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See! We ARE multicultural!

My unexpert summary is this:- Although we wish that the government can control the big economic picture, they really can't. With the unlikely exception of major politico/economic suicide. Mostly our economy is largely influenced by the world economy, of which we are a minor part. All we can do is tinker around the edges with details. I don't see the complainers coming up with examples of great ways to 'fix' the perceived problems. Just saying 'chuck em out!' is not an answer.

No such thing as an illegitimate child. They are Legit. The problem is related to the Parents situation.. It's the fault of the Church Wowsers and holier that thou, types. Nev

A couple of weeks ago there was a heat wave in NSW and due to various factors including coal generators outages due to breakdowns and maintenance, the spot price soared to over $2,000.00 a MW. As a VPP my system immediately began to sell power to the grid. It see sawed rapidly for an hour or 2 due to this occuring from numerous battery systems doing the same thing. Anyway I ended up with a credit of $65.00 over the 2 hours & my monthly bill just received is now in credit foe $70.00. This includes charging my EV once or twice a week.

Just another grasp at straws to try and discredit renewables

I actually did touch CGT, and implied in it was the negative gearing (as it is part of a tax package that was disproportionately creating demand in an asset class against all other asset classes considered for investment). I suggest you read my post. I am prepared to stand behind what I say and provide references accordingly when required (which I am sure other forumites sometimes loathe the extents I will go to). It equalises treatment of one investment asset class.. and guess what. although the fundamentals would still include investment residential property in a portfolio for stability and growth, people (investors) are going knee jerk. And also, unlike other investment classes, residential property is for people to live in and build some security, The way it was being treated through preferential tax treatment was to artifically inflate the price denying millions of Aussies who aren't as cash rich as others a chance of financial security. A lot of young (and increasingly older) can't rely on the bank of mum and dad. To me, it is a positive step forward and it is not socialist. In fact the regime was in effect wealth socialism - artificially funnelling asset (or redistributing) to the more wealthy and already secure in society using tax incentives to inflate demand. You;re against socialism, but in a perverted way, it is redistributing the wealth - which is what socialism is about. It took a lot of balls to do the right thing as the backlash was always going to be huge. That to me, is the definition of leadership and one of the reasons why Albo has earned my respect as a leader. I still think he can do a lot better, but compared to the competition and many of his predecessors of both colours, he is not doing bad.

Why don't you spend time convincing us just how bad he has been for Australians. The inflation you have at the moment is largely globally driven and Australia, which is heavily dependent on imports of fuel thanks to decisions made way back in the Howard era where Japan and China buys gas off us at knock down prices and on-sells for the profits. This denies Australians accessing their own resources at what should be these knock down prices, but also results is massively lost profits locally as a result and also increased input costs as we have to buy our energy at global rates. Sadly, your issue at the moment should be with Chump. The CGT reform - yep can be argued as a bit overboard for some asset classes and it will depend on where you sit in terms of the housing market. If you are a house owner in the cities, yep you are probably spitting a bit as the prices return to a more natural normal rather than the artificially high prices resulting from a disproportionate incentive to invest (and create unnatural demand) in an investment asset class because it was treated more favourable from a tax perspective than other asset classes. However, longer term, the prices will stabilise and those who recently purchased or use leverage to fund investment will be back in the black. But at the same time, it makes housing affordable for people.. who need housing.. Also, as I said unless you owe money on your house wyere you have seen your equity fall a bit, or you are using it as leverage, it will make no real difference as the price relative to other properties will be in synch... Pursuing net 0 is absolutely the right policy for both longer term energy security and a simple fact - it will be over the same amortisation period as fossils, be a lot cheaper. So, for the future of the country, this is vital and people who are wedded for short term pricing are just kicking the can down the road. And that is before the environmental costs kick in. There is only one developed and not too many major emerging markets that aren't pursuing renewables as a, if not the major source of generation. Yes, China is building fossil plants still; its demeand is insatiable, but its is building renewables at a much bigger rate. I am not sure where this sits, but at least a policy promise of the Albo government is to buy Australian. i.e. use public money to channel into Australian rather than foreign interests. As I said, I am not sure where it is. In the fuel crisis, Albos was far quicker than most other nations to reduce tax to reduce the burden on the consumer; many countries (such as the UK) didn't do that at all. If you compare the above to the previous conservative government (and I did a fuller analysis somewhere else), then largely Australia is better off than pursuing the LNP policies, and good luck to you if you think PHON's policies are going to result in an economic nirvana. There are some things that Albo needs to get a grip on.. definitely: Sovereign debit has increased past $1TN. Australia still retains it's AAA+ status with all major agencies, but this is something that needs to be reigned in. The Gas Excise should be applied. Look at Norway and Qatar to understand why. AUKUS is a joke - we could use that same amount to build a locally owned and controlled defence industry pumping out weapons that would really be of use to us. The Fair Work Act, I think is overly onerouos - not so much on the pay and conditions, but all of the other obligations it imposes. There was a case where an award was won under the fair work act because, as I recall, the employer didn't take appropriate steps to protect an employee from domestic abuse... I have to look it up, but it was along those lines. That is, to me anyway, clearly beyond the responsibility of the employer (maybe with some narrow exceptions). AI is coming and it is going to bite faster than people realise. Provision and structural changes are needed to insulate Australia from the worst. I am sure I have missed from both sides of the argument. Labor could do a lot better, but if we had LNP or PHON, they would also need to do a lot better if they implemented what they said they would... and they would have to do a lot more to even catch up to Labor. I am not a "socialist" by any any stretch of the word except one... I do think that people have to work for the economy, but the economy also has to work for the people. And I do believe in a fair reward for risk..Capitalism so far has the most effective allocation of resources. Of course, the fully competitive market can only ever be a theory, and I think you are mixing up true socialism with ensuring fairness in the markets. The disproportionate rewards compared to the risks taken especially at the multinational or large corporate level is currently obscene.

Many of the adopted children have gaps in their history as they grow older. Did they love me? Why was I given away? Was I not wanted? What happened to my birth parents? Were they married? Was I the result of a one-night stand? Are they still alive? Did I have any siblings or half-siblings? It's very hard for someone to discover that their parents were married and they had older and younger siblings. Why would parents give away a middle child? The reasons for giving up a child are many. The mother may only have been 15 or 16 and too young to care for a child. Casual relationships that broke up, with no support for the child. Strict parents not wanting the shame. Religious attitudes to unmarried mothers. Mixed races or religions (Catholic and Protestant in Ireland). Relationships with foreign servicemen reposted to their home country. Even for married couples, if the father is out of work or in prison. And the list goes on. Another consideration is genetic disorders passed from generation to generation. There was a couple who had to surrender their child because they couldn't afford to feed themselves, let alone a baby. They stayed married for a couple of years, then divorced. The father suffered a heart condition and then discovered it was a genetic disorder. The race was on to locate the son. The parents searched together, through the program, and located the son. He was tested and found he had the disorder. He was only months away from a heart attack, but was treated in time and saved. Mothers forced to give up their child `through parental pressure, social stigma or economic circumstances pine for their lost child for the rest of their lives, wanting to know if they had a good life, loving adoptive parents, and have made good as they grew up.

Just like IRAN? I want Freedom FROM Religion. Keep it OUT of Politics. Nev

Here is an example of a good use for ChatGPT, and I suppose Calude and the others.

Jeez, that's a long game! 😁

Lst night I watched an astonishing light show in the clouds. Usually one gets intermittent lightning flashes, but this storm light show was just like New Year's fireworks. The storm was way off in the distance, but I did get about 12mm of rain in a couple of very heavy showers. However, this is a storm that moved over tjhe NSW Southern Highlands yesterday.

I agree with your skepicism. Sure, it's still early days. But so far the returns don't seem to be ramping up in proportion to the collective $billions being 'invested' in data centres and A.I.

I'm happy to use non-fossil electricity. Presently expecting a $200 credit for this quarter. That projects to a break even at about 6 years, but considerably sooner after we get a new EV to use the excess that presently only goes out to the grid at 8c/Kwh.

It is a shame that Sir Patrick's memory is being hung on only one of his roles. Why Sir Patrick? He was knighted in 2007 for his services to drama. He had a long career as a Shakesperian actor. Also, one of his movie roles was in the X-Men franchise. The movie role I remember is as King Richard in Mel Brooke's Robin Hood - Men in Tights. He also was held in high esteem for his series of readings of Shakspeare's Sonnets during the COVID lockdown.

Brendan, this is what you need: https://www.ustraveldocs.com/au/en/immigrant-visa

Should answer your question.. My comparison with SFM is tp show he ain't worse (nor better) than the next one. Am I accepting it? In so much as there isn't anyone too much better to lead at the moment, IMHO. It's not great for me to admit it, but, as you say because of a lack of quality political leaders, is a sad state of affairs and cutting one's nose off to spite their face seems counterproductive given the benefit the change has already had. In terms of picking and choosing promises - I am not sure what you're referring to; all I did was regurgitate stats and I did qualify by saying by itself is not a good comparator. It is meant to be illustrative to Brenden mostly that not only Albo lies. I have to admit, I don't quite understand this comment.. Who was referring to the last government. Didn't Albo take action to stabilise (and return to normal levels) the housing market.. for now and in the future? What have I missed. Yep, he did like - well I believe he did.. And yes, he is paying for it politically at the moment. He timed it so (for him) the correction was swift and more people could afford homes and by the time the next election came around they would be thanking him in the ballot box resulting in a notching up of the price so those affected by the price correction could see the upside. I have to admit, he is not the master of political timing and trying it when there were geopolitical tensions that were likely to spill over and result in a global fuel price shock was not the smartest thing to do, politically. Is that the best you can do. Let me stoop to your level.. if you think the others are better, then your head is firmly wedged in a place where your torso has to form a semi-circle to get your head to. Quite, tightly wedged, too.. And part of my job is to research economies and economic performance. So, here is a graph for you.. It's the 10 year Aussie Federal Government Bond Futures Index: What it is saying is that basically, that 10 year bonds issued by the Federal government are likely to increase in price, meaning a lower yield (interest rate). This is the Standard & Poors index, which is an industry benchmark: https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/indices/fixed-income/sp-asx-australian-10-year-treasury-bond-futures-index/#overview In other words, a lot of highly qualified people who are much better than your and I put together at assessing current and likely future economic performance are putting bets on Australia as they think the current government and the RBA are doing a pretty good job managing the finances and economy. These are futures contracts rather than the bonds themselves and they represent an agreement to deliver a certain number of 10 year Aussie bonds for the stated price at the maturity of the futures contract. These are exchange traded and there is a very liquid market in 10 year Aussie bond futures. The markets are effectively saying, at the moment, we think the cost of borrowing for Australia will come down. That will be predicated by good economic management; otherwise, the riskier the loan, the more interest you will pay. The fixed income market (bonds) is the canary in the coal mine of economic performance- it responds much earlier to economic activity than the stock markets. And the futures market is the early warning system of that canary. At the moment, Australia is looking very good, indeed. Sorry to rain on your parade. Ironically, you may want to bet against the Aussie dollar because as the price rises, the yield drops and investors will look for better returns.. However, the RBA always intervenes to ensure Australia remains competitive in the investor market. What would happen to the curve if any of the others got in? The reality is I don't know. But, as the election gets closer, we should take a look at the curve against who is the favourites and see what it has to show us. Just remember that.. the people who are risking large sums of their money (for many, their livelihoods) are banking on the Australian government and RBA doing a good job managing the economy. Futures are a zero sum game; you bet the wrong way, and you lose it all; they're not like equities where unless the company goes broke, you can extract some value from each share you hold. And, it's not the only thing we could use to measure performance, but it is a good first cut.

I love old industrial machinery. Today I picked up this old J.S. Richardson drill on marketplace and couldn't resist it for $50. There's way more value than that in the steel, electric motor and other components. Good old drills, made in Sydney in the days when we manufactured stuff and employed Australians. At some stage in it's career it's been converted from a pedestal drill to a wall mount. I already have a big industrial grade pedestal drill, so my first thought with this is to mount it like the second photo I've edited with a flip-around and a cutout. In other words, use the wall mounting plate as a base stand and do a bit of sideways stuff with it. I'll have a good look in the morning and check how that will fit with the gearbox oil level/ fill and drain plugs etc. in that orientation.

How could anyone say he is a good prime Minister. He has no interest in helping Australians . I have to stop before I get in trouble again. Too many left wing socialists here.

All true Peter. It's all very sad. Nev

This may well have been posted before.. But in case

Well Marty, in my opinion it's nothing to do with parties or one side or the other. I look at it purely from the point of view of the position of prime minister and the certain amount of decorum and basic manners the holder of that office should have. What he did has nothing to do with what party he's from. My concern about what happened is that any prime minister of Australia would behave like that. I'd be pounding on him exactly the same if he was a Liberal prime minister or from any other party. Sure, a lot of them have done some crazy things over the years, like Gorton falling asleep pissed on a plane, waking up and spewing on the floor. And like that other time he was full as a boot at a function and made some very crude remarks about an African diplomat's wife when he was introduced to her. The point is, Albo, through his job position shamed the office of prime minister of Australia. When he (or anyone else in the position) does something like that, I couldn't give two hoots what party they're from. Just because other PM's have done bad stuff doesn't lessen what he's done. I can't see how whataboutism should apply here. No amount of yeah but's will lessen it

Paul Wittgenstein (November 5, 1887 – March 3, 1961) was an Austrian-American concert pianist notable for commissioning new piano concerti for the left hand alone, after his right arm was amputated during World War I. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Wittgenstein

No. It was a Dad joke.

Somewhat connected to this thread, although it relates to many more than just Albo. Our corruption rating has dipped slightly lately. So much for transparency and a proper Anti Corruption watchdog (we only got a toothless watch-puppy) https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2025

You forgot the RAT RACE. That's everywhere but the BUSH. Nev

I'm wondering if the AI boom might go bust. I need to separate the technology from the financial backing it needs. I don't see the technological side of things dying off. There will always be people playing with it and developing its abilities. However, it seems that recently there hs been some nervousness amongst the sources of finance for it. At the moment, those seeking to finance AI seem to be hyping it when they are making their requests. Howver, it also seems that those who can provide the finance are concerned that the returns on investment are too long in coming. I'm not a financial expert, but my opinion is that those providing the money want both security for their money and at the same time they want the profits to roll in pretty quickly. In other words, investing in AI is a risky business. I think that these financiers, having been burned by the dot.com bubble and the causes of the 2008 GFC, and factoring the uncertainty of the global political situation might become more reluctant to go in as deeply as those seeking finance might like. However, my opinion is based on the way I think Wall Street types operate. I think that they are too concerned with short term returns. That leaves the other major economy whose mind set allows for playing the long term, regular small returns game. We live in interesting times.

Probably because Star Trek: the next generation had 178 episodes spanning 1987 - 1994. Plus 4 movies with the same cast, with the latest in 2002. For us Gen X's that's a big chunk of our teens and early adulthood.

Individual wind generators are shut down when there's no way to use the Power they would generate. It's no big deal. There are times of the day when you can get power from the Grid for No cost. Nev

AEMO bring assets online and take them offline regularly as part of their management job. Can't use that as valid complaint against any particular generator. Each generation class has it's own profile and gets used according to that, combined with grid requirements. So, the system works. And?

Geez, mate. It wasn't a BYO.

When I go into Melbourne the Large Number of Giant trucks is what I notice most. Upping the Allowed weight of them wouldn't help road surfaces, particularly when there is a Lot of rain. Once water gets under a road it's stuffed. Nev

It isn’t that he is a liar, that is in the job description. It is the left wing policies in industrial relations, taxation and welfare that are destroying our economy. Worst PM since Whitlam.

Two months, that's bizarre for something that size. Like a third world country. What's going on down there, is the council bankrupt or something?

It's interesting how different people view things. A bloke on marketplace not too far from me has two Howard Juniors for sale. They are almost runners, just need a clean out as they've sat for a while, but otherwise complete, near running machines. One is a MK1 and the other is a MK2 which has the reverse gearbox. Also he has a non-running Howard Terrier he's throwing in for free. The Terrier has the 300cc side valve engine the same as the old Kelpie engine I have. I was just a little bit too late messaging the seller. He said he has a prospective buyer coming tomorrow afternoon to look at them and will let me know if he doesn't commit to buying them. So here's the thing. The seller wants $150 for the three hoes, roughly equivalent to half a trolly of groceries if you're just buying cheap food. Forgetting about the rotary hoe part of it and breaking it down into parts, for $150 you get two 670cc single cylinder side valve engines with the motorcycle style round crankcase, one 300cc single side valve engine, heaps of solid steel shafts, bearings, pulleys, gearboxes, clutches, fuel and oil tanks and other various handy components. You could sell the carburettor off one of the Juniors and get your $150 back. So why someone would be a tyre kicker and not seal the deal stright away is beyond me. The only thing I can think of is that the bloke is solely looking for a viable rotary hoe to dig a veggie garden and doesn't see the other value in it. I'll see what eventuates tomorrow regarding whether they get sold or not. The message I got back from the seller gives me the impression I'm second cab off the rank if the other bloke doesn't buy them. Attached is a photo of a Junior engine. It shares the exact same top end as the front cylinder on the 80 cu.inch Howard Eight V-twin in previous posts.

Got a better pic of the old Richardson drill today. It's a heavy old thing, a lot of cast iron and heavy steel plate where the mount has been modified. This is the way I'll mount it as a horizontal drive if the gearbox lube works out.

You are very selective. We are doing pretty well compared with any country Still AAA rated economy. Tell me where you'd rather be living. The facts are there if you cared to reference them, but they would spoil your take on it. We are not even sure the Libs will survive. They don't exactly speak with any united voice. Nev

You are the one who is making the statement. Would you look it up if I claimed that it was true that the Moon was made of green cheese? Remember, it is a custom of this forum that those who make claims of fact be prepared to openly provide references to the source of those facts.

I really think that which ever mob forms the Government, the person that Party puts in the position of Leader should not have to carry the ball for evry MInister in the Government. Those Ministers were chosen to attned to the operations of a particular area of government. I think that they should be the ones fronting the media. The captain of a sporting team isn't the one who is expected to score all the points for the team. The Prime Minister's role should be more about the international diplomatic side of Federal politics.

Interesting. Search term for Google: "what is anthony albanese's original name" Response:

I have seen lots of stories like this, as I am kind of addicted to a program called Long Lost Family. It is an English program that has run for a number of years, but there is an American version, and there was an Australian version for one season. The program acts on behalf of people who were adopted at birth or an early age, or parents forced to give up their children, but have wanted to find out that they have a good life. In the UK in the 50's, 60's and 70's, having a child out of wedlock was a family disgrace, and many parents refused to have their illegitimate grandchild brought up in the family, putting the mother in a mother and baby home till the child was born, then having it adopted. Often these adopted babies grew up to be adults who looked nothing like their adoptive parents or siblings, and wondering where they came from. The program uses DNA databases and special intermediaries to trace their parents because the details of adopted children were usually changed and protected. It is very emotional when an adoptee is reunited with their birth mother or father, or when birth siblings who did not know about each other finally meet. Family is often located in other parts of the world. The most difficult ones are foundlings, who were dumped by their mother on doorsteps, phone boxes, even railway luggage racks. They have no record of where or when they were born, just a baby in a cardboard box or shopping bag. The program airs on Channel 2 and is available on ABC Iview.

Also, about 4 million votes were void. Lula 51.79% PT · Incumbent 64,256,232 votes Flávio Bolsonaro 48.21% PL 59,826,041 votes Null (invalid) - 4,153,801 votes

Conservative Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has followed his imprisoned father’s lead by refusing to concede defeat to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who won a historic fourth term in the presidential ‌election. US President Donald Trump suggested on Monday (local time), without providing evidence, that Brazil’s election was “rigged.” “It looked like another rigged election, frankly,” he said. Other world leaders quickly rallied behind Lula’s victory, with congratulations pouring in from the EU, Mexico, France, Canada, India and Russia.

For some reason, South Sydney is the preferred team here.

or somebody everyone try's to avoid,

Just as a postscript, there is no perspective alongside other political leaders in Australia applying here. It was a standalone act done by him and him only and should be viewed as such in my opinion. So you can yeah but what about ... (insert whoever here) all you like, you'll be talking to a post in my case.

I must say that I don't find Bush Barbie's style of comedy comes anywhere near the standard our earlier comics (non-gender term used deliberately). From the videos I've seen of her, she uses her physical appearance to attract ateention, which it sure does. However, having grown up enjoying the witty use of language and irony, both in the English and Australian styles, I think she just doesn't come up to standard.

That sounds like a good way to do it. I'm only just starting to get bills again. With my low power useage and all the post covid state and federal subsidies that we were recieving, I was in credit for a long time. I don't think I paid a bill for a couple of years or more, so just getting used to it again.