Editors’ Rant - Feb 2012
- February, 2012 ![]() If you’re a Tribune fan (and we guess you must be since you’re reading this and if you’re not reading this then we... |
Preface to a Counter Protest
- February, 2012 ![]() Defence of the Fertility Control Clinic The front gate of the Fertility Control Clinic in East Melbourne is a frontline of... |
I’m not a climate scientist but...
- February, 2012 ![]() Anyone who’s ever been in a car with children will know that when they’re not crying, pulling each other’s hair or... |
What We Talk About When We Talk About Socialism
- February, 2012 ![]() The taxi driver in Maui picked the accent straight away. “Look out!” he said. “The Aussies are here!” Turns out he used to... |
Science
- February, 2012 ![]() First of all, let me make it very clear: I do not have a problem with science. Secondly, let me make it even clearer: I... |
Intelligent Design - It's NOT Science
- February, 2012 ![]() Perhaps I should preface this article with “I’m not a scientist, but…”. A long time ago, people used to believe that it... |
Getting Rid of the Ute
- February, 2012 ![]() I never used to drive my car. It sat outside my house, different random parts either rusting or drying out depending on... |
Why I Can’t Get Behind Soften The Fck Up
- February, 2012 Soften The Fck Up is an initiative aimed at breaking down the “tough Aussie bloke” façade and getting men to open up to... |
Weddings
- February, 2012 ![]() In the last six weeks of 2011, I attended six weddings. Week after week I found myself donning a suit to spend the day... |
On SOPA
- February, 2012 ![]() I imagine most of you reading this have a blog or your own little website, a place where you’ve invested time and energy... |
A History Of Stupidity
- February, 2012 ![]() In 1796 a very special and very dangerous kind of idiot was born. Smallpox was running rampant throughout Europe until a... |
Gaming is for Grown Ups
- February, 2012 ![]() As a full-time technology journalist who has specialised in the critiquing of video games for over a decade, you’d be... |
Simulation
- February, 2012 ![]() Oh yes, I’m the great pretender |
Nigella, The Antechinus Family, And The West’s...
- February, 2012 ![]() I used to love watching acclaimed kitchen goddess, the luscious Nigella Lawson, when she first appeared on the small... |
Political Affiliation
- February, 2012 ![]() Some people hold political affiliations with an almost religious fervour. Their political beliefs shape everything, from... |
Lessons from A Caravan Park
- February, 2012 ![]() Most of us have memories of staying in a caravan park. Whether it was as kids, parents, schoolies or backpackers, the... |
Resurrecting the Hors d’Œuvre Course
- February, 2012 ![]() An hors d’œuvre course to the French, like antipasto to the Italians, is the start of the midday meal. Individual, small,... |
Wine Online
- February, 2012 Wine retailing, like the rest of the retailing world, is going through a bit of a seismic shift from bricks & mortar to... |
Cryptic Crossword - Feb12
- February, 2012 As always, first correctly completed cryptic crossword sent to |
Political Affiliation
- February, 2012 ![]() Some people hold political affiliations with an almost religious fervour. Their political beliefs shape everything, from... |
Preface to a Counter Protest
- February, 2012 ![]() Defence of the Fertility Control Clinic The front gate of the Fertility Control Clinic in East Melbourne is a frontline of... |
On SOPA
- February, 2012 ![]() I imagine most of you reading this have a blog or your own little website, a place where you’ve invested time and energy... |
Australia’s School Funding Quagmire
- January, 2012 ![]() Australia has one of the most complex, inconsistent and opaque school funding arrangements in the developed world. You... |
What We Talk About When We Talk About Socialism
- February, 2012 ![]() The taxi driver in Maui picked the accent straight away. “Look out!” he said. “The Aussies are here!” Turns out he used to... |
I Have A Question And My Question Is This:
- January, 2012 ![]() Who the fuck am I meant to vote for at the next Federal election? This is not a rhetorical question. I really want to... |
Lessons from A Caravan Park
- February, 2012 Most of us have memories of staying in a caravan park. Whether it was as kids, parents, schoolies or backpackers, the... |
A Conspiracy Of Feathered Simpletons
- January, 2012 And then, of course, there’s the question of the evolutionary future of pigeons. A while ago, through a series of... |
Weddings
- February, 2012 In the last six weeks of 2011, I attended six weddings. Week after week I found myself donning a suit to spend the day... |
Thank You, Batman
- October, 2011 Time is a mighty river, and I am an ominously unpiloted rental kayak floating past the picnic area. It’s my first day at a... |
Science
- February, 2012 First of all, let me make it very clear: I do not have a problem with science. Secondly, let me make it even clearer: I... |
From Swords to Soundbites - HENRY I
- October, 2011 King Henry I of England, known to later generations as Henry Beauclerc, the Lion Of Justice, succeeded his flamboyant... |
Simulation
- February, 2012 Oh yes, I’m the great pretender |
On SOPA
- February, 2012 I imagine most of you reading this have a blog or your own little website, a place where you’ve invested time and energy... |
Gaming is for Grown Ups
- February, 2012 As a full-time technology journalist who has specialised in the critiquing of video games for over a decade, you’d be... |
Why I Can’t Get Behind Soften The Fck Up
- February, 2012 Soften The Fck Up is an initiative aimed at breaking down the “tough Aussie bloke” façade and getting men to open up to... |
A History Of Stupidity
- February, 2012 In 1796 a very special and very dangerous kind of idiot was born. Smallpox was running rampant throughout Europe until a... |
Credentials & Democratic Decline
- October, 2011 ‘People should be aware of what’s out there. And not believe what they read just because it’s written.’ Astro-turf... |
Vehicle Emissions
Okay, you can thank me later. I, through nothing more than a willingness to help, have saved you people an hour or so of your precious time. How you ask? Well, I have read the entire draft Regulation Impact Statement on the introduction of Euro 5/6 Emission Standards into the Australian Design Regulations. If you wish to read it yourself you can find it by clicking on this link.
What does all this mean? Well, it means that as of 1 January 2012 all new vehicles sold in Australia will have to meet Euro 5 Emission Standards to be acceptable for sale, and as of 1 January 2016 all new vehicles will have to meet Euro 6 Standards. For the uninitiated Euro Emission Standards are perhaps the most stringent in the world. I won’t go into them now for space and time reasons but it is hoped that by introducing these standards hydrocarbons will be reduced by up to 50 per cent, nitrogen oxides reduced by up to 70 per cent and particulate matter by up to 90 per cent. It’s a good thing that we are looking to introduce these standards and I am not being sarcastic or facetious in any way when I say this.
What can I say about the document itself? Well, it’s 93 pages long, has lots of graphs and words and sets out what it hopes to achieve and has a plan to achieve what it wants to achieve, which, is lower vehicle emissions. So, if passed, what will this new bill actually achieve? The answer is….nothing. It is a complete waste of everyone’s time.
Let me explain something about the way vehicles are manufactured globally. Vehicle manufacturers do not, other than choosing which side the steering wheel sits on, tailor their product for every market it could be conceivably sold in. Therefore, the Australian market does not get different engines in our vehicles just because we have lower emission standards than other markets. Doing this would be economically unviable. Most vehicle manufacturers are now global and manufacture their cars so that with the slightest of tweaking they can be sold in every market on this small blue-green planet.
Conservatively, 95 per cent of vehicles sold in Australia are also sold in Europe, and as Euro 5 Emission Standards became part of European Law in September 2009, these vehicles, already comply with the emission standards. When the Federal Government applies the changes nothing will actually change.
It’s an acknowledged fact that vehicle emissions have actually decreased since the levels of the 1970’s despite their being more vehicles on the road. This is due to the implementation of unleaded fuel, catalytic converters and other anti-pollution equipment that older vehicles don’t have. Even I will admit, though, that vehicle emissions remain a problem with the quality of air in our country.
If the Government wants to do something about vehicle emissions I have some suggestions and observations that they may want to consider.
Why is it that when I’m driving in my Holden V8, which as it’s sold in Europe as a Vauxhall complies with Euro 5 Standards, I have to endure sitting behind a 1995 Mitsubishi Magna which is spewing out black smoke from it’s exhaust? Current vehicle standards are not covered by the above document as it is, according to the document, traditionally the precinct of the states and their transport bodies eg. VicRoads. It is clear to me that the current fractured approach to motoring in this country is not working and it may be time to Nationalise our motoring ways.
Why hasn’t a Cash For Scrap plan, similar to that in the UK, being implemented? Families could take their old clunker car into a car yard and receive a discount on the purchase of a brand new car. This would have many benefits. Firstly, the new car would pollute the air less. Secondly, the family would have a car with better safety than their old one. Thirdly, the Government would be assisting business and therefore receive the majority of the money they have handed out back as GST and other taxes.
Why hasn’t the Government encouraged the Australian manufacturers to develop an alternative fuel powered vehicle, such as Hydrogen Fuel Cell? We have some of the cleverest people in the world working for our Australian vehicle manufacturers and the technology is there. Let’s get on with it. Can we lead the world for once and not follow behind blindly?
I have to end now, my face is starting to go purple when I think of other things that pollute the world far more than cars. Coal-fired power stations, air travel, Canberra, self-righteous Toyota Prius drivers……arrrrrrgh.
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