There is another view, another vision — and it is our vision — which says that this nation and this people are at their best when we are a people and a nation committed to building a prosperous nation while at the same time not jettisoning our vision for a fair Australia and a fair society. In an absolute nutshell that is the divide between us — a view of the world which says it is about me, myself and I, and an alternative view which says that we are about an Australia which, sure, recognises that individual hard work, achievement and success are to be encouraged and rewarded but, at the same time, that we cannot turn a blind eye to the interests of our fellow human beings who are not doing well.

That has been the divide between us for a century and remains the divide between us today. Ideas in politics are important. They in fact affect everything that we do. They shape our vision of what is possible for the government to do for the nation. . . read more

The insecurities and threats of 2030 are clear. A Europe at war not within its borders, but struggling to cope with forces beyond its borders. Global capital, people and goods with whom it has not made peace. Religious extremism and division on its doorstep. Energy insecurity and climate change which threatens our security as well as our prosperity. Conflict and instability in regions where we have economic as well as moral interests.

To avoid that future, we need to base our next generation Europe on four principles... [First] is that we must keep ourselves open - open to trade, open to ideas and open to investment. [Second] we should use the power of shared institutions and shared activities to help overcome religious, regional, and cultural divides, especially with the Islamic world... [Third] a model power should champion international law and human rights not just internally, but externally too. We need to live by our values and principles beyond our borders, not just within them... [Fourth] any model power in the 21st century must be a low carbon power, so the European Union must become an Environmental Union. . . read more

Given geoengineering's increasing visibility, debates among scientists, environmentalists, and engineers are not hard to find. But these debates center on the scientific risks and merits of the re-terraforming proposals. Few people, regardless of position, have focused on a fundamental non-geophysical risk of the method: political control, costs, and stability.

To put it bluntly, global-scale efforts don't happen without global-scale reactions. Should we see geoengineering efforts, there will certainly be struggles over control of the program(s), conflicts over liability for problems, and - most troublingly - independent "rogue" geoengineering projects undertaken in defiance of established guidelines. [More] . . read more

At the Victory Column in Berlin's Tiergarten, Obama extracted Old Glory from the burn-pile and gave Brand America a desperately needed shot of adrenaline. 200,000 ecstatic Germans jammed the streets in what turned out to be the political shindig of the year. Many of them were waving American flags and chanting, "Obama, Obama, Obama". It was like Jack Kennedy had risen from his moldy sepulcher and made his way across the pond for one last rousing ovation. Obama has the very same affect on crowds. Its a gift and he knows how to use it to great advantage...

What can we say about Obama's oratory skills that hasn't already been said? He is one of those unique characters who knows how to tap into the collective psyche and put them under his spell. He is the closest thing to a Pied Piper we've seen in the last half century. Whatever one thinks of his politics, his speeches are a welcome reprieve from the simian blabbering of President Dimwit. [More] . . read more

Our politicians suffer from ‘bifurcation blindness’ born of over-exposure to adversarial ways of thinking. It’s either this or that; them or us; good or evil; alive or dead; black or white. Traditional economics has similar preoccupations. Plus or minus; demand or supply; perfect or imperfect. Yet the most important word in the political lexicon is ‘AND’. Let’s think about saving the planet AND promoting economic growth. Let’s put the ‘plan it’ into ‘planet’.  . . read more

This is no doubt true. However it is only the tip of the now-melting iceberg. The real strength of the work presented in The Limits To Growth was the modelling of exponential growth under many limits simultaneously. Even a growth rate of as little as 2-3% per year (about the current rate in the ‘developed world’ and approximately that modelled in the book) amounts to a doubling in size of industrial output and population within 23-35 years. The results of the modelling show that if growth is allowed to continue, the world system simply loses the ability to cope. Depreciation begins to exceed investment with increased expenditure on sources (technologies) and sinks (pollution mitigation).

Although heavily publicised, climate change is only one of the indicators that the world system has indeed already reached the limits to growth. Other indicators include; peak oil, the lack of arable land and decreasing land yield, a shortage of timber, the decreasing catch of fish and the need to construct desalination plants at huge expense. . . read more

In Australia we are besotted by the borders between our 7 states and territories - but, mate, this isn't the real game. We need to champion the growth of the APEC into a more political Asian Union - or AU (there's gold in them thar hills).

Bring in India, create a true Asian community and the world is smaller still. And when it's really small ('Imagine' - John Lennon), we will live as one. . . read more

The fictional movie tells of disaster from bad plumbing (and corruption). But everyday in Sydney the "something really wrong about water" goes on and on. Sydney Water doesn't want to reduce usage - it keeps encouraging more water use by charging fixed fees for pipes in and pipes out (over 80% of my bill) and barely charging (like 18%) for the actual water people use. If I reduce my water use by 50% I'll reduce my bill by 9%. If you reduce your water use by 50% how much do you reduce your bill? With the future desalination plant there'll be a slight increase in usage charge but not much. Cheap water will keep being wasted. People get bugger all incentive to become water wise and to let Warragamba Dam build up to record levels and let the river system also be flushed out for the river's health.

Sydney Water could easily change its billing practice without reducing overall income by gradually reducing fixed fees and increasing its per kilolitre usage charge. This would reduce water use per head of population because the benefit would be tangible. As long as it announced such a gradual change and stuck to it people and businesses could adapt, install equipment and learn to save more water. The NSW Government and Sydney Water have had years to do this but they don't want to. They want more water use & more electricity use. They would rather spend money on advertising campaigns and water police in cars than actually solve the problem. This is what's really wrong about water in Sydney, not personal corruption, but the system that wants perpetual growth and doesn't want to change.

Whatever.

Just three weeks after the clouds have lifted, we can see just how bad it really was. When we were in the frame we could not see the whole picture. Now we are outside, it's hard to imagine how and why we put up with it. Their meanness, lies, narrow mindedness and divisiveness have put enormous pressure on the youthful, creative and egalitarian culture of Australia.

Let's all pick up the challenge. The new millennium starts here. . . read more

It is time for new thinking. Leaders need to accept their historical responsibilities – but look less at their historical responsibility to their ancestors, and more to their historical responsibility to their grandchildren. Will succeeding generations have to ask why we failed to do the right thing, and left them to suffer the consequences?

I will ensure that the U.N. plays its role to the full. I hope [world leaders] will send the following message, loud and clear, as they look ahead to the negotiations on the U.N. Framework Convention in December: business as usual is no longer an option; we must reach concrete agreements. . . read more