Striking deals nothing but an idle fantasy; View from the summit: 2020 vision paid off; Mistakes all round in pandemic response; The snag with putting up the price of sausages.
Canberra needs a plan B on China ” and similar recent articles, it may be wise to recognise that thoughts of reaching any credible rules/agreements in dealings with China in current circumstances may be a fantasy at best.
As always, history never lies and chances of any positive result from Australian negotiations with China are perhaps best expressed by the last governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, who posted a great summation of his experiences in his recent narrative, where he reflected that in his experience negotiating agreements with Chinese officials was like trying to shake hands with a bacon slicer. In other words, any implementation of a plan B or even plan C as a viable option in dealing with Beijing may prove about as successful as putting an ashtray on your motorbike.I know this newspaper never liked the 2020 Summit, but it’s time to drop the hackneyed talking point that it achieved nothing .First is the NDIS; it now has 519,000 participants, including thousands of children, previously abandoned to the cruel lottery of charity. Second is the Organ and Tissue Authority; it has lifted Australia’s organ donation rate by more than double, which, as a recipient, is something for which I am enormously pleased. Third is the Australian Civilian Corps; it maintains, mobilises and deploys a standby roster of 750 civilian technical experts for relief and recovery missions overseas, most recently to COVID-19 field hospitals in Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea – fitting since the summit also urged us to prepare for a future pandemic, which we did through a simulated exercise.Fourth is the Bionic Eye; on the summit’s advice, we funded a moonshot program of scientists spanning the public and private sectors who are now progressing to human trials in what stands to become a great Australian invention. Fifth is the ABC Kids channel; to commission a stream of high-quality content created in Australia, by Australians, for Australian children. ABC Kids would ultimately fund programs like Bluey, now a massive cultural export in its own right. The next time you want to sneer, imagine the perspective of someone needing an organ transplant, emergency aid, or support for their disabled child. Or just the relief of a frantically busy parent able to leave their kids in front of a free ABC Kids channel, trusting they will be safely entertained.Kevin Rudd, former prime ministerPerhaps Michael Roddan needs to balance his pretty critical article on Scott Morrison’s handling of the COVID pandemic with a closer review of the role and approach taken by the state premiers. Sure, Mark McGowan is very popular in WA, but would his approach have worked for Australia? How about Daniel Andrews’ pretty draconian rule in Victoria?And they certainly did not always speak with the voice of “unanimity” – Gladys Berejiklian may be gone but often she was the lone voice of reason in trying to balance the leadership necessary without the draconian rule by those to the south or west.Jeannette Young’s stance kept some happy in Qld Michael Roddan in his July 15 column highlighted the damage that Queensland Health public servant Jeannette Young did to Australia’s fight against COVID-19.However, he neglected to note that she was very well rewarded for adopting that emotional and blatantly political stance while ignoring the scientific evidence presented to her.Energy transition needs urgent effort Your July 14 editorial uses the reality of world conflict to argue for the maintenance and expansion of the fossil fuel industry until “eventually”, after the “decades long transition to renewables-based energy systems”.The economic and social disruption caused by climate change has now been well established through our recent floods and fires. The same scientists who predicted these climate change-induced events tell us we must stop using fossil fuels and certainly stop expanding our use of fossil fuels by opening more gas fields and coal mines, or we will have more frequent and disastrous climate change-induced events.AdvertisementFair dinkum. Cost of a “Bunnings Sausage” to increase to $3.50 from $2.50. An increase of 40 per cent. The stated reason – demand for the product has dropped. Hard to believe that increasing the cost will increase sales. Should have followed the questionable business model of supermarkets. By reducing the size of the sausages and keeping the price the same. It’s worth remembering that those who sell such sausages usually get them at a discounted price from wholesalers/retailers also.
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