carry on in caretaker mode for more than a week after its defeat.

    Continue reading “Will Jeff Seeney be the Next Premier of Queensland?” »

    Posted by on March 17, 2012 at 04:01 PM in Queensland Elections and Politics | |Comments (2)

    March 16, 2012

    ABC Queensland Election Calculator now LIVE!

    It is long delayed, but the ABC’s re-developed election calculator is now live at http://www.abc.net.au/elections/qld/2012/calculator/.

    What started as a simple design to allow more appropriate dealing with Independent held seats was greatly complicated by changing technology.

    The current calculator was designed in 2007. Since then the ABC has implemented a new content management system, has broadened the area of screen taken up by content, and has also had to adjust code to deal with new platforms such as tablet computers. The various widgets that had been used to run the calculator also needed updating, and we also wanted the capacity to be able to embed the calculator into news stories.

    So, after a much longer development than intended, welcome to the new calculator.

    On the Queensland version you can :

    • Move the sliders left for a swing to Labor or right for a swing to LNP. We’ve ended up duplicating the +/- 20% swing from the NSW election, though I would be surprised if the actual swing was in double figures.
    • You can use the drop-down menu at the top of the screen to select a recent published opinion poll.
    • Click the ‘Set swings at regional level’ box to apply different swing in the South-East compared to the rest of the state.
    • Click the ‘Factor retiring MPs’ to turn off the factor for retiring MPs. This factor also adds so-called ‘sophomore surge’ to some of the LNP members newly elected in 2009.
    • Click ‘Select individual seats’ to choose which party you think will win the electorates of Beaudesert, Burnett, Dalrymple, Gladstone, Maryborough, Mount Isa, Nanango and Nicklin. As you select each winning candidate, the total of seats changes.

    We might add Ashgrove to the list of selectable seats next week once we work out a few remaining gremlins in the mechanism.

    As in the past, the bottom of the display shows the seats re-arranged by newly calculated margins. Note that in the seats where you choose the winning party, the seat has no new margin and gets sorted to the bottom of the party list.

    If you have any comments and suggestions on how the calculator works, I’m happy to receive them over the weekend. Bugs we iron out with this version will give us a better calculator for the next Federal election where individual seat selection will again be important.

    Posted by on March 16, 2012 at 05:19 PM in Queensland Elections and Politics | |Comments (4)

  • Is there enough time to prevent widespread thawing of permafrost?

    Is there enough time to prevent widespread thawing of permafrost?

    This Q&A is part of the Guardian’s ultimate climate change FAQ

    • See all questions and answers
    • Read about the project

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  • Science daily: Earth Science News

    ScienceDaily: Earth Science News

    Fundamental steps needed now in global redesign of Earth system governance, experts say

    Posted: 16 Mar 2012 04:53 PM PDT

    Some 32 social scientists and researchers from around the world have concluded that fundamental reforms of global environmental governance are needed to avoid dangerous changes in the Earth system. The scientists argued in the journal Science that the time is now for a “constitutional moment” in world politics.

    Past in monsoon changes linked to major shifts in Indian civilizations

    Posted: 16 Mar 2012 11:58 AM PDT

    A fundamental shift in the Indian monsoon has occurred over the last few millennia, from a steady humid monsoon that favored lush vegetation to extended periods of drought, researchers report. Their study has implications for our understanding of the monsoon’s response to climate change.

    Glacier-fed river systems threatened by climate change

    Posted: 16 Mar 2012 08:26 AM PDT

    As glaciers vanish due to global warming, so will those species dependent upon the icy runoff.

    Increase in Arctic shipping is risk to marine mammals

    Posted: 16 Mar 2012 08:25 AM PDT

    A rapid increase in shipping in the formerly ice-choked waterways of the Arctic poses a significant increase in risk to the region’s marine mammals and the local communities that rely on them for food security and cultural identity, according to experts.

    European grasslands challenge rainforests as the most species-rich spaces on Earth

    Posted: 15 Mar 2012 07:57 PM PDT

    The city of Manila holds the human world record for the most densely populated space and now an international team of ecologists are seeking the natural equivalent, the most species rich area on earth. The team’s findings reveal the record is contested between South America’s tropical rainforests and Central European meadows.
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