Despite the current wet spell, Sydney's dams are only 60% full and half the state is still drought effected. We'll have to wait and see if the current La Nina phenomenon lasts long enough to further improve the situation, but trends show that the dryer El Nino periods are getting longer and consequently, the countryside dryer.

Why then, you may well ask, haven't I subscribed to "green" electricity and installation of water tanks? Both are within my means. The answer is that I'm reluctant to make it easier for the authorities to shirk their responsibilities for the provision of basic infrastructure and the imposition of charges to tackle climate change.

Consumers who take the laudable action of paying extra for green power or pay hundreds (or thousands) of dollars to install water tanks deserve praise, but their effects are puny in the larger scheme of things and make it easier for the government to abrogate their responsibilities.

The effects of climate change are felt by everyone and the mitigation costs should also be borne by the community at large. More so than the provision of small subsidies as happens now.

Electricity authorities should have fixed and mandated levels of green energy generation, with the extra costs met by all consumers. Why should the concerned few pay extra and still wear the effects of coal fired power?

Water tanks installed on private property should be no different from the public dams, water mains, pumping stations and (dare I say it) desalination plants. They should be paid for and maintained by the water authorities from the revenues collected from water consumers. Water taken from the tanks should be metered or calculated by some other mechanism, and added to the householders water bill.

I'm sure that many more households would be willing to install tanks if an equitable scheme was devised, perhaps saving the authorities the huge sums needed to expand existing facilities. Not very altruistic sentiments, I know, but I'm willing to donate land for water storage and pay increased costs for power if the conditions are acceptable.

With inflation on the rise and the Reserve Bank poised to increase interest rates, now is not the right time to provide a tax break.

Given that the planned tax cuts are a result of the previous government trying to buy its way back into office, and the mood of the electorate was for the revenues to be used to restore services that were neglected by Howard and Co, I think the government would be forgiven if they reneged on at least a portion of the cuts.

Alternatively, they could cut the tax rates while simultaneously increasing the percentage of compulsory superannuation contributions.

Rudd is keeping faith with the voters by staying true to his election promises, no matter how outlandish. That faith will be tested if the promised cuts are provided only to be removed by the Reserve Bank.

We spent the festive season with extended family in the Northern Rivers district of New South Wales. The drought was well and truly broken while we were there ... think torrential rain, wild surf and local flooding.

On our return, and as luck would have it, we beat the flooding of the Pacific Highway by a couple of hours.

It's been eight years since I've done the drive north from Sydney to Queensland. The highway has improved with some nice stretches of dual carriageway, but a lot of it is still the two lane goat track remembered from decades ago. I suppose that's why the authorities have chosen to regularly punctuate the inferior bits with fixed speed cameras.

The cameras are effective in making this driver aware of his speed, but you have to wonder their overall effectiveness when Victoria scored the worst road toll between Christmas and New Year. This is the state littered with cameras, but unlike other states, they don't warn drivers of their location, a move that various road safety "know it alls" have been advocating for years.

When you consider that Victoria has arguably the best roads and the strictest road laws in the country, their woeful Christmas road toll shows that punitive measures aimed at drivers don't always have the desired results.

And one other thing ... Would the NSW authorities please get some consistency when allocating speed limits on dual carriageways. Various sections of the Pacific Highway were posted at either 100 or 110 km/h with no noticeable difference in layout or facilities. These can lead to nasty consequences during periods of double demerits.

Used to be eight, but the renovations have done nothing for the readership! Perhaps I should post more ...

Anyway, "The Pigs" is taking a break but hopefully should be back in the New Year.

Many thanks to all those who've visited and left comments.

Have a safe and happy New Year.

Rather, the ARL should have either stuck with the status quo, or reverted to the 3.00pm kick-off.

I doubt the players, fans, sponsors or TV audience will be enamoured with a final that starts in daylight and ends in near darkness.

Update: What did I tell you?

Update: It's been pointed out to me that those who follow the county's premier football code really couldn't give a rats!

AUSTRALIA'S man in London, the former Howard government minister Richard Alston, has emerged as one of three frontrunners for the federal presidency of the Liberal Party.

Yes, that Richard Alston!

Hopefully the Liberal's won't waste any time selecting Richard. The Labor party keenly anticipates him taking up office.

It's been suggested that Peter Costello, rather than planning to leave parliament, will lie low for 18 months or so before challenging the Liberal Party leadership. Batteries recharged, he will take what he's always regarded as rightfully his.

I feel this is far fetched. If he'd really thought that way he'd have displayed some bottle and challenged Howard for the leadership two years ago.

Skepticism aside, I hope he eventually does take the opposition leadership, as it will go a long way to ensure another term for the Labor government. I base this assumption on an extraordinary interview he had with Virginia Trioli on ABC's Lateline last Friday night.

The transcripts are here, but to get the full delusional feel you should watch the videoed version.

A few snippets follow ...

When you look at Labor, Labor didn't run on policy at all. All Labor ran on was that you could have some kind of continuity with a fresh face at the top and that was their strategy.

Was he awake during the campaign? I'd have thought that Work Choices and climate change were two major areas of difference.

[Rudd] didn't put forward any substantive policy differences in my view, and we could have muted that appeal of Labor if we'd had a fresher face, but we didn't.

Read 'fresher face' as 'my' face. Pity the polls didn't back this assumption.

When you think of the announcements that we made, huge announcements like the Murray Darling basin, we cut tax in the Budget, we had federal intervention in the Northern Territory, these are huge announcements.

But, and the public by and large agreed with them, overwhelmingly agreed with them. But they just weren't in the mood for hearing new policies from a Government which they regarded as having been in office for so long.

These comments prove just how out of touch the Conservatives were regarding the mood of the electorate. They thought that the usual bribes and a big announcement would get them over the line, while the electorate's attention was firmly focussed on the long term consequences of Work Choices.

The Murray Darling announcement was bold. Pity it was thought up by Howard in the holiday season, without consultation with anyone, and was costed on the back of a fag packet. The public had well and truly moved on by the time the negotiations with the States were taking place.

Unfortunately, the Labor party was spooked into matching the Liberal's tax policy. Voters were thinking that the good times wouldn't last for ever, and it was about time the government started banking some of the proceeds of the mining boom. I think they could have promised to bank half of Howard's tax cuts and still have won the election.

By the way, it's not going to be nearly as big a majority as was first thought, but I wanted to see the Government return. I think it's in Australia's interests, I always will.

I wonder what Costello thinks is a comprehensive defeat? Obviously not a 16 seat majority into a 20 seat deficit.

Well we weren't going to take [Work Choices] any further, that was just a complete Labor furphy in the campaign.

But, yes, there were people that were genuinely scared by a very good PR campaign. But I never saw masses of people on the TV who had been put out of work by our IR laws.

That voters would take a long term view would be surprising to a political party that always aimed policy at the baser instincts of the electorate.

The end of the interview was telling, when Trioli tried to get Costello to state his long term intentions ...

VIRGINIA TRIOLI: I'm going to want to hear the never ever, ever line here from you, Mr Costello.

(Peter Costello laughs)

Take you time Peter. Put the feet up for a year or so. Feel free to challenge when ready. Labor needs you!