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He's just an uncouth C**t.

True. But Oscar was NOT armless, was he! But he didn't have a leg to stand on.

But, it is OK to bag, but I also prefer to offer some solutions. This has previously been discussed on these forums. but a couple from memory: Ban political donations more than a de minimis amount from one controlling person/group (to make it hard to create 100 cmpanies and each of them contribute a seaparate donation to the limit). Maybe restrict it to living people rather than corporations. I would personally advocate a ban on lobbying groups and companies. If you have something to say to the government, it can be done through a public forum where everyone gets to hear it and scrutinise it. And contribute to it. If not point 2, ban parliamentarians from lobbying or representing/being emeployed by firms in any official or real capacity that involves communication - directly or indirectly - with the government. Period. No cooling off periods, etc. Aussie media regulator, ACMA, being given real teeth over both mainstream and social media, which must have independence, legally trained/accomplished people adjudicating, where they can impose real consequences/punishment for intentionally misleading the public. Those impacted can appeal through the court systems if they want. Of course, paid advertorials that are clearly labelled as such would be exempt, however, if the publisher reasonably had facts that rebuke such advertorials, then they have to state this prominently either before or after ther advertorial. A new "offence" is intrroduced of high public misconduct (there is a public misconduct charge which is applying a damp wetted to the wrist very softly). For this, the bar should be recklessness in its criminal definition( foresaw the consequences that are likely to happen, didn't want them to happen, but went ahead with the action anyway) or intention. In other words simple incompetence or even negligence do not count. So, unless the polly clearly states the likely outcome of their policy, and it results in an absurd and large cost to Australians and the benefit promised doesn't materialise, they can be held liable, with the punishment being they and their controilling interests (so, for example, not hiding assets with a partner or company or whatever) can be held finalcially responsible (i.e. having to pay what they can back). The above offence would automatically include acting on prohibited lobbying. I am sure I could think of many more things, but I bet with the above, there would be far more transparent and hopefully logical and rational decisions made in the best interests of the country as a whole.

He's the ultimate snake oil salesman. Back in the early 1900s, travelling salesmen would sell "miracle cures" to naive country folk. Said remedies did absolutely nothing, of course, except leave the victim poorer and still sick. Trump is exactly the same. A liar and braggart. Promised to "drain the swamp" when in fact he's the biggest alligator ever to inhabit any level of government. Promised to "make America great again" and has only made it worse. Promised to make ordinary people's lives better and has only raised prices, lowered healthcare, and made billionaires richer. Promised to start no wars and has invaded multiple countries. A rapist, fraudulent, morally (and multiple financially) bankrupt huckster who has fooled the religious into believing he's god's choice. Someone totally devoid of tact, empathy, diplomacy or character. In fact, if you were to say "Apart from death row inmates, who is the public figure with the least Presidential qualities?", the answer would be "Donald Trump".

Gina and her old man are/were just greed merchants of the highest order. Lang Hancock was a money-grubbing grub who used smart lawyer/accountants to initially write up an iron ore royalty agreement whereby he got 2.5% of all monies earned from a number of iron ore leases that he'd pegged - in perpetuity. The second thing he did was set up a major trust to avoid paying any tax on that massive amount of money. So Rio Tinto pays this family multiple tens of millions each year for no effort whatsoever on their part, and they pay zero tax on it - until the Hancock Trust is dismantled. That's why Gina spent hundreds of millions on lawyers and court cases to stop her children from dismantling the Handcock Trust. She succeeded. She paid her children a few tens of millions to keep them from grabbing more of the billions in the Trust. Gina married an American tax evasion expert, one Frank Rinehart, who narrowly avoided going to jail for tax fraud. He wound up with a suspended jail sentence. He was a crook who taught Gina all about tax evasion and how to manipulate laws to keep winning unfair gains. Frank Rinehart was a total fraud, he lived a double life with another woman while he was married to Gina. Gina believes she's the only one entitled to W.A.'s iron ore wealth, as her family pegged the first iron ore leases - and that everyone in Australia should genuflect to the Hancock dynasty and thank them eternally for the huge efforts the Hancocks have made to build up Australia. The truth is, they're nothing more than 20th and 21st century robber barons. https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-man-who-came-between-gina-and-her-father-20120622-20tll.html

The expression on Takaichi’s face and her uncomfortable shifting in her seat shows just how Trump’s unexpected and ignorant jibe landed. She was visibly shocked. He hasn’t got a clue of course. Then Eric Trump’s response on X; “One of the great responses to a reporter in history!” A true chip off the old block. The sooner they are all gone, the better.

That post, apart from the typos, is quite coherent. The message might be crap, but it is correctly written following the rules of syntax and rhetoric. It can't have been written by a person whose inability to verbally express an idea clearly is exhibited on a daily basis. Trump's not writing these posts. He must have one of Musk's IT whiz-kids doing it.

Following a spike in accidents and deaths, Queensland is putting new laws before parliament to crackdown on the use of ebikes. Faster, more powerful e-bikes — anything over 25km/h — will now be treated like motorbikes or mopeds, meaning they can only be ridden on the road and must be registered and insured. On footpaths, riders will have to slow right down to 10km/h, and a new offence will make it illegal to ride near pedestrians without proper care. There’s also a broader push behind the scenes, with plans to tighten rules on retailers, crack down on tampering, improve lithium battery disposal, and roll out education campaigns to try and get on top of the growing issue. Parents could also be held responsible, with fines able to be passed on if their child breaks the rules. Police are being given stronger powers too, including random breath testing, and the ability to seize and impound illegal devices on the spot, with repeat or serious cases potentially seeing bikes destroyed. There’s also a broader push behind the scenes, with plans to tighten rules on retailers, crack down on tampering, improve lithium battery disposal, and roll out education campaigns to try and get on top of the growing issue. E-wheelchair users will be exempted from these rules. Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg branded the suite of changes "nation-leading reforms". "We are banning under-16s from these devices because the safety of kids is paramount," he said. "We've taken the time to get this right, and our reforms strike the right balance between keeping Queenslanders safe from those who do the wrong thing, while backing the Queenslanders who do the right thing."

It will only be fair if all fossil fuel tax breaks including excise exemptions on diesel are removed. The same for FBT on leases. For decades we have propped up fossil fuels and bussiness vechicles and now EVs are popular they want to change the rules. Yes, we should get taxes for the infrastructure, we should also be taxing the environmental harm- which is far more expensive.

You first need to get rid of the tens of millions of idiots who support him, and who post on FB pages that Trump has done nothing wrong, and he's the greatest leader America has ever had! Americans deserve all the shitty living conditions they're going to get, simply because they voted this moron in.

Digging holes in the ground? Mining today is one of the most high tech activities in industry. Knowing where to dig, how to dig and doing it safely involves all sorts of expertise.

Oh, well let's see that the MAGA Master of name calling does: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nicknames_used_by_Donald_Trump Yet the minute someone offends his sensibilities, he is on the line to defamation lawyers. Now, who else has been on the line to defamation lawyers when people call her names? I reserve the right to bag anyone I think is not doing the right thing - that is a cherished right of freedom of speech... But I won't bag them without at least there being evidence to do so, unlike others aforementioned. @Siso - We all get your argument - she is playing within the rules so bag the pollies for not changing the rules and not the ones playing within the rules. If life were that black and white, it would be a better place. But the reality she and her ilk have resources and access to disproportionately bend the wilingness of the rule makers to their aims and objectives and they are not afraid to use it. Yep - she employs a lot of people, directly and indirectly. But she couldn't without all the other infrastructure that is in place from roads to education to provide those people she emplys. Yet, she is not willing to pay for it. When proposal for rule chnages are made to even up the playing field, she is in there pulling no stops to make sure those rules don't see the light of day, let alone get passed. So, too are her ilk; Palmer comes to mind, but all the faceless corporation heavyweights - ironically those owned by foreign investors.. The one thing is at least Gina's companies are Aussie owned. You can sit through the "well, she is playing by the rules, so blame the pollies as they can change the rules." Yes, in theory, but the backlash Gina and her ilk can unleash means pollies are very well constrained in what they can do. And the billionaires aren't the only ones. We had the BLF, and today we have the CMFEU (or whatever); Good ol' Jacinta Allan seems to be in their back pocket. Hard for her to change the rules to be more fair when her sponsors (and in her case, her husband) are calling shots behind the curtain.

Sorry, Nev. I missed your post. I bought it with 40,200+ miles on the clock. Today, it sits 3 miles short of 45,000 miles. When you think I had the bike for about a month before I did my first ride to London (from memory), it has clicked up 3.700+ miles in 3 months. The original tyres were at about 1/2 life, so they lasted as expected. I expected a few bits to be needed to be done. And sure enough, they do. I don't have all the tools and the space to DIY, and even if I did, it would take me 3 or 4 times longer than if I got someone good to do it. The latest mechanics were OK, but I noticed a few minor things they didn't get right. The new tyres are excellent. But, they didn't inflate them to the correct pressures. I had since corrected that, and it rides really well. The rear brake/wheel still has a squeak, but I have checked and there seems to be an issue with the piston - somethign I would have hoped they picked up when changing the disc. So, they are going to look at next week. I gave it a good dose of brake cleaner and it seems to have quietened it down a but. The heated grips no longer work. They wired them into the fuse box, and I guess the fuse has blown. I am thinking there is a short somewhere, but I don't have the space to take the fuel tank off to trace the wiring. Since they were playing up before I took them in to be rewired, I am guessing it was the previous mechanic who has probably cut into the insulation or something. At the end of the day, these are minor things. The electrical system initially worried me, but it seems to be functioning well (touch wood). The engine purrs like a kitten, and the clutch and gearbox seem in good shape, if a little notchy at times. For an 18 year old bike, it is still hanging together well. Well, this weekend, it was great riding weather, if a little chilly in the morning. Yesterday was nice and sunny and we hit abour 17 degrees. Today was more on the grey side, with the odd ray if sunshing getting through and it was 16. My son and I went for a ride both days and covered around 130 miles between the two days. We found some nice twisties with excellent rolling countryside views as well as views to the Bristol Channel. We stopped at the local Harley/Indian dealer, and then the Triumph dealer, where a bunch of young fellas made a bee line to the son's bike and they all spun a good yarn. We pootled/bimbled around a bit more and then all of a sudden, on a country road (we aren't short of them around here) he decided to open up the throttle and got the little beast to 70mph, I did ask him to read back his speedo (we have intercoms). Today it was back to the twisties and some riding in town for practice, where he did stuff up navigating a roundabout. He was very disappointed with himself, but as I point out, even the most experienced riders make mistakes, that he wasn't dangerous, and as long as he learns from them, he is in the black. The Biffa (nickname for CBF1000's here) is an absolute joy to ride. Smooth and very positive acceleration, respectable handling int he twistes (knee didn't quite get down - and I don't have sliders, anyway). Only real complaint is that over the potholes it is a bit stiff. Maybe I should take a look at the rear shock. Bikers were out in force both days, and the convention here is a tilt of the head to the middle of the road, with a slight nod at the same time. Most people do it, and some quite pronounced. The alternative is a wave of the left hand with an extended arm. All in all a good day.. Next week, the Halse Angels will head to a beach on the Bristol Channel - most likely Minehead, which is only 14 or so miles away. Then the real test for the lad - a ride into London.. to the Aussie High Coommission for an appointment for his Aussie passport renewal (his old passport isn't one fo the new tech ones, so it is like a new passport application. Looking at doing it Wednesday week.

They don't all Have 37 Billion to buy their way into everything. She will replace them with robots without batting an eye lid. ALL she cares about is Making more Money for Herself. No one want's that kind of thing to be Happening within their Government. It's NOT good for the Country. Gina's on record saying Paying a fine is ok for ALL crimes and Workers are worth 2 Dollars a day. She's No Angel. Nev

https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/03/20/Australian-Mining-Billionaire-Sues-Canada/ Sure mate. Have a read of that. Support this horrible woman all you want but don't be blind to what type of person she is. When you get to a certain level of wealth you have the ability to distort democracy. From the article - " subsequent rulings by the Court of Appeal, Court of King’s Bench and Supreme Court of Canada repeatedly found that Northback had no legal case." So Gina's company pushed their vexatious claim through every level of Canada's legal system and were knocked back each time. Then they went for the last refuge of the mega rich multinational, Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). If you don't know what that is, research it. Phillip Morris and Clive Palmer have attempted ISDS cases against Australia and thankfully were unsuccessful. Before you say "go petition your politician", a few years ago I did exactly that, sending emails to every lower house member pleading that Australia not be a part of ISDS. I believe that we now do not include ISDS provisions in any trade agreements. But that hasn't stopped Gina from trying to steal $7b from Canadian taxpayers for a project she spent $220m on. Still a Gina fanboi?

Can you see what's wrong with our electoral system? One Nation and independents got well over 1/4 of the primary vote, perhaps a 1/3, and because there was no seats won except for one independent, all those votes end up with zero value. The only votes that have value are the ones that help to win seats. The votes that don't win seats just remain as bits of paper filled out by voters who get ignored for the next four years. This is one of the reasons I stopped voting. Some votes have significant value, while other votes have no value at all. For a system that has mandatory voting, all votes should have value, and proportionate representation in the running of the State, or Nation So the jurassic idea of "winning seats" needs to be changed to: "A party is to get as many votes as it can, and then, a party's voters will get a real say in Parliament". In other words, abolish "seats", and have proportionate representation in Parliament instead. That will mean every vote will have value every election. No voter will be left behind.

I have two friends who are a vigorous 90 and will be having lunch on Monday with someone who just turned 96. There is hope for all of us.

Neice Mary Trump Had him summed up Years ago and she's a trained Psychologist with detailed knowledge of how he was raised. Just how better off the world would be now if More Americans had read her book. Apparently the Biggest MAGA supporters are White supremist Evangelistic Christians who are also the Most Heavily into guns. 60 Million of them. Sleep Peacefully. What could Possibly go wrong? Its unfolding at a rapid rate but it will be everyone's Fault But Donalds.. Hitler expressed similar views. Nev

This image shows the type of terrain around Tehran.

Red, your link is a Faecesbook scam site, designed to suck in anyone who believes everything they read. There is no $5M contribution to a homeless centre by Barnaby Joyce and Pauline Hanson, it's all TOTALLY FAKE NEWS. Just like the FB stories and photos of Pauline Hanson collapsing in Parliament, 100% lying, total BS.

GST is proportionately more expensive for those who earn less. While it is a flat rate, it requires a higher proportion of a low income persons money than a high income person.

I believe it's captioned Duck Donald. Nev

Nothing personal, GON, but why do you object to a progressive mindset? We need to make progress. Without progress we are stuck in 'same old, same old' systems. I wish our politicians started making progress toward fair policies. Progressive is the opposite of 'stuck in the past.'

Trump is BS Central. There wouldn't be two consectutive words come out of his mouth with an element of truth in them. To Little Donny, the big surprise is the Iranians didn't come begging for him to stop as soon as his bombing campaign started - but they have turned into the best guerrilla fighters the Middle East has seen in decades. Something the Americans can never understand, nor can they adopt any strategy, that works to defeat a guerilla campaign. There is no "big present" to the U.S., it's all Trump BS, trying to make himself look like a winner in the third week of fighting, when we all know war is a protracted and costly business. Just ask his best mate, Putin.

There are about 9 million Iranians. Nine Million Iranians more than somewhat annoyed at having their lives endangered and their economy destroyed, all over supposed weapons of mass destruction that it seems they know how to make, but don't have all the bits and pieces to do so. There is only one regime that needs to be changed, and that sits on the North American continent.

A French, a German and an Italian spy are captured one day. The captors grab the French spy, take him to the next room and tie his hands behind a chair.They then proceed to torture him for 2 hours before he finally cracks, answers all questions and gives up all of his secrets. The captors then grab the German spy. They tie his hands behind the chair in the next room too and torture him for 4 hours before he finally cracks and tells them what they want to know. They then grabbed the Italian spy. Once again, they tie his hands behind the chair and begin torturing.4 hours go by and the spy isn’t talking. Then 8 hours, then 16 and after 24 hours they give up and throw him back into the cell. The German and French spy are impressed and ask him how he managed to not talk. The Italian spy says, ” I wanted to, but I couldn’t move my hands.”

Trump knows what he's doing, just ask Nettinyahoo. Trumps scheme is to utterly bamboozle the Iranians by changing the direction of the war every day. He's simply stopping at present because someone told him at the rate they were burning up armaments and military equipment, they'd have to stop fighting next week. The 10 U.S. radar setups scattered around the U.S.-friendly Middle Eastern nations, destroyed by the Iranians in the last couple of weeks, have a total replacement value of nearly US$3B. And those radars were crucial to determine the what and where of the incoming Iranian missiles, rockets and drones. If you think it's been a costly couple of weeks for the Iranians, I can tell you it's been just as costly for the Americans. And those radar setups can't be replaced overnight - unlike Iranian Shahed drones. Another massive equipment loss was the KC-135 tanker, about US$80M, plus about 120,000 litres of jet fuel. In addition, several other KC-135's have been damaged by shrapnel and drone attacks, taking more aerial refuelling ability out of the equation. These U.S. losses are the reason the Yanks requested our Wedgetail AEW&C surveillance aircraft. Let's hope we don't lose it to some dumbf**k, trigger-happy Americans, or their Kuwaiti allies.

E-bikes and e-scooters are out of control, Australia-wide. Half the problem is the unlimited accessibility and ease of purchase of these things, the other half is no age restrictions and no training. And it's not just juveniles, either. The number of young males in their 20's riding these things at high speed with no registration, onto footpaths, then onto roads, then cutting through traffic, then back onto footpaths, is large. SWMBO and I were in Albany on the weekend. We filled up at an unattended (card only) servo, on the main road, Albany Hwy. We climbed back into the car and went to drive out the exit onto the highway - and a young bloke about 20 on an e-scooter, doing about 60kmh along the footpath, screamed past the front of the car, missing us by less than a metre. I was only going slow and looking back up the highway to my right for approaching traffic (there was none), and I didn't even see this bloke on my right, he was going so fast, he had no hi-vis or lighting - and the last thing I expected was a vehicle doing 60kmh on the footpath. Plus, there was signage, posts and other obstructions in front of the servo, that helped conceal the e-scooter rider. It's time laws were brought in restricting the sale of these things, a requirement for training and licencing (both bike and rider), and rigid enforcement of the rules. We've had idiots here just kill themselves, simply by falling off them at speed.

When things are going his way, it's always his idea. When they are going wrong, he'll blame the first person to come along.

As a regular e-bike rider, I think there may be a case for sensible regulation. There are many e-bikes that are very fast and powerful, and at this stage, not even legal. I think there could be a use for these bikes, but we just have to work out a way of making them compatible with other traffic and pedestrians. Micro transport has many benefits for a city. The majority of bike riders, electric or not, are taking a vehicle off the road for that particular journey. When I ride to my local supermarket, which has limited parking, someone else can park in my car park. On a recent walk around Melbourne CBD, I noted how many delivery bikes were on the roads. Each one of these is likely displacing a car or motorcycle. There can be friction between the different travellers, but we just need to work out sensible rules to coexist. I regularly ride on Rail Trails, which are shared between bikes, walkers and sometimes horses; it seems to work well. E-bikes are a relatively new technology. We need to sensibly work out how to use them and not throw the baby out with the bathwater, and we definitely don't want to turn it into a culture war.

I'd really like to see what this great Australian Plan is, that One Nation has for ALL Australians in ALL States. I suspect there's no plan, except to blame immigrants for every problem that arises. Pauline Hanson is a Female Donald Trump. Says what people want to hear, but has no long-term plans, indulges in "stunts" to keep her name in the media, and picks people for her party members who have zero leadership skills, they only need to support a radical right wing agenda that focuses solely on, "too many immigrants from s***hole countries". I like going through the long list of deadbeat One Nation picks for representatives, who have turned out to be criminals, total rabbits, incompetent, geriatric, or who changed sides as soon as they were elected. And none of them, were immigrants from "s***hole countries".

One Nation would be a disaster for Australia’s interests. There would be no bright future from a right wing populist party with Pauline in charge.

Thank's @willedoo. That s a hell of a swing to PHON. PHON most likely picked it up from most of the swing against the Libs, but that is diosconcerting enough as one would have hoped the majority of Lib voters were in the moderate camp. The Libs are a spent force at the moment and it is a long, if at all possible way back. But, this has let someone in who is even more loony right wing, which is in itself a worry. It has to be a wake up call to the pollies that they have to start changing. I don't think anyone but the fringes is calling for out and out socialisim, but at least get the billionaires and vry wealthy who manage to avoid paying their taxes tipping in and contrinuting - they explout what is on offer - that is only fair. And then the government should move more on what is better for the majority across all spectrums. It feels lik the silent majority are feeling more and more alienated and, with the only real leverage they have, they are starting to talk. Sadly, they can only exert leverage every three years.

Yes Gina does employ lots of ordinary Australians, both directly in the extraction of minerals, but also by those backroom people who support the miners. Don't forget the tooth-to-tail ratio of the military also applies to the support requirements of Gina's miners. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tooth-to-tail_ratio You can't attack her for not contributing to the economic condition of us all, as you cannot attack the CEO' of ColesWorths for what they do. Pauline is a different fish. She is influencing people by bolstering their bigotry. She uses what all political Parties have been using for the past few decades- the simple slogan that is supposed to express a truth but which is mostly devoid of practical meaning. What exactly does "Make America Great Again" mean? Labor's "It's Time" had more meaning in its contemporary context. One Nation does not seem to have much to say about anything other than immigration and its racial effects. One Nation may say that Middle Eastern, Asian, Pacific Islander immigrants have greatly altered what being an Australian is, but the elephant in the room is the cultural immigration of the USA. And One Nation seems to be all for sidling up to Uncle Sam at the expense of relations with countries who had influence on mqaking an Australian in our formative years.

That's not Logical Siso.. There are Lot's of risks with where Hansons values will take us and also with Trump Who Lies constantly and is totally unpredictable and dangerously Vindictive and a threat to World order with amongst other things, a weird relationship with Putin and Epstein. Pauline affection for Trump is Perilous for Australia. Nev

Don't know much about Gina but don't trust anyone in mining anyway can say that much. And any country with some sort of intelligence needs to do more than just dig holes in the ground. Thing l did wanna mention though is that you know who the biggest employer in the country is. It's not all these mining giants and others, it's small business. Small business employs more people than any of them but yettttt- small business and manufacturing is the biggest thing they've been killing off in Australia since Howard days. They're all just a bunch of fkg morons whatever Govs been in. l remember Howard saying ahhh, we don't need manufacturing we can import anything we need. Could you ever dream up a more destructive line ? That's like saying ahhh, we don't need family any more, we can just import whatever people we need.

A friend of mine was the Shire Engineer in a municipality in country Victoria. He complained that every time he attended a Council meeting he had to debate with ten other engineers.

The real problem with councils is the replacement of the shire engineer with ten unqualified administrators.

I cant say I knew exactly how it works. My son lives in NZ and has explained it to me many times, although I often don't retain the information. Here is an abbreviated description of the differences between NZ and Aus. It does seem to me that each system has its pros and cons. 🗳️ The big picture Australia → uses preferential voting in single-member electorates (plus proportional voting for the Senate) New Zealand → uses a mixed-member proportional system (MMP) That one difference changes a lot about how governments are formed. 🇦🇺 Australia’s system Australia has two houses: House of Representatives (lower house) Uses preferential voting (also called instant runoff) You vote for candidates in your local electorate If no one gets 50%, preferences are redistributed until someone does Outcome: each electorate elects one MP, and the party with the majority forms government 👉 This tends to favour major parties like Australian Labor Party and Liberal Party of Australia Senate (upper house) Uses proportional representation (Single Transferable Vote) Each state elects multiple senators Smaller parties have a better chance here 🇳🇿 New Zealand’s system New Zealand uses MMP (Mixed-Member Proportional) Each voter gets two votes: 1. Electorate vote Like Australia: vote for a local MP 2. Party vote (this is the key one) Determines the overall proportion of seats in Parliament How seats are allocated Parliament has ~120 seats Some are electorate MPs The rest are “list MPs” added to make each party’s total match their share of the party vote 👉 Example: If a party gets 30% of the vote → they should have ~30% of seats If they win fewer electorates, they get extra list MPs to make up the difference ⚖️ Key differences that matter 1. Proportionality NZ: Highly proportional—parliament reflects the vote closely Australia: Less proportional—especially in the House of Representatives 2. Governments NZ: Coalition governments are the norm e.g. New Zealand Labour Party often governs with partners like New Zealand Green Party Australia: Usually majority single-party governments (or stable coalitions like Liberal–National) 3. Power of smaller parties NZ: Smaller parties often hold real power (kingmakers) Australia: Smaller parties matter more in the Senate than in the House 4. Voting experience NZ: Two votes (local MP + party) Australia: Rank candidates in order of preference (House), and more complex ballot for Senate 5. Strategic effects NZ: Encourages voting for the party you actually like (less “wasted vote”) Australia: Preferences help, but major parties still dominate outcomes 🧠 Simple way to think about it Australia: “Who wins each seat?” → determines government New Zealand: “What share of votes did each party get?” → determines government

🚨JUST NOW: Australia REJECTS Trump’s Minerals Demands — Pentagon PANICS as Rare Prices EXPLODE⚡...... Australia has firmly rejected a U.S. request for preferential access to its rare earth minerals, signaling a deeper strategic shift—not just a trade disagreement. These minerals, like neodymium and dysprosium, are critical for advanced military systems such as F-35 jets and missile guidance. Following the decision, rare earth prices surged, exposing a major vulnerability: the U.S. still depends heavily on China for processing these materials. Despite billions invested, domestic production covers only a small fraction of defense needs. Australia’s refusal reflects growing concerns over sovereignty and trust, especially after recent U.S. trade pressure and policy moves. This isn’t just about resources—it’s about whether allies are being treated as partners or dependencies. Globally, China dominates rare earth processing, giving it strategic leverage. Any disruption could impact not just defense, but also everyday technologies like electric vehicles and renewable energy. In short, this standoff reveals a fragile supply chain, rising geopolitical tension, and a critical question: can the U.S. secure reliable resources without straining its alliances

I won't speak for Litey, and I probably wouldn't have used the "foolish" word, but my beef is not with the idea of proportional representation. I think it is probably a good idea. I think that the notion that only votes that put a member in parliament are useful votes, and all others are a waste of time. This seems like a naive understanding of how things work. i seldom vote for one of the 2 major parties. I usually vote for a minor party that could never win. Is this a wasted vote? No, because my preferences go to the least worst party. My electorate is a safe Labor seat; however, parties are strongly attuned to swings against them. If a smaller party on the left gets many first preferences and the Labor party gets by on second preferences, they are liable to want to adjust their policies the next time to turn those second preferences into primary votes, and the same applies on the right. I do believe it would have been better if a stronger opposition had been elected; however, the voters by and large, understand the system as it is and voted accordingly.

I would pay people to finish all my half finished jobs, including vehicle projects.

SWMBO and I were sitting having lunch in a favourite local Japanese restaurant a few days ago, and there was a table of four people sitting alongside us and we caught snippets of overheard conversation from them. It appears one couple had two sons who were at college in the U.S. The talk got around to Trump and American political activity. The wife of the other couple was overheard to say, "I wake up every morning hoping to hear on the TV news, that that awful man is dead!" The other couple mentioned that conscription had been bandied around in the U.S. for more military actions. This couple went to speak about their two boys, saying, if conscription was introduced in the U.S., their sons would be on the first plane out of the country. Not much love for Trump in that group.

Electric car owners are mostly smirking right now, me included. With enough solar on the roof and in the battery there is enough to run the house & car as well as export to the grid. Even Trump can't stop the sun shining unless there was a MAD conflict with most of the Northern hemisphere stuffed and a Nuclear Winter created. Out of all those with a big red button there are only 2 that are irrational enough to even contemplate this. No prizes for guessing which two.

Your a racist turd 2 people did that. They are not the enemy People like you are

This clip shows just what a lowlife Trump is. Here he is relishing the fact that US Congressman Neal Dunn has still been turning up for work to bolster the Republican numbers in the House, despite having been diagnosed with a terminal illness. In the meantime while Trump is talking about death and the details of Dunn's illness, Susie Wiles is sitting next to him and has just been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. It's hard to believe how crass and self-centered this guy is.

re my post this thread 13 February, I had the tests today. Took a little over two hours. Some of them were weird. The clinician put a camera on my head to monitor my eyes. There was a small sticker on the wall about 2 feet from me. I had to keep my eyes on the sticker while he yanked my head left. right. up and down, while he monitored my eye movement. Then I had to hold my head still while following a light spot jumping around all over by just moving my eyes. Then I moved into a soundproof booth to do the hearing tests normally done by audiologists. This was to determine if I was a suitable candidate for Cochlear Implants. Then I moved into another room where I had to lie on a bed. He rubbed my earlobes and forehead lightly with sandpaper and attached stickers and leads. He placed earphones in my ears, and he played a tapping sound; like repeatedly tapping on a cardboard box. At first it sounded like an approaching helicopter, but settled down like an idling motorbike. I had to look left, right, and roll my eyes as far up as possible, 5 minutes in each position. He took out the eyephones and placed a metal gizmo behind my ears and repeated the tapping so that I could feel it like he was tapping behind my ears. Then he repeated the whole thing with the sandpapering, stickers and leads on my neck, chest and just under my eyes. Finally, we moved to a third room, where I sat on the foot of a bed in front of a TV screen about 48 in size. He put a bulky pair of glasses, like a virtual reality headset, which contained a camera. It's scary looking at your eye filling a large TV screen. Then he played a yellow dot on the screen and I had to follow it without moving my head. Then he placed a cover over the lens so it was totally dark, and the displayed a small spot of light in the headset. I had to look a the position of the light. He turned it off and I had to keep looking at the spot without closing my eyes. It's hard to know if your eyes are open or closed when it is totally dark. Then I had to lie on the bed blindfolded while he blew very warm air into each ear to see if it made me feel the room was spinning. All these tests were recorded in graphs on the computer. He will email the results to my doctor with a copy to me by mid next week.

Good job a lot of us have the ability to work from home now.

Most Crude contains something like 10% Sulphur. There's Mountains of it piled up in a lot of Places near refineries. Overseas refining is a lower cost result than doing it Here and having Large reserves cost a Heap also and people don't want to have that extra cost.. The current reserves are Higher than they have been for a long while but are Below the recommended Amount. All reserves run out eventually if supply is below demand during WW2 Cars were put on Blocks for the duration. Nothing is guaranteed. That's the reality. Nev