As an ex-South Australian I marvel at that State's tenacity. They have three desal plants in preparation; their big gas fired generator is dependent on fast diminishing reserves, their coal fired power stations burn a kind of flammable soil yet they have a third of the world's uranium. During their record March heatwave the wind farms were largely becalmed. Solar could be good if was a lot cheaper and the energy could be stored overnight or longer. This idea of high voltage direct current transmission lines (HVDC)to the desert sounds good but who will pay for it?

One anomaly I see with the NEM is running down hydro dams in summer to chase spot prices. That water could be conserved for the now long dry autumns. As well as carbon caps the move to remotely switch off air conditioners by radio signal could help with summer overload. I presume there will be a lot more windpower under Rudd's target of 20% renewables by 2020. That suggests other generating capacity in the grid needs to be of a kind that can be throttled back to accommodate times when it's windy everywhere. FWIW I believe the Whyalla-Pt Augusta area, say around Pt Bonython, is the best place to site Australia's first nuclear power station in order to reduce baseload carbon emissions.

I must disagree. As someone who believes in the traditional Australian values of the government being the enemy of the people, and with no taxation with or without representation, I consider the NEM arrangements to be an excellent practical compromise. As one who would defend States Rights to the death, who longs for the time when we find people racing to the Queensland frontier to escape the NSW police (with no extradition over the frontier), I would oppose to the death any attempt to expand the powers of the commonwealth government, and love to view the increasing convoluted attempts of the lawyers to get around this as an excuse to despise the profession.

The failure of the political elite to publicly acknowledge this only helps to reinforce the cultural validity of the contempt in which they are held.

The many benefits that have come to the people over the years from the governmental system we have in Australia (with the most memorable being the abolition of death duty in the 1970's by the pre-emptive action of the Bjelke-Petersen government), ensures that any proposed referendum purporting to expand the powers of the commonwealth, will, like so many in the past, be crushed by the people.

At the risk of boredom, let me again reiterate the four principles of Australian democracy:

1. The government is the enemy of the people, and can never be trusted.

2. No taxation with or without representation, with any deficiency in government finances being made up from the sale of politician's assets.

3. The main problem with elections is that no matter WHOM you vote for, a POLITICIAN is ALWAYS elected.

4. ALWAYS vote NO in referendums.