Normal winter evening peak traffic down below. It gets very messy.
Melbourne's very nice Century Building.
What? We are supposed to be in the right hand lane to turn right? No one told them the bleeding obvious.
No trams and a bus replacement nightmare. I can see two St Kilda Road inbound buses and a 58 replacement bus. That was very unusual.
Maybe I stole this from a fellow blogger because it amused me.
We have had dire warnings of energy price rises, but it hasn't happened yet. I would be a bit cynical about what is said in this picture, however with both electricity and and gas the Labor government in the state of Western Australia is in control of gas and power companies and pricing. It is not so in other states with their privatised systems, and it has taken a Federal Labor government to begin to clean up the mess left by the neo conservative so called Liberal Party.
That traffic looks very messy indeed.
ReplyDeleteSo many things have been privatised that I don't think should have been. A few individuals add to their already bulging coffers and the public suffers.
EC, quiet traffic at this time of the year, but the new normal is terrible congestion. Essentially essential services should not be in private hands in my opinion or at least under strong government control. I would make an exception for our telephone and internet services where various companies mostly using government supplied infrastructure seem to offer a good service.
DeleteThat traffic does look rather mad. And Privatisation is a con from the capitalists
ReplyDeleteNo argument about privatisation from me Roentare.
DeleteOur private garbage and electric rates have skyrocketed. Where my brother lives, they have public garbage and enjoy much much lower rates and many other perks, like free yard mulch. Here the private garbage company takes our yard debris, turns it into mulch then sells it back to those stupid enough to buy it back at a very high price.
ReplyDeleteStrayer, like here there must be big differences in local government areas in your state.
DeleteWhy doesn't anyone call privatization by it's right name: profiteering.
ReplyDeleteDebby, you are right on the money, pun intended. Businesses need to make money. Government departments serve the citizens. Simplistic perhaps, but basically true.
DeleteWere they trying a hook turn?
ReplyDeleteVery clever Caro. A new version of hook turns in Hookturnistan.
DeleteI think the government should bite the bullet and take back control of all utilities. It will be hard going for a while, but once the kerfuffle settles things should get easier for the people that voted them in. They never should have sold (chased the quick buck) in the first place.
ReplyDeleteIt has happened River. Our state government had to take over VLine, our country train operator, from private companies. The English government took over the mainline train from London to Edinburgh from Virgin. Yes, it was about selling taxpayer assets for a profit to fund star projects. It was a one off government windfall, rather than ongoing profits from government utilities.
DeleteNothing is cheap. I figure about $250 for our monthly utilities.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on and stay safe
Dora, so that would be water, gas for heating and cooking, and power. Not oil for heating though.
DeleteNever mind the cost of utilities- have you seen the price of fuel today?? $199.9 for standard unleaded this morning!
ReplyDeleteCathy, we saw that on Christmas Day so on Boxing Day filled up where it was still cheap. I don't think the high price will last long.
DeleteSo many lanes. Just on a four-lane road, I often don't switch lanes soon enough and miss my turn or exit or whatever. But there's something like eight lanes in that one picture!
ReplyDeleteOne reason private utility companies never work is that they're by necessity monopolies. For instance, you can't have four or five different water works companies, or gas companies or electric companies competing to give every house on a street water, gas, and electricity. You'd need five different wires and five different pipes, one for each company! So it has to be one company and that one company can screw you big time if it's not regulated.
Oh Kirk. You are not a multiple lane changer just before an exit I hope. You are quite right, even though it seems to work with telecommunications here. One fibre cable can make profits for twenty retail deliverers. It does not for power, gas or public transport. Really everything that uses the same system (metaphorical pipes) is a farce.
DeleteOf course energy prices will bound out of control in those states with privatised systems! You don't need a PhD in economics to understand that ordinary families have to be protected from rapacious companies.
ReplyDeleteHels, yet most economists would say privatisation is better. The know which side their bread is buttered.
DeletePetrol prices have come down a little here,
ReplyDeleteYes, so I've heard TP. They yo-yo, around here, up now..
DeleteFrom the high vantage point of your luxury apartment you could perform an important service for The City of Melbourne by controlling the traffic down below. You will need binoculars and a powerful megaphone; "WHITE HONDA! STAY IN LANE! DO NOT TURN RIGHT!.... VINTAGE HOLDEN DRIVER! GET OFF SMARTPHONE NOW YOU F***ING IDIOT!"
ReplyDeleteYP, of course I should do that. I was born to a position of power, just never obtained it.
DeleteEven in our little suburb I prefer to avoid travel during certain hours. Ugh... Be well!
ReplyDeleteDarla, the country town where we lunched last week was terribly congested for about an hour or so around lunch time. Then it all disappeared.
DeletePrivatisation never ends well, except for shareholders!
ReplyDeleteSteve, oh so true.
DeleteWhat floor are you on? I love watching the traffic out our windows.
ReplyDeleteThe price of groceries here is a big thing. It is being called GREEDFLATION.
Jackie, between 15 and 20. Any higher and you start to miss detail of what is happening below. Same here with groceries, far outstripping inflation and of course adding to it.
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