Show me the money...

[Wayno]

I created this unprioritised list of Adelaide's major projects/dreams - what an eye-opener. Lucky my calculator has 14 decimal places! I've included a "Reasonable Cost" and "Blowout Cost" for each item - feel free to add/change if you have better info:

• * $1.5b - $2.0b: Marj (or upgrade existing hospital)
  * $1.0b - $1.5b: Bi-directional southern exressway (with improvements towards Victor Harbour)
  * $0.4b - $0.6b: Upgrade South Road (end-to-end)
  * $0.5b - $1.0b: Streamline other roads (city-loop, underpasses everywhere, better bike lanes...)
  * $2.5b - $3.0b: Electrify Train System, Upgrade Rollingstock, Some tunnelling
  * $0.3b - $0.5b: Reasonably extensive tram system (through CBD & Nth Adelaide, 2-3 lines out to suburbia)
  * $0.8b - $1.2b: West-end Sporting precinct & Waterfront rejuvenation
  * $0.1b - $0.3b: Other Civic developments in CBD & Parklands (vic park grandstand, vic square, festival theatre)
  * $1.5b - $2.0b: Desal plant + new dam wall
  * $0.2b - $0.3b: Upgrade public schooling facilities

GRAND TOTAL = $8.8billion - $12.4billion. Gosh...Definitely shows our reliance upon the sloooowly emerging mining boom (start of rant - how come WA is so far ahead with their mining boom?!??!? what the hell happened? end of rant)

[monotonehell]

LOL have you checked your other pants to see if you have any spare change?

I'd agree with a tram network around the city and up to North Adelaide, but our suburbs are too flat and spread out for a tram to be useful. Buses can cover more ground and get services to where people are. Heavy rail for point to point travel between population centres (with limited stops), trams around town and a bus network with some busways so peak services can slip past peak hour traffic, I believe is the answer.

[Wayno]

LOL have you checked your other pants to see if you have any spare change?

I'd agree with a tram network around the city and up to North Adelaide, but our suburbs are too flat and spread out for a tram to be useful. Buses can cover more ground and get services to where people are. Heavy rail for point to point travel between population centres (with limited stops), trams around town and a bus network with some busways so peak services can slip past peak hour traffic, I believe is the answer.

i found a $20 note in my jacket last night (had not worn it for months). i'll drop it with Mike Rann when i'm next passing his office

Yep, agree with you on trams vs buses. This was just a simple exercise to highlight all possible big ticket expenses and the bottom line number (give or take a billion dollars)...

[monotonehell]

i found a $20 note in my jacket last night (had not worn it for months). i'll drop it with Mike Rann when i'm next passing his office

You can give pass it to me.. I'll make sure it um .. gets to Rann... >.>

You're right. We do need some investment in infrastructure now to save pain later. Is the money there yet is the question.

[Bulldozer]

(start of rant - how come WA is so far ahead with their mining boom?!??!? what the hell happened? end of rant)

Mining has been big business in WA since colonisation. SA has had a copper boom, but that's it. WA had a gold boom, and ever since then butt-loads of iron and aluminium mining. They've really done well out of iron in the last few years as the price of ore has skyrocketed, plus they've got big gas projects as well in recent years.

[Jim]

We have, or about to be given back $40 billion in tax cuts, I would have much rather had it spent on infrastructure. Or if we wanted to save people more money in the long term and reduce co2 it would have put a solar hot water system on every Ausie house. Probably would have met our 10year Kyoto target in one go!

[frank1]

It's not like the state gov. is spending $8.8b out of its own pocket. Some of those projects you listed are partly being funded by the federal gov. which reduces the cost.

[Jim]

Besides the wasted opportunity to do something more in the way of infrastructure instead of $40billion in tax cuts, surely our big super funds and banks should be investing in infrastructure instead of sub-prime and US debt.

[Shuz]

Sad thing is society wants both tax cuts and improved services. Not everyone is as smart as us to know that you either get one or the other. But if any politician out there actually has the nerve to say in plain English - "I'm not going to give you tax cuts, so that I can spend the money on better infrastructure for you to use instead. That means more money into your hospital, roads and education to give better services for everyone, than for you to save $40 a week just so little Johnny can get that awesome DVD thats out now."

[Will]

Sad thing is society wants both tax cuts and improved services. Not everyone is as smart as us to know that you either get one or the other. But if any politician out there actually has the nerve to say in plain English - "I'm not going to give you tax cuts, so that I can spend the money on better infrastructure for you to use instead. That means more money into your hospital, roads and education to give better services for everyone, than for you to save $40 a week just so little Johnny can get that awesome DVD thats out now."

Exactly. I sometimes wonder why politicians dont explain such things. I am sure the vast majority of Australians would prefer not to get a tax cut if it meant improved social services or infraestructure. For example we could have got dental covered by medicare for less than half the value of the last tax cut...

[monotonehell]

Exactly. I sometimes wonder why politicians dont explain such things. I am sure the vast majority of Australians would prefer not to get a tax cut if it meant improved social services or infraestructure. For example we could have got dental covered by medicare for less than half the value of the last tax cut...

Because the media works on soundbytes. Anything that a pollie can't sum up in three or four words can't be communicated. Unfortunately the majority of our fellow citizens are reactionary ignorants who only listen to the soundbytes that commercial TV news gives them, and cant be bothered to look into anything beyond that. We've become the "what's in it for ME?" culture.

Am I a cynic?

[Wayno]

We've become the "what's in it for ME?" culture.

I'll help stamp out egocentricity, but only if i get something for my troubles...

[Will]

Exactly. I sometimes wonder why politicians dont explain such things. I am sure the vast majority of Australians would prefer not to get a tax cut if it meant improved social services or infraestructure. For example we could have got dental covered by medicare for less than half the value of the last tax cut...

Because the media works on soundbytes. Anything that a pollie can't sum up in three or four words can't be communicated. Unfortunately the majority of our fellow citizens are reactionary ignorants who only listen to the soundbytes that commercial TV news gives them, and cant be bothered to look into anything beyond that. We've become the "what's in it for ME?" culture.

Am I a cynic?

In that case I too am a cynic. I recall in the past election I posted quite excessively complaining about how society had become 'mean and tricky' and how the previous government had forgotten that we live in a society with human beings and not in an economy with units of production.