Back to basics

We are in a budget emergency, or are we? Im not actually too sure what is happening with our nations economy but what I do know is what I see and what I see isnt very positive. We are told we have a Triple A credit rating, to me that sounds like a good thing, we are also told we need to tighten our belts and do Heavy lifting as our government has been spending too much money and now the general public is expected to pay the price for their fiscal mismanagement. In amongst this budget emergency the government, thats Adult government to you supporters of the Greens, the Labor party and anyone else who is not a right wing conservative, has somehow found billions of dollars to spend on inquiries on pink batts, orange boats and a fleet of fighter jets that early reports say will be as useful to our defense department as ducks with grenades. The government has made some tough decisions it is true. It must have been tough to award themselves yet another pay-rise while parroting the need for the lowest paid to be thankful for what they have and promising to make it even more difficult for people on disability to actually claim any entitlements. They have also made the tough decision to allow the logging of a world heritage forest, the dredging of sands near the Great Barrier Reef and the establishment of yet more coal mines while at the same time making headway into reducing our development and support of renewable energy. Lets not even begin talking about the decisions regarding public education and the plethora of weasel words used to dismember it. Tough decisions have been made but these decisions do not seem to be to the advantage of Joe Citizen. I would speculate that they profit a very small number of already wealthy Australians at the expense of a longer term future of sustainable industries. Our government seems to be hell bent on achieving the list of 75 things desired by that renowned think tank the IPA, thats the Institute of Public affairs for the

uninitiated. In doing so they will no doubt further gain the admiration and respect of a small community of neo-conservatives who themselves are big fans of the American Tea Party, the Koch brothers and Ultra-capitalist ventures. Such people brought us the genius of Sarah I can see Russia from my house Palin, the Buying Universities scandal, the re-establishment of racial segregation and the destruction of the USAs social welfare system. With any luck the damage done in the next three years will not be irreversible, we have seen our current government do its utmost to remove any policy implemented by our previous government that may have had a positive impact on the nation. But once they are gone what then? Our nation has a decreasing number of options when it comes to primary and secondary industry with many previously stalwart industries being sold off to foreign owned corporations, closed down or scaled back. Like all nations Australia has a large number of people who lack the qualifications to work in tertiary industry and even if every working age adult had a university degree then what benefit would that bring us? Cynically it could be said we would have the most educated unemployed on the globe. For our future development we need to develop future industries, it is obvious that this development cannot wait for the governments aid but must be spearheaded from a grass-roots level. When ideas become profitable they become popular and it is vital that new industries are both if we as a nation are to achieve what we truly are capable of. Where to begin? We need to develop our industries quickly as the longer it is left the more damage will be done to our nations social and economic health. The industries need to be able to begin at a small scale but have the opportunity to expand and grow and ultimately become major bread winners for our nation and potentially even iconic industries that we can remain proud of in the years and decades to come. The industries need to provide opportunity to those who have not benefitted from high levels of education, those who may have fallen through the cracks of our education systems and social welfare nets. Hand in hand with this need goes the need to provide advancement because as a democratic and fair nation, Australia must provide opportunity for those that are prepared to work hard and succeed, regardless of education, social station or right of birth.

Finally these industries need to be sustainable, they need to be such that our land will not be despoiled by their development and expansion, so that they are a perpetual gift of our nations economy. The greatest folly of our times is that so much money, time and energy is spent on industries that are at the end of their lifespan, industries that require massive subsidies to continue and whose effectiveness has waned. These twentieth century industries saw the development of tools and technologies that have bridged the gap between the Industrial Revolution and now but like the steam engine, their time is past and our nation needs to move on. Industries that have potential African mahogany plantations/Glulam timbers The development of African mahogany plantations has been in the works in Queensland for some time now, however the number of plantations and the widespread use of the timbers has room for improvement. Gluing timber together with laminate (glulam) is not a recent discovery but it is one that seems neglected by Australian industry with only a small sector of the building industry preferring to use glulam as a structural support over steel or concrete. Basic information about glulam can be found here. Current glulam in Australia uses timber from varied sources and as a result there are problems with standardization of practice in using the material. By using African mahogany glulam as a staple we would be provided with a material that is faster to grow than radiata pine, requires less water than radiata pine, propagates faster than native hardwoods, and aesthetically speaking is arguably much nicer to look at than radiata pine. It would also mean that the native forests that Australia still has could be left as they are as they are and not ruthlessly exploited for fast and unsustainable profit. Due to the hardiness of African mahogany the industry itself could be established in the semi-arid areas of many states, areas that until now are poorly utilized. This would see a resurgence in small town industry and breathe life back into rural Australia, which has been dying a slow death for many years now.

Kelp and seaweed industries The summer stink of rotting kelp on our beaches is a familiar one to many Australians but the potential for the use of kelp is undervalued. Dried kelp is a valuable stock feed supplement and can also be rendered into valuable fertilizer that provides nourishment to soil without synthetics. Also, seaweed of the more edible kind is easily grown in shallow salt water pools and provides a fast growing, easily harvestable source of nourishment for human consumption. As both a local and exportable industry it should be further developed as the need for quality foodstuffs is sure to increase as our global population explodes. Some small steps have been taken by the state government of South Australia to develop the kelp side of things but the positive impact a thriving seaweed/kelp industry could have on Australia could rival our traditional export of wheat and other grains. As a primary industry kelp and seaweed production would provide employment for many individuals without needing them to acquire higher education, in addition it is as industry that would have long term stability, people need food and with a greater population need increases. It really is a no brainer. Alternative energy It seems to me that alternative energy and more specifically renewable energy should be a shoo in for development, yet our current government seems to be walking away from it. All indications point to Australia using more energy to power our ever hungry need for technology yet we insist on relying upon old technologies that have a negative impact on the environment above that of any renewable energy source. When looked at in isolation renewables are easy to dismiss, our leaders currently say that they are too expensive to use but ignore the massive subsidies that go into our fossil fuel industry. Anti-renewable lobbyists go so far to say certain forms of renewables such as wind power have a negative impact on the eco-system and health comparable or greater to that of the coal industry. The same lobbyists stridently pursue the development of Coal Seam Gas exploitation despite the mounting evidence of negative long term consequences.

The great strength of the renewable energy sector is not that it can furiously pump out giga-watts of energy at a moments notice but is instead its constancy. The sun will rise, the wind will blow and the tides will rise and fall. The other certainties we have are that coal and gas stores will be depleted, whether now, in fifty years or a hundred years, it is a certainty. The only possible way to continue using fossil fuels indefinitely is to produce them using bio-technology, this is doable but is not a cheap process either and it would be much better to restrict the production of bio-oil for the manufacture of advanced plastics rather than simply as a fuel source. Employment wise alternative energies are a secondary industry and the development of power stations requires skilled labor, employing a host of infrastructure industries for establishment and maintenance. Long term would see the repair and upgrading of such energy plants and the battery stations storing power become more important. With development in better batteries by Australias very own CSIRO we should be leading the way in renewable development rather than selling off our best and brightest ideas so we then have to buy them back from other nations. Hemp With the mere mention of the word I can feel sneers of contempt from those who are convinced that hemp is merely a by-word for marijuana and a stain on the existence of drug free society. Well, hemp has been a valuable product to humanity since long before the cotton industry was developed. Its tough natural fibers clothed our bodies, made our bags and even fed our livestock for thousands of years. Hemp is durable, grows quickly and needs little water or care, increasingly researchers are finding the medicinal value of hemp and its oils and it is renewable. Australia as a nation could grow hemp for medical and industrial use and if we choose not to, another nation soon will and profit from our leaden stance. Regardless of personal feelings about the legalization of marijuana as a recreational or medical drug the quality of the entire plant really is indisputable. Scientific research Australia should be known as the clever country. Our national scientists in the form of the CSIRO have been at the forefront of developments in every field. Yet, funding to this body is being cut yet again. While some would argue that it is the

responsibility of private industry to innovate and produce new ideas history has shown that for profit businesses do not necessarily invest in those ventures that greatly benefit people but instead invest in those that guarantee profits. As a result it is not likely that we are to see great strides in technology that is humanitarian, educational or ethical by a great number of corporate entities. Some exceptions are obvious, however it is notable that they are noticeable only because they are exceptions to the rule. Without funding Australia will lose its best and brightest to other nations, the brain drain effect will continue with our educated youth and successful adults leaving our nation for opportunity elsewhere. To prevent this we must re-develop faith in our research industries, it is a simple solution to the elephant in the room but one that must be implemented quickly before we lose any momentum we have to drive us into the future. These are just a few ideas, scraped together in a few hours after a great many hours contemplation and eventual refusal to resign myself to living in a nation without a fair, ethical and sustainable future. On a day when we remember the sacrifices made by young men for our benefit, it is important to realize that their sacrifice is wasted if our future efforts do not establish and maintain a nation worth fighting for.

B.Groot 25-04-2014