Sunday, May 21, 2006

Save the Snowy Hydro

MB is extremely concerned and really quite appalled at the sell off of the Snowy Hydro, with water rights for 72 yrs being handed over to the new owners. The sell-off was announced in January this year and there has been hardly a stir in the media and barely any significant public debate.

This isn't just an electricity company, it controls & owns vast amounts of water. How can the driest continent on earth hand over such a water rich asset to private investors? These water rights really are totally priceless and will be an absolute bargain for the buyers no matter what the Governments sells them for.

The Snowy Hydro may be located in southern NSW and Northern Victoria however all Australians have stake in the Hydro, it supplies electricity to Australia-wide grid and I'm sure once the Snowy is privatised, the cost of that power will increase and we will all feel it next time we get our electricity bill.

The Snowy River has only just started being rehabilitated, with water flows being gradually increased from 1% in 2002. Will the Snowy River continue to be rehabilitated after the NSW, Victorian and Commonwealth Governments sell off the Snowy Hydro?

There are three major issues here: Water, Conservation and Electricity, can we trust the Snowy Hydro Chairman, (who is also chairman of the Sydney Futures Exhange*) to think in the best interests of all Australians rather than in the best interests of private investors seeking quick profits?

Honestly it's like selling your mother to white slavers. Water is such a fundamental issue and control of our water should not be handed over to any minority group be it a business or otherwise. *
http://www.iancohen.org.au/mediarelease.aspx?id=144

Online Petitions: http://site.savesnowyhydro.com/ and

Monday, May 15, 2006

Mother's Day

The MB family treated their Queenbee (hey that rhymes with MB) to two home cooked meals, which is an all time record. Youngest son was going to get up at 7am and make a crepe breakfast but didn't get up until First born daughter arrived and shook him out of bed at around 9am. Son of MB then made a batch of light as air, melt in the mouth crepes, with chantilly cream, fresh fruit and jam, ensuring the crepes evaporated in a very short time.
That evening Son of MB decided to cook something from MB's new Italian cookbook "Silver Spoon", he found a special recipe for meatballs with a secret ingredient and cooked up a super dinner. A pavlova would have been the "icing on the cake" but it was not to be..... Good thing too, MB really doesn't need all those kilojoules.
First born daughter knows what her Mum likes, an Angus & Robertson gift voucher, so MB can indulge her voracious appetite for a book or two.
By the way, the secret ingredient in the meatballs was mashed potatoes.
MB has been temping at a professional office for the past 3 weeks, mon-fri. Plenty of material there for some blogging so keep posted.