MikeJF posted:

Yeah but it increases the value of the property!

That said this is Australia so spending money on solar panels that aren't somewhere in the NT or northern WA is dumb. Even with transmission losses.

hiddenmovement posted:

We have very good solar potential.

EDIT: Why image not show why

JBP posted:

BHP have been plainly saying they don't believe in geo coal mining being viable into the future for a while and that they're going to mine poo poo that is worth actual money like nickel, copper and coking coal.

cohsae posted:

Their math is saying that's 5,500 visitors to the Apple store daily. That's a lot of cracked iphone screens.

In that article the lead architect actually calls it "Apple Federation Square".

quote:

Barnaby Joyce's revenge backfires on Malcolm Turnbull


The Turnbull government's recently restored parliamentary majority is again under threat with aggrieved Nationals MP Keith Pitt considering joining the crossbench following a ministerial reshuffle in which he and Infrastructure minister Darren Chester were dumped by Barnaby Joyce.

Mr Pitt told colleagues on Tuesday he was considering his options. Publicly, he would only say he would continue to serve his electors in the Bundaberg-based seat of Hinkler, but not in what capacity.

Mr Joyce said of the threat: "That's a question for Keith."

The Nationals were on the brink of internal revolt after leader Mr Joyce dumped the pair as part of a Coalition cabinet reshuffle announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, his fifth ministerial shake-up in just over two years as Prime Minister.

It's a mess and it's going to turn into an even bigger mess," said a Nationals MP.

The official reason Mr Chester was dumped was there were only four Nationals MPs from Victoria and that two in cabinet were too many.

Newly elected deputy leader Bridget McKenzie, for whom Mr Chester did the numbers, is also a Victorian and she went straight into cabinet by virtue of her position. She replaced former Nationals deputy leader Fiona Nash, who was disqualified from Parliament for being a dual citizen when elected.

Queensland had long claimed to have been under-represented and Queensland Liberal National Party MPs were threatening to break away and sit as a third Coalition party in Canberra if their representation did not increase.

Mr Joyce, who selects the Nationals for the ministry, told MPs he was jammed between keeping Mr Chester or promoting another Queenslander. He went for the latter but controversially chose first-term backbencher David Littleproud.

Queenslander Mr Pitt, who has an awkward relationship with Mr Joyce, was not just overlooked for promotion but dumped from his job as parliamentary secretary for trade.

First-term Queensland Liberal MP and former state government minister John McVeigh also jumped straight from the backbench to cabinet, filling the spot left by fellow Queensland Liberal George Brandis, who resigned as Attorney-General to replace Alexander Downer as Australia's next high commissioner in London.

Also departing cabinet was NSW Liberal Arthur Sinodinos, who resigned as Industry, Innovation and Science Minister due to ill health, but will stay in the Senate. In all, there were five new faces in the cabinet, the other two being former Liberal junior ministers Dan Tehan and Michael Keenan.

The Nationals kept their five-out-of-22 cabinet positions, despite losing Ms Nash, but Mr Chester's spot was given to Mr Littleproud whose sole federal political experience is 18 months as a backbencher.

Senior NSW Nationals MP Michael McCormack, who also has an awkward relationship with the leader, was overlooked and stays in the outer ministry. He lost Small Business and was given Veterans Affairs.

Sources asserted that Mr Joyce was squaring up with those who have opposed him internally while also "taking out" any perceived opposition to Senator Matt Canavan, who is being groomed as the leadership successor.

"It's all about protecting Canavan," claimed one Nationals MP.

In the ballot for deputy leader, Mr Chester did the numbers for Senator McKenzie against Mr Joyce's candidate of Senator Canavan.

Mr Chester was also one of two Nationals who supported same-sex marriage.

Mr Chester was furious at his demotion. In frenetic last-minute conversations with Mr Turnbull and Mr Joyce, he was offered the most junior role as parliamentary secretary "but told them to stick it", said a party source.

Mr Turnbull said demoting the pair was Mr Joyce's idea.

"The composition of the ministry has to take into account matters of geography as well, and, plainly ... the Nationals have a very large component of their party room comes from Queensland," he said.

"Barnaby was keen to see that reflected in their representatives in the cabinet."

Labor leader Bill Shorten said "Barnaby Joyce has gone mad and Malcolm Turnbull's too weak to stop him".

The anger in the Nationals was especially over Mr Chester's treatment, given he had helped keep the party together while Mr Joyce was absent fighting the New England byelection, caused by his own failure to declare his dual citizenship.

Mr Joyce won the byelection and, at the weekend, Liberal MP John Alexander, also a dual citizen, won back Bennelong, restoring the government's one-seat majority on the floor of the House.

If Mr Pitt defects, guaranteeing only supply and confidence, the government would be back to 74 MPs on the floor, ranged against 75 Labor and crossbench MPs.

In the reshuffle, Mr Joyce moved from Agriculture to take Mr Chester's job as Infrastructure and Transport Minister, giving him oversight during an election year of the much-vaunted Melbourne-to-Brisbane inland rail link.

Mr Littleproud's ascension to Agriculture and Water Minister has caused a lot of friction.

"Colleagues are just dumbstruck," said an MP. "He used to be a rural bank lender. That will go down a treat in the bush."

Handing water to a Queensland National, Mr Littleproud, has also sparked anger in South Australia. He opposes the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and has the giant Cubby Station cotton farm in his electorate of Maranoa.

Senator McKenzie became Minister for Sport, Rural Health and Regional Communications.

CrazyTolradi posted:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-20/federation-square-building-demolished-for-apple-store/9275498
Ugggghhh

quote:

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has two weeks to hand over documents linked to raids on the Australian Workers Union after she lost a legal bid in the Federal Court.

Justice Mordecai Bromberg on Wednesday found the AWU had a legitimate reason to see the documents from Senator Cash's office to determine if there was political motivation for the October 24 raids in Melbourne and Sydney.

MikeJF posted:

Ugh, the design is horrible for Fed Square. It's mandatory for flagship Apple stores to be glass cubes,

Gorilla Salad posted:

So, how powerful are their air conditioners?

Glass cube plus Australian summer plus 5k+ people per day is a lot of heat.

MikeJF posted:

Ugh, the design is horrible for Fed Square. It's mandatory for flagship Apple stores to be glass cubes, but they could at least fit the trimmings to the style of Fed Square, since the square buildings have a unified and very distinct look and a single building of totally different style will make it all clash horribly and stick out like a sore thumb.

That said, they probably deliberately refused to do that because the big Apple stores have to 'stand out' and 'be unique'.

Store aside, this might actually be an improvement to the square, since it's half the size of the current building and they're putting in broad terrace steps down to river level in the new space, which is something the square has always desperately needed.

If they were really taking advantage they'd structure the new steps as an ampitheatre, there'd be tons of uses at Fed Square.

MikeJF posted:

I'm sure they're doing lots of computer modelling to eliminate the effect, right?

...

Synthbuttrange posted:

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

http://www.afr.com/news/barnaby-joyces-revenge-backfires-on-malcolm-turnbull-20171218-h06w9c

quote:

Handing water to a Queensland National, Mr Littleproud, has also sparked anger in South Australia. He opposes the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and has the giant Cubby Station cotton farm in his electorate of Maranoa.

quote:

SA Premier Jay Weatherill has scorned the appointment of new Water Resources Minister David Littleproud, describing it as a "one-finger salute" to South Australia.

...

"It's like a big one-finger salute to South Australia," Mr Weatherill said.
"It's almost breathtaking — you appoint a member who represents Cubbie Station, the cotton growers, at a time when we've got water theft rampant across the basin.
"People are thumbing their nose at the Murray-Darling Basin Plan."

drunkill posted:

They won't win Vic next year unless Dandrews stomps on puppies in federation square for australia day.

CrazyTolradi posted:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-20/federation-square-building-demolished-for-apple-store/9275498
Ugggghhh

The Before Times posted:

The Yarra building is where the Koorie Heritage Trust is housed as well. Hope they're not being displaced.

MikeJF posted:

Well it looks like they put a hat on this one, at least.

That said, Apple does not bow to the whims of practicality or effective design.

hiddenmovement posted:

Dont you have to take those horrid things to apple in order to have them repaired?

Whitlam posted:

They're staying in Fed Square and being moved to a bigger space. They're not unhappy about this at all.

The people whinging about it not being a commercial space clearly haven't been there in a while, it's already full of restaurants and food trucks (which are commercial, even if they're hospitality) and other businesses like that convenience store and whatever, not to mention the swathes of shops that surround it. Everyone wants a progressive government until we actually have one and before people jump on that statement with a long list of Andrews' sins, please keep in mind I'm not saying he's perfect or the second coming of Bernie, Lenin and Corbyn mashed together, just more progressive than the other actual option, and objectively progressive on many fronts.

Synthbuttrange posted:

without voiding your warranty.

or you can take it to one of melbourne's hundreds of phone repair shops and get it done at a fraction.

Solemn Sloth posted:

There’s a pretty big difference to the sense of space contributed to by a restaurant/cafe and an apple store

CrazyTolradi posted:

Pretty sure there's even an Apple approved store across from ACMI/Fed square on Flinders st.

Whitlam posted:

I'm just laughing at all the people crying about it "ruining the design" of Fed Square when most people hated it until it won some wanky architectural design awards, and then everyone raced to prove they were the most cultured and actually they'd liked it all along.

MikeJF posted:

I'm not fond of the design of Fed Square, but for it to work at all it needs to be 100%. This'll totally blow.

Whitlam posted:

And again, the original lead architect, Donald Bates, disagrees with people who say it won't work.

Whitlam posted:

Everyone wants a progressive government until we actually have one and before people jump on that statement with a long list of Andrews' sins, please keep in mind I'm not saying he's perfect or the second coming of Bernie, Lenin and Corbyn mashed together, just more progressive than the other actual option, and objectively progressive on many fronts.

ewe2 posted:

So dropping the news in the week before Christmas of a backdoor sweetheart deal about a public space behind the public's back with not even the poor excuse of a tender process with a multi-billion tax-dodging corporation that sells overpriced junk that spies on you and trashes functional buildings is perfectly ok with you because it's a Labor government?! Get hosed, mate.

kirbysuperstar posted:

https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/centrelink-demanding-woman-repay-welfare-after-ssm/

Christ

that article posted:

Centrelink’s rule on what constitutes a de facto relationship includes any couple living together on a genuine domestic basis, and has traditionally included people in same-sex relationships. However owing to the Tasmanian woman’s marital, living, and financial status, it reportedly did not apply to her until she reported her marriage.