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a forum for the discussion of issues concerning the natural environment
Wyaralong Dam: Water More Expensive Than Desalination?
September 25, 2006 By jennifer
By the end of the recent state election in Queensland, the Labor Party was proposing not one, but five new dams and the the Coalition a whooping eight new dams. The Wyaralong dam is being planned for a catchment just south of Brisbane and west of the Gold Coast in the Beaudesert Shire. Occasional responder at this blog Sylvia Else, has done some research, and claims even desalinated water would be cheaper than water from the Wyaralong Dam:
I've been puzzling over the proposed Wyaralong dam. Given the government's own cost estimates and the estimated yield, and using an interest rate of 7.5% and inflation rate of 3%, I cannot get the cost of the raw, i.e.
unfiltered, water below $1 per kilolitre, even when I assume a life of 100 years for the dam. I don't know how much it costs to filter water, but Sydney Water charges 46 cents per kilolitre less for unfiltered water, so filtering is presumably reasonably costly.
This appears to mean that bulk filtered water from Wyaralong dam will be more expensive than desalinated water. With Perth's desalinator capital and running costs, I get a bulk water cost of $1.02 per kilolitre.
It's true that the only place one can desalinate seawater is on the coast, but it appears that the government's intention is that all of the water supply systems should be connected together in a network, so desalinated water could be distributed to anywhere that the Wyaralong dam could serve.
So why build the dam? It seems to make no economic sense, even if the wished for rainfall (based on the next 100 years being like the last) appears.
There was a line in the Hitch-Hikers' Guide to the Galaxy. When asked why it was necessary to build a by-pass over the top of Arthur Dent's house, the council official's reply was "What do you mean, why has it got to be built? It's a by-pass. You've got to build by-passes."
May be that's the reasoning being used here.
Sylvia Else
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Water
Sylvia Else says
I should add that I'm basing my calculations on facts given in this media release
http://statements.cabinet.qld.gov.au/MMS/StatementDisplaySingle.aspx?id=47020
Cost $400 to $500 million – I used $500.
Yield 21,000 megalitres per annum
Ian Mott says
You are quite right, Sylvia. Although Wivenhoe is being depreciated over 150 years so Wyaralong could be the same.
The current wholesale price from SEQ water to Briswater is 17 cents/kl and current retail price from briswater is 94 cents/kl so the cost of distribution is 77 cents/kl. Add this to the Wyaralong wholesale price and the retail cost will be $1.80/kl.
That is, assuming that there is still a market for that water. But if every new house built in the region over the next 20 years has a decent water tank then the total water market will shrink and the profitability of the new dams will be blown to bits by insufficient sales volume.
At a price of $1.80/kl a tank makes a really good investment and the market for public water will decline even more.
Ian,
I ran the numbers again for 150 years, but as I expected it makes little difference, because the net present value of payments 100 to 150 years downstream is minimal.
I have confirmed the cost and yield figures with the Department of Natural Resources and Water.
In the mean time, I've found other commentary supporting my notion that the water from this dam will be very expensive.
http://www.stopthewyaralongdam.org/files/wyaralongDamIssuesAndAlternatives.pdf
The figure quoted there is $1.73 per kilolitre, though the paper was based on a lower figure for the yield of 17,000 ML/year, for which my calculation would give $1.34 per kilolitre. However the paper compares the cost with that of desalination, so the $1.73 per kilolitre presumably includes filtration. Add the 46 cents per kilolitre for filtration figure that I inferred from Sydney Water's tarrif, and the numbers are very close.
So it looks like we can leave aside all the extraneous stuff about whether the dam will deliver its claimed yield, or whether it wouldn't be needed if people used less or recycled more.
The dam fails to pass the economic test. It is not the cheapest available solution, so it should not be built.
Blair Bartholomew says
Dear Sylvia
Congratulations on your endeavour to calculate the delivered cost of urban water for the future. You certainly won't find it on any of the government websites!
Ian you may well be right to look at rainwater tanks as a source of an increasing share of future urban water needs as it may be cheaper per KL (less resources used) to source future supplies from (some) urban tanks than to invest in major storages.
However as long as the current price of delivered water to urban water users bears no relationship to the future cost of supplies, irrespective of from where they are sourced, then water users are in no position to decide how they should behave.
The current practice of offering rainwater tank subsidies (somebody still has to fund the subsidies)willy nilly is hardly a solution.
Why not charge existing water users for a share of their current water use at a rate that reflects the future cost of publicly provided water supplies? Then they will be in a position to decide whether they should invest in rainwater tanks, water saving devices etc.
I shudder when I saw in the press last week that Campbell Newman believes it will be necessary for the State and/or the Federal government to subsidise the higher cost of future publicly provided water supplies.
Why should water be treated any differently than (say) bread or beer? If you want the commodity than you pay for it. After all somebody has to.
Pinxi says
Yep agreed Blair. Would be interesting if you chose to elaborate further,. eg how future pricing can factor in risk estimates (rainfall net of evaporation in dam watersheds etc). seems that correct pricing may encourage increased "commoditisation" ie more competition & distributed supply + complementary services.
rog says
NRM puts cost of the Wyaralong dam at $161M and a capacity of 104 mL, I've read elsewhere that the $500 million is for the construction of three new dams at Wyaralong, Glendower and Amamoor Creek and the raising of the Borumba Dam.
http://www.nrm.qld.gov.au/factsheets/pdf/water/w91.pdf
Annual yields are estimated as Glendower Dam – 21 000 ML, Wyaralong Dam – 35 000 ML, Borumba Dam Raising – 30 000 ML, Amamoor Creek Dam – 17 000 ML
Cost of water from rainwater tanks is estimated at $1,000 kL.
Dear Pinxi
The following may help answer your queries. It is based on an unpublished article I wrote lst year.
The current drought in south-east Queensland and elsewhere in Australia has prompted calls for changes in how the community, both through the efforts of individual water users and by the policies of its elected representatives viz Councils and State Government, should best manage its urban water consumption and supply.
There are two separate but related issues:
•	What is the appropriate price and pricing system for urban water supplies? and
•	What is the appropriate level and reliability of supply for urban water users?
Dealing firstly with the second point, it is necessary to decide at what level and at what reliability the water supply should operate. Given the reality of droughts of differing frequencies and lengths, the community must decide for different notional annual "average" per-capita water uses, how often and for how long it is prepared to institute restrictions to ensure some essential minimum water supply in the "drought" periods.
For example, on average over a ten year period, a reservoir may be able to supply the selected notional per-capita water use (in some years water goes over the spillway) but restrictions will still be required in two years out of the ten. Alternatively a larger reservoir may provide the notional average per-capita water use ten out of ten years but of course a larger reservoir will cost more. However the community may prefer a less reliable supply at a lower cost but be prepared to put up with the restrictions in the "drought" periods.
Hydrologists, engineers, economists and computer modellers etc. can provide the information needed to help the community or its representatives decide on the level and reliability of its water supply. This information will also contain the attendant water costs for each scenario.
But water users, the same as other consumers, will vary their consumption according to the price charged. So while it may be easy to decide a minimum "essential" level of water use, it is difficult, but unnecessary for the planners to determine a so called ideal i.e. "non-wasteful" per capita average water use.
All that is required is that our planners work out how much it would cost to match future water demands, based on current water charges, population growth etc. with future water supplies, for different levels of reliability. For example if this cost per kilolitre of water for an augmented water supply (at its cheapest cost whether that be more storages, recycled water, desalinization etc) at a greater reliability is (say) 30 percent higher than the current water charge then the first step is to increase the current price of water by this amount. Whether the new (higher) price should apply to all metered water consumption or say a third or a half of metered water use is up for debate.
If per capita water use remains unchanged and water reliability improves at this new price then so be it because the cost of investing in future water supplies will be met by present and future consumers and there will be no unreasonable shortages of water. However water users are more likely to react to the higher price by installing water efficient devices, or changing their consumption habits so that it becomes unnecessary to augment existing supplies. So the cost of these extra supplies is avoided. Either result is satisfactory. Of course water users will be forced to invest in these devices or forego the benefits they receive from their current consumption habits.
The current approach, i.e. not basing current water charges on the long term cost of supplying water, but encouraging water users to change their habits via community awareness programs or by moral suasion or by ill thought out rainwater subsidies will be ineffective and/or inefficient as water consumers will quite correctly base their water use, in an "average" year on the existing pricing regime.
The introduction of water meters and volumetric pricing resulted in a dramatic reduction in per capita water consumption in Brisbane as consumers were forced to decide how much they wished to spend on water at the (new) volumetric price.
Basing current prices on the (lowest) cost of provision of future water supplies will most likely lead to a reduction in water use. If not then there is no problem as users of water will pay for their water at the higher cost and receive their supply.
Any bites on my figures? Sylvia's projections could be out by 500%
The document you cited is earlier than the ministerial press release, and is probably only dicussing the estimate for the dam itself. There are significant other costs associated with the Wyaralong dam such as land purchases, and reconstructing part of a road that will become submerged. It seems clear enough from the ministerial statement that the $500 million is just for the Wyaralong dam project.
I cannot see where you've got your figure for Wyaralong's yield from.
Rog, the $1,000/kl cost quote for water tanks is the typical deliberate misrepresentation by the public sector water mafia. The cost of a 1000 litre tank, if plumbing etc is included, may be $1,000 but a 13,000L tank is only $2,000 all up. So the capital cost can vary from $1,000/kl for the stupid and the departmentally challenged, down to below $150/kl for the rest of us.
When this latter figure is divided by the appropriate discount rate at 6% over the 30 year life of the tank (ie. 13.8) the annual cost of this storage capacity is only $10.80. And as this tank, in Brisbane, will fill up an average of 12 times a year, each captured kl will cost only 90 cents each.
But as with all things in life, there is the capacity for all suburban "Freddies" to snatch mediocrity and failure from the jaws of success and even common sense. They can piss around with a smaller tank and end up with a limited supply of tank water that costs as much as, or even more than, the new, expensive water from the water mafia that will still comprise the bulk of their water supply.
It seems you can lead a bozo to water but you can't make him think.
Sylvia, perhaps you should read the article that you youreself offered, from the NRM fact sheet
"The preliminary estimate of cost of the Wyaralong Dam and a downstream control weir is approximately $161 million."
The yield is from a PPT from USC
http://tinyurl.com/rrasj
I believe that substantial land purchases have already been made
Another source;
The Wyaralong Dam is estimated to cost $149 million while the Cedar Grove Weir is expected to cost $12 million.
(Source: SEQ Infrastructure Plan, April 2005, p 28)
I cant see how the cost has jumped to $500M except that it has been misreported as being the cost for one dam not the whole lot for SE QLD.
Rog, the link to the NRM fact sheet was provided by Jennifer, not by me. The figure there is described as a preliminary estimate for the construction of the dam and downstream weir. It may well not have included other costs associated with the project.
The ministerial release says "The State Government today announced that a new dam would be built at Wyaralong near Beaudesert at a cost of approximately $400 to $500 million."
I have sought further clarification on this, with particular reference to the implied cost of the water. If I get a response (I'm not holding my breath), I'll post something further.
thanks Blair. Unfortunately, pricing for the future cost of water requires time scale thinking that exceeds the typically short-term political focus. Regardless of the mechanism, highly visible metering (quick feedback on usage) is definitely key.
Re: industry – there's general talk of expected worsening of fresh water shortages around the world. I can imagine that using future costs as a basis for water charges (or other incentives) to encourage increased process efficiencies could lead to comparatively less water intensive exports that have an advantage in international trade (assuming scarcity & increased water costs) & could also help to improve security in some countries/regions by helping water-starved populations to meet basic needs (eg by providing cereals). Care to comment?
Dear Sylvia and Rog
Don't hold your breath waiting for any public information from governments re the costs of future water supplies whether the supplies are from desalination, new water storages, recycling etc. They have the information but it may prove politically embarrassing to release it.
Pricing water or any other resource at its long-term marginal cost is not a new concept among resource economists. Unfortunately supply of urban and irrigation water has generally been the province of governments and I have never been able to see any evidence of efficient water pricing in the past or present.
Of course if future water supplies can be sourced at a cost similar to current prices then there is no outcry. However all the "cheaper" sources in SE Qld have already been tapped; in a situation where future water consumption at current water prices is increasing due to increased population and life style changes, coupled with greater climate variability, then demand exceeds supply and non-price rationing results.
Pricing water at its long term (higher) cost forces existing water users to make any changes now and perhaps avoid the need for future public storages etc. It may well be cheaper for households to look at rainwater tanks.
If they don't change their current habits at the new price then again there is no problem and the new supplies can be sourced at their full cost.
What often stuffs the system is the practice of governments subsidising water prices thus ensuring a need for further increases in water supplies!
Blair,
I suppose there's always Freedom of Information, though whether I want to spend my hard-earned on that when I don't even live in QLD (I'm in NSW) is another matter.
What really gets to me is that as far as urban water is concerned, this is all a storm in a tea cup. We know that essentially limitless quantities of water are available by desalination, so that puts a cap on the price of water. While it would represent an increase on current prices, it really doesn't amount to much in the scheme of things. Between $1 and $2 per family per week is all it would take. Few people would notice the difference.
Your reference to Campbell Newman illustrates the problem. These people net to get a grip, and look at the real numbers in context.
While desalinated water may represent the cheapest source of publicly supplied water and indeed it is a limitless source of water, I have yet to see the cost per KL of this water delivered to the water user. In Brisbane the current price of water through the meter is 93 cents per KL. So I would like to see the cost of desalinated water at the water meter (allowing for any pumping, storage, treatment costs etc.)
Ian Mott's calculations for a sensibly designed rainwater tank (not these piddly 3000L tanks presently being heavily subsidized)) shows a cost at the meter similar to the current water price but I suspect with the small housing blocks, units etc domestic rainwater tanks still will not supply the region's future increases in water use.
I don't think it is asking too much of our elected representatives to publish the costs on a delivered -to -the -user basis associated with the various sources of future water. Then water users can make informed decisions about their water use behaviour. But as I allued to early I don't think I ever will.
See "The Great Water Debacle" by yours truly at http://onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=4806
For a detailed examination of how the existing measures to require water tanks for each new dwelling in SEQ will produce a contraction in public water demand over the next 20 years.
This will continue to the point where the economics of the existing dams will be compromised, let alone cover the cost of the new infrastructure.
And any minor increase in the mains water price will accelerate this trend. Get ready for some very serious, and expensive, white elephants.
The notion that mains water delivered today should be priced at the cost of delivering it in future is breathtaking in its total lack of grounding in economic reality.
The upper limit to any capacity to raise prices in a competetive market is defined by the lowest cost competitor/supplier. And that lowest cost competitor is "everyman" with his own roof and own tank.
And any spruikers for desalination company shares had better take a very good look at their professional indemnity insurance before they start talking up the scope for price increases.
Further info on costings, these figs cost dams, infrastructure etc, as these have been around for a while without comment you could assume that they are acceptable.
http://www.oum.qld.gov.au/docs/SEQIPP/SEQIPP_PART_B7.pdf
Dear Ian
The upper limit to any capacity to raise prices in a competetive market is defined by the lowest cost competitor/supplier. And that lowest cost competitor is "everyman" with his own roof and own tank"
Obviously Ian I have not expressed my view clearly enough.
Brisbane water supplies are metered and domestic users pay 93 cents per KL for each KL used. Presently at that price demand exceeds supply and in the future demand will also exceed supply hence the current practice of non-price rationing via water restrictions and the plans for mega public investments in water supply.
Average water consumption,in the absence of non-price rationing is around 750KL per household. If current and future supplies at that price amount to (say) 500KL per household then households face a shortfall at the current price of 250KL per household or a shortage of 33 percent. If it costs in the future from the cheapest source of publicly supplied water (say) $1.50 per KL then the solution is to charge "average" water users for any water use above 500KL per household at $1.50 per KL. Of course I am talking in averages but using past Council records it should not be too difficult to determine previous household water use and adjust the cutoff figure where the higher price will apply.
If "average" water users know that they face a water charge per KL above 500KL of $1.50 per KL then they have quite a few options and one of these is to use in your words "the lowest cost competitor, namely the rainwater tank". Because water is metered then the household using the rainwater tank avoids the stepped price of $1.50 per KL for supplies above 500KL and if all households, to avoid the higher price, invest in rainwater tanks then the need for the(higher priced) public water is avoided. All the households will pay above the charge for 500KL is the costs of supply from their rainwater tanks. Other options include investing (at a cost) in water saving devices etc.
But the history of public pricing of water does not make one believe that economic rationality enters the equation and so I suspect we will end up with the current pricing practice with a few subsidies thrown in.
I can't find anything resembling a break-down of tap-water costs in Queensland. However, we know that there are some costs of providing the bulk water from storage schemes, and some in filtering the water. The remaining cost is the distribution cost. If Brisbane water prices reflect the true costs, then I would venture to suggest that distribution comes in at no more than 60 cents/kilolitre. That puts an upper limit on the price of desalinated water in the tap at about $1.60.
Ian Mot's pricings for the large scale rainwater tanks are believable (though I think a touch optimistic) for houses where installation is straight foward. If extra construction work is required form a level base for the tank, than I suspect that pushes the price up considerably.
I have also questioned whether it is reasonable to ignore the cost of the land on which the tank sits. If one does not intend to install a tank, then there is a saving to be made by using a smaller plot of land.
I am also concerned about the implications of having a large number of people treating the municipal water system as a supply of last resort. That is, that they'll only buy water from the municipal system when their own tanks run dry. This would require a large capacity in the municipal system that is most of the time not generating income. Since using the system that way pushes the cost up, households who derive most of their water from rainwater tanks should have to pay a significant premium for the privilege of being allow to use the municipal supply only when rainwater is scarce.
It would be a brave politician indeed who tried to explain that to the electorate.
Motty I'm surprised if you don't realise that your assumptions are implicit in Blair's proposition. I too have wondered, although with less certainty than you, if the rush for tanks might produce excess supply – particularly as the decision to instal private tanks isn't just based on economic rationalism, there are an assortment of motivations. Hence I referred above to the commoditisation of water supplies. Despite privatisation, the traditional infrastructure models still dominate our mindsets and economic planning, so govts find it hard to consider the impact of decentralised supplies of utilities.
Dear Sylvia, Pinxi et al
The news from Premier Beattie this afternoon is that, after allowing for inflation, future charges for water will remain the same as at present; reason so that low-income water users will not be worse off.
So I guess in the words of my favourite singer-songwriter, Neil Young, "we're all just pissin' in the wind"
I have found this document
http://www.nrm.qld.gov.au/water/water_infrastructure/pdf/long_term_solution.pdf
On page 65 there is a table relating to Wyaralong dam. In the table it shows a preliminary cost estimate of $170 million, and a cost assumed by the NRMW of $500 million. There is a foot note that explains "Major factor causing the large increase in costs is a revised estimate of road relocations – optimisation of the
design is to occur, giving consideration road relocations and yields."
I don't see how it's now possible to avoid the conclusion that the $500 price tag really is just for the Wyaralong dam project, and that the bulk raw water cost really is in excess of $1 per kilolitre.
Dear Jennifer and bloggers,
I am an affected landholder at Wyaralong, currently writing a PhD thesis on resource management issues and co-author of the document referred to by Sylvia, Wyaralong Dam: Issues and Alternatives.
As landholders at Wyaralong, (it is my family's property the dam is named after)we have had communication with DNRM staff since the dam was first proposed in 2005. I found it wryly amusing to read and follow the above debate about correct figures for yield and costs.
Basically, all of you are right, yet at the same time all of you are wrong. This is becasue the figures quoted by the government in various documents and press releases have changed each time.
The report, "A Long term future" I have heard was thrown together days before the final announcement on 4 July and refers to information from the GHD report, a desktop analysis of data from 1990. This is the only data the DNRM had on Wyaralong as they had not been anywhere near the site since the weekend before 4 July.
The $400-500M fihure is the latest for costs, which are said to include Cedar grove Weir, relocation of the road, water treatment, as well as land purchases.
The state owns 36% of land surrounding the Wyaralong dam. At the current prposed water level, almost none of this land is in the inundantion area of the dam. I am currently working on a map to illustrate this which will be posted on our website.
The yeild of 21000 ML INCLUDES 5000ML in Cedar Grove weir. For our report we used yield for Wyaralong dam alone, which is 17000ML.
Water quality in the Teviot is notoriously poor (salinity, pollutants and Boonah township's effluent)and the costs of water treatment are expected to increase.
Another point for consideration in the costs of water issue, is distributional equity. The water from Wyaralong does not directly service Brisbane consumers. The water is for urban and industrial use in the lOgan, Beaudesert and Gold Coast Shires.
We calculated that at the current pricing of water, which Peter Beattie assures us will not rise, this amounts to $3500-$4000 subsidy by the State per household. This would buy a good sized tank, or a community storage facility. We are no economists though, so if someone would like to clarify this, go ahead.
We calculated this using the 104 000Ml capcity and an average water use of 300L/day/household.
I hope this clears up some points of contention and opens the way for more constructive dialogue.
If the $400-500 million includes the (capital) cost of the water treatment plant, then that obviously invalidates my claim about the unfiltered water price. It puts the filtered water price above $1 per kilolitre instead. How much above would depend on the operating costs of both the dam and the treatment plant, about which I currently have no information.
It bothers me that governments are still willing to use the historical 100 year rainfall figures as the basis for calculating yields. At the very least there is a significant risk that we're experiencing climate change rather than (or as well as) a drought, and since his represents a risk that the asset will not perform as well as predicted, it should be reflected somewhere in the costing (pushing it up).
Another thing that does not appear to have been incorporated into the cost is the value of the land already owned by the government that is to be dedicated to the dam. If the dam were not built then the land could conceivably be sold, so it should not be regarded as worthless for costing purposes.
Murray Barson says
I've just come across this blog and find it refreshing that most of the posts are constructive, rather than comfrontational, especially when the topic has political, vested interest, and ethical dimensions.
It has concerned me for some time that in the talk of desalination as the future long-term source of the nation's water, no one seems to have addressed the (very likely) prospect of steeply escalating energy costs with the imminent onset of the peak oil catastrophe. There is an unquantifiable, but potentially enormous, added energy cost to be factored into the calculations.
Of course, we may not need any more water if peak oil leads to the anticipated collapse of the industrial world. No more water hungry fossil fuel power plants, mines or manufacturing – there should be lots to drink!
But if we must boil sea water, can it be done with solar?
Stu says
It seems as though there hasn't been a lot of conversation on this blog lately but since the dam seems to be progressing I thought it may be worth continuing the discussion. I agree with Murray in regards to energy costs of desal, they are very susceptible to the current market and who knowswhat the future costs associated with desalination are.
Irrespective of this I find it disnconcerting that the argument is based on economics, I thought that the environment in recent years is having an increasing role in determining what society should do in response to any demand (water, electricity, energy etc.). In this regard any dam infrastucture has a very small carbon footprint compared to desalination of saline water over the lifetime time of the water supply.
Nat says
It appears to me that now the dam has been built and we didn't directly correlate the cost of water to it's quiet opening that all discussion has died down.
But I have been researching the dam and it's 'worth' and in doing so spent some amount of time considering the full environmental costs of the options? This goes beyond the economics of what we may or may not pay for clean reliable drinking water to our doorstep. In doing so I have also been looking at what is considered 'limitless' supply from desalination, which pumps then a 'limitless' supply of brine solution back into the marine environment … what cost it that? or is it considered that as it does not hit our hip pocket directly we don't really care about those things?
As for the cost to build such a dam as Wyaralong …
"The dam project on the Teviot Brook also involved construction of the Bromelton Offstream Storage facility and Cedar Grove weir. The A$348m project was built by Queensland Water Infrastructure (QWI)." [sourced after the fact of building on water-technology.net]
and as for yield …
"When operated in conjunction with the Cedar Grove weir, the Wyaralong dam can hold up to 103,000 million litres at full capacity. It will supply 26,000 million litres of additional water to South East Queensland (SEQ) every year."
The only question now for the dam is why and when will it be connected into the grid? I would assume the real answer to that, regardless of economics, is 'when we need it'. Even if for now, it's only current use is 'to float a boat'. What value do you place on additional recreational activities in a region?
For an area that was already devastated and contaminated by historically poor agricultural practices, mass tree clearing and weeds invasion causing the existing water quality up and down stream to be extremely poor (such that an extensive weed management plan had been put in place). Environmentally there are arguments for both sides. To build or not to build. But I ask … if we did not build, do we wait until there is absolutely no suitable land left due to urban sprawl before we stockpile some surface water catchments because it would be cheaper per kL now? I am also curious that if engineers/economists etc. don't use the 100 years of historical information, what would you suggest to use for economical evaluations for any construction projects?
The $348m spend included quite extensive revegetation and other environmental impact mitigation measures being put into place. Would you suggest that to keep the build price down that 'like' projects don't bother to do this, so that the average cost per kL can be more palatable?
With respect to the remaining landowners on non-government purchased land who were directly affected … although no money is enough to replace what money can't buy, but there would have been large costs there also. Would you reduce these costs instead?
Not trying to be confrontational but for researching purposes I am curious. On a blog concerned with the natural environment very little beyond the economics has been considered in this particular case.
Hi Nat
I posted the letter from Sylvia because that's what I do… post information from people that is interesting and relevant and in particular information that is unlikely to be published anywhere else.
If you have lots of information on the new dam — and you seem to — and how its construction has made a positive overall impact to what was a degraded environment etcetera why not send me something to post at this blog…
your comment above is unlikely to be seen by many people other than me because it is on a very old thread… and I only read it because it was caught in the 'pending' folder because you haven't posted here before and every new commentator has to have their email and name approved before their very first comment goes live.
new posts have an audience of several thousand.
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Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation. Read more
To get in touch with Jennifer call 0418873222 or international call +61418873222.
Email: jennifermarohasy at gmail.com
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Matt and I recently discussed whether we thought the government should intervene to correct intra-personal externalities that arise from time inconsistency in peoples' behaviour. We particularly talked about smoking: models of smoking which incorporate hyperbolic discounting predict that people will want to quit in the future but will never be able to quit when the time comes (and here I've horribly conflated two different causes of dynamic inconsistency in the interests of simplicity). I wasn't able to persuade him that it is in the public interest to correct such externalities, but perhaps this paper(NBER) cited on MR provides a harsher example of the consequences of time inconsistency (and, yes, I know I'm horribly mangling together two different causes of dynamic inconsistency).
…women who are the victims of domestic violence often leave and return multiple times. … We present supporting evidence that women in violent relationships display time inconsistent preferences… We find that "no-drop" policies — which compel the prosecutor to continue with prosecution even if the victim expresses a desire to drop the charges — result in an increase in reporting. No-drop policies also result in a decrease in the number of men murdered by intimates suggesting that some women in violent relationships move away from an extreme type of commitment device when a less costly one is offered.
The problem here is that there is no device available to the women that allows them to commit to leaving the relationship and force their 'future self' not to return. A no-drop policy on the part of prosecutors gives them that precommitment power and prevents them from reneging on their desire to leave the abusive relationship. By restricting the womens' future choice set the state can make them better off. I feel bad talking about domestic violence in such dry terminology, but I think this is a really good example of how economic theory can help understand important 'real world' problems. Policies such as taxation of smoking and no-drop prosecution of domestic violence are not examples of government interference in peoples' lives: they are examples of the government helping people to help themselves.
1) How are we measuring total welfare here. If a person uses hyperbolic discounting, and their total welfare is also worked out using the same discount method, then shouldn't their own choice be equivalent to the welfare maximising choice. Ultimately, if we viewed someones future-self as equivalent to their current-self (in welfare ranking) then any choice that involved a trade-off between now and the future, and a discount rate, would be sub-optimal.
2) Is it true that when their current-selves makes a choice, they recognise that their future self will be unable to commit and make their decision in a corresponding fashion. This is required for sub-game perfection isn't it.
Ultimately, your future-self should be valued in your utility function, so any externalities between your current-self and future-self should be internalised. The only problems should come from market-failure (eg asymmetric information), or if your discount method/rate and the social discount method/rate between yourself and your future-self are different.
1) Papers usually tend to take the person's current preferred choice as the optimal one. They calculate the choices that the agent would make if they had full precommitment power and take that as the welfare maximising trajectory. Obviously future selves would disagree but that's the cause of the welfare loss so their disagreement is essentially disregarded. From the point of view of the current period the precommitment outcome can be regarded as first best.
2) There are two ways of modelling inconsistent agents: as self-aware agents who recognise that they're inconsistent or as naive agents who don't. Naive agents will exhibit inconsistency in their decisions, while self-aware agents will take into account the consequences of future incentives to deviate when they choose their current action. As you say, the sophisticated agents will be sub-game perfect in their decision making. However, compensating for future incentives to deviate acts as a constraint upon their utility maximisation and means they can only achieve a second best outcome. Depending upon the payoffs it can sometimes be the case that the naive agent is better off than the sophisticated one! In either case, availing the agents of precommitment power can improve their overall welfare.
3) Inconsistency usually arises as a result of either inter-temporal, intra-personal externalities or as a result of a non-exponential discount rate. In the first case, a sophisticated agent will compensate for the externalities in order to be time consistent but, thus constrained, will not be able to achieve first best outcomes. This type of inconsistency is usually caused by the current payoff depending upon an expected future action. In the latter case the cause of inconsistency is obvious, as you say.
Does that make any sense or did I fail to really explain it all over again?
If I mangled together two different causes of dynamic inconsistency as often as you did, I would be embarassed to show my face at the pub.
PS. I thought dynamic inconsistency was brought on by drinking too much beer.
PPS. My mistake, I was thinking of dynamic incontinency.
Hey hey, I get paid to do the 'astrology' of economics, you do the beautiful astronomy part.


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Corbyn visits Hope Centre and says Northampton Borough Council can do more to tackle homelessness
Jeremy Corbyn and Robin Burgess. Photo: Kirsty Edmonds
Tim Redigolo & Alastair Ulke
Jeremy Corbyn said Northampton Borough Council could be doing more to tackle homelessness in the town during a visit to the Hope Centre this morning.
Borough councillor for St James and shadow cabinet member for housing and wellbeing, Rufia Ashraf, invited Mr Corbyn to Northampton and the Hope Centre after meeting him at a policy forum in March.
Borough councillor for St James and shadow cabinet member for housing and wellbeing,Rufia Ashraf, invited Mr Corbyn to Northampton in March. Photo: Kirsty Edmonds
During his visit the Labour leader was given a tour of the centre by CEO Robin Burgess where he met with members of staff as well as the people who use the centre, before being asked what more could be done to deal with the housing crisis and homelessness.
"I understand the difficulty of running local government and understand the national funding issues to local government, but to provide such minimal support to the single homeless seems to me to be an area they should be giving much more support to," said Mr Corbyn.
"The people of Northampton have given huge support to Hope Centre, maybe the council could do as much."
The Hope Centre offers help to vulnerable people who are in unstable accommodation by providing services such as food and clothing to people in extreme poverty and with complex disadvantage, including problems of homelessness, drugs and alcohol and mental health.
Photo: Kirsty Edmonds
Their aim is to help their clients become employable through skills and training.
Mr Corbyn cited a backdrop of lack of housing, an unregulated private sector and a dearth of council housing as the main reasons why people in Britain end up in places like the Hope Centre
"Councils themselves are not building enough, or most cases they're not building anything," said the Labour leader.
"The private rented sector is largely unregulated and those who pay the price then are those people who are homeless who cannot get anywhere to live because they can't get the money together for a deposit, they can't afford the rent, or the rents are beyond the local housing allowance level," said Mr Corbyn.
"Places like Hope Centre do help but unless there is an ability of the local authority to provide often one bed flats then Hope Centre and many others like it round the country become full, and we end up with people sleeping in tents under railway bridges, like you see outside Northampton station."
Mr Corbyn believes the key to solving the housing crisis was to build more homes, including a large number of council housing in all parts of the country.
He said: "At the moment some councils are managing to build some council housing, housing associations are building some, but too often it has to be balanced against building for sale, or a wholesale regeneration project, which often ends up with social cleansing going with it.
Northampton schoolchildren spent the day at university campus to get thinking about careers
"So it is about a housing estate that deals with the housing needs."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


^GravityTray – Tray without absorber!
The GravityTray is an innovative, completely safe, meat and fish tray packaging that makes the absorber super- fluous.
Released fluid from the meat or fish will automatically flow into the unique bottom chamber of the Gravity tray. This 'bottom chamber' is a separate compartment and once the fluid is isolated in this compartment it cannot get into contact with the meat and fish any more, even if the GravityTray is turned on its side or upside down. Because of this separation the risk of any contamination from the liquid to the meat and fish is virtually impossible. Since the GravityTray has no fibers, the risk that particles of the packaging can "stick" to the meat or fish and be consumed, has been totally removed.
The Gravity Tray can be made of 100% PP, that is the thermoform tray, the bottom foil and the top lid. Other materials, like PP with added oxygen barriers and PET are also available. The material weight of the tray is the same as current trays and also strength, for instance top load is the same. A 100% control of the sealed bottom foil guarantees a leak free tray.


text:
Q: Warning: fopen() [function.fopen]: Filename cannot be empty in Im using this tutorial http://papermashup.com/caching-dynamic-php-pages-easily/ for caching a page
<?php {
$cachefile = $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'].'cache.html';
$cachetime = 4 * 60;
// Serve from the cache if it is younger than $cachetime
if (file_exists($cachefile) && time() - $cachetime < filemtime($cachefile)) {
    include($cachefile);
} else {
ob_start(); // Start the output buffer
 ?>

/* Heres where you put your page content */

<?php
// Cache the contents to a file
$cached = fopen($cacheFile, 'w');
fwrite($cached, ob_get_contents());
fclose($cached);
ob_end_flush(); // Send the output to the browser
}
?>

but i get the following errors
Warning: fopen() [function.fopen]: Filename cannot be empty in

Warning: fwrite(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in

Warning: fclose(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in

The path to the file is right. And if i edit the file my self is included but again i get the errors

A: You have a problem with the casing of your variable name. PHP variable names are case sensitive. Change cacheFile to cachefile (with the small F instead).
Change this:
$cached = fopen($cacheFile, 'w');

To this:
$cached = fopen($cachefile, 'w');

A: You got a spelling error: $cachefile != $cacheFile PHP identifiers are case sensitive. So decide for one version and correct the other occurences.
Corrected Code:
$cached = fopen($cachefile, 'w');

A: The first time you reference $cachefile. The second time you reference $cacheFile. Fix the casing in one place or the other and you should be good.

A: For me it's because of I have insufficient permission on the file, so I resolved it with chmod

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
CaroMont Regional Medical Center Receives an "A" for Patient Safety 2021
Friday, November 12, 2021 Category: Awards and Recognition
CaroMont Regional Medical Center Receives an "A" for Patient Safety
GASTONIA, N.C. - CaroMont Regional Medical Center received an "A"Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade for fall 2021. This national distinction recognizes the facilities' achievements in protecting patients from harm and error in the hospital. This is the eleventh 'A' for CaroMont Regional Medical Center, more than any other hospital in the Charlotte region.
"Our highest priority is providing exceptional healthcare in the safest environment," said Dr. Todd Davis, EVP and Chief Physician Executive at CaroMont Health. "This recognition is the result of an extraordinary commitment to safety and collaboration. Maintaining this level of excellence requires not only medical staff and nursing team, but also hospital leadership, clinical services and all care support teams."
The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, assigns an "A," "B," "C," "D," or "F" grade to general hospitals across the country based on over thirty national performance measures reflecting errors, injuries, accidents and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harms to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.
"An 'A' Safety Grade is a tremendous achievement, of which this community should be extremely proud," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. "I thank the leadership and workforce of CaroMont Regional Medical Center for their commitment to prioritizing patients and their safety, especially during these challenging times."
To see CaroMont Regional Medical Center's full grade details and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook.
CaroMont Regional Medical Center Receives an "A" for Patient Safety in 2022
CaroMont Regional Medical Center Earns Top Grade for Patient Safety
CaroMont Regional Medical Center Receives an 'A' for Patient Safety
CaroMont Regional Named Top Five in State
CaroMont Regional Medical Center Named One of the Nation's 100 Top Hospitals By IBM Health


text:
PM of Canada announces $12M for new vaccine manufacturing at USask's VIDO-InterVac, part of $23.3M for the lab to fight COVID-19 and other infectious disease threats
As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to rapidly evolve, the federal government is announcing $23.3 million in total support for the University of Saskatchewan's (USask) Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization – International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac), one of the largest and most advanced infectious disease research facilities in the world. As part of the government's $275-million fund for COVID-19 health research, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that VIDO-InterVac will receive $12 million to help address Canada's shortage of vaccine manufacturing capacity, as well as $11.3 million for continued operational funding for high containment laboratories over the coming year.
"This new federal funding recognizes that VIDO-InterVac is at the forefront of global efforts to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 and other infectious disease threats," said USask Vice-President of Research Karen Chad. "This is critical work at VIDO-InterVac that will help protect the health and safety of all Canadians, as well as people around the world."
VIDO-InterVac is constructing a pilot-scale manufacturing facility on campus to accelerate vaccine development in Canada and abroad.
"The $12 million enables us to build the facility to Good Manufacturing Practices standards as required for human vaccine production," said VIDO-InterVac Director Volker Gerdts. "We expect to begin vaccine production in a little more than a year."
The $12 million is from Western Economic Diversification's Regional Economic "Growth Through Innovation" program.
There is currently no vaccine for COVID-19 coronavirus. VIDO-InterVac is the first lab in the country to have a vaccine candidate in animal testing. The vaccine was made in February, and researchers expect to know in about four weeks whether the vaccine works in an animal model. Clinical testing of this vaccine in humans could start as early as this fall.
The $11.3 million comes through the Canada Foundation for Innovation under the federal Major Science Initiatives program which funds the operations of major science facilities.
"InterVac is part of the national and global response to emerging disease threats such as COVID-19 in humans and African swine fever in animals," said Gerdts, who is participating in three World Health Organization expert groups on animal model and vaccine development for COVID-19.
As one of the few Canadian research facilities with regulatory approval to work on the new virus, VIDO-InterVac was the first lab in the country to isolate the virus. This was done over five weeks ago, in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada and Sunnybrook. The isolated virus was made available to federal and provincial laboratories.
VIDO-InterVac is also the first lab in Canada, and one of the very few in the world, to establish an animal model for COVID-19. Suitable animal models are critical to evaluate vaccines, antivirals and therapeutics. The lab's animal model is now available to industry and academic partners from around the world.
In addition to vaccines, VIDO-InterVac is also testing antivirals and therapeutics from various Canadian and multinational companies, including two in China.
A world leader in developing vaccines and technologies to combat infectious diseases, VIDO-InterVac was recently awarded $1 million through the federal rapid research funding initiative for research projects aimed at addressing COVID-19.
In last week's provincial budget, the Saskatchewan government announced $400,000 for VIDO-InterVac's manufacturing facility. Innovation Saskatchewan also recently announced $200,000 for VIDO-InterVac's COVID-19 research.
Source: https://news.usask.ca/articles/research/2020/pm-announces-12m-for-new-vaccine-manufacturing-at-usasks-vido-intervac,-part-of-23.3m-for-the-lab-to-fight-covid-19-and-other-infectious-disease-threats.php
The COVID-19 Virus May Have Been in Humans For Years, Study Suggests
New Money Aids Saskatchewan's Search for COVID-19 Vaccine
CHEMOSTAT (A CONTINOUS CULTURE SYSTEM)
SYSTEM COMPONENTS OF A FERMENTER
Response of Microorganisms used in Assay &...
CHAPTER TEN: OVERVIEW OF ANTIFUNGAL AGENTS
TECHNIQUES OF REVIVING MICROBIAL CULTURES
Cell / Tissue Culture
PHYSIOCHEMICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT CELL...
Bioterrorism and Public Health
Brief History of Bioterrorism
Scope of Agricultural (Soil) Microbiology
ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY TESTING
Chapter 1: Introductory Mycology
TRICHINELLOSIS (caused by Trichinella spiralis)
Control and Prevention of Zoonotic Infections
Spontaneous Generation at a Glance


My name is Tunde and I'm the Revenue Management Analyst for the UK and for the DFPT as well. We worked around with pricing, fleet restrictions, a lot of analytical work. It could be anything, it could where pricings are going to be for the next 6 months, it could be forecasting of demand for any given period of time in any particular location, competition analysis, it could be a wide variety of things. It is quite related to my degree choice; I did economics at university, and it also gives you quite a wide range in terms of the different parts of the business you have access to and also the different skills you can kind of develop.
Well, you learn about IT systems for example, but also operationally, you learn a lot about what things are like actually out in the field, you go on site visits to kind of experience the business hands-on. An unusual day probably would be a day where you haven't got anything to do to be honest.
Yeah, I'd say my role is pretty challenging because it can cover quite a wide variety of different things. You often have to, you know, find different piece of information out from different parts of the business. You have to be able to communicate very well, so you have to be able to understand quite complex analytical situations or information. So again, I think it's the variety that provides both the interest and the challenge.
I think, obviously having an analytical mind, understanding data, understanding how to present it is really important, being a clear communicator very very important.
I think the strangest thing was: we found a husky that wandered into the office overnight, and essentially just rampaged around the office overnight. We kept it here and turned it over to his owner the next day. But that was a bit of a random one on a Monday morning.
On the training side, I mean, you get training that's specific to your role, but there is also a lot of other external training they put up for Excel training, specific tools; so there is quite a lot of opportunity to improve your career, there is career days, etc. We have frequent one-to-ones, very open, you can pretty much discuss anything. You know that you'll be heard. I think that this just improves the overall working environment knowing that your manager will support you.
It's a much bigger company that I've ever worked for, much more ambitious. Obviously, it's got global reach, which opens up a lot of opportunities. Yeah I'd say, the scope of it, it's different to anything I've experienced anywhere else.
I've been with ABG for 2 and a half years. My previous roles were for the Student Loans Company as a Student Finance Presenter and as a case handler for Lloyds bank.
The role is varied, involving competition, reservation trends and pricing analysis, long term strategic pricing decision making and informing decision making in Marketing, Operations and Fleet. More recently I have been working on our new integrated Demand Fleet Pricing Project. The highlights are the variety of different tasks and the level of exposure to the business. Challenges are the level of technical skills required and the pressure created by a fast paced role. The thing that makes ABG a good place to work are the colleagues you work with.


text:
Letters: Damar Hamlin and other NFL players know the injury risks even if sportswriters don't
Opinion // Letters to the editor
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin lies on the turf after making a tackle on Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins on during a game on Monday. After getting up from the play, Hamlin collapsed and was administered CPR on the field.
Joshua A. Bickel/Associated Press
As sad as life-threatening sports injuries are, it's tiring to listen to the chorus of criticism about the violence of the NFL after Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest, especially from sportswriters who have long made most of their living writing about it. I don't recall any of them getting on a soapbox about the deaths of race drivers or mountaineers.
We all know the NFL is violent, and the players know it even better. Most of them understand they're gambling their health, if not their lives, against earning a great deal of money.
There are many occupations, some celebrated by writers and the media in general, some not, that involve the risk of death or injury.
Jerry Hovis, Sonoma
Blame Southwest
Regarding "Maybe check the weather before traveling in the face of a storm" (Letters to the Editor, SFChronicle.com, Jan. 4): The Southwest flight delays and cancellations were not caused by a winter storm but by an antiquated software system coupled with a decades-old system of having to manage 20,000 frontline employees by phone calls. Every other airline operated with only minor flight disruptions.
My family was one of those stuck at our layover city for two days before making it home on a different airline. We missed a family event that we would have made if we used a different airline. We checked the weather and flight status before leaving for the airport and still got stuck.
Here is hoping Southwest will invest in the future and upgrade its technology so travelers will have confidence in them again.
Deborah Reback, Oakland
Single-payer plan needed
Regarding "All the dirty secrets about American medicine you should know before you die" (Open Forum, SFChronicle.com, Dec. 31): John Hayward's piece is meant as a cautionary tale but an essential point is nearly lost: It's all about money.
Hospitals and clinics pad their bills to soak insurance companies and private Medicare Advantage plans for all they can. Insurers protect their bottom line by rejecting claims and passing costs on to patients, who are stuck with exorbitant bills. Endless haggling over who pays for what generates mountains of paperwork and pushes costs even higher.
Those who can afford boutique care at providers like One Medical can get the treatment they need, even when they don't really need it; the rest of us struggle to access care without landing in bankruptcy court. This is what happens when health care is treated like a commodity and market forces drive decisions about treatment.
Almost in passing, Hayward says we need single-payer. He's right: If health care providers were paid directly by the government, with uniform standards of care and universal access, we would save a lot of money and be spared most of the horror stories Hayward so vividly relates.
Peter Shapiro, Oakland
Put tips into the price
About Opinion
Guest opinions in Open Forum and Insight are produced by writers with expertise, personal experience or original insights on a subject of interest to our readers. Their views do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Chronicle editorial board, which is committed to providing a diversity of ideas to our readership.
Read more about our transparency and ethics policies
Regarding " 'It's here to stay': These are the new restaurants eliminating tipping" (Restaurants, SFChronicle.com, Dec. 29): I support this enthusiastically — a worker's wage should not depend on the whims or moods of their customers. The right way to do it, though, is the French way — build the service charge into the menu price and make that clear. No surprises.
The French also build the tax into the menu price so there is no need for mental calculations to decide how much you can afford. What you see is what you pay. Small tips may be given for excellent service, but it's not a major part of the server's wage.
David Welch, Chico
Too many arms deals
Here are some recent headlines: "Japan eyes buying up to 500 Tomahawk missiles from U.S., report says (Japan Times), "Pacifist Japan unveils biggest military build-up since World War Two" (Reuters), "U.S. approves massive arms sale to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates to counter Iran" (PBS NewsHour), "US has increased arms sales abroad despite Biden election pledge" (The Guardian) and "Biden administration approves $735 million weapons sale to Israel" (Washington Post).
Does anyone else think this is going in the wrong direction?
David Romano, San Francisco


In September 2018, HansenCX announced the opening of new, larger Ho Chi Minh Office at AVIA Vietnam. Earlier in August 2018, HansenCX opened a new office in downtown Columbia, South Carolina to accommodate rapid growth and leverage the area's diverse high-technology talent pool.
In July 2017, HansenCX acquired Enoro Holding A/S, the Nordic market leading provider of Customer Information Systems (CIS) and Meter Data Management (MDM) systems for the energy sector. The acquisition will further expand the Company's energy footprint into a number of European countries namely Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria and positions the Company to support further deregulation of the energy markets across Eastern Europe.
Hansen is a Customer Care and Billing Solutions provider that develops, implements, and supports proprietary software and delivers Data Center, Application, and Implementation Services for the Energy, Pay TV and Telecommunications industries. Hansen has made major inroads into the utility vertical in Asia Pacific with a series of customer wins as well as acquisitions that have positioned the vendor well. In September 2015, Hansen signed a partnership that will deliver new mobile customer engagement and workforce platforms to more than 50 utilities representing more than 10 million customers. Derived from SUS's Smart Customer Mobile solution, customer engagement platform built to meet the unique needs of the utility industry, the new mobile technology from SUS seamlessly integrates into current Banner CIS and back-end system infrastructure.


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Australian Government unveils digital identity bill
Author Adrian Bole Date October 3, 2021
Comments: Leave a comment
The government has published an exposure draft of its long-awaited bill for the expansion of the country's federated digital identity system to state and territory governments and the private sector.
The exposure draft, which is open for feedback until October 27, follows two previous rounds of public consultation over the last 12 months comes as the government prepares to introduce the legislation into parliament.
The Trusted Digital Identity Bill will enshrine the privacy and consumer protections behind the system, including some of those within the existing trusted digital identity framework (TDIF), in law and establish long-term governance arrangements.
New privacy protections that are in addition to those already provided through the Privacy Act will also be created through the bill, while grounds for the disclosure of personal information to law enforcement agencies will be tightened.
Since the publication of a position paper in June, the government has added a tiered system of accreditation for entities that seeks to distinguish between the "two distinct, voluntary schemes" in the bill.
The first is the "TDIF accreditation scheme", which is for providers of identity services based on the policies and standards, while the "trusted digital identity system" refers to the government's digital identity system.
The bill indicates that "entities may choose to participate in [the trusted digital identity system] as providers or consumers of identity services", but they will subject to an additional set of requirements.
"Both schemes entail different benefits and levels of regulation which will affect an entity's choice to participate in the trusted digital identity system, be accredited or neither," a guide accompanying the bill [pdf] reads.
Applicants seeking accreditation will need to meet a number of conditions, including the trusted digital identity (TDI) rules – which exist separately to the bill – and the changing framework that is yet to be devised.
There are four types of TDIF accreditation: identity service provider, identity exchange, attribute service provider and credential service provider.
TDIF accredited providers will be subject to eight additional privacy protections not currently part of the Privacy Act, including a prohibition on data profiling and single identifiers, and restrictions on biometric information.
The bill also narrows the grounds for the disclosure of personal information to law enforcement agencies, with information only to be disclosed if the agency "reasonably suspects that a person has breached a law" or has "started proceedings against a person".
TDIF accredited providers that operated with the government's trusted digital identity system will be subject to addition protections, including ensuring there is no requirement for a person to use the digital identity.
Another requirements of entities participating in the trusted digital identity system is that the federal government's identity exchange, which is operated by Services Australia, "undertake technical binding".
The bill also broadens the definition of personal information under the Privacy Act to include "attributes, restricted attributes and biometric information" – effectively any "information that is associated with the individual" using the service.
State and territories without dedicated privacy legislation will need to enter into a contract arrangement requiring they meet the same level of privacy protections as the Australian Privacy Principles.
As previously disclosed, the legislation will establish a permanent Oversight Authority for governance, which will assess accreditation applications for both schemes and enforce some of the protections in the bill.
The Oversight Authority will have the power to suspend or revoke an entity's accreditation, as well as fine "onboarded entities" up to $220,000 for onboarding without approval or failing to destroy, and up to $330,000 for holding digital identity information outside Australia.
While the government is still considering which agency is best placed to perform the role, the Digital Transformation Agency, Treasury and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission have previously been suggested.
Commenting on the release of the exposure draft, employment minister Stuart Robert said it was the next step in a multi-year journey to ensure the legislation is robust and fit-for-purpose.
"The draft legislation… will build on strong safeguards already in place, providing the authority for a consistent set of rules that will protect Australians and Australia businesses," he said.
"We have been actively engaging all interest parties throughout the consultation process and this commitment to co-design and ongoing conversation continues with the opportunity to comment on the proposed legislation."
The government is planning to introduce the bill in the spring sitting of parliament.
This article is from the excellent folks at itnews, written by Justin Hendry.
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Stolen paintings by Paul Gauguin and Pierre Bonnard hung on an Italian factory worker's kitchen wall for almost 40 years, police have revealed.
Art collectors of ArtKabinett social media network always love a good art-detective story, so here you go.
Now worth at least 10.6m euros ($14 million), they were stolen from a collector's London home in 1970 and left on a train in Italy, with no indication of origin.
At a lost-property auction in 1975, the unsuspecting Fiat worker paid 45,000 Italian lire ($30) for them.
He hung them in his Turin home before taking them to Sicily when he retired.
The worker only grew suspicious about their origins when his son saw another Gauguin in a book and noticed similarities with the painting in his father's kitchen.
The man consulted experts and police were eventually alerted.
The Gauguin painting, titled 'Fruits sur une table, ou nature morte au petit chien' (Fruits on a table or still life with a small dog), shown here, had been painted in 1889 and 1s thought to be worth a minimum of 10m euros ($13 million), police said.
The Bonnard, 'La femme aux deux fauteuils' (Woman with two armchairs), is valued at 600,000 euros ($1 million).
According to a New York Times report published in June 1970, the two pieces were stolen from a property near Regent's Park in London by three men posing as burglar alarm engineers.
The men asked the housekeeper to make them a cup of tea. By the time she returned, the paintings had been taken from their frames and the men had made their escape.
Italian culture minister Dario Franceschini said: "It's an incredible story, an amazing recovery. A symbol of all the work which Italian art police have put in over the years behind the scenes."
Mariano Mossa, commander of Italy's heritage police, said he believed the paintings had been discarded on a train traveling from Paris to Turin after they were stolen.
"They were bought by an art-loving worker, who hung them for 40 years in his kitchen, first in Turin then in Sicily, after he retired," he added.
Gauguin was a post-impressionist master known for his creative relationship with Vincent van Gogh. His fellow Frenchman Pierre Bonnard is regarded as one of the greatest colourists of modern art.
Mariano Mossa
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Home India Are the templ...
Are the temple elephants being used to negatively portray India and Hinduism?
Nithin Sridhar
By Nithin Sridhar
"sham no astu dvipade, sham chatushpade" meaning "let the two-legged (humans) and the four legged (animals) attain welfare" says one of the famous mantras used in Hinduism.
India and Hinduism have always recognized animals as an inseparable part of their ecology and ecosystem and hence not only worshiped various animals but also prayed for their welfare. Many animals were brought into our festivals where they played an important role. Many animals are considered highly sacred and as an embodiment of God. In the case of elephants, they are considered as a representation of Lord Ganesha.
The manufactured discourse around temple elephants
On 15-August, Daily Mail published a story by Liz Jones that made shocking claims about the condition of temple elephants. The story begins dramatically "They seem like statues, or stuffed exhibits in a museum – 57 of them, studded around a patch of scrubby forest." Then it moves on to reveal how Nandan, a 43-year old tusker, has been chained to the same spot for 20-years; how Padmanabhan's leg was deliberately broken 15-years ago; and how Devi, a female elephant, has been chained to the same spot for 35 years and has never ever moved even a single inch.
Of course these tales are horrible, but thankfully it turns out that they may have been "manufactured". On 18-August, Prem Panicker, of Peepli.org published an article where he clearly established how many of the heart-wrenching facts narrated in the Daily Mail story were nothing more than a figment of imagination of the author.
This is what Prem Panicker writes: "As a Keralite, and a Hindu who has visited the temple on a few occasions, my reaction to this article would be bewildered amusement.
"But as a journalist and editor, my reaction is far more visceral. I have many problems with this piece – beginning with the fictions, the distortions and the exaggerations. Only some of them are cataloged above; all of them are examples of journalism so shockingly inept that they can be disproved given a functioning internet connection and a few minutes of time.
"Then there is the overt racism embedded in declarations of the order of 'The mahout, a vicious- faced little thug.'"
This is not to suggest that there are no issues with the upkeep of the temple elephants, only that the discourse depicted in the Daily Mail story not only did great disservice to the issue of status of temple elephants by opting for distortion and exaggeration instead of ground facts, but also it comes across as a deliberate hit-job trying to associate India and Hinduism with animal cruelty.
For example, in the Daily Mail article, the author states: "We discuss whether condemning the way the animals are kept will be perceived as attacking Hinduism (as so many people have told me since I arrived in Kerala, I will be insulting traditions going back thousands of years)."
So, a subtle suggestion is introduced in the discourse about how criticism of elephants may be perceived as criticism of Hinduism. But, in reality the author also appears to be doing the same thing. No body perceived various study and reports by experts regarding the issue of condition of temple elephants as a criticism of Hinduism. On the other hand, the author of Daily Mail story appears to be using distortions and fabrication of facts regarding temple elephants to make veiled commentary about India, Hinduism and Hindu practices. The question is, if there are no hidden agendas, why opt for distortion and fabrication?
Prem Panicker rightly sums up: "Such distortions and untruths harm the very cause the reporter purports to espouse, because they dent the credibility of not just the particular story, but of any reporter or activist raising this issue now and in the future."
The real issue surrounding temple elephants
The most important issue with respect to temple elephants is the fact that elephants by nature are independent and like to roam freely. They need large space to live and move. But, in temples there is a great restriction on their movements due to reduced availability of space compared to wilderness. Elephants are often chained due to this reason as well. Another issue is that of availability of clean water in sufficient amount. Also, the work schedule may be too hectic and the living shelters may not be up to the mark. Temple elephants often suffer from isolation as well. The extreme methods used in taming of elephants is a grave issue.
Traditionally, mahouts are usually classified into Reghawan, Yukthiman, and Balwan. Reghavan controls the elephant using love and care and develops a bond with his elephant. The Yukthiman uses wit and intelligence to outsmart the elephants and hence tame them. The Balwan uses forceful means to achieve the same.
The temple authorities, as well as the government, must make sure that only the first and second types of mahouts are employed in the handling of elephants. Secondly, various modern equipment and techniques can be combined with traditional methods of taming elephants so that the activity of taming and transporting of elephants are done as smoothly and peacefully as possible. Utmost care must be taken to not handle elephants violently.
Further, the living conditions and the infrastructure provided for the elephants including, food, water, shelter etc. must be conductive to the health and happiness of the elephants. Their working conditions must be improved and they must be allowed to rest more and work less.
The 2009 report "Captive Elephants of Temples of India" written by Surendra Varma and others observers that, if the temples were to cater to the welfare of elephants, there are only two ways. The first way, the report says is to put a complete end to the practice. This is what is being demanded by the Bangalore-based Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, which has filed the PIL in the Supreme Court for banning the use of elephants in religious functions and processions. But, there are some serious issues with this argument.
If a ban is demanded on keeping the elephants captive in temples, then such a ban must be demanded about any kind of captivity of animals. That would mean shutting down of not only various zoos across the country, but also prohibiting the practice of having pets at home. After all, if captivity itself is the issue and not the living conditions, then even a dog or a cat or even a cow are all in captivity in one way or the other. But, most people will definitely disagree with this suggestion.
Therefore, it is not proper to target a ban on captive elephants in the temples. If such a ban must be enforced, it must be equally enforced across the country on all kinds of animal captivity, including captivity of animals for scientific research. As such a blanket ban is not practical, it is better to improve the living conditions of the temple elephants. This is the second way suggested in the Surendra Varma and other's report. It suggests that the owners of elephants must be mandated to provide natural conditions for the living of elephants like large space with sufficient vegetation, presence of companions and keeping at least 2-3 elephants together. The report further suggests following measures to be stipulated for temples that own an elephant:
1. The work load on the elephants should not be too much. The work schedule of the elephants should not be packed with as many festivals as possible in order to generate higher income. This can be achieved by charging higher fee per festival but limiting the number of festivals that elephants attend.
2. Another aspect of work is that the elephants should be provided natural transit living conditions in between periods of work. This implies not only restricted duration of work for the elephants but also taking care of all its needs during working hours.
3. Temples within a region could think of setting up a common facility capable of holding elephants belonging to different owners. This can be done independently or in association with the forest department. This will ensure presence of companions for the elephants and provide socializing opportunities.
4. Feeding the elephant needs to be managed scientifically, that is, not only the nutrient needs of the elephant but also psychological stimulation can be an objective while feeding the elephant; cultivation of fodder crops by temples can be practiced.
5. Formulation of policies/ monitoring/ providing recommendations on the captive situation for temple elephants needs to be streamlined to a single person or group of persons.
6. Establishment of mobile veterinary units to provide health care for temple elephants.
7. Motivational measures to be implemented for boosting morale of mahouts and schemes to improve their welfare.
8. General public must be allowed to view elephants at a distance and not allowed to touch or abuse elephants during parades, festivals, transportation, or rest.
When seen in the backdrop of the recommendations of the Surendra Varma report, the Supreme Court's directive in the PIL by Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre is a very positive step.
The SC has ordered a head-count and registration of all captive elephants present in Kerala. It has asked the concerned authorities to issue "declaration of ownership" to the elephant owners. This will help in pinning responsibility for the health, safety and security of the elephants on the owners of the elephants and on the organizers of the festivals.
Cruelty towards animals is a ground reality. It is not just limited to treatment of elephants at few temples. When chickens or cows are slaughtered for food, even that is cruelty. When animals are hunted for their horns or fur; that is also cruelty. To use this issue of cruelty towards animals to create a negative discourse about India and Hinduism will serve no useful purpose. It will instead do a great damage to the genuine issue of animal welfare.
Prem Panicker
Temple elephants
I have been following this issue on various internet forums, all the posts from Kerala back the Liz Jones article. In fact some say it is worse than she reports.
Puja Mitra
yes its worse, i know , i have seen it myself in Kerala, in Tamil Nadu, in Karnataka, in Rajasthan, in Assam. I have worked with captive elephants and human-elephant conflict all my life, and articles like these make my blood boil..go out and do something to help these animals, instead of writing these poisonous articles that hide the truth and cause some controversy about some imagined slight to the oh so great hindu religion. I am a Hindu and im sick and tired of this religion being brought out as a magic cloak to cover all social ills perpetuated in its name!
Mr. Sridhar, India recently banned the keeping of dolphins in captivity since keeping dolphins that need a large area to move around in is cruel, keeping tigers in captivity for commercial gain is banned too (read circuses). Why do you think these bans are there? Because elephants like tigers and dolphins cannot be completely domesticated as a cow, or dog or hen can , hence the distinction between 'wild' and 'domestic' animal. India has wild elephants and captive elephants but they're not different species, they have the same needs of space, care, socialisation with their herd, ability to move around. Placing a howdah on them, adding chains,teaching it commands and then forcing it to kneel before some human created God, is unnatural and against its biological requirements. It's an animal that we are using, and we are using it badly. Just like Sea World is losing its popularity in the West, as people begin to realise that keeping large mammals in captivity is cruel and unnecessary, so it is that in India people are beginning to question the way we use Elephants, a large mammal that is not suited for captivity. You can argue as much as you like about our 4000 year old history, but it was cruel to capture them then, its cruel to keep them in captivity now. That's the undeniable truth. If we are okay with changing what was once tradition and reality, i.e. apartheid, colonialism then we don't have any justification in continuing to abuse animals in the name of religion and tradition , just because we have always done so. People are becoming aware and the youth of today don't have time for cruelty cloaked in religious jargon…and that's exactly what an elephant in a temple is. It doesn't belong there, it doesn't add to your faith in any way, it only take away from it.
and since the dolphin ban , i don't see zoos being closed down, and till you have visited every single captive elephant in india as Mr. Surendra Varma did, please don't criticise his findings, do your own research before you start debunking the meticulous work done by others.
whose creating a negative discourse about india? by highlighting that you are the one whose moving the discussion away from animal welfare…you tell me how is a temple that can't afford to keep even one elephant properly going to provide it with the socialisation it needs with other elephants? As usual you only have criticism and no constructive ideas. Go see all those captive elephants yourself first, I have…I helped edit Mr. Varma's report, and I am shocked at how you can use a public platform to criticise his work, without going and checking the ground reality as you say, yourself!! Killing a chicken is cruel, keeping an elephant in captivity is cruel and there are good strong activists fighting against both, do the world a favour, and use your pen to support these poor animals who have no one to speak for them, they are the great voteless and voiceless majority, its just sad that a man-made religion is more important than an animal created by Nature who is right here, right now and suffering. Humans care more for their myths than for the natural world around them. But remember one thing, the temple doesn't give you oxygen, food or water, nature does and elephants are part of that natural ecosystem, they were here before the temples were, but sadly they will be gone, while the temples will remain as testimony to man's hubris in imagining that only he has dominion over all beings to use as he pleases. The greatest irony is that people like you will be gone, before the earth really starts to shut down and you won't live to see the outcome of the issues we have all helped to exacerbate….we're fighting a war against nature and we're winning, the only thing we don't realise is that we are going to our own doom. Captive elephants are an unnecessary and cruel relic from the past, give these poor creatures a chance to live, why the hell would you want them to keep suffering ????
Sex Kitten Party
preachhhhhh sister!
AnonymouseIsAWoman
Oh, please. The reason Hindism is seen negatively in other countries has little, if anything, to do with temple elephants. Dowry murders, dowry extortion, the mere existence of dowry, burning Dalit children alive, killing Dalits for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and murdering someone for allegedly eating beef do a much more thorough job of making Hindism look bad. That and the blathering Hindutva nonsense and racism we hear from South Asian neigbhors and colleagues here in the West.
We find amusement in the eagerness of South Asians to point at alleged US racism, etc. Given the history of India, and the mass murders in "communal riots", it is like a bad joke for us to hear.
Temple elephants aren't making you look bad, the way you treat them makes you look bad. Duh. If your culture reveres elephants so much, why do you beat them? Very simple question. If you don't want your country to look like crap for the way it treats it's animals, don't treat your animals like crap, and especially don't do it in the name of religion!!! Seems reasonable enough. Yeah, that whole rape epidemic going on over there isn't helping ya either 😉 Ya might want to do something about that if you're trying to improve your rep to the rest of the world.
Rob Booker's Review of 2020


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My statement :
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Postgres VERSION: PostgreSQL 9.3.10