Auspol March - Thread status: Embattled - The Something Awful Forums

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Auspol March - Thread status: Embattled

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

The strange thing is he might win if he just says "coal is hosed and we need to find new industries for people to work in. Let's say no to Adani and instead yes to [some random clean energy industry].".

People are okay with bad news if you follow it up with "but we'll do X instead".

Oh wait Adani want to set up shop in Queensland, my bad.

The reef is still dead either way.

# ¿ Mar 2, 2018 11:16

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# ¿ May 11, 2024 21:08

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

gay picnic defence posted:

That'd make sense. There's probably a bunch of union or factional hacks who won't let him say that for some reason though.

Not a joke question, but... What could the union's actually do if he put it out there that coal needs to die. I mean, they can't join the libs, they'd get screwed over, and the greens would agree with that statement...

# ¿ Mar 2, 2018 12:12

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

kirbysuperstar posted:

There's like four Coffee Clubs in the Penrith area and the newest one was considering being open for dinner just to make ends meet.

I'm hardly a coffee snob but the coffee from the coffee club has ranged from bad to terrible the times I've tried it. I don't understand how the franchise is still in business given the consistently awful experience unless their entire business plan is to trick people into trying it one more time.

# ¿ Mar 5, 2018 09:32

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

Please take it to whirlpool, where you all undoubtedly have accounts, this is the Barnaby tea towel cum poncho thread.

I think you mean "whingepool".

# ¿ Mar 6, 2018 03:49

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

The Before Times posted:

'semi-experienced'

Dick pics count, right, folks?!

# ¿ Mar 7, 2018 09:14

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

Speaking of "anti-man agenda" a guy at work today claims women don't get called out like guys do. And we're also run by a matriarchy.

Cue me and the other guy trying not to facepalm while trying to explain that maybe, just maybe, men and women are socialised differently and respond differently to different styles of communication...

*Sigh*. You heard it here first, folks, the anti man agenda is alive and well.

# ¿ Mar 7, 2018 11:33

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

GoldStandardConure posted:

was this that one guy you've told me about before whose name I have forgotten?

Yes!

# ¿ Mar 7, 2018 11:42

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

DancingShade posted:

Feed them a couple Alex Jones sound bytes (you should be able to scoop up a couple without having to actually watch any of his videos) for such an occasion. See if their eyes light up in feverish recognition.

I quit that job yesterday, so I've got another month of this to endure.

# ¿ Mar 7, 2018 12:11

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

GoldStandardConure posted:

did you end up getting the Subi job?

I did!

Two company owners brought me in for a meeting this morning basically asking me whyyyyyyy.

Then they found out where I'm going and sent a sarky text to the guy who referred me.

# ¿ Mar 7, 2018 14:05

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

JBP posted:

This is a thermonuclear burn.

Holy poo poo, that was amazing.

# ¿ Mar 8, 2018 09:18

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

Coucho Marx posted:

Out of sheer curiosity, my partner and I ran some mega-rough calculations about how much GST is earned on period products. Assuming:

- 6.5mil women in Australia aged 10-49 (from ABS, 51 is apparently the average but 49 was an easy stat to stop at);
- No accounting for product non-purchase for any reason: late menarche/early menopause, pauses for pregnancy, other fertility issues, reusable products, you got some pads from a friend, whatever. Just straight up twelve periods a month, gotta buy stuff every time;
- $9 spent per period (my partner uses a pack and a half of rather expensive organic ones; most people would probably use a cheaper product), so not even $1 GST per period averaged out.

This comes to a little under $10.80 per year, per woman, or ~$70mil GST paid by Australian women on period products every year. In the grand scheme of things, not a huge deal for government, but a lot for individuals to miss out on (not to mention loving insulting, of course).

edit: I meant twelve periods a year, but I'm leaving that mistake

Joke answer: Somehow encourage most of the women to use menstrual cups and cloth pads and watch the disposable feminine product companies freak out and lobby the government because nobody is buying their stuff anymore and they're losing money.

Alternatively, convince every period-haver to free bleed everywhere, I imagine it'd quickly become an essential when men start having to see blood everywhere...

It'd never happen short of some form of mass mind-control, but it's fun to imagine.

# ¿ Mar 8, 2018 12:48

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

tithin posted:

This article pisses me off for a number of reasons.

I'm going to say this knowing that banks are scum, and there's a reason I'm a proud unionist in that sector.

But banks can only work off the information that you or your representative give you.

poo poo attitude - it's not the banks duty to work it out for you. You see an asset, you go to a lender, you work out a proposition. If you can afford it, it'll generally get approved.

your statement of position is your responsibility to complete, no one else's for just this reason.

It is your responsibility to know your incomings and outgoings, it is your responsibility to know your assets and liabilities.

the bank can only reasonably work off what it's been given, and if you're going to willingly lie on your statement of position to get a loan, you cannot be surprised by the outcome.

If you're going through a broker and the broker lies, that is an issue with the broker that needs to be addressed because the bank is as much a victim in that transaction as you are.

loving hell, what dumb loving mutt gives a 71 year old any sort of loan and expects it to be repaid.

Those loving idiots.

Yeah, having gone through the loan paperwork recently I'm just facepalming reading this. We were asked about our incomes and expenditures and we had to get back to them because we didn't have exact numbers.

Also why did she need 13 houses exactly? Like at what point do you go "aw yeah, I need me another house mayte" and think 13 was a reasonable number?

# ¿ Mar 12, 2018 09:52

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

Whitlam posted:

CrazyTolradi don't even get me started on bikes.

Teal coalition strikes again.

I'm in a similar boat regarding train services - near where I live (in an area with fairly low population density, compared to many areas) they're about to build something like 500 apartments about a five minute walk from a train station. Even if every one of those apartments has one person living in them, and only 100 people decide to take the train daily, that's going to be a huge increase that will probably necessitate longer trains, if not more services. Thank Christ Joan Kirner fought as hard as she did for the Williamstown line in the 90s when Kennet was trying to scrap it or we'd be hosed beyond belief right now.

As the resident bike crazy, even I will admit better, more continuous cycle infrastructure (which I 110% support) will not solve the problems raised without proper demand management.

There was a video a few months back of what seemed to be a hundred people cycling down a designated bike path due to a public transit workers strike in London. That sort of traffic would not be possible with the current infrastructure in Sydney, let alone somewhere like Perth.

# ¿ Mar 12, 2018 14:05

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

It's almost like employers should embrace teleworking or true flexibility...

Nah, it'd never work.

# ¿ Mar 12, 2018 14:06

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

Solemn Sloth posted:

If only we had some sort of world class telecom infrastructure.

Also bikes get way over represented in policy discussions because the people leading policy discussion in the public service, lefty think tanks, and academia, are middle aged well off white dudes who ride bikes

When my brains are not sad coz climate change is a spectre that looms above us all promising death and destruction in its wake I ride my ebike in to work.

As far as technology goes I genuinely think it could become a viable alternative to many car trips if people got over their fear of roads and disdain of cyclists in general as well as this nebulous idea that only kids and MAMILs ride bikes. Compared to a car it's relatively inexpensive to buy and maintain an ebike and the range can be quite impressive. The only thing getting in the way besides the aforementioned is the lack of cohesive policy surrounding cycling infrastructure (that again, is probably perpetuated by this pervasive idea that bikes are toys and not serious modes of transport).

Having attended the Ride to Work Week breakfast last year I do acknowledge there's a lot of old dudes in lycra, but I reckon it's only that way because there's very little in the way of infrastructure to encourage people who aren't old dudes or people with few other choices. I've read a few reports that state that you're more likely to get a better diversity in rider demographics when you improve infrastructure (i.e. more women, kids and old people start riding places).

Funnily enough, this week is bike week in WA, and if you live in this glorious backward state, I recommend you check out the events!

# ¿ Mar 12, 2018 14:57

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

Even in the theoretical utopia where nobody needs a car on a day-to-day basis, you'd still need roads for the occasional transport of large items like fridges and desks as well as regular parcel delivery, not to mention services like police, fire and ambulance. Unless the ambulance services of the future involve literally teleporting you into a hospital, of course.

# ¿ Mar 12, 2018 15:27

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

Knobb Manwich posted:

In the future we won't need ambulances because ~~of incredible medical advances~~ no one will be able to afford treatment.

Lived to the ripe old age of died of dysentery because due to climate change we ran out of water.

# ¿ Mar 12, 2018 15:40

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

Konomex posted:

Guess what Perth is getting.

Metronet!

Honestly we should have started it ten years ago. Except that would have meant less money for stupid projects that nobody really wanted like Elizabeth Quay and other ribbon-cutters for Colin Barnett.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2018 00:37

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

Les Affaires posted:

Exactly. Super wasn't intended as an estate planning mechanism it was for income for individuals and couples as they retire. The assumptions inherent in the original model was that it should last for most of your needs until you pass away, assuming nothing was left over at the end.

Since I hate myself, I read Money Magazine. One of the funniest things published there was a 70 year old writing in to complain about how he couldn't hide even more assets in super due to his age and one of the editors putting the smackdown on him. The exact wording escapes me, but it was basically "cry me a loving river, you're in an amazing situation, stop complaining". There might have been an implied ("because you'll make the general public twig that super is inefficient and should be scrapped"), too.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2018 03:57

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

http://amp.abc.net.au/article/9538316

Thought of the day: the royal commission into banking might actually lead to the recommendation banks all being forced to have API's and share data with each other upon request, so they can independently verify borrowers capacity to pay, instead of relying upon the borrower being forthcoming.

Yeah yeah I know big data is bad but they're using it already, might as well use it to ensure people buying houses and cars aren't being preyed upon.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2018 05:41

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

You Am I posted:

Speak to your HR department, salary sacrifice for super can differ between businesses depending on EBAs or individual agreements

To elaborate on this - if you were on 50k + super and slaary sacrificed 5k, some employers recalculate your super as if you were on 45k.

Alternatively, they'll say you adding 5k is the same as them adding the 9.5% and won't pay you super.

I hear the government was going to change this with legislation, but in the past year or so you can get around your employer's being cheap jerks by contributing post-tax then filling in a form to declare it so you get a tax deduction.

# ¿ Mar 14, 2018 03:00

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-03-13/sa-growers-push-for-right-to-farm-legislation-amid-urbanisation/9543306

Tl;dr - people buy houses near farms and are surprised to hear tractors and animals or smell farm odors.

# ¿ Mar 14, 2018 04:07

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

hooman posted:

http://www.ksbw.com/article/seaside-high-teacher-accidentally-fires-gun-in-class/19426017

High School teacher teaching gun safety accidentally shoots roof and injures student with ricochet. This is artfully timed.

Also wouldn't estate taxes be a non ideological position because it works against wealth inequality which causes economic problems? Obviously you'd need enforcement/taxation/gifting laws to make sure it isn't evaded but yeah.

I don't think they care that the stratification of wealth causes problems.

I'd argue that older people outright giving their money away to the younger generation is probably better than inheritance - a large sum of money would have far more utility to the average 25 year old than the average 45 year old (i.e. the 25 year old would spend it). Plus there's that old saying about how the first generation starts the family business/money earning engine, the second consolidates it and the third squanders it.

# ¿ Mar 14, 2018 04:26

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

Solemn Sloth posted:

There are some legitimate parts of the right to farm argument, but some of it boils down to “I should be able to blight other people’s land without compensation or recourse”

Yeah, I'm sure there's some element of that, but I imagine moving next door to a farm is like moving next door to a live music venue or pub. You know it's there, it shouldn't be a surprise that at certain times of the day you're very aware you live near a live music venue.

It's one thing to complain that they've started intensive agricultural practices when they previously had three cows in a field, another when the tractor starts at 5am as it does normally and the new neighbours complain.

I'd also say it's not necessarily a good thing for the environment to build houses on productive farming land. Not that farms are particulary good for the environment, either, but houses are worse.

It's almost like the developers should take some responsibility for this before they sell them on...

# ¿ Mar 14, 2018 04:57

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

While we're on farming problems - WA seems to have the opposite problem to Gippsland, where consolidation is causing problems. What used to be 4-12 farms 30-40 years ago are now one big farm owned usually by the one family (though I assume there are corporate farms). Great for the farmer owning the land, I assume they make a huge amount of money, but my god do they complain about the lack of services in their region.

You can't buy up all the farms, hire a bunch of backpackers then complain about the social isolation because nobody stays and how there aren't any services. Of course you're socially isolated and missing out on services, you've ensured that by buying out all the farms and drastically reducing the population density by creating your little empire!

Back to cash refunds:

Labor's plan to abolish cash refunds reopens debate about retirees' wealth

abc.net.au posted:

Labor's plan to abolish cash refunds for some shareholders has reopened the debate about how much government support retirees deserve.

The ALP announced on Tuesday that if a person is not eligible to pay any tax then they should no longer be able to convert excess credits into a cash refundfrom the tax office.

That inspired frustrated retirees to contact the ABC about their concerns over the policy, which would kick in from July next year if Labor wins the next election.

Some were annoyed about what they saw as yet another switch in the rules about their savings, because they had already been affected by changes brought in last year by the Coalition.

And they were bitter about the prospect of losing thousands of dollars a year if Labor's policy is implemented.

Those who emailed the ABC described the tax rebate cheque they received as representing presents for the grandchildren or "the occasional eye fillet".

There is political danger for Labor in that sort of anger — shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has revealed that 200,000 pensioners would be affected by the change in varying degrees.

But it is also an opportunity, with the expectation the policy will save $5 billion a year which can instead be channelled into income tax cuts.

Pensioners and retirees quickly become political weapons during these debates.

"They are battling," Malcolm Turnbull declared on Wednesday of the pensioners and self-funded retirees most likely to be affected by the Labor plan.

But battling is in the eye of the beholder.

Many of those in these circumstances are choosing to rely on the earnings they receive, including the cash payments that Labor wants to scrap, rather than gradually drawing down on their savings.

Mr Bowen pointed out that superannuation amounts of up to $1.6 million are tax-free, so people can appear to have low taxable income and might even be called "battlers".

But they can hold significant amounts in their superannuation.

"So for example, people in the top 1 per cent of self-managed super funds are getting $83,000 in refunds, that is more than the average wage and that is not sustainable," Mr Bowen told 7.30.

The Government calls it double taxation, but Mr Bowen draws the line at someone using the credits to reduce their tax liability to zero.

"We are not going to give you a refund when you have not paid tax," Mr Bowen said.

Former Liberal leader John Hewson agrees with the Labor plan, arguing there are better uses of government money than helping people who have hundreds of thousands of dollars in shares or the bank.

But he said he was surprised it was not being "grandfathered" to exempt people who have set up their investments under the current rules or give them more time to restructure.

Labor's Jenny Macklin argues the Government cannot claim to be pure when it comes to pensioners, arguing it has made plenty of attempts at adjusting the aged pension and the rules that apply to it, including lifting the pension eligibility age to 70 and scrapping the energy supplement of $365 a year.

Economist Chris Richardson has long argued that those policies, as well as Labor's latest plan, are all necessary to wind back the overly generous tax breaks for seniors introduced under the Howard years.

I can't say I have much sympathy for people in this situation. Justifying it as the difference between "the occasional eye fillet and birthday present" and going without is disingenuous.

# ¿ Mar 14, 2018 06:01

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

As time goes on, I admit my well of sympathy for baby boomers is starting to run dry.

These days, it'd be hard to comprehend that there's a significant chunk of people who grew up during a time of consistent wage growth, reasonable housing market and considerable prosperity who apparently didn't consider that they can't work forever and maybe should save so they don't have to rely on the pension, until you realise... They're boomers. They're used to being The Biggest Cohort of Voters and politicians will bend to their wills because the might of their numbers makes them right.

Ironically, boomers sneer at entitled attitudes from all the younger generations, yet their generation has been spoilt with political favour for decades.

# ¿ Mar 16, 2018 04:05

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

Pretty sure "white landowner" isn't on the list of eligible skilled occupations.

I get the distinct impression the white landowners are considering fleeing not because of any real persecution but because they realise they're outnumbered on the "upholding a racist system" front. I mean, life will be very tough for them once they no longer own the means of production - they might have to work for The Man as opposed to being The Man.

Better to go work for the white man in a nice, wealthy, politically stable country run by other whiteys...

# ¿ Mar 16, 2018 08:57

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

http://reneweconomy.com.au/marshalls-first-promise-as-sa-premier-kill-tesla-battery-plan-68601/

First thing the libs do after getting power in SA is screwing over the poor. Typical.

# ¿ Mar 19, 2018 03:02

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

So folks, a television producer is asking me if I'd be interested in talking to them about the gender wage gap since I shared a story somewhere public about getting paid less than a dude for the same job.

I feel like I should say yes, but I also don't really want to put myself out there because I feel like this might be setting myself up for getting myself thrown under a bus.

Thoughts?

# ¿ Mar 20, 2018 07:27

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

Gorilla Salad posted:

If it's for a programme on SBS or the ABC, I'd say go for it if you can guarantee your safety career-wise.

Any of the commercial stations? There's no way it's anything other than a hit piece on women.

Channel 9, sadly.

# ¿ Mar 20, 2018 13:22

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

Solemn Sloth posted:

The stuff like porn stars etc I agree, but trump still has a big effect. For example our whole recycling problem at the moment seems to be basically because we are collateral damage in China telling Trump to get hosed

I though the whole China plastics thing was about oil being cheap enough that they didn't have to recycle plastics, and a lot of the plastics coming in were contaminated and either ended up getting burnt or dumped in landfill?

# ¿ Mar 21, 2018 04:05

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

Remember how the libs got into SA and immediately said they'd gently caress over the poor by refusing to follow through with a plan to put solar and batteries on housing trust homes?

Well, it seems like the libs are realising South Australians really like their renewables since it was the focus of his first press conference.

http://reneweconomy.com.au/marshall-feels-blow-back-as-tesla-battery-comments-hit-raw-nerve-43839/

From the article:

renew economy posted:

(Marshall’s advisors were also on the phone to RE – not to contest the story, but to say hi, we do get it, and that we should watch this space. Trust us, we are).

Hrm, maybe they'll realise renewables are so popular they should stick with it...

# ¿ Mar 21, 2018 11:49

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

That was a thing? Jesus.

# ¿ Mar 22, 2018 07:40

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

hiddenmovement posted:

I've thought about it and I can see some good in a small fee per parcel. Cheap Chinese goods are allowed to come into the country for next to nothing and local retailers can't hope to compete because they actually have to pay for shipping. It's ridiculous that local mail carriers have to eat the cost of that shipping as well.

There are obvious problems with collecting the revenue, and I'm aware this will affect other nations mail as well, and I don't trust this government not to gently caress it up, and it may run afoul of international mailing agreements. But I don't have an issue with forcing businesses that have gotten a free ride for the last decade to actually pay for the services they use.

Yeah, a bunch of my friends are into that stupid Wish app and a lot of the time it's cheap junk that'll be tossed shortly after arrival. Sorry, but I don't see any intrinsic value in Australia having more low-value tat.

# ¿ Mar 22, 2018 11:50

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

https://amp.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/shane-rattenbury-calls-on-federal-government-to-reduce-electric-bike-tariff-20180322-h0xu94.html

bikes bikes bikes posted:

ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury has called on the federal government to remove a tariff imposed on electric bikes, arguing it would reduce their uptake in cities like Canberra.

In a recent letter to Assistant Home Affairs Minister Angus Taylor, the ACT Climate Change Minister said the five per cent tariff would mean the costs of e-bikes would increase.

Cycling groups say electric bikes are a gateway for casual riders. Photo: Supplied

Mr Rattenbury said the tariff would also impact on the number of people wanting to take up cycling, with e-bike use on the rise.

"While I understand the intent of the tariff, and the desire to support local manufacturing, I am concerned that this tariff will introduce another obstacle to the increased take up of cycling and active travel," he said.

Shane Rattenbury has written to the federal government calling for the tariff on e-bikes to be removed. Photo: Sitthixay Ditthavong

"I expect the tariff to result in an increase in the cost of e-bikes, as the vast majority of them are currently imported, and many from countries impacted by the tariff."

Cycling groups have said e-bikes - bikes with motors attached - are used as a gateway for people wanting to take up cycling, with the motor often used on hill climbs.

As well as e-bikes, the tariff also applies to electric scooters and motorcycles.

Mr Rattenbury said an increased number of bikes out on Canberra roads was a key part of the government's target of net zero greenhouse gases by 2050.

"The ACT government is currently progressing a range of policy initiatives designed to encourage the uptake of e-bikes," he said.

"It would be very disappointing if the five per cent tariff created a disincentive to the uptake of e-bikes."

Pedal Power ACT chief executive Ian Ross said there has been a large uptake in the number of e-bike users in Canberra in recent years.

He said the electric bikes were a good alternative for commuters who want to cycle to work, but live far away from the office.

"E-bikes have made a good entry into the ACT, and they're the next wave that will get people into cycling," Mr Ross said.

"It allows you to tackle distances or hills that you might not otherwise tackle, and for people who are not really cyclists, it makes cycling to work a genuine possibility."

The chief executive said while numbers of e-bikes would always be small compared to traditional bikes, the two could co-exist.

"Their use is growing, and I'm seeing more and more on the streets."

A Home Affairs department spokeswoman said e-bike importers have been able to access a duty concession as there were no Australian manufacturers.

"Bicycles with an electric motor imported into Australia are currently subject to the general rate of customs duty of five per cent," the spokesman said.

"E-bikes imported under any of Australia's free trade agreements continue to be eligible for a 'free' rate of customs duty."

I know I'm probably the bike-crazy-in-residence in Auspol, but I could see ebikes replacing a lot of cars if there was sufficient government backing.

Also from memory this taxation thing came about recently because an Australian ebike company that didn't even make "street legal" ebikes (i.e. pedelec assistance up to 25kmph) complained about the tax treatment of the imports that were.

# ¿ Mar 25, 2018 13:09

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

See, I asked my closeted racist brother his opinion on the South Africa thing.

And by that I mean "he brought it up because he thinks he's oh so much smarter than his loony sister".

So here it is, straight from the racist horses mouth:

Firstly, South Africans "will fit in better".

Secondly, they have "desirable skills"

He couldn't decide if they were refugees or skilled migrants (or at least didn't give me a straight answer), but claims Australia has "absolute discretion" over who to let in, so why not let in the people who are going to fit in and aren't terrorists.

Also, Islam is not a race so I couldn't call him racist. I pointed out Anti-Semitism is considered a type of racism despite Judaism not being a a race, either (he didn't say anything to that). And also domestic violence and furniture falling on people kills or injures more people than terrorism alone, so he's got warped priorities, but he kinda implied there was nothing we could do about those things.

Then again, this is the same guy who a while back, when I pointed out Ivan Milat was a white guy, said Milat was a Slav and therefore that's different.

Kill me now, dude has been brainwashed by white male privilege and right wing media. I think the funniest thing is that when I consider our individual circumstances, he should be the hippy dippy left leaning one while I should be the one saying "gently caress you got mine" and crushing the least well off under my boot.

This is what the average Aussie racist voter thinks. I don't think anything is going to change until the major media companies in control of the narrative start portraying the facts in an less biased way that shows the likes of Dutton for what he is - pandering to the racist vote.

froglet fucked around with this message at 06:07 on Mar 26, 2018

# ¿ Mar 26, 2018 06:03

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# ¿ May 11, 2024 21:08

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

hooman posted:

I can't edit so I'm going to doublepost.

I should clarify that I hate that he got poo poo on for this statement. He's also a racist piece of poo poo, and should be poo poo on for that, but on this specific account he's exactly right and instead of taking a deep look at our broken culture instead just call him a nazi and force him to retract.

My initial reflex was to disagree with you, but reading the context... Holy poo poo you're right.

Dude wants to succeed, he joined the LNP because "that's what you do to succeed"... He recognises that he's thinking about which party would be advantageous to him, not about what's good for the community as a whole.

Obviously people like that should have some sense knocked into them because thinking only about what benefits you even when it comes to the detriment of everyone else is shite, but at least he recognises that yes, by his internal logic he would have been a nazi in 1930s Germany.

Dude gets points for insight. I wonder if any of the other parties will try to appeal to this noxious demographic.

# ¿ Apr 3, 2018 07:36

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Auspol March - Thread status: Embattled