WhiskeyWhiskers posted:

I can't see how having big burly blokes required by law to use women's bathrooms is more comfortable to these people worldviews than just letting transpeople choose which toilets they use.

Recoome posted:

In yet ANOTHER unsurprising turn of events, the UPF hate transgender people. This is naturally riding on the way of "Bathroom Laws" which are being passed in the US at the moment.

So ugh how long until these guys die out? They haven't been registered as a party right?

Recoome posted:

In yet ANOTHER unsurprising turn of events, the UPF hate transgender people. This is naturally riding on the way of "Bathroom Laws" which are being passed in the US at the moment.

So ugh how long until these guys die out? They haven't been registered as a party right?

Zenithe posted:

A group run by a Christian fundamentalist and a literal Nazi won't support trangender rights

I heard they did register as a party but missed the deadline for this election or something. So on the off chance they haven't cannibalised themselves (again) in the next 3 1/2 years they could have a chance at getting a senate seat, assuming they can find eligible candidates (for example, people who haven't been convicted of stalking and arson)

Burn Down Canberra posted:

Labor arent being a small target on the economy though. For an opposition party they are being a very big target. They made that clear by going after negative gearing. Bowen is setting the economic agenda right now and morrison is reacting. For all the coalition bluster about morrison being the next big thing hes struggling to see off a man with a funny beard.

Labor were awful in the first year or so of opposition and they still have many policies i find personally distasteful but they are performing extremely well over the last year. Especially at framing the debate. They have seen off one prime minister in record speed and have pulled an extremely popular moderate to 50/50 polling with bill shorten.

Burn Down Canberra posted:

Labor arent being a small target on the economy though. For an opposition party they are being a very big target. They made that clear by going after negative gearing. Bowen is setting the economic agenda right now and morrison is reacting. For all the coalition bluster about morrison being the next big thing hes struggling to see off a man with a funny beard.

katlington posted:

Tbf abbott was taken out entirely by own goals

Phobophilia posted:

also, is it just me, or do these companies exclusively kidnap children from non-anglo countries to anglo ones?

Thread posted:

Oh my God, Melbourne just got wiped out by a 50 megaton nuclear bomb! We're at war with America!

Negligent posted:

Shorten will never be prime minister. Never. He just doesn't do it for me.

Starshark posted:

Cleretic posted:

If that happened the thread would still be talking about Uber and public transport for pages, don't kid yourself.

Burn Down Canberra posted:

. Obviously labor has been bad on the economy in the past

'Four wheels good, two wheels bad': NSW's war on cyclists continues posted:

It’s been over a month since the new “cycling safety” rules came into force in New South Wales. Despite the protests of numerous cycling groups armed with a petition of over 10,000 signatures and a disallowance motion tabled in state parliament by Greens MP, Mehreen Faruqi, the government appears intent on punishing two-wheeled human-powered road users.

Scores of cyclists have been issued major fines for minor offences including not having a bell on the handlebars, riding without a reflector, riding while helmet straps are loose and cycling on a footpath.

If social media can be believed, the evidence is that police are actively enforcing the section of the law that targets cyclists and ignoring the only provision that will truly keep bike riders safe – the one-metre distance required when passing a cyclist. Roads minister Duncan Gay can easily respond to these social media criticisms by releasing the figures on the number of cyclists and motorists fined under the new laws. So far, he hasn’t.

According to the Australian Cyclists Party, NSW police have managed to creatively interpret the “riding dangerously” provision. They’ve apparently fined a cyclist for “track standing” – the practise some cyclists can master of staying upright and cleated into the pedals while motionless at traffic lights. Perhaps the cops just don’t like posers?

Meanwhile, Sydney continues to suffer under traffic jams of Duncanian proportions. A bingle on the Harbour Bridge recently resulted in queues stretching back a whopping 12km. There was much antagonism on social media as commuters in buses complained that single-occupant cars were filling the transit lane, so even public transport could not get through. The only people moving were pedestrians and ... those lawbreaking cyclists.

A Fairfax Media analysis of the government’s recent Road Report showed that average commuting times have lengthened on a staggering 124 routes. Yet the NRMA keeps its head firmly stuck in the bitumen, claiming it’s the construction work on the new roads that’s slowing commute times. In transport-nirvana, once the work is complete, everyone will zip into the city at top speed!

Or, as report after report has shown, commute times will drop for a brief period before returning to snail-pace as the road clogs with more motorists, left to sit in a slow-moving car park. In some cases, these car-bound lemmings will be paying a toll for the privilege. No wonder so many Sydney motorists are angry and looking for a scapegoat. Ooh look, there goes another lycra-clad fool zipping past me. Arrest that man!

While Melbourne plans to have one-in-four city-bound commuters on a bicycle by 2020, the NSW government builds even more roads so the traffic jams can extend across the whole tortured city. With a blinkered transport policy that thunders “four wheels good, two wheels bad,” the environmentally-friendly, budget-conscious option of a network of bike lanes is ignored. Even the legendary traffic-snarled city of New York has woken up to the folly of building more roads, and instead installed a comprehensive cycle lane network.

Meanwhile, the NSW government has become guardians of an anti-youth, anti-fun agenda. The simple pleasures of cycling, getting a drink at any hour and protesting for what you believe in have all been subjected to hammer and walnut legislation.

If you’re seething about the daily time-consuming commute, direct your indignation at Duncan Gay, the man in charge of Sydney roads. Or buy a bike, plot a cycle route to the office – on what’s left of the city bike lanes – and laugh all the way to your morning latte. And can someone tell the police that fining cyclists for loose helmet straps won’t really solve a crime wave, fix Sydney traffic, or endear them to the community at large.

Welcome to NSW 2016.

quote:

Sophie Mirabella, former Liberal MP, denies pushing opponent Cathy McGowan at function

Former Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella has denied she physically pushed her political opponent, independent MP Cathy McGowan, at a function in north-east Victoria.

Ms Mirabella is contesting the seat of Indi at the upcoming federal election, after narrowly losing to Ms McGowan in 2013.

Local newspaper, the Benalla Ensign, reported Ms Mirabella and Ms McGowan both attended the opening of a new wing of an aged care facility in Benalla last week.

The report claimed Ms McGowan was having a photograph with Liberal MP Ken Wyatt, when Ms Mirabella "very publicly pushed Ms McGowan out of the way to obstruct the photo being taken".

Ms Mirabella took to Twitter to deny the report.

"I emphatically reject reports I pushed Cathy McGowan," she tweeted.

"Reporter did not even bother 2 call me.

"A sad return 2 nasty tactics from my opponents."

But the editor of the Benalla Ensign, former ABC presenter Libby Price, stands by the story.

She said the incident was witnessed by a number of people and she independently confirmed it took place with four sources.

"I was hesitant to report it but felt it was in the public interest for people to know this sort of unacceptable behaviour had occurred," Ms Price said.

The ABC has contacted Ms McGowan for comment.

The battle for the seat of Indi is expected to be one of the most closely-watched in the upcoming election.

It was decided by just over 300 votes in the 2013 election and appeared to have ended Ms Mirabella's political career, just as she was heading to a ministerial position in the Abbott government.

It is expected the result in the upcoming election will also be close, with preferences likely to be crucial.

Indi covers a large part of north-eastern Victoria including the major towns of Wangaratta, Benalla and Wodonga.

quote:

Queen of Mean Sophie Mirabella in tacky brawl columnist Janet Albrechtsen

IT was a glittering night for Liberal Party greats but an ugly spat that unfolded after Liberal Sophie Mirabella hunted down conservative columnist Janet Albrechtsen to call her “tacky’’ is the talk of political circles.

Dubbed the Queen of Mean by critics, Mrs Mirabella is recontesting the Victorian federal seat of Indi that she lost at the 2013 election and was ­angered by the columnist’s recent rating of her chances on Sky News.

Confirming the clash at a gala dinner attended by 1000 guests, including the Prime Minister, she added fuel to the fire yesterday by noting Albrechtsen is romantically involved with Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger.

“I approached Janet to introduce myself and she curtly told me that we had met before but she said I wouldn't remember ‘the little people’,’’ Mrs Mirabella said yesterday.

“I apologised profusely. I thought she might want to speak with me about Indi and she told me she knew everything about Indi and walked away.’’

But witnesses to the clash ­insist Mrs Mirabella repeatedly called the columnist “tacky’’, an attack the Liberal candidate said she did not recall.

“I was quite shocked. I was taken aback at the intensity of her emotions,’’ Mrs Mirabella said.

“I don’t know the woman. I was contacted by Liberal Party members who watched it and they were shocked that the state president’s partner would be saying what she did.”

Her reference to Ms ­Albrechtsen’s relationship with Mr Kroger, which is no secret in Liberal Party circles, has enraged her friends who described it as “sexist’’.

In a bizarre twist, it was left to former Getaway presenter Catriona Rowntree to whisk Ms Albrechtsen out of Mrs Mirabella’s way.

Ms Albrechtsen declined to comment.

Another Liberal added: “This is why people love Sophie and hate her. She just can’t help herself.”

GoldStandardConure posted:

Their politcal party is called Fortitude, I believe, not UPF.

Negligent posted:

Bike helmets save lives and are Good thing

Pickled Tink posted:

If social media can be believed,

open24hours posted:

Or someone is targeting you? Or there's a problem with the system, or something that's out of your control prevented you from delivering good service, ... It doesn't take a particularly vivid imagination to think of a situation where you could get bad reviews without being at fault. There are good reasons for unfair dismissal laws, developing an app that lets you give people star ratings doesn't do anything to invalidate those reasons.

Anidav posted:

OK Bill youre confusing the poo poo outta me.

Anidav posted:

Oh no.

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has stated he would accept a drop on Sunday penalty rates if it was recommended by the Fair Work Commission.

Oh no.

"I'd accept the independent tribunal," Mr Shorten said in an interview with radio station 3AW.

Mr Shorten went on to criticise the Government for abolishing the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, arguing it was evidence the Coalition was not willing to accept advice from independent bodies about pay rates.

The Opposition Leader went on to reaffirm his support for keeping penalty rates in place.

Oh no???

I support keeping penalty rates unless this tribunal says otherwise but I still support penalty rates?

V for Vegas posted:

The FWC have made good decisions on minimum wage and are not about to abolish penalty rates. It's a tactical choice of either supporting the FWC and probably keeping them or letting parliament decide and the tories definitely getting rid of them.

Phobophilia posted:

also, is it just me, or do these companies exclusively kidnap children from non-anglo countries to anglo ones?

Higsian posted:

So you update the laws to protect people from unfair dismissal due to star ratings. If customers keep complaining about an employee you can usually fire them quite easily. What about a star rating is really any different? If the rating system is abused in a particular driver's case or it's weighted too much against the drivers then the courts can rule unfair dismissal. You could also have a driver's union that protects drivers from unfair dismissal, or have legislation lay out the grounds of dismissal based on star ratings. Just looking at the status quo and declaring it anti-worker is not the way.