Monday 8th January 1997
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The television program will be shown in France and not one cent will be recovered by the Australian taxpayer who funded his Au$150,000 plus rescue.
But it gets worse, there are over 500 Australian Air Force and Navy staff involved in the search and rescue of Frenchman Thierry Dubois who, it now appears, was able to secure himself in the life craft that was dropped to him from an RAAF plane. The cost of the safety exercise is expected to run into several millions of dollars - even more than a similar rescue undertaken in 1994.
In 1994 the rescue of a yachtsman in the Vendee Globe Challenge cost Australian tax payers Au$5.8 million... then last night we have the Vendee race organiser saying without a concern in the world that it is Australia's "duty" under international law to come to the aid of their competitors. Get off your bucket little man... and stop abusing the system.
Its about time that that law was changed so that commercially organised, crazy, events like this are responsible for all the search and rescue costs by nations coming to the aid of participants... then we will see how long the race can survive as an annual event.
The only winners it appears are the sailors who take great risks in this dangerous race because if they are successful they will be set up financially for life. The first prize in the Vendee Globe Challenge (including endorsements) is more than US$1 million.
But the comment that got my goat most was that by our Minister for Defence - none other than Bronwyn Bishop - who said that Australia would rescue all the distressed yachtsmen in terms of international law and that no attempt would be made to recover the costs suffered by Australian tax payers!
Ron Boswell the National's leader in the Senate has lashed out at Tim Fischer's idea that the High Court chief justice take over the Queen's role saying that it did not have the support of the party. Senator Boswell said that Fischer's comments had been unhelpful and that the National Party's grass root members needed to be assured that the status quo on the issue would remain.
Perhaps the most interesting observation was by a National MP who said that the High Court could not be trusted after their recent decision granting native title on pastoral leases.
Yesterday the Pakistanis were bundled out for just 150 runs and an Australian win seemed a mere formality at the match played in Hobart. But the crash started early with opener Mark Taylor out for just 4 and the entire Australian team being bundled out for just 120 runs.
Taylor has contemplated the possibility that he could be dropped. He said after the match yesterday, "You always think about that whether you are captain or not. I'm sure it has run through Mark and Steve Waugh's minds at times. You try and not dwell too much on it. If it happens, it happens and if it does it won't be the end of Mark Taylor's world.
"I just hope if the selectors want to do that they come and say to me: 'Mark we want to try someone else.' If they do I might say 'give me another go' but I don't think I have to say that. I know the selectors well and I know that they are man enough to say what they think."
Now does that make sense? Not to me - but that is what he reportedly said...
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