Terrible news yesterday that a small plane with 22 passengers is missing. This is not unusual and I would not normally have focused on it, but this particular situation has a personal connection. The plane was flying from Pokhara in Nepal to Jomsom in the Annapurna region. Marilyn and I took that same flight in 2010 and I remember we were shocked to see the piles of wrecked planes at the ends of the runways.
Jomson Airport is over-shadowed by mountains, Dhaulagiri and Nilgiri, both over 8000m high and the air is so thin, planes can only fly in the mornings. We knew at the time we were taking a risk but were so excited to be in the Himalayas at last, we didn't give it a second thought.
As expected, Mr Albanese's acceptance speech made promises that he would make sure politics in Australia would be done differently. Immediately, an article appeared on the Crikey website quoting Professor Ariadne Vromen from ANU, suggesting four ways immediate improvements could be made. They are:
1. Online petitions (using the 'gold standard' set by the Scottish Parliament)
2. Town hall meetings like those initiated by Cathy McGowan in the lead up to the 2010 election.
3. Citizens' assemblies
4. Advocacy and Transparency (from groups such as Australian Council of Social Services and Vinnies)
Do it now, Albo! Make an announcment immediately to show that you are serious.
As a footnote: I wonder if Anthony Albanese is the first Australian Prime Minister to quote Billy Bragg. In his announcement last night of his new cabinet he used these words: "Just because you're going forward, doesn't mean I'm going backwards." Good stuff! We don't hear enough of Billy Bragg.
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