Lane of Shame

Australia is in serious relational trouble with Indonesia this week after revelations that Aussie intelligence agencies, in the course of neighbourly spying, had tapped the phones of senior figures in Jakarta including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife, Kristiani Herawati. The other current crisis is the dispute between Eurobodalla Shire Council and a Batemans Bay motel owner over who is responsible for the upkeep of a fence on the boundary of the motel and a lane running from a mall car park to a nearby street. There is hope that, over time, fences with Indonesia will be mended. The impasse over the lane boundary, not so far referred to the United Nations, seems likely to continue beyond the 13 years it has already been running.