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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.

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?

Spoken by a person who has not the slightest knowledge of policing. 1. the guy seems he did your jobs for you Prior to Sunday, all the local police command would have known about the event at Bondi Beach was that it would be occuring, and there would be a crowd, as well as the usual numbers enjoying the beach. No doubt extra police were engaged for general crowd control as would be normal for any large gathering. Refer to the gathering of people to march across the Harbour Bridge for political purpose earlier this year. Given the anonimity of the shooters, who could have known beforehand whart the shooters were planning? In rostering police for duty on that day, the first requirement of the commander would be to have staff to meet those day-to-day calls for service. I would imaging that a lot of the police at Bondi Beach were supernumerary. In other words, they were police who otherwise would have been on regular days off and were offered a bit of overtime. It takes time for the situation to be identified and this information relayed through radio communication channels to commanders for orders to be created, delivered and acted upon. Even if specialist SWAT police were on standby, it would have taken some time for them to reach the scene. 2. seems he did your jobs for you During the shooting the police present would have been occupied with locating the shooters. It is a big area with many high rise buildings surrounding it. Do yu tnk that you could positivley locate a shooter's position in the shock and awe of an unexpected attack. Just consider what would be going through your mind if you were witness to a motor vehicle collision. What would be your first positive action? 3. wth then don't they send marksmen out with rifles, The police rostered for duty at the event would have been all on foot, moving about amongst the crowd to deal with minor incidents. A police command is not supplied with unlimited motor vehicles. Vehicles attached to the local command would normally be kept availale for the normal general police duties, like domestics, shoplifters, motor vehicle collsions etc. The press reports show lots of police vehicles ate teh scene, but thos pictures would have been taken in the aftermath of teh actual shootings. 4. wth don't the cops have rifles in their car You watch too many American TV shows and movies. Policing in Australia is not approached on a Wild West basis. That's because the public does not have a gun culture. How many people do you kow who do not have a firearm? Many, many more than those who do. There is no need for police performing typical day-to-day duties to have access to rifles. In my career, I only discharged my hand gun three times - once to euthanise a kangaroo at the request of a distressed lady who had hit it with her car; another time to euthanise at the request of the owner a horse which had disemboweled itself in a steel fence post, and a third time I took a pot shot at a fox. 5. be trained with them as well as useless pee shooters I have doubts that you have ever received firearms training, because a statement like that indicates that you have no experience in either simulated firearms training nor actual combat firarms training. One day per year to do a refresher course on the use of a pistol does not make a person a Dead-eye Dick. Likewise, the effectiv use of a rifle is far more complicated. Perhaps GON can tell us how long it took a Nasho to qualify to use a rifle. 6. And still it goes on. Remember the Lindt Cafe seige? The investigation and Coroner's Inquest into that took a very long time. How would you cope with the mental stress of being involved in something like that? Don't forget that the police at Bondi at the time of the shootings would have been junior police with not many years' experience. How would you cope with a traumatic situation of being in a field of fire without knowing where the firing was coming from, and seeing the dead and wounded laying bleeding around you? All I can say is, do not make statements such as you have until you have walked a mile in the shoes of someone who has.

I think he took the gun when the shooter had emptied the magazine, so he wouldn't have been able to. Pity he didn't smack him in the head with the butt though. Still, damn good job and I hope Mr El-Ahmed is given our highest medal.

He must have a really great paper run!

I wouldn't be a politician for the 4 or 5 hundred grand a year they get. Their lives are not their own and they have little time for their families. Taking the family to a sports event when you are the sports minister is OK with me as she has long periods of time away from them. The trip to the UN was an absolute must as Australia is the first in the world to impose a social media ban for under 16s & she championed it and needed to get this across to other nations who are trying to do the same. To me it promotes Australia as being at the forefront of a caring society not at the bottom of the pit like the US where the only thing that matters is the billionaires getting even richer. At their level of importance and the personal sacrifices they have to make plus having to be places at short notice means flying first class is totally justified and what I expect. Like everyone she made the choice to get in to politics but it is unforgiving and brutal. Put any of the armchair warriors who whinge about everything in their position and the tune will change pretty rapidly

I don't own any firearms. I don't want to own any firearms. But I can see that in the wake of Bondi there are cries for stricter firearm controls. The controls that have been mentioned often sound like knee-jerk reaction of people with little knowledge of firearm ownership in Australia. Let me say that I see ideas like restricting the total number of fireams held by an individual as being dificult to manage. Don't forget that the authroities only know about the registered firearms held by the community. We know that there are very many unregistered firearms in the community. Once again, any restriction on total number of firearms owned will only impinge on owners who are following current laws. How many is too many? A person might reasonably own several different types of firearms. Maybe one shotgun for hunting and another for target shooting. Maybe a centrefire rifle for kangaroos and another for pigs. And don't forget the .22 for rabbits and foxes. The first step that I fully agree with is the unification of records kept by States and Territories relating to licensed persons and registered guns. In this digital age unifying those records might only require the transfer of existing records from one database to another. It might need a bit of program development, but for years fingerprint records have been linked across States and Territories. Firearms licences only for Australian citizens???? Look at the ages of young Middle Eastern men using firearms in the drug and illicit tobacco wars. They are no doubt Australian citizens, having been born here. Here's the criteria: a child born in Australia gains citizenship if at least one parent is an Australian citizen or permanent resident at the time of birth; otherwise, they aren't automatically a citizen, but can acquire it on their 10th birthday if they've lived in Australia for their first 10 years. Protecting society from the misuse of firearms is an impossibility through laws, be they equitable or restrictive. Before slamming down on firearm ownership, careful consideration must be made of the consequences of any regulations proposed.

A cuppa? I made a thermos and it still wasn’t enough!

Ahmed el-Ahmed showed incredible self control in not firing on the gunman when he had the gun, at least in the legs to prevent him from running away.

Deserves the highest honour. To disarm a gunman with no weapon yourself, plus have the presence of mind to put the weapon down afterwards so the cops don't shoot you.

In the arm, I believe. With Luck He will get a Bravery award. Nev

It must be time for another chuckle, the current news is all bad. I guess it's also a bad time to tell any jokes involving Jews and Palestinians, but here's a good religious chuckle. A Biblical Story: And on the third day, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee. And it came to pass that all the wine was drunk. And the mother of the bride came to Jesus and said unto the Lord, they have no more wine. And Jesus said unto the servants: "Fill six waterpots with water." And they did so. And when the steward of the feast did taste from the water of the pots, it had become wine. And they knew not whence it had come. But the servants did know, so they applauded loudly in the kitchen. And they said unto the Lord: "How the hell did you do that?" And inquired of him: "Do you do children's parties? And the Lord said: "No." But the servants did press him, saying; "Go on, give us another one!" And so he brought forth a carrot, and said: "Behold this, for it is a carrot." And all about him knew that it was so. For it was orange, with a green top. And he did place a large red cloth over the carrot, and then removed it, and lo, he held in his hand a white rabbit. And all were amazed, and said: "This guy is really good! He should turn professional." And they brought him on a stretcher, a man who was sick of the palsy. And they cried unto him: "Maestro, this man is sick of the palsy." And the Lord said: "If I had to spend my whole life on a stretcher, I'd be pretty sick of the palsy, too!" And they were filled with joy, and cried out: "Lord, thy one-liners are as good as thy tricks. Thou art indeed an all-round family entertainer." And there came unto him a woman called Mary, who had seen the Lord and believed, and Jesus said unto her: "Put on a tutu, and lie down in this box." And then took he forth a saw, and cleft her in twain. And there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. But Jesus said: "Oh ye of little faith!" And he threw open the box and lo, Mary was whole. And the crowd went absolutely bananas. And Jesus and Mary took a big bow. And he said unto her: "From now on you shall be known as Trixie, for that is a good name for an assistant." And the people said unto him: "We've never seen anything like this. You shouldn't be wasting your time in a one camel town like Cana. You should be playing in the big arenas in Jerusalem!" And Jesus did harken to their words. And he did go on to Jerusalem, and he did his full act before the scribes, the Jews, and the Romans. But alas, it did not please them in their hearts. In fact, they crucified him. Here endeth the lesson. Amen. By Rowan Atkinson

NSW Police Commissioner's public announcement: The gunmen were a 50yo father and his 24yo son. The father had 6 guns licenced to him, and the police say they recovered 6 guns from the scene. The father was killed and the son is in critical but stable condition in hospital. The father had held gun licences for 10 years. The brave citizen who attacked the gunman and saved countless lives was a suburban fruiterer and father of two.

I agree with most of what you have said except this. At the Palestinian protests, at campuses, in Sydney, Melbourne, etc, people were openly chanting kill the jews and gas the jews. This was not protesting for Palestine, but protesting against Jews.. anywhere.. and calling for their murder. The response from the governments? Tepid. Did anyone get charged with incitement or racial vilifcation? Crickets. In the UK it was nuch the same, except apparently you can be charged with a hate offence calling a horse gay or something. Surprise, surprise, the same thing happened, although more weren't killed because of logistics and it was a long gunman as I recall. Just imagine the response had it been Jews protesting to kill and behead the Muslims...

I wish their porky arsehole would quietly expire and definitely not be exported.

I think it's normally called Fate. If you're destined to die that moment as an innocent victim, that's it. Had my share of narrow squeaks with the Grim Reaper, and rarely due to anything I'd done wrong.

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

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

Me mum's one of them.

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

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

Is the DON Key the way you wind him up? Nev

Well, give the MAGA mob a break - at least they've still got the Donkey!

Forget planning a trip to Disneyland or Las Vegas. The Trump Administion now requires people requiring a visa to enter the USA to disclose not onloy their own digital presence for teh past ten years, but also that of family members. If you have posted in this thread, or the "Only in America" thread here, you won't get a visa if you have not laid down your life for Trump. The Administration has effectively destroyed the FIFA World Cup. Thousands of fans will be denied entry to the USA. Billions in tourist income will be lost. But Trump has his Peace Prize.

No pit lane?

She's good at her job and probably didn't do anything she wasn't allowed to under the rules, however she (and a lot of other politicians of all stripes) should have seen the warning flags and paid out of her own pocket for her family to attend these events. However the obvious point is that the rules need to change to align with public expectations and Albo needs to get onto it.

Thanks very much for the thoughts , really appreciated. Was just n Centrelink yesterday actually. Anyway , this morng after all this and even being frazzled enough to actually ask here, scanning the net and not sleeping for 2wks, umpteen calls with Clink and their robots that you spend 10mins getting past first before you even get to a human, l got the biggest Christmas present ever , this morning. First port of call was yet another call to robots and clink . Got this lady l shyt you not and l told her this later, she just went click click spent 30mins or so going over everything for about the 10th time with all the others but at the end of it, she fixed it all. And all was a very tricky mess believe me , without the right person it could go on yrs , she was absolutely brilliant said l know l can't have your details but l wanna send you flowers for what you've done here, really. Long and short of it, all is fixed and done thanks to her, l can not believe it , after 2mths of crap all up. Normally drink wine but tell you what, drove down grabbed some beer and we have the best bakery in the whole damn world there too, two gorgeous Hawaiian pies, beer , what more could a man want.

They interviewed Albo on Sunrise this morning and he said she and her support staff were originally meant to travel with him when he went to meet Trump, along with the press etc who went with them. But due to the introduction on the social media ban for under 16's, it was decided that she should stay here to deal with that which is why her booking was late. He said these matters are handled by an independent committee and he wouldn't be drawn on whether the rules needed reviewing.

I have to pull you up on that. There is no equivalence. The facts are that Trump did exhort his insurrectionists to fight and made a heap of inflammatory statements to them. All TV programs cut sections out (imagine the run time if they didn't) but in terms of changing the facts, it didn't. And the BBC, instead of apologising, should have told him to f*ck off. If Sky News and ABC were soccer teams, the ABC is getting a red card for accidentally bumping another player, while Sky News gets it for machine-gunning the opposing team.

Long ago now I flew interstate or overseas three or four times a week. I refused to fly economy. No one should have to suffer that.

She might be good, but if she's so disconnected to the general population that she thinks taking kids to ski trips and sporting events on the taxpayer dime, when she gets a substantial salary herself, is a good idea, she's either out of touch or greedy.

There are plenty of solar farms that co-exist with cropping or grazing. Modern panels are translucent to a degree so some light gets through to the ground. Sheep are ideal for use in what is known as Agrivoltaics as they graze under standard height panels, remove the need for mechanical or chemical vegetation control, provide shelter for sheep, reduce the fire risk and actually improve the pasture as well as providing an additional source of income.

Fires on farms are not unusual. The source could have been from farm equipment, natural sources, arson or from the solar farm. Let's say it was from the solar farm; this surely only means analysis and actions to make it less likely to happen in the future. Here is a question: Did the incident below make Skynews? No, it did not. This happened a few weeks ago, not far from where I live. There were numerous comments online from conservative folks suggesting that this is a normal process, and sometimes the stack does get smoky for a time. Whether it was normal or not, it did start a grass fire, which required the fire brigade to attend. A grass fire near an oil refinery ought to be big news. There seems to be a discount applied to existing technologies as opposed to newer ones. A petrol or diesel car catches fire, and it is not a big story. An EV catches fire, and it is huge news and has people suggesting that this technology should not exist.

It was a Last Minute decision to go to a very Important meeting . That's why the Airfares cost was HIGH. The sport attendance is less simple. Not sure Chalmers is that happy. The Lib/Nats were More practised at those sorts of things, SUSSan Ley fell foul of it. Not a Good look but getting a big rev up in the news as one would expect. Nev

Yeah that one doesn't pass the sniff test in a cost of living crisis. I think if Albo reads the room he should cut her loose and tell his ministers that just adherence to the letter of the rules is not enough.

Not Albo personally, but ALP minister Anika Wells. Thousands of taxpayer dollars for air fares to fly her husband and kids to three AFL grand finals and two interstate tests. And they claim it doesn't breach guidelines. Obviously the guidelines need an urgent overhaul. If any of us wanted to fly our partner around the country, we'd have to pay for it ourselves. And I bet she's earning a hell of a lot more than any of us. And before you go calling me out for ALP bashing, I would be just as disgusted if it was a LNP member.

The USA is having its anus horribilus.

The death toll has climbed to 16 this morning. At least one shooter got the punishment he deserved. The other should have got the same. Why deport them? No-one else wants them. Do unto them as they did unto others. They are worthless scum.

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

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

You're a modern Banjo Patterson! Maybe "Electric Guitar" Patterson.

This is a video made by an Englishman about the visa requirements. It contains images of the list of information an applicant must provide. The creator also brings up the economic effects associated with decreaased attendance at FIFA matches. CAUTION: At the moment these requirements have only been put up for consideration. They are not in force - yet. Here is an Australian story

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 told you that CentreLink staff are geat if you give them a tad of good manners. So glad that you had a good experience.

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.

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