Goodbye Greens

My natural sympathies lie with the Greens party but they have shown themselves to be impractical and unable to work in the political system.

In Australia we have preferential voting for the House of Representatives and proportional voting for the Senate.
I could vote for the Greens in the House and while the chance of them being elected is almost zilch, my second preference counted and the member who was elected knew that some of his/her support came from Green preferences. 
In the Senate, while complicated,  my vote could result in the election of Green senators who can hold the balance of power.

At the Local level, the Green councillors opposed the demolition of a row of dilapidated shops built in the 1920's and so helped delay the widening of the highway which was promised over 20 years ago. They lost my vote. Finally the shops are being demolished and the highway widened. Next year we can expect the Sunday afternoon traffic jams to be lessened considerably.

At the State level, the Green members opposed the removal of Moreton Bay Fig Trees in the Domain. While beautiful, they had a habit of suddenly dropping mighty branches. I have often sat under them to listen to the summer concerts. People have to be realistic, they needed replacing. The State Greens lost my vote.

At the Federal level the leader in the Senate is a partnered gay man and I was glad to give them my vote.
They have just voted against an Emissions Trading Scheme which would help in the fight against Global Warming. I acknowledge the scheme was inadequate but it was a start. It would have shown that Australia was willing to play a role in the fight against climate change. We have suffered the shame of not signing onto Kyoto for far too long (We signed in 2008).

The Government does not have a majority in the Senate. To pass legislation opposed by the Liberal/National Parties it needs the votes of the 5 Greens and the 2 independents.

A deal was struck with the Liberals which gave more concessions to the polluters. However  yesterday the Liberals  threw out their leader who acknowledges Climate Change and wanted to at least commence to reduce CO2 emissions. They have elected a right wing conservative (opposed to abortion, IVF, gay rights etc) Tony Abbott.

The vote was finally taken in the last hour. If all the Liberals and the Nationals (neanderthals) had voted against the bill, the Government needed the votes of the 5 Greens and the 2 independents (one is an evangelical, climate change denyer twit).

2 Liberals followed their conscience and crossed the floor to vote with the Government so only the 5 Greens were needed to pass the bill. The vote was lost.

As the bill was passed twice in the House but knocked back twice in the Senate, the Government can now call an early election. We do not know what Prime Minister Rudd (currently flying home from a meeting with President Obama) will do.

For the first time in about 30 years my first preferences at the Federal level will go to the Australian Labor Party. The Greens can go to hell along with the Liberals and Nationals.

If Tony Abbott were to be elected Prime Minister I would not just apply for dual citizenship in New Zealand but would happily renounce my Australian citizenship.

Climate is the reason

I often mention the reason for my move to New Zealand is to escape the Sydney Diocese and to live near a local church which is inclusive and welcoming. However that is not the only and perhaps not even the main reason. It is certainly not the reason I give to most people with whom I chat who have little idea of the Calvinists who run the diocese except the little they might gain from the local news if it actually gets onto their radar.

There have been complaints in our paper that October was the coolest October for 17 years. I have enjoyed the cool, damp weather. Now we are into November and it is the first Total Fire Ban Day of the season. With hot North-west winds the temperature has already, at 1pm,  reached 37'C (nearly 100'F) in the nearby town on the plains and even in the city by the harbour it is over 34'C (94'F). It is probably just over 30'C here. Not unbearable as the house has not had time to heat up, it needs a few days of such weather and while yesterday was also hot and I was forced out of the garden about 11.30am, there is a cool change due tonight and much lower temperatures forecast for tomorrow.

We actually had our first bushfire 2 weeks ago and it was uncomfortably close at 8km to the SW.  I watched the smoke develop in the afternoon and could see the red glow on the hills during the night.  Fortunately the winds were not strong and we had heavy rain a few days later.

However this is only the last month of Spring with 3 months of Summer yet to begin.

In contrast temperatures in Dunedin are forecast to reach 20'C (68'F) tomorrow before dropping back to the usual 15' to 16' of this time of year. It has been known to occasionally top 30'C in January. To me that is heaven. My legs were aching when I woke this morning after a fairly warm night.

Autumn blues

For the last 2 years I have been in Europe at this time of the year.
May 1st, 2008 I was in Appenzellerland, Switzerland and travelled to Liechtenstein while back in 2007 I was with my sister in Paris and went to Chartres and the cathedral. The night before we had attended a string concert playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons in the glorious La Chapelle followed by dinner in St Germain.

Therefore it is a bit of a letdown to be home this year. I should be preparing the house and garden for sale but we have had an unusually early cold snap. The weather is ridiculous with the hottest temperatures on record back in January leading to the disastrous bushfires down south and now some areas are having the coldest April temperatures on record and the earliest snowfalls in 13 years.

I know I am moving to a colder area but I will certainly look for a house which is easier to heat. My present home has open plan lounge, dining, kitchen with halls and high ceilings (split level home) all needing to be heated just for me. The cheaper alternative is to go into the bedroom and read.

The ensuite renovation is now finished and the main bedroom painted with new vertical blinds but I have not yet put everything back, much is still on the floor of the 2nd bedroom.
The landscaping is finally finished, it took 3 months but I have to do final touches with new soil and plantings and the cold weather has been a deterrent there.

I cannot see anyone buying this cold house in winter so will now leave it until August to contact agents. At the moment the leaves are turning and there is a good display of sasanqua camellias and nerines but they will soon be finished and there will be just bare branches. In August the spring bulbs will be appearing followed by the blossoms and azaleas to attract a buyer (I hope).

Meanwhile the financial news has been improving. My super funds finally began to go back up in March and early April but have stalled again now, not helped by the flu scare. I moved them to a conservative position over a year ago which helped but did not stop their decline, others have lost far more. I now have to decide if and when to move them back to take more advantage of any rise. I think I need to wait a bit longer.

I have been offered 2 days work per week for 6 weeks starting the week after next. It is a school where I enjoy working although I do not like the 60km each way drive and it will be difficult as I have not worked for nearly 18 months.

I may not have much time to read or write blogs while working.
I do recommend Rev Susan Russell's sermon from last Sunday. "Let No One Deceive You". She has really excelled herself there.
Also the writings of Maithri from Swaziland. The Soaring Impulse are inspiring.

I feel very guilty when I sometimes feel a little down. My life has been so lucky. I have had very little illness. I am a little concerned about the flu epidemic, having just had my yearly vaccine which was free this year due to my age. The last time I had the flu was on 10th September, 2001 and I was in bed the day of 9/11 or rather on the couch watching TV that dreadful day. The vaccine each year since has prevented my previous regular occurrence at least every second year. I would prefer to keep it that way. However why should I complain when I read of the people with whom Maithri is working. If possible I would encourage you to assist him in his work through the paypal link on his site.

Finally some photos in my garden taken on May 1.

Bushfire - Update and Thoughts

The death toll still stands at 181 but is expected to go higher. Our newspaper today lists 25 names of missing persons. This more than doubles the numbers killed by bushfires in Victoria over the past century
The number of homes and buildings destroyed has passed 1,800 and 7,000 are homeless.
We have had cool conditions here (it has been showers for a week and almost continuous rain for the last 24 hours) and it is hard to imagine it was near 40'C last Saturday and struggling to reach 20'C today. However, while it is cooler in Victoria, they have had only a little rain and temperatures are beginning to rise again. Half the fires are still burning.

The news on TV and in the newspapers continues and I am beginning to avoid it as I wonder when news turns into voyeurism.

The loss of 50 lives in the plane crash in Buffalo, USA shows that death and sadness continues.

If you have not read Maithri at The Soaring Impulse describing life in Swaziland and particularly one woman caring for orphaned grandchildren who lost her home to fire, please do so. It often concerns me that we are easily distressed and moved to donate by tragedies close to home yet carry on our daily lives with only a brief thought now and then of the daily tragedy occurring in countries of the developing world.

The donations to the Red Cross Appeal have passed $100 million.
My thoughts are always conflicted here. Of course those who have lost family members or are injured need support and anyone who has lost all their possessions needs temporary help. However we always hear of people who, while apparently comfortable, have no insurance. One man owned 7 holiday cabins and they were not insured. This appals me.

I am not sure about Victoria but in NSW, I am able to fully insure my house at no extra cost despite being located in a fire prone bush area which has been burnt out twice in the past 35 years. Those who live in flood prone areas are not so lucky.
The great loss to me would be of personal photos, memories and tokens which no money can replace.

However I am moved by the flood victims in Queensland (while the Southern state has burnt, over half of Queensland has been flooded) who gave most and for some all of their government relief cheque to the fire victims appeal.

One arsonist has been charged and moved to a prison out of the area for his own safety. Such people are obviously mentally ill but must be incarcerated for the sake of the community.

The inevitable discussions are occurring, some heatedly.

The advice in Australia has always been to either leave early or, if capable, stay and defend your house. Usually a fire front moves quickly over the house and if you are physically able, properly dressed, have a place to retreat as the front passes and sufficent resources, you can save your house which typically burns after the front has passed.
As related, I stayed in 2002, although I was very nervous. Thankfully there was plenty of help and the front was moving slowly.

This time there were unusually severe circumstances. Temperatures were breaking all records, winds were ferocious and a fire storm erupted. Many people died by deciding to leave in their cars at the last moment which has always been advised as being the very worst decision. Whether they would have survived by staying in their homes will never be known, many didn't. Those who did, describe unbelievable conditions.

The other debate has been on the lack of clearing and hazard reduction. I am in the middle on this discussion. I was happy to see the bushfire brigade burn my lower property about 15 years ago and would be happy to see them do so again, now that 7 years have passed since the fire. I paid $1100 to have one fairly small section manually cleared just over a year ago and must work on another section myself. However I also love the bush and could never imagine living again in a completely built up area.

As a Geography teacher I began teaching my classes about possible climate change in the early 80's. It was just a theory then but I become exasperated with the doubters today. All temperature records were broken in the Southern states last weekend, not by just half a degree but by 2 or 3 degrees. Queensland's floods are equalling if not breaking records. Both situations are forecast by climate change models.

Finally a good news story.

Dogs' miraculous survival lifts spirits in Alexandra

Briefly, a couple were not at home but rang their neighbours to save their dogs locked in their house. The neighbours were unable to do so. The lady began to exhibit signs of a nervous breakdown and was about to be admitted to a mental hospital when news came through that the dogs and the house had been saved.