I don't get it.

I’ve been working on air for 25 years. Every single year at this time, I get calls from people who have gone out of their way to spread the Xmas spirit by putting up a Xmas lights display at their place….but they have a downward sound in their voice.

Every year they call to tell me about the thieves and the vandals who have attacked their display.

I don’t get it.

I never will get it.

I know that this week, the Patterson family of Gordon make the call to pull down their Xmas lights display. This was after vandals sabotaged their display for the fourth time. They hit again on Monday morning in the early hours and stole a 2 metre wooden Santa and a range of hand made and imported decorations.
How the hell do these people sleep at night.

And I guess the other question is this. If you’re respect for others possessions is so non existent….what would you possibly want with Xmas decorations. These people quite obviously have no comprehension of what Xmas is all about…what do they do with the stuff that they steal.

The Paterson’s have been doing their display for 15 years….and guys…..if you’re listening….we thank you for it. Thanks for spreading the Xmas spirit in Gordon. Nobody could blame you for pulling the pin.

The latest news on that story is that the 2 metre wooden Santa was recovered after a tip off to Tuggeranong police….and the police are interviewing 3 people in connection with the thefts.

Let’s hope that the justice system deals appropriately with those responsible.

I still don’t know how they even look at themselves in the mirror.

As far as I;m concerned this is suburban terrorism. This is about faceless, nameless people sneaking around in the dead of night trying to take Xmas away from us. I hope that these crimes are viewed extremely seriously if and when anyone gets to court.

Just about done now.

We were out doing some Christmas shopping last night at Westfield Woden…me and my Nes.
A bit of JB HiFi…..a bit of Big W. Bought some stocking fillers at some little girly shops that I’ve never been into and probably never will again.

Getting a park was really really easy. And I’ve gotta say the whole process was easier than I thought it would be. There was a healthy number of people out Xmas shopping, but it was workable for everyone.

I know it sounds weird for a man to say this, but it was actually quite relaxing.

We finished up with a quite coffee and then chuffed off home to start wrapping.

So we’ve got a couple of things left to get today.

Including pumpkin.

And don’t panic….I’m not wrapping a pumpkin as a Xmas gift…I just need some for Xmas lunch.

I still haven’t thought about desert on Xmas day either. I guess I better come up with a plan there.

Not much has changed.

So what did you think of the report into the Mohammed Haneef case ? I haven’t read the whole report, but on the face of it, there weren’t many surprises.

It is evident now that there were some serious mistakes made. It’s no surprise that the John Clarke report confirmed this.

What I find interesting is that for the John Howard haters around the nation, the Haneef case symbolised everything that they despised about the then Prime Minister. For them, this whole affair was political. For them, this was about conservative small mindedness and the fortress mentality created by Howard.

These same people are a little disappointed that, although the report has found massive mistakes were made, that no action will be taken….that there is no talk of an official apology or of any compensation.

The leftys who saw Kevin Rudd as the saviour of humanity are beginning to discover that Kevin is, when alls said and done, pretty much the same as John, it’s just that he pretends to be different.

This is the man who was on a mission to save the planet. This is the man who was going to set Australia on a trailblazing path to a greener future. Remember the urgency with which we rushed off to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Remember the euphoria when Kevin said sorry to the stolen generation.

That’s all a long time ago now.

The things that we can remember most clearly now are that Kevin stood there with a straight face and announced a 5% cut in carbon emissions despite the advice from Ross Garnaut. If John had been in power, I can easily imagine him coming up with the same number.

And now that the Clarke report has indentifyed the embarrasing mistakes made at all levels of the Haneef case, Kevin doesn’t see the need to apologise to the good doctor. The Federal Attourney General, Robert McClelland when asked whether an apology should be made said that the question should be directed to members of the Howard Government who were in power at the time.

Now…please correct me if I’m wrong, but I didn’t think that Rudd Labor was in power when the stolen generation was stolen…..so why did Kevin see fit to apologise to them…..but to not apologise to Dr Haneef.

Has a year in office made Kevin metamorphasise into his nemesis John.

I’m sure today will be an interesting day in Haneef saga…cos I think it’s a long way from being done yet.

Infrastructure projects

Hey.....I don't know if I'm just stupid...but I've just been reading through this list of infrastructure projects for Canberra. Projects, that are apparently now much closer to reality because they've appeared on this magical list of Federal Government infrastructure priorities.

It's an interim list...whatever that means. It includes 94 projects worth around $200 billion.

This is the bit I don't get.

The list includes that old chestnut, the Very Fast Train...it includes the similarly aged chestnut Light Rail for Canberra....and it includes Cotter Dam enlargement project. Well....guys.....I thought it was a guaruntee that we were already doing the Cotter Dam upgrade. There's a big office set up on the top of Mt Stromlo with dozens of people already working on the project. We've been bombarded by those Actew ads telling us about the dam upgrade by a good looking blonde man wearing a waterproof jacket. Why oh why is it included on the same list as the fanciful Very Fast Train. If the dam project isn't yet locked away as a project then what are all those people doing out at Mt Stromlo.

The pipeline from the Murumbidgee to Googong is also on this interim list. Well....I thought it was going ahead.

These projects are being considered at the moment....according to the latest news.

I'm confused.

Before the alarm

I got woken before my alarm this morning. Only by 4 and half hours though. I was in a deep sleep at around 1 this morning when the house phone rang. At first you think it’s just a part of your dream…..but after a while, everyone who’s in your dream starts to give you strange looks and you realise the ringing phone is actually real.
I knocked my glasses onto the floor and scattered some loose change across the bedroom as I tried to find the phone in the dark.

I picked up the receiver and said….’Aagghhhuh’

Which was supposed to be "Hello"

There was some guy on the phone who I’d never met…..he apologised for waking me up and said his name again when I asked…but I didn’t understand what he said. I was in that semi conscious mode in which you can’t seem to speak English and your ability to comprehend it is also severely compromised.

Eventually I began to piece together that he was ringing on behalf of my 20 year old daughter. She was at a work Xmas party last night and apparently her friends had decided that maybe it was time she went home. Could I come and get her.

I asked this guy what his name was again. He told me….but I still didn’t quite get it.

I asked him what the time was….and said I would be there in 20 minutes….and then just before he hung up…..I asked him where they actually were which was a good thing…cos otherwise I would have just been driving around randomly for a long time.

When I got there Britney Jade was adamant that I should come in and have a beer. I talked her out of that idea but it wasn’t easy.

I’m sure she’s sound asleep now.

I think she’s working at 2 this afternoon…..I bet she’s got a headache when she wakes up.

So that’s how I was woken before my alarm this morning. Tell me how you were woken before your alarm.
Who’s cat vomitted on the bed covers at 3am. Who got one of those calls from the police. Who’s next door neighbours are on holidays but their house alarm tripped on at midnight.

If, like me, you were woken before your alarm…tell me about it.

Australia Day Live

Great to see that Australia Live is on again on the lawns of Parliament House.

This was an event that was seemingly under a huge cloud because of Federal Funding cuts. It’s just such a wonderful event.

Even if you’re not into the music…cos I know the musical artists tend to cater for the younger end…..the Australian of the Year announcements are so worth attending.

I’ve been along for a number of years. The day was something that was always very special for John Howard in his time as Prime Minister. He loved the day. They set up a hospitality area for all of the VIPS and John used to circulate in there with all of the suits enjoying some finger food before the announcements.

The 2008 event was of course radically different because Kevin was the man for the first time and we were all still coming to terms with the fact that this ever smiling, bespectacled Queenslander had managed to topple Johnny out of office. It really felt like a big love in. I’m sure you’ll be able to feel the love again in January, but I daresay not quite as much this time around as last time.

Some of the artists have been named for the event….including Wendy Mathews.

I always wonder when they hold on to these announcements whether it’s because they’re trying to create some suspense in the media and to get as much line space as they can…..or whether they haven’t announced the rest of the bill, cos they just don’t know yet.

I hope the former is the case.

How can we get back into the series ?

Cricket fans....what the hell are we going to do to get back in this cricket test series against South Africa. It's almost unheard of to get to the Boxing Day test match and be behind in the series. It was so hard to watch the whole thing slip away yesterday. I still kept on thinking that someone would break through and take three wickets in an over and somehow we'd win the thing, but it wasn't to be.

The focus in on the bowlers. Brett Lee is in the firing line and although Ricky Ponting has said that he will be in the squad for Melbourne, he may not play. I think that's a bit harsh on Brett Lee. I know we only took 14 wickets, but it was a bitumen road. I really think that we should be focussing a bit more on the batsmen. The Perth test should have been a draw. Australia should have made 500 in the first dig and similar in the second. Fact of the matter is that we didn't. We fell victim to impatience and poor shot selection....and the continuing poor form of Matt Hayden.

My call is let's drop Peter Siddle...and give someone like Hilfenhaus or Bollinger a go. I think you can toss the coin on them.

And let's move with Matt Hayden.

Now I've actually started a Facebook group calling for Matt Hayden to be replaced in the Test team by Canberra's Ryan Carters. Granted that may be a little bit left of field....but why not.

If you know how to get us back in the series, let me know.

Christmas lunch.

So we're in sight of Xmas day. It's virtually here. 3 more sleeps. Now I know we were talking about 23 degrees at one stage.....well...it's going to be a bit more summery than that. The experts are now tipping 30 degrees. I would have much preferred 23 to be honest. But I guess I can live with 30. Can't do much about I guess.

I'm the cook at my place......I always always always do a hot lunch for Xmas. I couldn't live in Brisbane or Townsville. It just wouldn't be the same.

If you're the food chief at your place....tell me, what are you having for Xmas lunch.

I got the big chook yesterday.....and a roast beef. I got one of those turkey breast portiony things too. It's already been cooked, but I'll be heating it up on Thursday. So we'll roast all that up in the oven on Thursday morning. I'll do stacks of roast taties and some roast pumpkin. I don't take the skin of pumpkin these days when I roast it. Some may call me lazy...but I don't know, it seems like a waste of time peeling it. If you don't want to eat it, it's so easy to get off once it's roasted, but it's OK to eat. Try it and see how you go at your place.

I love cooking Xmas lunch. I can hardly wait.

Throwing the papers

I came into work really early this morning….I just had a lot of stuff to do. I’ll tell you how early it was…..I drove for a while behind the guy who was throwing the morning papers on William Webb Drive at McKellar. It was a fascinating experience.

I have to admit, I’d never given much thought to the actual process of throwing papers in the early morning. This is a tougher job than it sounds. We’re talking one man…..probably on 4 or 5 hours sleep. He’s driving a somewhat dated small sedan….I can’t even remember what make of car it was to be honest…..but he’s driving with one hand, while with the other he’s grabbing the papers and tossing them expertly over the moving car, to land outside the house of whoever bought them.

His accuracy was amazing. I know Lauren Jackson used to have a good record from 3 point territory, but this guy was amazing. Loz didn’t have to drive at the same time.

I was in awe.

To all of the paper throwers, past and present……well done. That’s a tough job and you have my admiration.

Matt Hayden, it's time to go.

How good was the cricket yesterday. I was having a quiet bourbon after dinner last night and happened to turn on the Nine coverage for the last session.

Mitchell Johnson…what a coming of age. At one stage he had 5 for 2 of 4 overs. He finished with 7 fa…and the South Africans who a couple of days earlier had been talking about the fact that the Australian bowling attack would suffer from the loss of Warney, McGrath and Stuart Clark were wishing that McGrath could come back and replace Mitchell Johnson.

We did manage to get a competitive total in the first dig…..but again poor old Matty Hayden failed.

I’ve been a huge fan of Matt Hayden over the years. I’ve really enjoyed watching him and I’ve supported him in the past when there have been calls for his scalp.

Matt….I think it’s time.

I think he’s 37 now. I daresay the problem that he’s having now….and I don’t know this for a fact….but I bet he’s just not seeing the ball as well as he did. The eyes are one of the things that deteriorate as far as world class batsmen go when they get to that age.

The late David William Hookes was a good friend of mine. I can remember having a conversation with Hooksey when he was in his late 30’s still playing Shield cricket for South Australia. He was failing more times than he was succeeding and he confessed to me at 1’o’clock one morning at the front bar of the Earl of Aberdeen….he confessed over more than a few West End Draughts that he just couldn’t see the ball out of the hand anymore. He told me that when he got big scores then, that it got down to him batting by instinct cos he said….’I can’t really see it anymore’

It’s time for Matt Hayden to go….and you know….I’m going to go out on a limb here. I’m calling for the most radical test cricket selection since Peter Taylor……..never mind Phil Jacques, or Rogers or Phil Hughes….nah…let’s think outside the box and go with youth…go with enthusiasm and with academic excellence.

I think it’s time to replace Matt Hayden with Canberra’s Ryan Carters.

We were talking about Ryan on this program yesterday. He was the dux at Radford College this year. He’s currently representing the ACT in the U19 national championships in Newcastle. He smashed a ton for the ACT yesterday. 132 not out if you don’t mind.

Come on national selectors. Show us a bit of intestinal fortitude. Let’s go with Ryan Carters from Radford College in Canberra to replace Matt Hayden. I’m sure he opens the batting for Wests in the Canberra comp.
If you’re with me on this…..and let’s face it…who wouldn’t be…..I’ve just started a group on Facebook. It’s called, ‘We need to replace Matt Hayden with Canberra’s Ryan Carters’

AT this stage it’s got 2 members…..help us out here

Let him play

Ben Cousins continues his comeback at Richmond in the AFL. The fallen West Coast Eagle…the young man who continues to publicly state that he is a drug addict is settling at his new home in Melbourne and eyeing next year for a triumphant return to the game that he plays so well.

Can I just say this morning….I hope that we don’t see any more news stories about Ben Cousins in the next 2 months. For god’s sake, just let him train…and let him play.

I know the various print journalists won’t do that. They’ll be trying to find any hint of scandal. Any chance that they get to link him to the man who lives next door to the brother of Chopper Reads butcher will be taken. Any photo which looks to show that Ben’s got red eyes or that his shirt isn’t tucked in will get a run in the magazines and the newspapers.

Just let him play now.

I’m not saying forget where he’s been and the vast array of mistakes that he’s made….I just think it’s time to let him play.

ABC Learning....I don't get it.

The latest on ABC Learning Child Care centres….and in particular the ones considered unviable…..I can tell you they are in the hands of a new reciever and they will continue operating until at least March under the banner of the ABC2 group.

PPB Corporate Recovery was appointed yesterday to oversee 249 centres previously under the control of the receiver McGrath Nicol.

Of course the Federal Government committed $34 million last week to keep the unviable centres open until March 31….that’s on top of the $22 million provided earlier in the year.

You know what I just don’t get here. The concept that I just haven’t been able to get my head around.
In 2008 when parents have to go on a waiting list for years before they get a child care place. When house prices are such that both parents have to work and childcare is the norm for families with young children…..how is it that a child care centre can not turn a profit. To me the words unviable and childcare centre cannot be used in the same sentence in 2008.

It’s like having an unviable pub on Mitchell Street in Darwin. An unviable happy pill dealer in Cabramatta or an unviable beach on the South Coast in January.

When there is so much demand and so little supply….how could a child care centre be unviable ? How did they make such a mess of it ?

I still don’t get it.

Home or away

It's an enormous day at my place today. My girl is back after nearly 4 months away. My Nes works for the AFP. She's been off in the Solomon Islands on a 60 week deployment. It started back in early September, but we virtually lost her at the start of August with a month long pre-deployment. She flew out of the country back on September 3.



The girls are sooo looking forward to having their mother home for Xmas. She flies into Canberra later this afternoon.



Now...this is the question that I have for you.



She's back in the country for the first time in four months. What do you think we should do tonight ?

Whatever we do, it just going to be the 5 of us....me and Nes and the three girls....but should we just have dinner at home or do we go out somewhere ?



What do you think.



I'm thinking that a dinner at home might be warranted. It's been four months since Vanessa Jayne has sat at our dining table. One of the wonderful things about coming home when you've been away for a while is your house. Is sitting in your favourite chair. Of taking in your favourite view out of the lounge room window. Kicking your shoes off, drinking red wine out of your fave wine glasses and putting some of your CD's on.



Or do we signal how special the homecoming is by going out somewhere. There's a gorgeous little chinese restaurant that we often go to in Belconnen. Or do I book us in to have dinner at the Hyatt, at their buffet restaurant....can't remember what it's called.



What do you think. Do we go out to celebrate Vanessa's arrival or do we stay in house.

AVO

The murder of Melissa Cook in Sydney this week has again shown the inadequacies of the Apprehended Violence Order system. Although the NSW system is a little different than ours....it's very similar here.

Melissa Cook knew that her life was in danger. She knew how irrational her then estranged husband could be and she did everything that she could to try to protect herself. She went through the channels that are open to her. She sought and secured an AVO against her former partner.

On Tuesday afternoon as her ex husband confronted her with a gun at her workplace, the AVO was utterly and completely useless. It's just a piece of paper...it can't combat a gun.

I don't know what the answer is here.

I'm thinking that perhaps it's a little too easy to get orders given. There are so many AVO's sought and granted that there is an assumption from so many of the law enforcement people that most of these are trivial matters. For the most part, they're right.

In the two years prior to March this year there were 6305 breaches of Apprehended Violence Orders in New South Wales. Only 15 percent of those breaches led to jail.

If you've got an AVO story.....I'd love you share it.

Worst drivers in the nation.

I don’t know if you heard John Crommie from Aami talking about Canberra drivers this morning.
Apparently we are shockers in carparks.

We are rude and crude and very much illegal in shopping centre car parks. Canberrans would do anything to snare a car park and we are worse than any other state or territory.

Doesn’t surprise me…..cos I reckon we are the worst drivers in the country in just about every area. Canberra…..as a city of motorists….you suck !

I don’t notice it as much now as I did when I first moved to town…..but I’m telling you when you first lob in this city and take to the Parkway and Melrose Drive and Northbourne Avenue….you are hit by this sense of aggression that you don’t even see in Sydney.

Canberrans are so spoilt. We live in this wonderfully sized city in terms of population……but by and large the roads are magnificent. I know there’s been a few instances recently when that’s changed…but overall, considering that most of the infrastructure in this town was built when we were being well and truly looked after by the Feds…..the roads are great.

How amazing that you can drive from Florey to Banks in less than half an hour.

It means though, that Canberrans tend to get in the car and leave for something, at the time that it starts. We don’t factor in travelling time. We’re always running late.

It translates to savage tailgating…..lane weaving…..selfish, belligerent, bad driving.

You are more chance of getting someone to let you in on a busy Sydney road than you are in Canberra.
That’s what I think anyway….what do you think.

Fast food and fragrance

If you’re out there on the hunt for Xmas presents….I wish you luck. Tough gig.

Here’s an idea from the states. It might help you if you’re buying for a bloke. The sort’ve fella that is really hard to buy for. You may struggle to get this particular item here in Australia before December 25, but it’s such a sensational gift that I think it’s worth trying.

This is an amazing breakthrough from Burger King. For the first time ever perfumery meets fast food.
You know that amazing smell that you get when you drive past a Hungry Jacks outlet. Cos they’re forever promoting the whole flame grilled thing. Well that scent has been captured in an after shave for blokes who appreciate the finer things in life.

It’s called Flame.

On the advertising blurb, it says that Flame has…’the scent of seduction with a hint of flame grilled meat’
Gotta be happy with that.

That’s sensational.

Now….not only is it a breakthrough in aftershave….but it’s as cheap as chips……or I guess as cheap as fries. It only costs US $3.99 which is about $5.80 Australian.

Cool Water or Paco Rabbanne costs you well in excess of $60. This is so cool.

If you want to find out more about it just go to this website www.firemeetsdesire.com
Check it out.

I wonder if they could get a fragrance of freshly mown grass. Or freshly ground coffee……or even that amazing smell that you get from Subway restaurants. How about essence of beef vindaloo.

What would you give your year out of ten

So when you get to this time of the year, you often look back on the year and try to assess it’s merits. Have you had a good year…..or a bad year. If you were going to give your year…..and this just for you…..let’s get selfish here and just talk about you and how the universe effected you in 2008. What would you give it out of 10.

Now…..to some extent your answer is as much a reflection about whether you are a pessimist or an optimist as it is about your year. There are people on this earth that whichever year you asked this question would come up with a score of less than 5….and there are those who always seems to score in the 8’s and 9’s.

Give it some thought….and look…..when you’ve come up with your answer, I’d love you to call me and tell me what score you’ve come up with for yourself and why.

I’ve come up with an 8 for me.

It’s been an interesting year for me. A year of upheaval and of finding myself out of my comfort zone. I left behind a job that I’d done for a decade….and it was a job that was very dear to my heart. To some extent it had become a big part of who I actually was. There was a bit of pain attached to that….but the world keeps on turning and you have to keep growing.

I’ve been tested financially. The whole election campaign was absolutely draining….and I lost. But you know….I still found it a really positive experience.

It was a bit of a pain being unemployed for a while….but it does have it’s upsides.

Having my wife in the Solomon Islands on a long term AFP deployment has been pretty interesting too. But it’s meant that we’ve all found out things about ourselves that we didn’t know…referring specifically to the people in my household.

To be given this opportunity here at Capital radio has really made me smile at the back end of the year. And I guess my little girls make me smile every day.

8 out of 10 for me. What would you give your year

Nessington

Me and the girls are counting down till Friday. We cannot wait. Their mother….my wife Vanessa Jayne has been on a bit of a adventure. She’s been in the Solomon Islands since September 3. My Nes is with AFP. She’s been in Honiara helping the locals establish their police communications centre.

It’s been a pretty interesting time for all of us.

Interesting for her because she’s been living in a third world country….dealing with a new culture, a new climate and the great difference of living on a base. We are all so proud of her and what she's doing.

It’s been interesting for us because it does dramatically change the dynamics of the household. I’ve found myself cast in the role of single Dad working full time. We’re cobbling it together, but it’s hard. I have even more respect for single parents from all over the country.

My girls are 6 and 8 ….and they just miss their Mum desperately.

She’s got a 60 week posting to the Solomons Islands…so the way it works she does 16 weeks on 4 weeks off….16 on and then 4 off until she’s done.

She flys into Brisbane late tomorrow and then into Canberra tomorrow afternoon.
Bring it on……we’re all looking forward to it.

Xmas is certainly going to be as special as any that we’ve ever had.

Mercedes Corby

So Mercedes Corby has an 8 page spread in Ralph Magazine wearing not much. I can’t say that I’m a big reader of Ralph Mag….I’m certainly not a fan of Mercedes Corby.

I don’t know if I can think of anything worse than sitting down for a couple of mins and looking at an 8 page spread of a scantilly clad Mercedes Corby. She looks like a witch.

All power to her for having the courage to do the photo shoot….cos I think that’s very bold.

All the girls in the office are bitching that it must all be air brushed. I don’t know if it is or not. I just don’t want to see it.

See if you can help me with by finishing this sentence. I’d rather look at the Mercedes Corby photo shoot than I would…….

Can you finish that sentence.

I’d rather look at the Mercedes Corby photo shoot than have a full knee reconstruction without anaesthetic.

I’d rather look at the Mercedes Corby photo shoot than watch an hour long stand up comedy routine from Jon Stanhope

Can you think of any others ?

I’d rather look at the Mercedes Corby photo shoot than have a dozen 6 year olds over for a birthday party sleep over.

I’d rather look at the Mercedes Corby photo shoot than spend the day at the Home Bake rock festival.

Can you think of any else ?

Political reality

The greens are up in arms ! They’ve all got their angry faces on and their scowling at the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd who they now see as pretty much the same as John Howard when it comes to climate change and the environment.

Didn’t I tell you yesterday. This was a catch 22 for the PM. He was damned if it did and damned if he didn’t. Whatever he did would be wrong.

I happen to think that he was right. As each month goes by, I am more and each month goes by, I am more and more impressed with Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister. He’s about balance. Shane Rattenbury, the local Greens MLA was frowning at the PM’s use of the word balance yesterday. He and Bob Brown and Christine Milne are outraged at the announcement from yesterday. They’re forecasting the death of the Great Barrier Reef and ice caps and vegetarian restaurants.

What they don’t seem to understand it political reality. The biggest thing that effects who is in power is the people. If you introduce measures that will impose too much pain on too many people, then you will not get elected next time. Now that may seem a little politically shallow, but it’s the way it is. It is reality.

When it comes to environmental measures that will cause some pain…..you have to assess the vibe out in the electorate. What are the people thinking ? Are they in a Green mood. How much pain will the accept. Kevin and his people have assessed the mood out there in the streets……it’s their belief that at 5% percent reduction in emissions with all of the related compensation and other bibs and bobs…that the voters will buy it. They still may be wrong…..but I think they’re probably right.

If Bob Brown were the Prime Minister and he went with a 40% reduction in carbon emissions…….that would be wonderful for all of the greenies today. They would rejoice at how much they were saving the planet. Unfortunately they wouldn’t be in office come 2010.

To the Green bleaters…..I ask you this question. Would you rather that the Libs were still in office. What level of carbon emissions do you think John Howard would have gone with.

Greenies….the world is not perfect. Cut Kevin a bit of slack and start to get your heads around political reality.

Wish us luck

Wish me luck today. I’m off to the dentist this afternoon….no..it’s not me….it’s my 6 year old terrorist Delaney Grace. And she’s not looking forward to it.

Delaney has a teeny little hole right in the front of one of her front baby teeth.

God it’s hard to get your kids to brush their teeth…and it’s even harder to get them to brush them properly. Maybe todays visit will inspire her to get into it a bit better.

Poor ol’ Delaney lost one of her front baby teeth yesterday. It had been hanging on for a while looking as wobbly as most of our staff at the end of the work Xmas party. She wouldn’t let me touch it. Yesterday she spent a good half hour in front of the mirror trying to get the bloody thing out. Eventually she conceded and said "DAD…can you get it out !?"

It took me a couple of goes. Slippery little suckers, baby teeth.

Eventually I clamped onto it and we ripped out.

We’re set to go to the dentist at 4 this afternoon….hello Simon. Simon is the gentlest dentist in the universe and I know he’ll be a hit with Delaney….if I can succesfully drag her in. I may need the anaesthetic just to get her in there.

Smiling

What they say about us a nation of tall poppy knockers is so true. When the news came through yesterday that Telstra had been excluded by the Federal Government from the whole national broadband network project…..when we heard that Telstra had been locked out for the crime of arrogance, so many Australians smiled. They thought about every time they’d sat on hold trying to negotiate with that computerised phone system. They thought about the arguments that they’d had over phone bills and plans…and the time that their phone got cut off because the bill was late by one day.

Yep…so much of the country smiled yesterday when the Federal Government hung up the phone on Telstra. All of a sudden the world just seemed like a much fairer place.

Generation Whatever.

From over the border, New South Wales Police are pulling their hair out over the recklessness of Australia's young drivers. Generation Y just doesn't get it. They believe that they are immortal.

Police nabbed a 27 year old male driver on the Hume Highway near Ingleburn in the early hours of yesterday morning. He was clocked at 237 kilometres per hour. Yeah I thought it was typo too......in fact I still have my doubts. I want to see the car that can go 237 kilometres per hour. Who drives at more than twice the speed limit ?

What the hell is going on there. Did this young fella think he was playing an X-Box game and that what he could see thought the windscreen just wasn't real. Is it a game ? At 237 KPH, if anything goes wrong....you are dead. It's a simple as that. I'm surprised that the car didn't start to take off. The driver has had his licence confiscated and he's going to appear in Liverpool Court in January.

In another incident in Sydney on the weekend, we had a stolen car....a blue Toyota sedan. There were 6 drunken teenagers travelling in the vehicle in Sydney's inner west. Now, one of the 5 was riding in the boot for some reason. They lost control of the car and it ended up in a river. The driver somehow got away and I gather the young fella in the boot got out. No wonder the police are pulling their hair out.

I know we all did some silly things when we growing up, but this current generation of ratbags are just so much more ratbaggy than we were. There is a complete and utter lack of respect for anything. Respect for others possessions....for others feelings.....respect for the law....even respect for their own possessions and seemingly their own lives.

Life is like a Playstation game to these rebels. If you mess up, you can just reset it and start from scratch. That's what they seem to think anyway.

The demographers and the social experts call them Generation Y. I call them Generation Whatever....or the Jack-ass generation. I don't know if you've ever been exposed to Jackass. It's reality based underground American piece of rubbish. It's based around a bunch of young guys doing crazy crazy things that might hurt them really badly....and often do. It's apparently really funny to watch people hurt themselves while doing really stupid things.

And look....whenever you get going with a discussion like this, you run the risk of a mass generalisation. And of assuming that everyone between the ages of 18 and 27 is a drug crazed degenerate who's mission in life is to wreak havoc on society. That's quite obviously not the case...and in fact we are by and large talking about a very small minority. However, I've gotta say, there are some aspects of the behaviour of that small minority that do scope out much further across the entire generation.

One of the biggest differences practically speaking with this group of under 27's is their ability to save money. They can't do it. And the biggest single reason they can't do it is the mobile phone. When we were growing up and we got part time jobs, we bought crap to eat....and maybe some records and cassettes and some clothes, but I think we all worked out how to save. In the 21st century, when you get your first job, your entire income goes on phone credit. There are quite literally millions of dollars going to telecomunications companies now, that 25 years ago was going into teenagers savings accounts.

When you consider the massive escalations in the housing market around the country in the last 20 years, the genuine prospect of home ownership for most of Generation Whatever is looking grim.

Recession ?

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick to death of all of the talk about the recession. Sick of it, because nobody can seem to agree on exactly what is going on.

Government on all levels is doing whatever it can to shield us from the Global Financial Crisis. Infrastructure spending like there’s no tomorrow….amazing cash handouts to just about everybody. Combined with the cuts in interest rates and the fact that petrol is down around a dollar litre for the first time in an eternity means that in theory there’s stack of cash around the place.

Chris Peters from the ACT Chamber of Commerce says that we are through the worst of it….but with all respect Chris…what the hell else would you say. Your representing business big guy. You have to say that it’s on the way up.

New stuff out today from Access Economics which suggests that the ACT has the weakest retail sector in the nation.

Now guys….I don’t want to be a part of the problem. I don’t want to be a part of a chicken little recession….but what I want to know is that’s really going on out there.

Today, Monday December 15th is the time to be honest. If you are involved at any level with business in the ACT….tell us the truth….what’s going on. Are you making money. How’s the turnover going. Will it be a good Xmas. Have staffing levels remained static. What’s really going on out there ?

You can remain anonymous if you want….or you can give your business a plug…I don’t care. Just tell me what’s really going out there.

I hope that I hear from a number of business people who say…"what recession ?" I hope that people call me and tell me that they’re going gangbusters. I mean lets face it…our town is still so heavily reliant on the public sector. There haven’t been massive job losses in the public sector. We haven’t had any car manufacturing plants in Deakin or Richardson or Ainslie close their doors. Surely we should be shielded somewhat from any crisis.
People have got money….are they spending it. Tell us the truth today

Tough day for Kevin

Tough day for the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd today because whatever he does he will lose.
Today we see the release of the Government’s white paper on the Government’s long awaited emissions trading scheme.

Today it’s all about the numbers. We’ll find out, by what percentage, we as a nation will be expected to cut our carbon emissions in the next 12 years.

Whatever numbers the Prime Minister and his environmental spin doctors come up with will be wrong. If he comes up with a strong target then industry will be up in arms saying that we’ll all be ruined and threatening to take their business off-shore. If he comes up with a weak target then the Greens and everyone else who believes that we can single-handedly save the planet will start firing big nasty shots.

There is talk of the targets being a bit grey….in that we may set a target today, that could be a little on the weak side, with the ability to make it stronger if some of the other large polluting nations go stronger than we think they well. So that, if somehow the Chinese and/or the Indians have an epiphany….if they have an a-ha moment and decide that they too can save the world, that we can ramp up our contribution. So it’s like Kevin is casting himself in the role of the woman sitting in the same restaurant as Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal and in 2010 we might say to the environmental waiter….we might say…’I’ll have what she’s having.’

I’ve been following the debate about carbon emissions in the last 18 months or so…and I’ve gotta say, I struggle to get my head around it. I don’t know who to believe. I have massive reservations about Australia’s ability to change the world by reducing our carbon emissions if Indonesia and China and India don’t come on board. My greatest fear is that the little people will end up getting hurt by massive hikes in energy bills….and that of course the big people may be hurt as well. Big industry will bleat loudly about whatever targets are set. They’ll tell us that they can’t cope. They’ll paint pictures of doom and gloom. It can’t all be spin…some of it has to be true.
I do feel for the Prime Minister today because whatever he does will be wrong and the critics will be loud and strong.

I say hats off to the PM for announcing the escalation of our spending and development of green technology. Sceptics of energy efficient technology suggest that it’s just not ecnomically viable to produce enough power using solar and wind power and the like. Well, I say, if it’s not economically viable now….let’s find a way to make it economically viable. Surely we’d be much better off focussing on green energy solutions rather than forcing people through economic means out of the sort of power generation which is bad for the planet.

Rising dam levels.

I don't know about you, but I've really enjoyed our little burst of wet, windy wintery weather in the last 3 or 4 days. I think I was designed to live in Scandinavia.....or at very least Charlotte's Pass. I just don't get cold. I've really enjoyed watching the dark clouds scurry across the sky. I've loved the feel of the wind on my face....and as for the rain. How good was that on Friday and across the weekend. I didn't think it was ever going to stop on Friday. I really felt for my friends at the Australian War Memorial cos their carols became a bit of a non-event.



With every drop of rain that I heard on the tin roof at my place, I couldn't help but think about those dam levels. I don't where we are right at the moment, but it must be somewhere in the region of 52 or even 53 percent.



I wonder if we'll ever get up to 60's and 80's again. I wonder if we'll ever completely abandon water restrictions. I'm thinking probably not.

Here we go...it looks as though we're up to 51.9 percent this morning. I gather the Cotter is up to 98.3. Bendora is at 66.7, Corin Dam is at 43.5 and Googong is at 53.2. The experts tell me that we may end up as high as 53 by the middle of the week.

If you've got a rain guauge at your place....let me know how much rain you got. Particularly if you're listening out in the sticks.

Back on the bike

I've been back out riding the bike. I do it partly because I enjoy it....and partly because I figure it'll keep me a alive a bit longer. It's so hard to fit exercise into a busy 21st century life. I've been focussing on getting out for at least 2 half hour bike rides every week. It's a nice ride around Lake Ginninderra and the access is pretty easy with the bike paths from McKellar.

On Sunday I went hard and had a crack at riding from my home in McKellar to my new workplace at Capital Radio in Mitchell. I cruised on up to Ginninderra Drive and followed the bike path along by the lake, past Kaleen and Bruce...and up to the Gungahlin Drive Extension. From there I flew through to Mitchell.

I couldn't believe how easy it was. It only took me 24 minutes to ride to Mitchell. I was starting to think that I must getting fit.

Then I turned around to ride back home. At that point I discovered why it had been so easy riding in an eastern direction. The wind was just a little bit crazy and it was all west. I had to tack like a yacht into the wind. It took me a fair bit longer than 24 minutes to ride back home. The quads were screaming nasty things at me along the way.

It's a busy weekend coming up, but hopefully I'll get out again a couple of times Saturday and Sunday.

Simon says

I was driving into work this morning listening to Mr Jefferies on 2CC. He had a brief chat with Simon Corbell, the ACT Attourney General about the changes to the murder laws in the ACT. I couldn't help but think listening to Simon that I'm so pleased he survived the ACT election. I don't agree with everything that Simon says. I think that some of his planning directions left a lot to be desired. He's a strange cat too is Simon. I find it difficult to connect with him, either in radio interviews or out at functions around town. But above everything else, I have enormous respect for him as legislator and a member of government. Simon dots the i's and crosses the t's. I've always been impressed by his knowledge of issues within the ACT, particulary in his portfolios. He's one of our most competent MLA's and although we don't always share the same ideas, I trust him to manage his portfolios to the best of his substantial abilities. I know there were moments in the lead up to the October 18th poll...and even on election night that Simon's position in the Assembly seemed a bit shaky. Like his other ALP Molonglo members in Andrew Barr and Katy Gallagher, I'm glad he made it through. Our Assembly, and indeed this town would be poorer without him.

Over the Front

I hate to sound like Molly Meldrum....but guys....do yourself a favour and get yourself into the Australian War Memorial to check out their new exhibition. It's called Over The Front. It's all about the air war of WW1. The exhibition features 5 original aircraft as well as flying jackets, guns and even the red baron's flying boot. The thing that will knock your socks off is the video on the huge wrap around TV screen. It is so real. You watch colour footage of a sky full of bi-planes and tri-planes fighting to the death and you can almost imagine that you're up in the sky. These young men were quite clearly mad. No seriously, they coudln't have been of sound mind. You have a look at the real aeroplanes on display. Ask yourself if you would even go up in the air in one of these, but then ask yourself if you'd start shooting and be shot at. They tell me that the Sopwith Camel for arguments sake was so hard to fly that they lost more pilots learning to fly the thing that they lost in actual battle.

I was chatting to the curator of the exhibition this morning....I think Peter Burness is his name. He loves his planes. He's chock full of the history of this crazy period of air war. He knows all the names of the great WW1 aces. He told me about the early history when planes were simply used for observational purposes. And the amazing advances in aeronautics that were pushed along by both world wars. If WW1 and WW2 hadn't happened, we would only just be getting into jet aircraft now.

When you watch the video footage of the dogfight over France, it's still difficult to believe that this stuff really happened...and that is happened less than a 100 years ago.

Check it out these holidays at the Australian War Memorial. It's way down the back in Anzac Hall...and the audio visual display happens on the half hour all day. It lasts for less than a quarter of an hour.

Back to the Future

I had a wonderful weekend at home with my girls. Course we did the football on Saturday night which was very special for them....but I'll tell you what was special for me. On the weekend I sat them down to have a look at one of the movies the I really enjoyed when I was much younger. They had a squizz at 'Back to the Future' on Saturday night and they just adored it. They loved the impish Michael J.Fox. They were hypnotised by Christopher Lloyd's crazy eyes. They were blown away by the skateboard scenes and by the whole concept of destroying your own future. They want me to go and get the sequel out on DVD. It's not quite High School Muiscal 3...but 'Back to the Future' was a hit with my 6 year old and my 8 year old

A night at the football

My girls and I are just back from a wonderful night at the football. We've been to every home game so far in the short history of Canberra United, our cities very own W League team. They play their home games just around the corner from us at McKellar stadium.

A couple of weeks ago, my 8 year old Brydie wrote a letter to Canberra United. It was a simple hand-written affair. Brydie asked the team if they would consider coming to her school, Kaleen Primary to run a few soccer drills for the kids. She told them that her and her sister had been to every home game and they were both set to play soccer for the first time next year. She also wrote about the fact that the Kaleen Primary school uniforms are green, just like the Canberra United playing strip.

Well, team management wrote back to the school and invited Brydie and Delaney and 9 of their friends to come along and be the team mascots for tonights game. All the girls had a ball.....get a load of these.

Addiction therapy

I stood in front of a crowd of people yesterday and admitted to an addiction. It was tough, but I had to do it. In the Senate Alcove at Parliament House, with head hung low, I admitted to being a 'cricket tragic.' The Federal Sports Minister Kate Ellis, acknowledged my brave admission shortly afterwards and then she too conceded that she was affected by this affliction.

I had the great pleasure of hosting the official launch of the Prime Minister's XI cricket match for the summer yesterday. The dignitaries included the Federal Sports Minister, Dr John Larkindale, the New Zealand High Commissioner, Senator's Kate Lundy and Gary Humphries, John Gallop and Mark Vergano from cricket ACT, Ron Bell from the Canberra Investment Corporation and local cricketing legend Mark Higgs.

The PM's XI will take on New Zealand at Manuka Oval on January 29th next year. I only discovered yesterday the Kiwi's are actually undefeated in 4 PM's XI outings. That's a bit of an embarrasment for Australian cricket and Kate Ellis told the gathering that the Prime Minister, Mr Rudd is keen to change that. She read a letter from the Prime Minister to the gathering which included something about some extra training sessions at Parliament House....I'd like to see that. 'Twas the first time I've met Kate Ellis in the flesh and she is absolutely delightful.

I did remind the NZ High Commissioner that this was a cricket function and that there was to be no mention of the Rugby League World Cup. He complied. Mark Higgs told us about his memories of playing in 4 PM's XI matches, the first of them when he was just 18. Allan Border played in that game and Higgsy couldn't quite believe that he was sharing the oval with the great man.

Mark Vergano told us about his player wish list for the big game. Right at the top of the list is Adam Gilchrist and Glen McGrath....Jason Krayja was also mentioned. I always look forward to the PM's XI and I'm counting the days down again till January 29th. There's an extra special bonus for me this time around, because I get to host the Prime Minister's lunch on the day. I cannot wait.

The tree is up.

Have you got your Christmas tree up yet ? We got ours up yesterday. My God it's a massive operation. It's no so much that it's physically a challenging task, it's the personalites involved that make it hard.

My 20 year old is Christmas OCD. She has a certain way that the Christmas decorations have to go on the tree and God help anyone who deviates from that pre-determined strategy. I tell you how crazy it is...in past years when someone else has dared to decorate the tree without her input, Brittney Jade has taken them all down and started from scratch.

Soooo yesterday we had some interesting confrontations between siblings but eventually it was all done by around 6PM. No tinsel this year....we're talking silver and blue baubley things and long silver shiny things that look like tinsel, but don't dare suggest that they are tinsel. All of the lights are on and there's a big star on the top.

Tick off another thing in the lead up to Christmas at the Parton household.