Faaake! Faaake! No, not the photo, that's what it actually looked like which is what caused me to utter "Woah!" and start shooting. But the weather itself was full of it. This scene may have been suggestive of a looming storm, but in fact there was nothing more than a light shower or two during the afternoon.

The circular tower to the left is Australia Square. Back in the 60's, it was the tallest building in Australia (possibly the southern hemisphere, though I can't find a citation for that) but has long since been eclipsed by many other buildings. The one running from centre to right belongs to Westpac, a bank that I have no great fondness for (like pretty much every other bank really) but am a shareholder of more from necessity than desire (like pretty much every other bank, really). The building is Westpac Place at 275 Kent Street, which is in the north western(ish) part of the CBD.

Westpac isn't under any particular clouds at the moment, though some of our mining companies are following the introduction of a new resources rental tax in conjunction with the Henry review which was released (kinda sorta) over the weekend. Thanks Prime Minister, my shareholdings really appreciate it. Ideally then this cloudbank should have been over (say) BHP's headquarters.

The problem is that that's in Bleak City, so if I were to take such a shot I'd have to be there, not here. And if I was there I'd be on leave instead of at work. I'd be spending my days photographing, visiting galleries and museums and wondering what to order from room service.

{Sigh.} Instead I'm here, at the start of a working week, and this is what you get for a PAD. When's my next leave again?
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Update August 2024: That resources rental tax? It caused such a stink and huge amount of pushback that within a month of this shot it would be scrapped, and the Prime Minister in question (Kevin Rudd) would be booted out of office. So... I guess I didn't need to go to Melbourne after all. (Rudd's successor, Julia Gillard, did introduce a resource rental tax, but a milder one than Rudd's proposal.)