It just seems dumb at this point. Nuclear energy is so incredibly expensive compared to the alternatives. Most countries are moving away from it due to it being commercially unviable. And yet here we are with the NLP acting like it’s the best thing since sliced bread.
I know they see it as their duty to push the opposite of whatever Labor’s doing but they don’t seem to care that it’s just a bad idea.
More time to do what exactly? Soft plastics are effectively unrecyclable. There are no commercial scale recycling plants in Australia which can recycle soft plastics. And even if we did build them the depolymerisation process which soft plastics require takes so much energy it’d be more environmentally sound to landfill it anyway.
The whole thing’s a mess and really the only solution is to stop producing as much soft plastics.
My mate works for an Indian company and got WFH forever. I was in shock because I never thought any company can give a work from home option forever ? Does any Australian company gives you such an option ? If so, please name those companies and job titles so that I can start applying for jobs there.
Maybe, just maybe it shouldn’t cost close to 10k to even TRY to have a kid through IVF? More like 15k out of pocket costs till the Medicare rebate anyway....
I’m literally one of those people who you say is vanishingly small.
It’s not even a “the world is bad and I don’t want to subject my child to that” kind of decision. It’s more like a series of thoughts over the years: “is this the right time to have a kid?” and it’s never a good time.
Even more interesting is how all of Geelong is excluded from Melbourne’s count when Gosford’s included in Sydney’s count, despite neither place being continuously connected to the larger city, Geelong being closer to Melbourne than Gosford is to Sydney, and Geelong having just as large a proportion of daily commuters as Gosford.
The reality is that Melbourne’s population outpaced Sydney a long time ago and the boundaries are only just starting to catch up.
Compulsory is such a good system. It doesn’t take long. It’s on a weekend so it’s not inconvenient. You get a sausage at the sausage sizzle and you do your vote. There’s a real holiday atmosphere. And it produces much more representative results. Brexit wouldn’t have happened if they had compulsory voting so there’s no denying it’s valuable.
Aside from anything else, I’ve seen a couple of examples of downsizing up close and in neither case did it end up with them making very much money on the deal. They just ended up with smaller places.
In the first case they ended up with a small apartment which they actually ended up having to sell some of their retirement investments to be able to afford after selling a large family home in the outer suburbs and paying all the costs associated with selling.
In the other case she moved from a large family home in the outer suburbs into one of those “retirement communities”. The whole thing’s a massive scam. You “buy” the unit but you don’t actually own it, you only own a leasehold on it - something they didn’t make clear to her at all. You’re not allowed to even improve or renovate it. They impose rules on you much like a rental. And when you move out you’re not allowed to sell it - they contractually reserve the right to sell it themselves and pay you a massively discounted amount for it. Essentially they steal half the value of what you originally paid in a time when house prices are going up as well. It’s straight up exploitation of people who are old and struggling to even do everyday tasks, let alone understand complex contracts.
I worked in the superannuation industry for a while. I wouldn’t say that super is exactly a scam but it’s a terrible mess and the fees we pay on super in Australia are insane. Basically we have a lot of parasites taking a cut and that ends up making the standard funds poor investments. Median returns on the super funds are around 5.6% pa (over the last ten years for the standard “balanced” option) at a time when stock market tracking funds have appreciated by over 8% pa. A lot of that is being lost in inefficiencies and fees.
By comparison Americans with a 401k invested in the NASDAQ would have made 17.3% pa over the same period.
We’re getting a terrible deal with superannuation, and for many it’s the difference between retiring comfortably or retiring in poverty.
I guess I was addressing the “living in poverty” part of the parent comment and the suggestion to downsize in your follow-up. I thought you meant to downsize to get some money to pay the bills. But it seems like you’re saying to downsize to get a house which is easier to maintain?
Tesla announced it had quit the FCAI on Thursday and Polestar followed it up on Friday, saying the FCAI campaign – driven largely by Japanese car makers led by Toyota – is intolerable....
Toyota really screwed up in deciding that Hydrogen was the energy of the future. Even when everyone else in the world went with electricity they persisted in their failed vision. It’s a shame that an otherwise great manufacturer should fall victim to such massive hubris but honestly I think their days are numbered as a major vehicle manufacturer.
There’s no chance that hydrogen’s going to be a long term success for them and with all their eggs in the one basket it looks like they’re dead men walking.
Counter-terrorism police encouraged an autistic 13-year-old boy in his fixation on Islamic State in an undercover operation after his parents sought help from the authorities....
Here’s one on his lack of mental compentence to testify at his own trial.
Apparently Singapore contacted our intelligence service and ASIO organised the sting with the FBI. Prior to that he had no buyer. That’s consistent with the Wikipedia article.
I can’t find a reference now for the documents not actually being classified - I remember this from media coverage at the time. I think the story was that they were USGS maps which were subsequently publically available or something like that.
There’s no such thing as Miranda rights in Australia - that’s an American law. We do however have “the right to silence”, and must be informed of that right by police on arrest so it has a similar effect.
Federal Coalition commits to dumping 2030 climate target as it pursues nuclear power (www.abc.net.au)
In short: The Coalition says Labor will fail to meet the Paris Agreement emissions reductions target but will damage Australian industry in trying....
History of Flagstaff Gardens (www.youtube.com)
Video on the history of Flagstaff Hill and subsequent Flagstaff Gardens.
Coles and Woolworths given more time to deal with thousands of tonnes of stranded REDcycle plastic waste (www.abc.net.au)
Parliament blocks Greens attempt to recognise Palestinian statehood (www.sbs.com.au)
How many of you 9-5s have been given work from home forever ?
My mate works for an Indian company and got WFH forever. I was in shock because I never thought any company can give a work from home option forever ? Does any Australian company gives you such an option ? If so, please name those companies and job titles so that I can start applying for jobs there.
There's a baby drought in Australia. Maybe we should fund IVF? (www.abc.net.au)
Maybe, just maybe it shouldn’t cost close to 10k to even TRY to have a kid through IVF? More like 15k out of pocket costs till the Medicare rebate anyway....
Why Australia's biggest city has a problem with 'forced car ownership' (www.abc.net.au)
Tenth consecutive monthly heat record alarms and confounds climate scientists (www.theguardian.com)
Push to lower Australia's compulsory voting age to 16 as advocate says youngsters feeling 'disenfranchised' (www.abc.net.au)
Finally, after a long blockage, it's now legal in WA to take a plunger to a toilet or change a showerhead (www.abc.net.au)
So, uh should i be expecting a visit from the fuzz for all the tap reseals i may or may not have done over the years?
Federal Court publishes affidavit detailing Seven Network payments to Bruce Lehrmann, including for sex, drugs (www.abc.net.au)
Carbon emissions limits for cars weakened amid opposition's 'ute tax' campaign (www.abc.net.au)
Laborel party letting foreign companies dictate policy.
Draining entire superannuation savings wouldn’t cover most young couples’ home deposits, research finds (www.theguardian.com)
Research by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia casts doubt on the Coalition’s plan
“We cannot support it:” Polestar follows Tesla out of car lobby over Toyota led campaign (thedriven.io)
Tesla announced it had quit the FCAI on Thursday and Polestar followed it up on Friday, saying the FCAI campaign – driven largely by Japanese car makers led by Toyota – is intolerable....
Tucker Carlson: Putin takes charge as TV host gives free rein to Kremlin (www.bbc.co.uk)
The Russian leader was given the opportunity to expound familiar grievances unchallenged.
Police call Pride protesters 'an ugly rabble' (www.abc.net.au)
How Australian undercover police ‘fed’ an autistic 13-year-old’s fixation with Islamic State (www.theguardian.com)
Counter-terrorism police encouraged an autistic 13-year-old boy in his fixation on Islamic State in an undercover operation after his parents sought help from the authorities....