It seemed there had been more than one form of heat being experienced during the past week of heat-wave conditions in much of south-eastern Australia. The public in the black-sheep State of NSW, the fly in the electricity 'privatisation' ointment, was being subjected to 'kite-flying'.

The kite-flying was in the form of the touting of Frank Sartor as a replacement for Premier Nathan Rees in a prognosticated leadership contest in the near future. Frank was being touted as a 'can do' leader for the State. The kite-fliers had got that one right! That was exactly how a very large proportion of the general public perceived Frank Sartor.

Forrest wondered whether the kite-fliers were really that out of touch as to what the true meaning of 'can do' is seen as being in the public's perception, or whether the touted leadership change was simply another example of the exercise of power without pride on the part of arrogant power-brokers.

Still, the kite-flying was an example of what could happen if a fresh leadership face passes up a major opportunity to set an example in the public interest. Nathan Rees had failed to impose a 3.9% pay cut across-the-board in the NSW public sector in what should have been a leadership response to those on the public payroll looking after themselves in the face of the world financial crisis by quietly awarding themselves a 3.9% pay increase.

Forrest reckoned that Premier Rees should revisit this issue. By golly, that would change the thinking of a lot of NSW pollies when they saw the public acceptibility of a small across-the-board public sector pay cut. That would show who was in touch with the times and the public mood. Perhaps Premier Rees should, by way of delivering justice to the public at large, impose a slightly greater pay cut, say 6%, just to get his team focussing on the real issues.

The past week had been very good for spot electricity prices, though. Forrest rubbed his hands vigorously.

I was wondering if there was any reason whatsoever to be hopeful that Nathan Rees would be any better than the corporate stooge that any of his predecessors, or indeed Sartor, were.

However when I read that both Bob Carr and Michael Costa had urged the Labor Party to support Rees against any possible challenge by Sartor, the glimmer of hope I had in Rees was extinguished.

---

BTW, the article "Courier Mail manipulates reporting of water recycling to demand early election" written by myself at http://candobetter.org/node/972 does touch the issue of NSW electricity privatisation, so it may be of interest.

Comments there or here are welcome.

Ever being one to keep an eye out for future trends, Forrest had noted one aspect of the Victoria bushfire tragedy that might in future seriously impact the market for, and marketability of, grid-distributed electricity in the dry sclerophyllous forest and woodland urban fringe and rural areas of south-eastern Australia.

It was the potential liability of a 'privatised' electricity retailer in Victoria for having been responsible for 'starting' at least one of the number of fires that comprised the total disaster.

Forrest reckoned this could only mean one thing. The price of retail 'privatised' electricity would soon go through the roof in Victoria as retailers made financial provision at the expense of their captive market in anticipation of eventual findings brought down against them that their electricity-carrying wires sparking as strong winds blew trees down over them were to blame for starting fires. Insurance companies would make a squillion. Someone had to be to blame, and you couldn't sue God, notwithstanding an implied claim to that effect recently made in a film title. The legal profession, or at least that part of it specialising in litigation, would soon be in clover.

How lucky were the people of NSW, where there were no really 'privatised' electricity retailers to be sued, and common sense perforce had to prevail, with the community having to accept the necessity of taking the good with the bad: the near constant availability of grid-distributed electricity, against the very occasional fire that might start because of those nasty live wires being knocked together and, arcing, dropping molten aluminium onto the bushland fuel load. How desperately unlucky was the NSW State government, that it was seemingly forced by the weight of public opinion to have to continue to appear to responsibly manage electricity generation and distribution!

All this was what so excited Forrest about solar pondage. Rural and urban fringe areas were relatively ideal for solar ponds. They could soon become as ubiquitous an icon as tennis courts up until recently were in the outer fringes of Melbourne, rendering much of the grid redundant.

The Saga of the Undying Phlaigme: a Tale of the Near Future, in several parts

Bronwyn, of the Cysterhood of the Coup de Grace, was going to deeply regret missing witnessing this contest in real time, Forrest was sure. She had all but prophetically said so, here: http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=2509#56742

There Forrest had been, selflessly posting away against his own vested interests in wind power on the article comments thread to 'Installing solar PV panels - the figures don’t add up, BUT… ', here: http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=8569&page=0 . He had courteously and, he hoped, constructively responded to several on-topic points made by Fractelle in that thread, but did in one small respect have to effectively say 'disagree' to her encouragement of other viewers to sign the petition promoted in the article.

The challenge had come out of nowhere. Not from Fractelle, whom Forrest felt was as much taken aback by it as he was. It came from the article author himself! Suddenly, when he had least been seeking it, Forrest found himself hearing the unmistakeable sounds of argument by abuse, abuse directed at him: whether he wanted it or not (and he didn't, refusing to be provoked by the first attack), Forrest was involved in a Phlaigme. A Phlaigme that was no mere tournament joust, but single mortal combat to the death in the Articles arena of OLO. Perhaps it was as well Bronwyn (of the Cysterhood) would not see the confrontation unfold: it could get very ugly. Forrest might even get killed. Bronwyn might cry.

The die was cast. Forrest, slap-happy Perve Erse Jokeln that he was by birth, long years past having left the field of actual knightly combat through being raised to the honorific rank of Knight-Commentator of the Undying Phlaigme, although out of practise, had picked up the gauntlet.

Forrest hoped Prince Valium of OLO could give him some tips as to current flaming techniques, but had a few tricks of his own nevertheless. It was game on.

TBC

The Saga of the Undying Phlaigme: part 2

In the prelude before the contest, Forrest walked his trusty war-horse slowly around the arena. He had kept WYRDMABUBY (pronounced word-ma-booby) since his retirement from knightly combat. He was a most dependable unflappable mount, and very big, like a drum-horse. Of a breed that a hundred or so years ago would have been called a Waler. You could see a large bronze statue of a horse like him in a park, near the Well of the Oath.

It was unusual for a horse to have an acronym for a name, but this one did, for just as Forrest was very fond of his old steed, so too was he very fond of acronyms. WYRDMABUBY stood for What You Really Do May Actually Be Unrecognised By Yourself. Given that until now, for a long time he had not needed WYRDMABUBY for a contest, Forrest supposed that made him a hobby horse. Forrest very much enjoyed riding his hobby horse.

If there was one thing Forrest knew well, it was his heraldry. He could see what he was up against the minute the Banner of the Coat of Arms was carried into the arena. The State flags were all missing from the central shield, being replaced by a multiplicity of featureless unreflective little clone-like grey rectangular cells that were doubtless meant to represent the regional councils of Gert-by-Sea. He was up against the New Federales and the entire Humphrey Appleby brigade!

Behind the Banner of the Coat of Arms, borne on horseback, was a large silver urn, the Holy Grail of Climate Change. A large choir, adoring faces all aglow, was marching behind the Grail, and singing a song in celebration of it. The words of this horsed vessel's song vent:

"The prices high, the Cartels tightly closed
Capital, it marches with quiet step
The Stockbrokers, all now Party Comrades
..................................... "

You could get the German version here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horst-Wessel-Lied#Parodies , but you couldn't sing it there.

Nasty agwo.

TBC

I posted the following to Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and Treasurer Andrew Fraser on 17 February:

"Open letter to Anna Bligh and Andrew Fraser asking that any planned privatisations be put to the public at forthcoming elections" at http://candobetter.org/node/1073

Dear Premier Anna Bligh and Treasurer Andrew Fraser,

I will be standing as an Independent pro-democracy candidate in the state electorate of Mount Coot-tha in the forthcoming state elections.

In part, my purpose in standing is to raise critical policy issues, which I believe will otherwise not be drawn to the attention of the Queensland public.

One issue is privatisation.

The evidence clearly shows that privatisation has gravely harmed the public interest and as a consequence, has been overwhelmingly opposed by the Australian public, including the Queensland public, for years.

Yet, most Australian governments, including your own, have persisted in imposing privatisation without any popular support and without any electoral mandate.

The list of privatisations, which comes to my mind, includes Energex, Ergon, the Golden Casket, the Mackay and Cairns airports, the Dalrymple Bay Coal loader and numerous tracts of valuable publicly owned land.

Indeed, the only privatisation that was raised in an election campaign of which I am aware, is that of the then named State Government Insurance Office (SGIO), now named Suncorp. Former Premier Peter Beattie promised during the 1998 election campaign not to fully privatise the half privatised SGIO, but, upon winning office, promptly broke that promise.

Last year we witnessed, in neighbouring NSW the appalling spectacle of the NSW corporate sector including Rupert Murdoch's Australian newspaper, clamouring for the privatisation of NSW's electricity generators, even though that policy was never put to the NSW public in the previous state elections of 2007, had been explicitly rejected in the 1999 elections and was opposed by at least 79% of the NSW public.

(tobecontinued)