S.Atlantic : Sartma Daily (13/10/05)
Submitted by SARTMA.com (Juanita Brock) 14.10.2005 (Article Archived on 28.10.2005)

A brief run-down of South Atlantic news

SARTMA DAILY (13/10/05) 

Compiled by J. Brock (FINN)

CONTENTS:

Section 1:  Articles by FINN

Section 2:  Hydrocarbons News

Section 1: 

FALKLANDS WISH BARONESS THATCHER A HAPPY ‘80^TH

An Editorial by J. Brock (FINN)

Today is Baroness Thatcher’s 80^th birthday.  To Falkland Islanders it seems like yesterday that she came to the Islands on her second visit and last week when she made an appearance after the conflict.  In fact, it was in 1992 that she came for Heritage Year and in 1983 when she arrived after the conflict.  Baroness Thatcher would have come to the Falklands in 2002 for the 20^th anniversary of Liberation day but had to decline due to the long flight, her schedule and Sir Dennis’ health.

Islanders feel that it was her leadership and inspiration that won the Conflict for them.  This is despite her administration’s negotiations to hand the Islands over to Argentine control prior to the Conflict in 1982.  In the end, she got angry at the right things and the rest is history.

Happy birthday Baroness Thatcher and may you have many, many more.  You are always welcome here.

Section 3:

COMMITTEE NEWS:

FUEL TAXES FOR ROADS DISCUSSED AT TRANSPORT ADVISORY COMMITTEE

By J. Brock (FINN)

During the Transport Advisory Committee meeting held on Thursday, 13 October, there was a discussion about taxing fuel in order to raise money to maintain roads.  When the road building project began the decision was taken to make low cost, high maintenance roads.  The culprit seems to be heavy vehicles using these roads in the winter, causing them to deteriorate. They must be repaired, thus costing money during a time when Government Departments are trying to make savings.

One idea that caused discussion was that fuel taxes could be put on the cost of petrel and diesel that are used in vehicles.  The more fuel a vehicle burns, the more money it raises for road maintenance.  Generally all at the meeting thought there was merit in the idea and it will be discussed further in March during the next meeting.

Though this idea was popular at the meeting, members realised that it would be unpopular with road users, who also are feeling the financial pinch of several successive poor Illex seasons.

A full report on the Transport Advisory Committee will be produced in due course.

SO YOU WANT TO BE A COUNCILLOR:  BIRMINGHAM AND LUXTON TELL IT STRAIGHT

By J. Brock (FINN)

Councillors Luxton and Birmingham chaired a meeting for prospective candidates and interested people in order to inform them what goes into being a Councillor.  Firstly there was a brief discussion on how to fill out nomination papers and the requirements to be properly nominated.  Among the requirements are being on the electoral roll, acquiring and filling out nomination papers, getting someone to propose you and  recruiting supporters and having your papers in by 1630 on 27 October 2005.

They went on to explain the process of the election with the nomination list being gazetted and campaigning.  Manifestos will be published in the newspaper on 04 November, with the radio interviews and manifestos being aired around the same time.  FINN Also will be contacting candidates for their manifestos. 

Unlike the other media, there is no space limit or time limit but it would be appreciated if the longer manifestos were e-mailed or provided on disk.  The publication of the manifesto can be at any specified time convenient to the candidate and a photo can accompany the manifesto.

Election or polling day will be the 17^th of November, but both Cllrs. Luxton and Birmingham stressed that the real fun begins the day after election when the oath of secrecy is taken and a huge wad of papers is handed to you that must be read over the weekend.  The day after includes a steep learning curve with visits to departments and lectures by the Chief Executive and Attorney General etc. on how Government works.

The portfolios were discussed, with both Councillors saying that they are chosen by consensus and if a Councillor felt passionately about a portfolio, he or she usually got it.  Not every committee met every month but the important ones did.  A list of 28 committee portfolios was circulated, covering everything from Agriculture to Mineral Resources, to Historic Buildings.

Select Committees consist of all eight members and they meet during the Budget session of Legco as well as when something special, like the Constitution has to be revised or renewed.

Good and bad points about being a Councillor were then being discussed.  It is good to have your say on things but Councillors are limited in their power because they must have the support of four other Councillors if they want to push something through due process.  The bad parts of it are that you are always on duty and people don’t approach you until they get worked up about something.  Councillors here in the Falklands are accessible to the public at all times and get phone calls late at night or early morning and are approached in shops on items that amount to nothing but rumour.

The matter of non relevant legislation that needed to be passed due to being a British Overseas Territory and a member of the European Union was discussed with Councillors saying that in order to participate in Overseas Games like the Island Games that sports doping legislation had to be passed.  Another area is that defence and foreign affairs legislation require approval in Whitehall.

Councillor Luxton explained he spends 1.5 days a week reading papers and draft legislation and that he has an understanding boss who will let him work around being a Councillor.  Cllr. Birmingham explained that his month revolves around meetings with a weekly one on Wednesday with the Chief Executive and various committee meetings throughout the week.

Fifteen people attended the meeting with all 3 media entities present.

Section 4:

BRITISH ANTARCTIC TERRITORIES & SOUTH GEORGIA

HARD PART FIRST FOR SOUTH GEORGIA KAYAKERS

A Report for BBC World Service “Calling the Falklands” by Deborah Vogle (DV) 12/10/05

Heading to the Falklands and due to arrive on the 5^th of November are 4 heroic Kayakers, whose ultimate destination is South Georgia.  The team of three men and one woman is lead by Pete Frey, who you may remember hearing on the programme after he became the first person to paddle solo across the Atlantic.  That was three years ago and he said then his next challenge would be South Georgia.  His team will meet up with their support vessel in Stanley and head South, just as a team from New Zealand is embarking on the same challenge.  Nigel Dennis (ND), a member of the British Team, told me what he knew about the dangers of the trip.

ND:  Just looking at South Georgia itself, the main piece of coast that could be a problem to us is the Southern side – south-east, if you like.  That’s the sort of crux stretch for us.

DV:  So where will you be starting from?  Where does that area fit into your journey?

ND:  As we are sailing across from the Falklands we will obviously be looking at the weather systems and things coming through.  And, we will make a decision where to start with the prevailing weather conditions in mind.  So, we would like to get the worst piece of the Island over with first.  If the weather looks good we will start on the south-east corner.

DV:  So how long is the journey likely to take?

ND:  It all depends on the weather.  There are two issues – there’s the swell and the wind.  So if there is large swells running then it’s going to create quite a bit of surf on the coast.

DV:  What about icebergs? 

ND:  They aren’t too much of a problem.  We will be steering clear of some of the bigger ones, especially if they look unstable.  The pack ice coming off the glaciers sometimes causes us a little bit of a problem but, again, it depends on the wind direction.  It also depends on how much pack ice is actually in the water at the time.

DV:  Will you spend the night on land or go back to your support ship?  How does that work?

ND:  We will basically be spending every night on land.  The support boat is there to oversee the expedition.  But if the weather turns and it’s nasty, the support boat will have more problems than we will.  We suspect that the boat will have to run to shelter and probably leave us on various bits of the coast when the weather gets bad.  We can dive in quite quickly.  A lot of it is our judgement. If we think the sea is going to pick up and get worse, we need to land before it reaches that stage.  If we make a mistake and the weather catches us out then it is a matter of keeping going until we get shelter to land.

DV:  Of course South Georgia isn’t quite uninhabited, is it?  The Carrs, who have been based there for a number of years are living there.  Will you be able to go and see them?

ND:  Yes. We hope so.  Where they actually live is at the head of a bay so it is a little bit out of our way but yes it would be a shame not to call in there.

DV:  And, there is going to be a record number of cruise vessels around the time that you will be there.

ND:  We haven’t been in touch with any cruise vessels.  We are quite keen to polarise aims and objectives and just get on with things without being too side-tracked.

DV:  So, what’s it all for, then?  Why are you doing this?

ND:  It’s a unique part of the world.  It hasn’t been done before but that’s not a major thing for us.  It’s something that’s been talked about in the sea kayaking world for years and there have been various attempts, which have failed for one reason or another.  We all do expeditions as part of our lives and we all decided it was a good thing to try and do.  So it’s grown from there.

DV:  So you are not completely bonkers?

ND:  I’d like to think not.