LETTER FROM MELBOURNE

LETTER FROM MELBOURNE 

Saving you time. Since 1994. A monthly newsletter distilling public policy and government decisions which affect business opportunities in Victoria, Australia and beyond. 

SPRING EDITION 

FROM 1 AUGUST TO 4 SEPTEMBER 

ISSUE 127 

INSIDE 

VIEWPOINTS on Broadband: 

Broadband 101 Grant Boydell 2 

The Hon Senator Helen Coonan 4 

Senator Stephen Conroy 5 

Federal Election As If Called 6 

Brumby Settles In 6 

Industrial Action, Police, Others 8 

Water Retailer Review 12 

Desal Plant Questioned 13 

Melbourne’s 172nd Birthday 16 

Connex/Yarra Extension 18 

EDITORIAL 

ALISTAIR URQUHART 

OUR BROADBAND 

The concept of broadband is difficult to define, perhaps not made 

clearer by the image on the cover of this edition of Letter From 

Melbourne. Broadband has been the focus of much debate in the 

media, in government and in business, but what is this debate 

actually about 

In this edition, we are lucky to have viewpoints from both Senator 

the Hon Helen Coonan and Senator Stephen Conroy, detailing their 

respective broadband proposals. To supplement these viewpoints, 

we have also included ‘Broadband 101’, which outlines the basic 

facts and underlying technology that a non-expert (in this area) 

needs to know. 

Not quite as difficult to understand, and in Victoria, the new 

Brumby government has re-fashioned his ministry and the 

departmental structure, to achieve its goals. There are two new 

‘super’ departments: Planning and Community Development and 

Education and Early Childhood Development. A great opportunity 

for Letter From Melbourne, and public affairs firm Affairs of State, to 

publish a new Victorian Government Departmental Chart, our ninth 

Edition, detailing these changes. Including the new advisers, and 

which ministers line up with each department. 

One interesting senior change is the appointment of commerciallyexperienced 

Warren Hodgson as Secretary of the Department of 

Innovation, Industry and Regional Development, following on from 

his acting in that role. 

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1 AUGUST TO 4 SEPTEMBER 

VIEWPOINT 

Broadband 101 - 

A Giant Piece of Jelly 

Grant Boydell, Director 

Punch Communications Pty Ltd 

Grant has been involved in the Information Technology 

industry for over 30 years and in that time has been 

instrumental in the design and development of leading edge 

systems, management of sales teams and the stable growth 

of technology companies within the Asia Pacific region. 

Grant’s expertise is in the strategic planning, management 

and marketing of Information Technology businesses to 

deliver a sound basis for corporate growth. 

What is boradband 

- Cursory enquiries to the internet (Google) reveal 

hundreds of definitions, many of which would 

seem to conflict. 

- Technical definitions are of limited use to the public 

because they are couched in terms meaningless to 

the layperson. 

- Generic definitions are useful only in the contexts 

of usage (internet, telephone, video) and time (5 

years ago, 512kbps was considered broadband!). 

For this article, we will use the following practical 

definition: 

‘Broadband is an internet connection to the 

home or small business which allows the rapid 

download of email, web pages, video or files; and 

has sufficient upload speed to transmit email, files, 

web content and to enable effective use of voice 

over the internet (VoIP) telephony.’ 

Explaining Broadband. 

Broadband Internet Access, just shortened 

to“broadband”, is high-speed Internet access, 

typically contrasted with dial-up access over 

modem. 

Dial-up modems are generally only capable of a 

maximum speed of 56 Kbps (kilobits per second) 

and require the dedicated use of a telephone 

line, whereas broadband technologies supply 

at least four times this speed and generally 

without disrupting telephone use. Unless you 

want to use your telephone line all the time, 

dial-up is only available each time you “dialup”, 

however, most broadband technologies 

offer “always on” capability. 

Although various minimum speeds have been 

used in definitions of broadband, ranging up 

from 64 Kbps up to 1.0 Mbps, the OECD 

Broadband Statistics report is typical in counting 

only download speeds of 256 Kbps or more as 

broadband, and the US FCC use 200 kbps in their 

definition. Already, these speeds are out-dated by 

technology and demand. 

Speeds are defined in terms of maximum 

download because several common consumer 

broadband technologies such as ADSL are 

“asymmetric” - supporting much slower upload 

speeds than download. 

Since most home and small business users 

wish to receive the bulk of their content 

(especially web pages and video) and transmit 

less, an asymmetric (not equal up/down speed) 

connection is most suitable. Today, 10 Mbps 

down and 512 Kbps up, would be considered 

excellent broadband speed, especially if that 

speed were available at peak times. 

Broadband plans are available in Australia through 

most ISPs from 256 Kbps to as high as 24 Mbps. 

In the Home - With the increase of file sharing 

applications - like Limewire music sharing - 

personal web spaces and blogging - MySpace - and 

interactive gaming - SecondLife and Runescape 

- users are demanding dramatically increased 

performance from their internet connection, 

especially more upload speed. This is a desire to 

have big business-like synchronous connections. 

In the Small Business - Small businesses, 

including the expanding number of home based 

business - consulting, eBay traders, tradespersons, 

etc - want high performance from their internet 

connection for email and web based research, 

and are also seeking more upload speed to 

keep their web pages updated and transfer files 

(specifications, tenders, purchase orders, invoices). 

Video conferencing is becoming increasingly 

popular as an alternative to air travel. 

Note here, that the home applications are taking 

over in their speed requirements from the business 

applications. File transfers and email typically do 

not need the speed of the interactive gaming and 

video downloading. 

Internet Usage 

Just to put things in perspective, here is an 

estimate of the current usage of the internet from 

the Internet Service Provider (ISP): 

- Web page browsing 50% 

- Email 5% 

- Other, including: 45% 

> File transfer 

> Network management 

> Voice over Internet 

> Video downloading 

What are the delivery technologies 

From the ISP to the User (Customer): 

- Hybrid Fibre Cable (HFC): such as the cable used 

to many suburbs for Foxtel. This is probably the 

best and most reliable, generally available service 

for internet delivery. Speed on this cable can be as 

high as 17Mbps/512Kbps. Unfortunately, there are 

no plans to extend this cable network. 

- Copper: the telephone line, which comes into 

your house, can be used for xDSL (Asymmetric 

Digital Subscriber Line or ADSL, High bit rate Digital 

Subscriber Line or HDSL, etc). Typical speed is 

1,500Kbps/128Kbps, but the newer variants of DSL 

can potentially provide 10 times that performance. 

- Wireless: sometimes known as WiFi, has a varied 

capability and is unreliable. Several ISP have tried 

and failed to provide profitable wireless services 

with a dream to cover whole cities. This technology 

is being replaced by better quality services such 

as WiMax. 

- Satellite: Satellite services are available, with full 

federal government subsidy for remote locations 

and part subsidy for rural locations. These services 

are limited, particularly with uploads. (Satellite is 

not quite broadband, using the above usefulness 

definition of broadband. Farmer requirements, and 

that of their families, are no longer different from 

metropolitan users). 

Behind your connection and the ISP, there is a vast 

array of technologies and networks (as discussed 

in Senators Conroy and Coonan’s articles) and we 

will expand on this in a future article.



Why is the internet SO slow 

There are many factors which will cause an 

apparently fast connection, at least as advertised 

by the Internet Service Provider (ISP), to arrive at 

your screen like a (slow) dog. 

If the service is, for this discussion, 1500Kbps/ 

128Kbps over ADSL (Asynchronous Digital 

Subscriber Line) 

- the first point for delay is the web site you want 

to access. Not all web sites are on fast web servers 

and may be slow to start, or if a big server, may 

simply become overloaded by demand at peak 

times (try at another time of the day); 

- the next delay may occur in the transfer to your 

ISP’s servers, especially if the web site you access 

is overseas. 

- Further delay may come about during peak usage 

times because there are increased numbers of 

users trying to get their email, files, or web pages 

simultaneously and the ISP’s servers become 

bogged down trying to balance the load (see later 

para regarding peak usage); 

- next point of retardation is between the ISP and 

your modem. You will undoubtedly be sharing 

a connection on either the cable outside, or the 

DSL switch at the exchange with others in your 

neighbourhood. 

- if you have more than one computer connected 

to the ADSL modem, via cable or wireless, then 

each computer is sharing the connection and, 

two or more users are accessing the internet 

simultaneously, the performance will be reduced 

for each of them; 

- the greatest impact on performance is the 

health and setup of the computer itself. Most 

computers, especially those at home are little or 

never maintained (e.g. TCP Receive Window, Disk 

Defragmentation, Registry clutter) and are invariably 

running too many background applications. 

So, as you might see from the above, you might 

be paying for a fast service without necessarily 

getting it much of the time. 

Peak Demand (or, how to avoid sharing 

the internet) 

- Low usage 5-7am 

- Medium usage 11-12noon 

- Highest usage 12-11pm 

Tips for Better Internet Performance 

- Use a high performance ISP. Generally, the bigger 

the ISP, the bigger their incoming and outgoing 

“pipes”. 

- Cables are faster than wires. Wires are faster than 

no wires. If you have a choice, get cable internet, 

otherwise get ADSL. Use wireless or satellite if 

there is no other option. 

- Use a router/firewall between the cable or ADSL 

modem and the computer(s). Then you won’t have 

to run such applications on your own computer. 

- Keep the computer(s) maintained, especially 

opening the TCP Receive Window, reducing Disk 

Defragmentation and removing Registry clutter. 

- Don’t try to download multiple items 

simultaneously, even if you can. See if you can 

schedule download of non-urgent items to low 

usage times. 

- Use a proxy server if you have more than two 

or three computers on the one connection. This 

will eliminate multiple downloads of the same 

website. 

Other Tips 

- Use an antivirus program and keep it updated 

- Use a firewall to stop hackers 

- Keep your browser and email program updated. 

- Backup the data you need tomorrow, every day. 

If you have any queries regarding this article, 

or suggestions for other technologies topics, 

please email: letter@punch.com.au or info@ 

affairs.com.au. 


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VIEWPOINT 

Broadband 

Senator the Hon. Helen Coonan 

Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts 

Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate 

Helen Coonan was elected as a Liberal Senator for New 

South Wales in 1996 and was re-elected in 2001 for a 

second term. 

In July 2004 Senator Coonan was appointed to Cabinet as 

the Minister for Communications, Information Technology 

and the Arts, and in 2006 she was appointed Deputy Leader 

of the Government in the Senate. 

The Minister recently achieved passage of legislation to 

allow the full privatisation of Telstra. This includes an historic 

$3.1 billion package of funding – Connect Australia. 

When the Howard Government was elected in 1996, the telecommunications 

sector was a near duopoly and the exciting new world of the internet was still 

an emerging phenomenon. 

Since 1996, the Howard Government has fundamentally reformed the 

telecommunications sector, with the introduction of the open competition 

framework. These reforms were based on the premise that strong infrastructure 

and service competition produces significant price reductions and greater 

service choice and flexibility for consumers. We have always understood that 

a vibrant and efficient telecommunications sector is essential as it underpins 

productivity and is a key economic enabler. 

Since then the internet has brought about fundamental changes to our society. 

It has infiltrated every aspect of our lives from basic communications through 

to education, business and entertainment. 

This is why the Government’s new broadband revolution, Australia Connected, is 

so important as it will deliver unprecedented access to high-speed broadband 

internet connection for all Australians, regardless of where they live. 

Australia Connected is the Howard Government’s first-class initiative that will 

ensure 99 per cent of the population has access to fast affordable broadband. 

By July 2009, more than 20 million people across Australia will be able to 

access broadband at minimum speeds of 12 Mbps, an extraordinary 20 

to 40 times faster than most people use today. This builds on the Coalition 

Government’s success to date that has seen more than 4.3 million homes and 

small businesses connected to broadband since 2001. 

The centrepiece of Australia Connected is the new network of optic fibre, 

ADSL2+ exchange upgrades and WiMAX fixed wireless broadband installations 

across rural and regional Australia to be built by OPEL, a joint venture between 

Optus and Elders. The Howard Government is contributing a total of $958 

million towards the new high speed wholesale network, with OPEL making 

a commercial contribution of $917 million. Importantly, Australia Connected 

will be affordable, with consumers in regional and rural areas paying prices 

comparable to those available in capital cities. 

In Victoria, 296 new wireless broadband towers and 50 telephone exchanges 

will be ADSL2+ enabled. For the very remote areas (the last 1 per cent of the 

population), a subsidised satellite service under the Australian Broadband 

Guarantee will ensure that all Victorians can access broadband. 

Ongoing funding for regional and rural consumers has been assured by 

legislation to protect the $2 billion Communications Fund. This is a critical 

‘insurance policy’ for regional and rural Australians, as it will provide a 

guaranteed income stream of around $400 million every three years to fund 

continual improvements in telecommunications services. 

Another major element of Australia Connected is the competitive bids process 

and enabling legislation that will facilitate the building of a new optic fibre 

network throughout Melbourne, and major regional centres throughout Victoria, 

with super-fast speeds at no cost to taxpayers. 

I am very proud to say that Australia Connected will fill all broadband blackspots 

in outer metro areas of Melbourne and deliver significant and virtually 

immediate broadband benefits in other regional areas. In fact, I have spent the 

past two months travelling across Australia providing full and frank detail about 

the Government’s landmark broadband rollout. 

So whilst I am out there providing details about the Government’s rollout, it has 

been disappointing to see that Labor has shut up shop. It has been more than 

four months since Labor announced their broadband proposal and they are yet 

to put out any details other than a mere flimsy press release. 

Labor’s claim that it can rollout fibre-to-the-node to 98 per cent of the population 

for $8 billion is irresponsible and plainly misleading. The problem with the Labor 

proposal is that 98 per cent of the population do not live within 1.5 kilometres of 

a node or an exchange. Industry experts have estimated that it would actually 

cost around $20 to $30 billion to achieve what Labor have promised. The truth 

is that many Victorians would miss out entirely under Labor’s proposal. 

By contrast, the Government’s new network will use a mix of the latest 

technologies best suited to the challenging task of delivering broadband 

services across a vast country where a one size fits all solution would fall a 

long way short of what is required to meet the needs of all Australians. 

The Howard Government is committed to ensuring that all Victorians are able to 

access the high-speed broadband services.



VIEWPOINT 

Broadband 

Stephen Conroy 

Deputy Opposition Leader in the Senate and Shadow Minister for 

Communications and Information Technology. 

Stephen Conroy was appointed as a Senator for Victoria 

in 1996. Previously, he was an industrial officer and 

superannuation officer, a ministerial adviser and an 

electorate officer, in both Victoria and in Canberra. 

As Shadow Minister, Stephen is committed to the 

delivery of world class telecommunications infrastructure 

for all Australians, to competition in the Australian 

telecommunications sector, and ensuring new regulatory 

structures deliver on competitive outcomes. 

As we have seen, the debate surrounding the roll out of broadband services 

across Australia has dominated media attention over recent months, in the lead 

up to the federal election. 

It is now well understood that Australia’s broadband performance is poor: we 

are ranked only 16th out of 30 countries surveyed by the OECD. Under the 

Howard Government $5 billion of taxpayers’ money has been wasted on 17 

broadband programs, yet Australia still lags a long way behind countries we 

consider our international peers. 

Early in the piece Labor understood the vital role of broadband services in 

ensuring Australia’s social and economic potential. Early on Labor recognised 

the need to update Australia’s aging telecommunications infrastructure to 

ensure all Australians have access to significantly improved broadband 

services. 

This year, Labor launched its policy for a nationwide broadband network under a 

Rudd Labor Government, which promises to turn around Australia’s broadband 

performance. The new network will include a fibre to the node network that 

will deliver minimum connection speeds that are 40 times faster than today’s 

average to 98% of Australians. The remaining 2% of Australians will receive a 

standard of service, which depending on the available technology, will be as 

close as possible to that provided by the new network. 

The $8 billion nationwide broadband network will be funded using a public equity 

injection of up to $4.7 billion, in partnership with the private sector. The network 

will be open access, ensuring healthy competition in the telecommunications 

sector, putting downward pressure on consumer prices. 

Labor’s national Broadband Network will slash telephone bills for small 

business; enhance services such as teleconferencing, video conferencing and 

virtual networks; enhance capacity for services such as e-education and e- 

health; and provide high definition, multi channel and interactive TV services. 

To deliver the fibre to the node network, Labor will set up a public tender 

process that best serves the national interest. Parties wanting to tender will be 

asked to publicise their investment plans, and provide information about how 

they would make use of the public equity injection. This will ensure the fibre 

to the node network delivers a minimum connection speeds that are 40 times 

faster than today’s average to 98% of Australians, and that proposals result in 

improved broadband services to the remaining 2% of Australians not served 

by the new network. 

Labor is investing in a critical piece of national infrastructure. That is why 

our broadband plan uses a superior technology – fibre to the node. While the 

Howard Government has also proposed a fibre to the node network, their plan 

will reach only those living in the inner suburbs of the five major cities. The rest 

of Australia will have to use the Howard Government’s technology of choice 

“fixed WiMAX”, which is widely regarded by industry experts as an obsolete 

technology. Using fixed WiMAX, broadband access will be shared between 

multiple users, resulting in slower connection speeds. 

In addition, the government’s broadband proposal suffers from a number of 

technical issues. Firstly, the Howard Government’s broadband solution will 

be severely affected by weather conditions and topography – wireless does 

not transmit through hills, buildings, or anything else that interrupts the line of 

sight between the transmission tower and the customer. However, the largest 

problem facing the Howard Government’s broadband proposal is that the 

consortium OPEL, who have won the tender to deploy the fixed WiMAX network, 

do not own spectrum in which to broadcast. For this reason spectrum must 

be shared with other household appliances such as garage doors, cordless 

phones and microwaves. In addition, there is a severe power limitation placed 

on transmissions in the shared spectrum. All these issues demonstrate that 

the broadband coverage from a wireless transmission tower is 5-10 km, rather 

than the 20 km depicted by the Government’s own maps to show WiMAX 

coverage. 

The building of a nationwide broadband network in the 21st century is 

comparable to the deployment of the railway system in the 19th century. In 

the same way that the railways changed the Australian way of life over 100 

years ago, the impact of broadband on Australia’s future is critical: it is of 

fundamental importance that we get it right. A poorly thought out broadband 

plan will not only be waste of tax payers’ money but it will undoubtedly inhibit 

Australia’s potential. 

I would like to thank “Letter From Melbourne” for allowing me this opportunity 

to outline Labor’s nationwide broadband plan.



Federal Governme ere 

Pliics 

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL 

Peas in a pod 

Kevin Rudd, with his fresh slogan ‘Kevin ‘07’ 

(T- shirt/online campaign … some say very 

American), has rejected claims that there are not 

significant differences between himself and the 

Prime Minister. A key difference between Labor 

and the coalition emerged this month as Labor 

signalled its intention to overhaul the $26b annual 

commonwealth special-purpose payments to the 

states. Under the policy being considered, Labor 

would give more freedom to the states to choose 

how the commonwealth funding is spent. Premier 

Brumby gave the proposal ’10 out of 10’ saying 

‘co-operative federalism is the way to go’. 

Prime Minister John Howard said the policy would 

be a retreat on major reforms; would drag the nation 

back 50 years; and also said Rudd was shying away 

from his responsibilities on health and education. 

Rudd said under a Labor government the states 

would have a greater degree of accountability, 

ensuring they would deliver ‘real outcomes’ for 

taxpayers, the Financial Review said. 

The same day (1 August) the Prime Minister 

announced the Federal Government would bail 

out Tasmania’s Mersey Hospital near Davenport, 

which he says will cost about $45m. The PM’s only 

concern is attracting enough staff. The Tasmanian 

Government had decided to close the community 

hospital down. Howard also said if the program 

works out, his government may do similar things 

elsewhere. The hospital is in the ‘knife-edge federal 

seat of Braddon’, The Herald Sun reported. One 

senior doctor at the hospital quit in protest of the 

move, which also drew criticism from Premiers 

around the country including Victorian Premier John 

Brumby who described it as a ‘grab for power’. 

Associate editor of The Age Shaun Carney wrote 

that ‘to seize the initiative, Howard has junked the 

[Liberal] party’s fidelity to genuine federalism. Rudd 

has called it pre-election cherry-picking. And the 

Victorian Rural Doctors Association president named 

about a dozen Victorian rural hospitals which are ‘in 

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a desperate struggle to stay open’, and said if the 

Federal Government were serious about the plan 

it would take control of 550 regional and remote 

hospitals nation-wide, The Herald Sun said. 

Kevin Rudd pledged $2b to overhaul the nation’s 

health system and vowed to take control of 

hospitals if the states did not get reform under way 

by 2009. The Age’s Carol Nader said it is unlikely for 

any Federal Government to take control of public 

hospitals, but that if they did the states might be 

secretly glad to be relieved of the task. Rudd’s 

policy received cautious support from the premiers. 

The West Australian Chamber of Commerce and 

Industry called on the commonwealth to become 

sole funder of health care in Australia, saying 

Labor’s policy does not go far enough, the Financial 

Review said. 

Swing 

An Age/Nielson poll, released on 13 August, showed 

a 3 per cent swing towards the government in the 

‘two-party preferred’ vote. Labor, however retains a 

significant lead with 55 per cent, to the government’s 

45 per cent. The punters are picking a Labor win 

with Centrebet paying $2.62 for a coalition win 

and $1.57 for a Labor victory. The Herald Sun ran 

the front-page headline ‘Old, tricky and losing’ and 

outlined Howard’s weaknesses as seeming too 

old, dishonest and too clever, whereas Rudd, 49, is 

perceived as compassionate, likeable, proving his 

ability to lead. Howard became a grandfather this 

month when daughter Melanie gave birth to Angus 

Benjamin Howard McDonald, which may fuel the 

‘too old’ fire. 

Prime Minister vs The Premiers 

The Federal Government is battling not just the 

federal Opposition but also the state premiers, 

accusing them of doing the Opposition’s dirty 

work. The Federal Government has released an 

advertisement that says ‘Kevin Rudd’s Premiers… 

are borrowing $70b and plunging Australians into 

debt again’ The Age reported. Age writer Michelle 

Grattan, described the campaign as bold to ‘run on 

Labor being the high interest rate party even when 

rates have gone up four times under the Coalition’. 

The advertisement was released in the lead up to the 

Reserve Bank’s decision to rise interest rates this 

month, in an attempt to shift the blame onto Labor 

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premiers, the Financial Review said. According to 

The Age experts rejected the claim, saying ‘federal 

spending on tax cuts has been more inflationary 

than state government spending on infrastructure’. 

Federalism vs Centralism 

The Federal Government seized power over public 

housing, and is investigating whether it can 

override state bans on uranium mining, as well as 

intervening for Tasmania’s Mersey Hospital (see 

above). Prime Minister John Howard has been 

hinting at a greater level of partnership between 

the Federal Government and local authorities to 

bypass the States where they are failing to deliver, 

The Age said. The Federal Government has been 

considering in Queensland a referendum to override 

state power over local governments, hoping to 

capitalise on a backlash against Queensland council 

amalgamations (which would halve the number of 

local councils in Queensland) and also to divide 

Kevin Rudd from the premiers. Premier Peter 

Beattie has removed a ban on federally funded 

plebiscites, which could have seen councils sacked 

if they held a referendum, The Age said. 

Premier John Brumby says Howard is attempting 

to centralise power to Canberra and ‘cheating’ 

Victorian tax-payers by undermining the state’s 

ability to provide better schools, hospitals and 

public transport, The Age reported. In contrast to the 

government Rudd says a Labor Government would 

give the states more freedom on how they spend 

federal funds. 

NSW Premier Morris Iemma threatened to pull 

out of the national water plan saying the Federal 

Government is reneging on commitments. Howard 

also put Iemma on the spot, according to The Age by 

offering up to $4m to keep open a Canberra timber 

company, conditional on the NSW government 

offering the company a long-term contract. Howard 

also intervened for a group of severely disabled 

residents in his seat of Bennelong, The Age said. 

The Herald Sun (29 August) gives a practical 

breakdown of the differences between the Labor 

and Government industrial relations policies. On 

the question of federalism, the Prime Minister is 

pushing a doctrine of ‘aspirational nationalism’ as 

the best basis for federal state relations, ‘We should 

be neither centralists nor believers in the states’ 

rights. We should be aspirational nationalists’, he 

said, The Age reported. The Business Council of 

Australia said the government’s new interventionist 

federalism did not dispel the need for review 

of the inefficient overlap of federal and state 

responsibilities (costing tax-payers an estimated 

$9b a year). The BCA advocates a systemic overhaul 

of federal-state responsibilities. The Age’s Steve 

Burrell wondered whether the next federal election 

will be the ‘beginning of the end for the states as 

we know them’ noting both sides of politics seem to 

want to extend Canberra’s control over how certain 

tax revenue is spent. 

Pulp mill 

Forestry company Gunns’ proposed pulp mill in 

the Tamar Valley in Tasmania was fast-tracked by 

Premier Paul Lennon when the company threatened



to drop its plans for the $1.7b project on the 

grounds of undue delays. The federal environment 

minister Malcolm Turnbull is involved because he 

is required to examine the effects the mill may have 

on marine species and migratory birds. Gunns says 

the amount of effluent containing dioxins that will 

be pumped into the Bass Strait is less than a third of 

world’s best practice rates. Opponents aren’t keen 

on any dioxins. 

Turnbull found himself under considerable pressure 

when ex-advisor and friend to John Howard, and 

Telstra Board member Geoff Cousins, who has 

land in Tasmania, put his money and mouth behind 

a campaign against the proposed pulp mill. His 

campaign included many high-profile figures. 

Treasurer of Tasmania Michael Aird said the site 

for the proposed pulp mill is an existing heavy 

industry zone that predates the wine and tourism 

industries in the region and has happily co-existed 

with them for many years, in a letter to the Financial 

Review. Turnbull’s decision awaits a report from the 

chief scientist, due when the campaign may have 

started… 

Interest rate rise 

The Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates 

25 basis points to 6.5 per cent (about $40 a month 

extra to the average home-loan), the highest level 

since November 2006. Howard suggested the 

RBA’s decision to raise interest reflected strong 

economic growth, which he claimed resulted from 

the Coalition’s good management. Howard warned 

Labor’s industrial relations policies would push 

rates further up. An assessment by the Financial 

Review showed the federal coalition having made 

$7.5b in spending proposals, compared with $2.6b 

from the Opposition. 

The government found another $3.7b in the federal 

budget surplus taking the surplus for 2006-07 to 

$17.3b, however the extra money will be locked 

away through the creation of a new fund for health 

and by directing more money to higher education. 

This move stops Labor using the extra dollars in its 

own election promises. 

The RBA governor Glenn Stevens said in the June 

quarter, underlying inflation grew at 2.8 per cent, 

according to the Financial Review. 

Brian Toohey wrote in the Financial Review that 

the Labor Party can show its economic credentials 

by responding to any Government promises of big 

tax breaks by saying it won’t risk the pressure on 

inflation and interest rates. The Financial Review 

had an interesting ‘election spendometer’. 

Work choices narrow 

Business groups behind an advertising campaign to 

promote WorkChoices are not concerned. They say 

their focus on policy would prevent reprisals should 

Labor get into government. the Financial Review 

said. However, HIA did not take part because it did 

not want to jeopardise private negotiations with the 

Labor Party over industrial relations policy. In the 

advertisements, most of the large employer groups 

are clearly shown on the advertisement. Age writer 

Kenneth Davidson wrote that the campaign ‘uses 

research that cherry picks data to reach required 

conclusions’. According to The Age senior writer 

Michael Bachelard, ‘whichever side of politics it 

comes from, much of the research tells a similar 

story: WorkChoices is contributing in a major way to 

John Howard’s poll troubles’. 

The government’s $37m campaign ‘Protection for 

Under 18s’ to sell its workplace legislation has been 

axed, after it was discovered that one of the actors 

was himself a bad employer who ripped off junior 

staff, including his son, according to The Age. 

Kevin Rudd has pledged to retain some aspects 

of the Howard workplace reforms in an attempt 

to woo business including limiting union entry to 

workplaces, but reaffirmed his commitment to axing 

the government’s Australian Workplace Agreements 

(though many of them will stay in force until the end 

of 2012). His attempts to please all, drew criticism 

from both sides, The Age reported. 

Tony Steven, chief of the Council of Small Business 

Organisations of Australia, COSBOA, said small 

business supported the current government’s 

IR laws and ‘outcome-based pay instead of this 

slavish adherence to time served’, The Herald Sun 

reported. BHP Billiton also renewed its support of 

WorkChoices, while opposition to the Labor planning 

in the mining sector remains strong. However 

some of Australia’s biggest employers said Rudd’s 

updated policy meets many of their needs, The Age 

reported. 

Building industry 

Chief executive of Leighton, Wal King, tentatively 

welcomed Kevin Rudd’s commitment to review 

his party’s policy on the Australian Building and 

Construction Commission, but said the building 

industry needs to see more details, the Financial 

Review said. 

Building Unions were preparing for old-style 

protest against WorkChoices in Melbourne, The Age 

reported. 

A NSW government report says the WorkChoices 

has been bad for low-paid women, saying they 

often miss out on adjustments in the minimum 

wage, and when wage rises occur they are often 

accompanied by an increased workload. Federal 

workplace relations minister Joe Hockey said the 

report went out of its way to find the worst-case 

examples the Financial Review reported. 

A F F A I R S O F S T A T E 

We know the policies, processes and 

people in Canberra and in Spring Street. 

Can we help you resolve a particular 

regulatory issue 

T 03 9654 1300 14 Collins Street, Melbourne 

Old wounds 

Peter Costello was accused of vowing to destroy 

the Prime Minister if he didn’t stand down by April 

2006 at a private dinner party. Costello is reported 

to have said John Howard ‘can’t win; I can. We can, 

but he can’t’. Michael Brissenden, The 7.30 Report’s 

political editor produced notes from the event. 

Costello denies the accusations, The Age said. 

Rudd admitted to having been to a strip club 

while drunk in New York City in September 2003. 

Rudd described himself as having been a ‘bit of a 

goose’, The Herald Sun said. Voters were divided, 

accusations of smear campaigns, politicians were 

asked whether they had been to a strip club … 

Broadband road block 

Treasurer Peter Costello introduced a bill to prevent 

a future government from directing the Future Fund 

to invest in specific projects. The move threatens to 

block the Opposition’s plan to use the fund to build 

a national broadband network. Federal Labor still 

believes it could fund its $4.7b broadband policy, 

The Age reported. 

Hot water 

Under a Labor plan to phase out electric hot water 

systems, households will have to have to pay up to 

$6.5b extra from 2012 to replace their old systems 

with solar hot water, The Age said. 

NSW Premier Morris Iemma has criticised the 

Federal Government’s ‘dithering’ on its emissions 

trading scheme, and its failure to signal a future 

carbon price. Iemma said ‘the lack of precision 

around the commonwealth’s carbon trading 

scheme’ creates an uncertain investment 

environment and exacerbates the already complex 

process of financing and building a power station, 

The Australian Financial Review reported. 

Fight for the faithful 

John Howard and Kevin Rudd, both men of faith, 

appeared at a National Press Club dinner sponsored 

by the Australian Christian Lobby, which was webcast 

live to 700 churches. 

Gittin’ stuck into the PM 

Age writer Ross Gittins has suggested that ‘spin 

and deception, as much as good fortune, have 

marked John Howard’s reign’. In a separate 

article Gittins argued that the employers Industrial 

Relations campaign holds no weight, given Rudd’s



 

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Down there/Up there 

Retiring Labor backbencher Harry Quick, expelled 

from the ALP or otherwise, for campaigning against 

his successor Labor candidate Kevin Harkins, had 

not renewed his Party subscription. Harkins, in 

turn, withdrew because he is facing civil charges. 

Julie Collins will now run for the safe Labor seat of 

Franklin in Tasmania. 

Former Tourism Australia boss and Liberal Party 

official Scott Morrison will replace Michael Towke 

as the Liberal candidate in the southern Sydney 

electorate of Cook, following the most caustic 

Liberal preselection in years, the Financial Review 

said. 

In a nutshell 

The Federal Government’s Becoming an Australian 

Citizen pamphlet lays out what the government 

regards as the 10 essential Australian values every 

citizen must embrace, The Herald Sun reported. 

modified reforms. Jason Koutsoukis wrote in The 

Age that for Howard to win the next election, he 

needs Kevin Rudd ‘to do something stupid’. 

Over there 

A poll of Western Australian voters suggests the 

Howard Government’s strength in that state may 

not be as rock-solid as he would hope. The poll, 

undertaken by the ACTU between March and July 

found eight per cent of people who voted for the 

coalition in 2004, planned to vote Labor this year. 

Kirby criticises fellow judges 

High Court Judge Michael Kirby, has spoken out 

against fellow judges on the High Court, accusing 

them of bowing to government demands over broad 

counter-terrorism powers that he says breach the 

constitution. The attack was prompted by a High 

Court ruling (with a 5-2 majority), that an interim 

control order restricting former terror suspect Jack 

Thomas’s movements, was not a breach of the 

constitution. Kirby said Australians will look back on 

the decision with ‘regret and embarrassment’, The 

Age reported. 

The Howard Government has appointed conservative 

Queensland judge Susan Kiefel, 53, to the High 

Court, The Age reported. The Financial Review’s 

legal editor Marcus Priest described Kiefel as a 

‘deadly cross-examiner who went on to become a 

highly regarded judge’. 

Housing affordability 

Under a $500m plan, councils would apply for 

grants to cover some of the cost of new housing 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

developments, passing on savings to consumers. 

According to Labor it would mean savings of up 

to $20,000 each for 50,000 homebuyers over five 

years, The Herald Sun said. 

Treasurer Peter Costello criticised Labor’s housing 

plan saying high house prices are a sign of a strong 

economy. Data released in early August shows 

building approvals up 7.5 per cent over the last 

financial year. Shadow treasurer Wayne Swan said 

Costello’s criticism showed ‘deceit and desperation’, 

the Financial Review said. 

Community services minister Mal Brough has 

suggested opening up public and community 

housing to the private sector could make it more 

available, The Herald Sun reported. 

The State Government has collected $1.4b in stamp 

duty so far this year The Herald Sun said, noting 

that houses in once-affordable suburbs now cost 

$30,000 in stamp duty alone. 

Kids’ issues 

According to federal Opposition health spokeswoman 

Nicola Roxon, Labor considering significant 

changes to deal with the alarming increase in 

childhood obesity. A Labor Government would not 

only ban the use of toys and giveaways to advertise 

food to children, but also ban using licensed cartoon 

characters on food and drink packaging, The Age 

said. Health minister Tony Abbot, criticised Labor’s 

plan describing the ALP as ‘banners and taxers’. 

Parent groups and health experts, as well as a 

coalition back-bencher, welcomed the idea. 

sae Governme 

Pliics 

The Brumby Government 

New Premier John Brumby has announced his 

new cabinet and ‘two new super departments’, 

well, sort of, to push the government’s main 

concerns, which means reworking the governments 

departmental bureaucracy and putting his stamp on 

things. The Department of Planning and Community 

Development (Justin Madden as senior minister) 

and the Department of Education and Early 

Childhood Development (Bronwyn Pike), which 

latter sees kindergartens becoming a charge of the 

education department for the first time. Brumby 

has also split water from the environment ministry, 

arguing water is ‘more an economic issue than an 

environmental issue’. He also noted there had been 

stand alone water ministries before. 

Other significant changes include former education 

minister John Landers replacing Brumby as 

treasurer and Socialist Left rising star Daniel 

Andrews, 35, becoming health minister, The 

Age reported. MP Tony Robinson, 45, who spent 

two years as (then-Opposition Leader) Brumby’s 

private secretary in the mid-1990s, will become 

the Minister for Gaming, Consumer Affairs and the 

Minister assisting the Premier on Veterans’ Affairs. 

Maxine Morand, one of the few Labor MP’s not 

aligned with any faction or union has become a 

member of cabinet, as Minister for Children and 

Early Childhood Development as her brief. 

All in all, the new government provides a good 

opportunity for Letter from Melbourne (and Affairs of 

State) to rework our popular Victorian government 

departmental charts. One interesting senior 

public service appointment is the confirmation of 

Warren Hodgson as departmental secretary of the 

Department of industry, etc. 

Even as he reshuffled things, the new Premier 

was immediately confronted with his first serious 

decisions – what The Australian Financial Review 

called the former Premier Bracks’ ‘too hard basket’. 

They include public sector wages (police, nurses 

and teachers were all vocal this month), growing



rural community anger about water projects, and in 

the metropolitan Melbourne, anger about the state 

of public transport. 

The first Question Time with Brumby as Premier 

saw a bitter row with plenty of heckling from the 

backbenchers. Baillieu has dubbed Brumby and 

Rob Hulls the ‘scream team’, with the Brumby 

Government promising to be ‘more decisive’ and 

‘tougher’ than the Bracks Government, and focusing 

on Liberal links with Canberra and attacking their 

policies. In an interesting article on The Age Opinion 

page (16 August) state political editor Paul Austin 

suggested Baillieu lacks political hunger, painting 

him as ‘a big man who can exude real presence. 

But sometimes he chooses not to.’ The Herald Sun 

had one of those articles about Baillieu’s family 

company’s share involvement. 

New Focus 

Premier Brumby has outlined his ‘six policy pillars’: 

education, shifting the focus from year 12 retention 

rates to early childhood development and enhanced 

skills training for school leavers; public transport, 

where The Age’s Royce Millar says the government 

is ‘humiliated’ because it does not have the trains to 

cater for the extraordinary growth in train use; major 

projects, with a focus on interstate competition for 

infrastructure investment and attracting investment 

to this state; planning and urban development, 

working to improve housing affordability and 

infrastructure for what Millar calls ‘battler territory 

on the city fringe’; health, with an expected focus on 

research and innovation; and farmers, particularly 

drought recovery and water policy. 

Brumby confirmed that he would allow a conscience 

vote for Labor MPs on decriminalising abortion, but 

that Candy Broad’s private member’s bill, would not 

be passed. A senior caucus group are working on 

a compromise, he said. Decriminalisation seems 

likely to happen under this government … 

Advice for the new Premier 

The Age state political editor Paul Austin said John 

Brumby has the smarts to be a good Premier but 

warned that he should not be too cocky, saying 

many people on both sides of politics feel that 

‘Brumby’s swagger is the political equivalent of 

Peter Costello’s smirk – a turn off.’ In another article 

Austin says Brumby’s making some clear promises 

(Kindergartens, abortion, limiting water prices) 

but is still to deliver on some awkward decisions 

about the now infamous Bracks deal with the Police 

Association before last November’s election. 

The economics editor of The Age, Tim Colebatch 

questioned whether the new Premier is too safe and 

sure and whether he will be prepared to take the 

risks required of him. 

Executive director of the Institute of Public Affairs 

John Roskam said in The Age that Brumby’s 

policies sounded more like something from the 

Liberal Party than the Labor Party, and suggested 

Liberals will have trouble differentiating itself from 

the government. 

Age education editor Farrah Tomazin commented 

that education in general (not just kindergartens) 

need serious help, and that Brumby doesn’t need 

to go beyond his own electorate of Broadmeadows 

to see this. 

Federal-state reform 

A Financial Review editorial encouraged Brumby 

to take a leadership role amongst the Premiers 

and to explain to the other premiers that without 

infrastructure industry improvements they face 

further federal takeovers of state powers. The article 

also encouraged Brumby to convince the Federal 

Government that cooperation between states and 

the Federal Government is necessary. 

Chief executive of the Australian Industry Group 

Heather Ridout argued in the Financial Review 

that Brumby may be the man to ‘wrestle the ogre 

of federal-state reform’, saying he is a big picture 

person, and of all the state premiers and chief 

ministers Brumby is the most capable and (and 

most likely to) revive the National Reform Agenda. 

Accountability 

The new Premier said bureaucrats will have fewer 

opportunities to refuse Freedom of Information 

requests on commercial-in-confidence grounds, 

and more disclosure of parliamentary overseas 

trips, reflecting that the public wants more 

information, more background, more knowledge… 

virtually conceding that the cabinet confidentiality 

laws were being too liberally applied, The Age said. 

Clever cabinet 

The new-look cabinet is made up of a highly 

educated bunch. 17 out of 20 cabinet members have 

a university degree, five of them law degrees. 13 out 

of the 20 went to non-government schools, including 

nine at Catholic schools, The Herald Sun said. 

Victorian parliamentary sitting dates for the whole 

of 2008 for both the legislative assembly and 

legislative council have been announced, www.vic. 

gov.au or ask info@affairs.com.au. 

The new-look alternative 

Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu has reshuffled his 

shadow ministers. Richard Dalla-Riva has been 

named Opposition spokesman for community 

development, innovation and Freedom of 

Information. According to The Herald Sun, this 

allows ‘one of the most successful Opposition 

members to resume his role as party attack dog’. 

Della-Riva was forced to resign six months ago over 

alleged sexual harassment of a teenage girl, The 

Age said. 

The Herald Sun said Victorian Liberal Party state 

secretary Julian Sheezel is expected to leave after 

the federal election. 

By-election 

Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu’s power struggle 

over by-election candidates prompted different 

stories from different people, but Baillieu says 

he voted at the party’s senior Administrative 

Committee (made up of parliamentarians and the 

lay-party) in favour of having candidates stand. 

It was inappropriate that any details were leaked 

from the meeting. 

The Greens will run former mayor of Maribyrnong 

Janet Rice in the Williamstown by-election. The 

Labor Party claimed it courted ABC TV sports 

presenter Angela Pippos, 37, to run for the 

Williamstown seat, (a la Mary Delahunty ten years 

ago) but she has decided not to run. There was 

some confusion with Premier Brumby mistakenly 

saying that Pippos had approached the Labor Party 

when in fact it was vice versa.. 

The Labor Party candidate for Williamstown will 

be Wade Noonan, a member of the party’s Right 

faction and federal assistant secretary of the 

Transport Workers Union. The Labor candidate in 

the Albert Park by-election will be Martin Foley, 

from the socialist Left, former president of the 

Australian Services Union, and now chief of staff to 

police minister Bob Cameron. 

Hennessy to head council 

Former ALP president Jill Hennessy, a lawyer, will 

be chairwoman of the State Government’s newly 

established Working Families Council, that aims 

to improve employment practices to help balance 

work and family life, The Age said. 

SA Governor 

Republican and former navy Rear Admiral Kevin 

Scarce has been sworn in as South Australia’s 

governor, replacing Marjorie Jackson-Nelson. 

Ars 

ABC turns 75 

The Australian Broadcasting Commission has been 

running for three quarters of a century, since 1 

July, 1932. With celebrations for young and old in 

Federation Square. 

God save the queen 

The 22 nd annual Melbourne Writers’ Festival, in late 

August, had Peter Cochrane’s Colonial Ambition: 

Foundations of Australian Democracy win The Age 

Book of the Year. David Malouf won the fiction prize 

for his short story collection Every Move You Make. 

At the festival, Clive James, writer and social 

commentator, told the audience Australia should 

remain a constitutional monarchy, not become a 

republic, The Age said. 

AFI award hosts 

Acclaimed Australian Actor Geoffrey Rush will host 

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the Australian Film Industry Awards in December. 

Co-hosts, may include Nicole Kidman and Hugh 

Jackman, The Herald Sun reported. 

Everyone’s a winner 

The Age and The Sunday Age were jointly named the 

2007 Newspaper of the Year for excellent content, 

design, production and campaign journalism in the 

Pacific Newspaper Publishers Association awards, 

held in Melbourne. 

The Herald Sun reported that according to new Audit 

Bureau of Circulations figures, it is Australia’s best 

read daily, pointing out that on weekdays it sells 

328,000 more copies than The Age. On Saturdays, 

the Sun sells more than 513,000 copies with an 

average readership of 1,414,000. 

The Financial Review reported that the Roy Morgan 

Research, Audit Bureau of Circulation figures 

showed many capital city papers lost readers 

during 2006-07 but that the number of people 

visiting websites increased significantly with most 

sites recording growth of more than 40 per cent. 

Tony Whiting, chief executive of The Border Mail 

headquartered in Wodonga, retires into his next 

career. Rupert Murdoch has sealed a deal to 

buy Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Wall Street 

Journal, for almost $6b. 

Still attractive 

Experts this month decided that the National Gallery 

of Victoria’s Head of a Man, formerly supposed to 

have been painted Vincent Van Gogh, was not done 

by the Dutch master. No doubt it will attract the 

crowds for precisely that reason… 

Hawkesbury artist Ana Pollak won the $20,000 

Dobell Prize for Drawing for her Mullet Creek, The 

Age reported. 

The Great Lake, Tasmania by colonial artist Eugene 

von Guerard sold for $1.86m, bringing much needed 

funding to the Victorian National Trust, which 

receives $236,000 State Government funding per 

year but the cost of managing its properties and 

collections is $6m, The Age said. 

Fashion week 

19-year-old designer Jacqui Alexander, 19, has 

been named as the face of the Melbourne Spring 

Fashion Week. She replaces model Claire Quirk, 

15, who has been deemed too young by the City of 

Melbourne, The Herald Sun reported. 

A Herald Sun report said those in the know are 

saying Australia is following European trends and 

that the tan is on the way out! 

Fashionably late 

Fifty years ago, leading Melbourne courtier Hall 

Ludlow made a series of startling dresses inspired 

and modelled by Dianne Masters. In early August, 

Masters, in her seventies and still a beauty, gave 

12 priceless Ludlow Gowns to the Victorian College 

of the Arts for use as costumes in theatre projects, 

The Age said. 

Will be missed 

Ray Martin, 62, is retiring from television after 

almost 30 ears in the business, The Herald Sun 

said. 

Channel Nine’s Garry Linnel has quit his post as 

director of news and current affairs, saying his 

377 Lonsdale Street 

Melbourne VIC 3000 

T. 03 9642 5999 

F. 03 9642 5844 

print@printmode.com.au 

www.printmode.com.au 

position had become ‘untenable’, The Age reported. 

SBS newsreader Mary Kostakidis, who has been 

with the network for 20 years, walked out of the station 

in apparent frustration at its commercialisation and 

changes made to its nightly news bulletin, The Age 

said. There has been speculation the situation will 

not be reconciled and that Kostakidas may sue SBS 

for breach of contract. 

Musical bunch 

The annual Port Fairy Spring Music Festival, from 12 

to 14 October, www.portfairyspringmusicfestival. 

com follows the earlier in each year folk festival in 

the same town. 

Out-scalped 

Ticketmaster’s attempt to out-manoeuvre scalpers 

by auctioning the best tickets for events online (and 

thereby catching a greater amount of royalties for 

artist) were only partially successful. The best seats 

at certain concerts where selling at around $500 

but were still being sold on at prices almost double 

that on e-bay, MX reported. 

Keating’s accalades 

Keating the Musical beat Miss Saigon and Priscilla 

Queen of the Desert to win best musical at the 2007 

Helpmann Awards. 

Docklands 

Food Hall to close 

Myer’s new headquarters will be at 800 Collins 

Street, in the Docklands. The retail group will sign 

a 12-year lease for a new $100m building at Lend 

Lease’s Victoria Harbour Precinct, The Herald Sun 

said. 

In September, when major renovations start in 

the city store, the Myer Food Hall will be closed, 

disappointing many shoppers. Some stores will 

reopen elsewhere within the store, others will be 

closed down. 

Educaion 

The best and the rest 

A $20m maths, science and technology oriented 

selective public school will open in 2010 for up 

to 650 year 10 to 12 students. The John Monash 

Science School will be on the site of Monash 

University’s Clayton campus. Education Department 

eastern region manager Jim Watterston said 

contributions from industry and business could 

‘be quite significant’, The Age said. Critics say 

the school will poach the best students from 

surrounding schools, and that it is unfair. 

The rest … 

Under the State Government’s ‘Broadmeadows 

regeneration project’ 17 schools have merged 

to become four. $100m over the next three years 

will go toward new buildings for the students in 

the area. In the northern suburbs, almost half the 

secondary schools are in the bottom fifth of the 

state in VCE achievement, and almost 40 per cent 

of primary schools are in the bottom 20 per cent. 

Year 12 retention rates are at 25 per cent. According 

to The Age education editor Farrah Tomazin, there 

are too many schools and not enough students. 

Pay matters 

Thousands of teachers are considered striking as 

the Australian Education Union pushed for a 30 

per cent wage rise, The Age said. In late August 

teachers released a television advertising campaign 

to gain public support and increase pressure on the 

government. 

To be a teacher (1) 

A teacher from a state secondary school in 

Richmond was threatened with suspension by a 

principal because he opposed a hip-hop concert by 

an American Christian group at the school, brought 

to Australia by a Youth Arm of the Assemblies of 

God, sparking concerns that the group is using state 

schools to spread its message, The Age reported. 

To be a teacher (2) 

Teacher Tim Moran of Langwarin Secondary 

College, who was dismissed and had his teacher 

registration cancelled after he failed to physically 

intervene in a brawl, has had the decision overturned 

by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, 

in a decision that The Age described has having 

‘far reaching ramifications’. An Age editorial said 

schools urgently need guidelines for what teachers 

should do in such a situation. Watch this space. 

Aussie schools 

After last year’s history summit, which addressed 

the way Australian history should be taught in 

schools, this month there was an Australian 

Literature summit with 20 experts discussing 

ways of including more ‘Australian contemporary 

and classic’ works onto school and university 

curriculum, The Age reported. 

La Trobe’s remodelling 

La Trobe University, trying to turn around years 

of flagging performance, is planning to cut 

undergraduate courses by 25 per cent by 2010 

and asking up to half of its academics to focus on 

teaching rather than research, The Age said. 

10



Oh to browse 

A significant number of books from the Melbourne 

University’s Baillieu Library research collection 

are soon too disappear from the shelves, and 

go into storage, The Age reported. The books 

will be available within 24 hours of request, 

however emeritus Professor Ron Ridley, says his 

professional life is at stake and ‘it would end if that 

collection moves’. There has been no space for new 

books at the library since 1999. 

Many things are changing … Naughtons Hotel is 

closed, and the Clyde Hotel, also in Carlton, may 

follow, The Age reported. 

An estimated 60,000 to 75,000 people visited the 

university for its open day to learn more about the 

new Melbourne Model, The Age said. 

Queensland University has named chemical engineer 

Paul Greenfield as vice-chancellor. Greenfield has 

been senior deputy vice-chancellor since 2002 and 

a director of UQ’s commercialisation arm UniQuest. 

Alan Robson, vice-chancellor of the University of 

Western Australia, has been elected chairman of the 

Group of Eight research Universities. He will take 

over from Melbourne University vice-chancellor 

Glyn Davis, at the Go8 meeting in September. 

The number of full fee degrees that cost more than 

$100,000 at Australian campuses will top 100 next 

year, according to The Age. 

Strengthening responses 

Victorian schools are looking at improving the way 

they deal with sex crime allegations. Police figures 

show there have been 661 sex offence claims in all 

Victorian educational institutions in the past three 

years – an average of more than three a week, The 

Herald Sun reported. 

Federal focus on states 

The Federal Government decision to top-up the 

Higher Education Endowment Fund with an extra 

$1b has been welcomed by universities, but they 

are still pushing for the $5b fund to be doubled by 

2009, the Financial Review said. 

Pell push 

Church leaders, headed by Cardinal George 

Pell, have directed Catholic schools to maximise 

enrolment of Catholic students. The edict does not 

mean non-catholic students will be ineligible, The 

Herald Sun said. 

Not many men 

A new study of 600 students aged eight to 11 

has found young boys are more likely to behave 

for a male teacher than a female teacher. This 

only sharpens the case for more male teachers in 

primary schools, where women outnumber men 

five to one, according to The Herald Sun. 

Primary concerns 

A draft charter, developed by the Australian Primary 

Principals Association following a federally funded 

forum, recommends English, maths, science and 

Australian history should be the core subjects for 

children from prep to grade six – and the only 

guaranteed subjects offered. There has been some 

criticism about the absence of physical activities, 

music and foreign languages, The Age said. 

Environme 

Conservaion 

CH2 

The building celebrated as Australia’s best 

environmental performer is facing criticism because 

some of its environmental features do not yet 

work, The Age said. The Melbourne City Council’s 

environmentally advanced CH2 has been criticised 

because aspects of the water, plumbing, lighting, 

and rooftop wind turbines are not yet up to scratch. 

Nearby, a former nine-storey commonwealth bank 

building owned by the city in Burke Street near the 

corner of Swanston Street will be available for notfor-profit 

groups with rents discounted up to 55 per 

cent of market rates, if they can establish that they 

benefit the city. 

Smoggy city 

Air monitoring by the Environment Protection 

Authority Victoria shows that a higher population 

and the bushfires contributed to the doubling of 

air pollution over Melbourne last year, The Herald 

Sun said. 

No less than 5 stars 

Daniel Grollo, managing director of the construction 

company Grocon, says that pressure from 

government and business for greater savings 

in water, electricity and cuts in greenhouse gas 

emissions mean it is unlikely any future buildings 

in Australia will be anything less than five stars, The 

Age said. 

Flannery 

Australian of the Year Tim Flannery says property 

taxes should be re-examined and the possibility 

of tax breaks for commercial building owners to 

encourage Australia’s office buildings to become 

more environmentally friendly, The Age said. 

Trees trick 

Several companies who advertised that they offset 

the carbon impact of their products by planting trees 

did no such thing. The Federal Government has 

identified 12 such companies in the past year, but 

none of them will be prosecuted for false advertising 

because their mistakes were unintentional, The 


A report by the Australia Institute described the tree 

planting schemes as a ‘fad’ which is ineffective and 

distracting, the Financial Review said. 

Conservation survey 

The Department of Human Services is conducting 

a survey of 2,200 Victorian households throughout 

the state, in an attempt to better understand 

patterns of utility consumption, and the various 

effects of weather and state concessions in order 

to help Victorians become more energy and water 

efficient. 

Sustainability fund 

The Victorian Government is calling for applications 

for its Sustainability Fund, which provides funding 

for projects that drive more sustainable resource 

use in Victoria, by 28 September, www.sustainability. 

vic.gov.au. 

Energy 

Petrol prices 

Grocery prices are being pushed up due to the 

introduction of petrol discount dockets by retailing 

giant Coles and Woolworths an inquiry into petrol 

prices has heard. The inquiry was also told that cobranding 

with the supermarkets meant Shell and 

Caltex were creating a market duopoly pushing 

out independent petrol retailers. The Australian 

Competition and Consumer Commission public 

hearings began in Canberra this month, as part of 

its inquiry into the price of unleaded petrol, The Age 

reported. 

RACV spokesman David Cumming told the inquiry 

that motorists are smart and know how to exploit 

the petrol cycle, and said any attempt to scrap 

the discount docket scheme could lead to less 

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11



competition and higher prices, The Herald Sun said. 

Nuclear choices 

Prime Minister John Howard has promise to hold 

binding plebiscites in any areas where nuclear 

power stations are proposed. The move is a shift 

from his earlier statement that the location of any 

nuclear power plants would be determined by 

commercial considerations, The Age said. The move 

is most likely an attempt to neutralise any Labor 

scare campaign on the issue. 

Premier John Brumby used the comments to 

criticise Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu who voted 

against a similar proposal in April, following the 

then-federal line. Brumby suggested there was a 

split between Howard and Baillieu. 

Australia will sell uranium to India. 

Finessing the market 

The Australian Energy Market Commission has 

abolished the ‘Snowy Region’ of the national 

electricity market, in a ruling that is designed to 

remove distortions in the $11b a year market. The 

national energy market was established in 1998 

to link state-based electricity markets. The move 

should encourage power generators to bid their 

electricity in a more competitive way, and allow the 

Snowy Hydro (the country’s largest hydro generator) 

to increase its output when there is a high demand 

for energy. AEMC chairman John Tamblyn said the 

decision would lead to a more competitive market 

benefiting the consumer. With the ‘Snowy region’ 

abolished, the Snowy’s Tumut generating plant 

will be absorbed by the NSW region of the national 

energy market, while its Murray Plant is part of the 

Victorian Region, the Financial Review said. 

Power year 

Origin Energy produced a 38 per cent rise in net profit 

to $457m despite high wholesale energy prices. 

Origin’s power generation earning’s increased 

by 69 per cent, from $58m to $99m. Managing 

director Grant King described it as an exciting and 

challenging year, The Age reported. 

Basslink’s buyer 

The Basslink electricity cable that connects Victoria 

to Tasmania has been bought by Singapore-based 

CitySpring Infrastructure for almost $1.2b, The 

Age reported. 

Low burner 

The Essential Services Commission has handed 

down a draft decision which would reduce the cost of 

distributing gas by 10.1 to 18.7 per cent (depending 

on the network). However, Premier Brumby warned 

consumers against expecting a price cut, saying 

increasing consumption cost, increasing demand 

for gas-fired electricity and the growing economy 

mean prices are more likely to rise than fall, The 

Age said. 

No blackouts 

CitiPower has made a proposal to the Essential 

Services Commission to prevent big power 

blackouts. The project would cost $50.2m, which 

would be borne by the energy provider’s 295,000 

customers. 

The Australian Energy Regulator investigation into 

Dignity 

& Charm 

the 16 January interruption to power during the 

bushfires last year will deliver ‘specific action plans, 

with market players the key focus’, according to The 

Age. 

Not enough wind 

Energy giant AGL has dumped its controversial 

$140m wind farm planed for South Gippsland saying 

other projects were more financially attractive, 

The Age reported. Nearby, Danish wind-machine 

manufacturer Vestas has said it will close its blademanufacturing 

factory, 130 jobs. 

Not the brightest bunch 

A third of Victorian households still have not 

changed to power-saving light bulbs. The State 

Government will launch a series of advertisements 

encouraging people to make the switch, The Age 

reported. Nearly 8 per cent of Australian households 

pay extra to ensure the energy they receive is from 

environmentally friendly sources, according to The 

Age. 

A report showed nearly a quarter of all Victorian 

electricity customers switched providers in the past 

year, making this state the ‘choosiest in the world’, 


Interesting tiff 

Esso, a subsidiary of Exxonmobil, has revealed that 

as well as extending by 20 to 30 years its current oil 

and gas fields in the Bass Strait it will explore the 

gas potential of geological structures deep beneath 

the existing fields. This has caused concern for the 

prospect of hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Bass 

Strait for the storage of greenhouse gases, The 

Age said. The $5b Monash Energy ‘coal to liquids’ 

project in the Latrobe valley had planned to use the 

sites for carbon storage. The Monash project would 

turn brown coal into gas for further conversion into 

60,000 barrels of synthetic diesel a year. But in 

order for the project’s greenhouse gas emissions 

to remain at an ‘acceptable level’, a concentrated 

stream of carbon dioxide needs to be separated for 

geo-sequestration (the process known as carbon 

capture and storage or CCS). 

Getting smarter 

Energy Retailers Association of Australia held 

a forum at PricewaterhouseCoopers, addressing 

Privatisation: A Decade On and Smart Meters and 

the Wholesale Market, with speakers including 

former Victorian Treasurer Alan Stockdale, and 

Alan Moran, Institute of Public Affairs. The Essential 

Services Commission is presently holding an inquiry 

into the development of smart meters, which follows 

a recent government commitment to have them 

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The Department of Industry Tourism and 

Resources put out a request for tender for the 

development of a ‘geothermal industry development 

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www.tenders.gov.au. 

Waer 

Some good news 

The five weeks leading up to the beginning of August 

saw Melbourne’s water supplies increase by 26 

billion litres, more than any other similar period in 

15 years. Water levels in the nine reservoirs jumped 

from 28.4 to 35.8 per cent. However the state’s 

largest dam, the Thomson Reservoir remains at just 

23.1 per cent capacity, The Age reported. Presently 

38.6. 

Melbourne City Council has begun refilling some of 

the city’s public fountains, including the Exhibition 

Fountain in Carlton Gardens, using excess rain 

water sucked from the Royal Park wetlands. The 

eight fountains that were reopened do not use large 

amounts of water. Some other fountains will open 

again soon pending repairs after long disuse, The 

Age reported. The decision sparked angry responses 

from some areas, including cricketers who cannot 

water their pitches. 

Refreshing the Yarra 

Recycled water may be pumped into the Yarra to boost 

its environmental health. Peter Harris, secretary of 

the Department of Sustainability and Environment, 

said it could be used to substitute water taken from 

the river for drinking, The Age said. 

Water prices/Review 

Melbourne water users will pay 14.8 per cent more 

next from 1 July next year, an increase of $70 for the 

average household. The Brumby government has 

disregarded higher increases proposed by a couple 

of the metropolitan retailers. The proposed increase 

is in line with the government’s prediction that water 

prices will double over the next five years to pay for 

the $4.9b plan to increase Melbourne’s water supply, 

The Age said. The government is also conducting 

a ‘sweeping review’ of the three metropolitan 

water retailers to be finished by February, with the 

commission to set prices from 2009. 

Melbourne Water faces fines over two poisonous 

spills into waterways in the last two years, The Age 

said. The incidents polluted Sugarloaf Creek in the 

Yarra Ranges, and Cardinia Creek in Melbourne’s 

south-east. 

12



Pipe blow out 

The Wimmera-Mallee pipeline is now expected 

to cost $688m, over a third more than originally 

planned. The blow out was revealed by Grampians 

Wimmera Mallee Water in its new five year water 

plan, raising questions of who will pay for the 

increase. The previous budget ($501m) was to be 

shared equally between the water company, State 

Government and Federal Government, The Age 

said. 

Desalination plant 

An independent Bass Coast Councillor Gareth 

Barlow has gone against his colleagues, criticising 

the State Government’s $3.1b desalination plant. 

Barlow also criticised his colleagues for their 

‘wait and see’ approach, The Age reported. Age 

Senior columnist, Kenneth Davidson, who has 

consistently opposed the Bracks/Thwaites plans for 

a desalination plant and piping water over the great 

divide on the grounds that they are economically and 

environmentally unsound, urged Premier Brumby 

to reconsider other, more sound, water options, 

including piping Tasmania’s water surplus (no need 

to watch this space) to Melbourne. 

Other views (1) 

Tony Cutcliffe, director of the Eureka Project, a 

strategic consultancy, wrote a fascinating article in 

The Age (16 August) explaining how the desalination 

plant will be funded, owned and operated, and 

suggests that it will probably not be built because 

foreign owners would be making a politically 

unacceptable number of cents from each litre of 

cleaned water. 

Other views (2) 

Senior departmental water bureaucrat Garry 

Seaborne seems to have contradicted government 

policy, when he said Victoria’s drinking water should 

include 10 per cent recycled water according to the 

Leongatha Star. Around the same time former-water 

minister John Thwaites revealed Melbourne’s water 

authorities were considering recycled water for 

drinking last year The Age said. 

Murray debate moves along 

The Queensland Nationals (especially Barnaby 

Joyce) caused fresh problems for the Federal 

Government by rejecting the draft legislation for 

Prime Minister John Howard’s $10b plan to rescue 

the Murray-Darling river system, The Age reported. 

Victorian Premier Brumby is maintaining a hard 

line on the issue, saying that the Murray-Darling 

take-over would not have his government’s support 

unless Victoria’s amendments were included. 

Brumby’s scepticism comes partly from his 

perception of the move as being located within the 

context of Howard’s ‘rush of interventions’. State 

Labor members of an inquiry into the controversial 

water bill have said that the takeover may involve 

reductions in water entitlements to farmers. The 

government has repeatedly ruled out compulsory 

acquisition of water under the plan, The Age said. 

The Federal Government made a significant 

concession to Victoria this month, formally ruling 

out compulsory acquisition of water entitlements. 

The Prime Minister had threatened to deny Victoria 

its share of the $3.5b budget for irrigation but 

subsequently decided to use it as a bargaining chip. 

It will be quarantined for use by the state should it 

sign up to the deal, according to The Age. Another 

bargaining chip is that any State Government which 

does not surrender its powers will not have a say 

in who sits on a new council set up to determine 

sustainable levels of water use, the Financial Review 

said. 

The Victorian Government says the project would 

be bad for Victorian farmers, but the stand has 

given Prime Minister John Howard an opportunity 

to criticise the states’ obstructionism and promote 

his new federalism, the Financial Review said. 

Victoria was the first state to introduce large scale 

irrigation and this is detailed in an interesting article 

in The Age by Edwyna Harris of Monash University’s 

economics department. 

The Federal Government increased pressure on 

Victoria by saying it will not fund water buybacks 

unless all four basin states agree to give Canberra 

total control, a move that upset NSW Premier Morris 

Iemma, the Financial Review said. 

Clear view 

Graham Kraehe, chairman of BlueScope Steel, a 

non-executive director of Brambles, and a member 

of the Reserve Bank board, outlined his ideas about 

water management, pricing, and efficiency in a 

speech to an Australian Industry Group forum at 

Zinc, in Melbourne. Kraehe argued that government 

must introduce sensible pricing strategies that take 

into account how water is being used; that pricing 

changes can be used to make water-saving projects 

more economical and more attractive to companies; 

and finally, that government must encourage 

decentralised water solutions (such as rain-water 

harvesting). 

Bottling up water info 

According to The Age, Melbourne Water is 

spending thousands of tax-payer dollars in legal 

fees to block the release of cabinet briefings on the 

states water crisis on the grounds that they may 

cause ‘unnecessary debate’ about the drought and 

water supplies. The Age requested the documents 

under freedom-of-information laws, and the case 

will go before the Victorian Civil and Administrative 

Tribunal this year. 

Fruit tree danger 

Although farmers in Victoria’s Goulburn system were 

allocated water from 15 August, their counterparts 

in the Murray district started the irrigation season 

with just five per cent of their allocations, their 

least ever and barely enough to keep trees alive, 

The Age reported. The effect on fruit crops will 

be devastating and many acres will be bulldozed. 

Victorian agriculture is more about trees and vines 

and longer term commitment crops, whereas NSW 

and Queensland have much more rice, and cotton. 

Waterfind, a national water broking company says 

water prices shot up by 180 per cent last year on the 

temporary trading market as irrigators frantically 

topped up supplies. 

In the pipeline 

New Premier Brumby faces his first significant 

challenge: pushing through the water infrastructure 

bill, which is crucial for the north-south pipeline. The 

legislation would allow the government to overrule 

local planning laws to speed up major water 

projects. Amendments were made to the Bill in the 

Legislative Council through the combined efforts of 

Liberals, Nationals and Greens, The Age said. 

Practical competition flushed 

Services Sydney, a private company, is upset that 

the NSW government will go ahead with its Kurnell 

desalination plant (which is expected to provide 

16.5 per cent of Sydney’s daily water supply) saying 

it will ‘flood the market’ and that it is uncompetitive 

behaviour. 

The company, which has been trying for some 

time to break Sydney Water’s monopoly on water 

and sewerage services, was dealt a double blow: 

the same day that the NSW government signed a 

contract to begin work on the desalination plant, the 

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission 

accepted Sydney Water’s proposed terms for 

access to its sewerage transportation infrastructure. 

Services Sydney has applied to the Australian 

Competition Tribunal for a review of the decision, 

the Financial Review reported. 

Another water conference 

The Victorian Water Industry Association is holding its 

annual water conference on 13 and 14 September 

in the Yarra Valley, www.vicwater.org.au. Standard 

good quality speakers. There are so many energy 

and water conferences these days. 

Gaming 

Victoria’s gambling problem 

Victorians have lost $27.3b in 15 years of poker 

machines, The Herald Sun said, and are now losing 

$2.5b per year (about $7m a day). 

Former Premier Jeff Kennett expressed regret this 

month that regional pokies ‘super clubs’ had never 

got off the ground. He rejected critics saying the 

vast majority of poker machine players do so within 

their financial limits, The Herald Sun reported. 

Attempts to cut the number of poker machines from 

the current 27,500 in Victoria were defeated by 

a voting bloc of the Nationals and Labor, The Age 

said. 

First it was St Kilda, now … 

The Western Bulldogs found themselves (as St 

Kilda and its relationship with gaming machines 

and councils) up against a formidable opponent this 

month in the form of gaming giant Tabcorp. Tabcorp 

is believed to be angry (and possibly considering 

legal action) over plans to move 48 poker machines 

from the club’s headquarters. Maribyrnong Council 

is expected to require the Bulldogs to remove the 

pokies in line with its $21.5m plan to redevelop 

the dilapidated Whitten Oval into a community hub. 

Victoria University, which has plans for a sports 

science campus on the site, and would contribute 

$8m to the project, is unlikely to go ahead with the 

pokies in place. There are also many federal dollars 

13



involved in this redevelopment. The Age said that 

Tabcorp are believed to be worried the machines 

will be decommissioned, giving rival operator 

Tattersall’s the opportunity to increase its machines 

in the area. 

Inquiry into gaming/Bracks 

Former Premier Steve Bracks denies any improper 

interference in the awarding of Victoria’s lucrative 

gaming licence. Former Tattersall’s trustees Peter 

Kerr and Ray Hornsby, and former chief executive 

Duncan Fischer, appeared at the parliamentary 

inquiry into the matter and also told the media 

their version of events. Tattersall’s backflipped, 

according to The Age, over its relationship with 

former government minister and lobbyist David 

White, saying he would have got a ‘success fee’ if 

the company’s lotteries licence were renewed.. 

HealH 

Teachers, Police and … 

The likelihood of nurses striking in public hospitals 

has increased, as nurses union wants a pay rise of 

6 per cent a year for the next three years, but the 

government is sticking to 3.25 per cent over five 

years, according to The Age. Nurses’ claims to a 

greater increase (like those of police and teachers) 

have gained further weight since Bureau of 

Statistics figures revealed this month that Victorian 

wages are growing more slowly than anywhere else 

in Australia. 

States’ budget challenge 

The states (all of them) will have to cover an extra 

$2.7b this year as federal funding fails to keep up 

with the costs of running the public health system, 


Smoke rings shrinking 

Following the strict smoking bans in bars, phone 

calls to Quitline have increased by 27 per cent The 

Age said. 

Anti-tobacco body Quit Victoria’s next frontier is 

smoking in cars with children present. A Cancer 

Council Victoria survey showed an overwhelming 

(but surely unsurprising) 95 per cent of Victorians 

find smoking in a car when a child is present 

unacceptable. 90 per cent of Victorian smokers 

agreed. 

Anti tobacco groups criticised the Federal 

Government decision to allow cigarette company 

Phillip Morris launch Australia’s first electronic 

smoking device, arguing the device should be 

rigorously tested before it is put on the market, The 

Age reported. 

Junk the ads 

VicHealth has become the first government authority 

in Australia to call for a ban on junk food advertising 

targeted at children, The Age said. 

Rise in birth rate 

The Royal Women’s Hospital, redesigned (in a time 

of falling birth rates) is now unable to deal with a 

massive rise in births. The hospital, along with the 

other major maternity hospitals (Mercy Hospital for 

Women and Monash Medical Centre), will direct 

women with uncomplicated pregnancies to their 

local suburban hospitals according to The Age. 

Fall in birth rate 

The Royal Women’s Hospital has been given approval 

by health authorities to prescribe the controversial 

abortion pill RU486. 18 months after a conscience 

vote removed the health minister’s right to veto 

the drug and placed the power of approval in the 

hands of the Therapeutic Goods Administrator the 

hospital has become the first in Australia to be given 

permission to use the drug, The Age said. 

Stronger springs 

Ambulances specially equipped to deal with 

morbidly obese patients will soon hit the street of 

Melbourne. The $200,000 extra-large vehicles will 

have a special hydraulic lift, extra sturdy stretchers 

etc., and will be capable of carrying patients who 

weigh up to 450kg, The Herald Sun said. 

Coleman criticises cuts 

Head of Monash Medical Centre’s adolescent 

medical unit, Jacinta Coleman criticised the lack of 

funding for services to help children with anorexia 

saying it could cost lives, The Age said. A sharp 

increase in the number of young girls suffering from 

anorexia has forced the Children’s Hospital to close 

its doors to new patients (putting extra pressure on 

other hospitals). Admissions among girls aged 10 to 

13 increased from three in 2003 to 43 last year. 

Fatal flu 

Health authorities are investigating whether flu killed 

a five-year-old Berwick boy, The Herald Sun said. 

A 95-year-old man died and fifty others are ill due 

to an outbreak of gastroenteritis at a South Morang 

nursing home, The Age reported. 

Health Services Review Council 

The Department of Human Services is calling for 

expressions of interest for the Health Services 

Review Council. The Council is made up of three 

members to represent each of health providers, 

users, unaffiliated, and others with health 

information experience. www.health.vic.gov.au/hsc/ 

resources/hsrc.htm. 

Invese 

Business 

Market splash 

At the beginning of August, the Australian 

sharemarket suffered its greatest one-day fall ($47b) 

since the September 11. The losses are the ripple 

effects of the sharp decline in the values of higherrisk 

US mortgage investments, which is affecting 

economies around the world, The Age reported. 

Central banks around the world were on crisis watch 

ready to pump additional liquidity into financial 

markets, the Financial Review reported. An Age 

BusinessDay headline said unforgiving investors 

continued to lash Macquarie Bank, fearing the 

mortgage market’s effects here. RAMS Home Loans 

Group warned they may suffer a drop in profits due 

to the ‘rising cost of raising money in the volatile 

offshore markets’, The Age reported. 

However the US Federal Reserve’s emergency 

decision to ‘cut its discount rate to head off further 

deterioration in global credit markets’ bolstered 

confidence in Australia and elsewhere, the Financial 

Review said. 

Emission trading accountability 

CPA Australia, one of thee major accounting bodies 

in Australia, has warned that ‘an emissions trading 

scheme could cause significant financial reporting 

and assurance issues’. David Boymal, chairman 

of the Australian Accounting Standards Board, and 

Merran Kelsall, chair of the Auditing and Assurance 

Standards Board, responded in the Financial 

Review. Boymal chastised the accounting standardsetter, 

suggesting that it is inappropriate for such a 

body to discuss solutions before the details of the 

scheme are made known. Kelsall said the AUASB 

will asses the suitability of its current standards to 

accommodate assurance engagements involving 

reporting on emissions trading data, but also 

noted that Australia and the rest of the world will 

in the long term develop a specific regulatory and 

reporting system and specific assurance standards 

for emissions trading reporting. 

Corrigan says nonsense 

The Australian Competition and Consumer 

Commission began legal proceedings against a 

group of companies and individuals including former 

Patrick Corp managing director Chris Corrigan, 

alleging price fixing in the stevedoring industry, the 

Financial Review said. 

Sun rise, sun set 

Labor has called on the Federal Government to 

review its Greenhouse Challenge Plus program that 

attempts to encourage businesses to cut greenhouse 

gas emissions. The number of companies involved 

in the program has declined over the last year, the 

Financial Review said. 

Not all greenhouse news this month was bleak. 

Voluntary carbon trading, through the Australian 

Climate Exchange, officially opened in Melbourne. 

Diversified telecommunications company M2 

Telecommunications Company made the first 

purchase. The trading price was $8.50 a tonne. 

Carbon offsets can be banked, and used at a later 

date to offset emissions, according to the Financial 

Review. 

$$$ 

National Stock Exchange of Australia, owner of 

the Bendigo and Wollongong exchanges bought an 

independent water trading company and revealed 

plans to open a new board devoted to clean 

technology stocks, the Financial Review said. NSX 

(itself listed on the Australian Stock Exchange) 

believes there much scope in green trading. 

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited will be the 

name of the two soon to be merged banks. 

New Jobs 

Wayne Kayler-Thomson, formerly of the Victorian 

Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional 

development, has been appointed chief executive 

of the Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce 

and Industry. He said VECCI’s role has shifted from 

representing employers on industrial relations to 

providing leadership, information and other services, 


14



Former Rio Tinto chief Leigh Clifford will become 

chairman of Qantas when Margaret Jackson stands 

down in November, The Age said. St George Bank’s 

Gail Kelly will become the Westpac Banking Corp’s 

new chief executive taking the reigns from David 

Morgan when he stands down before the end of 

the year, the Financial Review said. BlueScope Steel 

has named chief financial officer Paul O’Malley, 43, 

as chief executive taking over from Kirby Adams in 

November. Former Elders IXL boss John Dorman 

Elliot’s four year ban on company directorships 

(following the bankruptcy of Elders IXL) has ended, 

the Financial Review reported. 

Abalone disease 

Victoria’s abalone industry is strongly opposed to 

plans that would see quarantine restrictions eased. 

A deadly virus that is severely affecting the southwest 

coast, is believed to have come originally from 

a farm and now is ruining wild abalone reefs. The 

current laws say farmers may not discharge water, 

or transfer stock once a disease is detected, The 

Age reported. 

Business backs APEC 

The Federal Government sponsored Asia Pacific 

Economic Co-operation summit in Sydney includes 

the APEC Business Summit, a business summit 

for 400 executives sponsored by major companies. 

Temporary, and large barricades in the town have, 

according to one media source, created the ‘great 

wall of Sydney’. There is also an SME summit in 

Melbourne. 

Could burn a hole in your pocket 

The CFA and the MFB are running advertisements 

encouraging people to recognise the economic 

perils of failing to insure against damage from fire, 

and warning that the uninsured also risk having 

to pay ‘reasonable costs’ for firefighting services 

provided by the MFB or CFA. 

Energetic business speakers 

As Part of Victoria’s Small Business Festival 

there was an energetic business speaker series 

throughout August including speakers Tim Pethick, 

founder of Nudie Juice, and Adam Genovese of 

Genovese Coffee, see business.vic.gov.au/energise. 

The festival’s main event was the APEC Business 

Advisory Council’s Small and Medium Sized 

Enterprise Summit held in Melbourne. 

Another Cairns Group forum 

Labor industry spokesman Kim Carr, following his 

calls for greater protection for the car industry, has 

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suggested Melbourne become host to a ‘Melbourne 

Innovation Group of Nations’ to help smaller countries 

compete against world leaders (such as the US) by 

becoming more innovative, The Age reported. 

i 

Australia’s IT infrastructure 

A recent survey by American groups Business 

Software Alliance and the Economist Intelligence 

Unit ranked Australia’s information technology 

infrastructure as one of the best in the world but 

also said Australia needs to invest more money in 

research. Australia ranked fifth over all out of the 64 

nations included in the study, The Herald Sun said. 

State’s supply 

The State Government has begun its procurement 

process to choose companies to supply about 

$90m worth of back-office computer equipment 

over the next five years. The current arrangement 

was undertaken by the Department of Human 

Services, with provisions for common access. Most 

other departments have taken advantage of the 

agreement, which will end December 31. There has 

been speculation that Victoria will return control of 

technology purchasing to individual departments, 

however the DHS tender documents make it clear 

the purchasing initiative has provisions for other 

departments, the Australian Review reported. 

Multimedia Victoria update 

A few interesting things are going on in the 

Information and Communication Technology industry 

at the moment, including the Victorian Government’s 

latest research into young people’s attitudes to ICT 

study and careers; exciting developments in the 

Victorian spatial information industry; and State 

Government programs encouraging rural teens to 

move into a career in ICT; www.mmv.vic.gov.au. 

The need for speed 

Dr Phil Burgess, group managing director, Public 

Policy and Communications at Telstra, spoke on 

16 August at the Australian Information Industry 

Association’s Victorian business briefing. He told the 

forum how Telstra’s high-speed broadband solution 

can be good for information industry, and why it is 

so important for Australia’s economy. 

Agriculure 

Farmers reap rewards 

Extending global positioning system technology to 

cover most of Victoria’s grain farms could generate 

over $500m over 20 years, an Allen Consulting Group 

study found. Farmers can use the GPS technology to 

seed and harvest crops with incredible accuracy, 


GM get go 

A ‘confidential’ Federal Government report says 

farmers should be allowed to begin growing 

genetically modified crops immediately, and that they 

pose no danger to human health or the environment, 

according to The Age. Federal agriculture minister 

Peter McGauran backed the report, but experts and 

environmentalists remain unconvinced. 

Killing method concerns 

The Victorian Farmers Federation has questioned 

a federal export regulator decision to allow a 

Warrnambool abattoir to ritually slaughter conscious 

animals for religious purposes. According to The Age 

industry sources say there is growing pressure from 

Jewish and Islamic export markets on Australian 

meat processors to kill animals without electrical 

stunning. 

Jusice 

Ethics of pay push 

Police voted to take industrial action to try to 

pressure the government into increasing the 3.25 

per cent pay rise that they describe as ‘insulting’ 

The Herald Sun said. Chief Commissioner Christine 

Nixon told 3AW that she agreed that police should 

get a pay-rise, but could not endorse some of the 

work bans proposed by the Police Association. 

New blood 

Following in the footsteps of other Directors of Public 

Prosecutions Paul Coghlan, 63, has been promoted 

to judge of the Supreme Court. In one of his last acts 

as Victorian DPP Coghlan referred serious allegations 

of criminal behaviour by cigarette maker British 

American Tobacco and their Australian lawyers 

Clayton Utz to the nation’s top crime fighting body 

for a special investigation, The Age said. Attorney 

General Rob Hulls also appointed to the bench 

Ross Robson, QC, and John Forrest, QC. 

Judge Julie Dodds-Streeton has been elevated to 

the Victorian Court of Appeal. 

Cockfight fine 

Magistrate Donna Bakos fined Hung Truong, 31, 

$1000 for his part in a backyard cockfight late last 

year, The Herald Sun said. 

Hearts and minds 

Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon says 

focusing on winning the hearts and minds of 

alienated Islamic communities is a better way of 

fighting terrorism, and suggests the term ‘war on 

terror’ should be avoided, The Age said. Victoria 

Police is establishing a special team of 30 detectives 

15



to be trained in handling terror offences, The Herald 

Sun said. Police’s new powers. Police and security 

agencies are to be given unprecedented powers 

to search people’s homes and computers, sans 

court approval, under legislation before federal 

parliament. 

Witness’s reward 

Former lawyer, and star prosecution witness Andrew 

Fraser may be the first to claim a $1m reward 

following the conviction of Peter Dupas for the murder 

of Mersina Halvagis. Fraser shared a cell block with 

Dupas during a five year jail term where, and when, 

Dupas confessed to the crime, The Age reported. 

Up there 

Former Queensland emergency services minister 

Pat Purcell, 60, has been formerly charged over 

the alleged assault of two public servants. Purcell 

recently resigned from the ministry for ‘personal 

reasons’ according to Premier Peter Beattie, The 

Age reported. 

Comb required 

The Chief Judge of the Victorian County Court has 

decreed that horsehair wigs should no longer be 

worn in civil matters. Attorney-General Rob Hulls 

welcomed the decision. However, Victorian Bar 

Council chairman Michael Shand, QC, said there 

are different views about the matter, and that the 

wigs have the advantage of offering a degree of 

anonymity, the Financial Review said. 

Gatto and the ATO 

Renowned ‘corruption buster’ Tony Fitzgerald, QC, 

is heading an inquiry into the Melbourne branch of 

the Australian Tax Office, following concerns about 

links between one of its senior investigators and 

underworld figure Mick Gatto, The Age said. 

Vital role 

Anita Kwong has begun her role as the new CEO and 

Director of Programs at the College of Law Victoria, 

a joint venture between The College of Law and The 

Law Institute of Victoria which offers practical legal 

training as a path to being admitted in Victoria. 

Beat up 

The Herald Sun has diagnosed an ‘epidemic of 

drunken violence at Melbourne nightclubs and pubs 

that is killing and maiming young men and destroying 

their families lives’. The paper ran a front-page story 

with plenty of pictures of unfortunate victims from 

the last few years. Queen Street has taken over 

as the CBD’s biggest trouble zone, replacing King 

St. According to recent crime statistics showed a 

state-wide 5.2 per cent increase in assaults, with an 

increase of 17.5 per cent in the metropolitan area, 

The Herald Sun said. 

Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon announced the 

formulation of a public order taskforce to combat 

the violence. 

A study shows more than one in ten grade 5 boys 

had carried a weapon, The Herald Sun said. 

No proof, no piercing 

People under the age of 18 would need a written 

permission note from a parent to get a piercing 

under a plan soon to come before state parliament, 


Welfare agency director Colleen Pearce, has become 

Victoria’s first female public advocate, succeeding 

Julian Gardiner. 

Straight and narrow 

aperium Consulting 

-harnessing technology 

to serve your organisational goals 

A crackdown on jaywalkers in Melbourne (‘Don’t 

do your dash’) saw more than 700 people issued 

with traffic fines in early August. 

Former Victorian state cricketer David Plumpton has 

been jailed for 18 months over a hit-run accident 

that killed a cyclist in January 2005. A charter 

aircraft company is suing Mark Grollo for $1m 

after he allegedly caused damage to one of their 

planes’ engine by performing stunts, according to 

The Herald Sun. 

MelBurne 

Happy 172 nd Birthday 

The official Melbourne Day Flag Raising Ceremony 

took place in Enterprize Park on 30 August, at the 

site where the first European settlers landed on the 

north banks of the Yarra River in 1835. Lord Mayor 

John So pulled the lanyard to fire the (very noisy, 

very smoky) cannon out over the river. Councillors, 

MPs, community leaders, school children … scones 

and tea … There was the annual debate, see photos 

herein, and other special events. 

Docklands focus lessens/New projects 

Within a month of Docklands’ administration being 

handed over from VicUrban to the City of Melbourne, 

the council has abolished the committee dealing 

with issues specific to the area. 

Cr Peter Clarke, who was chair of the recently 

terminated Docklands and major projects 

committee, said it was a ‘slap in the face to the 

residents’ and claimed Lord Mayor John So had 

axed the committee to counteract the perception 

that Cr Clarke would be a competitor at the next 

lord mayoral elections. Cr So dismissed the claims 

as ‘ludicrous speculation’, The Age reported. So told 

The Age this month that he would run for mayor in 

next year’s election, then retracted his statement 

saying he would make an ‘iron-clad’ decision closer 

to the date. 

So nominated several key projects for the City, 

including improving connection to the western 

suburbs; decking over the Flinders Street rail 

yards to provide a new pedestrian link to the Yarra, 

reducing Swanston Street tram congestion, and 

improving cycling infrastructure. 

Well, good luck! 

The City of Melbourne will spend $50,000 over the 

next year to ‘skate-board proof’ the city, as a way of 

trying to stop the damage caused by skaters to sites 

Level 27 

101 Collins Street 

Melbourne VIC 3000 

+61 3 9653 9692 

11/60 Marcus Clarke St 

Canberra ACT 2601 

+61 2 6243 3628 

www.aperium.com 

in the city, The Herald Sun said. One international 

skating magazine describes the inner-city riverside 

skate park as a ‘great warm-up spot before heading 

into Melbourne’s concrete jungle’. 

Capital cities seek federal capital 

Lord Mayor John So, and the other capital city 

mayors went to Canberra to visit the leaders of both 

Liberal and Labor parties to present their National 

Capital Cities Policy Plan this month, seeking a new 

alliance with the Federal Government. The capital 

cities seek transport funding. Under the Auslink 

program, the Federal Government pays only for 

interstate and intrastate road and rail freight links, 

The Age said. 

Community loses out 

Melbourne City Council may have to develop housing 

or offices on a site earmarked for community use to 

help pay the $10m bill for the site. The government 

is forcing the council to the pay full commercial 

valuation for the Southbank site – twice its value for 

‘public use’ zoning, The Melbourne Times reported. 

Watch this space. 

Being less famous 

Famous Melbournians dressed down to look like 

homeless people in an alleyway off Collins Street for 

TV advertisements for the Heart of Melbourne appeal, 

which is concerned with the estimated 13,000 

homeless in Melbourne, The Herald Sun said. 

Sam Newman, footballer turned media ‘personality’ 

has sold his Brighton home to move to a Docklands 

apartment by the Yarra. He is auctioning off a painting 

of himself naked, along with other memorabilia in 

order to fit into the new house, The Age reported. 

Fish market 

The shadow minister for agriculture John Vogel 

is concerned by the government’s compulsory 

acquisition of the Melbourne Wholesale Fish Market 

and is calling on the government to find a new and 

suitable location for the market. Evidently, there is no 

leadership amongst the stall owners. Nearby, in Church 

St, the popular Richmond Oysters is completing a big 

refit which seems to include a bar to have a drink as 

you purchase. Ready for Derby Eve. 

Celebrity restaurant 

Actor Robert De Niro and celebrity chef Nobuyuki 

have opened a Nobu restaurant (part of a world wide 

chain) in Melbourne in the casino precinct. There 

was a big opening night party with long list of VIPs, 


Mallory Wall from Rosati in Fitzroy won Maitre d’ 

of the Year at the Gourmet Traveller awards held at 

Nobu. The Age Good Food Guide 2008 has named 

Rockpool Bar and Grill best restaurant of the year, 

The Press Club best new restaurant and Ronnie di 

16



Stasio (Café di Stasio), the professional excellence 

award, The Age reported. 

So team vision clear 

Lord Mayor John So was ‘jeered and hooted’ from 

the public galleries over staff cuts in late August, 

The Age said. 

Despite recent media coverage and its emphasis 

on people recently laid off, the City of Melbourne 

has been advertising a range of interesting 

positions including manager, strategic planning and 

sustainability, and manager, facilities and assets 

management www.sladegroup.com.au, as well 

as a new marketing communications executive 

resume@sacsconsult.com.au. 

Cheap parking! 

Every week 4000 drivers report faulty parking meters 

in this city. The city found 81,000 malfunctioning 

meters last financial year. Chief executive David 

Pitchford admitted the parking and traffic branch 

was under-performing, setting off fears (10 August) 

he was considering sacking the heavily unionised 

parking officers and tendering their jobs to the 

private sector, The Age said. The Australian Services 

Union secretary Brain Parkinson said bureaucrats 

had verbally threatened to outsource the task of 

issuing tickets if fine revenue did not increase, The 


Metropolis 2007 

The 12 th annual International Metropolis Conference (8 

to 12 October), to be held in Melbourne, includes over 

500 speakers looking at migration, economic growth 

and social cohesion, www.metropolis2007.org. 

Eves 

Show us your money 

The Royal Melbourne Show (20 -30 September) will 

be more expensive than ever this year, with the cost 

of a family ticket jumping from $60 last year to $75 

this year, and adult tickets going up $5, The Herald 

Sun said. The second year in the new facilities. 

Top job up for grabs 

Applications are open for the position of chief executive 

of the Victorian Major Events Company. Current CEO 

Peter Abraam, who has held the position for eight 

years has a new job in Abu Dhabi with a property and 

finance conglomerate, The Age said. 

Planni Propery 

The new and the old 

A Bates/Smart designed ‘cutting-edge’ glass tower, 

for 171 Collins Street will be three storeys shorter (17 

rather than 20 storeys) than originally planned, with 

the council (a majority of councillors including architect 

Peter Clarke but not the Lord Mayor) over-riding CBD 

planning controls. Heritage, planning and religious 

figures complained the original building would crowd 

out St Paul’s Cathedral, The Age reported. Planning 

minister Madden will have the final word. 

Muscling out McMansions 

Four architecture firms have been chosen from 

51 firms to design sustainable and affordable 

housing that the Victorian urban development body 

VicUrban hopes will become and alternative to 

the oft-criticised McMansion. The firms are BKK 

Architects with Third Skin; Metropolitan Housing 

Laboratory; Zen Architects; and Croxon Ramsay/ 

Sense Architecture. They will design houses that 

meet the six star energy efficiency standard, and 

are affordable to the average family on an annual 

income of $50,000 to $70,000, the Financial Review 

said. 

Location, location, location … 

Melbourne now has 17 ‘million dollar suburbs’. 

Figures show sales in the three months to the end 

of June saw the median sale price of 17 suburbs 

above $1m, The Herald Sun reported. 

Last year’s census figures show that the centre point 

from which Melbourne’s suburbs are sprawling at 

a rate of 430 new houses a week is the corner of 

Bourne Rd and Gardiner Pde, Glen Iris, The Herald 

Sun reported. 

The top four sales at the $350m Salta properties 

project on the old site of the Mercy maternity hospital 

have averaged more than $15m each – almost 

twice previous records for Melbourne apartments, 


Transit city two 

The Victorian planning minister Justin Madden will 

take over planning power in Footscray to accelerate 

development as a part of the Melbourne 2030 

strategy, making it the second ‘transit city’. Similar 

powers to vitalise Dandenong were granted VicUrban 

and other government agencies last year, however at 

$52.1m over four years, the Footscray strategy is a 

more modest project, The Herald Sun said. 

Moran rails against regulations 

Allan Moran has written in the Financial Review 

about the burden that land and other restrictions place 

on Victorians, criticising the creation of artificial land 

shortage through the 2030 urban growth boundary. 

Moran, along with Louise Staley authored Locked 

Out, which examines the effects of regulation on 

Victoria’s house prices, launched at Master Builders 

Association of Victoria in mid-August. 

Moving along (1) 

Planning minister Justin Madden has given 

Scots Church, in Collins Street, permission for a 

redevelopment of adjacent buildings on the corner of 

Russel Street and Little Collins Street to be redeveloped 

into a 13-floor with ground level shops, and three level 

basement car-park. Interestingly, part of the former 

car-park will remain to recognise it being the first 

multi-level car park in Melbourne, circa 1939. 

Moving along (2) 

Stuart Morris, QC, who quit as president of the 

Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and as a 

Supreme Court judge in March, has been hired to 

advise a council on overturning a VCAT decision (which 

was made by two of his colleagues while he was 

president). The VCAT Act forbids former VCAT members 

from representing parties at VCAT for two years but 

does not have specific restrictions on offering parties 

legal advice. At issue is the development of a resort 

in a green wedge zone in the Mornington Peninsula 

Shire, The Herald Sun reported. 

Trade offs 

Part of the government’s $1b convention Centre 

precinct resembles ‘a downmarket suburban 

homeware centre’ its critics say. Furthermore the 

retail centre – without any environmental rating 

– will effectively subsidise the 6-star green rated 

Convention Centre, raising concerns about tradeoffs 

made in Victorian major projects, The Age said. 

Like Southern Cross Station, the centre looks like it 

will be built around a clothing store. 

Looking after grandma no more 

Following a review of how Victoria’s cemeteries 

are run, the State Government is considering 

disbanding more than 500 cemetery trust boards. 

Their funds would be pooled and all cemeteries 

come under a single board answerable to a minister, 

or regional management boards may be set up to 

and be responsible for each region, The Herald Sun 

reported. 

Stonington Mansion 

Art dealer Rodney Menzies has bought Stonington 

Mansion for more than $18m – a Melbourne residential 

property record. A campaign had sought to keep the 

property in public ownership, The Age reported. 

Whither democracy 

Local councils may lose their power to approve or 

reject key development projects under a scheme 

currently under consideration by the Victorian 

Government. The proposed changes, akin to those in 

South Australia, would mean special panels (mainly 

made up of unelected experts) would determine 

major planning applications. The ACT and NSW 

are considering similar models proposed under 

the federal initiative known as the Development 

Assessment Forum. The changes are likely to please 

industry groups, but councils and resident groups 

will oppose them, according to The Age. 

Victorian Local Governance Association president 

Beth Davidson said ‘councils should be prepared 

to consider better methods of decision-making’. 

Planning minister Madden has assured Planning 

Backlash, an organisation representing more than 

100 local planning groups, that the government 

will not attempt to take planning powers from local 

councils, The Herald Sun reported. 

lcal ernme 

Out with the groceries, in with the grog 

Shopping giant Woolworths wants to shut down its 

Doncaster East Safeway store and replace it with 

Dan Murphy’s discount liquor store, angering some 

locals, The Herald Sun said. Woolworths already has 

24 Dan Murphy’s stores around the state but has 

never before attempted to substitute a supermarket 

for a bottle shop. 

Madden maddens Yarra 

Planning minister Justin Madden has upset Yarra 

Council with his recent decision to divest the 

council planning control over two key Richmond 

Abbotsford sites bordering the Yarra River, owned by 

development company Salta. Madden has approved 

developments which go against the existing ‘urban 

design framework’, The Melbourne Times said. 

17



Punishing the victim 

The Hume Council threatened up to 100 rate-payers, 

who were victims of graffiti, with fines if they did not 

remove the graffiti before a deadline. Mayor Gary 

Jungwirth has subsequently said no-one has or 

will be fined and described the approach as heavyhanded. 

Greater Dandenong has a similar approach 

and has fined some residents. Casey has a very 

different approach offering a hotline residents can 

call to have the council remove the graffiti for free, 

The Herald Sun reported. 

Spor 

Congrats Cadel 

Australian cyclist Cadel Evans came second in 

the Tour de France to Spaniard Alberto Contador. 

Evans was just 23 seconds behind the winner after 

three weeks of racing. 

They won’t Mexican wave, but … 

A brawl involving at least ten people broke out 

in a bar in the exclusive Melbourne Cricket Club 

members’ area after a match between Collingwood 

and Melbourne. Chairs were thrown. Glasses 

smashed, The Age said. Collingwood won the 

match by 11 points. 

The people’s prices/Flu 

Tickets to the Spring Racing carnival are on sale, as 

much as $7 more than last year, according to The 

Herald Sun. The Melbourne Cup entry remains $50. 

Quarantining of the Equine Flu in eastern Sydney 

has been partially successful, since its arrival 

evidently from Japan. Horse racing, except for one 

week, continued in Victoria. Tabcorp suffered losses 

… but betting on greyhounds went up 87 per cent, 

The Herald Sun reported. Equestrian events will not 

be held at the Royal Melbourne Show. 

MSAC upgrade 

Sports minister James Merlino announced a $4m 

upgrade to the Melbourne Sports and Aquatics 

Centre, including an adjustable floor to change a 

pool’s depth so it can be used for teaching children 

to swim. The Age reported that the government is 

also considering developing a water park, featuring 

water-slides and rides. The water park was 

decided against when the centre was built for the 

Commonwealth Games, but the government may be 

changing its mind. 

Competing sports 

A provisional schedule for the 2008 Australian 

MotoGP at Phillip Island has the race set for the last 

weekend in September – the same day as the AFL 

Grand Final, The Herald Sun said. 

AFL 

Again, there are four Victorian teams in the final eight, 

which means football will be played in Melbourne on 

each of the four successive final weekends. 

A Channel Seven news report alleged high drug 

usage at a top Melbourne club, using as evidence 

private medical records of players that were 

‘allegedly found outside an Ivanhoe rehab clinic’, 

The Herald Sun said. A court injunction prevented 

further publication of the names of the club or 

individuals. Players, angered by the mishandling 

of private medical records, decided to protest by 

refusing interviews to Channel Seven. AFL chief 

executive officer Andrew Demetriou argued in The 

Age ‘helping young men beat drugs should not be 

turned into a publicity circus’. The names of players 

and the club have become an open secret. Police 

have interviewed a journalist. The AFL and Channel 

Seven seem to have shaken hands. 

Footballers in the AFL will be warned of the dangers 

of binge drinking as they begin their annual holidays 

following research that shows footballers are most 

likely to cause or get into trouble at the beginning of 

their break, The Age said. Watch this space, as the 

three strikes policy might disappear. 

Next step 

Kevin Sheedy and James Hird’s joint Melbourne 

farewell attracted nearly 90,000 people to the MCG. 

The pair have been involved collectively in 1136 

AFL/VFL matches. 

Over there (1) 

The Victorian Racing Club has joined a $2b bid by 

a New York consortium to take over thoroughbred 

racing in New York. The group will use the VRC 

blueprint for the Melbourne Cup to revitalise racing 

in New York, The Herald Sun said. 

Over there (2) 

Austrade, in Paris, is focusing its attention 

presently on the coming Rugby World Cup about to 

be held in Europe and linking the Australian health 

industry, and other particularly interested firms, 

into business opportunities/events. Give them a 

call. Letter From Melbourne was recently given a 

detailed briefing on site. 

ranspor 

Rail 

Private transport 

Melbourne’s trains and trams will stay in private 

hands indefinitely following a government decision 

to extend current franchises for a year and opening 

them up to international tender for 2009, The Age said. 

Premier Brumby stressed that ministers had been 

unanimous in their decision to keep the systems in 

private hands. The Age’s transport reporter Stephen 

Moynihan outlined the five biggest challenges 

for Connex and Yarra Trams. Connex: improve 

punctuality; secure next franchise agreement; 

maintain quality service during infrastructure 

upgrades; deal with increased patronage above the 

20 per cent rise over the past two years; improve 

public image. Yarra Trams: ensure tram priority in 

traffic, and at traffic lights; fight fare evasion; more 

new trams; more investment in track conditions, 

depots and power supplies; increase patronage. 

Where to 

The Age’s city editor Royce Millar and transport 

reporter Stephen Moynihan gave a nicely detailed 

analysis of public transport policy (4 August), 

highlighting the need for infrastructure development 

and simplification of bureaucracy which they say 

has been described as ‘a confounding maze of 

public and semi-public agencies, quangos and 

private companies’. 

The Age also discovered through a leaked blueprint 

of potential infrastructure upgrades ‘Transit 

Opportunities Kept Open’. It includes 20 potential 

new stations and new tracks connecting Chadstone 

shopping centre to Dandenong and Glen Waverly 

lines, and trains may run to Monash University and 

Rowville. See The Age (9 August) for a map. 

The Herald Sun reported that a 50 per cent increase 

in the number of passengers using the train system 

has been met with only a 15 per cent increase in 

services. The Sun also said big-ticket projects, such 

as Southern Cross and the ‘smartcard’ ticketing 

system have ‘taken precedence over basic service 

improvements’. The 300,000 people who use the 

trains each day are angry. 

The Brumby government has announced public 

transport as a key concern and says it is considering 

several initiatives that will ease some of the 

congestion. The Herald Sun commissioned a list of 

transport priorities from Transport and Tourist Forum. 

TTF’s first three recommendations were a third 

rail track to Dandenong and replacement of level 

crossings; new trams trains and busses; and key 

road transport projects (including east-west tunnel). 

Transport tunnel 

A proposed multi-billion dollar rail tunnel under 

central Melbourne has received backing from key 

figures in the transport sector, The Age said. The 

new line would run from Footscray to Parkville then 

under the city centre to South Yarra. 

Growing pains 

Connex, the company that runs Melbourne’s rail 

system, has released a series of advertisements 

claiming that as Melbourne grows, Connex is 

growing with it and ‘meeting Melbourne’s growing 

needs’. The advertisements describe a company 

‘working hard to maximise the use of the current 

fleet’ and looking forward to the $3b that is to be 

invested in the rail network over the next ten years. 

Another campaign, ‘A Better Way’, has been 

postponed due to concerns there will be a backlash 

from frustrated commuters, The Age reported. 

The campaign will be launched in print, radio and 

television in September. 

Fewer trains 

Connex plans to run fewer trains in the city loop 

to avoid congestion on the rail system. The rail 

operator conceded some passengers will lose out, 

but says more will benefit. 

More fines 

Yarra Trams is about to reap almost $1m from fines 

issued to fare evaders this year, almost twice what it 

collected two years ago, The Herald Sun said. 

Kosky casts out cuffs idea 

Public transport minister Lynn Kosky vetoed the 

idea of staff on public transport carrying handcuffs. 

The idea, which aimed to reduce assaults on staff 

and stop fare-evaders from escaping, was being 

discussed by Connex, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, 

and the infrastructure department, The Herald Sun 

said. Staff already have the power to arrest people. 

Freight Week 2007 

2007 Freight Week, from 15 to 21 September, 

18



climaxing with the Australian Freight Industry 

Awards Dinner is detailed in a ten page booklet, 

which tells all, or www.freight2007.com.au. 

Not Myki 

Disability support groups have criticised the new 

Myki ticketing system, which they say offers no 

improvements for Victorians with disabilities, and 

also that validation machines are too high. The 

government says the new system complies with 

the Disabilities Discrimination Act, but the support 

groups say the government’s interpretation of the 

law is ‘mean’, The Herald Sun reported. 

Federal funding 

Amid disputes over how $16.8b dollars of federal 

funding for transport should be divided up, 

federal transport minister Mark Vaile said federal 

departmental staff would be better trained to 

‘investigate cost estimates in State Government 

pitches for funds under the Howard Government’s 

Auslink2 blueprint for land transport upgrades’, the 

Financial Review reported. 

road 

Albert Park-ing 

Pay parking has been in place at Albert Park for just 

over a year and some local groups are complaining. 

Parks Victoria’s manager of Albert Park, Phillip 

Ross, said the meters were introduced to give 

extra funding to the park, and also to discourage 

office workers from taking the spaces during the 

week. The meters are, however, active at night 

and on weekends, and ‘more than two thirds of the 

revenue was spent on upkeep of the pay/parking 

infrastructure’, The Age said. Ross said he doesn’t 

believe recreational users of the park have been put 

off by the cost of parking!! 

Bigger bicycle budget! 

Professor Nick Low, director of the Australasian 

Centre for Governance and Management of Urban 

Transport argues in a report commissioned by 

The Age that by 2030, 30 per cent of all city trips 

should be made by bicycle. The State Government 

has earmarked $70m for cycling projects over the 

next decade, but Low says state funding for cycling 

programs and infrastructure should be $100m 

annually. An Age Editorial also argued for a shift 

in planning and perception to make cycling an 

everyday part of Melbourne life. 

Bicycle Victoria is opening two ‘bicycle parking 

pods’ in the CBD. The ‘pods’, funded by the City of 

Melbourne, include showers, toilets, and lockers, and 

will hold up to 50 bikes, The Age said. Melbourne 

City Council is also pushing for more ‘Copenhagenstyle’ 

bike lanes (which means the bike lane has a 

lane of parked cars between it and the traffic). 

As part of the Inner Melbourne Action Plan, which 

aims to ‘join the dots’ for Melbourne’s web of bike 

paths, a new route will join the northern suburbs up 

to Port Phillip Bay. Cyclist will have to cross just 10 

intersections between Swan Street and Dandenong 

Road as compared to 70 on the existing Chapel 

Street route, The Age reported. 

Despite the boom in bikes amongst the adults, the 

number of children riding bicycles has reduced 

dramatically according to a Deakin University study 

linking the decline to increasing childhood obesity 

rates, The Age said. 

Melbourne’s myopic transport policy 

Elliot Fishman, director of the Institute for Sensible 

Transport, responded to the State Government’s 

$8.6b transport wish list inThe Age, saying that 

that projects such as the $2.2b widening of the 

Western Ring Road treat symptoms and ignore the 

problems. Fishman argued the government’s policy 

would be detrimental to Victoria in the long term 

for four reasons: climate change; oil shortages; 

traffic congestion; and sedentary lifestyle disease. 

On Fishman’s account more effective methods 

of dealing with Melbourne’s transport problems 

would be to encourage the use of bicycles and 

improve public transport. Fishman notes that the 

rail system in this city has not had a significant 

extension since the 1930s when the population 

was just one million. 

Changing hands 

Tenix will no longer staff and manage Victoria’s 

mobile speed cameras, although it will continue 

to manage the enforcement process. British firm 

Serco will take over the front line job, following 

a series of mistakes by Tenix (including setting 

cameras to wrong speeds, programming wrong 

locations, and setting cameras up, such that their 

view was obstructed). The new contract includes up 

to $50,000 fines if cameras are incorrectly operated, 


A good job 

Two sections of the EastLink project (the Ringwood 

and Dandenong bypasses) will open before the rest 

of the road and are expected to be free for a period. 

The entire project appears to be ahead of schedule 

and may be open before its planned finish date of 

November next year, The Herald Sun said. 62 of 

the projects 88 bridges are already completed. 

Ashley Mason, head of operations, said good 

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19



weather and stable industrial relations had helped 

the project along. 

Better safe than sorry 

The West Gate Bridge is likely to get $240m to 

improve safety and maintenance according to The 

Age. Advice from some experts appears to have 

gained weight following the collapse of a bridge 

across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis on 1 

August in which 13 people died. 

Ford factory, just the beginning 

According to Kevin Baker’s Economic Tsunami, 

the world motor industry will be given a serious jolt 

when Chinese car-makers begin exporting them in 

around 2010. The Age speculated on the dire run-on 

effects for the Australian car industry. 

242 workers at plastics manufacturer Venture 

Industries walked off the job in a protected strike 

action. The company apparently refused to 

guarantee more than $25m of entitlements. The 

strike at Venture, which makes dashboards and 

bumper bars for Ford, had a flow on effect at Ford 

which stood down 600 workers, raising the total 

number for the month to 1,850, The Herald Sun said. 

Watch this space… 

Ford is in talks to save up to 140 jobs by selling on 

its Geelong casting plant The Herald Sun said. 

About 100 employees of car component maker 

Bekaert were given a reprieve when a review 

(planned for early August) of its Geelong site was 

postponed until September. The Australian Workers 

Union is ‘expecting the worst’ The Age reported. 

What’s new 

The parliament of Victoria, Road Safety Committee, 

has been conducting an inquiry into the vehicle 

safety, including public hearings in August. There 

was a particular focus on modern technologies and 

their application. 

air 

Quite a night 

The annual Melbourne Airport 2007 Stakeholder 

Report, held at the Touring Hall, Melbourne Museum, 

attracted a notable cast of engineers, designers, 

logisticians, transport specialists, and others involved 

with the airport in one way or another. The event 

doubled as a farewell to outgoing CEO Chris Barlow 

and a welcome to Chris Woodruff. A profitable 

airport, which is obviously keeping its eye on other 

airports around the nation and the globe as it lays 

plans for what might be the biggest infrastructure 

development site in Victoria in the next few years. 

$330m over the next five years in a collection of 

individual projects which will make significant 

changes to the International terminal. Includes an 

entire new international passenger precinct to be 

completed by 2011, www.melbourneairport.com.au. 

More/less flights 

Cathay Pacific will fly between Hong Kong and 

Melbourne three (increasing from two) days a week 

from 1 October, the Financial Review said. Bucking 

the recent trend, Jetstar will cancel its direct flight 

from Melbourne to Honolulu in Hawaii because 

not enough tickets are being sold for the route, 

The Herald Sun said. Virgin Blue celebrated its 7 th 

birthday with a special round of cheap tickets. 

Welcome 

More international passengers (4.5 million) passed 

through Melbourne Airport in the last financial year 

than ever before, The Age reported. The (three per 

cent) growth has been attributed largely to the 

expansion of Jetstar. 

pors 

Channel deepening 

The Port of Melbourne Corporation says a $25 to 

$30 levy on full containers would cover the cost of 

deepening the bay and would mean Melbourne would 

still be cheaper than other major Australian ports. 

However, Shipping Australia chief executive Llew 

Russel says a new surcharge would discourage 

business and make Adelaide, NSW and Brisbane 

ports more attractive, according to the Financial 

Review. Wayne Kaylor-Thomson, then-acting, 

but now chief executive of the Victorian Employer’s 

Chamber of Commerce and Industry, wrote in The 

Age that ‘channel deepening is Victoria’s most 

urgent infrastructure task’. Premier Brumby said 

the project has the full support of his government 

as long as it were convinced the environmental 

damage to the bay will not be too severe. Brumby is 

full speed ahead on this! 

The Port of Melbourne Corporation’s geotechnical 

engineer, Don Raisbeck, said that the effects of ripping 

up 550,000 cubic meters of rock from the Heads 

could cause damage that would take up to 30 years 

to recover, including in marine national park areas (a 

significant increase from the corporation’s previous 

estimate of two to five years) The Age reported. 

One major potential problem for the project has been 

overcome. The 500-megawatt gas-fired Newport 

Power Station’s operator Ecogen, had warned that 

it may be forced to shut down during the $736m 

dredging, causing blackouts and huge costs to the 

government. Also, Ecogen was concerned sediment 

turned up the dredging would corrode the station’s 

pipes forcing the station off line, and that the 

sediment would contaminate fish in ‘the Warmies’, 

a popular nearby fishing spot. However the boards 

of both organisations will sign an agreement to 

work together to facilitate the project, which will be 

undertaken during the regular maintenance periods 

at the station, The Age said. 

The Port of Melbourne Corporation had a record 

number of containers pass through the port in July 

with 188,145 containers, a 16.1 per cent increase 

from last July, The Age said. PMC chief executive 

Stephen Bradford said usually records came around 

Christmas time and said it seems to reflect the 

general economic buoyancy at the moment. 

Stevedoring inquiry 

The Essential Services Commission is conducting 

an inquiry into the ‘impact of port planning on 

competition in the provision of container stevedoring 

and related services in Victorian ports’. Similar 

reviews will occur across the nation as a follow up 

to the 2006 Competition and Infrastructure Reform 

Agreement, signed by the Commonwealth, State 

and Territory governments. 

He workPlace 

jobs 

Positions vacant 

Greyhound Racing Victoria seeks an Animal 

Welfare Business Development Officer to develop 

a unique business unit within the rapidly growing 

industry, www.grv.org.au. Adelaide Research 

and Innovation, the commercial development 

company of South Australia’s oldest university, The 

University of Adelaide, seeks a managing director 

to develop an entrepreneurial culture promoting 

research, education services and IP to industry, 03 

9602 1666. Melbourne International Arts Festival 

seeks an artistic director for its 2009 and 2010 

festivals, 9662 4242, by 19 September. Victorian 

Major Events seeks a chief executive officer, 

expressions of interest, j.allen@jdcallen.com.au. 

Racing Victoria seeks seven independent directors, 

cgmelbourne@russellreynolds.com. Goulburn 

Valley Grammar School, seeks a Principal from 

June 2008, select@ckh.com.au. Zoos Victoria, 

who markets Melbourne’s three great zoos, seeks 

a promotions manager, a brand manager, and 

membership manager, 96901988. The National 

Zoo and Aquarium is also seeking a ‘Lion Tamer’ 

general manager, www.nationalzoo.com.au. The 

Energy Supply Association of Australia seeks 

an energy and greenhouse gas policy advisor, 2 

positions, 96701017. Banyule Council seeks a 

chief executive officer, execsearch@mcarthur. 

com.au. Film Victoria seeks a general manager, 

Melbourne film office, www.careers.vic.gov. 

au. The NSW Government seeks a government 

chief information officer, see www.jobs.nsw.gov. 

au. The Department of Environment and Water 

Resources seeks a chair and chief executive of 

the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, the new body 

created by the Federal Government to prepare a plan 

for the basin, including working out a sustainable 

and integrated limit on ground water and surface 

water diversions, admin@hsexecsearch.com.au. 

The Victorian Government wishes to appoint a 

director to the Sentencing Advisory Council, www. 

kathleentownsend.com.au. The Department of 

Sustainability and Environment seeks a director 

and a policy officer, water, 96236513. 

Communiy 

Too much cheek to turn the other one 

Archbishop Denis Hart has suspended Monsignor 

Geoff Baron from his post as Dean of St Patrick’s 

cathedral indefinitely, following the release of 

camera footage showing Baron verbally abusing a 

group of skate-boarders who had been skating at 

the city church site. The Archbishop has also hired 

security guards to protect the city church, after 

some skateboarders threatened to vandalise it, The 


Eclipse 

Tuesday 28 August saw the first total lunar eclipse 

in Melbourne since 2000. Cloud coverage meant 

predictions of the city turning blood red were 

sadly unrealised. 

20



Good dog/Bad dog 

There are 83,449 dogs working throughout Australia, 

19,914 of them in Victoria, according to the Australian 

Companion Animal Council. The majority of them 

work on farms, The Herald Sun reported. More 

than 2,700 dog attacks were reported in Victoria 

over the past year. Many more go unreported. The 

Herald Sun released a chart of the ‘danger areas’. 

Wyndham was worst with 229 attacks followed by 

Hume, Boroodara, Ballarat, and Brimmbank. 

Endangered dingos 

The State Government’s advisory council 

has recommended that dingos be listed as a 

threatened species, upsetting farmers and pleasing 

conservationists, The Age said. 

Fortified whiners 

This year, the Federal Government will sign an 

agreement with the European Union on trade in 

wine. One of the catches for the Australian fortified 

wine industry is that the use of the terms ‘sherry’, 

‘port’, ‘vermouth’, and ‘masala’ will be banned 

within 12 months. Lynch’s Restaurant in South 

Yarra celebrated its 30 th birthday this month and in 

September, Paul Lynch, 78, who has been running 

the restaurant from day one, will put it up for auction, 


Missing and missed 

Photographs of missing persons were posted at 

train stations during National Missing Persons Week 

this month. This year’s particular focus was mental 

health, The Herald Sun said 

PM Gusmao 

Independence hero Xanana Gusmao has been 

appointed Prime Minister of East Timor, The Herald 

Sun reported. Derryn Hinch has revealed he has an 

inoperable liver tumour. 

To fine weather 

Peters Ice Cream turned 100 this month. The 

company was founded by American migrant Fred 

Peters in the Sydney suburb of Manly in 1907, and 

later had a factory in Meyers Place in Melbourne. 

Peters also contributed to Australian radio and 

television culture with Peters Pals and Peters Fun 

Fair. Multinational company Nestle bought Peters in 

1996 but its ice creams are still Australian made, 


HMAS Sydney 

The government has approved a $2.9m grant to 

help shipwreck hunters find the HMAS Sydney. 

The Navy officially rejected mistaken claims by an 

amateur group to have found the vessel. The $2.9m 

grant comes on top of a $1.3m grant approved in 

August 2005. 

As Victorian as … 

The National Trust is seeking nominations in the 

annual Victorian Heritage Icons Awards. Just 

about anything can be nominated. Last years 

awards recognised Flinders Street Station, the 

MCG, Phar Lap, the Eureka Flag and Puffing Billy. 

Jeff Kennett’s hairstyle has been nominated, 

www.nattrust.com.au. 

Wise move 

Under a proposed new visa deal, high-school 

students will be able to spend their gap year working 

in the United States before returning for university 

study, The Age said. 

Being faithful 

The Scots’ Church in Collins Street is having 

a special mid-week AFL Grand Final service 

26 September, with guest preacher Rev. Allan 

Dunn, chaplain to Essendon Football Club. Also in 

September, the church hosts an array of concerts, 

including international figures such as Colin Walsh, 

an organist from England, Max Kenworthy and 

Nicholas Grigsby, organists from New Zealand, 

and Roman Perucki of Poland. Its head preacher, 

the Rev Douglas Robertson recently found himself 

in Scotland, preaching to Queen Elizabeth. 

St Ignatius Church has received a $100,000 grant 

from the State Government, which it will use for 

works including waterproofing and roofing, The Age 

reported. Another $2,000,000 needed. 

The Archbishop of Dijon, Roland Minnerath, spoke 

at Newman College in August, addressing the division 

of state and Church in a lecture titled ‘Caesar’s Coin: 

How Much Should Church and State Interact’. 

Dib dib dib, dob dob dob 

Millions of people celebrated the centenary of the 

Scouts on 1 August. There are 28 million scouts 

throughout 155 countries, including 60,000 in 

Australia, according to The Age. 

Drink drive 

The son of World Vision Australia chief and antibinge 

drink campaigner Tim Costello was fined 

$500 and had his licence revoked for 16 moths for 

drink driving, The Age reported. The twenty-fourth 

Melbourne Prayer Breakfast at the Melbourne 

Convention Centre was attended by 800 people. 

Former Premier Steve Bracks’ son has been 

charged over the incident in which he crashed a car 

into a tree with a blood alcohol reading of 0.129, The 

Herald Sun said. 

Vale 

Victorians Steven Nott, 50, and co-pilot Janelle 

Johnston, 34, who died when their light aeroplane 

crashed outside Clonbinane north of Melbourne. 

Harry Adams, AM, Naval Officer, aged 74. Dr 

Robert Pargetter, principal of Haileybury College 

since 1999. Wolfgang Sievers, photographer of 

Australian industry, aged 93. Shirley Horne, AM, 

Social Policy Stalwart, aged 85. Olive Alyson Syme, 

interior decorator and activist, aged 101 (The Age 

featured a wonderful obituary by Melbourne architect 

Neil Clerehan). Dr David Komesaroff, doctor, part of 

the first open heart surgery anaesthetic team at the 

Royal Melbourne Hospital, invented the Komesaroff 

Resuscitator that continues to save lives, as well 

as the Komesaroff Anaesthetic Machine and other 

medical inventions, aged 75. Dr Sheila Marion 

Barr, wife of the late Rev Archibald Chrichten Barr 

who came from Scotland to Scots Curch in 1949 

and preached until the 1960s. John Lawrence 

Cairns-Smith-Barth, aged 55. 

Michelangelo Antonioni, Italian film director, aged 

93. Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, 80, born to 

Polish Jews, converted to Roman Catholicism as 

a boy, then rose to become leader of the French 

church. His mother died in a Nazi concentration 

camp and Lustiger always insisted he had remained 

a Jew after his conversion. Charles Henry Whiting, 

prolific writer and historian, aged 80. 

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21

THE LONG LUNCH 

From left: Chief Executive Officer of Metlink Bernie 

Carolan, President of Westend Business Association 

John Stock, and Chief Executive Officer of Whitelion 

Juvenile Justice, Mark Watt, pictured at Melbourne’s 

172nd Birthday Luncheon Celebration, ANZ Pavilion. 

From left: Australian Institute of Energy (AIE) Treasurer 

Joy Claridge, Secretary to the Department of Transport 

and Regional Services Mr Michael Taylor AO, and Chair 

of the AIE Eriks Velins, pictured at an AIE luncheon 

seminar at the Kelvin Club. The Secretary spoke on 

‘the role biofuels will play in the transport industry’. 

From left: Nola Rihani, Business Club 

Australia (focusing on Rugby 2007 World 

Cup for Australian business in Europe), 

Alistair Urquhart, Letter From Melbourne, 

and Karine Cupial, Business Development 

Manager, Austrade France. 

The face of Melbourne’s Spring Fashion Week, model 

and designer Jacqui Alexander (centre), poses with other 

models to kick off fashion week festivities. 

From left: Legal Precinct’s Peter Harrington, with Great 

Debate Panelists the Hon Bronwyn Pike MP, Victorian 

Minister for Education, and Father Bob Maguire, 

chairman of Open Family. 

The board of WISE Employment, disability 

and employment service, at their Strategic 

Meeting at the Eureka Tower. 

 

 

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