AgentF posted:

I don't understand it. Isn't it the same generation that were hippies and cared a lot about social change? How did they go from that to FYGM?

open24hours posted:

If it's not accessible then how would you know if it's documented or not? Whether it's a software bug or not is irrelevant anyway, Centrelink have been doing this sort of thing long enough that they should be able to get it right.

open24hours posted:

That's the same page linked from Twitter though? I mean it even says that "Actual period(s) worked should be obtained so that averaging only occurs for periods worked."

Whether this is a software bug or not is important (in an academic sense, not so much for the people getting the notices). If it is a software bug then it's trivial to fix, if it's a case of Centrelink ignoring their own advice that the estimates are unreliable then that's a much deeper problem.

quote:

Indonesia halts military cooperation with Australia over 'insulting' West Papua posters at training base By Defence reporter Andrew Greene and Indonesia correspondent Adam Harvey Updated 23 minutes ago

"Offensive" material about West Papua displayed at an Australian Special Forces base has prompted Indonesia's defence chief to cut military cooperation, throwing future joint exercises into doubt.

Key points:

An Indonesian instructor took offence to poster displayed at SAS in Perth
All cooperation between the Indonesian and Australian military has been suspended
Future of Australia's defence ties with Indonesia are uncertain
The ABC has confirmed an Indonesian officer complained about the "insulting" training posters at the SAS headquarters in Perth in November last year, prompting Australian Defence leaders to launch furious efforts to try to smooth relations with their counterparts in Jakarta.

An Indonesian military spokesman told the ABC cooperation between Indonesia and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) had been suspended, effective immediately. Indonesian Special Forces group Kopassus trains with the Special Air Service at the unit's Campbell Barracks in Perth. Major General Wuryanto would not confirm the reason for the suspension, saying it was for technical matters, and that there were "ups and downs in every cooperation between two national forces". Sources familiar with the incident have confirmed the "laminated material" concerned perhaps Indonesia's most sensitive topic — West Papua, which is an Indonesian province that has tried to seek independence from Jakarta. Defence Minister Marise Payne confirmed the complaints concerned "some teaching materials and remarks" at an Army language training facility in Australia, and that some military cooperation with Indonesia was now on hold.

Senator Payne told the ABC that the concerns were raised in November, though she first addressed the issue of suspended defence cooperation with her Indonesian counterpart this week. She said cooperation in some areas — such as addressing asylum seeker vessels — continued. "We have been communicating with our counterparts at the appropriate level to manage this process," she said. No timeframe has been provided for an expected resumption of cooperation and Senator Payne could not confirm whether joint exercises between the Australian and Indonesian navies would go ahead next month. "Indonesia has informed Australia that defence cooperation would be suspended," Senator Payne said in a statement. "As a result, some interaction between the two Defence organisations has been postponed until the matter is resolved. Cooperation in other areas is continuing." In a separate statement, the Defence Minister said Australia was committed "to building a strong Defence relationship with Indonesia" and would "work with Indonesia to restore full cooperation as soon as possible".

The ABC has learned that on November 23 last year, ADF chief Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin wrote to his Indonesian counterpart about the offending material. A diplomatic source familiar with the correspondence said the Defence chief's letter reassured the Indonesian military that the offensive material displayed in Perth did not reflect the view of Australia's Defence Force, and was an isolated incident. Australia's Chief of Army Lieutenant General Angus Campbell also wrote to his Indonesian counterpart on November 24 to reassure him that Australia did not endorse the material. The Defence Force is yet to respond to questions from the ABC, but senior figures have expressed surprise at the comments from Indonesia's military.

It is unclear how long the suspension is for or whether the suspension will affect future joint training exercises between Indonesia and Australia. The Indonesian and Australian navies are due to participate in multinational training exercises in February. A spokesman for the Indonesian Navy said he had just found out about the military chief's "statement about the suspension of cooperation with Australia". "Whether or not we will continue with the joint exercise, I will have to get back to you on that," First Admiral Jonias Mozes Sipasulta said. "I need to build more details first. Usually we don't suspend cooperation on education and training but now I heard we've suspended all cooperation." Until this incident the military relationship between the two nations had been improving.

Military cooperation between the two nations was last suspended in 2013 over a phone-tapping scandal. Documents obtained by the ABC and Guardian Australia revealed that in 2009, Australian intelligence attempted to tap the mobile phone of then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Recoome posted:

Obviously I am not actually condoning violence against the borgies, it's a joke ASIS/FBI/SS

Magog posted:

I can't believe you took my idea, drat you Cartoon!

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frh_j3u_7xk

How many minutes can you last?

hooman posted:

Bring on the Animeritocracy.

QUACKTASTIC posted:

quote:

Centrelink automated debt system will continue: Tudge Wednesday 11 January 2017 7:36AM (view full episode)

The Turnbull government is resisting mounting calls to shelve Centrelink's deeply flawed debt recovery program. The automated system has produced 170,000 notices of potential overpayments with thousands of people incorrectly told they have outstanding debts, some running into the tens of thousands of dollars. The Commonwealth Ombudsman is investigating what many are calling a fiasco and a parliamentary inquiry is also likely. Labor's Linda Burney says Centrelink is at breaking point and that the Human Services Minister Alan Tudge must suspend the scheme without delay. But the Minister has made no admission of any flaw in the Centrelink automated debt system. 'The system is working and we will continue with that system', he says. 'I'm not aware of individuals who are completely convinced that they don't owe money but have been given a debt notice'. 'People are given the opportunity to update their records when a discrepancy is found to be present. When a debt notice is issued to them, if indeed it is, they have a further opportunity to provide further information. And then they have a third opportunity again if they want to appeal it to the tribunal', he says.

quote:

Homeland Security: PM Turnbull plans counter-terrorism ‘super portfolio’ to tackle terrorism EXCLUSIVE SHARRI MARKSON, The Daily Telegraph January 11, 2017 12:00am

TURNBULL PUTS THE TERRORISTS ON NOTICE

TERRORISTS CAN BE DETAINED INDEFINITELY

MALCOLM Turnbull is planning a major shake-up in counter-terrorism and domestic security — with a new super-portfolio to tackle the escalating threat. Mr Turnbull has held high-level talks with cabinet colleagues about a new ­department and ministry to form a co-ordinated counter-terrorism effort. It would be similar to the Home Office in the UK and Homeland Security in the US. It would bring together the AFP, ASIO and Australian Border Force into one agency, where they could better engage, communicate and share information to tackle terror threats. The department would be similar to the Home Office in the UK and the US’ Homeland Security and would combat the spread of terrorism. In the final weeks of parliament for the year, the Prime Minister’s office had discussions with senior members of the government about the idea. The Prime Minister’s ­Office is understood to be leaning towards the UK’s Home Affairs Ministry as its working model.

Asked about the discussions he had held with cabinet colleagues regarding a new home affairs ministry, Mr Turnbull would not detail them and he would not “buy into” speculation. “We do have a review of the Australian intelligence community under way,” he said. “But I’m not going to get into a discussion about government structures. The way I operate as prime minister is I run a cabinet government. We confer on a whole range of issues ­together and when we’ve made a decision, we make an announcement. ‘I’m not frontrunning ideas or thought speculating about possible changes. My job is to govern.”

Mr Turnbull would also not respond to questions about whether there would be a new minister to oversee the portfolio. A group of MPs, concerned about domestic security and the terror threat in Australia, have been agitating Mr Turnbull to forge ahead with the shake-up. Supporters of the policy change say there are strong arguments for moving Australia’s terror and security ­efforts under one roof. The new department would bring together the AFP, ASIO and Australian Border Force into one agency. The Christmas Day terror plot in Melbourne was foiled by AFP and Victorian Police following a tip-off from ASIO. Having the agencies work together more effectively in one unit would greatly improve Australia’s response to the global terror threat.

In the UK, the Home ­Office government department handles counter-terrorism, police, immigration and drugs policy. Seven ministers work together in respective portfolios of police, immigration and security. It is understood the Prime Minister has been discussing the idea of a super-portfolio for several months, however nothing is set in stone. Police investigate the scene where a house was raided in Melbourne after an alleged plot to attack Melbourne's Flinders Street Station and Federation Square on Christmas Day was discovered. A similar idea of a national security super-ministry was raised under former prime minister Tony Abbott, but did not eventuate when it became too difficult for him at a time when his leadership was unstable. Establishing the Home Affairs unit is politically fraught because it would mean four ministers — Justice Minister Michael Keenan, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton and ­Attorney-General George Brandis — may see their portfolios weakened.

Currently, counter-terrorism sits in the Attorney-General’s Department, the AFP and ASIO are in Mr Keenan’s remit and Border Force is an integral part of Mr Dutton’s portfolio. Sources said the Australian Secret Intelligence Service may remain with the Department of Foreign ­Affairs and Trade. There are concerns those ministers would be reluctant to lose parts of their portfolio and my resist a move to create a super-ministry. Discussions about the super-portfolio have coincided with manoeuvring ahead of an anticipated ­reshuffle in the new year.

Mr Brandis is tipped to take up a post as the new High Commissioner in London when Alexander Downer finishes his term midyear.

quote:

Race/ethnicity/country of origin has less to do with crime than the environment and the disorganised communities of alleged criminals.

quote:

Migrants generally have lower levels of education and a very low rate of participation in higher education, which limits their life chances.
• Migrants generally concentrate around poorer and disadvantaged city neighbourhoods.
• Migrants’ unemployment rate is significantly higher than that of the native-born.
• There is evidence of some bias against minority groups in their contacts with the criminal justice system.

Gorilla Salad posted:

If the Left Renewal are so determined to wipe out capitalism they should join up with the far right wing of the LNP.

Totalitarian autocracy all the way.

quote:

Centrelink’s controversial data-matching program will be ­“refined”, as the Turnbull government tries to deflect mounting political pressure from welfare groups and Labor for it to be suspend­ed.

The Australian Council of Social­ Service yesterday joined the federal opposition in calling for a halt to the scheme and an inde­pendent review, declaring that the automated debt-recovery prog­ram was treating current and past Centrelink recipients “like second­-class citizens”.

The government is sticking by the system, which matches a welfare­ recipient’s details with inform­ation from the Australian Taxation Office to determine if there has been a “discrepancy” in their payments.

Since July, the government has clawed back $300 million in overpayments but ultimately wants to recover $4 billion in a bid to rein in the ballooning welfare bill.

Human Services Minister Alan Tudge said the government would “continue to refine and improve­” it in the months ahead, although no radical changes to the system were expected. “One of the things, for example, which we’ll be particularly looking at in the shorter term will be looking at how we can ensure that people are getting that first notification letter (of a debt),” Mr Tudge said.

“We have a legal obligation to send that letter to their address which is on their Centrelink file but we may also be able to take other action to ensure they are getting that first letter. Welfare constitutes a third of the budget now, so we must ensure that there is integrity in that ­system.”

So far 169,000 of an estimated 1.7 million letters have been sent out and the next batch is due to be delivered within days.

hooman posted:

So about 7.5% of the population of the entire country is going to get a threatening letter from centrelink.... what the actual gently caress.

Synthbuttrange posted:

How does this keep getting worse

quote:

Controversial past of likely next health minister Arthur Sinodinos JANUARY 16, 201712:14PM

Turnbull to announce new ministry

PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been forced to reshuffle his cabinet following the fall of former health minister Sussan Ley, but her likely replacement will hardly help to flush out controversy from the frontbench. Arthur Sinodinos, who has been acting in the role of health, sport and aged care minister since Ms Ley was sidelined while her expenses concerning trips to the Gold Coast are investigated, is tipped to be formally installed in the role. The move is expected to be the main change in Turnbull’s “minimalist” ministerial shake-up, avoiding a broader cabinet reshuffle. While one of the goals of swiftly replacing Ms Ley is to restore order in the government’s top ranks, her replacement hardly comes with a squeaky clean record. Mr Sinodinos, who served as a senior staffer to former PM John Howard before entering the Senate in 2011, was only two years ago forced from the frontbench himself. The first-term senator spent only seven months as Assistant Treasurer under Tony Abbott.

He was forced to stand aside in 2014 while he was called to give evidence as a witness before Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) as the authority investigated a company he chaired. Mr Sinodinos faced scrutiny over his role in infrastructure company Australian Water Holdings which he served as deputy chairman and later chairman, linking him to corrupt former NSW Labor MP Eddie Obeid, now jailed. Questions were raised over his performance in the witness box during the ICAC inquiry, and in the role he held at the organisation the inquiry focused on. Over hours of questioning, Mr Sinodinos repeatedly answered “I don’t recall” and “I didn’t know”, when facing questions over significant donations to the Liberal party made by the company he chaired. The performance was a bad look for the Senator at the time, however no corruption findings were made against Mr Sinodinos.

The NSW senator re-entered Cabinet as Cabinet Secretary in 2015, appointed by Malcolm Turnbull after he ousted Mr Abbott from the top job. Mr Sinodinos was instrumental in leadership change. The ministerial hopeful is currently being touted as the lead candidate to take over Ms Ley’s portfolio in a reshuffle expected to be announced by Mr Turnbull in the coming days. Labor has taken advantage of the instability Ms Ley’s resignation has created, talking down the new health minister before the position is even announced. “I don’t think it’s going to matter who the new minister is, they have got a pretty poor agenda in health and each one of them has just been implementing what Malcolm Turnbull has been telling them to do,” opposition health spokeswoman Catherine King told reporters in Ballarat.

adamantium|wang posted:

Hunt goes to health while Sinodinos gets Industry ahahaha

Recoome posted:

I wasn't alive but apparently protesting was illegal at some stage in QLD

quote:

1971 state of emergency[edit]
Bjelke-Petersen seized on the controversial visit of the Springboks, the South African rugby union team, in 1971 to consolidate his position as leader with a display of force.[16] The Springboks' matches in southern states had already been disrupted by anti-apartheid demonstrations and a match in Brisbane was scheduled for 24 July 1971, the date of two Queensland by-elections. On 14 July Bjelke-Petersen declared a month-long state of emergency covering the entire state, giving the government almost unlimited power to quell what the government said was expected to be "a climax of violent demonstrations".[16][17][18] Six hundred police were transported to Brisbane from elsewhere in the state.[19] In the week before the match, 40 trade unions staged a 24-hour strike, protesting against the proclamation.* A crowd of demonstrators also mounted a peaceful protest outside the Springboks' Wickham Terrace motel and were chased on foot by police moments after being ordered to retreat, with many police attacking the crowd with batons, boots and fists.[17] It was one a series of violent attacks by police on demonstrators during the Springboks' visit to Queensland.[20] The football game was played to a crowd of 7000 behind a high barbed-wire fence without incident.[16] The state of emergency, which gave the government the appearance of being strong-willed and decisive,[16] helped steer the government to victory in both by-elections held on match day. A Police Special Branch member, Don Lane was one of those elected, becoming a political ally of the Premier.[21] Bjelke-Petersen praised police for their "restraint" during the demonstrations and rewarded the police union for its support with an extra week's leave for every officer in the state.[19] Bjelke-Petersen later described the tension over of the Springboks' tour as "great fun, a game of chess in the political arena". The crisis, he said, "put me on the map".[22]

quote:

Restriction of civil liberties, growth of police power[edit]
Issues of police powers and civil liberties, first raised at the time of the 1971 Springboks tour, resurfaced in July 1976 with a major street demonstration in which more than a thousand university students marched towards the Brisbane city centre to demand better allowances from the federal government. Police stopped the march in Coronation Drive and television cameras captured an incident during the confrontation in which a police inspector struck a 20-year-old female protester over the head with his baton, injuring her. When Police Commissioner Ray Whitrod announced he would hold an inquiry, a move supported by Police Minister Max Hodges, Bjelke-Petersen declared there would be no inquiry. He told reporters he was tired of radical groups believing they could take over the streets. Police officers passed a motion at a meeting commending the premier for his "distinct stand against groups acting outside the law" and censured Whitrod. A week later Bjelke-Petersen relieved Hodges of his police portfolio.[35][36] Secure in the knowledge that they had the Premier's backing, police officers continued to act provocatively, most notably in a military-style raid on a hippie commune at the Cedar Bay commune in Far North Queensland late the following month.[37] The police, who had been looking for marijuana, set fire to the residents' houses and destroyed their property.

quote:

In 1977, Bjelke-Petersen announced that "the day of street marches is over", warning protesters: "Don't bother applying for a march permit. You won't get one. That's government policy now!"[39] Liberal parliamentarians crossed the floor defending the right of association and assembly.[40] One Liberal MP, Colin Lamont, told a meeting at the University of Queensland that the premier was engineering confrontation for electoral purposes and was confronted two hours later by an angry Bjelke-Petersen who said he was aware of the comments. Lamont later said he learned the Special Branch had been keeping files on Liberal rebels and reporting, not to their Commissioner, but directly to the Premier, commenting: "The police state had arrived."[40] When, after two ugly street battles between police and right-to-march protesters, the Uniting Church Synod called on the government to change the march law, Bjelke-Petersen accused the clergy of "supporting communists". His attack sparked a joint political statement by four other major religious denominations, which was shrugged off by the premier.[33]

quote:

The Productivity Commission has lost its way on IP policy, new recommendations threaten Australia's creative industries Tuesday, 20 Dec 2016

Today the Productivity Commission released its final report into Australia’s intellectual property arrangements. The report is a blunt attack on Australia’s creative industries, unashamedly promoting the interests of those who exploit Australian content over those who create it. APRA AMCOS is dismayed that the Commission has ignored the submissions and evidence provided by the Australian music community during the consultation process. The factual inaccuracies, disparaging language and alarmist assertions from the draft report not only remain but have been re-stated with renewed fervour and single-mindedness. The rights of Australian songwriters and composers to earn a living have been overlooked by economists in Canberra in favour of the profit making interests of the multi-billion dollar technology and educational sectors.

APRA AMCOS Chief Executive Brett Cottle said:

“Australian songwriters and music publishers pleaded with the Commission to temper the approach it took in its draft report and support a robust copyright framework to ensure creators receive fair payment for their work. Instead, the Commission’s final report endorses all the recommendations in its draft report, and introduces a raft of new proposals, all of which are singularly aimed at weakening Australia’s existing copyright regime - the economic framework around which Australia’s creative industries are built.”

The Commission’s recommendations demonstrate a profound lack of understanding of the commercial realities of the Australian content business. The proposed expansion of Australia’s safe harbour scheme to mimic the broken US model is indicative of the Commission’s flawed approach. It is well documented that the application of safe harbours to certain digital services in the US has resulted in a ‘value gap’ – a massive mismatch between the consumption of music on user upload services, such as YouTube, and the revenues returned to songwriters and artists.

Mr Cottle said: “At a time when artists and the wider music industry are finally starting to see a return from streaming services, the Productivity Commission report proposes a raft of changes that will distort the commercial environment in which music licences are negotiated. These changes will allow global technology firms to reduce their bottom line - to the detriment of Australian music creators. The question must be asked, what problem is the Productivity Commission actually trying to solve? Are online services floundering in Australia? Are they finding it difficult to launch in this territory without the protection of an expanded safe harbour scheme? Of course not. Australia is consistently one of the first international markets in which any new digital music service decides to launch. Why? Because Australia already has one of the world’s most stable, fair and efficient copyright systems.”

Expanding the safe harbour scheme in Australia’s Copyright Act to cover commercial digital services will only serve to undermine the current commercial framework on which rights holders rely in order to make a living from their creativity. The proposed amendment simply does not reflect the current digital environment and will see Australia introducing old law which is not fit for purpose. Of course, the proposed safe harbour expansion is but one of the instruments the Commission recommends to unravel Australia’s copyright framework. User rights, broader exceptions, the removal of lawful geo-blocks and the repeal of parallel import restrictions on books are all thrown in for good measure. Perhaps sensing the outrage its final report will generate among Australia’s creative communities, the Commission concludes its key recommendations by taking the extraordinary and unsubstantiated step of warning the Federal Government that past intellectual property “reform efforts have more often than not succumbed to misinformation and scare campaigns”. The irony abounds. It is difficult to think of a more apt description for the Commission’s own report.

APRA AMCOS will respond in full to the Productivity Commission final report early next year.

Solemn Sloth posted:

He was doing doughnuts on the flinders street intersection immediately beforehand so I think we are dealing with drugs rather than terrorism

Zenithe posted:

Apparently I'm allowed to wear non standard uniform for Australia Day week. Anyone know any work appropriate shirts that show solidarity with Indigenous Australians that I could get in the next few days?

Resident Idiot posted:

Southside best side, despite the lack of a) internet, b) trams, and c) anything else.

quote:

REPORT LITTERING FROM VEHICLES

If you see someone littering from their vehicle, you can report them to the EPA. Fines from $250 can be issued from your report.

To report littering from a vehicle you need to:

be 18 years of age or over
have actually seen the litter being thrown, or blown, from the vehicle
be able to provide the vehicle registration details and the location where the littering took place
report the incident within 14 days
make your report online

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.

Mr Chips posted:

2012 census had it at ~25% born overseas and ~44% with at least 1 parent born overseas.

mdemone posted:

Look I don't think you fellas have the right to this thread title. We've clearly established ourselves (U.S.) as the world leader in incoherence and incompetence and I shan't think there's any debate about that.

fiery_valkyrie posted:

Dude might want to have a look in the mirror before calling people ugly.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-31/wa-election-pilbara-one-nation-david-archibald-single-mothers/8227960