ASIA TO THE RESCUE!

There is always a drought somewhere in Australia so more rainfall is highly desirable. New climate modelling suggests that 'Asian Haze' has boosted Australian rainfall -- but, true to form, the Greenies still manage to find a dark and gloomy lining in even that silver cloud

New research suggests that elevated particle emissions resulting from increased economic activity in Asia may have increased Australia's tropical rainfall. Until now, there has been ample evidence that these particles have important effects on climate in the Northern Hemisphere but little such evidence in the Southern Hemisphere. Because the sky is generally blue over Australia, climate scientists have tended to assume that these particles (called aerosols) are essentially a Northern-Hemisphere problem.

Recent simulations using the CSIRO climate model suggest that the `Asian haze' is having an effect on the Australian hydrological cycle and has generated increasing rainfall and cloudiness since 1950, especially over northwest and central Australia. The effect occurs because the haze cools the Asian continent and nearby oceans, and thereby alters the delicate balance of temperature and winds between Asia and Australia. It has nothing to do with Asian pollution being transported directly over Australia.

This implies that decreasing pollution in Asia later this century could reverse this effect and lead to an increase in Australian drying trends. We are only at the beginning of understanding the trends but sooner or later these emissions will be cleaned up and then a trend of increasing rainfall in the northwest and centre could be reversed. This is potentially serious for Australia, because the northwest and centre are the only parts of Australia where rainfall has been increasing in recent decades.

An aerosol is a haze of small particles or droplets suspended in the atmosphere. Representing aerosols in climate models and understanding their influence on cloud formation and rainfall is one of the biggest challenges facing climate scientists. Climate modelling is a valuable tool for teasing out what is actually causing climatic changes, rather than simply assuming that future trends will be an extrapolation of existing trends.

This research, to be published early in 2007 in the Journal of Geophysical Research, increases confidence in the accuracy of future climate simulations for Australia, because it improves the simulation of 20th century rainfall trends over Australia. Since the cooling effect of aerosol pollution is possibly comparable to the warming effect of increased levels of carbon dioxide, one message from this research is that aerosols are an essential inclusion if we are to accurately describe present and future Australian climate.

The new research is based on simulations performed with a new low-resolution version of CSIRO's global climate model - including a treatment of aerosols from both natural and human-induced sources. The work was done in collaboration with scientists from the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting at the Australian National University; the University of Michigan's Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton. A copy of the full paper can be downloaded from here.

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Affirmative action at work

Hiring someone on the basis of what they have between their legs is not likely to lead to a top quality appointment -- as Queenslanders are learning about their feminist governor. The post is largely ceremonial but, being vice-regal, is very prestigious. The Leftist Queensland government that appointed her to the post is known for affirmative action appointments -- in the legal system particularly. The governor is formally the head of the legal system. She would appear to be a rather arrogant and unpleasant person when not on her best behaviour. Vice-regal figures are normally expected to be beyond reproach



Government House has been thrown into turmoil with the dramatic arrest of a footman, the theft of jewellery and allegations of harassment and bullying. Police said Darren Andrew Sills, 39, was arrested in a swoop on Government House, but was still on the run yesterday after skipping bail. Sills served Governor Quentin Bryce and visiting dignitaries.

The security breach is further embarrassment for Ms Bryce, who has been criticised for what staff say is her autocratic style. Police said the Sills warrants related to "relatively minor" thefts at Cairns, and were unrelated to the reported theft of four valuable rings from Ms Bryce's personal jewellery box. The rings were reported missing a month before Sills joined the staff. The Order of Australia medal awarded to the Governor's husband, Michael Bryce, was considered to be of little value by the thief.

Staff are bitter they are under suspicion while the case remains unresolved. Meanwhile, staff are leaving in droves with departures including three chefs, an under butler, a chauffeur, a personal assistant and a second footman. Staff complain of unnecessary interference by Ms Bryce, who even insisted that gardens be torn up so purple and pink flowers could be planted for International Women's Day.

There has been an exodus of long-serving staff since Ms Bryce, an ardent feminist, was given the plum job in July 2003. The vice-regal crisis worsened this week with whispers of possible strike action in support of a chauffeur, Lee Sinn, who told his union he had been bullied by management. He was supported by the Sergeant of Arms, Terry Hunter, who also filed a harassment claim with the Queensland Public Sector Union against management. Mr Sinn was infuriated when ordered to remove a small indigenous badge from his lapel. Mr Sinn said yesterday his issues were with managers, not the Governor, who had always treated him courteously.

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Economic vandalism: Left-wing unions are up to their old tricks again

It is with extraordinary timing that the ALP's left-wing union affiliates have hijacked Labor's economic credibility, just as the strength of John Howard's decade-long economic miracle has been reaffirmed. Denouncing economic neoliberalism, the Left block has called on Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd to ban free trade agreements and public-private partnerships for infrastructure projects. They have called for the federal Government's superannuation reforms to be abolished, despite the bipartisan support they have received, the first-home owner's grant to be means tested and for negative gearing tax incentives to be scrapped for rich speculators. Bemoaning that some members of the Left have dumped alternative economics for the language of privatisation, deregulation and competition policy, the union block is championing a return to old-fashioned class warfare with policies to punish the rich by scrapping tax trusts and banning share options for high-income earners.

Coming, as it does, on the day that the national accounts figures showed NSW had escaped recession and the national economy remained in robust health, the Left's call is not the sort of economic choice Labor should be wanting to take to voters. For Mr Rudd, it adds to a growing list of concerns that must be confronted at the ALP's national conference, to be held on April 27-29, including how to deal with growing public support for a nuclear fuel industry and counter extreme calls from within his own party to wind down Australia's coal export industry and ban big carbon-emitting businesses to combat climate change. Mr Rudd already has enough on his plate confronting the ACTU's hardline stance on rolling back the federal Government's Work Choices legislation while simultaneously trying to woo small business and the growing army of Howard-voting small contractors who used to belong to Labor.

The common thread for Mr Rudd is to keep his party firmly anchored to the middle ground and not allow it to be hijacked by extreme elements. Ill discipline in the area of economic management is the last thing Mr Rudd needs. But it is the challenge being issued by the Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union, the Construction Forestry Mining & Energy Union, the Community & Public Sector Union and the Australian Education Union. This Left alliance represents more than 700,000 workers and will control a sizeable block of the 400 votes at the ALP conference.

The Commonwealth Public Service Union's decision to consider affiliating with the Labor Party, as reported in The Australian today, is further bad news for Labor's economic credibility, even if affiliation cannot take place before the national conference. For Mr Rudd and Labor, this is more than simply a behind-the-scenes technical battle. To succeed against the Government, Labor must connect with middle Australia and remember that the economic reforms of the Hawke and Keating years, including the embrace of globalisation and the introduction of compulsory superannuation, provide its best message for voters to demonstrate economic credibility.

Just as British Prime Minister Tony Blair was forced to stare down the old-school socialist warriors to fashion New Labour, Mr Rudd must remain focused on the main game. If Mr Rudd allows himself to be sidetracked into fighting endless ridiculous battles within his own party, he will surely lose the war that matters most for Labor, the one against John Howard.

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Australian scientists discover effective malaria treatment

Scientists from the Northern Territory Menzies School of Health Research say they have discovered an effective treatment for the strand of malaria found in the Asia-Pacific region. Senior researcher Ric Price says two treatments for the vivax strain of malaria have been successfully trialed in Papua New Guinea.

The treatment combines a Chinese herbal extract and a longer-acting anti-malarial drug used to combat the more deadly strain of the disease found in Africa.

Dr Price says the disease costs developing countries tens of billions of dollars a year. He says this treatment will help relieve that strain. "Forty per cent of the world's population is at risk of vivax malaria and there are nearly 250 million cases a year in the region," Dr Price said. "So not only does this treat the infection but it also protects you from reinfection, so that has special relevance for people in endemic environments."

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