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A former farmer client of mine turns 105 on the 20th of this month, and he's as fit as Dick Van Dyke. But did anyone see Colin Wagener, the South Australian WW2 veteran, who turned 108 recently? He still runs a 60 acre (24ha) property in the Adelaide Hills, and still drives his mower, and rides his motorbike! His advice for a long life? Steer clear of alcohol, don't smoke, and keep up an active lifestyle. https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-oldest-wwii-veteran-108-birthday/2d8381cf-2c85-409e-a685-47e03cd2ef49

I don't disagree, but ironically, prrivate enterprise is subject to much stricter rules than the government - and those rules are provided by the government - usually through tax disincentives, but also now conduct rules, etc. So unless private enterprise want to pay through the nose and the individuals through FBT, they have a much more sparlingly set of allowable expenses then your MPs (this is why the APS won't accept gifts - as well as the conduct rules. You will not believe the rules I had to navigate to accept a vendor dontaing £50 to an authorised charity in my name - in the end I asked them to donate it in their name - I don't need the accolade - and the rules are similar in Australia). The decision to travel is different to the cost of travel. The question of whether deliveing a 6 minute speech was value for money is not the same question as whether the cost of the travel and allowable expenses is accceptable or not. The minister won't usually unilaterally decide to trot off to the UN and make a speech; it will be done in consultation with the cabinet/PM office because there will be some political objective. Was it literally jump off the plane, walk in, give a 6 minute speech, walk out and jump on a plane back? Or was there some sort of unofficial meetings taking place. We tend to look at these things in isolation, but often there are tactics in play to reach an objective - one of the many battles to win the war. Even if it were literally off the plane, speak, on the plane and nothing else, it may have been part of some tactics to demonstrate to allies or partners a commitment to further negotiate for the benefit. It will all depend on the objective and whether or not that contibuted to/achieved the objective. Those questions will determine whether the trip - regardless of the cost, which has to include the minister and their staffers' time that could be spent doing something else productive was value for money. But once it is decided a trip is requied, then the quetion of cost/allowable expenses of the trip being excessive comes into play. Apart from obviosuly excessive cases, that is a subjective matter of judgement. I personally didn't think the $100K (was it) for Wells to go to NY with however many staffers given the nature of the work, etc was excessive Yes, it could have been cheaper, but these are not jollies and they should be afforded the facilities that allows them to be effective working in almost diametrcially opposed timezones where they don't have the luxury of time to adjust for jet lag. On the assertion that they are paid enough for their families, I have two points to make. Firstly when pollies have to suffer the lurks of the job - harassment, houding by the press, public admonishment, threats to life, etc,. we all say that is part and parcel of the job, they knew it before they entered it, and we have no sympathy. The perks are also part and parcel of the job - so why are we criticising them for utilising them? Maybe if you can't take your family with you, on the salary you can get, it may dissuade those that have a modicum of competence and you will only be left with the SFMs of the world. Of course we know most pollies at the top aren't the best, but to be honest, compared to the last lot, I will take these ones any day. Secondly, to you or I, $400K is a lot of money. But don't forget, these are really CEOs of large national organisations. If we are going to compare the expenses to large national private enterprises, how much do CEOs of equivlnet sized with equivalent responsibilites in the private side earn? Maybe we should just bump up ministers' salaries accordingly and not let their families travel be on the public purse? As I recall the APS scoundrel who was in charge of one of the government department (Human Services, I think) at the time of Robodebt was on something like $900K/year... And that person reports to a minister! If that were private enterprise, the minister would be earaning more than the officer reporting to them - normally. Sincerely, Devil's Advocate, Esq.

It is clear that this issue has been seized upon by "the Other Side" for point scoring. I bet that we can easily find similar examples from the times when the Other Side was in power. Is it worth getting worked up by the "righteous indignation" of any politician? It's all bluster.

Jane Hume (Liberal) said you have to Make it More attractive for Women to get them to work in Canberra. IF your Job, also "Expects" you to be somewhere why should THAT come out of YOUR Pocket? She's raising a Family also which is not so radical a Proposition. Pollies don't get Paid enough to Put up with what they HAVE to either. Everyone's Looking for s GOTCHA Moment to CREATE a Headline. Nothing is Private. Nev

The parallels with Germany from 1933 are striking. However, Trump does not have to talk of lebensraum as corporate America conquered the the global community starting in September 1940 with the Leand Lease Act.

It really shouldn't be the UNITED States Of America. THAT it definitely is NOT. What do they say? A house divided against Itself shall surely fall. Nev

Tradition, or they just haven't caught up with the news yet?

Amish men wear a beard for all sorts of reasons - some rooted in religion, others in tradition - but they all shave their mustaches. The reason for that may surprise you: the Amish are pacifists, and when their movement was just starting out, mustaches were heavily linked with a "military" look, favored by officers and soldiers. To distinguish themselves from these military men, the Amish decided to shave their mustaches off - and while today, military men prefer a clean-shaven look, the tradition has stuck!

The ratio of Ministers ousted from their Folios is heavily weighted on the LNP/Libs side perhaps they have More opportunity working for the top end of town. Nev

What about Hitler's boy soldiers of the Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend or HJ)? By 1945 some of these boys were only 12 years old. By now any survivor would be in their nineties. https://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/hitleryouth/hj-boy-soldiers.htm

I beleive he revels in the honour of mouthing the worst Cockney-ish accent in movie history.

Don't mention ze war!!! (It took me all of 5 hours to learn that in Frankfurt. Not invited back, yet)

I understand it was Business class and an important issue, around the World. Many countries are watching Australia's Move in this. SHE is THE MINISTER. NOW She and her children's Lives have been threatened by some gross idiot. That's great isn't it! Nev

Dykes have another meaning in Holland. Nev

I think that's his stage name. As a young aspiring actor the director asked his name, and when told "Penis Van Lesbian", said "Hmmmm - I think we need something else..."

As I see it, there are two separate and distinct issues here. First is the $100,000 / 6 minute speech thing. As I said, I don't have an issue with ministers flying first class. Whether the trip should have been taken, given the PM and someone else from government were already over there and could have filled in for her, is another matter. She delayed the trip because of the 000 issue. That's an understandable reason for not attending the event, and having another person make the speech and attend relevant meetings instead. The second, and the one I have an issue with, is unlimited first class air travel for family. Why first class? They are not the busy minister, they are not in the public eye and they have no value to government. Why not economy like everyone else? Also - you can argue that politicians spend a lot of time away from home and this is a necessary benefit. If that's true, then a) why do 62% of politicians NOT use this perk at all, and b), why is it not limited to travel to Canberra?

Dick Van Dyke has turned 100 years of age.

I wonder if the number of deaths and casualties suffered by the Russian forces was not as result of poor military skills. I have an impression of Russian infantry engaging in human wave attacks against Germans. That is contrary to what the Germans and Western Allies learned on th Western Front. I suppose, too, that Russian officers were happy enough to use threat to shoot slackers to move troops forward.

Dr. Keith Suter passed away peacefully in hospital at the age of 77. He was a renowned foreign affairs commentator and a respected voice on Seven's news programs.

USA Made so much Money out of WW2 that it brought them out of the "Great" Depression. USSR refused to Pay the Debt. They'd suffered the MOST casualties by far. Nev

Pose eye Don Add Vent tour - Poseidon Adventure

Yes, To the land of the free...unless you hire a prostitute -that's illegal, over state lines then it's sex trafficking. But if you video it, then it's porn and legal.

Bonnie blue is white, from a “good” country and has a very generous “personality” , and loves making the almighty dollar, maybe now Indonesia has banned her she can go there to make her videos.

Well, I think Chumpo is the bees knees... (I am planning on visiting a sick friend in the USA... ) Amazing how theiy're about protecting free speech no matter how divisive - only when it is theirs... And how they are so indifferent to people with their own views... and not the snowflakes they like to assert others are.

Buigger going to the USA. I reckon it would be easier to get into North Korea.

Here's a list of some of the high-flyers as regards spending up big on the public purse, on travel, food and accommodation. Julie Inman-Grant, the e-Safety Commissioner, gets $444,000 in annual salary and booked up $102,769 in travel expenditure just in the last year. I'd have to question just how much of this travel is really necessary, seeing as most ordinary employees have to do video conferences - and I don't think all the family needs to travel business class - which fares are often 5 or 6 times the cost of an economy fare. Note how the travel bookings by public servants surged by 20%, when Qantas offered a double status credits promotion! https://www.senatorpaterson.com.au/news/millions-spent-on-travel

God yeah red she'd be different alright , whole world is. Thanks to bloody computers , not. Every fart you make is on a damn computer somewhere and if it's not they wanna know why and nothing will be done until they find out. l'm always good to em emu, turn on my sweetest, without sucking ha ha. Sometimes some are ok , most, hopeless but glad you've had a good run lucky you. Not to mention the office now, when you said go in , crikey. You've either gotta try and talk to them through a little hole in a 7ml thick x 2mtr sheet of perspex while they sit on their stool mumbling a meter away on the other side- or they had this one stupid tiny mad capsule type thing, only one in the whole office. Dunno which would be worse the bloody perspex of that idiot of a capsule thing. last time l went into one they had desks and chairs like normal people. Anywayyyyyy, thanks to my lady today, mannnn. l still can't believe tbh, it's gonna take awhile.lf it was up to the others l've had to deal with though ,don't think l could of got there.

I reckon Willie got a new lease on life with his new hip and he's probably built another couple of sheds by now, as well as finished a heap of projects. He hasn't got time any more, for BS'ing on forums. 😄 I trust Spacey's O.K., and hasn't taken a turn for the worse. For most, the old body starts playing up, once you're over 80.

Also, @spacesailorhas been absent for a few weeks

Make the travel rules the same as for the public service. @Jerry_Atrick while there is some truth in your post, it sounds like you were working for private companies. They can waste money however they like, or at least as much as the shareholders will put up with. The government is a different beast. We can't choose to be "shareholders", our taxes pay for everything they do. A higher standard is expected and should be adhered to. While no one is arguing that cabinet ministers should travel in economy, we should ask whether the benefits of the 6 minute speech outweigh the cost - ie should the last-minute fares have been purchased at all. That trip aside, the overly generous family travel should be scrapped. Yes they have to spend a lot of time in Canberra, but any FIFO worker does the same thing and doesn't get their family flown out to visit them. As for the sporting event tickets, and any other gifts from companies - this is something that wouldn't be acceptable in the APS and shouldn't be acceptable to politicians. I'm not just picking on Wells here, there's a lot that spend more, on every side of politics. They should all remember that 99% of the people they represent get a lot less income than them.

They are saying on Sunrise this morning that her trip to NY for a 6 minute speech at the UN cost taxpayers $190,000. She also charged taxpayers to fly her from Brisbane to Sydney and back for her own birthday party, and another occasion where shw and her kids flew interstate so one son could take part in a boxing match. Back in 1986-87, I worked for the Commercial Bank of Australia Ltd, which had just merged with the Bank of NSW, forming Westpac. I was a systems analyst working on the personnel system for CBAL which had to integrate with the BNSW system. For a couple of months I flew from Melbourne to Sydney on the Monday morning. Taxi from home to airport, bus into Sydney CBD. Worked until about 8 pm, taxi to Hurstville where the bank owned a group of flats normally used by relieving staff. There were a group of us, 2 to a flat. Stayed over the following weekend, then flew home after the two weeks, then start all over again. Cooked our own meals at the flat, took care of housekeeping ourselves. The bank picked up the bills, but it was no holiday.

They chose to put themselves in that position. Oh my, I work so hard. sniff, sob. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. They might be on less than the top public servants, but it's better than Joe Bloggs, who has to cover his own expenses. (ps.) Meant to send this reply this afternoon, forgot to press Submit.

Base salary $233,660. As a cabinet minister she gets additional 72.5%, so add $169,403. Puts her a bees dick over $400k. Are you saying that someone on $400k, who already gets her own free travel and prime seat at any sporting event she wants, can't afford to pay for her family out of her own pocket?

And right there, is part of what's wrong in this country. Add in the number of top public servants "on the make" as well, and we're well on the way to being a 3rd world country. So many of the pricks getting caught lately with helping themselves, based on straight-out criminal greed. The penalties should be doubled for these greedy pricks in exalted positions. https://www.afp.gov.au/news-centre/media-release/commonwealth-employee-among-three-people-charged-over-alleged-multi https://www.nacc.gov.au/convictions https://www.counterfraud.gov.au/case-studies/senior-public-servant-involved-australias-largest-public-sector-fraud We've one prick who was working for Fremantle Ports Authority, he scammed $5M out of the Authority, took off for the high life overseas, and they still haven't caught him after more than 6 years. https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/perth-family-s-alleged-freo-ports-rort-blows-out-to-5m-as-contractors-hit-with-new-charges-20200915-p55vqw.html

God helps those who help themselves, but God help anyone caught helping themselves. Old sign from an orchard.

They'd use some kind of algorithm. Wouldn't be a human reading your posts. Probably his bum boy Elon had something whipped up for him.