Target 155 down the drain

Posted to Waverley Leader (25/2/11) on 26/2/2011 at 11:07 PM
Commenting on "Target 155 down the drain"
http://waverley-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/target-155-down-the-drain/

Liberal Government definitely made the wrong decision in ditching the Target 155 campaign,. In business and in life, we set targets and goals not that we will achieve them definitely, but they are something to aim for, to better ourselves in many aspects of performance.

Whether or not it was introduced by the former Labor government or anyone, Target 155 "was" a fantastic idea. Saving water should not be viewed as a policy; it should be a way of life. The best part of Target 155 was that no additional tax was imposed on people using water above the target. The public made conscious and unconscious decisions to conserve this valuable "resource".

By axing the campaign, or more correctly removing this magical target, many will revert back to bad habit using more water, causing increase in household spending, which can either increase household debt, or cannibalise spending on other services.

Target 155 should be synonymous to Keep Australia Beautiful, Cleanup Australia, Planet Ark, Greening Australia, Earth Hour, etc. The program should be expanded instead of being axed.

$45,000 bill for Monash women-only pool sessions (Post 2 of 2)

Posted to Waverley Leader (14/2/11) on 21/2/2011 at 11:08 AM
Commenting on "$45,000 bill for Monash women-only pool sessions"
http://waverley-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/comments/your-view-45-000-bill-for-monash-women-only-pool-sessions/

Who is going to pay for the on-going up-keep and maintenance of the curtain at the Clayton Swimming Pool? The ratepayers, of course!

Every dollar spent on the curtain is a dollar sacrificed on other items such as maintenance of roads, street lighting, tree pruning, rubbish collection, etc. Now that this matter is so publicised, the flow-on negative effects will outweigh the benefits. There will be additional financial cost on security in addition to cost stated above, and social cost such as racial/religious harmony.

The next DEMAND will be prayer room and special toilets in all public facilities in the City of Monash. Some larger organisations have bowed to pressure to provide special prayer rooms, and companies must make allowance for workers to pray during work hours.

While I was assisting in a project in a middle-eastern country, my colleagues and I were advised to be sensitive not to eat in front of fellow colleagues at lunch break during the fasting period!

City of Monash welcomes Year of the Rabbit

Posted to Your News, Waverley Leder on 17/2/2011 at 10:57 PM

City of Monash welcomes Year of the Rabbit

http://waverley-leader.whereilive.com.au/your-news/story/city-of-monash-welcomes-year-of-the-rabbit/

City of Monash celebrated the year of Rabbit with another successful, colourful, eventful, foodful (a new word) and playful celebration at Kings Way on Sunday 13/2/2011.

In fact, it was a day full of noise and smoke - yup, the rhythm of the drums and gongs that the dragons and lions danced to, and the noise of the firecrackers which was supposedly for driving away any evil spirits from the City of Monash. Unfortunately, the smoke from the firecrackers, deep-frying and barbequing in the open air was not very green for the environment.

There were activities keeping the kids entertained from castle jumping which I don’t think was very Chinese at all, to lantern painting. It was really great to see so many non-Chinese performing cultural dances on stage, and participating as the dragon legs.

The aroma from the fried crumbed calamari would wet anyone’s appetite. There were also the popular satays stalls, and rice cake cut into cubes that pan-fried with eggs.

Stalls selling DVDs were doing booming business. There were at least three tents and two carts offering DVDs at bargain basement price.

The highlight of the day was the lion dance performance. It was awesome that the lions hopped around so playfully or shall I say mischievously on the long steel columns, as though they were just dancing on level ground.

It’s another year, another celebration! Well done and thanks to the organisers, City of Monash and sponsors. I enjoyed it thoroughly!

$45,000 bill for Monash women-only pool sessions (Post 1 of 2)

Posted to Waverley Leader (14/2/11) on 15/2/2011 at 12:50 PM
Commenting on "$45,000 bill for Monash women-only pool sessions"
http://waverley-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/comments/your-view-45-000-bill-for-monash-women-only-pool-sessions/

I have written in various papers including this about my views on segregation, whether it is on businesses in Kingsway or the use of swimming pool.

Multiculturalism is not a one-way traffic. Australians are asked to be patient, tolerant, and acceptant with other’s cultures, and expected to learn about them, and yet many immigrants do not reciprocate. Unless there is a common unifying force to bind them together, the Australian social fabric will be torn.

To find out more about my other comments, follow the links
http://www2b.abc.net.au/tmb/Client/Message.aspx?b=114&m=49118&ps=50&dm=2, published 27/8/2009
http://www2b.abc.net.au/guestbookcentral/list.asp?numtoview=&GuestbookID=156&start=&sort=&filter1=Name&filter1val=CHAN, Sin Fong&filter2=Subject&filter2val=Speak English and Respect the Laws&filter3Remark=&filter3val=Tower of Babel&view=&advanced=&Action=&pagestart=, published 19/9/2006
http://waverley-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/comments/women-only-pool-float-for-monash/, published 19/10/2010
http://waverley-leader.whereilive.com.au/your-news/story/better-business-mix-in-kingsway/, published 7/1/2011
http://www.monashweekly.com.au/content/letterstotheeditor/, published 7/1/2011, 3/12/2010, 20/10/2010

Think about it, before the next rain drop falls

Posted to Your News, Waverley Leader on 5/2/2011 at 10:46 pm
Think about it, before the next rain drop falls
http://waverley-leader.whereilive.com.au/your-news/story/think-about-it-before-the-next-rain-drop-falls/

Many new residential blocks are small; the house, driveway and garage occupy most of the land, leaving very little room for lawn and plants.

Although earlier subdivided land sizes are bigger, many people have turned the non build-up areas into rock gardens or concreted outdoor area due to busy life style. Rain is not absorbed, and goes down to the drain literally, and if not, causes flood in low lying areas. Paved areas are not only a better medium for faster water flow, but also act like impervious bases of mini-reservoirs in flooded regions.

With fewer plants, absorption of carbon dioxide is reduced, and in the meantime, emission of oxygen is reduced as well.

With all these taken into consideration, should new building and planning codes be amended to incorporate “rainfall friendly” clauses?