Oz Federal Election 2013 - Discussion and Comments

[Pushka]

Goodness. The labor party has more than proven its incompetence over the last few years so in the spirit of Australian fairness I'm more than happy to let someone else have a go.

Interesting how Gillard has tried to deflect immigration attention away from the many asylum seekers this week.

 

[TheEmu]

The train wreck rattles on.


… Could the ALP really be so stupid as to reinstall Rudd? …

My question would have to be: could Rudd be so stupid as to mount a leadership challenge at this juncture? Surely that would make as much sense as the crew of the Titanic starting a mutiny after hitting the iceberg? Is his ego really so big that he believes if he can get those deck chairs in just the right places he can save the ship?

 

[docjames]

Well after a 1000 posts it is time to be a little light hearted.First Julia and Tony didn't always dislike each other when he was Minister for Health and she his shadow-
Tony Abbott & Julia Gillard Flirting - YouTube

The interesting thing with this isn't the (supposed) flirting, it's how much more natural and relaxed JG looks. That "relaxed" feel is much more endearing to the public and was what made her (relatively more) popular in the first place. And outwardly looked more "in touch".

She'd be well advised to try and channel some of that "aura" rather than the stone faced / guarded persona she gives off now.

 

[cove]

Don't the chairs on the Titanic get just a little bit wet shortly after the iceberg strike??

 

[TheEmu]

Don't the chairs on the Titanic get just a little bit wet shortly after the iceberg strike??

Mostly sank without a trace, I suspect - look for some bubbles in the water, evening of September 14th…

 

[HarryB]

Precisely. Anyone who have been using Telstra Next G nextwork in the Sydney CBD would know this for themselves - 3G data performance has plummeted since Telstra's big price cuts a few years back drew a lot of new subscribers to the network. Vodafone users will certainly have similar stories (although they never had a good network to start with!).

Of course, the new technology, 4G, is extremely fast. But that's because no-one has 4G devices yet.

A partial solution is to dramatically ramp up the density of - and ramp down the transmitting power of - mobile phone towers. But the same parents who complain their technologically backward school can't have fast internet for Johnny's iPad are the same parents who complain when there is a mobile phone tower within five kilometres. Oh, and you'll need to run fibre to those mobile base stations anyway - you can put one on my roof if you leave an ethernet jack open on the back .

It sounds like a lot if people think about home Internet use as the main benefit of the NBN, which is short sighted. There are large benefits to business that are easy to overlook.

For example, I work at a 7 days per week business where there are at least 30 people working in any given day. If each worker saves one measly minute a day by having faster Internet then over a year the company will benefit to the tune of over 180 hours where staff can be productive rather than waiting for emails, Internet or intranet pages to load (among other things). For a business like ours this is a very conservative estimate and the benefit is hardly inconsequential.

There are serious flaws in the wireless and satellite options (don't use Foxtel satellites as a benchmark because they only receive a signal, not send one which requires different and more expensive equipment) which mean they can't compete with a fibre network.

 

[Major]

For example, I work at a 7 days per week business where there are at least 30 people working in any given day. If each worker saves one measly minute a day by having faster Internet then over a year the company will benefit to the tune of over 180 hours where staff can be productive rather than waiting for emails, Internet or intranet pages to load (among other things). For a business like ours this is a very conservative estimate and the benefit is hardly inconsequential.

A great theory but I'm willing to bet that the staff will use any time saving to access AFF and other social media sites rather than diligently contribute to the company's productivity

 

[Moody]

. The voters aren't mugs.

Now why would you want to wreck your carefully crafted anti-Labour diatribe with that preposterous statement!?!

 

[vetrade]

And everyone knows that Union Bosses are the real enemy (or was that boat refugees, or muslims, or bad teachers ..... I get so confused!!!)

The 457 system works when it is being used to fill shortages in skilled labour, and doesn't work when it is being rorted for cheap and disposable workers. I expect the former far outweighs the latter, but as has been mentioned before... a few unscrupulous employers can really screw the pooch and give the scheme a bad name.

Moody, could I suggest that your confusion is entirely the result of your own intellectual shortcomings and quite independent of anything I wrote in my post. To help your comprehension can I point out that I made no reference, actual or inferred, to union bosses, boat refugees, Muslims or bad teachers – and I am unaware of ever referring to any of those groups in any of my posts in this forum. I do not see any rational basis for you to introduce such a line of commentary about my post.

And since you have presumed incorrectly, can I state categorically that I do not regard any of these groups as “the enemy”; with the only exception being that, by definition, a “bad” teacher is the enemy of the children in our education system. You have demonstrated once again that creating imaginary enemies is predominantly a penchant of the Left.

The point of my post was to commend the achievements of those, like Pukka, (whose colour, nationality and religion I neither know nor care about) who have by all accounts, made a positive contribution to our country by creating significant employment for others. To me that is indicative of the ultimate success our immigration policies should strive for and something we should incentivize.

Although I suspect it was an inadvertent admission (or Freudian slip?) on your part it is pleasing that you have at least conceded that abuses of the 457 scheme are “few” and that the scheme is predominantly used as it was intended to be. After the fuss over nothing Julia made about 457’s this week maybe you should relay your thoughts to her office.

 

[Moody]

Moody, could I suggest that your confusion is entirely the result of your own intellectual shortcomings and quite independent of anything I wrote in my post. To help your comprehension can I point out that I made no reference, actual or inferred, to union bosses, boat refugees, Muslims or bad teachers – and I am unaware of ever referring to any of those groups in any of my posts in this forum. I do not see any rational basis for you to introduce such a line of commentary about my post.

And since you have presumed incorrectly, can I state categorically that I do not regard any of these groups as “the enemy”; with the only exception being that, by definition, a “bad” teacher is the enemy of the children in our education system. You have demonstrated once again that creating imaginary enemies is predominantly a penchant of the Left.

The point of my post was to commend the achievements of those, like Pukka, (whose colour, nationality and religion I neither know nor care about) who have by all accounts, made a positive contribution to our country by creating significant employment for others. To me that is indicative of the ultimate success our immigration policies should strive for and something we should incentivize.

Although I suspect it was an inadvertent admission (or Freudian slip?) on your part it is pleasing that you have at least conceded that abuses of the 457 scheme are “few” and that the scheme is predominantly used as it was intended to be. After the fuss over nothing Julia made about 457’s this week maybe you should relay your thoughts to her office.

I am coming to the firm opinion that supporters of the far right are not deliberately obtuse, but in fact are the real thing!

No-one is "the enemy", and I don't believe our treasurer perceives employers as such. But there are good and bad employers (just as their are good and bad citizens) and laws and regulations are forever being made and adjusted to protect and benefit us all. The "union bosses" and the rest were a poor attempt at sarcasm ..... poor because I overestimated the intelligence of the consumer.


And I'm sorry if my opinion of 457 visas does not fit your simplistic view of the "other side". I assure you it wasn't an "inadvertant admission" or a "Freudian slip", and I am quite happy to call out dog-whistling from either side. In fact it is one of the reasons I dispair at Labour these days - they have shown themselves to be no better than the opposition in the tastics they employ and we now have a choice in September between dumb and dumber. The only thing left to debate is which is which, and going by the intelligence of the respective supporters ..... actually I had better leave it there.

 

[Deleted member]

Don't the chairs on the Titanic get just a little bit wet shortly after the iceberg strike??

Nope, quite a while after actually. Hence the reason for the analogy.

 

[whatmeworry]

Interesting article about 456/457 visa rorting in Australian IT industry. I am sure there people on this forum that would have some similar experiences to the people that replied to the article.

456, 457 Temporary Visas in The Australian IT Industry Criticised

 

[drron]

Interesting article about 456/457 visa rorting in Australian IT industry. I am sure there people on this forum that would have some similar experiences to the people that replied to the article.

456, 457 Temporary Visas in The Australian IT Industry Criticised

Just look at the names in the article.
I know one major user of 457 visas in the IT industry and his operation is not like the one in that article.The 457 visa workers actually cost more.

 

[eastwest101]

Yes my partner is one of those "evil" 457 visa holders whom worked in healthcare and payed taxes, she's now working as a surgical nurse and is also a newly minted Australian citizen as of a few months ago. Imagine my embarrasment, as an australian citizen, of trying to explain to her why the whole 457 visa issue is even in the news now....

 

[Pushka]

It's only in the news as a Gillard diversion. Most people don't even understand it.

 

[TheEmu]

Yes my partner is one of those "evil" 457 visa holders whom worked in healthcare and payed taxes, she's now working as a surgical nurse and is also a newly minted Australian citizen as of a few months ago. Imagine my embarrassment, as an australian citizen, of trying to explain to her why the whole 457 visa issue is even in the news now....

Nurse Evil???

Seriously, Congratulations to the New Aussie on her new Aussie-ness! Welcome home

 

[cove]

There is nothing evil in people working in Australia and paying taxes. In fact with old Wayne Swan having his current net deficit at 21 billion and rising fast he is once again not within a bulls roar of the numbers he talked about just a few weeks ago.
Wayne needs all of you!

 

[amaroo]

Interesting article about 456/457 visa rorting in Australian IT industry. I am sure there people on this forum that would have some similar experiences to the people that replied to the article.

The funny thing is......the issuing of 457 visa have hit a huge peak under Gillard. Talk about campaigning against your own policy, team & party! Geez, can it get any worse?

Hypocrisy seems to be her only feature!

 

[Pushka]

So now Gillard is trialling 24 hour child care centres. A good thing. But has the child care standards industry been consulted? And who could afford to pay the workers shift payments?

 

[Skyring]

Front page news across Australia. Julia Gillard has publicly announced that her job is safe.