In a couple of week's time, Mallacoota enters the Brave New world of waste management with tip fees and restricted access.

It would appear that the Shire has gone for a divide and conquer approach. Residents have wheelie bins, limited recycling and a regular collection at a cost that most of us can absorb. The town's businesses have not fared so well and would seem to be facing a holiday peak that will be both unworkable and expensive.

The Shire has outsourced all these services. It is not too hard to see why politicians at every level just love outsourcing. It may or may not provide savings but it does provide an impenetrable barrier between the politician and the voters. Complaints about service levels are simply re-directed to the contractor and the financial nitty-gritties are buried beneath commercial confidentially. As far as waste management and the Shire is concerned, we residents and rate-payers are left with little or no leverage.

Or are we?

From this point on I am dealing in assumption and speculation but let us start by supposing that recycled aluminium still has real value, unlike glass or paper, and that if we were able to divert enough of it away from Tambo Waste then we could affect their bottom line sufficiently for them in turn to put pressure on the Shire to address our concerns.

I have gone into further detail about the hows of it here.

On a personal note, could we start talking negative production rather than waste? The bulk of the material that goes to the tip is not waste in the old sense, it is not bits that were spare or flawed. It is man made material built specifically to fit a purpose and then to be discarded.

One of the problems with Not So Public Meetings is that the rumour mill is not constrained by facts. The Shire has now issued a press release covering the meeting which was was chaired by Mayor, Cr Harvey Bates with Cr Michael Freshwater also present. Not Craig Ingram nor Cr Bommer as previously reported here

The meeting was called to tell interested parties that Mallacoota will have to find a quarter ($30,000) of the costs of the Environmental Effects Statement (EES). When (if) Mallacoota finds the money the Shire will match it dollar for dollar.

The Shire has not allocated funding in this financial year. Reading between the lines it looks like anything major at Bastion Point is firmly out there in next year, some time or never territory. Suits me.

Nothing to do with Mallacoota but I was struck by this news item carried on ABC News Online. (I won't provide a direct link, the ABC web site does not seem prepared to support permanent links.)

Friday, September 5, 2003. 11:46am (AEST)

Comedy TV show battles rival network in High Court

Channel Ten's comedy show The Panel is at the centre of a battle in the High Court today as it defends the show's use of excerpts from the Nine network.

Lawyers for Channel Ten found themselves explaining the concept of The Panel to Justice Ian Callinan today when he owned up to never having seen the program.

But Justice Michael Kirby told the court he had watched The Panel and found it amusing.

Channel Ten argues the 20 short excerpts from Channel Nine used in the program over several weeks do not breach copyright laws because they are protected by the fair dealing provisions for serious review or criticism.

But Channel Nine argues that does not apply to items used for satire.

The case is continuing.

I think Swift (Gulliver's Travels) and Voltaire (Candide) amongst many other have proved satire can really cut in as serious review and criticism.

What is perhaps really sad is that they might get away with it. Academics have sold out so thoroughly that these days they are seen as little better than spin doctors.

That was another long break, being a worker is really stretching me. I am just keeping ahead of all my other commitments but only just.

Not that there is a lack of things to talk about, for instance, Ocean Access is back on the agenda. On Monday Craig Ingram and Cr Bommer came down to an invitation only meeting about ocean access.

They still do not get it. By doing it on the sly like that, Citizen Joe Blow assumes the worst. Obviously all Mallacoota residents are born equal it is just that some of us are more equal than others!

Some of the more woeful aspects of this recent northern hemisphere summer are perhaps not receiving the media coverage they deserve.

The French government has estimated that during the very hot spell, deaths amongst the elderly were over ten thousand more than might have been expected during a normal summer, that is three times higher than the World Trade Center toll. Pity we cannot blame those pesky Moslems for that one as well!

Another interesting item buried away was a report suggesting summers like that are predicted by the global warming model but not for another 20 or 30 years. If that underestimate is typical of their science then I may get my private beach here at Karbeethong before I die.

Currently the worst case scenario has a rise in sea level of 0.8 of a metre by the year 2100. Although it is hard to imagine what that might mean, try going to the main wharf area, walking down to the water's edge and turning your back on the lake. Then look inland and imagine water up to the top of your thighs. And that is ignoring the possibility that the dunes behind Big Beach have been eroded away and Fisheries Point is open to the ocean. By then Mallacoota might be getting far more Ocean Access than it can handle!

And if they have got their time scale wrong, who knows this might all happen by 2050 or even 2040 and I might be still around to see it!