Jonah Galtberg posted:

Is Fruity about to blow the whistle on the private lives of Greens MPs?

Matthew Beet posted:

Bandts socks aren't free trade hemp. Read Bolt tomorrow for more.

Matthew Beet posted:

Bandts socks aren't free trade hemp. Read Bolt tomorrow for more.

Cartoon posted:

Personal values are part of the manure confection of public policy discourse.

quote:

It was the Abbott government’s big sell, complete with a big price tag - but it has emerged the government’s taxpayer-funded advertising campaign to address concerns about its proposed higher education changes are not a hit with the public.
...
But despite sinking more than half a million dollars into focus groups, the Coalition’s advertisements have failed to register with the public.
...
Three quarters of people surveyed by research group UMR failed to even recognise the ads.

open24hours posted:

If you can't argue against a policy without reference to the personal life of the person proposing that policy then you probably have a pretty weak argument.

open24hours posted:

Whether someone sends their children to private school has no bearing on the quality of the policy.

To elaborate, if that politician didn't send their children to private school, would the plan to remove funding from public schools become good? Of course it wouldn't.

If the politician who wants to keep gay marriage illegal didn't have secret midnight trysts with other men, would that make their plan to keep gay marriage illegal good? Of course not.

If you can't argue against a policy without reference to the personal life of the person proposing that policy then you probably have a pretty weak argument.

CrazyTolradi posted:

So, would this logic apply also to Peta Credlin, while being a major Tory pile of poo poo is also not an elected political representative? Would it be poor taste to "gently caress" with her private life?

Or we can be brutally honest on this and accept that politics is a mugs game and when you are going into politics, be it as an elected representative or a party volunteer/staffer, it's very possible that someone will make a target out of your comments. Even more so when you have a reputation for saying things that, in the public eye, are of extremely poor taste and can paint you as an irrational, over-emotional person.

quote:

A drop in emissions during the second year of the carbon tax was due to below trend economic growth, according to Federal Finance Minister Mathias Cormann.

A report released by the Environment Department on Tuesday showed Australia's estimated greenhouse gas emissions fell by 1.4 per cent in 2013-14, compared to the previous financial year.

The carbon tax came into effect from 1 July 2012 under the previous Labor government until 1 July 2014, when it was repealed by the current Abbott Government.

Speaking in Perth on Saturday, Mr Cormann said Australia's emissions had reduced due to below trend economic growth.

"Emissions were falling before the carbon tax came into effect and we were meeting our Kyoto targets well before the carbon tax came into effect," he said.

"Over the past two years the economy has grown below trend, and below trend growth means that emissions will be lower than they otherwise would have been."

The new data from Australia's National Greenhouse Gas Inventory showed a decline in electricity emissions in 2013-14, which, the report stated, reflected lower electricity demand and changes in the generation mix.

The report said emissions from transport, industrial processes and agriculture declined during the year, but they were partially offset by increases in the fugitive emissions and stationary energy sectors.

The data also showed emissions increased by 0.4 per cent in the June quarter of 2014, or 0.2% seasonally adjusted.

Mr Cormann said he was confident in the Federal Government's climate change plan.

"The truth is that our Direct Action policy, which was legislated by the Parliament, will ensure we achieve our emissions reductions targets for the future," he said.

open24hours posted:

The issues are all that matter, whether Mr Family Values is a gimp on weekends is entirely irrelevant.

Both sides try to play the man now anyway, it's just that one side is better at it.

Fruity Gordo posted:

No, it doesn't apply to her. The only reason her personal life is in any way in the public interest is because, sadly for her, it intersects with the Prime Minister's. The problem is not her loving around, it's that the Prime Minister for Family Values was loving around, and it was with her.

Fruity Gordo posted:

You really don't seem to get the point and just love ragging on me. Being a sicknasty poster isn't a problem unless you stake your entire public reputation on your moral opposition to sicknasty posting.

open24hours posted:

Whether someone sends their children to private school has no bearing on the quality of the policy.

To elaborate, if that politician didn't send their children to private school, would the plan to remove funding from public schools become good? Of course it wouldn't.

If the politician who wants to keep gay marriage illegal didn't have secret midnight trysts with other men, would that make their plan to keep gay marriage illegal good? Of course not.

If you can't argue against a policy without reference to the personal life of the person proposing that policy then you probably have a pretty weak argument.

CrazyTolradi posted:

According to single blog and rumour. Which you've then gone and spread as gospel truth. Personally, I feel them having an affair is totally a concern theirs and their families, but it doesn't impact their ability (or rather, inability) to do their job. Now if there was evidence of abuse of their positions, such as not declaring a scholarship for one's child, then yeah that's clearly public interest.


No, my only issue with you is that you're an extremist who frothes at the mouth and rages at people, which is exactly what allowed Bolt to write his shitpiece in the first place. I mean, how did you think writing that kind of thing, in any context, wasn't a clear act of stupidity? Now, I abhor Bolt's blog and his horrible journalism but I also think if you're going to go around saying you will either shoot people yourself or hope they die (and lets be honest, that wasn't a once off you've said that), you're just pouring petrol infront of a pyromaniac, daring them to throw a match in.

tl;dr, Bolt is a fuckhead and a horrible human, but what you wrote was deviod of any logic or reason and was completely stupid.

Fruity Gordo posted:

The only thing I can possibly interpret from your posts about this is that you must be a massive hypocrite and oval office and see no problem with it and don't think it effects you family, your work, your friends, and every single interaction you have in life.

bluuuuhhhh posted:

It’s easy to assume that property prices within 10km of the Sydney CBD would be well over the $1 million-mark but surprisingly, that’s very far from the truth.

CoreLogic RP Data has released a list of the 10 most affordable suburbs located less than 10km from the city, all with a median house prices well below $950,000.

The most affordable is Sydenham with a median house price of $813,314 while the second most affordable is Tempe with a median of $826,844.

Lizard Combatant posted:

Ok, someone has to link to this blog now. I can't believe I'm going to read Bolt/Gordo.

quote:

The inner-city ring

Have you ever wanted to live in the trendy suburb of Paddington? You can – just not in Sydney's Paddington. The Brisbane suburb of Paddington is pretty much a copy of its Sydney counterpart, just probably on a smaller scale. In this coffee-sipping and leafy area, you can find a house with city views, just two kilometres from the CBD, for around the $844,000 mark.

It could be a tempting prospect for those wanting a Paddington lifestyle in Sydney, but having to compromise and put up with a dump further west.

A three-bedroom, two-bathroom property just metres from the trendy Latrobe Terrace (think Oxford Street) at 64 Alma Street, Paddington recently sold for $830,000, or $14,000 less than the Sydney median house price.

Space Property Agents' Nicole Devine said the home was actually bought by a Sydney investor, who was planning to capitalise on the amazing city views of Brisbane and renovate the home.

Although the 405-square-metre block is pretty standard in Brisbane, we all know what the cost of that would be in Sydney - well in the millions.

"They appreciate how close we are to the city and the vibrant cafés, boutique shopping and that sort of thing," she said.

"There's Suncorp stadium, it's close to the train station and there are so many great state and private schools nearby."

If you tried to buy a house in Sydney's most expensive suburb of Point Piper, you'd need tens of millions of dollars.

But in Brisbane, it's still possible to buy in the city's best suburb of Ascot for less than the Sydney median house price.

A two-bedroom pad at 15 Vine Street, Ascot, sold for $825,000. Talk about a champagne lifestyle on a beer budget. In fact, that beer at Bondi is now sounding better, isn't it? You could probably easily afford to fly down with all that extra cash.

Fruity Gordo posted:

The only thing I can possibly interpret from your posts about this is that you must be a massive hypocrite and oval office and see no problem with it and don't think it effects you family, your work, your friends, and every single interaction you have in life.

tithin posted:

I won't link it, as that's fruitys place to do so, but all it was, was a screencap of a conversation fruity had with someone on facebook where she told someone to basically gently caress off and die, and bolt just said "SEE? THIS IS WHAT THE GREENS / LEFT ARE ACTUALLY LIKE"

You're not missing much.

quote:

Raw milk producers will be subject to tough new restrictions, making it harder to sell the product for human consumption, the Victorian Government has said.

Under the new regulations, dairy farmers producing milk must either make it safe for human consumption or make it unpalatable by adding a bittering agent.

"Raw milk producers will have to either treat the milk with a pasteurisation process to make sure that any harmful bacteria are killed before there is a risk that consumers will drink it," Victorian Minister for Consumer Affairs Jane Garrett said.

"If they don't wish to go through this pasteurisation process, they will be required to add a very small drop of an agent that makes the milk entirely unpalatable.

"This means that the smallest amount will make the individual recoil in horror, which will prevent absolutely the deliberate or accidental consumption."

Mithranderp posted:

What Sydney's median price will buy you in Brisbane

Not gonna post the whole thing because it is fairly vomit-inducing

Mithranderp posted:

What Sydney's median price will buy you in Brisbane

Not gonna post the whole thing because it is fairly vomit-inducing



Speaking of Brisbane...

Reminder that BrisGoonMeet is tonight, 6pm, Jackpot Dining (55 Elizabeth st)

quote:

Rape claim costs rugby star his career in Australia and overseas
BRENDEN HILLSCOURT REPORTER THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH DECEMBER 28, 2014 12:00AM
Solomona Silipa faced court charged with rape. Picture: Facebook
Solomona Silipa faced court charged with rape. Picture: Facebook
IT WAS the rape case that ended a promising rugby union career.

Solomona Silipa was a talented half whose Australian career included stints playing for Penrith and Parramatta in the NSW Shute Shield rugby competition.

The high point came when he had an opportunity to crack a spot with French rugby giant Toulon, whose alumni includes Sonny Bill Williams and English legend Jonny Wilkinson.

But that door closed when Silipa was charged with rape and had his passport confiscated as part of his bail conditions.

A woman, who cannot legally be named, claimed Silipa raped her inside her friend’s flat at Colyton, in western Sydney, after a drunken night out on February 22, 2013.

The case ran until ­December 3 this year and ended when the jury dismissed the woman’s account, taking just 23 minutes to find Silipa not guilty.

The woman and three of her friends had been to Penrith Leagues Club to see a Manpower show before they went to a nearby nightclub called Envy.

It was not in dispute that they met up with Silipa and his cousin Stephen that night. But there, the stories ­diverged.

The alleged victim claimed she fell asleep on a couch at the flat and woke to find Silipa forcibly having oral sex with her before he had non-consensual sex.

She then claimed a friend, who lived in the apartment with a boyfriend, came into the room and pulled Silipa off her after seeing the woman’s “shocked” face.

Solomona Silipa (holding ball) in action while playing for Penrith against Parramatta in
Solomona Silipa (holding ball) in action while playing for Penrith against Parramatta in the NSW Shute Shield rugby competition.
It was alleged that Silipa punched the female friend twice in the face.

But Silipa claimed the sex was consensual and that the pair had kissed earlier in the evening. Silipa’s lawyers, Julia Hickleton and Ben Jamieson, told the court the alleged victim’s friend concocted the story and lied to the police because a neighbour had called the friend’s boyfriend after seeing her kissing Stephen.

The boyfriend was driving back to the flat and the friend wanted Silipa and Stephen out, Ms Hickleton told the court. “(The boyfriend) was trying to ring his girlfriend and when he eventually got on to his girlfriend, he was very angry because he’s been told by his friend that he had seen his girlfriend kissing someone,” Ms Hickleton told the court.

Silipa and Stephen left the unit but went back after Stephen forgot his phone. The boyfriend arrived with friends and led a “vicious attack” on Silipa where he was hit in the head with a hoe, leaving a large gash, and stabbed in the body, the court heard.

The court heard medical experts found no injuries consistent with sexual assault on the alleged victim.

Solomona Silipa was found not guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of common assault.

tithin posted:

There's only one thing I'd like to do to Brisbane's inner ring

tithin posted:

I won't link it, as that's fruitys place to do so, but all it was, was a screencap of a conversation fruity had with someone on facebook where she told someone to basically gently caress off and die, and bolt just said "SEE? THIS IS WHAT THE GREENS / LEFT ARE ACTUALLY LIKE"

You're not missing much.

Anidav posted:

I'm not naive, I'm just young and growing into life lessons.

quote:

Palmer United Party (PUP) leader Clive Palmer has announced John Bjelke-Petersen, the son of former Queensland premier Sir Joh, as the party's leader in Queensland ahead of the pending state election.

Anidav posted:

I'm not naive, I'm just Young Labor and growing into life lessons.

adamantium|wang posted:

Implants posted:

John BP ran at the last State election. He's without doubt the stupidest man I've ever met, eclipsing even John Anderson in lack of ability.