Re: Mistakes of 100 years ago

[Neill <n2386160@sparrow.qut.edu.au>]

On Wed, 22 Jul 1998, Tell wrote:

> mauried@commslab.gov.au (Maurie Daly) wrote:
> >The staggering thing about the initial guage stuffup 100 years ago was that it 
> >wasnt then viewed as a mistake, it was simply each state doing its own thing 
> >as the States are entitled to do and still are doing.
> >The calibre of the politicians then and the politicians now isnt any differant 
> >, in fact some would infer that current politicians cant get any worse.
> >The VFT project is being pushed as a "stand alone project" which means that it 
> >doesnt have to be compatible with anything else.
> >Of course , anyone with this sort of blinkered thinking needs rocks in their 
> >head, but whats changed.
> >We still dont have any sort of National Rail Policy.
> >Dont be surprised if the loading guage of the VFT isnt compatible with 
> >anything else in Australia which means that nothing else will be able to run 
> >on its tracks.
> >In another 100 years , our ancestors will be saying , how could such a stuffup 
> >have occurred?
> 
> 
> The real answer is to abolish State Governments, I kid
> you not, there have been suggestions like this in the
> past, forget the abolition of the Senate, just get rid
> of State Governments.  Think of the savings to us long
> suffering tax payers, just for starters.
>   
> We could have a Central Government in Canberra and the
> present Local Government infrastructure to carry out
> most of the functions of the present State Governments.
> The Senate could then become a TRUE State house instead
> of that political mockery that it is. 
> Problem is, ......some people would call it Communism.
> 
No, the real problem would be that interstate rivialaries would rise
again, for instance the Queensland, WA, SA, TAS people would opose it
becasue it would mean further concentration of power in the
Sydney-Melbourne- Canberra Triangle (true or otherwise), there would also
be massive job losses as the massive state run beaurocacies would be
dismantled and in some states there is little else (eg TAS).  It would
also make the state owned corporations now federally owned and liable to
privateisation, thus the Labour party will opose it, the national party
will opose it because of concentration of services, the liberal party will
support it if they can get political millage out of it. 


> Australia, the most over governed country in the World.
> 
True

> Cheers
> 
> ----Terry Burton
> Alice Springs NT
> 
> 

"Never let someone stuff something up for you, when you can stuff it just
as well yourself"

Neill