I've just looked up the plan currently in Victoria, and they are proposing 20 minute WALKING districts. There is no way, in Australia, that you would have all the businesses you need on a daily basis within 20 minutes walking distance. If you were 20 minutes walk from the old strip shopping centres that were built along the arterial roads (I am talking about Melbourne here), then once those strip centres had all the businesses you could need, but now they are nothing but high fashion and coffee shops, they are less than useless. They used to have a hardware shop, and a haberdashers, all the food supplies you could want, banks (which have since mostly closed down) so there would have to be incentives for these businesses to relocalise even though they will never be competitive against Spotlight and Bunnings. About the only business that has remained reliably local is the post office, so I guess they could be used as the centre of the 20 minute walking district and see where we go from there.
I haven't looked at these plans properly, but so far I have found nothing but rhetoric. I searched them for commuting, and accessing a specific church, and found nothing. Still looking.
I feel fairly certain this can never happen in Australia because it will be the larger retail businesses put out of business, or forced to change their business model, like Harvey Norman, Bunnings, Spotlight etc, and I doubt they will tolerate that. Now if we had an Argus in every shopping centre, it would be a different story.
Thank you Christine. It will happen in Australia if we let it happen. And all that talk about us being able to access everything we need within 15 or 20 minutes is just that - talk!
The idea is to control us and if that means we can't get anything or have to buy what we need from online sellers, so be it.
Well, they did something similar with the covid lockdowns with all sorts of variations for rural areas. We often don't have essential services within 15 minutes drive let alone 15 minutes walk. No doctor for example and the closest hospital is 40 mins drive away . Telehealth may be OK for repeat long term prescriptions, but stitching up a wound might be challenging. I ignored it all during lockdown once I realized the local police were not enforcing. Electronic surveillance would be too sparse in low populated areas. I think we can sit on our hands for a bit until the trials happen, then target their shortfalls at that time. It's all dependent on 5G, so that's where our energies would be better spent.
Meryl, I cannot see how this could happen in Australia. We have our gigantic coastal cities, and our regional towns.
Those living and working in the cities often have 1-2 hour commutes to work, and there is no affordable housing to reduce those commuter times. Without major infrastructure projects, this could not happen. Also there is the way that light industry was built on the edge of the greater city areas, and if you want to shop for "boy stuff" you might have to drive right across town to get it. Even the car dealerships and chain restaurants cluster in certain spots like Dandenong Road in Melbourne, and would lose the bulk of their trade if only those in their districts could shop there.
In rural areas it is even more impracticable. Australia is organised around regional trading centres, and all those living rurally converge on their major local town which might be 30 minutes to and hour's drive away. The businesses in those regional centres have grown up haphazardly and you tend to need to drive around most of the town to do your business. It simply can't work.
And perhaps most importantly, the public transport infrastructure would have to be vastly improved. Our buses where I live run every three hours to our regional town, so when you take a bus to town, you have to wait three hours before you can return. And taking a bus around that town to the various shops you use would mean more carrying than any older person can do. Old people would not lose some of their independence, they would lose all of their independence.
So I could see this working in some densely populated towns that have businesses already strategically located - ie there would have to be a dealership for each make of car in each region so you can get your log book servicing and other repairs done. But seriously, how many towns are that well organised?
By the way, I live in the country and what I'd say is 'local' for me would be driving within an hour or so of my home. So maybe up to an 80-100km radius? Driving 30 minutes is any direction is pretty normal.
As a comparison, when I used to live in a city, I'd say driving within 5-15 minutes would be 'local' for me (of course it depends on the traffic!). A 5-10km radius at most in a large, dense city and maybe up to a 15-20km radius in a more spread-out city.
People clock up way more country miles than they do city miles!! I joke with my Mum who lives in a large regional city - her car is older than ours, but the KM her car has done in its whole life is what we clock up every year!!
Dec 31, 2022·edited Dec 31, 2022Liked by Meryl Dorey
I don't think they'll do ALL towns. I think they'll test it in some towns first. See how it goes. If all goes well, then they can roll it out further. Cities, however, will be a different story. They'll fall first. And fall they will. People have already shown just how very compliant they can be with all that long-term WFH and online schooling and mask wearing and signing-in crap, not to mention sleeve-rolling up! And without proper science! And who needs much/any public transport when most are doing WFH?! Then of course there's all that online shopping...so your buyers will still be there. Just more online and far less in person...
Present the same information a slightly different way and people will willingly comply.
Also remember how many people live in cities vs towns. If you've captured Sydney & Melbourne, and 2 other ones, you've got the country. Mini-towns of 2000 people, or even 20K people (who are mostly compliant anyway) won't make a dent. The govt doesn't care about them. And most farmers will just continue on with their food-making businesses and not worry too much about how the other 90% live. That's how they are. They do their thing, keep to themselves, and no-one worries them. The truckies take the meat/veggies to market and the farmers mostly stay fairly local anyway. No point in wasting resources trying to keep them penned in. Put the resources into the big cities instead!
As for old people, the govt REALLY doesn't care about them!!! Nursing homes will be locked up again (it worked last time, didn't it?!), old people will be told to stay home, and that will be that.
It all sounds like a dystopian nightmare...but we are SOOOOO close to it it's not funny!!! :-(
You are so right, Robyn! I may have already mentioned this, but on the last VaxXed bus tour of Victoria, we saw gates outside of several towns when you both entered and left. It made us wonder what as happening there. We are wondering no more.
As for the farmers though, as a farmer's wife, I have to say that most farmers I know are incredibly aware and, though they normally don't speak out much, when pressed, they are fierce advocates for causes near and dear to their hearts.
Look at what is happening in Europe as a whole - the Netherlands in particular. the farmers will rise up when the time comes and let the elites try to rule without food. They may find they have a big problem!
And you know, that's what it will take. It will take something truly terrible for the farmers to rise up. For the most part, farmers do NOT want to rise up. They just want to do their thing. But when their very survival is being threatened by those higher up the chain, then they probably will step up.
I was commenting about the headspaces of the many farmers I know and treated in Yass & surrounds. Yes, they're aware enough, but they mostly want to just do their thing. They don't want to get caught up in all this controversy. But I guess when controversy finds them, they will HAVE to do something. They're already cranky about the gun laws and all the biosecurity crap with cattle etc, but they're still being good & complying. I wonder, what will it take for them NOT to comply...?
I am sad to leave. I don't want to list the reasons why I am shocked to see you sharing a video by Katie Hopkins. I don't think it would be helpful to go into detail here about Hopkins' actions and history. They are very well known. Citing her actions could pull me into a discussion that I have neither the time nor energy to engage in. We are in a critical time and I need to direct what remains of my energy carefully. I am all for free speech, but Hopkins is someone I simply cannot tolerate; for good reason. Best regards, Annette
Annette, how you feel about Katie Hopkins is entirely your own business, and you cannot insist that others should not access a video of hers, particularly when the content is pertinent. You are most certainly NOT for free speech. We all have the right to discretion, and we should all keep that skill highly honed so that it is ready when we need it.
I insist nothing! Where did I insist that others do not access Hopkins' videos? I gave my personal viewpoint. I was asked to explain why I unsubscribed and I did that. You are being rude, claiming that I am "certainly NOT for free speech". I know that many people are willing to go very far in their tolerance of racism, even fascism, just because a person says some things that are "pertinent". Not me! I'll leave you all to it now as I don't want to be drawn into this kind of discussion that ends up with people being rude.
OK. The fact that you would silence Katie Hopkins and Meryl Dorey, and deny the rest of us access to this little video that Meryl has chosen to share, is not rudeness on your part or denial of free speech. I apologise for finding myself discombobulated by whatever you were doing.
There is a great article on substack today that you might find interesting to read.
P.S. I have, during the pandemic, taken my distance from some former friends because they share posts by people I know to be racist, even outright fascist, simply because they agree with that person's views on, say, vaccination and/or masking. I consider that we need to be discerning. If someone is actively racist and spreading hate I personally will not share their comments even if they are making a valid point about, say, Covid vaccination.
Ah - excellent! I would have been very upset if Substack were to start censoring! I heard the other day that there were calls for Elon Musk to buy Substack and that would be the worst thing ever!
I don't trust him one bit. Look at what he does and supports. Neuralink. Starlink. I don't believe that freedom of speech is his only inspiration. James Corbett of the Corbett report has done some really good research into Musk. I recommend you might want to listen to some of it. Corbett researches what he discusses really well! I just feel like we should not have a monopoly of these communication sources - especially not with someone who has come out of nowhere to appear like a savior.
I purposely uploaded the entire video to Substack because I felt that YouTube would probably remove it soon! Do me a favour...try again in 5 minutes. It is a rather large video so it could still be processing. I can see it on my end, but I uploaded it so that might be why?
I've just looked up the plan currently in Victoria, and they are proposing 20 minute WALKING districts. There is no way, in Australia, that you would have all the businesses you need on a daily basis within 20 minutes walking distance. If you were 20 minutes walk from the old strip shopping centres that were built along the arterial roads (I am talking about Melbourne here), then once those strip centres had all the businesses you could need, but now they are nothing but high fashion and coffee shops, they are less than useless. They used to have a hardware shop, and a haberdashers, all the food supplies you could want, banks (which have since mostly closed down) so there would have to be incentives for these businesses to relocalise even though they will never be competitive against Spotlight and Bunnings. About the only business that has remained reliably local is the post office, so I guess they could be used as the centre of the 20 minute walking district and see where we go from there.
I haven't looked at these plans properly, but so far I have found nothing but rhetoric. I searched them for commuting, and accessing a specific church, and found nothing. Still looking.
I feel fairly certain this can never happen in Australia because it will be the larger retail businesses put out of business, or forced to change their business model, like Harvey Norman, Bunnings, Spotlight etc, and I doubt they will tolerate that. Now if we had an Argus in every shopping centre, it would be a different story.
https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/policy-and-strategy/planning-for-melbourne/plan-melbourne/20-minute-neighbourhood
Thank you Christine. It will happen in Australia if we let it happen. And all that talk about us being able to access everything we need within 15 or 20 minutes is just that - talk!
The idea is to control us and if that means we can't get anything or have to buy what we need from online sellers, so be it.
I wish I was wrong, but I don't think I am.
Well, they did something similar with the covid lockdowns with all sorts of variations for rural areas. We often don't have essential services within 15 minutes drive let alone 15 minutes walk. No doctor for example and the closest hospital is 40 mins drive away . Telehealth may be OK for repeat long term prescriptions, but stitching up a wound might be challenging. I ignored it all during lockdown once I realized the local police were not enforcing. Electronic surveillance would be too sparse in low populated areas. I think we can sit on our hands for a bit until the trials happen, then target their shortfalls at that time. It's all dependent on 5G, so that's where our energies would be better spent.
You are now entering into the "Hunger Games" be ready.
100% - but don't be ready - be angry and active so it never happens. We can change things but only by being loud and actively resisting.
Very CCP!
Meryl, I cannot see how this could happen in Australia. We have our gigantic coastal cities, and our regional towns.
Those living and working in the cities often have 1-2 hour commutes to work, and there is no affordable housing to reduce those commuter times. Without major infrastructure projects, this could not happen. Also there is the way that light industry was built on the edge of the greater city areas, and if you want to shop for "boy stuff" you might have to drive right across town to get it. Even the car dealerships and chain restaurants cluster in certain spots like Dandenong Road in Melbourne, and would lose the bulk of their trade if only those in their districts could shop there.
In rural areas it is even more impracticable. Australia is organised around regional trading centres, and all those living rurally converge on their major local town which might be 30 minutes to and hour's drive away. The businesses in those regional centres have grown up haphazardly and you tend to need to drive around most of the town to do your business. It simply can't work.
And perhaps most importantly, the public transport infrastructure would have to be vastly improved. Our buses where I live run every three hours to our regional town, so when you take a bus to town, you have to wait three hours before you can return. And taking a bus around that town to the various shops you use would mean more carrying than any older person can do. Old people would not lose some of their independence, they would lose all of their independence.
So I could see this working in some densely populated towns that have businesses already strategically located - ie there would have to be a dealership for each make of car in each region so you can get your log book servicing and other repairs done. But seriously, how many towns are that well organised?
By the way, I live in the country and what I'd say is 'local' for me would be driving within an hour or so of my home. So maybe up to an 80-100km radius? Driving 30 minutes is any direction is pretty normal.
As a comparison, when I used to live in a city, I'd say driving within 5-15 minutes would be 'local' for me (of course it depends on the traffic!). A 5-10km radius at most in a large, dense city and maybe up to a 15-20km radius in a more spread-out city.
People clock up way more country miles than they do city miles!! I joke with my Mum who lives in a large regional city - her car is older than ours, but the KM her car has done in its whole life is what we clock up every year!!
I don't think they'll do ALL towns. I think they'll test it in some towns first. See how it goes. If all goes well, then they can roll it out further. Cities, however, will be a different story. They'll fall first. And fall they will. People have already shown just how very compliant they can be with all that long-term WFH and online schooling and mask wearing and signing-in crap, not to mention sleeve-rolling up! And without proper science! And who needs much/any public transport when most are doing WFH?! Then of course there's all that online shopping...so your buyers will still be there. Just more online and far less in person...
Present the same information a slightly different way and people will willingly comply.
Also remember how many people live in cities vs towns. If you've captured Sydney & Melbourne, and 2 other ones, you've got the country. Mini-towns of 2000 people, or even 20K people (who are mostly compliant anyway) won't make a dent. The govt doesn't care about them. And most farmers will just continue on with their food-making businesses and not worry too much about how the other 90% live. That's how they are. They do their thing, keep to themselves, and no-one worries them. The truckies take the meat/veggies to market and the farmers mostly stay fairly local anyway. No point in wasting resources trying to keep them penned in. Put the resources into the big cities instead!
As for old people, the govt REALLY doesn't care about them!!! Nursing homes will be locked up again (it worked last time, didn't it?!), old people will be told to stay home, and that will be that.
It all sounds like a dystopian nightmare...but we are SOOOOO close to it it's not funny!!! :-(
You are so right, Robyn! I may have already mentioned this, but on the last VaxXed bus tour of Victoria, we saw gates outside of several towns when you both entered and left. It made us wonder what as happening there. We are wondering no more.
As for the farmers though, as a farmer's wife, I have to say that most farmers I know are incredibly aware and, though they normally don't speak out much, when pressed, they are fierce advocates for causes near and dear to their hearts.
Look at what is happening in Europe as a whole - the Netherlands in particular. the farmers will rise up when the time comes and let the elites try to rule without food. They may find they have a big problem!
And you know, that's what it will take. It will take something truly terrible for the farmers to rise up. For the most part, farmers do NOT want to rise up. They just want to do their thing. But when their very survival is being threatened by those higher up the chain, then they probably will step up.
I was commenting about the headspaces of the many farmers I know and treated in Yass & surrounds. Yes, they're aware enough, but they mostly want to just do their thing. They don't want to get caught up in all this controversy. But I guess when controversy finds them, they will HAVE to do something. They're already cranky about the gun laws and all the biosecurity crap with cattle etc, but they're still being good & complying. I wonder, what will it take for them NOT to comply...?
Telling them they can't farm or limiting their ability to do their job. That will just about do it, I reckon!
Ha ha ha! Probably!
I am sad to leave. I don't want to list the reasons why I am shocked to see you sharing a video by Katie Hopkins. I don't think it would be helpful to go into detail here about Hopkins' actions and history. They are very well known. Citing her actions could pull me into a discussion that I have neither the time nor energy to engage in. We are in a critical time and I need to direct what remains of my energy carefully. I am all for free speech, but Hopkins is someone I simply cannot tolerate; for good reason. Best regards, Annette
Annette, how you feel about Katie Hopkins is entirely your own business, and you cannot insist that others should not access a video of hers, particularly when the content is pertinent. You are most certainly NOT for free speech. We all have the right to discretion, and we should all keep that skill highly honed so that it is ready when we need it.
I insist nothing! Where did I insist that others do not access Hopkins' videos? I gave my personal viewpoint. I was asked to explain why I unsubscribed and I did that. You are being rude, claiming that I am "certainly NOT for free speech". I know that many people are willing to go very far in their tolerance of racism, even fascism, just because a person says some things that are "pertinent". Not me! I'll leave you all to it now as I don't want to be drawn into this kind of discussion that ends up with people being rude.
OK. The fact that you would silence Katie Hopkins and Meryl Dorey, and deny the rest of us access to this little video that Meryl has chosen to share, is not rudeness on your part or denial of free speech. I apologise for finding myself discombobulated by whatever you were doing.
There is a great article on substack today that you might find interesting to read.
https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/dr-peter-hotez-and-the-inversion
P.S. I have, during the pandemic, taken my distance from some former friends because they share posts by people I know to be racist, even outright fascist, simply because they agree with that person's views on, say, vaccination and/or masking. I consider that we need to be discerning. If someone is actively racist and spreading hate I personally will not share their comments even if they are making a valid point about, say, Covid vaccination.
Sad to see you sharing a video by Katie Hopkins. Unsubscribing :-(.
I am sorry to say you're leaving. It would be really helpful if you would explain why.
Fixed. 🤗
Ah - excellent! I would have been very upset if Substack were to start censoring! I heard the other day that there were calls for Elon Musk to buy Substack and that would be the worst thing ever!
I don’t understand your comment about Musk. Isn’t he uncensoring twitter?
I don't trust him one bit. Look at what he does and supports. Neuralink. Starlink. I don't believe that freedom of speech is his only inspiration. James Corbett of the Corbett report has done some really good research into Musk. I recommend you might want to listen to some of it. Corbett researches what he discusses really well! I just feel like we should not have a monopoly of these communication sources - especially not with someone who has come out of nowhere to appear like a savior.
It’s blocked 🥴
I purposely uploaded the entire video to Substack because I felt that YouTube would probably remove it soon! Do me a favour...try again in 5 minutes. It is a rather large video so it could still be processing. I can see it on my end, but I uploaded it so that might be why?
It was very very slow to run. Kept stopping for long periods of time.