Australia is not in recession

I mentioned yesterday I am at a conference in Brisbane. It is the Congress of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). I'm a proud member of the NSW Teachers Federation, my trade union.

Above: The Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, addressed the Congress dinner on Wednesday night. Today's economic figures showed that Australia, alone amongst all the rich economies grew last quarter, thus escaping the label of being in recession (the definition is two successive quarters of decline)

And, yes, I got that close to the PM - right at the foot of the stage. I like that about Australia - no (obtrusive) secret service security dudes, and normal people can get close to and take photos of major political figures.

Left: Deputy PM, Julia Gillard, addressed the Congress earlier in the day. She is Minister for Industrial Relations and Education. The yellow t-shirts were worn by delegates to protest against laws left over from the previous government which discriminate against construction workers. They have not been repealed by the Rudd government, despite promises prior to the election.

The people in the front row are families and loved ones of workers who had been killed at work.

Are you a member of a union? Have you ever campaigned for increased atttention to health and safety at work?

Not Sydney, Brisbane

I'm in Brisbane for a conference.

Since the London Eye proved so popular, every city "needs" a ferris wheel, apparently. Here's the Brisbane version, on the south bank of the Brisbane River. Taken from the rooftop of Rydge's Hotel.

A great big hole in the ground

On Friday morning, a great big crater / landslide happened on the corner of Bellevue and Victoria Roads, in upmarket Sydney suburb, Bellevue Hill. The slide swallowed up two parked cars. Fortunately no-one was injured.

I went for a mosey around (along with a whole lot of other rubber-necks) on Sunday. By that time fencin ghad been erected and lots of fellas were standing arounf guarding the hole or, well, doing stuff.

It could take months to repair.

For a news report and a gallery of photos, taken before the fencing appeared, and some aerial shots - click here. There's also a link to video taken by a local, showing the cars going in.

More pictures here.

Above: Shelter from the rain for the guards and workers on Sunday. It's been raining in Sydney for weeks.
Below: The landslide is just beyond this fence....fortunately it's a park below, so no houses or buildings were affected.

Below: This fellow was a telecommunications worker, feeding new cables in underground....they hade been severed.

High Heels . . . .

. . . and more, in Elizabeth St, Surry Hills

Today is City Daily Photo Blogger Theme Day. This month's theme is "feet".

Click here to see feet around the world

Off duty

A thermos and a good book - what more could you want at lunchtime?

Belmore Park

First, sorry I haven't responded to comments of visited other city daily photo blogs lately. There's seveal reasons, including beign extremely busy at work which means long days, and having to attend to "real life" at home, and I have been away from home on work-related matters several times, thus I upload a week of photos on the weekend to publish automatically.





Sydney is really a city of evergreens, though there are stands of deciduous trees in parks and street plantings. This autumn scene is in Belmore Park opposite Central Railway. YOu can see the sandstone facade of the station through the trees.

Wollongong City Beach to Port Kembla (Skywatch Friday)

A windy day at Wollongong - looking south towards industrial Port Kembla from Endeavour Drive at Lions Park.

To see other skies around the world this Friday, click here.

Nan Tien :a last look

I couldn't resist one last look at these cute little Buddhas in the gardens of Nan Tien temple.

Nan Tien temple: the pilgrim lodge (hotel)

If you feel like lingering longer in the tranquil and beautiful setting of Nan Tien temple, there's a hotel. They host retreats, but also accept casual visitors - as long as you don't want to bring meat, drugs or alcohol on-site.

Rates are quite modest, atarting at $80 a room.

Nan Tien temple: the front

The front of the temple complex - underneath, a lovely tea house, and above, a dining hall, meditation hall, reeception room, front shrine. Visitors are welcome to eat in the dining hall, where a couple of delicious vegetarian selections are cooked every day. The temple complex is built in the Chinese palace style, and some of these views reminded me of photos I've seen of Tibet. Then I read the info below on Wikipedia.

It was built was built using traditional techniques and materials by Chinese craftsmen.

The architecture incorporates the features of several styles of Buddhism. The pagoda is distinctly Chinese, with flying eaves and an angular profile. The main temples incorporates features of Tibetan monastic architecture, with multi-storey painted temple buildings set atop high stone platforms. The courtyards feature Japanese-style gardens, while the statues and shrines often incorporate bright, South-East Asian colour schemes, in contrast to the more sombre and austere styles favoured in China. The halls are carpeted, and pilgrims and visitors are required to remove shoes before entering, a practice more common in India, Korea and Japan than China.

From the Nan Tien website I have learned that:

"Chinese temple architecture has long been influenced by secular building design, especially that of imperial palaces. Structures and colours used throughout Nan Tien perpetuate this tradition. Grandiose roofs, visible from afar, indicate status: The greater the height and slope, the higher the rank. The Main Shrine thus has the most lofty and impressive roof. In dynastic China the colour yellow was used exclusively by the emperor. Hence, terracotta yellow roof tiles are symbols of importance, as are the yellow temple walls. Small mythical creatures lining the roof hips are traditional guardians against fire, a real danger in the days when the entire structure would have been built of wood. While much of Nan Tien's roof framing is largely made of steel, it mimics timber construction with painted end beams extending under the eaves.
Red is another auspicious colour associated with the emperor. It was used to cover imperial columns, beams, and lintels, as is also the case at Nan Tien. Palace balustrades were typically carved white marble; Nan Tien's concrete balustrades are fashioned in a similar manner and painted white. "