I’ve received a couple of spam emails in German lately about the Allied bombing of Dresden in early 1945. The emails are sincerely written, state cold facts and don’t moralise except to criticise the subsequent silence of the German government and media. I must say I’ve always been troubled about the bombing of Dresden. I [...]
Where now for Labor?
The Australian Labor Party is surely at a crossroads. Whether it can become relevant again at a national level remains to be seen. I’m probably not the only person nervous about the looming prospect of John Howard controlling the Senate. I would feel much safer with the balance of power in the hands of a [...]
Fuel reduction hazard
There was a good letter in the local paper today about the fuel reduction burns that are currently contaminating our atmosphere. The writer described how his house was nearly burnt in the massive bushfire of January 2003. That blaze cleaned out the undergrowth and much more, but the bush has recovered to be as thick [...]
Local government taxation
I’m surprised how little debate there is in Australia about the archaic practices of local government taxation. Hopefully the new Howard Government will tackle tax reform in a serious manner, as people like our local MP Sophie Panopoulos have been urging. If this does occur, I would like to see them work with the states [...]
Shire council governance concerns
An abbreviated version of my submission to Alpine Shire Council on its draft code of governance was published in the Myrtleford Times and Alpine Observer on Wednesday as a letter to the editor. It’s a shame the letter wasn’t printed a couple of weeks earlier to encourage other submissions, because I’ve been overwhelmed with the [...]
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