markgreyam posted:

http://www.theguardian.com/australi...4b0a930cae66e36

Anidav posted:

Human waste left by climbers on Mount Everest has become a problem that is causing pollution and threatening to spread disease on the world’s highest peak, the chief of Nepal’s mountaineering association said Tuesday.

The more than 700 climbers and guides who spend nearly two months on Everest’s slopes each climbing season leave large amounts of faeces and urine, and the issue has not been addressed, Ang Tshering told reporters.

Birdstrike posted:

First Dog format, duh!

Anidav posted:

But why

Anidav posted:

But why

Anidav posted:

Jumpingmanjim posted:

You've found your calling. You're going to be employed as a real estate agent.

Anidav posted:

This is like my 5th avatar in 2 weeks. Literally above minimum wage.

Mattjpwns posted:

Team up with Chicken Parma and make a comic like the preferential voting one.

Seemlar posted:

Prime Minister for Women and Malfunctioning Robot Tony Abbott was VERY excited about this

quote:

According to the most recent data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) last week, the gender pay gap in Australia has reached a record high of 18.8 per cent.

To put it in perspective, the gender pay gap was 17.8 per cent — in 1985. In real terms, this means that female employees are penalised almost $300 per week — just for being women.

The latest ABS figures show that compared to the full-time earnings of Australian men — $1,587.50 — women earn $1289.30 per week, $298 less.

sick trigger posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mupzb2ySpWQ

quote:

Scott's hair appears courtesy of genetics, good care and a balanced diet.

quote:

More than two dozen research facilities are preparing to shut down as administrators warn Australian science is suffering “immense” damage as a result of the federal government’s refusal to guarantee critical infrastructure funding.

About $150m in funding for 27 research infrastructure facilities promised in last year’s federal budget has been tied to the Abbott government’s higher-education changes, which have stalled in the Senate.

The facilities have no guaranteed funding past 30 June and up to 1,700 jobs are at risk if they are forced to shut down.

Among the sites funded by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Scheme (NCRIS) is the Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis Research Facility, where scientists invented the Nanopatch, a needle-free vaccine delivery patch that could dramatically slow the spread of viruses during a pandemic.

Another NCRIS-funded site, the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF), is developing a system to mass produce the revolutionary patch, but will have to shut its doors if funding isn’t renewed.

[...]

Even if the education minister, Christopher Pyne, relents and passes a bill funding NCRIS, the damage will already have been done, Hicks said. “Obviously we’re losing people. I’m being asked for references.”

Some of the facility’s 94 staff – all but three of them researchers or technicians – will take jobs overseas, and one has already left for Canada, she added.

[...]

[The] exodus of highly specialised skills has begun and will only accelerate as the end of the year draws closer,” the letter said. “Furthermore, many of the facilities cannot be viably maintained if taken offline for significant periods.

“This means that if operational funding for 2015-16 is not confirmed in the next two months, the government will be effectively decommissioning high-cost public infrastructure that in many cases has years if not decades of productive working life remaining.”

About $40m worth of data-gathering instruments could be stranded in Australia’s oceans if the June deadline passes without renewal, Tim Moltmann, the director of the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS), said.

[...]

Pyne said in January that the Senate would need to pass his higher education changes to guarantee funding for NCRIS, as well as government support to Tafe students and the Future Fellowships scholarship scheme. “It’s a high-stakes game,” he said.

quote:

Pyne said in January that the Senate would need to pass his higher education changes to guarantee funding for NCRIS

katlington posted:

Errr..

Australian science research facilities prepare for shutdown as government refuses to secure funding

Goffer posted:

“It’s a high-stakes game,” he said.

Anidav posted:

AGAIN?!

Anidav posted:

I miss Donkey Kong.

Anidav posted:

I miss Donkey Kong.

tithin posted:

quote:

Unstable land needs firm foundations

Prosper usually looks at macro economics yet a micro example of what can go wrong in the property market – very, very wrong – might aid your concentration.

Andrew, a Sydney ‘investor’ bought properties in Mackay and Blackwater Queensland, “when rents were crazy and out look was bright (sic).”

He posted his entirely credible dilemma on the Somersoft property investor forum.

He paid $495k for a Blackwater rental returning $49,400 pa gross – a hearty 9.9 per cent. Blackwater houses workers at the BMA and Curragh coal mines. With coal prices in the doldrums and layoffs creating plenty of vacancies, agents now value the property at $200k and estimate its rental potential at 18,200 pa gross. The property carries a mortgage of $475k at 4.89 per cent interest or $23,200 pa.

Andrew’s other property in Mackay cost $485k for a passing rent of $36,400 pa, or 7.5 per cent. Now, it is worth $380k and market rents are around $10,400 pa gross. The property carries a mortgage of $450k at 4.89 per cent interest or $22,000 pa.

Violent re-pricing indeed.

Rule of thumb says direct costs, rates, land tax, etc, would be half the gross, certainly on the later rents. So his net rents of around $29,000 support an interest cost of $45,200 pa, or a net loss of $16,200 pa, assuming nil vacancies.

Clearly unhappy with his position, Andrew wants out. He faces a loss of $70k on the Mackay property and $300k on Blackwater if he sells. I suspect these figures disregard Stamp Duty and other transaction costs.

He says, “I have a house in Sydney that has about $500k equity. My mum lives with my family who has contributed into this purchase so selling this property is not an option.”

That equity isn’t his to risk in support of his rental investments. Mum and family would be unimpressed with the idea of selling Baulkum Hills for a Queensland adventure.

“Will this get worse???” he asks plaintively.

His horror story is being repeated all over Queensland and Western Australia. Goaded into action by an army of spruikers in an anecdote-rich, fact-poor media, a naive investor class saw stellar yields and paid a seemingly reasonable capitalization. He thought he won the lottery, when in fact the winner was the vendor.

Little can be done for Andrew and his very hard life lesson.

Yet there is an insight available in what government can do in a volatile land market.

Andrew pays State Land Tax on both Queensland rentals. Valuations are conducted every two years, which softens his liability on the way up but doesn’t retreat nearly quickly enough in a falling market. In an era of wild land price gyrations, government should step up to annual valuations, both to moderate the rise and ease the fall. While this sounds like I am recommending annual revaluation of every parcel of land in the country, it is entirely possible to value half each year and interpolate the rest. SLT already piggy-backs on council valuations, so this is a cost-less exercise.

Land tax is a powerful automatic stabiliser, if we use it properly.

The investor frenzy in Sydney would be less if their bidding up of land prices was immediately transmitted into higher SLT. Dizzy buyers would get a good kicking from existing owners for driving up their costs, rather than the slap on the back for increasing values.

- See more at: http://www.prosper.org.au/2015/03/04/unstable-land-needs-firm-foundations/#sthash.hmqTpSIQ.dpuf

quote:

A dramatic jump in the number of properties for sale in Perth could see house prices fall, with the number of listings rising by almost 50 per cent.

There were 13,535 properties listed for sale in the Perth metropolitan area for the week leading up to February 25, compared to 9207 for the same period last year, according to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia.

REIWA President David Airey said with the long-term equilibrium for the number of listings in Perth at around 12,000, the number of properties up for sale was trending upwards.

"What is unusual is that listings have increased significantly in a short space of time," he said.

"It's a big jump."

A number of factors have been attributed to the 47 per cent rise in listings, including a decline in the population growth rate, downturns in the mining and construction sectors, job losses, low consumer sentiment and the completion of a record level of dwelling constructions.

Mr Airey said the increased number of listings was likely to influence prices.

"Perth's median house price has been reasonably steady for the last six months, but this is unlikely to be sustainable given the supply and demand situation," he said.

"We are likely to see the overall median price come down through 2015, but this experience will be different for different segments of the market depending on local conditions."

And the trend of more properties coming on to the market could continue.

"After the GFC in 2008, listings grew to more than 15,000 in 2009, and we may approach those numbers again later this year," Mr Airey said.

Real estate agent Barry Wood, from Zoo Property in Sorrento, agreed house prices were likely to come down.

"My expectations, long term, I expect property to perform well for everyone," Mr Wood said.

"But, short term, the volume of sales may drop slightly further and prices will adjust by 3 to 8 per cent down.

"The public has the perception that it's a buyer's marker and it will be somewhat this year."

Mr Wood attributed the rise in properties for sale to numerous economic factors and said misinformation and confusion was contributing to an unstable market.

"The market is panicking a little bit," Mr Wood said.

"The reality is there are a lot of properties on the market place that are overpriced and never going to sell.

"If your property's not priced or presented properly, you should remove it from the market."

But Mr Wood said low interest rates would help to stop property prices from plunging.

"It's not all doom and gloom," he said.