What Went Right - 13 JAN 2017

Even on a so-called "bad luck day", there's stories about things going right in the mainstream media. Here are three of them.

Wellington Dam desalination plan to boost local agriculture by Andrew O'Connor (ABC Western Australia)

There are plans afoot for a private company to desalinate water from Wellington Dam in order to make it suitable for agricultural use.

Alien-looking shrimp of the desert appear in Central Australia after flooding rains by Emilia Terzon (ABC Radio Darwin)

The shield shrimp appear once again, hatching after heavy rains.

Vantablack: It's blacker than black, but where is the world's darkest material being used? by ABC Science (uncredited)

The material "Vantablack" is an array of tiny carbon nanotubules, absorbs pretty much all the light that impacts it, and is finding a number of uses in astronomical instruments.

So there's my three for the day. If you've found any stories about "what went right", why not share them in the comments?

On the whole "Ministerial Expenses" thing

People 'expect' politicians to claim expenses for sporting events, says Steven Ciobo

Ciobo said businesses and other organisations who invited politicians were “taking the opportunity to showcase themselves there, to take the time to have a conversation in relation to important matters”.

If the businesses in question are so keen to see the various ministers and so on at these events, why aren't they offering to pay their transport costs? Why are the taxpayers of Australia being asked to shoulder these costs?

Come to think on it, what kind of business is actually "showcased" by an event like the AFL grand final?

Ciobo was gifted a ticket and hospitality at the 2013 grand final by the National Australia Bank.

I'm sorry, possibly it's a complete failure of imagination on my part, but I fail to see what aspect of the bank's business is being "showcased" in a sporting event like the AFL grand final (did they loan the AFL the money to put the event on, or what?). Why was a meeting at a major sporting event considered more suitable to showcase aspects of this company's business than a meeting in the minister's office?

On the questions of "it was work related", I have to ask, was the meeting at the AFL grand final minuted? Were any decisions reached, and what were they? As an Australian voter, I feel I have a right to know. After all, if Mr Ciobo is accepting corporate hospitality at these events in his capacity as Minister for Trade, is there not a question of corruption and bribery involved - these companies are presumably offering Mr Ciobo tickets to a major sporting event as a way of obtaining his influence and attention at the expense of their competitors.

As a member of the Australian voting public, Mr Ciobo, I'd argue there's a lot of questions to be asked here. As a fellow recipient of Taxpayers Money (and one who faces far more punitive conditions on their receipt of same than you do, quite frankly, for a much lower amount) I'm saying bluntly that I'm fed up to the back teeth with this bloody attitude of "one rule for thee and another for me" which seems so common to our parliamentarians. You're welcome to try your luck with Newstart if you think you're hard done by in this regard.