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Pipeline needed: There is consensus that it would devastate the ecology of these waterways to increase their use as drains. The preference of experts and environmentalists is likely to be a pipeline three metres in diameter and 20 kilometres long, through the Southern Highlands to Avon Dam. From Avon the water can be sent to Prospect Reservoir in Sydney.

Hydro a side-benefit: Such a tunnel could move 1500 million litres a day and generate hydro-electricity to offset up to 60 per cent of pumping costs and greenhouse emissions.

Increased flexibility: Ian Tanner, General Manager, Bulk Water, with the Sydney Catchment Authority said the proposed changes were not a response to the drought. “This proposal will assist in addressing unknown variables such as climate change,” he said. “The scientists are saying we are going to have more extreme events. This does add flexibility.”

Creek is "drowning": Since 2003, Doodles Folly Creek in the Southern Highlands has been drowning, despite the drought. For three years the torrent has roared with the sound of Sydney’s dams being topped up from the Shoalhaven.

An open drain: Using three pumping stations and a series of tunnels, water is now lifted from Tallowa Dam to the top of the Southern Highlands escarpment near Fitzroy Falls. From there, gravity takes over. When the Sydney Catchment Authority wants to fill the Upper Nepean Dam it simply releases the Tallowa water into Doudles Folly Creek. The stream becomes virtually a drain, and has carried hundreds of billions of litres towards the Nepean Dam in the past few years.

Wingecarribee also at risk: When Warragamba Dam is low, Wingecarribee River near Moss Vale is commandeered for use as a water expressway. This harms ecosystems and would not be ecologically sustainable if pumping was more frequent and involved greater volumes, Mr Tanner said.

Prolonged flows would cause long-term damage: A discussion paper on the problem says: “There would be longer-term impacts on plants and animals as a result of prolonged flows. Wetland areas would be flooded for longer periods, with the potential for long-term damage. Animals can be flushed away and habitats modified, making recolonisation difficult. Plant and animal pests such as carp are favoured by constant flows.”

Platypus threat: It adds that platypus burrows could be lost and vegetation swept away, making it harder for the monotremes to feed and breed in such fast-flowing streams.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 26/8/2006, p. 11

UK research supports this: Moreover, Graham Sinden of Oxford University analysed over 30 years of wind data from 66 sites spread out over the UK and found low wind speed events affecting more than 90 per cent of the UK had an average recurrence rate of only one hour per year.

Re-definition needed: They argue that large-scale wind power is more appropriately described as "variable”, while the variability associated with breakdowns of conventional power stations is better described as “intermittent".

Wind not condemned to the margins: Wind power can therefore replace base-load power stations with the same annual energy generation. For example, 2600MW of wind turbines, with an annual average power output of about 850MW, can replace a 1000MW coal-fired power station with the same annual average power.

A little extra peaking insurance needed: To maintain reliability of the generating system at the pre-wind level, a little additional peak-load plant (for example, gas turbine) has to be installed.

The Australian Financial Review, 19/8/2006, p. 63

The balance of power in Victoria’s recast 40-seat upper house could be split between the Nationals and Greens, suggested an article in The Australian Financial Review (25 August 2006, p.81). It quotes veteran psephologist Malcolm Mackerras as one expert who regards this as possible, based on 2002 election results and subsequent polling.

Complex weighting of "surplus" votes:

# Any candidate who gets more than 16.67 per cent of first preference votes is automatically elected. This is called the quota.

# That candidate’s surplus votes are then distributed according to preferences. However, rather than a simple distribution, they are weighted by the size of the candidate’s margin over the quota.

# That means the preferences of a candidate that clears the quota by a larger margin carry more clout for the beneficiary.

What the tipsters predict:

# Malcolm Mackerras: Labour 19, Liberal 15, Nationals 3, Greens 3;

# Antony Green: Labour 20, Liberal 14, Greens 5, Nationals 1.

The reforms: Under the reforms, Victoria’s 44-seat Legislative Council will be replaced by a 40-seat chamber and the preferential voting system by proportional representation. Eight regions, each with five members, will replace the 22 existing upper house provinces, each represented by two members.

The hopefuls: Players and pretenders hoping to wield some influence in the new-look Legislative Council include the Greens, Nationals, Family First and even Stephen Mayne’s People Power. But winning enough votes could be tougher than polling for a typical lower house electorate.

Traditional power bases under threat: The vast new upper house electorates – one is bigger than Scotland – will dilute the inner urban and rural power bases of the Greens and Nationals as they try to reach the crucial quota of 16.6 per cent of the vote.

Primary vote now vitally important: In the old upper house seats that now make up Melbourne’s northern metropolitan region, the Greens’ most winnable seat, the party polled 16.8 per cent of primary votes, giving it a wafer-thin margin for slippage. This is important under the new system because preferences of candidates who receive hefty primary votes carry more weight.

The Australian Financial Review, 25/8/2006, p.81

Source: Erisk Net  

Italian non-toxic paint manufacturer, Oikos, has come to Australia. It is a member of Green Building Council Australia and details can be found on their website http://www.designerpaintco.com. Full Story