More trouble in River City This state appears to be in big trouble. The Labor state government is on a almost daily basis getting negative headlines about dubious activities and decisions involving some of it's shonky politicians and senior public servants. Ethical contamination seems as rife as it was in the days of Labor controlled WA Inc. Overall, the message is coming through that the sooner they are all replaced the better.
On the industrial front we are facing a major calamity. There has been a mystery explosion on a strategically important, foreign controlled, natural gas terminal off the northwest coast. It was a primary supplier of gas to the southwest of the state. There's been a loss of about a third of the overall requirement, according to a press report. There's no word on how long it will take to repair the damage, but media speculation is that it might take months. The company has reportedly refused to estimate how long.
Key industries reliant on gas have been ordered to curtail their activities. Bizarrely this has included the major milk processing plants. So it seems there is a risk that dairy farmers, whom have reportedly been struggling for a while, some may be about to go under entirely.
There are many other sectors of the food industry dependent on gas. Some operators have had the emergency capacity to switch to diesel, but the cost of that fuel is becoming prohibitive. It's rapidly nudging towards two dollars a litre. This has been killing the transport industry, and pushing inflation over the past few months. Things are likely to get worse before they get better.
The gas disruption is going to have an enormous knock-on effect in many other areas. Already there have been calls for domestic householderd to cut their gas usage by taking shorter showers. We can handle that okay. That's the least of our concerns.
The building industry is preparing for a downturn because the brick producers have been forced to shut down their kilns. The timber companies say they've been told to cut energy use instead of slicing timber. The stockpiles will last for a while, but they'll run out. This is going to put a lot of people out of work.
There are numerous electricity generation systems in this state which use gas turbines to supply rural communities. They're in serious trouble. Blackouts are promised. However I think the bulk of the electricity supply for the metropolitan area still comes from coal fired generators at Collie in the southwest.
The green movement has long wanted to shut the coal operators down. We would have been in much worse trouble had they'd succeeded.
Apart from all this gloomy news, today looks like being a perfect day. Not a cloud in sight, nor a breath of wind as I look out the window. I thought I saw Mighty Mouse. Maybe he was coming to save us?
© MMVIII Paul R. Weaver.
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About the writerClick here to see our backyard.Check out each month's subject index on the Calendar Page for my "common-man" monologues about survival in 21st century Australia – plus a little history occasionally. An original essay is added most days as part of an undertaking to write at least couple of million words. Zzzzzzzz!
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