As a former SA person I think their Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission was a dud as is likely for their proposed water use inquiry. The key points I made in my submission to the NFCRC were rebutted in the final report yet I see other people made those same points. Instead they appeared to hang onto every word of a group of consultants. So much for the wisdom of crowds. Their key recommendation was that Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and others could spend up to $42 bn building a nuclear waste dump in the SA outback. In my opinion that idea was naive and unworkable without a decade of groundwork.

Now the SA 'water theft' Royal Commission aims to subpoena upstream villains into confessing to their crimes. Trouble is SA wastes 800 gigalitres a year through evaporation in the lakes near the Murray mouth. The lakes are kept artificially fresh by manmade barrages that prevent sea water incursion. Both RCs seem to demonstrate a major sense of entitlement.

Maybe? And told us stuff we already knew and indeed what ought be done about it?

In far too many cases, used to serve a political purpose?

Only made necessary by asinine divide and rule politics, when what we need and have needed for at least several decades! Is bipartisan pragmatism and us against the world, instead of each other!

Bob Katter claimed he would push for a royal commision into Australia's energy policy/distribution/corruption? Still waiting Bob!

And where one could agree with the expenditure if it then resulted in a pragmatic outcome that reversed recent disastrous privatisation and the plain as the nose on your face, price gouging profiteering that replaced what was once, the lowest costing energy prices on earth?

But hey, times were different then we weren't owned by foreign corporations and our farms were family affairs linked to a sanely managed cooperative.

Replaced to a large extent, by far less productive corporate farming.

When I think, we were once the third most wealthy nation on earth and a debt free creditor one at that!

Well, why can't we have a royal commission to see what went so horribly wrong? Who were the mongrels that caused it/placed us in our, very different, changed, inevitable comparative position today?

We create literal paradises, like Byron Bay or Maleny etc. Only to see corporate America arrive and ruin it, the lifestyles and once reasonable property prices!

It can't be too long before Mandarin is compulsory and we learn our proper place and start lots of forelock tugging, yas master, right away master, as we become little more than tenants in our own country?

Sold out underneath us, or down the river of no return? By the Benedict Arnolds/smiling economic assassins, in our midst!

Let's have a royal commision into that, then hold those responsible to account! Beginning with the profits of criminality, being confiscated! And where power, position and privilege ought count for nought!
Alan B.

Small minds yeild small dreams
Large minds leave....can't put it any simpler than that

Well now so according to you we did not need to know the extent of child sexual abuse metered out by various religious orders,it should have just stayed under the carpet, but mind you the Liberal/national Govt showed what they through by the antics of Porter the low social security minister AKA lock em up Porter,who has a lot to answer for, went to the Cricket with Howard & ignored it.
Proving lazy swine all way rise he is now AG which he has about as many clues as he did as Social security,ex WA treasurer who bolted when thing went bad responsible for suicides with Robo debt,but with luck he wont survive the next election
Don't worry the present Govt will get it back in spades,Royal Commissions,judicial enquirers Abbott opened the box with his pursuing of Rudd,& unions & Shorten Labor has long memories to lads

On the contrary John, "the extent of child sexual abuse metered out by various religious orders" was well and truly out from under the carpet long before the $550 million Royal Commission was even contemplated. Many victims had sought and already received substantial compensation before the Royal Commission came on the scene. [e.g. Catholic Church authorities in Australia made total payments of $276 million between 1980 and 2015 at an average of $91,000 per claim.

I will admit the the Royal Commission did a good job documenting the abuse in almost encyclopaedic detail and is recommending far more extensive compensation.

Two years ago a Senate Inquiry called for a Royal Commission into the institutional abuse, violence and neglect of people with a disability. Many people and organizations have joined a national chorus to support this call. Maybe Brendan doesn't want the doors thrown open on the disability department he used to preside over.

Estelles. You suggest that "Maybe Brendan doesn't want the doors thrown open on the disability department he used to preside over".

Wrong Brendan. You are mixing me up with the respected former head of the NSW Department of Ageing, Disabilities and Home Care.

I'm not saying we should lease SA out to the Chinese like NT did with the Port of Darwin, so what does a 'clever country' do in times like these?
Why we're so clever that we just throw money away and claim it's for the social good and then borrow some more
Everyone has an opinion but no one wants to put the money up to back it.
Lottsa talkin' but no walkin'

They make sure royal commisisons cost a lot so they can then use the cost as a reason for not having any more.

Royal commissions are bonza's for lawyers.