Election Depression, Car Sharing, Pipelines

Take depression for a walk: McDonald
Actor Gary McDonald has long known the best way to battle his anxiety disorder is to get out of the house and go for a long bike ride or walk. The man who made Australia laugh with Norman Gunston and Mother and Son was told by a doctor 11 years ago that the best way to battle the 'black dog' of depression was to exercise. 'I know now that if I am getting a little bit that way that I just have to start the day with a half an hour walk,' he said.'Any form of exercise pumps the endorphins and lifts the spirits.' McDonald is fronting a joint campaign between anti-depression group beyondblue and Bicycle Victoria to encourage Victorians to get out and ride a bike to mark World Mental Health Day on Sunday.

Might take him up on the suggestion. Think I will probably be depressed beyond description this time tomorrow.

Vic Greens hopeful of Senate seat
Victoria has a number of seats held by small margins and the result may also deliver a Senate seat to the Greens. Victoria has five Lower House seats on a margin of less than 3 per cent. The Coalition holds Gippsland, McEwen and Deakin with Labor holding Chisholm and McMillan, which a redistribution has made notionally Liberal. The battle has been most intense in Deakin, in Melbourne's outer east, where the Liberals have campaigned on the powerful state issue of Scoresby freeway tolls using full page newspaper ads, direct mail, letterbox drops and mobile signs.

Beyond the car pool, communal cars
Melbourne is about to join a global transport movement that offers the convenience of car ownership at a fraction of the cost and will also help to reduce traffic and parking congestion. Car-sharing was pioneered in Switzerland and Germany in the late 1980s and has spread across Europe and North America. Last month, a report by the Fed-eral Government's Greenhouse Office recommended the concept as a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable alternative to car ownership. The City of Darebin will host Victoria's first car-share program. The scheme will begin in Westgarth next month and a second program is planned for Fairfield early next year. Schemes are also being negotiated for Fitzroy and St Kilda and may be in place by year's end.

A bright spot amongst the gloom.

Radical bid for freeway pipeline

The State Government is considering a radical plan to build a pipe-line for recycled water along the Mitcham-Frankston freeway. Water from the Carrum Downs treatment plant would be piped to commercial customers in the eastern suburbs. The Herald Sun believes the plan is in at least one of the two bids for the $2.6 billion project. The Southern and Eastern Integrated Transport Authority is expected to choose the winning bidder next week.

Fill up for next fuel price hike
The RACV yesterday warned Geelong motorists to fill up before record oil prices reached the bowser. Corporate relations manager David Cumming predicted petrol prices would rise early next week. ``You won't find much fuel under $1,'' Mr Cumming said. ``Next week is going to be a very expensive week for petrol.''

Toll road errors climb

Up to 2500 new cases of CityLink account errors have been found - and the audit is still going.The latest discovery follows the overcharging of 3000 customers, detected by inspectors in August. Inspectors found up to 1500 cases where they believe customers have been charged more than the trip cap, a source said. They have also identified up to 1000 vehicles they believed were wrongly classified.