Don't believe in global warming? Then you may belong to a mere 2.5% of the approximately 17.7 million Australians over fourteen years of age

Roy Morgan Research asked the question; "There's proposed legislation before Federal Parliament for a carbon emissions trading scheme to be introduced in Australia. Do you approve or disapprove of this legislation?" according to a special Morgan Poll telephone survey conducted last Wednesday and Thursday nights (August 5/6, 2009).

Six hundred and eighty-seven people over 14 years of age responded, which is a relatively low number for statistical accuracy.

Some of the poll findings:

A clear majority of Australians (55%) approve of the Government's proposed carbon emissions trading scheme.......

Special analysis by age group shows 66% of 14-17 year olds in favour of the legislation compared to 55% of 18-24 year os, 62% of 25-34 year olds, 61% of 35-49 year olds and just 45% of Australians 50+......

Those who disapproved of the legislation were then asked "Why especially do you say that?" The most prominent reasons Australians disapproved of the legislation were: 'Australia should wait for the World to act' (3%), 'Costs too much' (3%), 'Doesn't stop pollution/ carbon emissions' (3%), 'Don't believe in Global Warming' (2.5%), and 'Carbon emissions are not responsible for Global Warming' (2%). Of all Australians, 2.5% disapprove of the legislation because it 'Doesn't go far enough.'

Roy Morgan Research Finding No. 4405

Australian population clock and projections

Australia's Future Tax System Review Panel releases paper on Road and Transport sector tax reform

Commercialisation of the Australian road system will not be as simple as commercialising former public utilities such as power generation. Much more attention needs to be directed at practical issues of implementing such arrangements. [from Summary 6, A Conceptual Framework for the Reform of Taxes Related to Roads and Transport, June 2009]

On the NSW North Coast we have limited access to air, sea or rail freight and so are dependant on state and national road systems being used to supply us with many of life's necessities.

The purchase price of these necessities are frequently higher in regional areas because of added transport costs.

This same limited transportation also means that more of our personal and business travel is conducted on the east coast road network and fuel costs possibly impact more heavily on rural and regional households than they do on metropolitan households.

When Australia's Future Tax System Review Panel released a paper on 13 August 2009 titled A Conceptual Framework for the Reform of Taxes Related to Roads and Transport it is of direct interest to our local communities:

This report concentrates on road transport and the supply of road services. Section 1 provides background to the general tax‐transfer policy problems that arise in relation to road transport; Section 2 discusses partial and general equilibrium methodology issues; Section 3 discusses excises on fuels and other vehicle‐related charges; Section 4 discusses congestion and pollution‐related transport externalities; Section 5 singles out traffic accident and insurance externalities; Section 6 deals with road capital and maintenance issues; Section 7 considers general equilibrium and double dividend issues; Section 8 briefly considers rail, taxi, air services and shipping issues. Section 9 synthesises the main policy issues raised.

PDF download here.

Is nature having the last laugh on Monsanto & Co?

Photograph of Palmer Pigweed from Syngenta blog

This U.S. report from Memphis Online last Sunday:

All across the Mid-South, hundreds of thousands of acres of cotton and soybean fields have been infested with a rapacious, fast-growing weed that's become resistant to the main herbicide on which farmers have relied for more than a decade.

Palmer pigweed, often called "careless weed" by field hands, often is surviving and even thriving despite treatments with the chemical glyphosate -- most commonly sold under the trade name Roundup.

In Arkansas alone, the weed has invaded some 750,000 acres of crops, including half the 250,000 acres of cotton. In Tennessee, nearly 500,000 acres have some degree of infestation, with the counties bordering the Mississippi River hardest hit.

The infestation is cutting farmers' cotton yields by up to one-third and in some cases doubling or tripling their weed-control costs.

The invasive noxious weed Amaranthus palmeri which is doing all that damage in America is also found in Australia and has other cousins here, including the noxious weed Amaranthus blitoides (prostrate pigweed).

Pigweed is not the only pest which has become resistant to glycines and the world-wide list includes a number of other pasture or crop weed species which are found in this country.

The biotechnology industry's boast used to be that the glycine derivative Glyphosate or RoundUp was effective in suppressing 76 out of 78 of the world's worst cropping weeds. This boast appears to be a pale shadow of its former self.

Which leads to the inevitable question - just how long will Australian farmers have before the touted 'benefits' of GM crops disappear into thin air?

Reckless spending! Yada, yada, yada. Early election trigger! Yada, yada, yada.....

Reckless spending! Yada, yada, yada. Early election trigger! Yada, yada, yada. Higher taxes! Higher interest rates! Yada, yada, yada.........
Somehow I don't think Malcom Turnbull's Friday message will resonate over the weekend in the Northern Rivers.
Even The Australian poll question "Do you think Kevin Rudd will use the emissions trading scheme legislation as a trigger for an early election?" isn't getting much attention this morning as we wake to another glorious day.

Snapshots from The Australian online poll,

6.30am 15th August 2009

Which came first? The chicken or.......

Found at Scott Godwin's photostream at Flickr

Which came first - the chicken or the rock face?

Saturday cutes

Orphaned infant Flying Fox by Australian photographer Steve Parish

Northern New South Wales first quarter 2009 newspaper readership and circulation figures

Roy Morgan Report, June 2009: North Coast Newspapers.

Table showing Readership April 2007 to March 2009 (1st column) and Circulation January to March 2009 (2nd column)

Northern New South Wales
Tweed Daily News, M-F	11,000	4,593
Tweed Daily News, Sat	10,000	5,182
Lismore/Northern Rivers – The Northern Star, M-F	37,000	14,903
Lismore/Northern Rivers – The Northern Star, Sat	56,000	23,164
Grafton/Clarence Valley – The Daily Examiner, M-F	16,000	5,596
Grafton/Clarence Valley – The Daily Examiner, Sat	15,000	6,397
The Coffs Coast Advocate, Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri	10,000*	3,293†
The Coffs Coast Advocate, Wed/Sat	45,000*	31,194#

Source:
Readership – Morgan Mar 09; M-F av. and Sat; APN total distribution area *Average readership
Circulation – ABC Jan to Mar 09; M-Sat av. and Sat †Publisher's claim #CAB Oct 08 to Mar 09

Now The Daily Examiner editor, Peter Chapman, is very fond of bragging that 'his' newspaper was the fastest growing daily newspaper in regional Australia in the first quarter of 2009.

However, if one compares circulation figures (average net paid sales/net circulation) for the first two quarters 2008 with the first quarter 2009, then it works out that each week The Daily Examiner managed to sell 76 extra newspapers, as 2009 Saturday circulation figures have actually fallen.

Compared with The Daily Examiner circulation figures for the last two quarters of 2004 these current figures are even less impressive, in view of the painfully slow circulation growth up to and including January-March 2009.

If one compares The Northern Star across those same quarters in 2008 and 2009 then a different story unfolds. It has shown circulation growth both Monday-Friday and Saturday and, therefore sells an extra 1,341 newspapers each week.

One has to suspect that Mr. Chapman in relying on percentages is hoping that no-one will enquire into what hard numbers his bragging might actually represent.

UPDATE:

More rubbery figures? The only conclusion I can draw from these latest numbers (which appear to indicate that quarter to quarter The Daily Examiner circulation varies markedly) is that this newspaper has more casual readers than it has devoted followers.

APN released these figures later this morning.
The publishing group sees these figures as showing a year-on-year 5% circulation increase for The Daily Examiner and a 1% increase for The Northern Star.

Table showing Readership April 2007 to March 2009 (1st column) and Circulation April to June 2009 (2nd column)

Northern New South Wales
Tweed Daily News, M-Sat	11,000	4,773
Tweed Daily News, Sat	10,000	5,222
Lismore/Northern Rivers – The Northern Star, M-Sat	40,000	15,141
Lismore/Northern Rivers – The Northern Star, Sat	56,000	22,997
Grafton/Clarence Valley – The Daily Examiner, M-Sat	16,000	5,811
Grafton/Clarence Valley – The Daily Examiner, Sat	15,000	6,483
The Coffs Coast Advocate, Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri	10,000*	3,293†
The Coffs Coast Advocate, Wed/Sat	45,000*	31,194#

Source:
Readership – Morgan March 2009; M-Sat av. and Sat readership; APN total distribution area *Average readership
Circulation – ABC April to June 2009; M-Sat av. and Sat †Publisher’s claim #CAB October 2008 to March 2009