Unfolding tragedy to Australia's north
Had our pictures of the destruction following the Christchurch earthquake been rendered in black and white, we could have been looking at something from the Blitz.
On a different scale entirely, the scenes from Japan have reminded us of Hiroshima. Cities, ports and coastal communities have looked more like the mouth of hell.
Japanese foreign language students were among the victims of the CTV Building in Christchurch, and we watched as a Japanese search and rescue team sifted through the colourless wreckage in bright orange uniforms.
On Friday night, those brave rescue workers prepared to return to Tokyo to perform the same gruesome mission in their homeland, albeit on a vastly bigger scale.
I am going to be off for the next few weeks - which is why I am not in Japan - and leave behind a news diary that seems entirely inconsequential given what is unfolding to Australia's north.
A big protest rally in Sydney in support of the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange. A pre-wedding royal tour by Prince William to Queensland, Victoria and New Zealand to visit the victims of the floods and earthquake. A state election in New South Wales, where the incumbent Labor government faces obliteration (even to use that word seems inappropriate at a time like this).
After the federal election in 2007, at the start of what many thought would be the Rudd era, Labor was in charge in every state and territory and enjoyed a healthy majority in the federal parliament.
The most senior Liberal office holder in the land was the mayor of Brisbane. Now Liberal-led coalitions are in charge in Western Australia and Victoria, and Labor leads minority governments in Tasmania and, of course, Canberra - another sign of the party's speedy decline.
By the end of the month, a Liberal-led coalition will be in charge in New South Wales, the country's most populous state. Not that there is any great enthusiasm for the incoming government. Indeed, perhaps Australia is living through an era of least worst options when it comes to federal and state politics.
Just to think, many of the headlines midway through last week focused on Prime Minister Julia Gillard choking up as she delivered her speech to the joint session of conference and talked with great wonder about America's first Moon mission; and her choice of Australian music on an iPod she presented to Barack Obama.
At the moment the quake struck, I was just about to head to a footy match in Sydney - that's rugby league for the uninitiated - pondering how the change in the sporting seasons had once again been ushered in with frontpage scandals involving players and agents.
But again, the ongoing trials and tribulations of the National Rugby League, the NRL, now seem so utterly inconsequential.
I covered the last Asian tsunami from the ghostly shores of southern India and Sri Lanka, and have a sense of what is facing the rescue teams, the reconstruction workers, my colleagues, and, most of all, the victims.
I am sure I speak for all the regular readers of this blog when I say our thoughts are with them all.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~21~RS~)
I'm 
© MMXI
Comments
Sign in or register to comment.
A good snappy blog Nick,reflecting situations and events occuring domestically also the terrible consequences of these dynamic earthquakes.
Thanks, enjoy weeks away.
Complain about this comment
Shocking news from Japan, not just the death toll from the earthquake and tsunami, but also the problems with the nuclear reactors.
Aren't those things meant to be "fail safe"?
What's the mood in the UK now with the people who live around the corner from reactors?
Feel I must comment too on Nick's words "Indeed, perhaps Australia is living through an era of least worst options when it comes to federal and state politics".
I disagree when it comes to Federal politics...I feel Australia has a great PM in Julia Gillard supported by a strong team...which can not be said about the Coalition.
The other thing I'd like to mention is the PM's backflip on the so called Carbon Tax...for me, anything to move ahead on tackling the effects of man made climate change.
Her "No carbon tax" statement before the last election...no problem.
I wonder how many people voted Green BECAUSE of that statement, thus losing Labor a potential majority.
From a strategy POV, I feel that damaged Labor's position in the last election more than anything.
Have a great few weeks off Nick.
Complain about this comment
You can be sure that Keneally and Co. will be history when you get back Nick. Given the way Gillard and her company of clowns are going, they will likely be on their way soon thereafter. What a glorious thought. Don't shed any tears for this motley crew though. They will be given cushy jobs as ACTU hacks or find employment on TV Infomercial programs. None have the money-making skills of Hawke or Keating to make it big in the mainstream business sector.
Complain about this comment
i'm certainly ne advocate for the nsw liberals but what i have been encouraged by the talk of restoring the role of parliament and taking decisions based on need instead of political expediency. the proof will be in fatty o'barell's pudding!
Complain about this comment
I think I need a few weeks off from news. I was just coming to terms with the Tories attempts to turn my country into a mini-America where his rich mates can get richer. Despite an inspiring respite in Tunisia and Egypt which I thought was going to spread, the mad old colonel had other ideas and the Libya situation looks like it's going to... dung. Now the horrific scenes from Japan haunt me but make me feel uneasy about the lack of attention being paid to the massacres currently being carried out by our governments' pals in Saudi and Bahrain.
We live in an odd and confusing world.
Complain about this comment
@2 - Greg you need to understand what the word 'fail-safe' means. It doesn't mean its free from failing (that is practically impossible), it means should anything go wrong there are procedures and devices that will operate to reduce greater risk.
Complain about this comment
@6 - thanks Aarfy...trying to get a lead on what caused the problems.
I heard/read they are supposed to shut down at the first tremor/shock wave but they still exploded.
Just saw on 7:30 the reactors are 40 years old GE Mark 1s...are the newer models "safer"?
How about in the UK?
Realize the risk of earthquakes and tsunamis are not so relevant there, but then again, wasn't Lisbon hit by a tsunami in the late 18th century?
Complain about this comment
It was the quake itself that caused the trouble in Japan, Greg, so I don't think we need to get our knickers in a twist about a tsunami from a quake that happened in the Atlantic over 250 years ago. I think they're checking anyway, mind:)
Britain is meant to be getting all new nuclear power stations and apparently they're different to the ones in Japan (don't ask me how - I just heard about it on the radio) aside from being safer than the older designs. So, at the end of it all, I think the pro-nuclear fellows will remain on top here.
Anyway, this is an Aussie blog. Is it going to strengthen the anti-nuclear argument down there? Will you continue burning your coal or are cleaner alternatives being proposed yet?
Complain about this comment
Thanks Stirling for the clarification : )
Of course that Lisbon tsunami was caused by an earthquake...around 9 magnitude...in 1755 I believe.
It is reported that a 3 meter high tsunami hit Cornwall.
Anyway, good to hear the UK reactors are "safe"...
As far as Oz goes, the new carbon tax and later ETS is designed to offset dirty energy generation technology and encourage cleaner alternatives.
Of course, people like PeterD see the team who is working for effective clean energy solutions in Australia as being "clowns"...but then, as a Canadian he is an expert on such matters.
Complain about this comment
Woah woah, slow down big fella. What's with the inverted commas? I never stated that the British reactors are "safe", indeed I can think of few things I am less qualified to state. I merely voiced my opinion that the anti-nuclear movement will not make much ground as a result of this Japanese disaster.
I'm actually confused about nuclear power. I listen to 'experts' from both sides of the argument and both make convincing cases. What is someone like me meant to do? All research seems to be sponsored by someone with an interest, so who can one trust? I don't trust anything anyone says at the best of times, so if I have no way of verifying the information I hear, all I can do is think about something else instead.
Que Sera, Sera...
Complain about this comment
Very hard to comprehend the enormous events and unfolding disaster happening in Japan, and everything else seems to be trivial by comparison, I too need a holiday from the news.I have had to do a small peice for a website I edit and have had no idea where to start. As it if for a veterans website in the Antipodes I have had to tread carefully due to possible cultural and long term distrust/dislike/hatred of Japan by the likely readership.
As the idiot 'comedian' in the US proved, racial and cultural hatred still exists and does rear its very ugly head even at a terrible time like this. I took advice and kept factual, reporting only official news, but what makes me wonder is why after so many years a tragedy such as this still brings out the worst in human nature and that I really wish Mother Nature would give us all a break!
Have a good break Nick, hopefully you will return to find the NRL and its petty dramas once more at the head of the news.
Complain about this comment
I'm finding it hard to keep up to date on Japan on SMH and Tele websites. Local news (some of it quite petty) has already overtaken foreign coverage.
I'm back to the trusty old BBC for excellent reporting.
On the Sydney Morning Herald websitea, a story with video about bullying got 4 times as many views as the Tsunami engulfing Sendai. That makes me sad.
Japan's terrible circumstances makes me very sad.
Sadness makes me tired. I'm off for a lie down.
Nick, you've earnt a break,
Enjoy,
The 'zzzzzzzzz' Moz in Ozzzzzzzzz
Complain about this comment
9 Greg Warner
“Of course, people like PeterD see the team who is working for effective clean energy solutions in Australia as being "clowns"...but then, as a Canadian he is an expert on such matters.”
The Australian newspaper 7 March 2011:
“JULIA Gillard's carbon tax plan has sent Labor's primary vote support reeling to its lowest level on record, with the Prime Minister also suffering a significant slide in her personal standing.
The latest Newspoll survey, conducted exclusively for The Australian, reveals Labor's primary vote has fallen from 36 per cent two weeks ago to 30 per cent, below the 31 per cent record when Paul Keating was prime minister in 1993, as the Coalition rose four points to 45 per cent.”
Seems like a many Australians, if not a majority, share my views on Gillard and Co. Good on them. Please note I applied the term “clowns” to a very specific group of politicians and not to the majority of Australians. Unfortunately, Greg Warner seems to have decided to apply it to all Canadians: the hallmark of a true member of the ‘Chip-on-the-shoulder Brigade’.
Complain about this comment
Interesting comments by British independent nuclear consultant John Large on the ABC's 7:30 tonight.
He said that the situation in Japan brings into question the whole concept of nuclear "safety", not only in Japan but in the UK as well.
The really disconcerting aspect of the Japanese situation is "How could this happen?"
Surely, the argument would go, that in Japan positioned as it is on the Pacific Ring of Fire and with a history of eathquakes and tsunamis, standards would have been put in place to make sure that what we are currently seeing in Japan would NOT happen.
So as Mr Large suggests, it does bring into question the whole issue of nuclear safety.
#10 Stirling
Sorry to startle you old friend : )
However I was trying to get some kind of feeling from a cogent British commentator like yourself on how the events in Japan might have affected the British public's mood on reactors, and without getting too technical, if the public's perception is that British nuclear safety standards are seen to be equal to, worse or better than the Japanese standards.
#13 PeterD
Peter...as I am sure you really do know I was addressing YOU as a Canadian...not your collective brethren.
Last time I posted on my experiences of the Canadian-Australian experience you chastised me with some back handed concept of misplaced "nobility" to use your word.
As you can see from my comments to Stirling above, as a non-Briton I would rather get a feeling of the mood in a country from the obesrvations of one of its citizens.
You on the other hand, with your Murdoch press-kit in hand always seem to have no qualms in telling REAL Aussies what is wrong with our nation and its leaders.
Granted you have some close relatives here, but why should you position yourself as an expert on Australian affairs and sensibilities?
You denigrate our current PM and her team...you don't hold back in dismissing such initiatives as the National Broadband Network as rubbish...and you generally rabbit on about things Australian as if you were one of us.
Of course you are entitled to your opinion, but you are NOT one of us.
And then you as usual hit the insult button.
I do not have a chip on my shoulder.
Chips on shoulders have absolutely nothing to do with commenting on a Canadian poster who has a very shallow understanding of Australian and its core beliefs, its lore, its "spirit of place".
My suggestion to you is, go way up north, spend six months with the Mohawks or whoever the native people are who live up that way, and get to grips with your own Canadian spirit of place.
Then you might begin to understand who you really are.
On the otherhand, you could fess up that when you emigrated to Canada you made a dreadful mistake and really should have come to Australia.
Then, old mate, I could take your comments a little more seriously.
Complain about this comment
14 Greg Warner
“Peter...as I am sure you really do know I was addressing YOU as a Canadian...not your collective brethren.”
Oh really! “….as a Canadian he is an expert on such matters.” That clearly applies to Canadians generally and not just to myself. So you are either: now denying your belief, unable to write what you believe, or unable to believe what you write.
“You on the other hand, with your Murdoch press-kit in hand always seem to have no qualms in telling REAL Aussies what is wrong with our nation and its leaders.”
A pathetic attempt at besmirching by association! So those surveyed by Newspoll are not REAL Australians but you and your ilk are REAL Australians! Sounds like your old Chippie mate from Queensland who’s since departed this space. You know, the fella you once deemed a ‘True Blue Dinky Di’ and who liked to talk about REAL Australians and PAPER Australians. If you and he do represent REAL Australians, then immigration into Australia would quickly dry up and the country would also experience a serious emigration problem. However, on a positive note, you have stated that you reside of Indonesia so that’s one emigration case that’s been beneficial for Australia.
“Granted you have some close relatives here, but why should you position yourself as an expert on Australian affairs and sensibilities?” Really, I’m not positioning myself as an expert on anything but I am freely commenting which is what this blog site is all about. Thankfully, it’s unlikely the Beeb will allow it to become operated under some sort of Chippie-inspired censorship regime.
“You denigrate our current PM and her team”. Yes, as do many if not a majority of Australians.
“you don't hold back in dismissing such initiatives as the National Broadband Network as rubbish”. I strongly oppose the NBN as do many Australians. I suspect that once the true costs and scale of this project are known, then that ‘many’ could soon become a ‘majority’.
“you generally rabbit on about things Australian as if you were one of us.” Not true, I comment on topics I have an opinion on. I’m not an Australian but have felt a strong kinship with the great majority of Australians I’ve met during many visits. However, I strongly oppose the vocal Chippie minority and will proudly continue to do so.
‘…..a Canadian poster who has a very shallow understanding of Australian and its core beliefs, its lore, its "spirit of place".’ Given the generally poor quality and accuracy of much of your voluminous posted material, you are among the least qualified to denigrate anyone else in this way.
“My suggestion to you is, go way up north, spend six months with the Mohawks or whoever the native people are who live up that way, and get to grips with your own Canadian spirit of place.
Then you might begin to understand who you really are.”
Very bizarre but very much in character, and also supportive of my previous comment. Over the last 13 years or so I’ve spent a lot of time: in Australia, travelling throughout the country, studying Australian history, and keeping abreast of the Australian political, social and economic environments. I’ve also spent a lot of money there, including GST which I’m loath to see wasted by the likes of Gillard and Co. I doubt if you’ve ever visited Canada and from your posts you clearly know very little about the country. I’ll make a very small start to remedy the latter problem: the Mohawk nation is from Southern and Eastern Canada and the adjacent areas of the USA; the aboriginals of “way up north” are the Inuit peoples.
So you are suggesting I spend six months with the Inuit to understand who I really am? Have you spent six months with the Torres Straits Islanders to understand who you really are? More likely you headed north, took a few wrong turns, got a ride on a people smuggler’s boat doing its return journey and ended up in Indonesia. Anyway, I hope they’ve made you very welcome there.
“On the other hand, you could fess up that when you emigrated to Canada you made a dreadful mistake and really should have come to Australia.” I’m glad I chose Canada; however, Australia or New Zealand would have been good second choices. On the other hand, if I’d chosen Australia, I could have devoted much more time to Chippie-bashing which could have yielded real societal benefits!
Complain about this comment
Greg, regardless of facts a large, non-thinking section of the British public will assume British reactors to be less safe than Japanese ones. They are conditioned into a mindset by our perpetually negative and fear mongering press.
There is also a general assumption, shared by me, that all information given by politicians and industry experts needs to be looked at through a cynical eye. However much of that will be offset by the lethargic attitude many have towards thought. The average Daily Mail reader will get more worked up about Cheryl Cole's new hairdo than a potential nuclear disaster. Add to that the rarity of natural disasters here, and you have very few questions being asked by the man in the street.
PeterD and Greg, I don't know why you hate each other so much, but it may be time to call a truce.
Complain about this comment
16 stirling222
“PeterD and Greg, I don't know why you hate each other so much, but it may be time to call a truce.”
While I respect the sincerity of your intention, I believe it is based on an erroneous assertion. Personal hatred is not the issue.
This is a blog site where views on important matters are presented, discussed and sometimes contested, so what's the point of a truce? For my part, I’ve mainly contested views which I considered offensive, based on prejudice and supported by little or no factual evidence. I’ve tried to be consistent in this approach and my major contestations have been limited to only a few bloggers whenever their views have met this profile; mainly Wollemi, 11pete11, Treaclebeak and Greg Warner. I believe a check of my past posts will verify this claim.
I continue to feel comfortable with this approach.
Complain about this comment
View these comments in RSS