willedoo

Suckerbook really knows how to annoy people. Went to log in tonight and they now have a Google security thing going. First you have to check a box to tell a robot that you're not a robot. Then you have to do a series of those things where you click on all the squares with pedestrian crossings or cars or motorbikes. I had to do about four or five of them.

I just looked it up. Tasmania does have a pension or eligible concession card holder discount for one vehicle only, $60 for a car or $55 for a bike and an insurance discount as well. I don't know whether they class an over 60 senior's card as eligible. In Queensland a senior's card is elegible, a 50% discount on the registration component which is about $140 p.a. saved. https://www.concessions.tas.gov.au/concessions/vehicles

Marty, I thought in Tasmania there's no pension discount but pensioners can have a second vehicle rego free. That was a few years ago I was told that and it might not be right. If it is, it would only be the registration component free, not the insurance and any other charges.

That's a good deal Nev. With Origin I'm paying 35 cents/kWh and $520 connection fee. I don't use much power so it's not a big expense, about $25 per week all up. A lot cheaper than council rate charges which is about $35 per week.

It will be interesting on Saturday night to see how One Nation goes in South Australia. Despite all the talk, I don't think they're confident of picking up any lower house seats. As a consolation, if they get a good primary vote and fall short on preferences, it would be a financial windfall for them under SA's new electoral laws considering they're running candidates in every seat.

I looked it up, Kidmans own this one. It matches Pauline's hair.

It's a long time since I've been in a 172, but I think you're right. They could pull a couple of seats out of a 206 and leave Cory on the ground.

It might be one of Kidman's mustering 172s. The pilot and Pauline in the front, Cory and Gina in the back.

Gina has lent Pauline a Kidman plane to fly around SA campaigning.

Our domestic production has had a fairly brief history. Our first commercial oil field was discovered late in 1961. Before that we imported everything. We don't have a lot of heavy crude, but some of the oil from the Cooper and Surat basins is like ready made diesel. Santos used to fill their Toyotas with it under some excise agreement with the government. I'm not sure what type of fuel filters they used, but standard ones clog up fairly quick. A lot of our oil is not economical to extract.

Mining industry backing is a natural for Canavan as mining aligns with his economic beliefs. Just as union backing aligns with Labor party beliefs. He's one to watch and in his case it's an over simplification to pidgeon-hole him. He's got a fairly diverse background. Started out as a communist in high school and uni, got disillusioned with that (the communism, not uni), went on to get an economics degree, worked as an economist for the productivity commission and as a KMPG executive, then Barnaby's chief of staff before entering the senate under the LNP. He has the ability to think things through a lot better than Littleproud, which wouldn't be hard to do.

The LNP is an odd siuation. It was Lawrence Springborg's baby but I don't kow if it's been of any great electoral advantage in Queensland, maybe, maybe not. The Liberals were never big here. By convention, federal LNP members from Queensland sit with the party that traditionally held that seat, either Liberal or National, but I don't think there's any rules holding them to that. As time has gone by and with electoral boundary changes it might have blurred a bit in the city seats. Bearing in mind Littleproud is an LNP member, it's hard to work out his reasoning in breaking the coalition twice in recent times. Even though they are separate parties federally, the Queensland amalgamation put Littleproud in the situation of damaging his own party. Little wonder he's gone. Canavan is a lot smarter by streets and knows an unhappy coalition couldn't win a chook raffle. Something Littleproud failed to grasp.

The one to watch will be the Farrer by election. Labor is not fielding a candidate as it's unwinnable for them and they want their votes to go to the Climate 200 independant to beat One Nation. Most commentators are tipping One Nation will miss out on preferences.

I think with Dutton, they shot themselves in both feet. It will take a long time to shake that off. It wasn't a winning formula - elect one of the most unpopular politicians in the country as their leader.

All the hysterics aside, they'll be back. Just not next time.

That's their job. It's been the formula for success of every non-Labor government since 1923.

The way parties are shaping up in Australia, a first past the post voting system would possibly spell the end of the two party your turn/my turn system. It would be a bit more like some Europen countries where they need to form broad coalitions to govern. Going by current poll figures, a party like One Nation could swoop up heaps of seats around Australia under a first past the post system. In that case, a lot of people on the left would suddenly become big fans of preferential voting.

In Queensland a motorcycle costs around $630 per year in total. That's $140 registration, $70 traffic improvement fee and around $430 compulsory third party insurance. I think single seat rego knocks about $100 off the insurance. As far as I know, the fees are the same for all sizes of motorcycle.

She'll have to dye her hair maroon in that case. It's a bit too orange to claim ownership of footy here in Qld..

The Nationals trying to tackle One Nation:

Diesel is $2.80 here this morning, about 40 cents dearer than unleaded.

This is rare - someone has actually reduced their annual fees this year. The RACQ has reduced my membership plan fees by $20. This was at the head of the bill: 'Thank you for your continued trust in RACQ. We’re proud to support our members with dependable service and peace of mind on the road, wherever your journey takes you. As part of our ongoing commitment to delivering value and in response to ongoing cost of living pressures, we’ve reduced the price of our Roadside Assistance products. Whether you’re commuting locally or exploring Queensland’s hidden gems, we’re here to ensure you’re covered with reliable support and member-first value.' Most likely they've had a membership drop, no doubt due to those cost of living pressures they cite, and are doing this to encourage members to stay. Either way, it's a good thing to see.

The one I thought at first was a An-124 is definitely not so. It's an old Boeing 747-100 by the look of it. This article says the world's last operational 747-100 was destroyed in the strikes on the airport. https://www.sofx.com/israeli-strikes-destroy-worlds-last-operational-boeing-747-100-in-tehran/

Looking at the clearer photo in that Iranian link posted above, it doesn't look like any are stacked with a crane. It looks more like they all fit in with the varying height of the wings and tailplanes. Maybe the big one is a 747 and not an An-124.

From Google AI: 'Over 20 decommissioned, "cannibalized" aircraft have been parked at Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport for over a decade due to international sanctions, which hinder maintenance and parts procurement. Mehrabad International Airport also serves as a major graveyard, with satellite images showing damaged or abandoned planes from Boeing, Airbus, and other manufactures.' https://www.iranintl.com/en/202309292594