Age Opinion Piece

In reply to an article in the Age, which you can read here. I wrote: 

The Age reported upon criticism of a "loophole" in Planning and Environment Act 1987 that allegedly favours developers. Criticism was brought upon section 79 of Act by a former planning minister and some local councillors.  

 

Section 79 merely states, "An applicant for a permit may apply to the Tribunal for review of the failure of the responsible authority to grant the permit within the prescribed time." In practice, it allows applicants to request a VCAT hearing once a local council has taken more than sixty days to make a decision in a planning matter. The Act sets forth a very strict timetable for councils and other responsible authorities to make decisions. This is in the interest of applicants, developers and the general public. Every day a development is held up by the inefficient bureaucracies of local council is an added cost to a project, and in the end the consumer.

 

An efficient planning act is essential to having low-cost housing. The more red-tape developers and builders must cross makes housing more unaffordable. Local councils are merely attempting further bureaucratize the already bloated planning process by protesting against section 79.

 

This section is one of the few options available to developers when councils are unresponsive and adding unnecessary delays and costs to a project. Section 79 is not a loophole, it is a safeguard against inefficient local councils. If anything, it should not be removed, but substantial monetary penalties imposed upon councils that are unable to work within the timeframe outlined in the Act. This would make councils more responsive and result in lower housing prices – a benefit for all parties.

 

 

Aron Ping D'Souza

Doctoral Candidate

The Melbourne Law School

A hiccup

On friday afternoon, on a normal training ride, probability caught up with me. I normally ride about 1000km per week, which over the course of the year (including vacations) equals about 45-50,000km per year. Spending more time out on the road than anywhere else (including my
office at the Law School), there is an inherent risk of a road incident.

Well, on friday just after 6pm, on Alexandra Ave in South Yarra, I was riding with traffic and a driver suddenly pulled into a car space. The next thing I remember is waking up surrounded by
paramedics asking what my name is. It was an amazing experience, I could completely visualize being hit by the car and flying over the hood. Yet, I was concussed for a few minutes and, when i awoke, could not speak or move. However, I was completely cognisant of my surroundings yet unable to interact with them.

I was taken by ambulance to the Alfred Hospital, where I received expert medical care. I was very thankful that I was in a first-world country (not the USA) when something like this happened - freely available, high quality and openly accessible care was quickly
afforded to me. By the time I got to hospital, I think about a half hour after the crash, I was able to talk again and interact with the doctors and nurses.

They were concerned, given the severity of the crash that I had sustained neurological or spinal damaged. After spending three hours in a neck brace and after several CT and X-ray scans, I was assured that my spine and brain were okay. However, it surfaced that I had a broken shoulder and shoulder blade. By this time, I had been in hospital for six hours and was getting hungry and still in a great deal of pain. A friend had come to keep me company and help me inform my parents.

In the end, only a broken shoulder is a blessing in some ways. I could have died on the road this past Friday, and my cycling career could have come to an end. My doctors tell me that it will be a good two months before my shoulder is healed. I'm currently in a sling and on painkillers, so I won't be training for a very long time. I expect that it will be six months before I can race again.

My attempt to ride to Sydney in World Record time, or even train for a ride of that length has seriously been delayed by such a crash. I'm thankful to be alive, but my racing will take a serious setback. I don't expect to ride to Sydney this summer, may toward the end of this year.... depending on my prognosis.

My thanks to the people at the Alfred Hospital and the by-standards who quickly came to my aide.

I'll write more about my experience and how it changed my views in the next few days.

Me in hospital. 

The Journal Jurisprudence

On a beautiful sunday afternoon in Melbourne, I am pleased to announce the launch of The Journal Jurisprudence. Throughout my engagement with legal philosophy or jurisprudence, I have discovered this once vibrant field is slowly dying. The reason for this illness is the encroaching 'professionalisation' of legal education. Laws schools are more concerned with producing City solicitors than creating broadminded jurists. I steadfastly believe not everyone goes into law to invoice fifteen hours per day, but that, even today, a select few still believe in the power of law to enact substantive social change. 

Understanding the rational unpinning our legal systems is essential, I believe, to using the law for holistic ends. The primary ethos of Jurisprudence, therefore, is to bridge the gap between scholarship, theory and practice. In this inaugural edition, to be published in September, I invite authors to consider HLA Hart's primary question: What is Law? 

More information about the Journal is available at www.jurisprudence.com.au

I am pleased to be its convening editor. 

--Aron Ping D'Souza

Saturday Riding

As is tradition, every saturday I ride to the Yarra Valley and call in to lunch with my grandma. Total ride: 120km - very hilly - plus an hour of lanmowing at grandma's. Total time: 1hr40min each way.


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Today's ride was rather uneventful, if not a bit slow, because I was riding my yellow Alchemy diablo. Although this is a very good bike, it shows the wear of age - I've ridden it over 250,000km. In comparison to my new Lapierre, where everything is carbon and titanium, the Alchemy seems prehistoric. Yet, unlike my newer bikes, this yellow devil is strong and reliable. Nothing ever breaks on it, regardless of how much abuse is doled out.

The old girl.

Can Condoms Save Africa?

For the last two month, I have been working with a sixteen year old student from the Melbourne Grammar School on an independent research project. This follows a six-month long mentorship I had with a student from Bialik College on Biofules, organised by the School of Graduate Studies(SGS). The current project is independent of the SGS's amazingly well-organised mentor program, yet, shares many of it similar qualities.

My student is a very bright ex-pat American, who has a keen interest in economics and humanitarian issues. In some respects, it is challenging to work with a year-10 student due to the different vocabularies and disciplines that university-level teaching engages with. On the other hand, it is refreshing to see how a young mind develops and is able to comprehend complex ideas that even my own undergraduate students would not be cognisant of.

Our research project has been developing over the last few months. First, my student wanted to consider how to improve the economic productivity of sub-Saharan Africa. The easy answer is relates to the discourse on trade subsides and the international competitiveness of African agricultural products. However, a larger issue impedes the productive growth of these economies: HIV/AIDS.

The cost of treatment and loss of wages associated with HIV can account for more than 30% of GDP in some African countries. Therefore, we engaged with how could one 'cure' this problem. (Of course we can't use HIV/AIDS, but we want to resolve a management solution). The easy answer, propounded by people like Bill Clinton, Bono and other NGOs, is the mass distribution of anti-retroviral medication to millions of infected people.... yet this is the wrong solution, at least from an economic perspective. Distribution of HIV/AIDS medication does, in fact, alleviate human suffering, but it only delays inevitable death and places a great strain on low-base economies. Evidence from UNAIDS suggests that the distribution of these medication does little to improve overall economic productivity (I will fully accept this is an economic rationalist approach to a humanitarian issue).

The better solution that we are developing revolves around the distribution of condoms and the mass education of people. This, of course, is a longer term prevention strategy, yet, could lead to the complete eradication of the disease. We are investigating cultural and political barriers to the use of condoms and the challenges placed to educating the masses to it use.

We are expecting a developed article within the next few weeks and I will post accordingly.

--Aron Ping D'Souza

The Importance of Sleep

I intended to ride to Bendigo today, a distance of 300km return. I intended to ride from 5am until 7pm. 

However, sleep got the best of me, and I didnt get out of bed until 10am! Needless to say, I wasn't on the bike until 11:30, after a rushed breakfast where I forgot to have my protein shake. 

After three hours of riding, I was in Wollan, which is about 70km from Carlton. I stopped by a small restaurant advertising 'Chinese and Australian food' and got a refill on my water bottle. This small town didn't even have a service station, although did have a V/Line train station. The countryside around this area was amazing, just picturesque. 

The day also proved perfect for riding, as it was only 25° and a strong northerly wind pushed me on the way out. Yet, as I always say, where ever you go, you must come back..... the wind on the way home was treacherous and unrelenting. I rode home via Wittlesea and was back in Carlton by four pm... not the 300km day that I wanted, but that will come latter in the week. 

I'm working with one of my mentor students tomorrow, so no mega ride scheduled. 

On the road to Wollan. This road obviously was cut from a hillside and looked amazing. 

On the way back from Wittlesea. If you look closely you can see the skyline of the Melbourne CBD. 

Tomorrow's Ride

Over the next few weeks, in preparation for my ride to Sydney, I am doing several 300km+ rides. 

Tomorrow (Monday) ride is from my house in Carlton, in inner Melbourne, to Bendigo. I've ridden to Bendigo several times before, yet, I have not ridden there and back in a day. The total return distance is 316km - should be a walk in the park. I am expecting the ride to take 10-14hrs, and I hope to depart by 5am. 

In terms of route, it is, in fact, twenty km faster to take the Calder Freeway to Bendigo. However, I value my life and I don't think the cars will be too polite to a cyclist that early in the morning. Also, the ride via the Northern Hwy is much more picturesque. 

I will iPhone some photos on route. 

Aron Ping D'Souza

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Why start a blog?

Blogs are a strange beast. Letting strangers in on one's life and insights is paradoxical in an age of privacy and intrusion. Yet, a great change has come in my life and I expect many more over the next few years. Every aspect of life has its challenges and I wish to share mine so that, in some small way, other can learn from my tribulations.

I wish therefore to commence this journal because I have just been accepted to read law at Oxford University and many steps lay ahead before I move to England.

To compound this challege is my ambition to break the Melbourne to Sydney cycling world record. More on this is my next posts.

Come along for the journey, I'm sure it will be an interesting on.

Aron Ping D'Souza

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Sent from my iPhone