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Something's missing. Politics seems to have taken a holiday. Packed its bags and shot through. Much of this is down to the death of the Queen and the subsequent suspension of Parliament, but it runs deeper than that. The things which scandalised us during the term of the last government - the ministerial affairs, secret payouts, foreign policy disasters, fumbled photo opps - they've all gone, except of course the lingering secret ministries affair, which sticks to the shoe of state like chewing gum. This government is dull by comparison, which is a good thing.
If Anthony Albanese took a small target campaign to the May election, in government he's even harder to get a bead on. If anything, the government is doing all the shooting, whacking the opposition over its "wasted decade" and "the trillion dollars of Liberal debt" at every opportunity. The government's copped some heat - more jalapeno than habanero - from the opposition over ministerial shareholdings but was quick to turn that back on those opposite. It came through winter's east coast energy crunch unscathed, steered its climate legislation into law and hosted a jobs and skills summit which was largely unremarkable in terms of its outcomes but a good show of collaborative conversation.
Last week, the PM batted aside - sometimes crankily (his temper is never far from the surface) - the inevitable questions about the republic asked after the Queen's death. Now was not the time, he said, ignoring those who thought it was. He defended the suspension of Parliament and the national public holiday quietly and firmly, saying his government wouldn't be one which deviated from convention and protocol - a thinly veiled dig at his predecessor who did deviate wildly with his secret ministries. He seemed at pains not to startle anyone by lurching one way or the other. He was more workmanlike than statesmanlike.
This is all understandable, given Labor only secured a two-seat majority in May - not to mention only 32.6 per cent of the primary vote - and is only a couple more interest rate hikes or power blackouts away from taking a slide in the opinion polls, where it's now basking in popularity. It wants to assure those more conservative voters who cast their ballots for the not Scott party (Labor) for the first time, that they made the right choice.
But steady as she goes won't please all the people all the time. Labor's grip on the centre is one thing; maintaining some hold on the left is quite another. The Greenslide in Queensland, in which the self-proclaimed social democrat party picked up three seats, sounded a warning for Labor. It has a fine line to tread between the left, which clamours for a republic, and the right, which does not. Sticking to the middle ground when the world is shifting around you is tricky. The duller you make it look, the better.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you prefer your politics bland or spicy? Is Labor charting the right course? Is it too far to the left? Or too far to the right? When does orderliness become dull? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Public health experts are increasingly optimistic the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is in sight. The World Health Organisation has advised the pandemic could soon be over, with the weekly number of global deaths continuing to decline. Epidemiologist Professor Tony Blakely said it felt like the end. "We are in a much better position now. We have a lot of immunity from vaccines and natural infection," he said on Friday.
- A battle to include sexual orientation and gender questions in the next census will go to the Human Rights Commission. Newcastle parent April Long says they felt excluded when answering the 2021 survey with their partner Kelly given there was no question about sexual orientation. Long, a chief executive for a non-profit addiction program provider, said they filed a complaint on Thursday with the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) alleging the failure to properly count LGBTIQ+ people in the census amounted to unlawful discrimination.
- Australia's biggest renewable hydrogen project will go ahead in the Pilbara, with support from the federal and state governments. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) on Friday announced a grant of $47.5 million towards French energy company ENGIE's green hydrogen and ammonia project near Karratha in Western Australia. Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the project would help Australia become a world leader in hydrogen generation.
THEY SAID IT: "Dullness in matters of government is a good sign, and not a bad one - in particular, dullness in parliamentary government is a test of its excellence, an indication of its success." - Walter Bagehot
YOU SAID IT: High speed rail and memories of train travel.
"If only," says Julie. "I can't see it happening in my lifetime. Australia is the country to have high speed rail connecting all capital cities being mainly flat with no extreme mountains. It is far less polluting than air travel and much more relaxing. I have been lucky to travel on the Himalayan Express from Xian to Lhasa and the Trans Siberian Railway from Beijing to Helsinki. There is so much to enjoy and see it is so much nicer than flying. A fast train between Sydney and Melbourne should go via the Snowy Mountains, taking in Canberra and the ski resorts in NSW and Victoria. It would take so many cars off the roads and fix the parking problems in winter at Thredbo and Perisher. Think of all the diesel trucks taken off the road. It is a no brainer."
Kip reckons the train's already left the station: "By the time anyone builds a fast train along the east coast of Australia, we'll have hydrogen powered jet planes and fleets of smaller electric planes servicing the regional centres in a flexible and adaptive network that uses the existing airport infrastructure. I'd like to see the existing rail network operating properly before we get excited about building more. I could nearly ride my bike from Canberra to Sydney faster than the current train service."
"Like you I have heard it all before," says Kaye. "At 77 I am realistic that it won't happen in my lifetime, if ever. I love trains and as a child travelled most holidays to Mangalore station near Seymour from Melbourne by train sometimes steam, and since then have trained it in the UK, Europe and India, through the original Mangalore station (somewhat bigger)."
Bernard says: "I have travelled on a fast train in China, Xi'an to Beijing, very comfortable. It reached 306kmh, which I think was faster than the cars at the Melbourne Grand Prix that year. (Also ICE trains in Germany). Please keep Victorian Labor away from any construction: they promised a fast train Melbourne to Bendigo. A travel time of 84 minutes was promised - has it ever been achieved? Despite security fencing, kangaroos still manage to infiltrate."
Jennifer is all for it: "If we'd spent some of the money used to prop up Qantas on high speed rail, it would have been a much better investment. I never travel from Canberra to Sydney by plane, always use the train or the bus as you actually get much more usable time on the trip without the hassles of check-ins and waiting around. The departure time is always reliable too. No luggage is lost. You get to see the countryside in different seasons, which is fabulous. Very relaxing and quite a beautiful trip."
Brenda is sceptical: "Fast trains will never happen, I think. Or it will be many decades before the first sod is turned. Why not spend some money on existing tracks so the trains we have - or new ones - which can go faster on them? When my grandchildren were younger we loved going from Canberra to Sydney on the train, but it took four and a half hours. In some places it felt like you could get out and walk faster. If that track was updated so it took three hours, it could almost compete with the planes, once you took into account waiting times at airports, etc. And for us in cattle class, trains are more comfortable and the views, as you said, can be amazing."
Chris is a rail fan: "Train travel is great. It is undoubtedly the best way to travel anywhere even if it is slow. Australia suffers from 'the tyranny of distance', unlike Europe or Japan, so it is always going to be difficult to achieve this. Yes, we've heard it before and last time I recall seeing fairly detailed planning associated with the Sydney to Brisbane route on which I live. To give the proposal substance, it needs to be demonstrated that it can be done and 'quickly'. It would be wise then to build such a line in parts. Let's sort out, say, Sydney to Canberra as a first stage. Then on to Melbourne. A segment north could also be undertaken such as Sydney to Newcastle. This would surely also assist genuine decentralisation along the eastern seaboard. The benefits over these routes are enormous."
Victor says: "I have considerable experience of high speed rail having lived in France from 1982 to 2020. France was one of the first countries to build such a network and it has been a success, though I would counter the assumption that the TGV reduces road usage. You only have to be on the French Autoroutes in summer to realise that. Look at what is happening in England with the proposed high speed lines running north from London. Costs have increased to such a extent that large hunks of the network have been ditched, and may well be abandoned all together. The saving of journey time over that of the existing lines are not worth the massive expenditure of taxpayers' money. My advice to Australia is to improve and upgrade the existing rail and road network."
Richard has doubts: "Way back, when Dr Wild of the CSIRO put together a serious plan for high speed rail from Brisbane to Melbourne, the then-Labor government would not give the consortium a tax break for 10 years. It was one of the poorest decisions the Hawke government made and it was the lobbying of Sir Peter Abeles, the owner of Ansett that swayed the government. The Sydney to Melbourne air route is the most profitable in Australia and Abeles wanted that protected. Governments in this county have no vision, just look at the second rate NBN and the alternative energy stuff up we have suffered. I doubt anything will come of the revised high speed rail proposal, just another $500 million down the drain."
And from another Brenda: "Thanks for the belly laugh at your description of air travel. And for evoking such fond memories of train travel in India: my many trips to that fascinating country in my younger years, crowds on the roof, people hanging out the doors, interminable, unexplained waits along the tracks, or in stations, greeted with a shrug by locals. An expected 12-hour journey across Bihar heading to Darjeeling that took 24 hours. How I loved it. And having recently returned from France, using the TGV to crisscross the country always makes one dream of something similar here. We often read that Australia lacks the population, the journeys are too long, the economics don't add up but we can still dream."