The Interior

Sun coming up through lounge car window.

This post is about the interior - not the interior of the wide brown land - but the interior of the train we're using to cross it.

Thinking about it, we're spending 48 hours in a kind of long skinny hotel. Up one end of it (behind me, as we're sitting looking at where we've been, not where we're going) is a 132 tonne diesel electric locomotive.

It hauls us along at between 70 and 80 kph most of the time. The Bullet Train it isn't.

Between Adelaide and Alice Springs there is only one loco. We pick up a second one at the Alice, not because there are hills to climb, but in case one breaks down.




I have no idea why the same precaution isn't taken south of Alice Springs. Let me know when you find out.

The whole shebang is about 800 meters long, as this particular unit is what is referred to as a "double". You can go on a long walk - about 1600 meters there and back, although "there" is moveable if you get my drift.

During that walk you will traverse a number of Gold Twin Sleeper cars, Gold Twin Sleeper cars with superior cabins, Gold Single Seater cars, Red seat carriages, Platinum Sleeper cars (where the hoi poloi hang out), a Gold Outback Explorer lounge car, three Gold Queen Adelaide restaurant cars, and a Red cafe car.




The colors refer to how much you've spent. I don't think I'd like to spend 48 hours in a seater car, but there are plenty on the train who do. There are also crew cars, power vans, luggage vans and a motorail wagon carrying vehicles, but you can't walk to those.

We're in a Gold sleeper car. It is ensuite, with comfy fold-out beds. I think the Platinum wagons have double beds, but not being a member of the hoi poloi, I'm not allowed in to find out. I slept like a log last night, which is unusual in the sense that I don't sleep well in things that move.





The tucker served in the dining car is first class. It would be interesting to get a look inside the kitchen/galley (dunno what you call it on a train).

I took the shots early before most of my fellow travelers were out of bed so I didn't have to dodge around them taking photos.





The altered door button sign indicates the laid back attitude displayed by the staff. They haven't felt the need to restore it to the original.

North by North West

One sure way of understanding the timeless quality and vastness of this country is to cross it slowly - by train.

Traveling this way is also a great deal more comfortable than by aircraft. Sitting in an aluminum tube with your lower limbs confined to the point of slow torture detracts somewhat from any appeal of the vista presented at 38000 feet.

Those who settled the country, especially those parts of it we're traversing at the moment, must have been made of stern stuff. There was no air conditioning, instant communication or swift medical help back t
I have some slight understanding of the third factor, living my early years in relative remoteness in a family where asthma was gifted in our genes, and watching my sister and mum disappear in the local ambulance, most often in the early hours of the morning, down a very poor road on their way to hospital.

The journey took so long that the asthma attack had usually resolved itself by the time the hospital was reached - obviously always positively, as my sister is still hale and hearty, if sixty years older.

Given the aged demographic on this train, the ready availability of the RFDS is a comfort for all.





The laid back nature of this style of travel appeals, I presume to this demographic. One of the advantages of age is the right to refuse to hurried. In TYOOL* 2013, this Zen like state is difficult to achieve.





The train is comfortable, although beginning to show its age. The "new" has well and truly worn off. Everything seems to work however, and the stability on the standard gauge track is superior to what I've become used to on Queensland's 3 foot 6 set up.

Fellow travelers, who have done the same kind of journey in European trains are, however, scathing of the ride. I'm OK with the train moving about a bit. It adds rhythm to the journey.





Evening takes us towards Woomera, after a crew change at Port Augusta. Apparently we took on 4 drivers - 2 who rest and 2 who drive.




I hope they don't get their roles confused.






*The year of our Lord.

Blogging the Ghan

Taken with my iPhone. I have no idea who that is....

Today we (my bride & I) head north from Adelaide, destination Darwin, on the Ghan.

I'll have a go at blogging the journey, but to a large extent, this will be governed by the Telstra network as we head up the line.

The trip takes about 48 hours, so there will be plenty of time to post. It's probably about the most relaxing way to cover the ground, with very little organisation required.

The train is a long one (the season is at it's height), so there will be a long walk to dinner. 

It's interesting to compare Great Southern Rail's staff culture with that off the major airlines. On the whole they're more friendly, perhaps a bit less polished, and they seem to enjoy what they do.

They are certainly more laid back than your average airline steward, and the journey should be better for that.

We've just cleared Parafield, and will be a long time before we swing north to begin to head inland.

That's OK.

There's no hurry......

The Tasmanian Solution

 
We've heard about the Pacific Solution. How about the Tasmanian Solution?

Julian Burnside  AO QC writes with a great blend of common sense and clarity.

But I still reckon he's been reading this blog. Remember this post?

The only real difference in his solution is that he confines it to Tasmania. And that's the only bit I'd disagree with. Why not specify other regional localities?

An extract -

The "rural idea" would see all asylum seekers released into the community on interim visas subject to a few main conditions: they are entitled to work, they are entitled to Centrelink and Medicare benefits; they must stay in touch with the immigration department by regular reporting to a Centrelink office and, until their refugee status is decided, they must live in a specified rural area.
There are about 96,000 unfilled jobs in country Australia, but even if every asylum seeker stayed on full Centrelink benefits, it would cost about $500m a year. And all of that money would be spent in rural towns, on accommodation, food and clothing. And it represents a saving of about $3.5bn a year on what the present system costs.
These savings could be applied to national infrastructure projects, including public housing projects for homeless Australians. All of this would represent a significant boost to the economies of country towns, and a boost to the construction industry.

It should be given a chance to work - a trial.

We won't see that from the current government of course. Refugees are political collateral and have been since 2001, as far as they're concerned.
 

Same Same

These two news stories are noteworthy when put together.

The first (from the UK’s Telegraph), reports on commentary from the US (predominantly the US Right) accusing Obama of “weakness” in the face of the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

The second (from the BBC) reports a spate of bombings which has killed 5000 in Iraq so far this year.

It seems that any action, short of military invasion, and the habitual use of firepower is defined by the Republican rump as “weakness”.

If avoiding military intervention is defined as “weakness”, it might be worth considering the results of “strength” as applied to the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Where is Iraq now?

Is it the bastion of democracy, the haven of peace that was held out by the supporters of Operation Iraqi Freedom?

Well, no.

Iraqis are killing each other at a rate unparalleled since the height of the insurrection that followed the Coalition of the Willing’s attempt to rescue them from tyranny. Sounds a bit like Syria, doesn’t it?

Perhaps that 2003 intervention was well-intentioned, but we remember the cliché about the path to hell being paved with good intentions, and hell is what has been delivered by that same intervention.

And then there’s the small matter of over 4000 US casualties, and thousands more maimed and traumatised for life, and over 100000 dead Iraqis.

So in the parallel universe occupied by the US Right, testosterone and posturing trump caution and diplomacy. But then, the Yanks rarely learn anything from history (Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan).

I believe this mindset is called “American exceptionalism”.

Exceptional stupidity is a more accurate description.

Francis the R4 Fancier

Pope Francis has been given a Renault R4 by an Italian priest.

Apparently, Francis used one of these things when he lived in Argentina. They're quite popular there.The R4 itself is much-maligned.

Despite their resemblance to a tin can on wheels, they are a robust and versatile vehicle. Back in the day, I had a fondness for Renaults, having owned  three R12s, and an R16 over the years.

The R16 never ran, being a failed restoration project, but that's another story. The R12s were great.

I drove a mate's R16 on a journey from Darwin to Brisbane, and they're a very impressive piece of kit. The only contemporary vehicle that covered long distances over poor roads better was the Peugeot 404. I owned two of those.

Back to the R4, one of which I drove in the seventies. Once you got used to the gearchange which resembled a pump handle protruding from the dashboard, it was a surprisingly comfortable drive.

If Francis fancies R4s, he's likely to be a breath of fresh air in the papacy.

Deja Vu

As pointed out in my last post, I've seen fifteen federal elections - enough of them to notice a clear pattern.

As of yesterday, the Coalition's back in power after a six year hiatus. During this six years the country changed for the better.

Every school I work in is accessible to kids in wheelchairs thanks to the BER.

There will be a National Disability Insurance Scheme. 

Real school reform is ahead - a legacy of the Gonski Report.

We saw six years of growth despite the worst global financial disaster since the Great Depression, and dodged a recession.

The policies listed above are now bi-partisan, but none would have become reality without Labor being in power. The Coalition has simply been left with no choice but to embrace them.

The only black mark on the outgoing government's record is their signing up for the bi-partisan brutality on asylum seekers.

I was around when McMahon, Fraser and Howard were defeated.  I also saw the demise of Whitlam, Keating and now Rudd.

I observed a fundamental difference between progressive and conservative government which becomes stark when viewed at the end of a period in power.

Apart from the end of the Coalition government in 1972, during which term I was dragged into the army without the privilege of having a say in it, nothing around me really changed during any conservative administration.. This conscription aberration marks the only exception.

On the other hand, when Labor lost power, invariably there was something positive left to show for their period of government.

In Whitlam's case, it was human rights and disability legislation; after Hawke/Keating, an industrial accord, Medicare and superannuation reform, and after Gillard/Rudd, the BER, schools reform (Gonski) and the NDIS.

After McMahon, Fraser and Howard departed government, nothing that fundamentally improved the lives of ordinary Australians, especially those suffering some form of disadvantage, was palpable. There was, of course, the GST - a tax, after all - introduced by the Howard government.

I guess it's a product of the culture of conservative government. By their very nature, conservatives are concerned with the preservation of the status quo. Unfortunately, this is usually to serve vested interest, because vested interest has the money (and therefore the power) to buy votes.

If you doubt that, check the Palmer phenomenon. It's frighteningly similar what happens routinely on the other side of the Pacific..

The other positive note about this election is that the change of government occurred without strife or bloodshed. This should never be taken for granted.

The worse it gets is childish vandalism as observed in my last post.

I'm going to enjoy the spectacle of Metronome Tone trying to keep his promises. Given the likely weirdness in the new Senate, that will be fascinating.

 It's always possible, of course, that the Coalition will pull a Noddy Newman and break all their commitments. Look out for a commission of audit.

Watch this space.




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