Germany is finally saying about the global warming scam
Hasbeen,
Our lefties are on average ten years behind the rest of the world so we'll still have a whole decade to tolerate the mutts. Hopefully the next federal Government will make an effort to get them to make an effort because I for one am fed up with seeing my tax dollar first wasted & then claimed back as well. I think a Coalition Government would be well advised to demote many senior public servants & promote the more competent younger ones if they can be found.

Hasbeen,

I find the sentiments expressed in your posts regularly irksome and often grotesque.

I'm not interested in your small-minded take on modern transport. It's a finite paradigm - and certainly not sustainable. Urban sprawl and centralisation of goods and services will eventually have to reverse. Perhaps then, common sense will prevail.

"I have told you that public transport is inefficient, blah blah..."

I couldn't give a hoot what "you've told me".

In any case, Germany is way ahead of the US and its mimickers in sustainable models of transport.

You haven't spoiled my day raising Germany at all. It's always a pleasure to peruse European ideas on such subjects.

http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2009/04/16-germany-transportation-buehler

(btw, you get today's prize for inserting religious jargon [as in "faith" and "dogma"] in your post - congrats:)

Thank you Poirot. Bluster is the surest sign of defeat a lefty can give.

Hasbeen,

"Bluster is the surest sign of defeat...."

Well you should know - you're full of it.

: )

Now boys & girls. lets not get too het up.
The governments' proposals of the eastern extension of the M4 to the
Sydney CBD is just nonsense. Fancy making it easier to get more cars into the city !
Public transport is where the money we have should be spent.
I cannot agree with Hasbeen that individual transport is better for
fuel use than public transport.
Eventually, in a zero growth economy we will have a problem maintaining
the infrastructure that we now have.

For those who think zero growth economies are a figment of my
imagination I suggest that you do a little reading on the subject.
Most European countries are either in a contraction economy or a low
growth situation.

It is for that reason that the Very Fast Train Melbourne to Brisbane
is simply out of the question. The cost is so high that we do not have
the money or the credit. What we need is a fast enough rail link
interstate.
Speeds such as the UKs London to Edinburgh service is achievable for us.
That would give a Sydney Melbourne time of 5 to 6 hours instead of 11 hours.

Most "western" countries have reduced their energy consumption by
increasing the cost of electricity or buying smaller cars. This trend
has occurred because most people believe the petrol cost will only
rise in the future. The well head cost for all new sources is now
about US$90 a barrel and as that new oil is mixed with the old declining
US$30 a barrel so the various refinery outputs will get dearer.
With our refineries closing we are now importing petrol and diesel.
Instead of being 50% dependant on imports we will be 100% dependant
on imports in the near future. That is a very risky situation to be in.

Politicians are out of touch with the reality of energy.

What we need is a fast enough rail link
interstate.
Bazz,
Reliability is even more crucial than speed. I maintain that a mono rail system is the most cost effective, the most environmentally friendly & least costly to build & maintain. No bridges, no flooding/washouts, no wide corridors of forest destroyed, it literally is a win, win, win system.