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Not all of them were happy about the $85,000 either because there was a cut-off date as I recall and some missed out, and others thought they should have got more. It's a tough one and there's no easy answer but at least the WA Govt tried to do something to compensate for past mistakes.

The indigenes now drive much newer and better cars than the rest of us mere mortals do - I guess that's a total turnaround from the days of my youth. Here on the Left Coast, every single member of the "Stolen Generation" (those indigenes classed as "mixed race" and removed from their families in a well-intentioned attempt to break cycles of poverty, homelessness, drunkenness and abuse) are now entitled to receive a payment of $85,000 each, as compensation for their enforced removal from their family. They don't have to prove anything, except that they were taken away from their family as children. Unsurprisingly, a large number of the Stolen Generation have done quite well for themselves, and become productive members of society, after generally being educated in normal social obligations and acceptable behaviour. Unfortunately, some members of the Stolen Generation were badly treated, and abused in foster homes, and this has cast a black mark over the whole original scheme. I trust the monetary compensation goes some way towards appeasing their grief and anger about being removed from their families, but I would estimate a lot of the money will be dissipated by useless relatives, and spent on rapidly-depreciating items, and their anger and claims for further monetary compensation will only return after the $85,000 is all gone.

Ahh, the old "pork bung"! Watch out for it being substituted for calamari!! https://www.google.com/search?q="pork+bung"

Unfortunately, at this time of year, that green tinge is likely to be unsupported by more timely rain and it will all die off pretty quickly with more Summer heat. We are having a hot start to Summer here on the Left Coast, I hope it cools down a bit, I have plenty of work to do, outside.

You jest, surely?? These are people who live in privileged, exalted positions of power and social standing, with pay levels that look like weekly Lotto wins, to the person on the average wage. They have expense accounts that the average employee can only dream about. They have massive levels of perks, from Commonwealth cars on call, right through to a Parliamentary dining room that provides subsidised meal costs (via the allowances or by offering cheaper food prices). The basic salary of an MP is $233,000 - then they have "additional salary" (determined as a percentage of the base salary, and based on "additional duties"). They get allowances galore, including a "deceased members allowance" - which payment goes to their estate. That death allowance is determined by the formula (A x B) divided by 26, where "A" is the base salary and "B" is the number of years served as an MP. The perks, gratuities and entitlements of MP's are excessive, and have been for decades. Whitlam even advised Mark Latham to rort the entitlements system, as much as he could. These people have the ability to pay a lot of their own costs, that ordinary everyday people regularly have to do, when they travel.

It's Putins aim to destroy any economic lifeline for Ukraine, and the attack was likely loosely designed just to hit the port, and the Turkish vessels would have just been collateral damage. Russia is intent on buggering up Ukrainian grain shipments, and imports of useful equipment to support the war. Regardless, it's not the way to improve relationships with a big neighbour who has a tendency to waver between supporting the West and supporting Russia. You win wars by garnering big heaps of supporting countries, and Russia is not garnering any more support for the war, than the few countries he already has onside. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/13/russia-damages-turkish-owned-vessels-in-attack-on-ukrainian-ports

I can recall a deadly wood chipper accident here, in Jan 2004. A crew were widening a road down near Busselton (W.A.), clearing the roadside vegetation with a tractor/backhoe, and feeding it into a big wood chipper to mulch it. The highway was still in use with traffic control, and a low speed limit for passing traffic. The chipper was operating on one side of the highway, and the tractor/backhoe was operating on the opposite side of the highway. The disc in the woodchipper broke in half due to a faulty, sub-standard repair earlier in its life (these discs hum at about 4000 RPM). The disc was 1650mm in diameter and 57mm thick. The biggest portion of the chipper disc departed the chipper and went spinning vertically in a boomerang fashion, straight across the highway. It sliced the entire front off a passing car (in front of the front wheels), glanced off another passing car, then kept going, still with massive levels of energy, and it hit the cabin of the tractor/backhoe, tearing through the heavy steel square tube sections of the cabin ROPS, and going halfway through the tractor/backhoe cabin. Unfortunately, in doing so, it killed the operator of the tractor/backhoe. A truly dreadful accident, but there was no reason for the chipper owner to know that his chipper disc was defective, as it was all hidden inside the machine. Worksafe conducted an extensive inquiry, and could never find out who had repaired the disc, as the machine had earlier been purchased secondhand in the Eastern States, and there were no records of any previous repairs. Worksafe set out a lot more stringent controls over big woodchippers as a result of the accident, with frequent close inspections of chipper discs, and requirement that no repairs or modifications were to be carried out on the machines, without the input of a engineer or the manufacturer. There were photos of the chipper disc damage levels to the cars and the tractor/backhoe on the 'net at the time, but they have since disappeared. https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/12323073/17-04-wood-chipper-disk-failures

You can't be bitten by a shark if the Bathplug's in tight. Dog's too busy or away on holidays to Plan everyone's demise. Besides, Laws of Physics would have to be Bent. Please tell me of any instance of that happening. Nev

Not sure Türkiye ever became a FULL NATO country. It IS SOMETHING to Arrack Erdogan though. He's generally supported Putin. Nev

It's a Beat up Marty. This amount of Money is small Bikkies in the Graft and Corruption stakes, The BIG money is Kickbacks from Large Projects. Travelling Internationally is NO fun at all, though Trump style in you OWN flying Block of FLATS would help.. Being EXPECTED to show up and PAY all expenses is ridiculous. THEY are NOT paid enough to do that and It would still be a disincentive to go as well. No one had to search for this. It was Openly declared all along. How about that She and her kids have been threatened with DEATH? ALBO has been also at other times. Nev

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has been told to repay some of the expenses she claimed for a week-long family trip to Perth, after the independent watchdog found the spending was outside the official guidelines. Ms Rowland referred the expenses to the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) last week, after the Australian Financial Review reported she had billed taxpayers more than $21,000 for the trip in 2023, including $16,050 in flights for her family.

Allegedly:- "Russia has attacked 4 Turkish ships over the past 48 hours. 3 of the ships were hit by Russian suicide drones in the port of Odesa yesterday while 1 ship was hit by a Russian drone out at open sea." This looks like a bold step - attacking vessels registered to a NATO country. https://x.com/visegrad24/status/1999960598248091839/photo/1

Often weeds are the first to grow and the Last to die. We have a Lot of HOT weather ahead of us YET. Perth at 40 Degrees . Nev

It takes extra care. IF you say "Pig's Ar$e", it means you don't BELIEVE the statement. Nev

Most conclude the situation is getting WORSE, not better. Nev.

Jerry, with all due respect, you are living in a different country, and have done so for many years. You have to be living where things are happening to understand what is occuring in those places. Even those members here who live in our major cities don't experience the things that we who live in rural areas do. Let me give you an example. The local indigenes in my town wanted their flag flown at the ANZAC Day service. That's sort of OK by me as many Aborigines have served. So the RSL committee which was organising the ceremony asked them to provide a flag to be flown in accordance with the protocols for displaying flags. Despite the request being made in plenty of time, no flag was made available. As you know, I volunteer at our Community OP shop. It is rare to see any Aboriginal person visiting the shop. I once mentioned this to another volunteer and was told that Aborigines have too much money to have a need to buy stuff at the minimal prices we charge. Another thing that I notice is that the local indigenes do not seem to be involved in activities organised for the whole town. There is definitely a feeling of Them/Us. I would really love it if Aboriginal people would make an effort to integrate with the rest of Society as the people from other societies have done.

Different context, and I am not sure it is about guilt, but recognition that an existing culture lived here, and conquered.. with rights supporessed for many more generations.

Wouldn't the word "boneless" be unnecessary?

I don't see this issue as unique to one person/party or the other. I see the issue as excessive FAMILY travel entitlements. I think reducing it to economy flights for family, to Canberra only, would make it far more palatable to most people.

Nature bounces back so quickly! I've been bitching for months about the lack of rain at my place and how the pastures have been drying up. A couple of days ago I was thinking of posting a photo of the almost bare paddocks whick looked like they had been mown like a bowling green. Then on the same day a very strong thunderstorm came right overhead and doused the ground. I don't have a rain guage, but I hear that some nearby places recorded more than 25 mm. The next day there was another, more steady fall of rain. This morning, a couple of days later, there is a distinct green tinge across the paddocks. If it does not get too hot and there is no strong wind, the plants might be able to put on a few centimetres of growth and things will be better for grazing.

Haven't seen these in Woollies lately. Have you?

See what happens when you deport all your cheap workers? Clearly, the bloke who usually fitted the saw blade had been sent home

Hmm. Maybe this idea might be applied in a certain Antipodean country where feeling guiltless about events three or four generations ago is considered arrogant.

Mostly, yes... And certainly none of my Frankfuirt office work colleagues were directly involved. But, there remain laws on the books designed to stop the rise of Nazism. For example, privacy laws are very strong and sometimes take precendece over other laws designed to stop harm. For example, you can't record telephone conversations in Germany at all. Yet, EU law requires recording of telephone lines of financial services sales, originators, syndicators, and traders to prevent market abuse and fraud. Germany has a carve out of this requirement. The conversation was the first day after work in a bar in Frankfurt.. One of the locals, answering a question, let us know he lives in Manheim.. Me: "Wow.. you're not going to believe this, but my father used to play football [soccer] for your town's team - he was the captain. Him: "Yah, well, it's only a local club... nothing special.." Me. "It wasn't when he was playing; it was in the equivalent of the Bundesleague. I have a phot of him holding up cup to a very large crowd... Him: "Wow.. When was that... " Me (innocently) "Oh, after the war... the club was knoen as Waldorf-Manheim". crickets from everyone - people looking down.. Me thinking they didn't hear it, repeated it louder.. .and my ribs welcomed a well-aimed elbow from my manager... Oops.... I have no idea of the school curriculum in Germany, but a question of what it is relating to WWII yielded this: I think the guilt trip has to go as three or four genrations since can't be held responsible, and if they are made to feel guilty about something they are four times removed from, they will start to feel resentment, and head back to the right... Oh, wait.. hold my beer.