Commenting on the story: ‘Almost laughable’: Adelaide loses most liveable title to Melbourne

As an Adelaide expat living in Melbourne, I can confirm this result is laughable.

If Covid lockdowns were part of the criteria, we endured a world-leading 262 days here in Melbourne. I thought Adelaide only had a few weeks of lockdowns.

Also, presumably not taken into account is the difficulty of getting around the suburbs of Melbourne, accessing the airport and the CBD.  Bottom line is that growth through, massive immigration rather than productive enterprise, has resulted in over development of once-leafy suburbs and a road network that is saturated with traffic throughout the day. – Phil Sykes

These rankings are ludicrous. Auckland, voted number one in 2021, completely drops out of the top 10.

Calgary, which always gets into the top 10, is under snow six months of the year. Do you call that liveable? – Rodney Reeves

The hard reality is that Adelaide happened to be in top 3 once of the many of the liveability indices that exist.

I suggest Adelaide try to take the blinkers off and also look at Mercer, Forbes, Monocle, UN / World happiness index (country level) but more importantly try to understand what cities that are consistently ranked in top 10 are doing.

Good public transport, safe road for cyclists/pedestrians, reliable infrastructure/healthcare and a focus a green/renewable solutions and innovation in general to name a few. – Kenneth Abraham

Commenting on the opinion piece: It’s time to build a new national power grid

It is indeed time to look at another model of retailing energy to residential and industrial consumers.

The impact of a surge in international energy prices is starting to bite and the future is even bleaker when one looks at the many recent bankruptcies of UK energy retailers who are not vertically integrated i.e. are neither a generator or producer of electricity or gas.

Australia has many such energy marketers who could be at risk. Whilst unfashionably ‘un-green” but still very necessary, oil products diesel and petrol are also at record prices whilst  we have a fast shrinking domestic hydrocarbon refining industry and very limited back-up storage in Australia.

Our security of supply is at the lowest level it has ever been. Again this needs to be rethought – we cannot rely on, “we hope”, magnanimous multinational oil companies to make decisions regarding our domestic security. The other distribution system that goes in importance that has been really neglected and mismanaged is the telecommunications system which is appalling compared to developing countries let alone the major western economies.

We have the 69th slowest internet speed at the highest cost. Our existing and paid-for copper phone and cable internet system is being abandoned for a mish-mash of fibre-optic solutions by an unaccountable Government-owned organisation.

Paul Keating’s prediction of Australia becoming a “banana republic” seems almost fulfilled. I know this is probably an overly pessimistic view but this is a country rich in resources with an exceptionally well educated populace. We should be able to do better. – George MacKenzie

Professor John Quiggin is half right. The national grid is a failure, only partly because of the incorrect assumptions made in order to justify privatisation.

But replacing it is not the answer because, looking very long-term, it is not necessary, and any re-nationalisation will cost the taxpayer and reward the villains.

I say that the national grid is doomed to redundancy because domestic electricity consumption can be handled by rooftop PV and localised battery storage (except perhaps in inner-city areas, and that can be a powerful incentive to decentralise). Sure, industries need lots of electricity, and those that do should seek to provide their own localised PV or wind generation with battery backup. This may be an incentive to relocate to rural areas where the space is available, and government spending should be directed to assisting such relocation, rather than buying out a system doomed to long-term failure.

So provide the incentives for a ‘no-grid’ grid and let the existing system fall apart. – David Inkster

Energy generation should not be profit motivated. This is the complete failing of governments ever since Hawke/Keating.

Putting the pressure onto private companies to build your generation is a pathetic failure of governments who were voted in to look after the people, not look after companies.

Time to take it all back under government. The people must own the generation facilities as a guarantee of supply at reasonable cost. If it wasn’t for mindless green policies we could have had a nuclear plant by now if it had been started when it should have been. – Nick Fickling

Commenting on the story: SA public servants’ corruption fears

Sadly, a survey response that “represents 5.4 per cent of state government staff” is not even statistically significant, but it does beg the question as to why only 5.4% could be bothered to respond – apathy or a belief that their opinions will not be acted upon? – Christopher Saint

Commenting on the story: Libs to support workers comp changes – with a catch

The idea that the opposition is likely to support a Bill aimed to reduce the entitlements of injured workers should surprise no one, and may well sound the final death knell to the seriously injured worker in South Australia.

The Government’s union-backed deal will ultimately end in a double whammy for the seriously injured worker if the Summerfield decision is overturned anyway. That certainly appears to be a risk that the Government is prepared to take if this InDaily article is anything to go by.

Attorney-General Kyam Maher should be held to provide a clear, unambiguous response to the questions asked by SA Best MLC Connie Bonaros in Parliament on 16 June 2022. If the Government is indeed prepared to stand by the authority of Summerfield as it has said it will, then pray tell, why is ReturnToWork SA still lodging challenges to have Summerfield overturned?

Unless of course, the Government is suggesting it has no influence over the statutory bodies of which it is responsible.

Wait. Thinking. It is not looking good for workers, is it. – Andrea Madeley

Commenting on the Film review: Elvis

Not a movie buff at all, but I thought your précis of Elvis was excellent. Good job. – Ian Richardson

Commenting on the Poem: Revelation

My one word: Bravo! – Peter Ludborzme

Another thoughtful offering from Erica who challenges the convenient (for some) laziness of binary categorisation.

Until we recognise the interdependence of every aspect of the  living and thinking world we will continue to despoil nature and offer the blandness of white mass-produced bread as education. – Heather Webster