We should worry!

I used to be an optimist, but that confidence is wearing thin.

When I was a youngster, pleased with life as it was then, I was sure that advances in science would make our world wonderfully happy by the time I was "old". Now, I admit to growing disappointment over the "state of almost everything, almost everywhere!"

That's casting the net a bit wide, perhaps, but any readers in Hindustan, Khazakastan, Burma and a hundred or so other places should "wear it" if the cap fits.

Here in Oz, over the past three generations, we've near-enough killed our major river system. simply through lack of care, and bad judgement in electing our politicians.

Successive governments have allowed irrigators and selfish state administrators to plunder the Murray River system to the stage where many farm communities are facing ruin within months.

Our new leaders say they recognise the problem as urgent and they're "taking steps to fix it", but that they don't expect major change within 10 years - by which time it will be at least eight years too late.

If we don't die of thirst, then we'd better soon start buying horses and carts for transport, seeing we're paying $1.60 per litre for petrol now, with $2 forecast before the end of the year and with diesel costing 25pc more.
Our petrol price is set according to the Singapore rate, no matter than most of our oil comes from Australia's Bass Strait. Of course Federal and State governments reap billions of dollars from excise, and we can't expect them to sacrifice any of that to keep their voters in business, can we?

In the meantime we're still helping the US in its efforts to "install democracy overseas" at the point of a gun (and I know the situation's more complicated than that, but the point stands.

We've had a growing health crisis here for years. Hospitals, through maladministration and inadequate financing, have had their waiting lists grow steadily. Only the private health insurance schemes (part government funded) have kept the system going. But now, our Federal leaders have changed a subsidy system, meaning more pressure on public hospitals and higher fees from the insurers.

All this and we have cities burdened with failing utilities, largely because State governments have cut maintenance in things like water and power services, so they can use the profits elsewhere.

And, through all of this rapidly developing crisis, our new Treasurer boasts about the record national budget surplus, as interest rates rise, jobs are lost and national morale droops.

Why, for the nation's sake, can't they spent the surplus (our money) to solve at least some of the problems?"

It is true, I believe, that we get the quality of government we deserve.
Our generation, through lack of interest and through laziness, looks to leave a disappointing legacy.

I wonder how I'd have gone in government?