Andrew's View

Mobile Phones have become a necessity.  Very few would consider trying to live without one.  But have they become that important that we cannot possibly go two hours without being in contact with the outside world?

I was at the cinema last night – the large one at South Bank (Cinema 5).  Each row of seats is higher than the one in front – more so than with other cinemas.  This allows for a good view of the people in the front as well as the screen.

Constantly during the movie I saw flashes of mobile phone screens as people responded to text messages.  It was extremely distracting.

Is it that important for people to be in contact with friends that they cannot switch their phone off or to silent so that they are not tempted to respond to messages during a movie?  Surely the person at the other end could wait just an hour or two at most for a response!

Using your phone during a movie is just as disrespectful as talking.  It distracts others.  It’s even worse for your friends – the ones sitting right beside you!

So next time, switch your phone off – or to silent without vibration. Check it when the movie is finished.  Have some respect for your friends and others around you.

The Gateway Bridge was a wonderful addition to the Brisbane road network.  For the first time in history, people didn't have to drive through the city when travelling between the north and south sides.  The only downside was that you had to pay for the privilege.  But with manual toll collection, there was no other option.

21 years on and we really haven't come far.  There are no additional river crossings.  But we finally see something happening – in the form of a Gateway upgrade and 2 additional crossings in the city.  (See my previous article for my view on that.)

To pay for the new crossings, they will be tolled.  Of course we're in the 21st century now so we will have full electronic tolling.

So – to address the issue of traffic congestion, we introduce new crossings not far from existing ones and make drivers pay for the privilege of taking a few minutes off their trip.  Can anyone see people using existing routes (particularly on weekends) such as the Inner-city Bypass to avoid paying the tolls?

To reduce congestion, we need to encourage drivers to use the alternative routes.  How do we do this?  By switching the tolls to the congested routes.

I once saw a suggestion to toll the Story Bridge instead of the Gateway Bridge.  The logistics of this would have been difficult and it would have unfairly tolled particular groups of people.  Likewise, tolling the Captain Cook Bridge would be unfair to south-side residents.

A toll for those entering the CBD has been suggested before, but with old technology this would have been difficult to implement.

With today's technology and full electronic tolling, there is no reason why a "City-Toll" couldn't be introduced.  A series of electronic toll gantries could be placed on each route into the city and each entrance/exit to/from the Southeast Freeway.  (Tolling the Captain Cook Bridge would unfairly toll east-west travellers not entering the city itself.)  See the map below for my suggestions.

This would mean that anyone entering/exiting the city would be tolled.  A daily cap could apply for people who need to drive in and around the city throughout the day (e.g. Couriers, taxis).

The proceeds from the City-Toll could go towards the cost of the north-south bypass tunnel and Hale Street Bridge, significantly reducing their toll charge or removing it altogether.  The City-Toll could be introduced immediately (or as soon as public transport improves) as it would successfully toll those entering the city without affecting north/sound or east/west commuters.

Update:  A few days after posting this article, there was a story on Today Tonight showing how inner-city tolling was working in London and Hong Kong.  It makes sense!  One person against it suggested that it wasn't fair to make people pay for "free roads".  Hello!!  No road is free!  Why should my tax dollars (and rates/taxes of every other Brisbaner/Queenslander not driving to the city every day) go towards the additional funding required for inner-city road improvements, monitoring systems/staff, co-ordinated traffic light systems, tidal-flow systems, etc?

Each month we see statistics on how many buses left passengers stranded at bus stops because the buses were full.  We see packed trains that couldn't possibly fit another person on.  Even the ferries are leaving passengers behind.

But what about the hidden statistics?  How many people drive to the city because they don't want to run the risk of getting left behind at a bus stop or be cramped on an overcrowded train?  The situation is a lot worse than what is apparent.

The State Government and City Council are addressing the overcrowding issue by introducing new trains, buses and ferries.  But are they only accounting for the statistics that are measurable?  If they really want to address overcrowding issues - and perhaps some traffic issues at the same time - they need to go above and beyond the current patronage and make public transport attractive to everyone.

Only then can they consider options to reduce traffic in the city itself such as capping parking availability or my suggestion of a city-toll.

Another day of the Ekka, another day of low numbers.  The media is quick to blame the flu for scaring people away from the Ekka.

But has anyone stopped to think about the logic behind this?  If people wanted to attend a once-a-year event, would they really decide not to because they might get a runny nose?

People aren’t going to the Ekka because it’s a waste of money.  You pay a fortune for entry, each ride you go on, each show bag and the junk food to keep you going throughout the day.  The things that do not cost extra do not hold enough attraction for today’s culture.  City people aren’t interested in things like the grand parade.

Perhaps this is why I saw a packed Movieworld car park when I went past it today (the Ekka holiday).  People get more value-for-money by heading to the theme parks.

The Ekka doesn’t need a change of dates.  It has a bout of the flu and is in need of treatment.  It needs to be made more affordable and relevant to today’s culture.  Give it an injection of sponsorship.  Do something before it loses its attraction altogether.

After the Port Arthur massacre in Australia, gun laws were tightened.  Many guns already in households around the country became illegal – and we saw the massive buy-back and destruction of these weapons.

The two sides were argued.  "Destroying these guns will save lives."  "People kill people, not guns."  The fact that this kind of massacre has not been repeated in Australia is evidence enough that the change of laws has worked.

But America has refused to address the issue of gun laws – citing an outdated and obsolete section of their constitution to justify their stubbornness.  As a result, we see these kinds of massacres happen every couple of years.

But let’s get back to that argument, "People kill people, not guns."  I have never heard anything so illogical in my life. A psychopath with nothing more than his hands would be lucky to kill one person.  If he had a knife, he might be lucky enough to kill a couple of people.  Say he grabbed the gun that he had for "family security", he’d kill a few people.  If he had access to a semi-automatic... well... we’ve seen what can happen.

It is about time other countries (particularly America) took Australia’s lead and banned all semi-automatic weapons and severely restricted the availability of all other guns.

Click here for the full story.

Every time it rains, water runs across the land and into creeks, picking up anything left behind by cows, horses, kangaroos, koalas, birds and every other kind of animal.  It runs into major waterways and into the dams where thousands of fish swim around and do their business.

The water gets treated, has a bunch of chemicals added to it and is pumped into households where people are quite happy to drink it straight out of the tap.

To counter the effects of the drought, it has been proposed to catch the water after we’ve finished with it, put it through a filtration system that far surpasses the initial treatment and pump the purified water back up to the dams where it would be added to the dirty run-off water ready to go through the whole process again.

So what’s the fuss about recycled water?  It’s cleaner than the water that’s already in the dams.  I think if people stopped for a minute and took time to understand exactly what is happening, they’d soon realise that they’re worried over nothing.

Only in America can a product be banned because it contains a substance that is beneficial!

Vegemite – Australia’s favourite spread – an Australian Icon – has not only been banned from sale in America, it has been banned from any kind of importation at all – including tourists’ luggage.  Australians can no longer enjoy their favourite spread in America, whether they live there or are visiting for just a few days.

Why?  Because it contains Folate, which "is necessary for the production and maintenance of new cells.  This is especially important during periods of rapid cell division and growth such as infancy and pregnancy."  (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folate)

Under American law, Folate can only be added to certain foods such as bread.  Vegemite doesn’t fit into this category.

What do I think?  I think that vegemite was becoming a little too popular in America.  Of course they couldn’t have an Australian product being so popular so they found a way to get rid of it.

Okay that might not be it – but it certainly sucks that America has banned an Australian icon for such a trivial reason!

BLOODY YANKS!!