The fact is that few people are ever happy with the way that any disaster is handled. It is simply inevitable that the aura of Anna’s splendid leadership through two disasters will steadily fade as reconstruction proceeds. Her image problem will be made worse by the fact that millions of Australian’s now identify closely with the enormous death toll from the tragedy that has hit Christchurch, the consequences of which will make Queensland’s problems seem to be less important.

Which brings us to the manner in which Reconstruction will be carried out in Queensland (and in north-eastern New South Wales, north-western Victoria and Darwin — all of whom have been omitted from the Federal Government’s plans for spending the Flood Levy, because they seem to be overly concerned about winning seats in politically volatile Queensland). Continue reading “The Perilous Politics of Reconstruction” →

Devastating floods have hit us hard. Their waters are slowly going away, but they will surely return in force as the current cyclones are already indicating. Nevertheless, we are not going to be ‘rooned,’ as was predicted by a character called Hanrahan, created by Father Patrick Joseph Hartigan in 1921.

“If this rain doesn’t stop we’ll be rooned, and then the bush fires will come and the banks will fail.” Hanrahan was a pessimist, but he did accurately pinpoint the inevitable cycle of Australian disasters — a skill that seems to have escaped our current leaders. Continue reading ““We’ll all be rooned” – said Hanrahan” →