Marty_d

We can surely walk and chew gum at the same time. Yes there will be an opportunistic pile-on by the usual suspects, but that shouldn't stop us from calling out overly generous entitlements that do not reflect what the majority of people would consider fair. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-10/pollies-charge-taxpayers-for-family-travel/106122328

I have to pull you up on that. There is no equivalence. The facts are that Trump did exhort his insurrectionists to fight and made a heap of inflammatory statements to them. All TV programs cut sections out (imagine the run time if they didn't) but in terms of changing the facts, it didn't. And the BBC, instead of apologising, should have told him to f*ck off. If Sky News and ABC were soccer teams, the ABC is getting a red card for accidentally bumping another player, while Sky News gets it for machine-gunning the opposing team.

Make the travel rules the same as for the public service. @Jerry_Atrick while there is some truth in your post, it sounds like you were working for private companies. They can waste money however they like, or at least as much as the shareholders will put up with. The government is a different beast. We can't choose to be "shareholders", our taxes pay for everything they do. A higher standard is expected and should be adhered to. While no one is arguing that cabinet ministers should travel in economy, we should ask whether the benefits of the 6 minute speech outweigh the cost - ie should the last-minute fares have been purchased at all. That trip aside, the overly generous family travel should be scrapped. Yes they have to spend a lot of time in Canberra, but any FIFO worker does the same thing and doesn't get their family flown out to visit them. As for the sporting event tickets, and any other gifts from companies - this is something that wouldn't be acceptable in the APS and shouldn't be acceptable to politicians. I'm not just picking on Wells here, there's a lot that spend more, on every side of politics. They should all remember that 99% of the people they represent get a lot less income than them.

Base salary $233,660. As a cabinet minister she gets additional 72.5%, so add $169,403. Puts her a bees dick over $400k. Are you saying that someone on $400k, who already gets her own free travel and prime seat at any sporting event she wants, can't afford to pay for her family out of her own pocket?

She might be good, but if she's so disconnected to the general population that she thinks taking kids to ski trips and sporting events on the taxpayer dime, when she gets a substantial salary herself, is a good idea, she's either out of touch or greedy.

Yeah that one doesn't pass the sniff test in a cost of living crisis. I think if Albo reads the room he should cut her loose and tell his ministers that just adherence to the letter of the rules is not enough.

One of the better Trump cartoons I've seen Nicola Jennings on Putin’s dealings with Trump over Ukraine – cartoon https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2025/dec/07/nicola-jennings-putin-dealings-trump-ukraine-cartoon?CMP=share_btn_url

Hopefully he thinks it's a suppository.

My wife mentioned today that her friend calls her daughter "Dodo", and said "What kind of person calls their grown daughter Dodo??" Quickly I said "Maybe their ex stinks?" Got a laugh, for once!

Yep - almost too hot Friday, got the wood heater lit today. That's Tassie for you.

F*ck him. A more useless bag of shit never drew breath.

Mini by the looks of it

The AFL are generously giving the project a whole $15m, or around 1%. The taxpayer is providing the other 99%. Putting on my Nostradamus goggles, I predict that the AFL and any other private companies involved will see a return on investment, whereas all losses will be borne by the rest of us.

Well they passed the stadium. Only this bunch of losers (and I lump together both major parties and the spineless independents who voted yes) could take leave of their senses, bend the entire state over a barrel, and pimp our collective arse to the AFL. Only they could ignore the planning experts and every economist, all of whom comprehensively rejected this monstrosity, and approve something which will cost well over $1b, bring in revenue of less than half of that, dominate the historic Hobart waterfront, and has no parking or public transport. Oh, and when in use will block up traffic on the busiest street in the city. At a time when Tasmania is already holding historic levels of debt, just been downgraded by S&P, and is crying out for staff and services in health, education and justice. This guy puts it better than I ever could. Victoria, stop complaining about your state government, I think we've got it worse right now. https://www.crikey.com.au/2025/12/04/tasmania-macquarie-point-stadium-cost/

Did you at least bring home a haunch of venison?

Maybe he uses the equivalent of an autopen...

Steve Cropper has played his last riff. Co writer of Dock of the Bay and acted in the Blues Brothers movie. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-04/steve-cropper-dies-aged-84/106100460

No, but it might show a brain about the size of a walnut.

You can think whatever you like, whether it's right or wrong. But if you turn up to a rally railing against people who got here about a minute after your family, while you're wearing clothes made in Bangladesh, shoes from the Philippines, sunnies, flag and MAGA cap from China... Well then I reserve the right to call you a bloody dickhead. How Australian is that?

5th generation! What's that, about 150 years? I reckon to the folks that were living here for somewhere between 45,000 and 60,000 years, that's a flash in the pan. My mum's family have been here for about the same time, my dad came from Sri Lanka in 1955. Was he less Australian than her? If not, then why is the person who got here from Afghanistan last Tuesday any less Australian than you?

Here's a refreshing story about a (for now) multi-millionaire. If only Musk and the other kleptocrats were like this. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-30/rich-heiress-giving-away-all-her-wealth/106077200

Bullshit.

How is that different from what I said?

Excessive nationalism puts me off. When you think about it clear-headedly we're a reasonably young (apart from the original inhabitants) immigrant country. We don't have a thousand years of culture, our own language, a national dish, etc etc. Our population is based on waves of English, Chinese, Dutch, German, Greek, Vietnamese, Italian, African, Islander and a whole bunch of other people, plus of course Indigenous Australians. The keynote songs and poetry we hold up as Australian were written by men that probably considered themselves English. Our system of laws is heavily based on England's and in name we're still subjects of England's king. Even our flag contains the UK's flag in the corner. When it comes to Americanism, even our first "local" car, the Holden FX, was heavily based on US cars. Clothing styles, music, popular culture and fast food have been based on US trends since at least post WWII. That's not to say we haven't got runs on the board, with vibrant Australian music, sport, theatre and literature. We have one of the world's best democracies, social services, and health care. Our education system is still excellent although unfortunately (in the case of universities) more focused on revenue than research. But to wave some mythical "uniqueness" around and try to block outside influences is pointless. Like those idiots that go around wearing Australian flags and protesting about immigration, not seeing the irony that we're all immigrants and those flags were made in China. Instead of closing off and looking inwards, like a backwards Trumpist country, we should be eagerly looking at everything that everyone else does, and taking the best ideas and using them ourselves. Someone actually makes billionaires pay tax? Let's use that. Someone's public hospital system has lower wait times? Let's see what they're doing differently and use it. Someone's school attendance and retention scores are higher than ours? What are they doing differently? Someone's prison recidivism rates are lower? Let's have a look at their justice system and see what we can steal. I don't mind bringing in best practice, no matter where it comes from. Good American movies and TV shows? Bring them on. What I do object to is bringing in the worst of other cultures. Privatisation of health care? F**k right off. Multinationals that pay no tax in Australia? No thanks. American gun culture? Jam it up your arse and pull the trigger.

Ah yes IMAS. I was thinking of the Australian Maritime College which is up north.