At the risk of horrifying the region’s many marine conservationists, apparently their scientific leadership is in cahoots with offshore oil and gas operators.
Yes, that’s right, the scientists are settled with Big Oil (and Gas).
Well, that was the message between the lines from Deakin University’s recent revelation that the scientists were relying on the oil and gas sector to unravel the mysteries of “the deep sea”.
According to Deakin, the miners’ high-tech remote-controlled vehicles for sniffing out resources down deep provide a first-class free ride for finding out what’s also living all the way down there, in areas including our very own Bass Strait.
Hitching rides with the miners represented big savings for cash-strapped scientists short the usual $200,000 daily cost of operating similar vehicles, explained Deakin’s Peter Macreadie.
“What we’re talking about is a rare and unusual collaboration between two strange bedfellows, the oil and gas industry and scientists, because no one is exploring the deep sea better than that sector,” he said.
“Strange bedfellows” indeed!
Meanwhile, Double Take’s prediction last September of a public-service travel bonanza from City Hall joining UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network is coming to pass sooner than expected.
With over 116 members member cities spread across the world, and for the simple fact council was joining a network rather than a circle of pen-pals, international networking was inevitable.
And it didn’t take long for council to get creative with the opportunities!
UNESCO, which stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, had only approved Geelong’s membership in November before councillors unanimously ticked off on an $18,000 international “study tour” for the mayor and a senior staffer five months later.
Then this week the comes the news that the travel costs run both ways, with ratepayers also flying out a public servant from Detroit, USA, for the launch of Geelong’s network designation as a “City of Design” this week.
And it’s only May!
No wonder Avalon Airport’s finally building an international terminal.
