Adventure Ausrama Blog

South Australia is going to test driverless cars for use on roads in that state. This is premature. We have the hacking problems of "normal" vehicles to deal with, let along allowing potentially dangerous ones loose in Australia. There is also the important question of who is responsible if there is a collision involving a driverless car. This is way too soon. The South Australian experiment will be the first in the southern hemisphere. Legislation is to be passed in state parliament on Thursday. It will allow testing on road with cars being driven by people. It is obvious that if there is an accident the insurance company of a normal vehicle will not pay out. It is common knowledge that insurance companies keep taking annual premiums when they know a legal problem exists which takes liability away from them - note the payouts refused in recent floods. Wanting to be the first state to adopt new technology is stupid when such cars will be driving illegally with ...

You cannot change the way people think. Legislating will change behavior for a time until civil unrest or violence moves things back to the way they used to be. This will be the case with Internet laws in Australia to stop piracy. Only when the programs demanded are made available at a fair price will piracy stop. The same will be true will new "compulsory" vaccination. Some people would rather go to jail than immunize their children. Their religious or moral beliefs may seem misguided to others, but such parents are entitled to their faith. Similarly, attempts to stop paracetamol poisoning will fail because society has been inculcated with the concept that you pop a Panadol when you feel the slightest pain. We learn this as children. A crying baby makes a mother reach for the paracetamol syrup. Babies love the sweet, fruity taste. Putting all analgesics on prescription will boost the income of doctors and pharmacists. The cheap brands will not be ava...

The present federal government has a policy of the market will solve all problems : we will get rid of regulatory bodies and legislation. This would be good if it was right and it isn't. Private industry will not build roads, for example. Getting rid of regulation on investment advisers was a mistake. Thankfully it was resurrected and defeated in the Senate. If it had stayed, advisers would have pulled the wool over the eyes of the poor in society - those who do not know how the system operates. The government is trying to abolish the body that reviews charity organizations. Senate opposition will put an end to this. Why is the government wasting its time and taxpayers money throwing legislation at the Senate that clearly will not get through? There is no debt problem in Australia contrary to the wild obsession put forward by the Coalition. Australia has only 17 per cent debt. this compares to over 90 per cent for most other Western countries. The econ...

Western Australia reacted to attacks by dogs on children. A few years ago legislation was passed to not only muzzle but also sterilize American Pit Bulls, Mastiffs and Japaneses Tosas. Since then there has not been a major decline in the numbers of these breeds. The legislation has not worked out as intended. President of the RSPCA, Hugh Wirth, says breeding of "dangerous" dogs has gone underground. Dr Kersti Seksei of the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) makes the point that dogs of any breed can and do bite people. It is usually the case that household pets bite members of the family. The AVA suggests testing of dog temperament when they are sold. This would be difficult to police because most cross breed puppies are sold privately. Dogs follow their owners' behavior. Dangerous dogs are created, not born. That is why police dogs are always muzzled in public: they are trained to be dangerous. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaus...

Western Australia is about to fill up its jails and children's care homes in the war on drugs. New legislation will jail parents and take away children for the cultivation of one cannabis plant. The jail terms are mandatory for the manufacture of small amounts of other drugs.  The conservative government has certainly lived up to its ideals of trying to turn back the clock a century or so. Transportation to a far off land could be next for "criminals". An earlier Labor government had decriminalized minor marijuana use. Just why the WA government would want to change a situation that seemed to be working is the real question. The premier must know that tough regulation like in the US has failed, totally. If legislation worked, such action would be justified Even in the UK, people found with a small amount of drugs on their person are given a warning the first time it happens. Only serial offenders are jailed. This is the best idea. Target the dealers not individu...