Hello and welcome to the blog, and the day after 11/12/13, the 11th of December 2013, which is apparently the last time the date will be sequential until next century, about 90 years away...(01/02/3003 in fact, February 1st 2013-Ed)...thankyou Ed...and as it happens 11/12/13 will be the day that defines South Australia for this century...
Holden On For The Ride: For all my criticism of Adelaide as a narcissistic and voracious Succubus, for who's benefit Regional SA is being dismantled and scavenged, nobody wants to see it collapse under the weight of it's own corruption, gluttony, avarice and destiny...(woah, that's a tad biblical for such a part-time Atheist as yourself...and almost vaguely sympathetic...are you feeling alright?-Ed)...fine, thanks for asking.
But I don't think that 1) a touch of Apocalyptic imagery is unwarranted, because 2) if the good ship Adelaide goes down it will clutch at every straw, sell every straw...and we in Regional SA are the straw coloured camel that has already had it's back broken by the burden of the Forestry Sell-off...and you can only flog a dead horse through the eye of a needle so many times with a bloody stone.....no, hang on, flog a stoned camel in the bloody eye with a horse needle......stone a dead camel with water whilst drinking a rich man's horse?............sorry, what was the question?
(Why the biblical Apocalypsisms?-Ed)...oh oh yeah...because as it goes down the ol' plug 'ol, what few bits and pieces Adelaide hasn't already ripped up around from elsewhere and shoved into the gaping maw of reality that is consuming it to try and stem the flow, then with the suction it's eventual demise creates, what little is left will get dragged in behind it...and that's us...(oh, happy days-Ed)...
And I will go there...(oh no you didn't-Ed)...and make the observation that at great cost, the wreck of the City of Adelaide clipper is on it's way to join another wreck, the City of Adelaide...(ouch...and true, which just makes it ouchier-Ed)...ouchier?...(yeah, more ouchy than just plain ouch-Ed)...and I'm just paraphrasing my own agreeance with other observers that Adelaide has no jobs to replace these Holden ones, and once the flurry of development activity on North Tce subsides, it may well find itself "in Recession".
Many pundits have been saying that the Holden closure, particularly following on from Ford's recent announcement that they are closing manufacture in Australia, will trigger Toyota's withdrawal probably sooner than later, and that both SA and Victoria may well find themselves not just in Recession but in 'a Depression'.
But it's not all doom and gloom, Business SA is saying that the closure of Holden is a good thing because it provides good opportunities for South Australia to now focus on food and beverage production...(you're joking aren't you...this Rann/Weatherill Labor government has treated Regional SA like a disposable inconvenience and it's decision processes have been wholly about serving Adelaide's wants and needs...and as soon as the crap hits the fan, it's all 'hey yeah we love you farmer persons, save our freakin' bacon'-Ed)...
A slight exaggeration Ed, but I take your point that Rann/Weatherill have shown nought but contempt for Regional SA and that their decision making has been wholly focused on what is best for themselves as politicians and their own personal glorification, the Labor party as the vehicle for that rabid self-worship, 'carpet bagging' or 'pork barrelling' Adelaide electorates to maintain their support, rabidly corrupt planning and development decisions for their mates...actually, when you start to break it down, you're absolutely right Ed...
(Damn straight I am...and I concur with your observation yesterday that this will open the floodgates on Mining, Wind Turbines, etc, with the current scant Environmental considerations conveniently shredded because, 'oh we need the jobs'-Ed)...fair point, even if I did say it so myself...and that is the sort of language that's being heard out of Canberra already.
Our almost invisible Prime Minister Tony Abbott has, as I predicted yesterday, popped his little head out to hit my nail on the head with his very specific statements that South Australia needs to focus on BHP and the Uranium mine at Olympic Dam (Roxby Downs)...according to Mr Abbott that is what SA needs to do...oh, and apparently there'll be some bit-piece funding for 're-training' people to make them 'skills ready' for mine work...
So according to the Federal government South Australia's best hope is to go cap in hand to BHP and say 'excuse me sir, please come and save us'...what a con...we are meant to beg BHP to come back to us and we'll do anything for their attention...which puts us completely at the mercy of BHP which means they can completely dictate terms and conditions of any proposed expansion...and that reeks of potential collusion, corruption, and guaranteed environmental devastation...
And
straight away the SA Mining Council's Jason Kuchel (?spelling) is on the ABC
saying that those minerals and resources belong to all the people of SA, and
that their calls to 'relax restrictions' are not unreasonable and don't compromise any landholders rights or the environment or threaten food production, etc, stating that 'less than 1% of South Australia is being used for
mining so it won't affect food production at all'...(but isn't SA about 98% desert?-Ed)...I don't know the exact percentage, but there's certainly not a lot of ground suitable for cropping.
Mr Kuchel (?spelling) stated that 'farming needs to
understand mining better' and vice versa, and that accessing land to 'realise
those assets' has benefits for everyone...and surprise, surprise, he stated that 'approval processes are holding us back' and called for Federal approval processes to be scrapped and only state approvals to be used...(could there be less regulation?...'mining' has carte blanche now to go anywhere and do pretty much anything, eg, go on to farmland in the name of 'exploration'-Ed).
Disclaimer: Yet again my precision
predictioning re the call for 'mining, mining, mining' is barely more
than sticking a label on a steaming pile of 'Bleedin' Obvious'.
And Tourism SA reckons that they're now focusing on Regional SA when it comes to expanding state Tourism...(what a load of rot...Mt Gambier remains virtually invisible to Adelaide...wasn't it last year, year before, that Mt Gambier wasn't even on the official Tourism SA maps?-Ed)...yeah, 2011 I reckon, not even on one of the maps...but the umpteen millions they've poured into advertising Kangaroo Island and the Barossa Valley whilst effectively ignoring the South East, show exactly where the focus remains, on Adelaide and it's immediate surrounds.
Even in an interview this morning with Tourism SA's Rodney Harricks (?spelling) on ABC Local Radio, there was a lot of generic up-talking of the regions, including quoting the money spent on KI and BV as part of a rotating focus covering different areas, and how the super-dooper Adelaide airport created a "hub and spoke" effect that saw people flying into Adelaide and then travelling out to the regions, and so on and so forth...and of course a mention of the Lonely Planet rating as 'One of the Top 10 Cities for Whatevs'...(I don't think it was 'Whatevs', I think it would have been 'Visiting' or something like that-Ed)...whatevs...
But the conversation returned to how Tourism SA is now focusing on "the Greater Adelaide area" under the new plan named I believe 'Adelaide Plus'...(it's a 'hub 'n spoke' thing right?-Ed)...probably, but it ignores the fact that the majority of tourists through the South East are travelling 'through' the area rather than 'to' it, eg, taking the Great Ocean Rd, maybe one night in Mt Gambier, then via Penola to Adelaide...few tourists fly into Adelaide and then do day trips to Mt Gambier.
And in closing, Time magazine has made Catholic Pope Francis their 'Person of the Year'...(yay-Ed)...and apparently Syrian President Assad was on the short list...and of course there's the famous Adolf Hitler win back in the 1930s...(seriously?-Ed)...yeah, 1930 something...pretty sure...but I think the criteria don't necessarily include 'niceness'...I think it's more about influence, impact, etc.
Tomorrow: Bibs, Bobs, and Bulldust
An eclectic collection of random items loosely cobbled together, most of which I've yet to actually figure out...but there'll be something about City Council deciding to fly the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander flags in chambers...and the PATS Review stuff...and a more thorough explanation of the contradictions in saying 'farming will save us' and 'mining will save us' and then trying to do them in the same place.
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters.
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