su·per·cil·i·ous

So we hear today that the plan is for the 'new' Tcard to run in parallel to existing ticketing systems to avoid past problems. The plan is for their to be a trial period where commuters would progressively switch over to electronic ticketing (or avoid it if you are one of the losers on the new pricing regime - although the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal will be asked to develop a common fare structure. They have already said that new prices should be based on a flag-fall and a distance based charge - and have criticised the level of discount available for periodical tickets - which could see people from Newcastle and the Blue Mountains paying much more for their tickets. Given these are both ALP voting areas - it will be interesting to see how a risk adverse Iemma government will respond to that kind of suggestion. 

Of course the Garnaut Report got handed down today, but even before that we had some senior bureaucrats out talking up how everyone has to be encouraged to use less energy. Indeed water restrictions have proven that we can make drastic changes to lifestyles in order to save the planet - with most households using one third the water they used just a few years ago. Time to focus on energy consumption now eh? 

But on the same day we have news that V Australia has launched the sale of tickets - with flights from SYD and BNE to LAX taxes inclusive of $1699. This at the same time that we hear that British Airways is flying many routes with 25% of seats empty as fuel levy ç prices start to bite. That is only going to have impacts on their frequencies and I guess we will soon hear of yet another airline laying off staff as their response.

Anyway.. the week has been a tough one - but with new staff starting on Monday I decided to make everyone chip in for a bit of a working bee this afternoon to get offices cleaned up, storage sorted out and the like. I took the opportunity to get my office back in order again after a couple of particularly nasty weeks - and made a bit of symbolic move by removing the picture of JP that I have had up in my office the last couple of years. I'm not sure of how I feel about having to do it - but I guess it had to be done. Hmm.