willedoo

It's important to the comrades and that's why they have a quota system. They love their social engineering.

That's a bargain onetrack. I had a seat sent from Germany a few years ago, about 34kg, and it cost over 400 USD in freight. On top of that was 800 AUD in charges to get it released from the airport. Customs charges, Border Force charge, Quarantine charges, brokerage and many more , it was a full A4 page listing the fees.

If it's still under control, it's statistically safer to stay with it. If they've lost control, it's near impossible to get to the parachute to don it, let alone bail out safely. They replaced the harnesses with safety harnesses for all the crew members.

Our local federal member is LNP and fairly safe. Last election he got his margin halved to 7%, but should get in ok next time. His only real opposition is Labor, and the way the preferences flow, he should get back in ok. Even if One Nation take a heap of his support, it's an area where the Greens poll 10%, so their preferences will go to Labor and should knock One Nation out of the contest. ON preferences (with Family First and Palmer's) will then flow back to the LNP and top Labor. Demographics are on the side of the LNP here - part rural and one candidate due to the LNP amalgamation, a big small business population, and a big population of Victorian self funded retiree migrants.

Unfortunately the parachutes were removed from the KC-135s in 2008.

Not their fault, Howard made them build it.

octave, picking up letters is long gone. It might happen somewhere but would be fairly rare these days. Contractors in our area put in a low price to get the job and tackle it like a car race. You often find letters lying in the mud in the stormwater drain. I've kept my PO box in town for secure parcel collection because the contractors are so bad. Been that way for years now, every new contractor is as bad as the last.

I've only got 12klm to drive to vote, but fairly safe from wombat and roo hazards. The biggest hazard is when you get to the polling centre and our dickhead local member tries to grab your hand to shake it.

I can understand why young people are turning away from the major parties. Over time Australia has become a country where a whole generation of young Australians will never be able to own their own home. It doesn't matter how hard they work and save, it gets them nowhere. A lot of people make excuses and give various reasons why the country is like that, but the fact remains that it degenerated to this under the stewardship of one of the major parties or the other. Whether or not they are totally to blame, they have that job and the buck has to stop with them and they carry some responsibility for letting it happen.

Hopefully they won't blink and will finish what they started. Getting rid of the regime is the only way to provide any hope of it not happening again. The've kicked the can down the road for years and deluded themselves that you can negotiate with terrroists. The regime has been taking the mickey out of the west for years. Putin uses similar tactics, dangle the hope of negotiations and a settlement in front of suckers to string them along so you can evenntually get your own way. There's still a lot of mugs calling for negotiations; I just don't know when they'll realise you can't talk to people like that.

I bought a copy of it back when Howard had the republic referendum to compare the proposed changes.

Pete, I haven't read the constitution in a long time but from memory it was designed the way you describe, representation by elected members rather than a party system. I don't think there's much in it at all about parties. Most of what we do in parliament is by convention and not by constitutional rule. As an example, there's nothing in the constitution to stop the Labor party winning an election and nominating Angus Taylor as PM. A lot of the constitution is about day to day rules for pollies.

That would be interesting. Problem is they'd need a party leader in the lower house. Barnaby is the only lower house member via defection, but he'd have to win the seat again under ON to be there. There was some talk of him running for a senate seat but I don't know what that was about. Early days yet, I guess they'll figure out a battle plan depending on their support as time moves closer to the election. They've always been relatvely strong here in Queensland but are more so lately. A lot of people joining the party, particularly younger people. They appeal in country areas, but where Labor will have to be careful is that a lot of working class, so-called little Aussie battlers are swinging to them. They were always Labor's domain but Labor's losing them. Not enough to harm Labor yet, but it's no time for them gloat; they need to watch their base.

Antony Green in his election blog has listed the seats he thinks ON would have a chance based on the three-candidate preferred result in 2025. It doesn't appear to give them any seats, but he said if they poll 25% at the next election they will sweep up seats all across regional and rural Australia, mainly at the expense of the Nats and Libs. The Farrer byelection will be a big one for them. Some polls have them leading the primary vote but the preferences will make it hard for them. If they do win it, it will have a big momentum value for ON. https://antonygreen.com.au/one-nations-poll-surge-the-first-25-seats-to-watch/

In Queensland the Labor government brought about the abolition of the upper house in 1922 because it was blocking their legislation. One of the Labor MPs went on to be Lieutenant-Governor, then appointed fifteen Labor people to the upper house who then had a majority to vote to disband it. The problem is, once it's gone, no government wants to have it back as they have a free run for passing legislation if they have a majority government. On the bright side, if numbers are close between government and opposition, the government members will make sure they show up to parliament. Sometimes if one is crook and can't be there for a crucial vote they will do a pair arrangement. On the subject of the LNP amalgamation in Queensland, it's the opposite of what a federal amalgamation would look like. In Queensland, the Nationals were always the bigger party of the two and even governed alone without the Libs for six years. One aspect of the amalgamation was to do away with three cornered contests. With the federal Libs being the much bigger party, I doubt the federal Nats would be too keen on amalgamation. I think Pauline and Co. would be happy to see a federal amalgamated LNP as it would possibly deliver them a bigger slice of the vote on the right.

Hard to fault that list onetrack. Patsy was just incredible, right up there with Amy Winehouse and Billie Holiday. The three best contraltos that ever lived.

I think the way things are at the moment, the powers that be in Iran would know the first two or three might get hit. It would make sense to stick a couple of fall guys in initially. Expendables, so to speak.

A commentator on the radio said tonight that Junior was wounded in the early raid and that's why he hasn't been seen in public. Not badly wounded I don't think. The Israelis have said he's on the list. Another legitimate target considering he's just taken over as supreme commander of a prescribed terroist organisation (IRGC).

Like - just do this one simple thing every night. And then add whatever, grow your hair back, cure your diabetes, shrink your prostate, grow a big woody, the list is never ending on the marketplace ads.

Like the facebook link that goes to a fake ABC Insiders site. It shows the ABC on Pauline's side well and truly. We'll see aliens land before that ever happens. It was designed to fleece money from suckers in a crypto scam. It's unbelievable how suckerbook marketplace turns a total blind eye to fraud. Almost all the sponsored ads on it are scammers.

Ayatollah Jr. has been officially anointed.

I wonder if whoever made that meme realises we don't vote for a prime minister. They're appointed by the party/parties than can cobble together a majory and convince the GG they can form government.

Different pollsters ask slightly different questions, but a lot of them lately seem to be polling primary intentions and not preference direction. Gender and age group is usually asked for analysis. A lot of it is probably swayed by immediate events. For example, in the latest morgan poll, the Greens have picked up 3% and Labor is down 4. Morgans think that 3% Green gain at Labor's expense is because of Albo and Co. going all the way with DJT and the Greens taking a stance against the US/Israel strikes. Some of the analysis is interesting. There's been a trend for a while now of the youngest age group, 18-24, moving more to the right. The Greens and Labor have lost support in that group to One Nation, independants and others, but the Greens have gained in all groups 25+, whereas Labor has lost in all age groups and both genders. One Nation gained support in all age groups under 65. Some polls a couple of weeks ago showed ON gaining among young women more than young men. A bit of a reverse from it's historical male dominated support. I think One Nation is the wild card, and come next election, they will have either fallen on their face or put egg on a lot of other faces. The Greens are what they are. What you see is what you'll always get, 10 to 12%. If Labor stuffs up enough, the Greens might get 15% briefly but they just don't appeal to enough of the population to acheive anything higher than balance of power in the Senate. Nev, you're right about the Nats/Libs being in big trouble. At the moment they are well and truly wedged. All Labor has to do is sit tight and win. Of the small amount of Labor primary votes bleeding to the Greens, most would return in preferences. Labor would feel a lot more comfortable having the Greens on the left than the Coalition would feel having One Nation on the right. It's like the Coalition has driven their Ford Ranger into a parking space designed for little noddy cars, and now they're stuck and can't get out. Go to the right, they lose the centre, go to the left and they lose the right. Interesting that the Nats have elected a Victorian moderate as deputy. More than likely for balance. Matt Canavan can talk the talk to try to woo voters back from One Nation, and Chester can try to butter up the Libs. Smoke and mirrors.

I don't think dear leader/comrade Albo has anything to fear from her. Labor's a shoe-in for a third term the way it's looking.

He reminds me of Elmer Fudd.