Jumpingmanjim posted:

Is Cuneen going to weasel her way out of this?

MonoAus posted:

Nah, just don't sell tequila shots to someone who can barely stand at 4AM.

Birb Katter posted:

I got a close mate with MS, he can barely stand at any time and his speech can be off a lot. Should staff cut him off or should we maybe not rely on something as subjective as an opinion and as easily manipulated by someone's fear of losing their job?

Mandatory pre-commitment, maybe a drinks per hour limit too, to booze and gambling seems like a pretty nice way to ditch the RSA / RCG and take the subjectivity out of it.

The Ad posted:

The system is broken

Solemn Sloth posted:

A licence to get munted? Scoff.gif

Cartoon posted:

She shouldn't be able to but thats what makes it

Anidav posted:

Got a bunch of bartender and waitstaff mates being suddenly political and saying the QLD lockout laws will make them lose their jobs

quote:

Canada's minister of indigenous affairs has accused police of failing to investigate possibly thousands of murders of native women that their families say were wrongly classified as suicide, accidental death or by natural cause.

Federal police said 1,049 aboriginal women had been murdered and 172 had gone missing over the past three decades, in a 2014 report that was updated last year.

Minister Carolyn Bennett said the tragedy was "much wider", with one women's group suggesting the number was as high as 4,000.

Based on conversations with victims' families ahead of a public inquiry into the deaths and missing persons cases, Ms Bennett said a number of cases were labelled suicides, or the result of accidental overdose or natural causes.

"There's no question that the families want certain cases reopened," she said.

Many families, the minister added, alleged an "uneven application of justice, from the quality of the search to whether it's called a murder or not, to the charges that are laid, to the plea bargaining, to the court dates being delayed, to the sentence, to the time served".

"It seems to the families that this is very different if the victim is indigenous," Ms Bennett said.

She cited examples of a woman being shot in the back of the head and another who died while her hands were tied behind her back.

Both deaths were classified as suicides, she said.

"It's very important that we're describing a tragedy, not just counting missing and murdered because that doesn't describe the reality of these families and the voices of the survivors," she said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government has sought a rapprochement with Canada's 1.4 million aboriginals since taking office in November.

The previous Tory administration had long resisted calls for an inquiry, seeing the disproportionate number of deaths and disappearances as resulting from domestic violence.

AFP

Nibbles! posted:

I don't really keep up with the rest of the forums. Is there a reason the desktop layout has changed?

Amoeba102 posted:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-17/call-to-swap-rego-fees-for-user-pays-road-system/7175434


Make drivers pay for the roads they use, tracked how? What put a toll both at the end of every street? The fuel excise is a way of making you pay for the driving you do that is relatively simple to implement. Without details it seems pretty dumb. Anyone read the report?

Anidav posted:

Amethyst posted:

Something tells me this is a flawed analysis from a bunch of clowns.

quote:

NSW parliamentary committee head seeks advice on Brad Hazzard Question Time attack By state political reporter Sarah Gerathy Updated 23 minutes ago

The head of a New South Wales parliamentary committee into the corruption watchdog is seeking advice about whether material used in Tuesday's Question Time attack on Brad Hazzard could have constituted contempt of Parliament. The committee reviewing the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and its inspector's performance has recently been considering a scathing report by the inspector David Levine. The inspector's report labelled the watchdog's inquiry into Margaret Cunneen "the lowest point" in the organisation's history. In seeking to refute the findings of the inspector's report, ICAC handed the committee a large volume of material which it said showed why it was reasonable to investigate Ms Cunneen over allegations she encouraged her son's girlfriend to fake chest pains to delay a breath test in the wake of a car crash.

The committee has been seeking legal advice about whether it can publicly release much of the material, including secret recordings made by the NSW Crime Commission. The Opposition accused Mr Hazzard, the Minister for Family and Community Services and Social Housing, of interfering in the ICAC inquiry by having direct contact with a witness to the car accident that sparked the watchdog's investigation. Liberal MP Damien Tudehope has written to all members of the parliamentary committee to express concern the information could have been leaked from confidential material presented to it by ICAC. "In view of the apparent release of this information, which is a serious matter for the committee to discuss in the first instance, I will be convening a meeting of the committee as a matter of priority to discuss the circumstances of this matter," Mr Tudehope wote. "In the interim I have sought the advice of the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly concerning parliamentary law, practice and procedure relating to potential breaches of privilege and possible contempt relating to the proceedings of the committee on the ICAC."

The NSW Opposition has not revealed the source of the material that led to its line of questioning.

On Tuesday, Mr Hazzard confirmed in Parliament a witness to the car accident contacted his office when he was attorney-general after ICAC announced it was investigating whether Ms Cunneen had advised her son's girlfriend to fake the chest pains to delay a blood test. Mr Hazzard told Parliament he put the witness in touch with ICAC but could not recall if he also gave her Ms Cunneen's phone number. The NSW Opposition questioned whether it was appropriate for a minister to initiate private conversations with an eyewitness to a matter that was the subject of an active ICAC investigation. Mr Hazzard defended his actions and said he did not think it mattered "two hoots" if he had put the witness in contact with Ms Cunneen and that it would have been in the interests of making the information available to both sides.

The NSW Premier's office released advice from the Senior Counsel of the Department of Premier and Cabinet suggesting there was no possible illegality in Mr Hazzard's actions.

quote:

Scott Morrison calls for spending cuts in first National Press Club address as Treasurer By political reporter Stephanie Anderson Updated 47 minutes ago

Treasurer Scott Morrison has warned it will be a slow path back to a budget surplus, highlighting the need to curb spending(how original that was pure genius!).

Key points:

Scott Morrison uses first National Press Club address as Treasurer to push for spending cuts and income tax relief.
Mr Morrison says impact of rising average tax rates a "job killer" - said nobody with the slightest clue ever.
Current funding commitments to state governments will be met, despite budget pressures.

In his first address to the National Press Club as Treasurer, Mr Morrison emphasised the need for spending cuts and income tax relief after the Government ruled out increasing the GST. He acknowledged that of the $80 billion of savings made by the Coalition, $70 billion had been spent again, adding fixing the budget required "test match patience". "There is no quick fix to it, there is no one statement, there is no one budget, there are budgets and budgets and budgets and budgets that are required to fix that problem," Mr Morrison said. "We are battling strong headwinds but the good news and the hope is that this country is battling those headwinds, I'd argue, better than any."

Despite the increasing pressures on the budget going forward, Mr Morrison said current funding commitments to state governments would be met. Mr Morrison also made the case for income tax cuts, labelling the impact of rising average tax rates "a job killer". "If anyone thinks the higher taxes to support higher spending is a pathway to prosperity, you're dreaming," he said. "This Government isn't dreaming. This Government is driven by hard realities of what those numbers say."

'Modest income earners use negative gearing'

Mr Morrison also spoke further on the decision to take an increase in the GST off the table, as well as pushing for the introduction of the Australian Building and Construction Commission.

The speech came at a time when the tax debate is finely poised, with Coalition backbenchers clamouring to be heard. Labor has seized the initiative by proposing to abolish negative gearing on existing properties from 2017. The Government has also been contemplating some changes to negative gearing but Coalition backbenchers, who agitated against any increase to the GST, are now pushing firmly against any substantive changes. Mr Morrison also continued his criticism of Labor's policy, saying the Opposition did not understand who accessed the current policy and why. "I have always understood that for the vast majority of Australians who use negative gearing, they are modest income earning Australians," he said. "I know the Labor Party doesn't agree with that and there are probably some in this room who don't agree with that, but the figures speak for themselves." (Yes Scotty they do and whatever the point you are trying to make the figures don't say Negative Gearing is good and should stay forever).

quote:

Jobs data unreliable as unemployment likely to remain at 5.8 per cent By business reporter Neal Woolrich Posted about 3 hours ago

"If we accept the labour force data – let's discount them to some extent perhaps for the quality issues."

Key points

Economists, including the Treasury secretary and RBA governor, doubtful of the official jobs numbers
ABS has reviewed its seasonal adjustment methodology and pushed the jobs release back by one week
Forecasters predict the official unemployment rate for January will remain steady at 5.8 per cent
So spoke the governor of the Reserve Bank, Glenn Stevens, in his testimony to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics last Friday.

Mr Stevens – who usually plays the deadest of bats to most controversies – has added his voice to a growing chorus of economists questioning the monthly Labour Force survey published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Last week, Treasury secretary John Fraser warned there were "technical issues" with the jobs survey which made the figures "look a little bit better than otherwise would be the case". In October, a former head of the ABS, Bill McLennan, told the Australian Financial Review that the previous six employment surveys were "not worth the paper they're written on". Private sector economists have been more circumspect, but most now take the monthly figures with a large helping of salt. "The labour force statistics for Australia have become increasingly problematic, with measurement issues that have meant there has been a significant amount of volatility in those numbers in recent times," said Paul Bloxham, the chief economist at HSBC Australia. "We've even seen officialdom in the form of the Treasury secretary pointing to the fact they are perhaps a little less reliable than they ought to be."

The ABS monthly jobs figures will be released again on Thursday morning at 11:30am (AEDT).

The ABS numbers say that there have been about 477,000 jobs created over the past two years, our index suggests it is probably closer to 300,000–350,000 jobs. Paul Bloxham, HSBC chief economist

A Thomson Reuters poll of 19 economists is forecasting the unemployment rate for January to remain at 5.8 per cent, with 15,000 jobs created in the month. However, for the traders who punt millions of dollars around the release of the Labour Force data, and the economists whose reputations live or die by the accuracy of their forecasts, predicting the official results is becoming even more of a guessing game. The problems were first made public in October 2014, when the ABS announced a technical review into the way it seasonally adjusted the jobs numbers. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical technique to strip out the impact of seasonal factors on the raw data, such as public holidays. The ABS was forced to act after three months of wild swings in its seasonally adjusted employment figures, including an estimate that a near-record 121,000 jobs were created in August 2014.

Economists doubtful that ABS fixes are working

ABS head David Kalisch last year stood by the overall quality of the numbers, and promised an ongoing review of the bureau's methodology. The ABS also announced it would delay the release of its Labour force survey by a week, from the second to the third Thursday of each month. But the most recent figures still seem too good to be true. "We are still talking about an improvement in the labour market, but not nearly as strong as the improvement you have seen in the official statistics," said Mr Bloxham.

Unemployment data explained

ABC business reporter Michael Janda explains how the jobs data are calculated and what to look for in the figures. HSBC Australia has conducted its own analysis of the labour market, based on other information, including Gross Domestic Product, job advertisements and vacancies, and business surveys. "Although the ABS numbers say that there have been about 477,000 jobs created over the past two years, our index suggests it is probably closer to 300,000–350,000 jobs that have been created," Mr Bloxham said. The Community and Public Sector Union is also warning that the employment conditions proposed for ABS interviewers will compromise the quality of important economic data, including the jobs numbers. The CPSU is in dispute with the ABS over negotiations for an employment agreement that covers 400 ABS staff. "The further the ABS moves away from a stable, well-trained pool of interviewers, the more likely the quality of data collected will suffer," said CPSU National President Alistair Waters. Paul Bloxham said the GDP numbers could be revised up, which would make the employment figures seem more credible.

He also noted that the composition of the workforce is changing, with more growth coming from labour-intensive industries such as hospitality and services as the capital-intensive mining boom fades. However, he argued that neither of those reasons fully explains why the ABS employment numbers are so strong. "It would certainly be better if the labour force figures were a bit more reliable. But thankfully there are a lot of other indicators policy makers can look at for the labour market in Australia," Mr Bloxham concluded.

Laserface posted:

The problem with the RSA is that it's the responsible service of alcohol, not the responsible consumption.

It puts bars on the front foot the second someone is drinking too much or causing a ruckus, they get kicked out. Then they can't get in anywhere else, they get mad, aggressive and eventually ruin someone else's night either directly or indirectly.

If you didn't have bars itching to kick out pissheads they'd likely stay in a venue and drink themselves stupid until they want to leave. By all means kick out trouble makers who are starting fights or being otherwise rampant dickheads but Most people can have 20 beers in a night and all they will do is get a bit shouty. Big deal.

I mean it's basically what happens now except you have bouncers everywhere looking for a reason to exert force on someone. RSA just gives them a reason to do it.

xPanda posted:

Cartoon, can you explain what that Cunneen thing with Brad Hazzard means? I don't get these political machinations.

xPanda posted:

Cartoon, can you explain what that Cunneen thing with Brad Hazzard means? I don't get these political machinations.

Zenithe posted:

Got my RSA for

Pretty embarrassing really. Dunno who would possibly need six hours to do that.

Negligent posted:

Communist party is running in every state, are you going to vote for them?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/02/17/communist-australia-election_n_9240388.html

Negligent posted:

Communist party is running in every state, are you going to vote for them?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/02/17/communist-australia-election_n_9240388.html

quote:

Even if they say they're disinterested, they look at material in the media and so on, so we’d like to put a socialist alternative before them, about changing the system and not just having Labor or Liberal."

Negligent posted:

Communist party is running in every state, are you going to vote for them?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/02/17/communist-australia-election_n_9240388.html

thatfatkid posted:

1 - Communists
2 - HEMP
3 - Socialist Alliance
4 - Socialist Alternative
5 - Motoring Enthusiasts
6 - Greens / Bullet Train

norp posted:

Pretty sure I just heard scomo on a jjj news update saying something along the lines of "we are backing away from tax reform because that would mean raising the gst and that is off the table"
I guess "tax reform" meaning "gently caress the poor" wasn't just a bit of a joke by the leftists