Lack of government funding puts public transport at risk

Perth’s rapid development and dramatic population growth is putting an increased amount of strain on the city’s public transport system. In recent years planning authorities have been put under immense pressure from the community to improve and extend the public transport services and to better plan for the current and future needs of the community. But how will this integral expansion of infrastructure and services be financially supported?

According to Australian Conservation Federation research, in the last ten years the state and federal governments spent three times more on the development and maintenance of WA roads, compared to other transport infrastructure including the Mandurah railway line. However at the same time the government is crying out for the public to move away from their reliance on motor vehicles and make use of the public transport services supplied. These efforts have been immensely successful, with The West Australian reporting an increase in the use of public transport by 70% in the last decade. The challenge now lies with the government to support this increase by meeting the demands, providing additional services and ultimately increasing funds to support the appropriate level of expansion.

According to the Public Transport Plan, by the year 2031 residents of Perth are expected to double their use of public transport. In accordance with this estimate, I believe the amount of allocated funding that the government intends to provide to support such an increase, should directly reflect this growth. Without this financial support, the willingness of the community to make use of these services will diminish as it becomes increasingly difficult and inconvenient to travel via public transport.

911. Fact or fiction?

Todd Heisler

As the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on America dawn upon the world, many have taken the time to reflect upon the events that took place on this devastating day and the reasons behind these attacks.

 I myself am one these people, however through my reflections and a little research, I have been faced with an abundance of views that the September 11 attacks were not in fact attacks at all, instead, planned occasions and demolitions.

I cannot say that these views have come as a complete shock, as I have heard on various occasions that there seems to be conspiracy theories circulating the 'attacks', however until now I had never really looked into these explanations and what they proposed.

The view that presented itself as most shocking was the idea that the 9/11 attacks were planned by the American Government, who collaborated with individuals to carry out the plane hijackings, to make the events seem like a terrorist attack. This theory supports the idea that the planned attacks could be blamed on Al-Qaeda, giving the American leaders a reason to invade Iraq.

By why did they want to invade Iraq you ask? The reason must have been significant enough to counter for the tragic loss of almost 3000 lives. The answer conspiracists present is OIL!

These theorists believe that the U.S. was acting on behalf of an oil industry desperate to get its hands on Mesopotamian oil. The transaction of Mesopotamian oil had long been denied as a result of sanctions that prohibited business between U.S. companies and Saddam Hussein.

This idea that September 11, 2001 was a day of planned destructive activity is a theory that indigestible to me. I seriously believe that the leaders and decision makers of America would not begin to even consider a trade of almost 3000 of their people's lives, just to have the go ahead to invade a country with war.

The devastation of the events and the heart-ache that follows them to this day makes it almost unquestionable that these attacks were planned by terrorists, who have no value for their own lives let alone the lives of innocent civilians.

You've got to try harder Myer

The Commonwealth Bank has estimated that Australians spent $9.5 billion dollars on online purchases last year and retail giant Myer has decided it wants a slice of the cake. An announcement earlier in the month has confirmed that Australia's largest department store has decided to bite the bullet and cut the cost of shipping for goods and services purchased from their online store. This move is an effort to sway the Aussie men and women away from overseas retail stores and back to their home turf.

As I am sure you've all heard, the retail sector has been having a bit of a hard time trying to navigate through a number of economic changes as of recent times, one including the increased value of our Aussie dollar. All of a sudden we feel like millionaires, when for the first time, in a long time we can shop through American online retailers and feel like we are getting a bargain.

So is Myers move to cut shipping costs really going to sway us back? Personally as a 'struggling uni student', if I know I can purchase something at a lower cost internationally, I'm in. My highest priority at this point is not really to support our local companies and keep the Aussie dollar in Australia; it’s to keep it in my bank account.

Myer has to realise that we all want more bang for our buck. So by offering free shipping on goods and services that I can drive five minutes away to collect myself, isn't really going to work. Bigger price cuts and better sales promotions are needed to support their online and in store service, after all with the rise in overseas online shopping, we are all more aware of the true value of these products.

The growth and popularity of online shopping has received a considerable amount of media coverage over recent times and our online shopping habits are expected to grow by over 25% in the next five years. With this high rate of growth, I think it's time that major retailers in Australia pull their finger out and realise that if they aren't willing to present competitive prices with those available online, then they are going to continue in their slump.

Eat, Sleep, Google

                                          

Gmail, Google Apps, Google Docs... It seems Google is taking over the world. Seriously, when was the last time you heard someone say "I know, I'll Yahoo it"? Personally I can't even tell you off the top of my head what the yahoo search engine looks like. This may be due to the fact that the last time I 'Yahood' I would have been in a pinafore dress in junior school.

Google has come a long way from the days in which it was just a second though search engine. Believe it or not, the company which emerged from a back garage in California, made $29.32 billion in 2010 and has approximately 7.5 billion visits a day.

So how does Google make its money? Ads, ads and more ads. Have you ever noticed the sponsored results you see when performing a Google Search? Google AdWords is an auction based advertising program, which allows advertisers to deliver their content in line with specific search queries. Every time we click the links to these sites, the Google money tin gets a little heavier. A great advertising medium for companies to reach their target audience don't you think?

The global Google Empire also includes Google Voice, Shopping, Books, Translate, Navigator, Youtube and wait, look at where we all are... Blogger!

And I can't forget the amazing Google Earth and Google Maps. Only the other day, I was strolling the streets of Singapore whilst lounging in the comfort of my bed in Perth.  Prior to their arrival who knew that we would ever be able to visit the Great Wall of China and then pop on over to the Eiffel Tower in a matter of clicks? What will be next...Google TV or how about Google Airways? Watch out Richard Branson!

Fun Fact: The name 'Google' is a play on the word 'Googol,' a mathematical term for the number one, followed by 100 zeros. Larry Page & Sergey Brin branded their company by this name as it reflects the mission to organise what seems like an infinite amount of information on the web.