Captain Pissweak posted:

What's with the LNP and running twelve year olds.

Wheezle posted:

The touching up on that photo is disturbing.

Wheezle posted:

The touching up on that photo is disturbing.

Wheezle posted:

The touching up on that photo is disturbing.

Mattjpwns posted:

Chris Pyne has finally decided to have a presence on Twitter, something Albo couldn't just let slide unnoticed:

https://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/484520036262875136

Jonah Galtberg posted:

If you're in the mood to get angry check out the background photo on Pyne's account page

ABC News posted:

Responding the the ABC's questions, a spokesperson for Mr Emerson also denied there was a backlog.

"I understand that there's no backlog at all, the longest it's taking at the moment is about 10 days to get a card." - Transport Minister Scott Emerson

"Eligible students should receive their TTCC within 15 business days of a complete and accurate application being sent to TransLink either by the student or by their institution," the spokesperson said.

"The applications left to process in the system have been there for less than 10 days.

Zenithe posted:

Or alternatively, check this gem out

CrazyTolradi posted:

For Brisbane tertiary students: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-05/qld-students-angry-over-ttcc-delays-transport-fines/5573270?WT.ac=statenews_qld

ewe2 posted:

Yeah the middleware goes down all the time. I know one of the guys who coded the centrelink DB, he's up here working the front desk of the local centrelink office. When Websphere breaks, he just gets a link to the mainframe and talks to its basic interface instead. He's a cool dude.

I'm sure they'd love to upgrade to some new big iron and run z/OS and stuff on it, but the db app is like Cartoon says, massive and you can't exactly transport half a db in memory to another machine because its not like a modern sql you can roll back the journal to.

pantsfree posted:

Great effortpost

quote:

There's only at best a dozen major active m204 customers left in the world, with DHS being one of the biggest, so there's a huge vendor risk

Anidav posted:

The TTCC is disgusting and targets Students both domestic and on exchange. It's designed to just give Translink cops another reason to fine you. Translink cops are the worst thing Queensland has ever introduced. So annoying and disgusting, like poo poo stuck to a toilet. QLD Labor should promise to abolish the TTCC and all this Translink Schutzstaffel bullshit but I remember Translink prices under Bligh were pretty loving expensive too.

No way to win.

Fruity Gordo posted:

gently caress I just remembered that a couple of months ago in auspol I told someone that I would try to help them find a shrink using my connections and I didn't do it, I asked my main shrink and he had no one and then a few days passed befor I saw my cbt lady and I totally forgot omg I am so sorry. If you're still here please do let me know I honestly have the worst memory with names and I know that's really bad when I pretend to be a forums genie

Jumpingmanjim posted:

Worst sniper cosplay ever.

quote:

Asylum seekers: my country, my shame
July 4, 2014
Alastair Nicholson


As a young person I had never thought, as I do now, that I would be ashamed to be an Australian. One of the main reasons for that shame, but not the only one, is our policies towards asylum seekers and Aboriginal people. Both issues directly affected me in my former role as Chief Justice of the Family Court, but today I will discuss asylum seekers.

It was the Labor government in 1992 that first acted to provide for mandatory detention of asylum seekers and set up a detention facility at Port Hedland where we began the appalling process of detaining asylum seekers and their children.

At the time that it introduced the policy of holding asylum seekers in detention and doing so in remote areas like Port Hedland I accepted an invitation to speak to a seminar on the rights of children. I criticised the government for setting up what I described as a virtual concentration camp in a remote area and in particular, for wrongly detaining children contrary to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

That set up a media hue and cry with my remarks appearing on the front page of The Australian , which surprisingly enough, agreed with me. Then-immigration minister Senator Nick Bolkus was depicted in a cartoon dressed in Nazi uniform outside of a concentration camp and even Greg Sheridan expressed support for my remarks. How times have changed.

The government response was, of course, predictable and I was criticised for speaking publicly as a judge on a political issue. I took the view then and now that human rights issues transcend mere political issues and that they give rise to a duty to espouse them.

Subsequently in 2001 a case came before the Family Court involving asylum seeker children where it was argued that the court in its welfare jurisdiction should order their release from detention in light of evidence as to their extreme psychological deterioration. The trial judge dismissed the application on the basis that the court lacked jurisdiction, but on appeal the Full Court over which I presided, held that the court did have jurisdiction to make such an order and adjourned the further hearing to enable the presentation of further evidence.

Subsequently another Full Court directed the minister to release the children. The minister did so but appealed our decision to the High Court, which unanimously held that we lacked jurisdiction to make the order.

Normally one might feel chastened by a unanimous defeat in the High Court but I think that I can say that I have never been as proud of any decision that I have made as a judge as I am of that one. I still think that it was morally and legally correct, even though the High Court thought otherwise.

A practical result of our decision was that the children were not returned to detention and revulsion against the practice of detaining children gained force to the point where for a time, both major parties adopted the policy, but not the practice, of refraining from doing so.

However, this has now changed markedly. The media has reported the Gestapo-like tactics of the Department of Immigration in removing mothers and children sent to Australia for medical treatment in the early hours of the morning to Christmas Island. Others are being sent to Nauru in similar circumstances and I understand that work is in progress to house families on Manus as well.

Speaking of such tactics the Abbott government has adopted another practice of totalitarian regimes of shrouding its activities in secrecy and applying a false patina of military necessity. What they are doing is now hidden from the public and the media. Goebbels, Stalin and similar types would be proud.

This indefensible policy continues, fuelled by what I believe to be the immoral attitude of both major parties. The Howard government's policy of turning around the boats and reintroducing temporary protection visas was a combination of refined cruelty and criminal disregard for human life, despite the crocodile tears shed in Parliament by its proponents then and now. The revival of the so-called Nauru and PNG solution that both parties continue to support was a pathetic return to morally bereft policies of the past.

Let us not forget that it was under the Gillard and Rudd governments that this revival took place but it has been enthusiastically supported and worsened by the Abbott government and its indescribable Minister for Immigration, Scott Morrison. His hypocrisy was demonstrated once again when he said that the only Iraqi refugees who would be returned were those who wished to do so. He failed to mention that the whole policy of his government is to treat them so abominably that they will have no choice but to do so.

As for temporary protection visas, these are also morally repugnant and designed to act as a deterrent by separating families. Those promoting them should pay regard to the possibility that boats such as the SIEV X were so full of women and children because that was the only chance of them joining their husbands in Australia. In my view the use of these visas is an evil policy that has no possible redeeming feature.

It seems that what both parties really want is to appeal to xenophobic views rejecting the arrival of these people in Australia when the solution of receiving them in a humane fashion and processing their applications quickly and efficiently, where necessary after their arrival in Australia is so obvious. The calumnies heaped on the Greens in relation to their immigration policy are pure exercises in hypocrisy because they are the only party with a decent and humane policy towards refugees.

I believe that we must continue to oppose the government and opposition policies which, taken together or separately, are the real reason that people find it necessary to expose themselves to the horrible risks associated with travelling by boat to Australia.

It is also time that we put the "problem" in proportion. As The Age columnist Tim Soutphommasane noted in a 2011 St James Ethics Centre paper, Australia received 15,226 boat arrivals, compared with Greece's 56,180, Italy's 91,821 and Spain's 74,317. These are European countries in dire economic circumstances in sharp contrast to ours.

It is more than time that we got rid of such pejorative and inappropriate terms such as "queue jumping" and "border protection" and brought some humanity to bear on this issue. These are human beings, many of them families with children who are affected so let us stop talking nonsense about "stopping the boats", and "processing" people and get on with helping them.

How did we get ourselves into this state? Australia is rapidly becoming an international pariah, riding roughshod over solemn treaty obligations into which it has entered like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the UN Refugee Convention and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

It may surprise you to know that successive governments have been able to get away with this by never importing these conventions into domestic law. Thus we show an international face as a good international citizen while ignoring these conventions and the rights conferred by them at home and on the high seas.

This is the height of hypocrisy, which in the past has been justified by saying that as a democracy applying the rule of law, Australia would never act contrary to international law in this way. For obvious reasons this can no longer be said with a straight face.

Another reason for this situation is that unlike most major democracies in the world, Australia has never enacted a Bill of Rights. The conservatives have always opposed it because it acts as a brake on the power of governments to act as they please. Labor has a policy of introducing such a constitutional guarantee but has shown a distinct lack of enthusiasm for doing anything about it.

In its absence we are all extremely vulnerable to the abuse of power by our governments which have and are engaging in such abuse but directing it to a small and unpopular minority of non-citizens that they are able to demonise.

Let there be no mistake however that legally, there is little to stop our government treating us in this way as well. The current behaviour by successive governments to asylum seekers should be a salutary lesson of the dangers lying in the path of us all.

What then must we do? I think that we must work together to show governments that this situation will not continue to be tolerated. I believe that there is a slow beginning of a groundswell in the community of distaste for these policies and with the leadership of people like Malcolm Fraser the wheel will turn, but not before much human misery will be suffered by some of the most vulnerable people of all. Perhaps the move against these policies by a minority of the Labor caucus in the federal Parliament is a harbinger of change.

We must bring it home that the people that we are mistreating in this way are people just like us with the same hopes and aspirations. We must stand up to the Abbotts, Morrisons and sadly, the Shortens of this world.

Alastair Nicholson is a former chief justice of the Family Court, a University of Melbourne law professor and chairman of Children's Rights International. This is an edited extract of a speech he gave last month.

adamantium|wang posted:

Anemone Thief posted:

quote:

Handing A[sylum] S[eekers] back to S[ri] L[anka] redolent of handing Jews to Nazis in 1930s.

CrazyTolradi posted:

The public transport prices were going to increase under Bligh, but only for a few years at their rate (15%), where as LNP have just continued every year to raise it at 7.5%. It sucks because Translink is basically just doing what it's told by the Minister of Transport. If you have issue with anything Translink does, write to Scott Emerson because all this is because of his directions and Translink are just following ministerial instructions, as any goverment department is required.

quote:

Asylum seekers who are offered substantial amounts of money by the government to leave the detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru must spend their own cash before receiving the payment.

The Sunday Age believes that once asylum seekers take up the offer to return to their home country, they are asked by the International Organisation of Migration to provide receipts for purchases in their country before they can receive the promised amount.

The Coalition has dramatically increased monetary incentives in the ''return packages'' for asylum seekers, as revealed by Fairfax Media last month. The packages range from $3300 to $10,000 based on ''individual circumstances'', compared with Labor's offering of $1500 to $4000. Lebanese asylum seekers are being paid $10,000 if they voluntarily return home, while Iranians and Sudanese are offered $7000, Afghans $4000 and Pakistani, Nepalese and Burmese $3300.
Illustration: Matt Golding.

Illustration: Matt Golding.

Asylum seekers who take up the offer are transported to the Hideaway Hotel in Port Moresby that is paid for by the International Organisation of Migration before being flown home.

Growing pressure is now being put on asylum seekers to return home, refugee advocates say.

It is believed Australian officials made a visit to the Manus Island centre two weeks ago saying: ''You will be here a very long time. You will never get to Australia. You should strongly consider going back to where you came from.''

This is similar to the message Immigration Minister Scott Morrison gave to asylum seekers in an ''orientation video'' late last year.

An IOM spokeswoman confirmed asylum seekers on Nauru and Christmas Island were offered payments.

''Part of the amount is given in cash to cover basic needs during first few months of return and the rest as in kind,'' she said. ''Sometimes, their return is organised by IOM and in some cases migration authorities take the lead and IOM only provides the reintegration assistance.''

Mr Morrison confirmed packages were being given, but did not comment on reimbursement.

On Friday, the United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR, slammed the use of detention centres, saying seeking asylum was not ''illegal'' under international law. ''Seeking asylum is lawful and the exercise of a fundamental human right,'' said UNHCR's director of international protection, Volker Turk.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/payouts-only-after-asylum-seekers-return-home-20140705-3bfb7.html#ixzz36fczyDRT

quote:

Liberals attempt to use SES to hand out vote cards in exchange for donation

In a typical Liberal Party move, they have covered their backs with a legal but totally unethical bid for assistance in the WA Senate election. On Monday the 31st March, Judy Bailey of the Liberal Party of WA reached out to members of a not-for-profit organisation for help with handing out ‘How to vote’ cards at the upcoming election. As a bargaining chip, they offered a donation to be made to the Tom Price SES in exchange for their assistance on the day.

duck monster posted:

Yeah I hadn't actually come across m204 before. Seems like another one of those old "4GL" database things that used to be the rage in the 80s.

Sir Coq of Nandos posted:

The Commonwealth Bank still uses a very similar program for its credit card management. I used to have great fun using it to trace transactions and then explain to housewives that someone had used the joint credit card to buy internet porn.

Small Keating posted:

Interesting, particularly given CBA has spent AT LEAST $1.3bn on SAP in the last couple of years.

ONE POINT THREE. BILLION. DOLLARS.

To be fair, their internet banking platform does give me a significant erection every time I use it, but still. THE GDP OF THE SOLOMON ISLANDS.

I went into a Telstra store recently to set up some business fleet plans, and the combination of green-screen terminal emulation/virtualisation AND a mid-to-late-'90s web-based mandatory application form manager (MyConnect?) that apparently hasn't been updated since inception (because it can't, for whatever reason) was agonising to behold.

CrazyTolradi posted:

quote:

New research has backed concerns the federal government's proposed Medicare co-payment will hit vulnerable groups the hardest and could deter them from seeking medical care.
The Sydney University study suggests the combined impact of the higher co-payments will hit those 65 and over the hardest. A pensioner couple will face additional out-of-pocket costs of $200 a year.

If the Senate approves the changes, the $7 fee will apply not only to GP visits but to out-of-hospital pathology and imaging tests from July 1, 2015. A higher co-payment will be charged for medicines on the pharmaceutical benefits scheme starting in January, meaning general patients pay an extra $5 per script and concessional patients an extra 80˘.

''The introduction of co-payments won't be shared equally,'' report co-author Clare Bayram said.

''It will particularly affect people who need to use more medical and related services, such as older people and those with chronic health conditions.''

The study examined clinical data collected from the university's ongoing national survey of GP-patient encounters. The Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) program records details of visits to a changing random sample of doctors.

It found one in four adult GP visits involve at least one additional pathology or imaging test, meaning the minimum out-of-pocket cost for the consultation was $14. About 3 per cent of visits involved both tests or $21 in expenses.

The full impact of the co-payments and PBS changes will mean a self-funded retired couple can expect, on average, an extra $244 a year in health costs, or $199 for a pensioner couple, according to the study. The average patient with type 2 diabetes would face additional bills of $120 a year regardless of age, while families would pay $38 extra per child under 16.
Although pensioners with concession cards will only pay an extra 80˘ for each PBS script, they have more prescribed medications that will incur the co-payment increase than those without concessions. Hence, they would be hit harder by the PBS changes than self-funded retirees, the study found.

Dr Bayram said she was surprised by the size of the financial impact on pensioners. ''It really emphasises that it's not going to be evenly distributed,'' she said. ''These people need to use the services, they're not making a choice.''

The university's findings echo concerns voiced by professional health bodies. Australian Medical Association president Brian Owler said it was ''good data'' that bears out the issues doctors have identified with the planned co-payment.

''It actually shows it impacts the most vulnerable in our society more than anyone else,'' Dr Owler said. ''It's the sort of modelling that really should have been done before the proposal came out.''

A recent COAG Reform Council report found 5.8 per cent of patients were already delaying a visit or not seeing a GP because of cost. That figure rose to one in eight for indigenous people. Similar findings have been made by the National Health Performance Authority.

Freudian Slip posted:

So the work we did modelling the Medicare co-payments has come out this morning. We have got decent media coverage so far. Hopefully, TV news decides it's a decent story and asks for interviews later today.

Pretty much we have shown that the combined cost of the new co-payments for GP services, pathology tests and imaging test combined with the increase to the PBS threshold is going to cost families far more than what has been reported.

For those who want to read the full twelve pages, it can be found here

http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/fmrc/beach/bytes/BEACH-Byte-2014-003.pdf

For those who want the condensed SMH version - it's here


If people are interested, I could create a list of ten misconceptions about the proposed co-payments, which could be tidied up like Sisgmunds did for the GP visits and then have Goons spread it though social media. Would people be up for that?

Freudian Slip posted:

If people are interested, I could create a list of ten misconceptions about the proposed co-payments, which could be tidied up like Sisgmunds did for the GP visits and then have Goons spread it though social media. Would people be up for that?

Freudian Slip posted:

If people are interested, I could create a list of ten misconceptions about the proposed co-payments, which could be tidied up like Sisgmunds did for the GP visits and then have Goons spread it though social media. Would people be up for that?