Melbourne's Water

After yet another below average month of rainfall, Melbourne's water reserves are hovering around the 27% mark, several points below this time last year. Last summer, of course, a lack of rain and high temperatures led to the horrifying bushfires around the state. In the past, the winter rains have always replenished the reserves but the last decade has seen year after year of below average rainfall so something has to be done long-term.

Climate change, I believe, makes the longer term outlook even worse. That is why I support the building of a desalination plant while will enable Melbourne to become self-sufficient in water. (In the news today is a story that the company awarded the contract to built the plant hasn't been exactly environmentally sound in the past) However, I would add a couple of caveats. Melbourne needs to get a lot smarter with water recycling. However, I'm not sure if I'd want to drink recycled water as the long term risks of hormones and chemicals which can't be filtered out have never been fully cleared.

The other major point that needs to be considered is the power that is used by the desalination plant. Most of the power in Victoria is generated by the burning of brown coal, about the worst polluter and generator of CO2 emissions there is. The sooner an alternative source, preferably by wave or tide (desalination plants after all are built right on the coast) is developed, the better.

Comedy and Food

My wife and I were in Melbourne city centre last week for the Comedy Festival.

First of all, we went to see Tom Basden Doesn't Say Anything at Melbourne Townm Hall. The crowds were huge as there were several performances going on in various rooms at similar times. Tom Basden was in 'The Powder Room', a small anteroom with a capacity of about 80 and it was about half full.

I found the performance a bit disappointing really. We didn't know anything about it beforehand thinking we would just try something different. The show was a series of songs which, while occasionally amusing, didn't get a real laugh from anyone. This type of material has always worked well as part of a show thrown in among a few stories a la Mike Harding or Max Boyce but as an act in itself, gets a bit repetitive.

After the show, which lasted an hour, we walked down to Southbank to find a place to eat. We hadn't booked anything as there is a wide selection of eating places so finding a table isn't usually a problem. We decided on looking for a Chinese or Thai Restaurant and found the Red Emperor Chinese Restaurant on the third level of Southgate on Southbank.

I must admit that the meal was the best Chinese I have eaten in our ten years in Australia. Whilst not cheap ( the meal cost about $100 for a main course with a couple of drinks each), each dish we chose was exceptional and the service was excellent.

The Spicy Pepper Chicken was tender and delicious on a bed of crispy seaweed and the Manderin Prawns were also extremely tasty and cooked perfectly. Even the special fried rice was exceptional, moist and full of flavour.

So if you're out in Melbourne, I'd recommend a visit to the Red Emperor.