Auspol February: The NRL Really Screwed The Pooch

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Auspol February: The NRL Really Screwed The Pooch

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Hello and welcome to another glorious month in a technically livable country on Earth. Unfortunately the ocean has not yet opened up and pulled Queensland into its dark, watery embrace, so I've made you all this shiny new OP.

This is a thread in which Australian Politics is sometimes discussed, but mostly food. Is it a sausage sandwich or a sausage sizzle? Is it a bird? What ARE birds? We just don't know.

THE PLAYERS

The LNP

Not to be confused with New Zealand's best export, L&P, the Liberal-National Party of Australia is a weird amalgamation of liberals, conservatives, and vaguely sentient potatoes. Its erudite leader, Malcolm Turnbull, is celebrated for his success in turning the LNP's polling numbers around while doing sweet gently caress-all to actually change anything.

The ALP

Not to be outdone, the ALP has shown its own credentials at doing nothing. Its somewhat literate leader Phil Norton has done even more nothing than Malcolm Turnbull, cementing him as the best leader that the LNP has ever had.

The GREENS

Much like the leafy vegetable of the same name, everybody knows that the Greens are good for them, but nobody actually likes them. The ALP seem incredibly salty about the Greens, led by Actual Decent Politician Richard Di Natale, stealing their votes.

CLIVE PALMER

Basically Australia's Donald Trump. Or is Donald Trump Australia's Clive Palmer? We just don't know.

There is an irc channel, #auspol on synirc where Australians discuss things, presumably dark spooky things that man was not meant to know.

IRC Rules: Dont be a shithead, dont say racist, sexist, or nasty things. Dont discuss verboten topics.

# ¿ Feb 1, 2016 13:14

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# ¿ May 14, 2024 07:56

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Spudd posted:

Hello friends let's hope that something positive happens to us in February

It most likely won't, but not all my hope is gone yet

Hey Spudd!

Someone was asking where you'd gone in the crew thread :3

# ¿ Feb 1, 2016 14:55

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Recoome posted:

As a straight, white, upper middle class male university student, I am sick and tired of being persecuted and oppressed by what I can only define as a gynocracy.

Also all the troubles men face in society are the fault of MISANDRY and definitely not misogyny.

# ¿ Feb 2, 2016 04:27

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Amethyst I didn't realise that a sexualised dude was automatically gay porn

# ¿ Feb 3, 2016 05:54

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Society once again assuming that women can't possibly enjoy looking at sexualised images of men

# ¿ Feb 3, 2016 05:58

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

gay picnic defence posted:

Recognising same-sex marriages that took place overseas would challenge Australia�s sovereignty by making the country �beholden� to foreign laws, Liberal backbencher Cory Bernardi said.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

This is even funnier because Australia recognises polygamous marriages (mostly one dude, multiple wives, generally Islamic marriages) from other countries.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2016 09:21

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

The whole "dole bludgers" beatup is a tactic specifically designed to keep young lower-class people fighting against each other instead of directing their anger at the systemic imbalances and inequalities that make it necessary for people to defraud the welfare system.

hth.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2016 06:28

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

ScreamingLlama posted:

corporate whores

# ¿ Feb 7, 2016 08:28

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Here's a fun hypothetical:

Imagine you are a student but don't have a job and are unable to get one for whatever reason. You spend, idk, $320-340 on rent a fortnight, which is about 2/3 of your student payment. That leaves ~ $180 to cover everything including clothes, food, power/gas bills, transport to uni, and maybe, if you are lucky, some form of entertainment once a month so you don't become suicidally depressed. You then start dating your housemate, who is also on centrelink, and the relationship becomes serious. You know that you are supposed to report the relationship; however you also know that if you do, you will lose $50 each per fortnight from your payment. This will leave both of you unable to afford your utility bills and probably what little entertainment you can currently afford.

Do you report the relationship?

This is a situation that a lot of people get themselves into. I remember reading a case in my legal profession class in which a law student did not report his relationship; centrelink eventually caught up with him and he paid the money back, but ultimately he was disqualified from legal practice because of it.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2016 09:01

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

bowmore posted:

thank the lord Netflix is $3 a week and can be shared in a household

Haha yeah

Sadly a lot of these cases are from that shadowy, dark time Before Netflix (BN)

# ¿ Feb 7, 2016 09:07

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

TheIllestVillain posted:

I've always wondered as an ethnic, do anglos just pack their poo poo and leave when they hit like 20 or whatever? cause the only people i know who don't live at home are anglos or foreigners. is it a cultural thing or do i need to expand my social circle

The main reason I moved out was that my family is poor and I was paying rent either way. Once I reached 22 I qualified for the independent centrelink rate, which meant that moving out was a good move for me, financially speaking as well.

There's also social reasons; I'd imagine most of us would find it awkward casually dating while living at home.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2016 09:23

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Birb Katter posted:

I don't, just pointing out that netflix isn't exactly an option if you don't have a fixed connection. Haven't tried to see if it works while on campus but iView and On Demand does so I'm happy.

Netflix, SBS and iView all work pretty well at my campus.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2016 09:25

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Solemn Sloth posted:

IMO they should link your steam account to your mygov to audit for profligacy

They should hand 30% of your payment straight to colesworth to ensure you're only spending the money on mi goreng and home-brand cereal.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2016 12:17

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Centrelink complaints continue to rise, new Ombudsman figures reveal

quote:

New figures provided to the ABC reveal complaints about Centrelink services continue to rise.

The figures, recorded by the Commonwealth Ombudsman, show a 24 per cent rise in the number of complaints about the organisation in the last half of 2015.

This follows an even larger increase in the 12 months before that.

There were 3,896 complaints about Centrelink made to the Ombudsman in the six months to January.

That number does not include the department's internal complaints figures for the same period, which are yet to be released.

Before that, in the 12 months to July 2015, the number of complaints to the Ombudsman about Centrelink increased by 26 per cent.

National Welfare Rights Network president Kate Beaumont said more people were seeking their help.

"We're just getting busier and busier," Ms Beaumont said. "We're also getting lots of complaints about people just not being able to get through to Centrelink."

Government blames outdated IT system

Human Services Minister Stuart Robert confirmed he was aware of the rise in complaints.

Mr Robert said an outdated IT system was a major cause of the problems and an upcoming upgrade would bring relief.

"We're trying to deliver a 21st century offering to a well-educated, technically savvy Australian population � but we're using 1980s IT," he said.

In an effort to fix this issue, the Government will spend $1 billion upgrading that system in the years ahead.

Mr Robert said until that happens he expected complaints to continue.

"With the clunky back end because of the legacy system, I am going to expect to see an uptake in complaints, unfortunately," he said.

Ms Beaumont agreed there were plenty of complaints about connecting to Centrelink online, but she said the problems were much broader than that � and they were getting worse.

"It used to be that something like a claim for Disability Support Pension, people were often told, 'you'll hear in about six weeks' time'. We're having clients now who have got claims that have been in for six months."

'You just feel helpless': Carer

Meredith Ward, who receives a carer payment, has struggled with the agency over a number of years.

Ms Ward works part-time and cares for her two sons � a 20-year-old with autism, and an 18-year-old diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome � who both live at home.

In January 2014, she was told she owed a large debt.

"I received a phone call from somebody from Centrelink just saying, 'you owe us $25,000'. It was an attack on my integrity," Ms Ward said.

It was discovered that Centrelink staff had made a mistake in registering Ms Ward's income four years prior, recording a zero dollar amount, instead of what she had declared.

Having discovered the error, Centrelink investigated Ms Ward � and then confronted her.

"With the first phone call I thought, 'am I up for criminal charges? Am I going to go to jail? What's going to happen?'" she said.

With the help of a free community legal service, Ms Ward won a lengthy appeals process to clear the debt, although more problems have emerged since then.

Ms Ward is fighting a new debt she claims Centrelink has mistakenly recorded against her name.

"You just feel helpless and it drives you crazy, because you think, well, you're trying to do the right thing. I'm not a person who's ripping off the system," she said.

"You're trying to sit on the phone and wait for an hour and a half or two hours to talk to somebody, I mean, it's just overwhelming. You just think, 'I don't have the energy to do that today'."

Nope nothing wrong with the system at all.

# ¿ Feb 8, 2016 02:05

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Anidav posted:

Donated 15 dollars each to the greens and ALP Brisbane Lord mayor campaign. I want to see Quirk eat poo poo.

He's already got the grin for it

# ¿ Feb 11, 2016 11:48

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

SKY COQ posted:

Got him, yes

Stuart Robert is out

That's what he gets for having two first names.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2016 03:41

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

BBJoey posted:

Local union experts, how is the CPSU? I know that some unions are pretty dodgy eg the SDA tend to be pretty shite, does the CPSU tend to be ok?

From everything I have heard, the CPSU tend to be waaaaay better than the SDA. Strong workplace representation, way less likely to sell its members out.

# ¿ Feb 13, 2016 10:42

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Gorbash posted:

I'm not a union expert but I've been a CPSU member (and occasional delegate) for 20 years. I'd describe them as "good hearted but ineffectual" - they try but don't really seem to accomplish much. Given the public service is their domain that's perhaps not too surprising.

At the very least they're not allowing the industry to backslide in terms of work conditions, AND in the face of a Liberal government. The SDA seems to actively undermine its members.

# ¿ Feb 13, 2016 10:44

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

EvilElmo posted:

Unions are only as strong as the workforce really. They lobby at the political level quite well, but for large chunks of the federal and state public service (all the EBAs come up at the same time) the public wouldn't notice a stop work strike. Makes it very difficult for them to be highly effective.

In saying that though, only a handful of the EBAs have been voted up, the majority have knocked them back and are pushing for higher pay increases and stopping conditions from being taken off the EBA and put on to ERAs instead.

Yeah, and I'd wager that one of the reasons that the SDA is so poo poo is the terrible bargaining position that their members are in. They are so replaceable that it's difficult to bargain from a powerful position, even collectively.

e: and I don't mean 'replaceable' in any sort of disparaging way towards the workers themselves, having been a retail worker myself. it's just the reality that for every job advertised in those industries, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of applicants who are by and large exactly the same.

The Before Times fucked around with this message at 12:18 on Feb 13, 2016

# ¿ Feb 13, 2016 12:16

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Urcher posted:

Drop the fop, obviously.

Rhyming slogans roll off the tongue and are great for chanting. Alliterating slogans are easier to to mispronounce and will sound much clunkier when coming from an angry mob with pitchforks.

And it's three words, short enough for even the idiots to remember

# ¿ Feb 14, 2016 04:36

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

hooman posted:

Trough the toff.

Bat the aristocrat.

Defeat the elite.

Dud the Blue Blood.

EDIT: Double post the most.

Off the Toff

but that may send a...slightly different message

# ¿ Feb 15, 2016 04:49

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Amethyst posted:

Eh. Our politicians are spineless, but a positive plebiscite will be something worth celebrating, just like it was worth celebrating in Ireland. Let's make the best out of it instead of moaning through the whole thing, maybe.

The Irish referendum was binding and actually removed the constitutional discrimination against same sex marriage. Here, it'd obviously be worth celebrating, but it would really only confirm what most of us already know. It wouldn't be binding at all.

# ¿ Feb 15, 2016 05:48

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Amethyst posted:

Ok but I don't think even the coalition would be brazenly stupid enough to hold a plebiscite and then just flat out ignore it.

I imagine they'd say "okay the plebiscite passed but there are other things to consider, etc, etc, etc", spend a million years consulting with the ACL so we don't end up offending too many homophobes, and then MAYBE get around to it before the next election as a nice vote-booster.

# ¿ Feb 15, 2016 05:52

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Lid posted:

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/feb/18/grow-up-and-stop-taking-naked-photos-of-yourself-says-senior-police-officer

Problematic

quote:

Australian federal police assistant commissioner Shane Connelly denies he is victim blaming in saying people should stop taking naked shots of themselves to curb revenge pornography

AFP Assistant Commissioner Shane Connelly denies he is victim blaming when he blames the victims of revenge pornography

# ¿ Feb 18, 2016 15:36

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Anidav posted:

Yes. My sportsbet will come true with a 6:1 payout. Go Bill Shorten fly like the wind.

Spread your wings!!!

gambling is bad

# ¿ Feb 21, 2016 13:45

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

I found a gif of Scott Morrison complaining about labor's proposed negative gearing changes

# ¿ Feb 22, 2016 10:23

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Apparently there were serious shenanigans going on at that Republican primary (e.g. 'impartial' organisers wearing trump shirts, not checking off IDs so people voted multiple times, running out of ballots halfway through and telling people to leave even though replacements were coming) so the result will likely be contested.

# ¿ Feb 24, 2016 09:42

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# ¿ May 14, 2024 07:56

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Amethyst sucks

# ¿ Mar 1, 2016 09:19

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Auspol February: The NRL Really Screwed The Pooch