WhiskeyWhiskers posted:

Is it sexism to think a really contemptible business person is more likely male? I guess it is.

Xerxes17 posted:

So which one of you made this?

VodeAndreas posted:

loving Centrelink.

I've received zero contact about my supposed debt since I confirmed my income on 3/1/17 and I just tried to submit a complaint/feedback online as it's kind of hard to contact them as someone with a full time job.

After spending 10min entering my lengthy complaint and prefered outcomes etc. it chooses to let me know that the service is unavailable at the moment... Couldn't the site have told me that up front?

Konomex posted:

Did she post a profit though? How much is a human life worth? Are children worth more because of their potential or less because of their experience?

quote:

Bail review needed to deal with ice problem which is like a 'terrorist cell', Senator Nick Xenophon says Updated Mon at 3:07pm

A call for a nation-wide review of bail laws by South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon after Melbourne's deadly car attack has been dismissed by the Law Society of South Australia.

Key points:

SA's Bail Act states bail should be granted unless there are good reasons for it to be refused
The Victorian system uses volunteer trained bail justices to consider bail applications
SA law society says the state's system works effectively
Senator Xenophon has called for a "root and branch" review of bail laws and a reversal of the presumption of bail if a person was using the drug ice.

Currently, under South Australia's Bail Act bail should be granted unless there are good reasons for it to be refused. Senator Xenophon said his proposal would protect the community from offenders and also lead to the person's treatment. "There's an argument that the bail laws in this state and around the country should be changed so there is a presumption against bail if you are on are ice, unless there are special circumstances to be released," he said. "The key issue here has to be community safety and I make no apology for saying that a crystal meth lab has the same potential to cause damage to the community as a terrorist cell — given what this drug can do to people and given the impact it can have on people and, in turn, it can lead to acts of violence." He said parents of ice users had told him it was hard to get their children treatment.

SA's bail system working 'effectively'

Law Society of South Australia president Tony Rossi said the state's bail system was different to the one which operated in Victoria. The Victorian Government has announced a shake up of its system, which currently uses trained volunteer bail justices after hours, whereas in South Australia police officers can grant a person bail in the first instance and it is denied they an application can be made to the Magistrates Court. Mr Rossi said South Australia's bail process was "very quick", usually within 24 hours, and a further review to the Supreme Court was not common. "I haven't seen the sort of concern of outcomes of bail applications in South Australia that we have seen interstate … I wouldn't translate difficulties interstate to South Australia without good evidence of it," Mr Rossi said. "In the society's prospective, the bail laws in SA are working effectively … that's not to say a situation may arise that causes you to think about it and review. The bail laws in South Australia seek to strike the appropriate balance between the protection of the community and the reality that if someone is charged with an offence it doesn't mean that person has committed the offence." He said he also had not seen evidence that would "justify putting someone who is taking ice in a special category" as magistrates take into account factors such as the risk of further offending, breaching an order and whether a person is a serious risk to themselves.

You Am I posted:

They even included the ring, which usually gets forgotten.

Amoeba102 posted:

Story on abc about taxi council raising money for one nation.

quote:

The Taxi Council has asked every licence holder at a meeting in Brisbane's Convention Centre on Tuesday to contribute $720 per licence to help Pauline Hanson's Party at the next state election.

With roughly 3,265 licences in Queensland, that would equate to $2.3 million.

Taxi and limo licence owner Peter Conohan said it was a unanimous decision to support the move and he expected the money to be raised within months.

He said taxi licences had turned into "toilet paper", adding that 3,000 t-shirts were made printed with: "I support taxis, Pauline Hanson's One Nation."

He said "mum and dad" operators were being destroyed by Uber and that One Nation had promised to support the industry during the election campaign.

"We've all had enough," Mr Conohan told ABC Radio Brisbane.

"This is most probably our last chance.

"Pauline is a worker, she voices her opinion very verbally when everyone else has put their head in the sand.

"Labor and the LNP don't want to know us.

"We will put a slush fund forward ... to support Pauline Hanson in her effort to leave a footprint with the Government and help the taxi industry.

"[It will also] support Steven Dickson ... who is a new man on the block with Pauline Hanson [and the party's only sitting member in Queensland].

starkebn posted:

the Taxi industry just seems like such a rent seeking, protectionist, FYGM lot that I don't care what happens to them. I'd rather they change than disappear but I don't think that's what they want or they'd do it.

open24hours posted:

They were actively prevented from innovating for a long time. Then Uber broke the rules and the government said 'oh OK, we'll just change the rules'. The taxi industry was and is a mess, but their grievance is legitimate.

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

norp posted:

Uber is really just making the utter annihilation of the taxi drivers gentler. When self driving shuttles become a thing who the hell is gonna hire a private driver apart from he mega-rich who want to lord it over the proles.

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

But will the self driving car be able to complain about uber and immigrants and agree with John Laws?

quote:

Dr van Gend: A day before the launch when we had 250 people coming in Brisbane, the printer emailed my publisher at 20 minutes to midnight and said they were not going to print my book because of 'the subject matter and content'. I do not know if the Opus Group in Sydney was trying to sabotage my launch. I do not know, but my response was simply to say that that is troubling. When a printer acts as a censor for the gay lobby, when a printer refuses to print one side of a debate when the government only announced a plebiscite a week before that is troubling. But I said it is within their rights. They are a private business. They can boycott me. They can refuse to print my book on ideological grounds. I accept that. I do not like it, but I accept that. We got someone else to print it—no problem—but wouldn't it be nice if it cut both ways. That is called tolerance. That is called letting someone act according to their values. Wouldn't it be nice if a lesbian couple wanting this Christian bakery to bake them a cake would just go down the road and get someone else to bake it? The point is, they do not do that.

The objective of same-sex marriage is to obtain the legal clout to compel society to approve same-sex marriage, to compel society to conform to the broader LGBT agenda—or you break them. That is what is so coercive about this law. And that is why we cannot accept it.

Stoca Zola posted:

I don't have much of an opinion on the taxi industry but my partner works at the local taxi place. A lot of their regular customers are people who need a ramp for their wheelchair etc, can't afford a modified car or are just well beyond being able to drive themselves. The access vehicles are always flat out busy and I'm not sure how well self driving cars will work for people with physical disabilities.

WhiskeyWhiskers posted:

Nationalise everything?

You Am I posted:

Think beyond the box, Comrade

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-25/queensland-taxi-council-fundraising-pauline-hansons-one-nation/8210244

quote:

Queensland's Taxi Council has shot down comments from one of its members, who said it was raising millions of dollars for Pauline Hanson's One Nation party.

Members voted yesterday at a special general meeting to contribute an extra $720 per licence to create a fighting fund to oppose rival service Uber, which was legalised in the state last year.

With roughly 3,265 licences in Queensland, that would equate to $2.3 million.

A taxi and limo licence owner who was at the meeting had told the ABC that members had voted to put the money towards One Nation.

However, the Taxi Council said that information was wrong.

Chief executive Benjamin Wash said the council would "not be contributing any money to political parties".

He said a number of committees would decide how the money was distributed.

"There was not one word about endorsing One Nation as a party," he said.

"Taxi licence owners have been asked to help fund a campaign strategy for 2017, we believe there will an election in the next 12 months.

"It takes money to get our message into the public domain."

Recoome posted:

I sure hope everyone is attending an Invasion Day rally if they are able, the Brisbane one looks like it's going to be one of the larger rallies in the last two years. I think that a marriage equality one I went to was big, but maybe not this big.

quote:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-25/canberra-theatre-threatened-after-aus-day-displaying-billboard/8210680
The Canberra Theatre Centre has been forced to delete social media posts about an Australia Day advertisement featuring two Muslim girls after it was threatened with extreme violence.

The ACT Government-run theatre took to social media on Monday stating it was "proud to be displaying" the advertisement on its big screen in the centre of Canberra until January 26.

But the theatre soon deleted the post and locked down its social media pages after it was inundated with threatening messages.

The anti-Islamic group Respect Australia posted the theatre's contact details to its members encouraging them to make their feelings known.

Those posts have attracted hundreds of comments including calls to bomb the theatre building, set fire to it or destroy the screen with bricks.

"Bomb it," reads one post, "burn that sh*t down now" reads another.

Others called for "people ... to go there and destroy it" and "torch da (sic) dump".

In a video he uploaded to his own Facebook page, an organiser of Respect Australia can be seen with supporters out of the front of the theatre, accusing the ACT Government of being "un-Australian".

"This isn't a racial thing, it isn't any religious discrimination or anything, this is an Australian cultural thing," the organiser said in the videos.

The Canberra Theatre Centre said it would continue to display the advertisement but was yet to comment on the threats.

The billboard first made headlines when it was pulled down in Melbourne's south-east after the advertising company was abused and threatened for including the images of the two girls in hijabs.

Anti-racism campaigners lobbied and raised funds for its return.

The ACT Government said on Monday it was joining that campaign by "using this image across Government assets in the lead up to Australia Day".

"The image of these young girls is a wonderful example of multiculturalism at work," an ACT Government statement said.

"These girls are proudly Australian but also respectful of their heritage. They are a fine example of a 21st century Australia which should be celebrated and seen by as many people as possible"

There will always be racist rednecks: Barr

Chief Minister Andrew Barr has slammed the reaction to the advertisement as "fanatical" and "irrational", adding the Government would not back down.

"We shouldn't bow to that sort of intimidation," he said.

"There will always be racist rednecks in any community but I'm not going to give them any succour in the ACT.

"If these are serious threats then ... those who've made them should be arrested and the full force of the law thrown at them.

"You can't threaten to blow up buildings in this country without facing criminal charges."

Mr Barr said he was confident the majority of Canberrans supported the billboard.

"For those who are concerned about the contents of the signs I have a very simple message: 'get a life, get over it'," he said.
'I'm shocked something like this would happen in Canberra'

Chair of the Canberra Multicultural Community Forum Diana Abdel-Rahman said the threats were out of character for Canberrans.

"I'm still shocked and I'm shocked that something like this would be happening in Canberra," Ms Abdel-Rahman told ABC Radio Canberra.

"We have a community that pretty much gets on, live and let live more or less you know, we accept everyone.

"We disagree, absolutely, but we don't threaten each other with violence."

She said most of the time the abuse was hypocritical.

"What concerns me is that the same people who are threatening and being abusive about Muslims are the same ones that complain about Muslims not integrating or being part of Australian society," Ms Abdel-Rahman said.

"Sometimes I just think we're damned if we do and damned if we don't."

quote:

In a video he uploaded to his own Facebook page, an organiser of Respect Australia can be seen with supporters out of the front of the theatre, accusing the ACT Government of being "un-Australian".

"This isn't a racial thing, it isn't any religious discrimination or anything, this is an Australian cultural thing," the organiser said in the videos.

SMILLENNIALSMILLEN posted:

Does anybody know what this means?

SMILLENNIALSMILLEN posted:

Does anybody know what this means?