The biblical book of Esther begins with Queen Vashti refusing the king's commands to come and dance nude (wearing only her crown on her head) to show her beauty to his banquet guests.

That was unheard of, so the king deposed her, for otherwise all women would start disobeying their husbands...

So is the author blaming Adelaide for refusing to go with the times: no he won't blame the demands of this murky 21st century, only its victims - for otherwise the rest of the country may follow suit and close itself down to the crumbling world, refusing to join its last Pompeyan banquet.

Chances are small, but I still hope that the rest of Australia joins Vashti's example.

I lived in Adelaide from 1983-1994, a time which saw the failure of the multifunction polis and the collapse of the State Bank, but the city pulled through. I used to live in a Housing Trust flat on Anzac Hwy but luckily got to meet people involved in CHASSA, running housing for themselves, and I became a member of Turtle Housing Coop, one of the most motivated and dynamic group of people I have ever met, but they lived an alternative lifestyle, and were sui generis original thinkers.
So looking back from retirement here in the Philippines, if there's one city in Australia that I'd quite happily go back and live in, it's certainly Adelaide.

Malcolm, this is a clear cut case of doing what you've always done, and expecting a very different result!
An economy, state or federal, rests on just two support pillars, energy and capital.
The state has surrendered to vested interest and now energy is too expensive to actually encourage high tech industry to relocate to SA!
And both sides of politics seem to be scrubbing their hands of responsibility for essential service!
Which if left in public hands would be far cheaper, and keep more employers interested in staying!
SA could also consider rolling out rapid rail.
And financing it via the later sales of resumed rezoned land alongside said link. (Think outside the box!)
And there is considerable scope for new mining, but particularly if SA is the first to adopt cheaper than coal, thorium power.
Yes I know, it's different, and the units are too small to serve the needs of the grid, but are large enough to serve the needs of this or that industrial estate/suburb.
And for less than half what they are now paying!
And those sort of connotations might just persuade an energy dependent Holden to stay or be replaced by something more high tech.
And given just how much the energy bill contributes to the cost of ship/sub building, those industries could also be saved, with a halved energy bill!
I mean what is their annual power bill now?
And if power bills could be more than halved, given thorium power and very local micro-grids, more would become available as a local discretionary spend!
And just that amount of change would encourage many niche operations to relocate to SA!
And if there were more discretionary spending, the share of the GST would grow.
SA needs people who are capable of thinking outside the box, and finally prepared to put SA first, even if that threatens political careers!
Rhrosty.

I've managed to spend almost half my adult life NOT living in Adelaide, with some struggle, but I've been back now for about a year, family reasons as per the article..
The author has nailed it, Adelaide has become a place in decline, with little hope for the future, it pervades the whole mindset, atmosphere, call it what you will.
I'll be even more glad than usual to leave again, and this time permanently.

Gday Bruce,

I'll share with you a little secret. Very few academics and opinion leaders can get a researched story up in the Adelaide media (apart from InDaily). It's all smiley faces and denial a mile wide. It reminds me of the Joh show in the late 70s. "She'll be right, don't you worry about that, feed the chooks," etc.

An opinion piece in the Tiser by Professor Richard Blandy from UniSA, critical of the Weatherill Government appeared this morning. It was pulled at 10.00 am by News Corp. No blog comments were published. This could have been due to blog maintenance or an IT error but it makes you think...

Adelaide has some fantastic people and beautiful coastal scenery but so far as a functioning economy, it is very, very dire.

Adelaide has never been the same since Premier Don Dunstan's pink pants departed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Dunstan#Dunstan_decade

Perhaps Adelaidians should build nuclear reactors, plutonium reprocessors and nuclear weapons. No test explosions in upmarket Springfield but the working Woomera test range.

It is also axiomatic that people who can build cars are naturally endowed to build submarines more efficiently than the Germans or Japanese.

Maybe Adelaide should become Australia's gay capital to boot?