quote:

A while back Taco Bell, famous for daring to answer the question “what if a taco, but two?” begun their bold attempt to conquer Australian palates one more time by opening a single, lone store in the Brisbane suburb of Annerley.
Reportedly, that location is making cash hand-over-fist, if claims from company HQ are to be believed. Liz Williams, president of Taco Bell International, claimed the location is generating revenue that is “several million dollars” higher than the average US franchise.
On the back of that, Williams has asserted that Taco Bell is working with the successful Brisbane franchisee to push “explosive” expansion throughout Australia.
"We’re talking to them about some pretty explosive growth. It’s going to be a top market for us."

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Senior cabinet minister Peter Dutton has pledged his loyalty to Malcolm Turnbull, despite admitting the coalition government is on track for defeat at the next election.
The home affairs minister, who has been touted as a potential leadership alternative, threw his support behind the prime minister ahead of Mr Turnbull's looming 30th Newspoll loss.
Mr Dutton said he accepted cabinet positions from Tony Abbott and Mr Turnbull on the basis of loyalty.
"If I can't be loyal to the leader then my judgment is I resign," Mr Dutton told 2GB on Thursday.

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

Asked what she thought of Wednesday's spectacular, Senator Hanson said the "20 minutes" devoted to Indigenous culture was "absolutely disgusting".

quote:

An Australian Federal Police (AFP) internal document obtained by BuzzFeed News reveals that the agency believes that investigating the "liking" of a porn tweet by the Twitter account of health minister Greg Hunt is an "essential" priority.

...

From two to five AFP officers have been assigned to the case, and it has been classified as an "essential" priority. This is above a "routine" priority and according to the AFP "must be acted upon due to key policy, organisation accountability, strategic, legal or other issues".
The guide suggests the matters should be acted upon within one week. The CCPM suggests this investigation would take from one to three months. The investigation has been running for three months.
The case has also been ranked as of "high value" to the AFP. The guide states this means it could require considerable investigative skill, or relate to a strategic target involved with other activity of interest to the AFP.

quote:

On the day Malcolm Turnbull hit the benchmark of 30 consecutive Newspoll losses, he has admitted regret over using the figure when rolling Tony Abbott from the nation's top job.

...

"I regret making those remarks at the time, making remarks about 30 Newspolls at the time," he said today.
"But what I promised to do was to provide economic leadership and traditional cabinet government, and I've done both."

Knobb Manwich posted:

yes

it stems from the well-researched and peer reviewed scientific studies such as that surmise eating soy products increases estrogen in men leading to feminine traits and behaviour due to lack of manly testosterone

quote:

Salim Mehajer has been convicted of multiple counts of electoral fraud, with a Sydney Magistrate finding he acted in a "joint criminal enterprise" with his sister to influence the 2012 Auburn Council elections.
The former deputy mayor of Auburn is currently before Central Local Court on more than 100 charges relating to forging documents and giving false or misleading information to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).

bandaid.friend posted:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-11/salim-mehajer-guilty-of-electoral-fraud-auburn-council-elections/9640204

quote:

Magistrate Beverly Schurr said the AEC became suspicious when a large number of online enrolment applications were submitted just before the deadline on July 31, 2012.
In these applications dozens of Sydneysiders had listed or changed their address to residences in Auburn.
During the trial, prosecutors said the online electoral applications were submitted without the knowledge of the people whose names appeared on them.
They alleged the applications came from computer IP addresses associated with the Mehajer family and that the siblings had exchanged numerous text messages about the fraud in the lead up to July 31.

quote:

The ABC has been forced to defend a six-minute hijab fashion show planned for its streaming on demand service iview after conservative politicians and commentators again began to complain about the show and its host, Yassmin Abdel-Magied.
This week, Abdel-Magied revealed on Twitter that she would be part of an ABC iview show about hijab fashion to air on May 1.
And, The Australian newspaper, which ran a lengthy campaign against Abdel-Magied the last time she had anything to do the public broadcaster, was quick to jump on it with comments from conservative politicians about how it was such a bad idea, with Australian Conservatives senator Cory Bernardi saying that the ABC "needed to be reformed".
Then, in a Senate Estimates hearing on Wednesday morning, conservative Liberal senator Eric Abetz grilled ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie about the program and its associated costs.
"Why do we think that this is such a good artistic show to comment or to promote the hijab when literally hundreds of thousands of women are facing arrest, imprisonment, separation from their families because they are seeking to rid themselves of this symbol of oppression from countries like Iran, and here we are seeking to celebrate this garment at taxpayers' expense?" Abetz asked.
Guthrie replied that it wasn't a news program.
"Senator, it's a fashion program. It's not for news...it is a program that is intended to show the hijab as part of a fashion program. It is not intended to be any political statement at all," she said. "It is simply intended to be a reflection of arts programming the ABC has commissioned."
Abetz suggested women in Iran would be "very disappointed" to see a program where western women were celebrating "this oppressive item of clothing".

GoldStandardConure posted:

No, that's still virtue signalling, they are just signalling to a different group.

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

Cheap Trick posted:

Also a new stadium at Parramatta. And I haven't heard of the Olympic Park upgrade being shelved, unless it happened within the last three days. What a colossal waste of money.

Pinball Jizzard posted:

On the subject of light rail. This is what happens when you don’t spend money on the project feasibility studies and assessments.

On the subject of Epping to Chatswood. It’s less than a year and the “new” 10 year old rail line is being upgraded to provide a better service. Short term pain for long term gains.

quote:

The University of Queensland (UQ) and two international medical journals are investigating alleged ethical violations in research around Universal Medicine (UM), an organisation based in Lismore in New South Wales, which touts the healing power of "esoteric breast massage" and other unproven treatments.
Founded by Serge Benhayon — a former bankrupt tennis coach with no medical qualifications who claims to be the reincarnation of Leonardo Da Vinci — UM is a multi-million-dollar enterprise with 700 mostly women followers in 15 countries.
UM practitioners are also taught by Mr Benhayon to carry out esoteric ovary massage to "help women connect back to their body".
An ABC investigation can reveal three members of UQ's faculty of medicine have publicly advocated for the controversial group.

quote:

Indigenous Australian children are 18 times more likely to be placed on a secret police blacklist than non-Indigenous children, analysis of new data by the Greens has revealed.

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But the new data also raises fresh concerns about the accuracy of police information on the database.
The spreadsheet provided by NSW police provides breakdowns of the hundreds of children on the blacklist by ethnicity. Some of these breakdowns appear to add up to a total of more than 100% — for instance, one child is identified as 25% indigenous, 63% white/European and 13% unknown, making a total of 101%.
Others also have a wildly varied ethnic background. In another case a child is identified as 3% indigenous, 36% Middle Eastern, 2% white/European, 42% Pacific Islander and 18% unknown, which also totals 101%.
BuzzFeed News asked the NSW Police how the police could identity these percentages of ethnicity so finely, and why many totals did not add up to 100%. It declined to respond.

hiddenmovement posted:

I've decided I'm going to go the in home nurse route when the time comes for my olds. Nursing homes are insanely expensive and the level of care is absolute loving dogshit. I've seen elderly friends and relatives in them fed appalling meals and generally ignored by staff.

A nurse can roll by once a few times a week until there is absolutely no other choice but to warehouse them in one of those shitholes. There's a long history of perfectly good health followed by catastrophic fatal strokes in my family anyway so hopefully that's how it rolls.

quote:

Australians are spending millions to create Peter Dutton's new Home Affairs Department, including $1.8 million for an "executive headquarters" a short drive from existing buildings, and $9,000 on new bookmarks.

quote:

An old blue heeler named Max remained by the side of a three-year-old girl and led searchers to her after she spent more than 15 hours lost in rugged bushland on Queensland's Southern Downs overnight.
Aurora was reported missing about 3:00pm yesterday after she wandered off on her own, but a search of woodlands and hills on the rural property in wet weather last night found no trace of her.
This morning, more than 100 State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers, police and members of the public resumed the search and found the girl safe and well with Max the dog at 8:00am.
For his good work in keeping the little girl safe, Max has now been declared an honorary police dog.

quote:

British republicans say they are "disappointed" Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull did not try to stop the Prince of Wales from being anointed as the next head of the Commonwealth.

...

Some British republicans had hoped Mr Turnbull, a well-known high-profile advocate of installing an Australian head of state, would campaign against a Royal being put in the head of Commonwealth role.
"No-one would have been surprised, no-one would have been upset — with the possible exception of some of his own backbench," Mr Smith said.
"We can only guess that's the reason or there has been some hard-nosed horse-trading behind the scenes that we don't know about.
"This is another feather [in the Royal family's] cap."

...

This week, Mr Turnbull again restated his view the "monarch of the United Kingdom" should hold the role — though he said there was no inconsistency in being an Australian republican, while also supporting the British Royal family playing a symbolic Commonwealth leadership role.
Australian Republican Movement chair Peter FitzSimons said he did not understand why Mr Turnbull backed Prince Charles as the next head of the Commonwealth.
"Malcolm Turnbull is, I assure you the most passionate Republican in the country while Christopher Pyne remains the most eloquent, but I don't quite get why the Prime Minister is backing a system whereby a future monarch rises by birth right alone," he said.

quote:

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce wants an overhaul to the hiring regulations at Parliament House, so politicians can work alongside their partners.
Speaking with ABC's National Wrap after the birth of his son Sebastian last week, Mr Joyce has promised to do everything he can to be a good father, and believes that starts with changing the culture of politics.
"Canberra is a weird place," he said.
"It's like a big old boarding school up on a hill in the middle of Canberra... and we should be allowing partners as much as possible to be there as well. Otherwise you have this dysfunctional dichotomy where you have one life in Canberra, another life at home...[and] after a decade it just does not work and things fall apart. I don't want that to happen again."
Mr Joyce split from his wife Natalie last year and is now in a relationship with his former media adviser Vikki Campion, who gave birth to Sebastian a week ago.
The former deputy prime minister thinks marriages can be saved if the employment rules at Parliament House are changed.

Working alongside your partner or sibling is common practice in some family businesses, but in politics it is not allowed.
The Members of Parliament Staff Act states Senators and MPs cannot hire their partner, children, parent or sibling.
"This is insane that a partner who probably knows more about your office than anyone else can't work in your office," he said.
"If they are qualified to do the job, if they have the qualifications, then why not allow them to do it?"
However, he said he does not believe his ex-wife would have wanted to work with him, nor would Ms Campion want to come back to his office.
"I don't think Vikki would want to work for me to be quite frank... but it is insane to think that if she did want to work for me, she couldn't."
Mr Joyce dismissed suggestions that such changes would result in a conflict of interest.
"No I don't think it's a conflict of interest. So often in this game people expect you to turn up as a couple. They expect you to turn up as family."

Mr Joyce said he was supposed to be taking time off work following the birth of Sebastian, but he's still been speaking to the media.
"I can't help myself," he said.
Mr Joyce said he took Ms Campion and Sebastian to a National Park and they also attended a local footy match over the weekend.
"We are just enjoying our own company and just trying to be a family and hang around the dinner table which I really enjoy," he said.
"I know it is peculiar circumstances... but I'm going to try the very best job I possibly can and make sure that Seb has the very best dad he can possibly get."
Mr Joyce has four daughters with his former wife Natalie Joyce.

quote:

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has conceded she does not think giving Australian companies a tax cut will result in workers getting a highly sought-after wage increase.
"Hand on heart, no, I've never said that there will be an increase in wages," she told the ABC's News Breakfast.
"I've actually said the opposite. But will it create more jobs or keep companies here? Yes."

quote:

Ms Petroulias said Barry is the first cafe she and her brother Steve have owned. She says they were told weekend penalty rates could be traded off for staff meals.
"We had no idea about wage rates or anything. My brother looked on Google, and got the wage rates. I know we did wrong and we want to rectify anything," she said.

Anidav posted:

Just seems like dumb boomers who didn't read what they were signing trying to use the royal commission to double dip and get refunds

quote:

Former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer has taken the stand at his own bankruptcy appeal hearing, revealing he has plans to borrow as much as $82 million for five property developments in Sydney's western suburbs.
In a hearing which ran well into the night, the appeal also heard the disgraced property developer owes the Australian Taxation Office $8.6 million.

...

Mr Mehajer's lawyer David Hume argued there were "complexities" in his client's financial affairs, with his multitude of properties, numerous shareholdings, debts, assets and interest owing.
Mr Hume said it required a forensic accountant to sift through the detail to determine his client's solvency.
There were also issues surrounding the amount owed to the liquidator and petitioning creditor of Mehajer’s company SM Project Developments, with the amount owed ranging from $200,000 to $230,000 to up to $668,000.
He also highlighted the 10 concurrent criminal and civil cases involving his client, including family court proceedings.
However, Justice Michael Lee rejected the appeal, describing the evidence as "unsatisfactory".
"I have not in the least bit following the travails of your client," Justice Lee said.
Justice Lee said there would be a final hearing on Mr Mehajer's bankruptcy on June 21 and 22.

quote:

Not one Australian federal politician has taken an online course set up in the wake of the James Ashby sexual harassment case.
In 2012 Ashby, then a former staffer for Gillard-era speaker Peter Slipper, settled a case of sexual harassment against the government for $50,000. Included in the settlement was a commitment from the former Labor government that all MPs and senators would be given sexual harassment awareness training.
But since then, only 13 MPs or senators have fronted up for face-to-face briefings on sexual harassment awareness, and none of them took an online training course on it.

quote:

An Australia Day scuffle in which a police officer threatened to search a man for "being a smart-arse" has ended with two Australian Federal Police members found guilty of assault in the ACT Magistrates Court.

...

During discussions with the driver, the pair turned their attention to the backseat passenger, setting off the exchange.
Constable Head threatened to arrest the victim after accusing him of interrupting their conversation with the driver.
"If you do not shut up your mouth I'll pull you out and arrest you," he said.
"I'll be searching you for being a smart-arse."
And then he ordered the victim to "get the f*** out of the car right now".
The court heard the two officers then grabbed the man by the arm and the head and propelled him to the ground before handcuffing him.

Milky Moor posted:

Tried to get a few very bad games refunded but Steam is just pointing to the 'two weeks' disclaimer.

quote:

The Berejiklian government has evaded a parliamentary order requiring it to produce the business case that justifies the relocation of the Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta.
Coalition backbencher Matthew Mason-Cox risked suspension from the Liberal Party room to cross the floor of the Upper House in support of a Greens' motion to have the critical set of documents released within 14 days.
At the close of business on Thursday night, the secretary of the Premier and Cabinet, Tim Reardon, asserted to the Parliament that no documents covered by the resolution were held by the Office of the Premier, the Office of the Minister for Arts, Department of Planning and Environment, including Create NSW, and Infrastructure NSW.
This seems at odds with Arts Minister Don Harwin's own statement to the Herald earlier this month in which, through a spokesman, he said: "The business case was delivered to the government in December, and has since been going through a number of assurance processes that need to be completed before an informed decision can be made."
The legal manoeuvre wins the government extra time as an announcement is soon to be made to build a new flagship Powerhouse Museum on the Parramatta riverside topped by residential apartments. It is believed the government is planning to release a summary of the business case then.
However, in a slight reconfiguration of the policy, Ms Berejiklian said the Ultimo site would retain an "arts and cultural presence" as part of any redevelopment.
Labor attacked the government's move as "contemptuous".
"Either this is a massive cover-up, or worse, there is no business case at all," opposition arts spokesman Walt Secord said.
Greens MP David Shoebridge said the battle to force transparency on the government would now return to the Upper House next week where ''the government's contempt for transparency will again be tested''.
“This was an order of the Parliament and the Coalition government has again sought to avoid scrutiny this time alleging there is no preliminary or final business case to produce,'' he said.
"It's now getting to the point of farce, denying the final business exists when even their Arts Minister said it was delivered to him in December last year.
"This is now a test of democracy between an increasingly unaccountable executive government and the Parliament.''
Chairman of the Upper House inquiry into the Powerhouse move, Robert Borsak, said it was astounding that no documents had been produced by the government when the matter was before Cabinet.
''The government said they received a business case before December so they must have it or you have to call them liars,'' he said.
Justifying his decision to vote against his own party two weeks ago, Mr Mason-Cox said the state government had developed a “perverse culture of secrecy” that had threatened the public’s confidence in its decision making.
Mr Harwin, through a spokesman, said the NSW Government was committed to moving the Powerhouse to Parramatta and was "proud to be giving families in western Sydney greater access to one of the city’s great cultural icons".
“It has been a thorough process and we will have more to say about this project in the near future.”

quote:

Sydney's Powerhouse Museum will be moved to Parramatta from Ultimo and will feature a 30-metre-wide domed planetarium, the NSW Government has confirmed.
A lyric theatre and a creative design and fashion museum will be built on the current site of the Powerhouse Museum at Ultimo.
There will also be commercial and residential structures at the Ultimo site.
The move, which has caused controversy, will cost the Berejikilian Government $645 million to relocate the museum to Sydney's west.
Work on the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, which incorporates the Powerhouse Museum, will begin in 2019 and it is expected to open to visitors in 2023.
"It will be bigger and better than anything NSW has ever seen and will rival global cultural icons such as the London Science Museum and the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum," Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
"It is so important that young people are excited and inspired by science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics because the jobs of tomorrow will rely heavily on these disciplines."
Ms Berejiklian said an international competition to design the new Powerhouse Museum would open soon. The nearby Riverside Theatre in Parramatta will be upgraded too.
"This is about making sure arts is accessible to the whole community," Ms Berejikilian said, emphasising that Parramatta was the "geographic heart of Sydney".