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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.

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?

Albanese is a global citizen, he was honored as such the other week somewhere overseas. He has little interest in Australia because he thinks more in global terms and he only sees Australia as a landmass to park millions of immigrants from third world countries, to please his global mates and big note himself ... "look at me, I'm helping the poor of the World" Australia takes a back seat with him and the Labor party. Fabian Albanese wishes for a Global Government. To him, Australia is just small fry in a bigger picture.

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.

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.