DELIBERATE FIRES BURN VAST AREAS. Report by KIERAN FINNANE.
Bushfires, started from deliberately lit roadside fires, last week
devastated thousands of square kilometres of the Centre, with
far-reaching impacts on not only the environment, but tourism, health,
road and air safety.
The fire on Owen Springs Station will undoubtedly slow down development
plans for the area, still in the pipeline after the Territory
Government acquired the property from the estate of the late
pastoralist, Lizzie Milnes. Police investigations into who was
responsible for starting the fire are continuing.
Fire burning north of Yulara last Wednesday travelled 60 kilometres in
24 hours, a horrendous rate for fire to move and an indication of the
severity of the fire threat Central Australians are facing, says
Bushfires CouncilÕs Neil Phillips.
"People might see a fire burning 30 kilometres away and not realise,
that under the worst conditions, it will be on them in just half a
day."The Yulara fire followed hot on the heels of a devastating fire on
Owen Springs Station just south of Alice Springs, which was finally
contained at midnight last Tuesday after burning from late Saturday
afternoon.
Fires in inaccessible country in the Waterhouse Range on Owen Springs
continued to burn until the weekend.Some 13 appliances and up to 40
people, spread over three locations, were involved in fighting the Owen
Springs blaze, including about 10 Bush Fire Brigade volunteers as well
as Jimmy and Ben Hayes from Undoolya Station.
"They were land managers helping land managers, we asked them and they
came.
"None of us can do it on our own and we'd all be dead in the water
without the volunteers."We threw more resources into fighting that fire
than we have for a long time," says Mr Phillips.
The back as well as the head of the fire had to be contained."Normally
the back, because it is burning into the wind, will go out, but it was
burning so strongly we had to burn back into it."To have to do that is
very rare."
At one stage, with the fire burning on a 25 kilometre front, had it
jumped the containment line it would have threatened the Pine Gap
facility, the gaol, Brewer Industrial Estate and the airport.
And if a separate fire had broken out then on the other side of town,
fire-fighting services would have been stretched to breaking point.
Station people would have been called upon, but residents, especially
in the rural areas, should be prepared to protect their own assets,
warns Mr Phillips.
"Don't just count on the fire services, because the reality is we may
not be able to be there."
All grasses should be slashed and removed from around living areas, and
people should equip themselves with extra lengths of hose to put out
spot fires."Only good rains will change the threat, and the outlook for
that is pretty grim," says Mr Phillips.
The Owen Springs blaze started on the Saturday from deliberately lit
fires on both sides of the road to Hermannsburg, "notorious for being
lit up".
Another fire was deliberately lit on the same road on Sunday afternoon.
The fire that burnt through to Yulara, after burning out the north of
Curtin Springs station, also started from a fire deliberately lit on
the side of the road.
(Two other fires had battered Curtin Springs over the previous two
weeks, one from a lightning strike near Mt Connor and another from a
truck that burst into flames on the Lasseter Highway.)"This is costing
us dearly," says Mr Phillips."Some 680 square kilometres burnt out on
Owen Springs and the fire that burnt through to Yulara would have been
three to four times larger. It is tragic to see big pieces of country
burnt like this and it's not inevitable."We will always get fire from
lightning strikes but they usually start in the hills and are less
likely to spread as quickly as grass fires.
"Without rain Owen Springs will take a long time to regenerate and
there will be a hell of a lot of raised dust."This will have health
impacts, road and aviation safety impacts, impacts on tourism."
Had preventive burning taken place on Owen Springs and Curtin
Springs?As the Alice News reported two weeks ago, this year's window of
opportunity for prescriptive burning was very small.
Mr Phillips says Curtin Springs tried a couple of times earlier in the
year but the fires got away from them.
Bushfires Council could only burn when they had good resources because
of the difficulty in containing fire, even when overnight temperatures
were well below zero. This was due to the extreme dryness of the
country and its high fuel load following summer rains.
The regeneration brought by the rains meant that some country that
burnt in September and October last year has already burnt again this
year Ð devastating for the trees and shrubs in the landscape.
Grasses respond better to fires that occur in close succession.
What efforts have been made to raise awareness in bush communities
about the dangers of lighting up country?
Mr Phillips says the Central Land Council has raised the issue at
various regional council meetings.
Bushfires Council have focussed their efforts on schools. However, they
have been severely hampered this year by having to chase fires right
through the winter."The fire season really started back in March and
has been intensifying since mid-August."
TOUR SELLING BODIES COMBINED, AND WILL STAY IN GOVT. HANDS. Report by ERWIN CHLANDA.
The NT Government will not only keep its tourism wholesale arm,
Territory Discoveries (TD) in public hands, it will combine it with the
Holiday Centre, the government's Alice Springs based information and
booking facility.
Both will be split away from the NT Tourist Commission (NTTC) and run
as a separate Government Business Division.
This will free the NTTC from any conflict of interest when pitching
tourism "product" to other wholesalers and retailers.
The decisions are a major result of the ongoing review of the
commission, and fall in line with the wishes of the majority of the
industry.
A small but vocal minority had been advocating privatising or
out-sourcing the commission's marketing functions.
Tourism Minister Paul Henderson says the government's decision followed
extensive public consultation, in which 90 per of the tourist industry
declared TD should remain under government control.
Mr Henderson says the new organisation will:-
¥ offer an on-line booking facility utilising a new
state-of-the-art reservations system;
¥ increase the number of NT tour operator products it has on sale;
¥ continue to develop travel programs pitched at niche markets
Ð like the NTTC's Fishing Adventure program and the Nature and
Cultural Experiences brochure;
¥ expand into the New Zealand market;
¥ develop campaigns to build the shoulder season periods of March
to June and September to November.
In a remark clearly addressed to the industry segment that claims the
government should not be in competition with private industry, Mr
Henderson says TD will "continue to operate without aggressively
seeking to build market share by preferred retail agreements and or
price driven initiatives".
In other words, the new look TD won't be undercutting private firms
with taxpayer subsidised specials.
At present TD Ð not including the Holiday Centre Ð is costing
the government $1.5m a year.
It has a brief of developing the industry by including in its marketing
small or fledgling operators unlikely to be serviced by private
wholesalers.
TD currently sells 1500 products from 180 Territory operators to 2000
retailers.
NTTC managing director Maree Tetlow says a privatised wholesaling
operation would drop the majority of the products and restrict its
range to possibly 70 or 80.
This would make the wholesaler "more profitable than now" but the
government's mission of developing the industry by including the "mums
and dads" operations would fall by the wayside.
The review is also seeking to reshape the NTTC's relationship with the
four regional tourism associations (RTAs).
The draft report recommends a departure from the existing funding
formula, which dates back to the bed tax, declared unconstitutional by
the High Court.
At present the NTTC pays to the Alice Springs and Darwin RTAs $640,000
each, $320,000 to Tennant Creek and $400,000 to Katherine Ð money
doled out irrespective of the RTAs' achievements in tourism.
It is now proposed to direct funds to where they are likely to enhance
existing attractions or create new ones.
Ms Tetlow says funding choices may become "market driven, looking at
consumers' preferences".
In other words, an RTA able to further the Territory's range of
attractions would get an increase in funding at the expense of RTAs
with less to contribute.
Says Ms Tetlow: "Our RTA partnership agreement is under review, and we
are looking at allocating a portion of the current funds toward
destination development.
"What proportion is allocated this way and how this will be allocated
is up for review.
"This destination development portion will most likely be allocated by
the number and priority of actual and potential destinations within
each region. These destinations within the regions will be determined
by consulting with industry and the RTAs."
The commission is looking at switching performance statistics from
"bums in seats" style visitor numbers, to money spent, so that
promotion can be targeted at the bigger spenders, the high yield
market.
For example, North American and Japanese visitors spend twice as much
per day as do Australians.
North Americans spend $215 a day, or a total $640 for their average
stay of just under three days.
In all, North Americans spend $43m a year in the NT, or seven per cent
of the Territory's $615m income from tourism.
Japanese spend $228 a day, or $782 during their average stay of just
under 3.5 days.
But interstate visitors spend only $108 a day, staying 7.5 days,
forking out a total of $814.
Ms Tetlow says low-spending back packers don't need much promotion
Ð they come anyway.
The "grey" market and retirees travelling in their own vehicles are
also inexpensive to attract.
Ms Tetlow describes NT business tourism Ð including the highly
lucrative incentive travel market Ð as "relatively new".
In reply to recent comments by visiting US and British incentive tour
operators, that Central Australia is poorly promoted, Ms Tetlow says:
"Our business travel unit is called the NT Convention Bureau and we
have one staff member each in Sydney, Darwin and Alice Springs, in
addition to the manager, a total of four. Their charter is to gain
leads for business, then bid for and win business Ð or assist our
industry to do this.
"We have increased business tourism by 20 per cent in the past year to
over $900,000 in 2002/03. Our very rough data shows we had 38,663
delegates in 200/01 and 40,007 in 2001/02.
"We are not sure what proportion of these are incentives Ð as our
industry partners are not all able to identify them.
"The NT is represented at major incentive shows around the world (about
four a year) along with the other major convention bureaux from around
Australia," sys Ms Tetlow.
"An important part of Dreamtime [held in Central Australia this year,
and to which the Australian Tourism Commission invited more than 100
top international incentive tour operators] will be our ability to
follow-up with those buyers who attended and keep in contact with them.
"We believe there were up to seven potential pieces of business for the
NT that may come about (at this early stage) as a result of the
Dreamtime event."
There is lively debate in the industry about how much the NTTC spends
on marketing, with the accepted target being more than 50 per cent of
its $27.15m budget.
Only $3m Ð around 11 per cent Ð goes to an advertising agency
but Ms Tetlow says the percentage is 52 per cent and includes
"information provision, product distribution, media, public relations,
advertising, etc".
The remaining expenditure is as follows:-
¥ Research 5%.¥ Product and infrastructure development 9%.¥
Advice to government 3%¥ Grants and community service obligations
(Virgin, RTAs, TD funds injection, Port Authority) 21%.¥
Administration Ð corporate support personnel, rent, power,
insurance (up by 30% this year) 9%.
[FOOTNOTE: We reported last week that the tourism review had been "12
months in the making". In fact it was started about six months ago. The
Alice News regrets the error.]
HARDER TEST FOR BROLGAS ENTRIES.
All entries into this year's Brolga Awards will be subjected to
on-site inspections for the first time, and receive point scores from
judges.
Previously the entrants were assessed mainly on the basis of their own
submissions and subjected to spot checks only.
However, says Brolga organiser Paul Styles, the entrants will be
advised of the time of the inspections, enabling them to be prepared.
"There will be no mystery shoppers."
But Mr Styles says the awards are "evolving continuously" and possibly
under-cover inspections will be introduced in the future.
There will be limited time for the inspections: entries close on
October 21 and the winners will be announced on November 23 at a ball
in Alice Springs.
Last year there were 60 entries, and 90 businesses have expressed an
interest in entering this year. Mr Styles says his "best guess" is that
700 NT businesses would be eligible to enter the Brolgas.
Central Australian tourism identity Keith Castle is still the chairman
of judges and there will be several judging teams.
Mr Styles says this is the fourth year that the awards have been run by
a branch of the Chamber of Commerce rather than the NT Tourist
Commission.
Tourism Minister Paul Henderson has criticised the Alice Town Council
for not adequately supporting the Brolgas, saying a $15,000
contribution would be more appropriate than the $5000 promised.
Ald Michael Jones replied: "We can't pull money out of the air.
"This is an NT Government responsibility.
"What if the journalists are having a party É should the council
put in $15,000 in ratepayers' funds?"
Mr Styles says the ball is self-funding from ticket sales. The Brolgas
get $80,000 in cash from the NT Tourist Commission plus undisclosed
support from private sponsors.
The major "platinum" sponsor is the NT News, followed by Channel 8
(gold); the Alice Convention Centre and Qantas (silver); and Paspali
Pearls and The Exhibitionist (bronze).
Mr Styles says part of the support Ð he won't say exactly how much
Ð is "in kind", for example, newspaper features.
ÔThe majority of sponsorship is in kind," he says. In turn the
sponsors are also suppliers of paid services to the Brolgas.
MANAGING BLACK LAND.
Planning for Country
Eds Fiona Walsh and Paul Mitchell
Jukurrpa Books, 2002
203pp. Review by KIERAN FINNANE
Living "between two worlds" is almost a clichŽ about what it is like to
be an Aboriginal person in contemporary Australia, yet it is scarcely
understood.
One of the values for the general reader of the recent IAD Press
publication Planning for Country is that it paints a picture of
"between worlds" living in everyday situations Ð people looking
after their homelands and their resulting encounters with bureaucracy,
the tax man, businesses and so on.
If these encounters are sometimes fraught for white Australians, they
can be truly mystifying and very stressful for Aboriginal Australians,
as Jim Downing, one of the contributors to the book, so clearly
explains in the diagram (pictured below) and the following:
"The Aboriginal world and the non-Aboriginal world in Australia
overlap. Many people are in the area where the two worlds or cultures
overlap.
"An Aboriginal person looking into his or her own world has a wide and
clear field of vision. He or she has a good knowledge of that world.
But when that person looks into the white man's world the field of
vision is narrow and foggy (mystification)."The white person looking
into his or her own world has a wide and clear field of vision É
But when that person looks into the Aboriginal world the field of
vision is narrow and foggy (mystification).
"Each makes up myths to explain the other culture and people. Those
myth stories cause further confusion."Anyone between the two worlds is
under constant pressure and tension, and open to stress, burnout and
breakdown.
"It can happen to insensitive white staff in a short time. It can
happen over a long period to sensitive and concerned staff who live and
work in the Aboriginal world.
"However, white people can leave that in between area and return to
their own world. It is much harder for Aboriginal people to do so. The
non-Aboriginal world overlaps their world most of the time.
"Aboriginal people live most of their lives in that hard, in-between
state. "Helping each party to understand each other's world view clears
mystification and increases knowledge and cooperation."
A further value of Planning for Country is that it gives many concrete
accounts of parties coming together to achieve just this.
Co-editor Paul Mitchell, in his contribution titled "Money story",
describes his visit to an Aboriginal owned cattle station a week after
the sale of 200 head of cattle. He was there to assist with
book-keeping.
The directors did not understand that expenses had swallowed up the
income from the sale and that there was no profit to distribute. They
became violently angry with Mitchell.
Mitchell writes that there are many such stories of people expected to
manage enterprises but who have never had the training to do so.What is
heartening is that there are now effective methods of introducing such
people to financial management systems.One is "business modelling"
which helps them explore business prospects using floor maps and gammon
(pretend) money. A facilitator assists by asking questions about things
people may not have been aware of.
Gammon money is also used to "tell" money stories: gammon $100 notes
are stacked into different piles to develop a budget. These can be
replicated by bar graphs. Once people have grasped the concepts, the
bar graphs can be used in financial planning and accounting.
Mitchell reports that Aboriginal companies supported by the Central
Land Council in the four years to June 1998 grossed $5.9m. Their
accountant used bar graphs to present financial information at regular
directors' meeting and the directors were able to discuss management
options in a way they had not previously been able to.
Understanding legal responsibilities is also vital for land managers.
Downing, who has been involved in cross-cultural education for more
than 40 years, reports on a common complaint that white people's law is
"a lie".Aboriginal people think, "They make a law, then if they don't
like it they change it, the next week or month or year."
His response has been to introduce people to the concept of the
Australian Constitution as "foundation law", holding everything
together and protecting people's rights.
"We explain how difficult it is to change that law, and explain a
referendum."Statute law and common law are explained as Ôeveryday
law' for the control of society and people's behaviour, which can be
changed much more easily."We then discuss Aboriginal society's
traditional Ôconstitutional' or Ôfoundation' law and the
difficulty of changing this É"Traditional Ôcommon law' or
everyday law for the control of people's behaviour in the community can
be changed much more easily."
Over and over again contributors to the book emphasise the importance
of visual communication and very plain English when working in
cross-cultural situations.
Photo-based books have become commonly used tools for recording work
that is done.
They offer a way for people to find out about what is happening in
other areas, a way of telling their own story, recording it for their
children and grandchildren, and they often show areas of country rarely
visited but still held dear.
The book abounds with illustrations of all sorts of hand drawn maps,
charts, and tables used in what is called "participatory planning", the
key concept the book promotes.
Mitchell gives a clear account of the alternative to the current
"donor-recipient" approach of government and non-government agencies,
which he says is an obstacle to Aboriginal people recovering management
of their land, creating "a sit-down-and-wait, cargo cult mentality".It
distracts people from pursuing their own goals and encourages the
lottery of "farming the government".
"It distorts people's views about the non-Aboriginal economic system,
to the extent that they believe it is not based on reciprocity and they
therefore have no obligations in relation to grant money."The
alternative is a "mutual responsibility" approach of which
participatory planning is an integral part, where Aboriginal people and
agencies are partners, all with knowledge, wisdom, energy and resources
to contribute, and all with obligations that are agreed upon up front.
There are lots of accounts in the book, usually transcribed interviews,
by Aboriginal people themselves who have worked with these kinds of
processes.
I appreciated hearing these Aboriginal voices, getting some idea of
context on different homelands and some insight into the wide range of
experiences that people have.
Above all I enjoyed the sense of empowerment of Aboriginal people, the
sense that a better future is possible, although, as the editors note,
participatory planning should not be left to stand alone: "These
processes É need to be complemented by conventional scientific
research, by expert information or support from outsiders."
I'll give the final word to Lizzie Giles, a Ngaatjatjarra woman who has
worked as an interpreter and translator for about 10 years. She urges
facilitators of the processes to persevere:"That kind of information
should have been given to Aboriginal people a long time ago. As soon as
they were self-managed, when everything was handed back to Aboriginal
people.
"That should have been done and there should have been a couple of
years where all those things were taught to people, like meeting
procedures, administration and money, and all that. But it wasn't done.
They just said, ÔHere, you're in control. Go ahead.'
"And we made a big mess of it, and they said, ÔOh, you
blackfellas don't know anything. We are going to take it back and we're
going to be in control.'
"But how many times did whitefellas make a mistake over the history of
all these things? They still do."
Notorious Territory. COLUMN by ANN CLOKE.
"I can't wait to see next week's News," Eileen enthused, as she
manoeuvred her husband Jim out to where David and I were attempting new
dance steps.
"Why?" I asked.
"Aren't you going to mention Lori's party and all of us?" Eileen
inquired.I wasn't actuallyÉLori's brother, Alan, with wife
Wendy, were here from Western Australia for the first time ever.
Glenys, Jeran and Bill, also from the west, joined others from
Adelaide.
Kevin flew from Dallas to Alice to help Lori, Lia, Ben and Steve,
celebrate. White tablecloths and floral centrepieces promised a
stunning evening, wining and dining, on the banks of the Todd River at
the Telegraph Station. The enormous starry night sky and dulcet sounds,
thanks once again to Jim and Dave, set the mood: a wonderful way to
celebrate our friend Lori's birthday in the Alice.What I was really
going to focus on is that I've received a couple of calls from friends
interstate asking what on earth is happening in the Territory: this
question was prompted by national media coverage regarding the release
of a prisoner from Alice Springs to enable him to travel to Nyrripi to
face his victim's family and undergo payback under traditional
Aboriginal law.
This is viewed by most Australians as sanctioned barbarism, and it is
savage. Law enforcement officers and medical staff watched whilst the
punishment was administered.
The one day's imprisonment handed down to the 50 year old man from
Manin-grida, Arnhem Land, who had sex with a 15 year old girl has
prompted much reaction. It would seem that the rights of Aboriginal men
and recognition of customary law far outweigh human rights of young
Aboriginal girls.
I, along with thousands of others, have signed an international human
rights petition to try to save Amina from death by stoning.
She's Nigerian and her only crime was to have a beautiful little
daughter outside wedlock Ð she is guilty under traditional Islamic
sharia law. The same law punishes theft by cutting off a hand.
Cultural differences may be recognised and accepted, but acts of
violence, domestic abuse, under age sex and crimes against women and
children cannot be tolerated.
Australia is supposed to be a civilised nation. Payback is part of
traditional tribal law. Our judicial system is based on equality.
In the 21st century, in today's courtroom, is the real trial going to
be how to incorporate some aspects of tribal law into our current
justice system without compromising the rights of individuals from
different traditional backgrounds?
Last week Alison asked me along to a public meeting about the NT
Government's social development strategy, chaired by Dr Rolf Gerritsen
(and attended by only a dozen or so people).
The aim is to put in place social policies and programs to assist
families and their communities Ð this will hopefully complement the
"Building A Better Territory" economic strategy. It's all about
safeguarding the future of all Territorians Ð ensuring that there
are opportunities out there.
It appears that the most important thing required within a Social
Development Strategy is reform Ð a total overhaul of our judicial
system in a bid to re-establish equality and protection for all.
Justice should be carried out for everyone, regardless of culture or
background.
Human rights must take precedence over traditional rights.Is it any
wonder the spotlight is again on our Territory?
Clever house. COLUMN by GLENN MARSHALL.
For several months now, the Arid Lands Environment Centre (ALEC) has
been transforming an ex-housing commission house at 7 Barclay Crescent
into the "Alice Springs Cool Living House".
It will be opened to the public from early November as a demonstration
house showcasing energy and water efficient products and arid zone
housing design features. People will be given guided tours of the house
and can pick up ideas and inspiration for their own homes so that they
can reduce their energy and water use, make their homes more
comfortable and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
The Cool Living House will be open to the public for half a day per
month for 18 months after its official opening on Sunday, November 3 by
Chief Minister Clare Martin. Everyone in Alice Springs is welcome to
attend this official opening at 1pm. Substantial monitoring equipment
has been installed around the house so that scientific data is gathered
on the energy and water performance of products such as seven different
combinations of roof insulation. This will provide rare independent
information on how these products perform in Alice Springs' harsh
climate. Importantly, the owners Simon Murphy, Margaret Carew and
children will continue to live in the house and provide feedback on the
performance and ease-of-use of products.ALEC primarily embarked on this
project to provide much-needed information to people who want to live
more sustainably in the arid zone.
Additionally however, the house is expected to become a
thought-provoking site for builders, planners, designers and government
personnel who will shape the future of Alice Springs' buildings.
The Cool Living House also aims to create greater demand for
sustainable technologies by owners and renters, leading to the
stimulation of the sustainable housing business sector in Alice
Springs.
The merit of the project has been recognised by financial support from
the NT government, Alice Springs Town Council, Australian Greenhouse
Office and the Desert Knowledge Australia Cool Community. Various local
and interstate businesses have donated equipment to the house, with
only one business out of 20 declining the chance to participate. This
clearly indicates recognition that smart buildings are the buildings of
the future.
On this matter, the Victorian government recently introduced mandatory
five star energy rating requirements for houses built after January 1,
2003, and the NT government is currently deciding whether to adopt
mandatory energy efficiency regulations for new NT houses as proposed
by the Australian Building Codes Board.When people visit the Cool
Living House they will be given guided tours by ALEC personnel pointing
out the various features of the house. Posters will help explain
individual hardware and a take-away information booklet will provide
lots of information to help people in their own homes.
As mentioned, a wide range of products has been donated to the Cool
Living House by local and other businesses.
The roof space has seven different combinations of insulation to
determine their relative effectiveness in Alice Springs' harsh climate.
These include polyester batts (Autex), recycled paper (Barrier
Insulation), concertina foil (Wren Industries), bubble wrap foil
(Air-cell) and sizalation.
The ceiling and room temperatures will be measured every 15 minutes by
temperature probes installed by the Centre for Energy Research at
Northern Territory University, allowing detailed comparisons to be
made. The roof has been painted a light colour to reflect heat. Two
sheets of verandah tin have been left as zinc grey and dark red to show
people how much hotter dark colours can be. This will be demonstrated
by a temperature ray gun and by people being able to feel the roofing
sheets.
The garden is water efficient and demonstrates several zones of native
plants, veggie gardens, food trees and entertainment/play areas. It has
been incredibly transformed from a bare couch grass yard in 1998 as
shown by photographs.
Stormwater harvesting methods including swales (earth contour banks),
underground Atlantis soakage tanks and mulch supplied by Indigenous
Landscapes.
Rainwater is directed to a kitchen tap via a screened gutter, leaf
remover, first-flush diverter (from Taps, Tubs & Tiles) and
elevated Taurus tank to demonstrate how to capture clean, safe
rainwater for drinking.
Washing machine greywater is directed to the garden via shallow
underground plastic tunnels that allow safe, low-maintenance reuse that
irrigates fruit trees and lippia groundcover.
Potable water use in the garden will be far less than the 750 litres
per day currently averaged in Alice Springs for gardens and will be
measured by meters supplied by Power and Water. During open days, all
plants in the garden will be numbered and named in a leaflet that
specifically describes the garden.Passive heating and cooling is
demonstrated not only by insulation but also by the orientation of the
house, use of trees for shade and windows for cross-flow ventilation
through the house.
The evaporative air-conditioner has a very energy efficient motor
developed by the NTU Centre for Energy Research. Narrow eaves protect
windows from direct summer sun but let in winter sun for heating.
Windows demonstrate several types of close fitting blinds and curtains
from Alice Vertical Blinds to show how to stop heat flow, and an
inexpensive Winter Windows add-on double-glazing product to reduce heat
loss in winter.
Doors and windows have various Raven seals to stop cool air escaping in
summer or getting in in winter. The fridge and washing machine from
Murray Neck Homeworld are energy efficient as shown by their
star-ratings, as are the water efficient bathroom and kitchen products
from Taps Tubs & Tiles.
Compact fluorescent lights and dimmers are used through the house to
save electricity. The old electric hot water system has been replaced
by a Solahart solar hot water system, which is expected to save around
$340 per year in electricity bills.
A photovoltaic grid connected solar electricity system is also expected
to be fitted to the roof so the house generates much of its own
electricity. Total energy consumption is being monitored by a new Power
and Water smart meter.
Composting of kitchen and garden wastes will be demonstrated in a worm
farm and tumbling composter, and reuse of building products is
demonstrated by the substantial use of second hand materials from the
Bowerbird Tip Shop by the owner Simon Murphy who is also a registered
builder.
All in all, ALEC is excited to introduce this innovative project to
Alice Springs and trusts it will be well-visited in the next year and a
half by locals.
Stop the world: I want to get on. COLUMN by STEVE FISHER.
It may be enticing to think that the centre of Australia is far
enough away from global events for us not to be unduly concerned with
them.
After all, the nearest serious-looking government or corporate building
is 1500 km away and it's further than that to anything resembling a
corridor of power.
So don't mind us, we'll just carry on with our own business.
In a highly non-scientific exercise, I have been measuring the number
of times that globalisation impacts upon my tiny existence. After
thorough analysis of the data I can reveal the answer Ð once a day.
Which is, on average, the number of times that I hear or see something
in Alice Springs that would not be there if not for the accelerating
pace of globalisation.
Globalisation, I am told, is the process by which the world becomes
smaller. Not physically (unless I missed something) but in the
closeness that people in one place feel to another. Or, you can think
of it as being the increasing impact of all kinds of global forces on
local life.
This began in earnest with the journeys of people from Europe to other
parts of the world. So the arrival of explorers in Alice Springs and
the setting up of the telegraph link is one part of the globalisation
story.
Anyway, about once a day a little bell rings in my head. It goes like
this: "Ping. It's the influence of globalisation". Examples are friends
seeking insurance from Lloyds of London, the local desert knowledge
project aiming to reach a market of one billion people and the
increasing number of common reference points that we share with people
in far-off places. These cover everything from kebabs to soccer to mega
stores selling the same products from Ti Tree to Turkey.
As supporters of globalisation argue, what could be wrong with that?
Trading leads to wealth and everyone wins, they say. If nothing else,
at least you can change your K-Mart underwear at a store anywhere in
the world and you can buy Wu-Tang sportswear in any town. But, think
again. Huge corporations are getting bigger, their freedoms becoming
greater and their power all-conquering. The hundreds of protesting
small farmers in India certainly know what it feels like to be victims
of the global economy.I once had a boss whose every move was couched in
terms of his worries about globalisation. He used to say things like
"Let's have a cuppa. Have the pickers of the tea leaves have been paid
a fair price or are they being robbed by the global trading system?" Or
"We need to understand global marketing to use our comparative
advantage and at the same time not exploit anyone, much."
It was like he'd been on a MBA course taught by Fidel Castro. While I
listened to him, my own mastery of global economics grew. If I was to
get ten cents for every time you go on about globalisation, I thought,
I'd have a bank balance like Bill Gates.
But, of course, he was right. Consider the 100 largest entities in the
world and you will find that 51 are companies and 49 are countries.
Depending on whose statistics you believe, the gap between the wealth
of the top 20 per cent of the world's population and that of the bottom
20 per cent has doubled in the last 40 years. Yes, the boss man was
spot on, but please spare me the sanctimony. Sometimes I just want my
tiny, irresponsible world to be undisturbed. Which is one good reason
to come to Alice Springs in the first place.
Like many big issues these days, Pine Gap being another, globalisation
demands that you are either for it or against it. But the tempting
thought for us in remote places is whether an alternative to
globalisation really could be made to work. Surely in our spot in the
desert, the notion of local self-reliance should be more than a fad.
So is there a breed of "localisation" that should interest us? Could it
enable the humble people of arid Australia the chance to benefit from
the global economy but not lose local authority to decisions made in
the capital cities and the northern hemisphere.
I was speaking to a cafŽ owner in town recently.
He told me how he is improving the cafŽ and is planning to make some of
the fittings himself rather than importing them from down south.
How can you import from your own country, I wondered? But then, if this
is how some of us are thinking, surely it's time for a new noise. How
about "Honk, honk, signs of localisation".
This is a big subject and a few hundred words doesn't quite cut it.
So I'd like to return to globalisation and localisation in a future
column.
In the meantime, I'll count the number of times I hear those noises in
my head. And, I'll let you know if once a day becomes twice.
afishoutofwater@bigpond.com
FLYING INTO CLIMATE CHANGE. Report by DICK KIMBER.
How will climate change effect birdlife in the Outback? This was
among the questions considered at the Birds Australia Congress on
"Outback Birds: Past, Present, Future", held at the Convention Centre
on August 17-18. Guest writer DICK KIMBER was there.
Imagine a feather 50 million or so years old! Professor Henry Nix, one
of the world's great geographers, brought the bird to mind as he opened
the Congress.
We circled with him like a Wedge-tailed Eagle as he defined the
outback, the arid area by combinations of moisture rather than just
rainfall. He led us like Moses into the wilderness, floating on an
ancient rafting continent that had broken away from Antarctica until we
were spotting the modern arid defining birds, the Eyrean Grass-wren and
the Gibber-bird.
With a touch as light as that ancient feather must have been, he
explained different concepts of aridity, each map thrown up on the
screen given but a sentence or two, yet each also worth a chapter in a
book.
He acknowledged the work of Sir Baldwin Spencer of Spencer and Gillen
fame. After his visit to the Centre in 1894 it was Spencer who first
defined the vast arid area of Australia, giving it the name Eyrean.
And he touched on the excellent new Bird Atlas.Yet it was his
time-travel back-and-forth over 150 million years that enchanted and
informed. Here was a core of ice from the Greenland ice-cap telling us
about dramatic climatic shifts. We all sit as on a pin-point now, ready
for a plummet into colder times Ð even if the climatic cliffs of
fall, instead of being in seconds of time, are in thousands of years.
And yet, countering this is global warming.
"Evolution is a continuing process," he reminded us, and we learnt
about the evolution of modern birds, both world-wide and more
specifically in Australia.
Intriguingly, while that ancient feather was 50 million years old,
modern developments occurred most dramatically in the period from three
million to one million years ago. Just as different kinds of hominids
began to appear, so too did different birds. There was a world cooling
Ð eight hypotheses exist to explain it! Ð with intense aridity
that created Australia's sub-zones such as south-western and
north-western Australia.
This Great Arid phase lasted hundreds of thousands of years, and Henry
thought that "ambient light" may have been important for some birds
such as the grass-wrens. And if I understood him correctly, the
corvids, birds such as crows, ravens and jays, evolved here, spread
north into the rest of the world, then spread back into Australia
again.
Geoff Barrett followed Henry, discussing the new Bird Atlas. Seven
thousand volunteers recorded a staggering 4.5 million references to 759
birds, and all were analysed.
Over the last 20 years there has been a decrease in 15 per cent of bird
species, an increase in 37 per cent and 48 per cent have remained the
same.
While rainfall is the key reason for such differences, historical
changes have resulted from, and present-day changes are occurring
because of, grazing in the wheat-and-sheep country.
The majority of the 44 species in decline come from this area.
Conversely, the increaser species tended to be highly mobile, like
honey-eaters, and opportunistic breeders.
An important point is that many of the pastoralists and graziers, who
have often either inherited or purchased the present wheat-and-sheep
lands, have assisted in the surveys, and that over the last 20 years
there have been increasing trends towards protected replanting of trees
and shrubs.
These replantings of local native species are not only aiding farmers
in the practical purposes of curbing erosion and providing shade for
stock, but also act as feeding and watering places, and eventually
nesting sites, for native birds.
At their best they also contribute to the "corridors" across the
landscape that allow traditional bird migrations and help maintain
genetic diversity in bird populations.
In the MacDonnell Ranges where, as every local knows, rainfall has been
quite extraordinary in January-February intensity over the last few
years, conditions have been ideal for such as seed-eating Spinifex
Pigeons and Budgerigars, which have respectively increased by a massive
463 per cent and 136 per cent!
On the other hand, Bush Stone Curlew and White-winged Fairy Wren
numbers are down.
Julian Read, an ornithologist who will be well-known to many Central
Australians, gave a wonderfully illustrated talk on arid area waters,
most of them relatively short-lived.
While he referred to all major inland waters, his focus was on the
recent great fillings of Lake Eyre and the nearby Coongie Lakes.
Millions of water-birds had been involved, indicating that, though they
are ephemeral, these waters are of significance on both an Australian
and a global scale.
Although there were many other excellent papers delivered, this
interest in the waterbirds of the arid regions of Australia was
paramount. Roger Jaensch complemented Julian's paper with one on the
almost unknown lakes of the Barkly, where an estimated one million
water-birds were to be found after the extraordinary rains of
2000-2002.
One of the intriguing questions, only partly answerable at present, is
why the birds migrate at all.
It is comprehensible, that Top End birds follow monsoonal rains south,
but how is it that southern birds also know that they should migrate?
There they are, apparently living a life of luxury in southern rivers,
lakes, swamps and billabongs, yet they "pack their bags" and risk all
as they head for the arid area lakes and claypans.
Julian thinks that the breeding requires this, but another
ornithologist suggested that it might also be to avoid predation on the
coastal fringes.
No-one really knows. (It cannot be a case of transmitted duck or stilt
memory, as some of the inland lakes only fill every 20-100 years.
Perhaps there is a refined sense of light and humidity in the air that
allows them to know.
Or, to be less than scientific, does the Great Quacker in the sky send
envoy ducks way out ahead of the northern masses to call up the
southern multitudes?).
On the second day of the congress Julian Read made an impassioned
statement on behalf of an impromptu working think-tank on what he
confidently believed Birds Australia members could do to answer the
questions and challenges of the future.
One of these was, as Henry Nix had earlier indicated and now
reiterated, to understand what arid region birds were doing in summer
Ð without endangering the lives of "birdos" in remote areas of
extreme temperatures.
In yet another remarkable and thought-provoking address, too, Henry
discussed "Climate change and its potential impact on outback birds".
Much as the study of past climatic changes, particularly the great
pulses, helped in broad comprehensions, and good modelling allowed
predictions of what might happen with 1-3 degree rises in temperature,
Henry concluded that "nobody can predict yet what the future climate
can be."
He pointed out flaws in recent major publications that had predicted
the impact of climate change on flora and fauna, one of which had
omitted Tasmania from consideration in an instance where Tasmania was
as important to a bird's survival as was the mainland!
His reading of the world-wide scientific literature on environments,
climate change and global warming had led him to the pessimistic
conclusion: "I am less and less convinced that we know what we are
doing."
However, he also countered this by pointing out that we do know that
there have been quite dramatic climate changes in the last 10,000
years, and that "the influence of temperature is equally important to
the influence of rainfall."
This means that we also know "every species living today É is
living proof that they can survive climate change".
"We are dealing with a very dynamic, complex system," he observed.
While, given all the changes that have historically occurred and are
still occurring in Australia and around the world mean that "the need
for large reserves is paramount", he concluded on an optimistic note.
"I suspect that birds will survive much better than almost all the
animals."
CRICKET: EARLY IN-FORM BIRDS PICK UP POINTS. Report by PAUL FITZSIMONS.
Federal took all before them in their one day cricket encounter
against reigning premiers West to take early points at Albrecht Oval on
Sunday.
And in the Saturday game RSL Works, who have retained most of their
team from last year's final, were able to account for a Rovers outfit
who have come back from the brink to field a competitive side.In the
RSL game against Rovers, the Razzle were invited to bat and scored six
for 187, a seemingly fair target on a wicket that was playing well.
Stalwart Graham Schmidt with young Tom Scollay set the Works on the
path with 54 and 32 respectively.
In the Rovers' camp the veteran Glen Holberton showed his experience by
snaring two for 36. Recruit Adrian McAdam, better known for his prowess
in delivering a fast ball, preferred to test his arm with spin, and was
capable of bewildering his opposition and finishing with two for 37.In
the chase, Rovers made every post a winner to be at five for 139 early
but in the late afternoon the spin attack of RSL took control.
The Blues tumbled to be bowled out for 175 late in the thirty-sixth
over.The Federal skipper Allan Rowe couldn't believe what he was
hearing when Jeremy Bigg invited Federal to bat.
Federal did well to compile 201 for the loss of nine wickets.
Young Ryan Thomson took the initiative early by taking the three top
order wickets, and consolidated his claim for a position at the NTIS
next year.Jarrod Wapper with 25 was then able to re-establish the state
of play when he and former opener Matt Allan made 25 and 61
respectively.
Allen in particular proved his standing as a developing batsman with a
fine range of shots.
It was Bigg's guile that put Westies back in with a chance when he
snared both wickets caught and bowled and as a result of having Curtis
Marriott found LBW, entered the thirty-ninth over on a hat trick.
With 201 on the board in blustery conditions, West were set a real
chase.
The openers fell without setting up the innings thanks to the strike
power of Shane Deans, and after a sparkling 32 from Brian Manning the
pressure was on the West skipper Bigg to make an impression.
Unfortunately he snicked one through to the keeper off a Jamie Buchultz
delivery when on 19.
This opened the gate for Federal and the ever-reliable Wapper took the
ball. In no time Wapper had wickets and was sitting on a hat trick
himself.
A top run out by Brendan Martin dismissed Shane Vaughan in the lower
order and the game swung firmly into the Feds' favour.
In the thirty-sixth over the premiers were bowled out for 163.One day
cricket continues on Saturday and Sunday of this weekend with Rovers
facing the Federal side and RSL scheduled to play West. In the West
camp Ken Vowles is due to put on the pads and so give extra venom to
their top order and spin attack.
ROGER SIGNS OFF ... WITH A TRY. Report by PAUL FITZSIMONS.
The flying policeman, big Roger Rudduck, bowed out of Central
Australian Rugby Union on Saturday night playing his 201st game and
capping it off with a monumental try.Since the hard but heady days of
Rugby at the Verdi Club field, Roger Rudduck has been in the forefront
of the game, as a player coach and administrator.
Along the journey probably Roger's most heartening achievement would
have been to see his son Aaron come through the ranks to eventually be
there on the paddock with his Dad, and then move on to bigger things.
Then there were the Dingo Cubs who were founded to keep a four team
competition alive in town, and their rise to an eventual premiership
over the then almighty Kiwis.Off the field Ruddock has been a corner
stone of the CARU, as a leader and administrator.
GROWTHHe may be heading South, but his name will always be synonymous
with the growth of Rugby in the Centre.As a fitting farewell gesture
the Cubs played right up to their best on Saturday night, accounting
for the Federal Devils 50-7 and so taking the pre-season President's
Cup and $500 prize money.
Significant in the win were the efforts of Ray Walters and Wylie
Steele, with Paul Veitch scoring six conversions and a penalty try.
In the 50 point scoring spree, Steven Barr claimed two tries and
singles went to Geoff Bates, Mark Hooper, Ian Kennan, Walters and
Rudduck.
For Feds the game was a true test, with Ashley Turnbull scoring their
try and Jimmy Niland finishing things off.
Best players were Dylan Kirschner and ex-hoop, Davin Turner.
In the earlier game the Eagles got home by the skin of their teeth.
At half time the Kiwis held sway with a 12-5 advantage.
Matt Wilson and Chris Mills had the score on the board for the Warriors
and things looked rosy.
Then in the last two minutes of play the Eagles were able to find
something special with Lindsay Peckham scoring a try to win the game.
Moree recruit Steven Strahan received the Bear Pizza Award, but he had
other top performances hot on his tail.
Brendan Adam played a blinder, as did Peckham, and the Bear has plenty
of time for young Malcolm Hill, who has improved out of sight on last
season's performances.
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