Amethyst posted:

Chicken salt on fish and chips. Good or bad?

Birdstrike posted:

He melted down, nicely

Solemn Sloth posted:

Leper colony, just your average talking in graphic detail about how he would like to kill a poster who said he should get out more

The Peccadillo posted:

Dilate means change size

Kommando posted:

Since the census needs to be re-done, just add a question to the end about equal marriage rights.

Solemn Sloth posted:

Football is bad

Les Affaires posted:

Well it sure as hell isn't "Negoshiate" is it?

open24hours posted:

quote:

Michael - it looks like you’ve written this analysis without any regard to the recent history of taxi policy and reform in Victoria.

Only a couple of years ago there was a review of the taxi industry that proposed a staged, modest transition to liberalisation that recognised the fundamental unsustainability of the regulatory monopoly.

Rather than offering a scintilla of cooperation, the taxi industry organised and en masse tantrum, screaming blue murder about how they would all be ruined if they couldn’t keep ripping passengers off and delivering crap, unsafe service.

Your presentation of the taxi industry as innocent naïfs is ridiculous. A highly organised industry has wrapped its lobbying tentacles for years around policy settings in an effort to use the law to channel ridiculous profits into its pockets while running a cosy, uncompetitive racket.

All the while the taxi industry has ruthlessly exploited its workforce. For all that Uber is (justifiably) questioned for its labour practices, the taxi industry has for years been running a byzantine labour system that sees some of the country’s lowest paid workers employed without basic OHS protections, and held liable for damage to their employer’s vehicles.

The taxi industry is anything but a group of cleanskins. They have acted as a cartel and the value of those licences represents the value of the rort they have inflicted at the expense of their customers and workers.

Where is it written that an investor who buys an asset whose value exists only as a contrivance of an antiquated and unfair regulatory apparatus - one which the beneficiaries have long contrived to maintain for no reason beyond avarice - is entitled to compensation when the long, long party finally winds up?

Governments have failed in their sluggish indolence in the face of obvious policy failures, and in their inability to stand up to the faintest resistance from self-evidently self-interested industry groups. I’d rather an orderly regulatory change but the taxi industry has no-one to blame but themselves for declaring war on every previous attempt at reform.

Now reform is inevitable they put their hands out, begging bowl up and a sob story ready for the media about how unfair it all is that their licensed system of theft is finally unravelling.

WhiskeyWhiskers posted:

Nah, it's a pretty obvious line of attack if you can't feel empathy or think through the consequences of your actions.

Shunkymonky posted:

https://twitter.com/vanbadham/status/530600668860407808

lol

quote:

Senate powerbroker Nick Xenophon has delivered a potentially fatal blow to the Turnbull government's plan to hold a public vote on same-sex marriage.

The South Australian independent and his newly elected team of senators announced on Monday the party would not support a plebiscite, days after the Greens said they would vote to block the vote in the Senate.

"This is a matter that the Parliament can and should decide on as a free vote of all members and senators," the Xenophon MPs said in a statement.

"In our representative democracy we are paid to make decisions on behalf of Australians who have voted us into office. This is a decision the Parliament should make now."

"We believe this money could be better spent," the statement said.

"Each of us supports marriage equality and we are ready to vote accordingly."

On Friday, the plebiscite entered the political death zone as the Greens committed to voting against the legislation needed to hold it.

Labor is expected to oppose the plebiscite but is yet to finalise its position.

Jonah Galtberg posted:

https://twitter.com/vanbadham/status/770189389087420416

Anidav posted:

The comments section is like:

Its just like Reagan and Thatcher!

Solemn Sloth posted:

wow weird former ipa employee in bad opinion shock

Starshark posted:

Only just noticed that why the gently caress has he got a hand in his pocket is he retarded.

Tirade posted:

I'm not slinging poo poo at an "other" party, I'm a greens voter that has the audacity to suggest that my one rep in parliament should not gently caress off home until after the voting stops.

Cirofren posted:

I prefer "Dog-fuckers and Cat-killers" but this is the best so far either way.