This tells us why there's no depth in thinking on our news desks. As the editorial staff are more focused on themselves than the most critical issues.

A decade ago we were getting climate change front and centre. then the rains came, the drought ended and the conversation returned to the more mundane.

And, once again mediocrity reigned supreme! Or the majors returned to bagging climate change and any serious attempt to address it by ending our absolutely ludicrous reliance on coal-fired power, coal mining/exports.

The author is one of many, more concerned with talking about themselves than the most import issue facing us and our world!

One only need look at the topics chosen here on OLO today, to understand how unimportant real issues are, to those we rely on to report the news/issues of most importance! But instead, we get this navel-gazing and issues so far away and insignificant in comparison as to stupefy, sap the intellect to the point of simply giving it all away!

And just allow the lemming-like exodus toward the cliff edge to continue or increase. Given nobody seems to care and those that do are systematically ignored, team tagged in print attacks, or censored!

I mean, how many articles on the possibility of transitioning to nuclear power have you read in the last ten years in any major newspaper!? How many have championed it!?

Or any serious conversation about drought-proofing the nation that doesn't include the rollout of previously rejected dam proposals and nothing else!?

Or any serious return to bipartisan pragmatism! TBC
Alan B.

Cont.
In this mornings news was a proposal to restart South Australias, desalination plant and pump water inland to grow fodder. And at a cost of not less than $600.00 a gigalitre!

Now, if we changed the method from membrane reverse osmosis to deionisation dialysis desalination, we'd be able to reduce the cost to $1500.00 pr gigalitre. And increase the potable water output by as much as 30%

Replace coal-fired power with carbon-free MSR thorium and that cost can be reduced to, $20.00 a gigalitre.

Our/your response!? SFA! Instead, we get this sort of navel-gazing as being much more important or the views of clearly senile, former leaders?

If more dams were ever the answer, then all we need do to revegetate the Sahara and other former arable lands, now turned to desert, via progressive desertification, would be just to build more and more dams.

And would start as high up in the water table a possible!

And cost millions of trillions! And only need the return of rainfall to actually make it work!

I'd sooner invest a few million on MSR thorium, deionisation dialysis desalination and a few hundred miles of pipeline to achieve a guaranteed outcome!

Moreover, $20.00 a gigalitre is more affordable water than anything currently supplied via any dam supplied water. nd we are a land surrounded on all sides by water!

As this model is rolled out and formerly arid areas become our most productive farmland, the additional moisture fed into the adjacent atmosphere will increase nearby rainfall numbers, slowly progressively spreading.

And so it goes on and on as the water flow continues as an endless reliable, brand new source that is never ever dependant on whether or not it does or doesn't rain!

It just needs a leader using the brains he was born with and not one driven by idiotic ideology or powerful vested interests, to step forward and just get this started!

We could fund all of it, off the books by becoming the world's safest repository nuclear waste repository and earn annual millions, for so doing!
Alan B.

Back on topic. Open-plan offices are not conducive to untroubled concentrated thought but are places of continual disruption. Are usually located in the state or districts most expensive real estate, require staff to commute on some often gridlocked highways.

And the companies working capital would be far better spent linking their staff via optic cable video link Thus the time spent commuting could be better spent at a work desk or in quality family time!

And basically from anywhere in the country? Or a foreign desk? We have NBN and newsprint organisations need to reduce operating costs, just do not need to have all the office staff in some Bable office tower! Reconfiguring would be a waste of scarce resources!

Better they should use the electronic highway to resolve all these alleged issues and improve productivity out of sight at the same time! as well as reduce their carbon footprint. End of story.
Alan B.

The author, Riley O'Flanigan, definitely the offspring of numerous Irish roots, makes an inherently dry subject funny.

Its got to be said that Paddy O'Flanigan's conclusions may be incorrect. Those with high productivity (let's call them Alphas) will be promoted into having their own offices. Alphas will remain more productive.

In contrast the Epsilon minus morons (thankyou http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World ) who infest the Open Plan cubicles outside, will remain distracted while drooling.

Needless to say I've "promoted" myself, through too much bridge burning, out of a customary job. So I'm very productive in my own lil cyber hovel at http://gentleseas.blogspot.com/

YES Pete, AND ALL THE INFORMATION THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS EXPOSED TO, HAS FIRST TO B FILTERED THROUGH THIS NAVEL GAZING PINCH GAP! And then we wonder why we're where we are now and who are made responsible for outcomes!?
Alan B.

Correction. $1500.00 should be read as $150.00. One awoke o the news, that 100 houses had been destroyed, one dead and two missing! And as a consequence of the very worst fire season in living memory. But hey, that's not much of an issue when the office accommodations are not perfect! We have Scomo touring the countryside touted more coal and coal-fired jobs, etc.

It probably never ever has occurred to this giant intellect that we can mine other stuff apart from coal and give we do? Create tens of thousands of more mine-related jobs in value-adding and refining. Rare earths, cobalt, lithium and the waste byproduct of many of these mineral deposits, thorium.

Thorium is the most energy-dense material on earth, is less radioactive than a banana. And if we could just get our allege editors to stop the self-censorship on all matters nuclear!? Perhaps we could return some rationality to the energy debate and get some desal to a parched and burning inland.

Instead, we get this, writ large mediocrity, from folk who could actually make a difference, if they gave a rats for anyone other than, number one!

100 houses burnt destroyed, one dead two missing! What is it going to take, your mummy and daddy burnt where they slept? before you engage brain on actually important issues?
Alan B.