Kennett responsible for increased drug use?

I was passing the time on youtube recently, and came across the Victorian State Coalition's election campaign advert for the 1996 election see it here , and noticed that they promised "alcohol free" discos. I assume this (absurd) idea was a pathetic attempt to be seen to be doing SOMETHING about the King St nightclub precinct violence that was spiralling out of control at the time?
But this got me to thinking, did this idea of "alcohol free" discos morph into the giant rave party scene which took off in the 90s, which were alcohol free, but contained about 95% drug use of patrons?
How ironic would that be, if by trying to lower nightclub violence, you've helped create a flourishing pill popping drug scene?.....which shows no signs of abating!

Gillard's lack of leadership

While I've made passing reference to the lack of ability of our lightweight careerist PM Julia Gillard in this (and other) forums, thankfully I'm not the only one who's starting to see through the thin veneer.
Labor thinker Bob Ellis fired off the first round recently when he said of her; "civilised people's hands are already over their faces every time she speaks. That cannot last. She has no power, no influence, no friends, no learning. There's not much there", and "she's not well-informed, she hasn't, I think, read a novel or seen a film with subtitles....she has not much except a kindergarten sandpit response to things" read here .
Granted, pretty catty stuff that we may snicker at and dismiss, but unfortunately in the wake of the devastating QLD flood crisis Gillard's complete lack of leadership talents (and instinct) are on full display. Somehow she's managed to make a wooden, barely competent State Premier (Anna Bligh) look like Rudy Giuliani after 9/11 see here . Can you imagine the difference has Kevin Rudd still been in charge? In his admittedly over the top style, he would've been out there in an SES jumpsuit up to his knees in water. It's at times like these where the victims need to hear the soaring rhetoric of a Rudd, a politician with an instinct of hitting the right note and resonating with the electorate (and while it all eventually came undone for Rudd, he showed he could connect with the people).
But alas, no such inspirational leadership from Madam Lightweight Julia Gillard, instead all we get are dry statements which are more at home in the Industrial Relations Tribunal in her old job as a labour lawyer.
But the great tragedy of all this is that the alternative is even WORSE. A Coalition led by the "mad monk" whose poll numbers increase every time he stays silent! What a vacuum of leadership we're forced to endure at the national level....and there's little respite in sight.

rail union picking a fight with Ted Baillieu over the PSOs

I was interested to read the chest thumping recently by the Rail,Tram & Bus Union (RTBU) over the incoming Baillieu Government's policy of having Victoria Police Protective Services Officers (PSOs) on every train station after 6pm.
The RTBU came out (predictably) against the plan, and even went so far as to hint at strike action over the proposal. This union has been quite pragmatic since the Kennett era public sector purges of the 90s nearly destroyed them, having shown admirable evasiveness and flexibility to first survive, then to strengthen. The RTBU (through its ambitious ALP pre-selection hopeful Trevor Dobbin) wants the 940 odd prospective PSO recruits to be converted to rail customer service staff instead, but of course the true reason for this is that the RTBU wants another 940 union members which helps cement their strength....it has nothing to do with what's good or bad for the travelling public. It is a turf war plain and simple, better we have 940 new members rather than the police union?
But the union's move in making veiled threats of strike action was bad politics if nothing else. Think about it, you have a newly elected Government coming to power on one of the few election promises that actually resonated with the voters, a plan to visibly reduce the perceived safety threat on public transport! Now they just look like an out of touch band of 70s style ruffians.
A much better way to get their point across to government would be to seek meetings to sort through the logistics of the proposals (of which there are many), and if the RTBU doesn't like the answers they get back, there are plenty of ways to frustrate the government and win concessions. For example, the union can instruct all station staff to refuse to cooperate with the PSOs in any way, ie. refuse to let them in the station to use the toilet or have a meal break etc, and plenty of other little tricks along the same line.
But since we're talking about introducing a massive new transport policing department of over a thousand officers (including the extra Transit (real) Police), why not do the job properly and reestablish a "railway police" department like we previously had for over a 100 years? Unlike the PSOs who have limited prosecutorial powers (unless there's legislative changes?), the old railway police had full police powers on railway property, and prosecuted cases themselves before the courts without having to waste Vic Pol resources. But the Coalition Govt will never go down that route, mainly out of embarrassment that their conservative predecessors were the ones who abolished the concept in 1992, which admittedly was the nationwide fashion of the time. But as a digression, it's interesting to note that the only state not to abolish their railway police in the 90s in favour of a takeover by the State Police was Western Australia. And is it a coincidence that they've got the best best run transport system in the country right now?