BORDERLINE Albury/Wodonga

It goes without saying that to be successful in local government politics you have to be seen as a really good person to succeed. How the whole thing is managed can vary somewhat. Take for example Cr Duncan-Strelecs support for Cr van de Ven a few days prior to the mayoral election 0n September 26. As well as declaring Henk a man of integrity she also told the Border Mail that 'many people don't know of the thousands of dollars he readily donates to charities anonymously.' They do now. Cr Duncan-Strelec has obviously considered that Cr van de Ven's generosity shouldn't be kept under a bushel any longer. She should, however had foreseen that complications could, and probably have arisen from such a public declaration of a fellow councillors philanthrophy. It stands to reason that if Cr van de Ven's generosity was made public it would be highly probable that every charity from Oxfam to Adopt a Donkey might consider the councillor an 'easy touch' by just about every charitable interest either side of the Murray. Unless Cr van de Ven had bottomless pockets he might on the odd occasion have to refuse a request. Otherwise the councillor could find himself sliding into object poverty and ironically perhaps, ending up having to seek assistance from the very same charitable institution he had only recently contributed.

Then there is perhaps a more chilling outcome that could play havoc with public perceptions that Cr van de Ven is a really good man .

Would Cr van de Vens refusal, justified on sound economic reasoning be accepted in good faith by the denied charity? It would be highly unlikely because it 'was already out there' that Cr van de Ven was a good man because of his generosity. Questions would be asked. Why did we miss out? Say for example he had to regretfully decline to donate to one charity or another. What happens then? The rebuffed charity turns on Cr van de Ven to such an extent that rumours begin circulating about Henk 'the tight fisted bastard'. Public perceptions are so fickle these days. Even worse you are dealt the ultimate sanction when hardly anyone votes for you at the local government elections.

Another councillor who want's to be seen as a really good man is Cr Neville Hull. His recent election as deputy mayor of Albury is seen as a more positive result for Albury because of the belligerence and self-righteousness of the previous deputy mayor,Cr van de Ven. This is not necessarily so.

The deal that saw Cr Hull withdraw his support from Cr van de Ven to Cr Glachan for mayor was done a few weeks previous to the election on September 26 in Sydney. Cr Glachan is on the public record as saying she doesn't do deals. This rather undignified activity is best left to those who can stomach it. That's why in 2008 she got her mother Helen to go around and see Cr Gould about supporting her daughter for deputy mayor. We're not saying Cr Glachan waited in the car either or that sort of thing. She would have no doubt had ample opportunity to explain her credentials for the job. In this instance Crs Betteridge and Angus attended to the arrangements. There were other aspects to the deal that would see Cr Hull deputy mayor.

Cr Hull was to publically explain that his activism in getting the deputy's was based on virtuous sentiments. He was doing because of 'the poor public perception of Albury City Council' had compelled him to stand. Very noble. That's what he's have you believe. Except that it's not true.

Unfortunately for Cr Hull his promotion of himself has in no small way contributed to the poor public perception of Albury City council. Cr Hull wants to be seen as a really good man. He's not. He's a liar and a schemer. It's only a matter of time before he's found out for what he is. An opportunist who would stop at nothing.

On the night of the election September 26 Cr Hull seemed to avert his eyes to the confines of the ceiling twiddling his thumbs in quiet expectation. He had trouble looking at people in the eye except when it was absolutely essential. He knew he had the prize. A really good man at peace with the world and to be honoured as such as was fitting and right. When the vote was four all Cr van de Ven - Crs Duncan-Strelec, Gould, Sawyer and of course Cr van de Ven. Cr Hull Crs Glachan, Angus, Betteridge, and Cr Hull the decision would again come out of the hat in this instance a wine cooler. Cr Hull triumphed.

Just one more step and he would be mayor and who knows. Cr Hull joined the Liberal Party a few years back. With time and money on his hands there were larger prizes to be had. That's if his lies don't bring him undone

Cr Hull 's biggest lie, well documented by Borderline (September 2009)was when he told Cr Duncan-Strelec that Cr Sawyer had spread the rumour that Crs Hull and Duncan-Strelec were having an affair. He got off Scott Free. Even public lies to his wife Barbara show he is almost completely bereft of shame. In 2008 Cr Hull had curiously promised his wife that under no circumstances would he take Amanda in their plane to the Local Government Conference at Broken Hill. When confronted by his wife who was on some overseas junket he told her he hadn't flown Amanda in his plane. Was it a bit of misogynist chic when you claim a certain satisfaction in lying to your wife and every other councillor knows a about it.

It seems Cr Hull's specialty is taking each and every councillor aide and putting the knife into fellow councillors. Everyone has their turn. More than once it seems. In this regard his capacity for maliciousness is entirely unrestricted by any sense of decency or embarrassment. Even the mayor Cr Glachan, wasn't spared with Cr Hull confiding that Cr Glachan's and her husband's business, Beacon lighting was in meltdown and Bankcard had withdrawn their services from the business.

Sometimes Councillor Hull's rumour mongering is enouraged and propogated in no small way by his wife Barbara. When Cr Hull and his spouse spread rumours about the governance of AWCN Inc it was a joint effort. Albury Wodonga Community Network Inc, is an organisation performing many varied public services including advocating for women and children affected by domestic violence. This type of malicious behaviour by Cr Hull could have imperilled the financial viability of AWCN Inc because it requires government funds to sustain it. When he was confronted by another councillor regarding the gravity of the lie he was circulating, Cr Hull simply blamed Anne McNaught and Helen Spittal as the culprits and it was they who had met with every councillor denigrating the governance of AWCN Inc. Not content with this information Cr Hull circulated the reason that his wife had left the board of AWCN Inc because of her concerns at the financial mismanagement of AWCN Inc. What Cr Hull didn't say his wife had been unceremoniously thrown off the board of AWCN Inc because she had been found by a full board meeting of ACWN Inc of breaching the Code of Conduct provisions by knowingly spreading rumours that AWCN Inc was being financially mismanaged and had no grounds whatsoever for making such accusations.

Sometimes Cr Hull admits he lied. When a Albury City Councillor confronted him about his one of his lies he confessed that he had lied to the councillor but only once. Which lie he told the councillor he couldn't quite specify. Didn't Abraham Lincoln say no man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar.

As for Cr Hull assertion that he wanted the deputy mayors job because, as he said 'of the poor public perception of Albury Council at present had helped convince him to stand' was nothing further from the truth.

His real motives were purely self interest

'The gloves are off and I'm out to get whatever I can', he told another councillor of his reasons for standing.

Along with his rumour mongering Cr Hull's hypocrisy is unequalled in council. When Cooinda, a locally based family support group for close to 600 families with children with disabilities asked Albury City Council for a small donation of about $15,000 Cr Hull was adamant that it was not councils business to help such organisation it was a state and federal matter. It was only after a public backlash Albury City council acquiesced. Still Cr Hull saw fit to represent Albury City Council when their Cooinda's headquarters were opened on September22. No shame at all.

This is from a councillor who wants to resurrect the Uiver in a $2.5 million project with ongoing costs of $100,000 a year. Cr Hull it seemed had convinced Council that the whole thing be kept private in his negotiations regarding the Uiver project.

Cr Duncan-Strelec told Albury Wodonga News Weekly of Mr Hulls behaviour.
'
'I've never seen councillors support a motion that had no detail in it by a councillor that had been undertaking private negotiations with developers and sought council approval to keep undertaking those private negotiations,' she said.

Cr Duncan-Strelec was right on the money this time.
One might wonder when all these private negations surface if it's just another series of lie riddled inventions by Cr Hull to further his own interests.

And Albury will be the worst for it.

I was just walking away from the council chambers (7.10 to be exact) suddenly Cr Duncan-Strelec jumped from the shadows of some vegetation and took my photo - 'Greenee', she said snapping. The trouble was the night was dark - no flash? Was she pretending? Was she documenting....? Then she disappeared into the night. Just a few minutes previous she excused herself from the chamber saying she had to get up early because she had a doctor's appointment in Sydney... I walked on.

To as Dylan Thomas said to begin at the beginning.

Monday, September 26.
Previously with the mayor and deputy mayor being elected (see article this issue) attention turned on Cr Duncan-Strelec (see August September archives for the story). The previous full meeting of Albury City Council had found Cr Duncan-Strelec in breach of the Code of Conduct and that Councillor Duncan-Strelec apologise to Councillors, staff and members of the community for comments made to Mr Richardson and Mr Darren Cameron. The evening was inconclusive. Cr Duncan-Strelec was defiant.

Another day. Would Cr Duncan-Strelec renounce? Was her (daughters?) emo teen outfit with t-shirt emblazoned with 'Never Give Up' an indication of her state of mind more equivalent in tone to a more challenging message 'Up Yours'. The medium and the message in perfect synergy. It seems so. No one tested Cr Duncan -Strelec's message or was it more subliminal Nobody loves me, my friends aren't really my friends, nobody cares about me, I'm all alone, I'm always so caring of other people and no one cares about me, I'm so selfless that sought of thing, with a Jimi Hendrix riff to make sense of it all. Who knows? None of the councillors dared to ask because when you have no intention of never giving up you enter into world of marginal psychologically complex behaviours - the persecution complex. It's a rarefied world inhabited by the fierce and the sanctified, the self righteous who won't be denied under any circumstances. Stuff you.

Again it was evident the Cr Duncan-Strelec would again deny Mr Messrs Richardson and Cameron anything approximating a apology      saying sorry can be hard - I am sorry I hurt your feelings and that I did what I did said what I said - I am sorry that you hate me - I'm sorry I can't say sorry because it's stuck in my craw...

Cr Duncan-Strelec had been advised by Ron Hoenig, Barrister at Law and the Mayor of the City of Botany. He's and a personal friend so no doubt he would be providing his services pro bono. Behind every t-shirt catchphrase there should be sound legal counsel. Ron has been mayor of Botany since 1981 so he knows the ropes. 'Don't do it you poor persecuted soul,' he might have said. We wouldn't be surprised that by now Ron would have formed the opinion Albury is mainly inhabited by insensitive lowlifes.

At the previous meeting Cr Duncan-Strelec had complained she had been denied natural justice because she was expelled from the chamber before she could defend her actions. What she wanted was to explain was that she had been wronged by certain members of the public (and others) and could justify her actions accordingly given time. She was the victim not Richardson and Cameron. They'd got it all wrong.   There are of course accusations that Cr Duncan-Strelec notions of natural justice do not extend to her enemies You know what? If you were just more like justice and less like you, the world would love you. So get rid of your non-justice behavior. Everybody wants to be around justice...

One got the feeling that the Cr Duncan-Strelec nothing more than contempt for not only most of her fellow councillors but quite a few of those seated in the gallery as well. During an adjournment for the media to have a chat with the just elected mayor and deputy mayor. Cr Duncan-Strelec started taking photographs with her phone camera (no flash) interspersed with a number of derogatory comments addressed to members of the gallery. Borderline came in for its fair share of criticisms. When another member of the gallery Karen Trenchard told the Cr Duncan-Strelec it was inappropriate for the councillor to be photographing her because she found it intimidating. Cr Duncan-Strelec responded. 'I've taken a photo of the back of your (Karen Trenchard's) head and that it was an improvement on the other side, ' she said.

The General Manager Les Tomich a chair or two didn't seem interested in intervening instead preferring to gaze into some private impenetrable ether between the chamber wall and the ceiling beyond.

Ms Trenchard has since made a formal complaint to the Mayor Glachan. Nothing much will come of it, just like the complaint of Messrs Richardson and Cameron.

The councillors again censured Cr Duncan-Strelec however they were clearly intimidated by her and instead decided to refer the matter to Sydney. Cr ven de Ven wanted to keep the matter in-house for obvious reason. He had to be seen to cut her lose. It won't be a permanent separation.

Cr Duncan Strelec agreed because she believed she would have a fair hearing in Sydney. Perhaps Rod might put in a good word. Sydney was preferable because Cr Dun-Strelec said it was without the political prejudice of 'certain people' in the community and 'around this table'. The worst she can expect is to be suspended for a month or two all on full pay.

Apparently Cr Duncan-Strelec is compiling 'a list' and assembling documentation that will comprehensively prove she is the tormented victim of a conspiracy an inventory of the names of her tormenters will be presented for due consideration. No doubt she hopes extenuating circumstances will prevail. What troubles Borderline is her lists and documentation might be compromised by failure to read the directions when you take photos with a mobile camera. When she prints the photos she might possibly be confronted by darkness and little definition of her persecutors. Black phantoms in a black urban blackness. Like when she took the photo of Borderline aka Paul Greene it was dark as any night or as any night couldbe. What will they make of it in Sydney that the peolple of Albury live in perpetual blackness. Black hearts. Perhaps they might send her documentation to the Art Gallery of New South Wales for a more metaphysical analysis.

Expect though that Cr Duncan-Strelec whichever way Sydney adjudicate she has given some thought to retaliatory action against her perceived enemies inside and outside of Council. How this will manifest itself is at the moment unknown. Rest assured it won't involve the best interests of Albury City Council or the residents of Albury. Will disorder prevail?

I was just walking away from the council chambers (7.10 to be exact) suddenly Cr Duncan-Strelec jumped from the shadows of some vegetation and took my photo - 'Greenee', she said snapping. The trouble was the night was dark - no flash? Was she pretending? Was she documenting....? Then she disappeared into the night. Just a few minutes previous she excused herself from the chamber saying she had to get up early because she had a doctor's appointment in Sydney... I walked on.

Good God did I write that again am I caught in some fantastical loop where there is no respite.

I was just walking away from the council chambers (7.10 to be exact) suddenly Cr Duncan-Strelec jumped from the shadows of some vegetation and took my photo - 'Greenee', she said snapping. The trouble was the night was dark - no flash? Was she pretending? Was she documenting....? Then she disappeared into the night. Just a few minutes previous she excused herself from the chamber saying she had to get up early because she had a doctor's appointment in Sydney... I walked on.

Stop it.

A year out from the next local government elections many councillors are already taking the opportunity to give a bit of a boost to their profiles make a bit of a splash to let them know out there that come September next year they will be more than worthy recipients of the votes necessary to continue their tireless work in improving Albury's lot. It would be interesting to be privy to their own personal musings on their respective contributions warts and all. Most of them would undoubtedly be positive to the point where one might not be inclined to believe in their lucid definitions of perfection and service. Cr Gould is confident her record stands for itself so confident that the with 37 years under her belt she is fast approaching Cleaver Bunton's 45 years in local government and might possibly exceed it. God willing. That's the good thing when your been in local government so long because you can stand on your record confident that most people won't remember what your record was. Other councillors are always thinking of new ways to excite voter's intentions to give them a competitive advantage.

Crs Angus and Betteridge have been busy. Cr Angus an invalid pensioner   certainly has come a long way since being elected on Cr Gould's ticket with 39 personal votes. As soon as he was elected Cr Angus declared himself 'his own man' and seemed to be in complete denial that being on Cr Gould's ticket in the last election had anything to do with him being elected. Since then it's gone to his head big time! Just recently a reader told Borderline of how seriously he takes himself and the apparent authority invested in him. Apparently Cr Angus resides in close proximity to Sunwood Park, Reservoir Road, Lavington where people with a disability are given the opportunity to ride and enjoy activities connected with horse riding. Riding for the Disabled like a many similar organizations depends a lot on volunteers for its survival. On this occasion a storm went through the area resulting in numerous limbs of trees and associated debris falling on the area where they rode the horses. This bloke appears with a car and trailer and starts clearing up the mess. Cr Angus imperiously presented himself asked this bloke what was he doing not that it was obvious even to Cr Angus. Did, you might ask Cr Angus being a Christian pastor beseech this intruder in the biblical vernacular and cry out 'begone!' Maybe not but Councillor Angus's undertone suggested as much.   'Who are you,' the chap cleaning up replied. Cr Angus was somewhat taken back at the ignorance of gentleman especially as he was in his own patch. 'I am Cr Robert Angus,' After a few exchanges Cr Angus immediately rung the council ranger to but the heat on the chap for his impudence. The ranger was apparently quite embarrassed by Cr Angus's behavior and he sorted everything out.

This time Cr Angus came up with the idea (Albury Wodonga News Weekly September 20) to outlaw smoking in areas including playgrounds and outdoor al-fresco areas in Albury. He also wanted to make smoking illegal. He used to be a bit of a smoker himself but quit. 'If we If we limit the number of places people can smoke, eventually it will stop being cool,' he told the Albury Wodonga News weekly. When Cr Angus railed against the extensions to the brothel in Drome Street a year or two ago he uses more esoteric arguments but it stood to reason that for the same reason people smoke or frequent brothels it underpins the existence of tobacco companies and places of prostitution. If people stop smoking cigarettes and frequenting places of ill repute that profits from them will wither on the vine. Cr Angus said enforcing the policy (to outlaw smoking in areas including playgrounds and outdoor al-fresco areas in Albury) will be difficult. 'Policing it is the biggest difficulty because you can't spend money having council rangers walking up and down the street.' He told Albury Wodonga News Weekly.

Cr Betteridge chose a rather different course which to some verged on the near farcical. When you look at it closely, however this is not the case. It is part of a calculated campaign by Cr Betteridge and other vested interests to protect their lucrative trde and downplay alcohol and the establishments that serve it as the principal cause of anti social in Albury and in particular Dean Street.

On September 17 In the Border Mail Cr Betteridge was on the front page calling on NSW police to once and for all rid his place of business, Sweethearts Pizza, of drug dealers and other antisocial elements that ere making his life a misery. Fair enough. He didn't mention alcohol which was strange. It was drugs that were the problem. It seems Cr Betteridge is in denial about alcohol as being the principal cause antisocial beviour particularly in Dean Street. Cr Betteridge is chairperson of the Albury liquor Accord which is a voluntary, industry based partnership between Albury City, NSW Police Licensed Premises, Government Agencies and community groups. However the management committee of the Albury Liquor Accord seems less than inclusive of the various interest groups the organisation is supposed to represent. The Liquor Accord Committee comprisers 7 members. Daryl Bettertidge (Chairman, Sweetheats Pizza). Brian Grenfell (Z Bar). Gavin Grant (Bended Elbow and nightclub). Brendon Cooper (Albion) Craig Shearer (New Albury -Paddy's Bar & Bistro & Sodens ).

As you can see if you include Bruce Duck from the Commercial Club the Liquor Accord committee, which undoubtedly sets the agenda for Liquor Accord meetings and would no doubt play a considerable outcomes of Liquor Accord meetings is almost entirely made up of Dean Street interests.

Now let's go back to the 2008 Local Government Elections and the running ticket of Daryl Betteridge. Amongst his 4 running mates were Brian Grenfell (Z Bar), Gavin Grant (Bended Elbow) and Bernard Zamiara - Gavin Grants right hand man. Is it any wonder that as a councillor Cr Betteridge tries to deflect alcohol as principal cause of antisocial behaviour in Dean Street. When all evidence suggests he is encumbered to Dean Street Interests. That's why Cr Betteridge has blamed drug use more than anything else for antisocial behaviour in central Albury.

Border Mail May 30 2011 'Publicans and business owners can do nothing else to curb violence until the NSW government commits to drug testing violent revellers, Albury Liquor Accord chairman Daryl Betteridge says.

Alcohl is someone else's problem.

April 17, 2010. Border Mail. Cr Daryl Betteridge a regular visitor to the park area in the city centre, said alcohol consumption in an alcohol-free zone was being condoned by police.

July 15, 2010. Border Mail. NSW Police moves to curb alcohol-related violence on Australia Day are ineffective and flawed, Albury councillor and the city's liquor accord chairman Daryl Betteridge says.

May6,2011. Border mail. Albury Liquor Accord chairman Daryl Betteridge said police were responsible for ensuring venues didn't serve intoxicated patrons.

Etcetera.

In all these statements he makes them as chairman of the Liquor Accord. You can see a pattern developing where Cr Betteridge wears two hats. One as Chairman of the Liquor Accord and the other as a City of Albury councillor responsible for the wider well being of Albury. It seems that Cr Betteridge's main aim as chairman of the liquor accord is to muddy the waters when it comes to alcohol causing antisocial behaviour in Dean St. The question also begs is the general membership steam rolled by the committee when most of the public announcements are made by the Cr Betteridge.

What sort of game are they playing in fact. Or are they engaged in a propaganda campaign to placate wider community concerns that there is a problem with alcohol use in Albury by public relations stunts such as Mr Betteridge publically imploring the police to rid his business premises of drug dealers and other anti social behaviour.

How long has Cr Betteridge known that his premises have been used for drug dealing and anti social behaviour? For a long time it seems.Tthere's been a lot of anti socail behaviour at Seethearts over the years. This raises the obvious question: Has Cr Betteridge on any occasion taken the time to consider the moral or ethical dilemma he faces as chairman of the Albury Liquor Accord, Councillor of Albury City and businessman.

That Cr Betteridge promotes himself and Sweethearts while he selectively rails against the police, drugs, packaged grog to make his case that the licensed premises of centarl Albury are not part of the problem is disingenuous to say the least, and that drugs are producing more violence seems to have gone unchallenged in public anyhow. It was a was view supported by fellow committee member, Gavin Grant licensee of the Bended Elbow. He told the Border Mail on May 30, 2011: that believed about 80 per cent of violent incidents at the Dean Street pub labelled alcohol-fuelled by police were actually drug-fuelled.
'The aggression issue is so much higher when they're on drugs,' Mr Grant said.
'I can guarantee when people have a violent incident, you can see the difference in how quick they react and it's not alcohol.'
'They switch very quickly, alcohol is very slow, it's a depressant drug and it takes time for them to get aggravated.'

What the Liquor Accord committee are saying is that Alcohol plays a fairly insignificant part in causing anti-social behaviour. This is not correct and the Albury Police know it. Such statements are part of the smoke and mirrors campaign being run to protect the lucrative alcohol trade in central Albury from any impediments to their licences.
Like Cr Angus, Cr Betteridge confidence in presenting dodgy arguments is he seems to have let everything go to his head. It's not uncommon for councillors once elected to become slightly delusional.

This entry in the Sweethearts Facebook page suggests Cr Betteridge has considerable abilities and uses Sweethearts for all types of self promotion   April 7,2011. Lets get Daryl 'Dazza' Betteridge on the Albury Q & A Panal. The popular ABC panel program Q and A will have a live episode from Albury on May 2. They are currently searching for panelists and audience members. Anyone that has ever had a chat to Daryl about local council issues, regional issues or even international affairs knows that he is opinionated and passionate, yet level headed. Adept at handling the questions of the Border Mail, local ABC and community radio and WIN and Prime News, Albury's favourite pizzaman-politico is now keen to go Australia-wide! What better candidate for the Q and A panel to represent truly local, Albury interests on the national stage? The last thing we want is for an Albury Q and A panel to be solely hijacked by out-of-towners….

We won't include the whole piece but the general lack of humility persists.

By Cr Betteridge admitting Sweethearts is used for drug dealing and other types of social disorder he also is admitting that he profited, be it indirectly over the years. Could this, at least morally be considered ill gotten gains. Perhaps. That Cr Betteridge has in no small way through the Albury Liquor Accord committee hijacked the agenda of the Albury Liquor Accord is less probable. This is a serious, demonstrable conflict of interest. In doing so Cr Betteridge has done the wider community of Albury a considerable disservice.

Borderline recently interviewed the general manager of Countrylink research, Dr Claude Barton about the incident a few days ago when the leading engine carriage of the XPT 'came away' from other carriages on the train near a level crossing between Broadmeadows and Somerton. This is a transcript of that conversation.

Borderline: 'What actually happened Claude?'

'A hundred years ago when trains usually ran on time people caught a train to get to a destination. For example when a person embarked on a rail journey they had a destination in mind - it was not a ephemeral destination confined to some esoteric concept like an imaginary destination because the person was in possession of a ticket that said Albury to Sydney - whatever. This ticket was issued by the booking office and was real because the conductor when he checked your ticket punched a hole in it to verify that you had brought a ticket from Albury Railway station. In those days train travel even though it was reliable was sometimes uncomfortable. Then again this was compensated by reliability. Steam engines never had any air conditioning except to open a window when it got a bit hot. In winter they would put canisters of heated sand it give a bit of warmth. A criticism of most modern trains is you cannot open the window and if the air-conditioning breaks down you almost die of asphyxiation or hypothermia depending on the prevailing season. This is not so.'

Borderline: 'Why not Claude?'

Claude: 'I'm not an expert on the catering side of things but any XPT service provides a large selection of hot and cold beverages hot pies... that's when the trouble started...'

Borderline: 'What you mean that's when they banned full strength beer?'

Claude: 'As the trains became more and more unreliable it was thought that promoting the journey rather than the destination could be the answer - Of course this was somewhat problematic in the big cities when the destination was to get to the office at a time stipulated by the employer. Country folk however were thought more agreeable to the notion of the journey being more important than the destination because most people visited the big city in a fatalistic frame of mind like to visit a specialist. Say if you had to visit the city and you had a terminal disease and the specialist said you'd most probably be deceased by year's end? You'd want the journey to last forever wouldn't you. What if you were on a holiday? Are-we -nearly-there inquiries are more of the car culture than the train. What if the train operated in the evening when it was dark what a better time than to consider your journey through life. Train travel is great to solve the question your journey through life don't you think?

Borderline: 'Not always.'

Claude: The trouble is when the train is delayed for one reason great metaphysical concepts dissipate and you soon departing from singular introspection to public manifestations of the mob rules, accosting the conductor with cynical overtones and wishing all manner of disease and pestilence and other misfortunes on those responsible for the lack of inertia of the train. Even when it is explained that the train will be delayed for a perfectly good reason they are subject to threats and intimation of one sort or another. I remember distinctly a few years back when I was explaining the situation when the train was on it's way to broken Broken Hill.... a woman stood up and said the sign on the platform said the train was going to
Coffs Harbour and called me a turd. I looked it up when we eventually got to Melbourne. Disgusting.'

Borderline: 'I would have thought they would have called you worse.'

Claude: 'That's when about six months ago NSW Railcorp and their subsidiary Countrylink decided enough was enough. No longer could you promote the destination because of unreliability, also we realised you couldn't promote the journey for the same reason. That's when I suggested another course of action. As you know I have doctorate not only in economics but also in philosophy. Are you aware Friedrich Nietzsche said Mathematics would certainly have not come into existence if one had known from the beginning that there was in nature no exactly straight line, no actual circle, and no absolute magnitude? In other words you start from the pretext that there is a train but there aren't any tracks. Even if they they would be laid out in a randomly abstract way an anomalous juxtaposition of incongruous journeys and states of mind. That's when I came to the conclusion that there was no journey or destination it was all a state of mind. Remove a sense of journey and destination and you have perpetual reliability. How could you have perpetual reliability while one was slavishly obliged to the sense of journey or destination?'

Borderline: 'Then why would you travelling in the first place - who in there right mind would get on a train without contemplating the journey or the destination you'd be in some sort of metaphysical limbo? And when you arrive how would you know you were there? What if you wanted to visit your brother and you ended up in Newcastle because your brother wouldn't be there he'd be in Melbourne?'

Claude: 'That's simple the conductor would tell you actually it would be a recording because of the reliability factor. The official explanation was that the train had come apart was that it had came apart in a metaphysical sense. This however is an objective reality of the train on the tracks like now you see it now you don't. Because factoring in the reliability factor the train wasn't there because it had already arrived, what you were seeing was collapse of the wave function haven't you an appreciation of the atomic world… Schrödinger's equations?'

Borderline: 'Then where're the carriages David?'

Claude: 'The carriages are there and they aren't there. How can this be so? Is this a paradox? A situation that defies logic Lewis Mumford once called the objective world is a sort of Rorschach ink blot, into which each culture, each system of science and religion, each type of personality, reads a meaning only remotely derived from the shape and color of the blot itself. Only remotely…? Is this remoteness that is the quantum-mechanical states in random scattering the glue that binds civilization? Could be. I have my own theories and submitted them to the Royal Society. Is the cosmos reliable. What about atomic clocks which maintain an accuracy of 10−9 seconds per day (approximately 1 part in 1014) Could an XPT service have a similar reliability. The answer is yes. Ten months later I got the manuscript back unopened with not known at this address all over it an act of wanton bastardry I'm if ever I've seen one!'

Borderline'But where are the passenger's?'

Claude: 'I'm glad you asked that did you know particles can be in more than one place at once in fact a recent experiment found that one particle could be in up to 3,000 places! Did you know every human being every human being has the ability to observe and change subatomic reality that's because you cannot measure something in space and time unless you were observing it. What you are actually seeing is a parallel universe where reliability is not considered is important. A parallel universe in this instance is a mainly carbon copy with a slight difference. Our universe the actual reality we are sharing at this instance would show a full train arriving on time. That photograph was a classic time warp. They would probably have arrived hours before this photograph was taken or else it was doctored. All I can say they all arrived because my mother was on the train. '

Borderline: 'On a bus?'

David: 'As I've told you this program was started several months years ago so you have to expect some setbacks. I think the problem here is the algorithms used to perform the event simulation in were parallel computing systems were in the wrong universe. Hang on time travel - I think I've discovered time travel! The bloody Nobel Prize for Physics is mine you bastards you wait and see. I betcha they'll be falling all over themselves to invite me to their parties. Guess what know what I won't go. Just think of it you could get a train at Albury to go to Sydney and arrive there last night or the day before. You just wait until I tell them at the introduction agency!'