Category: Lifestyle

Tunnel Overprice Pressures Taxpayers Old Network

When Tunnel Trend engulfed the Brisbane and Ipswich population with the promise of easing congestion and in key areas I was keen to use the facilities whenever I crossed the into the big smoke as it did save time and pricing compared with fuel usage in gridlock was balanced and at times cheaper.Now days the maths to use the tunnels does not add up. It costs the motorist about 3-4 litres of fuel pending on prices to use the facility one way which averages about 30-40 kilometres for the modern car so it’s no wonder the tunnels are under utilised by the average driver. 

Maybe it’s their business plan to attract heavier Class 3 trucks but my experience tells me that they too are back to the conventional routes across the river.

In Class 2 normal cars and Utes the $10 plus fee return buys a lot of fuel and will do nothing to ease congestion, the reason for the tunnels initially, and I appreciate costs have to be recovered but we are not Europe, nor lazy, and while prices outweigh practically it will be long time before any yield on investment. Meanwhile the taxpayers are funding the old existing road network that is carrying the weight of privateers mismanagement again. 

Shipyard/Yungabar Culture needed Australia Day and Beyond. 

As a starry eyed 15 year old apprentice in the 60’s I learnt how important it was to get on with migrants so we could get the job done.Evens Deakin shipyard was a stones throw from Yungabar hostel, the gateway for the future of thousands worldwide who’s first job was at the Yard as tradesmen, iron workers, dockers all thrown together and supported by the trade unions to ensure they weren’t ripped off.

That culture has stayed with me to this day, accepting and learning from people from all walks, religions, culture, which later was called multiculturalism. 

Today however politicians see gain in divide for self preservation. The media take the easy way report the spiel and not question the motive which in time adds up to toxic battle lines being drawn by extreme groups making their own properganda made easy by social media platforms.

Sadly now the media has now been segregated into factions of right and left so where do the people go to get the unbiased balanced truth to make up our own minds? It should be our ABC but politics again is blackmailing that, in the name of “efficiency” by cutting funding to areas that compete with outlets that support the government. 

The slogan “We will tell you what we think you need to know” is dangerous to democracy and has exasabated the racial debate not necessarily by unbiased journalists but slant required to appease owners. 

With Australia Day pending I hope we see a responsible media, that accepts their are differences of opinion, yet rises above ignorance and hate and does it bit to educate as we did as part of our normal days work with the New Australians from Yungabar. 

Royal Commission into Turnbulls Fake NBN. 

As a former TELSTRA worker in the time when when the Australian people actually owned the network it truly annoys me when I watch the debacle we have been forced to accept by this federal government with their fake NBN. Not withstanding the actual rollout issues, the elderly in particular are being screwed as the battery exchanges are decommissioned and the equipment used will have to be upgraded if it’s not NBN friendly. The 24 hour battery backup promised if a outage occurred has disappeared and mobiles will be required in emergencies all at the customers cost. 

It’s now conceded the capacity promised and payed for cannot be delivered over the copper/fibre network and refunds are being progressed. I will make the point this is not the carriers fault, it was a design issue that was deliberately impregnated to reduce the capacity to maintain the current cable monopoly, and knowing exactly what could have been delivered to what is being delivered frustrates many of us who were educated in fibre networks on the initial roll outs nationally. 

Progressing the network in its present design is a time bomb as it will collapse when the unmaintained copper fails and we the consumer will have to pay to install the fibre gap. 

It’s becoming obvious by our crashing in world standings on fibre capacity delivery that this network is a total dud and we need to set up a entity of communication professionals supported by a Royal Commission to investigate and re strategise delivery quality, ahead of political pay backs. 

 

 

Can A Mature Australia accept a Cannabis Joint? 

At last penny has dropped, or should it be the bong. For years supporters of Cannabis and its benefits have been echoed around the world and Australia has put its head in the bush fearing a backlash from drug companies and other commercial interests including the “legal” recreational drug industries.   

The medical benefits has been well documented for decades, the social use has cost the nation billions of dollars in policing, court costs, incarceration where all that was required was to legalise it, then control production and outlets and as they do in Europe then make room for the early revenue stream in regulation and distribution that will fall off over time as the novelty wears off. 

Yes overindulgence will occur by a minority as it does in “legal” substances however that overindulgence will then be transparent and therefore monitored where its hidden or recategorised at present. 

Small steps some say with medical recognition however I feel the real issue is usage that has been around for centuries and will continue so will we seize the moment or continue to be ruled by industries that have vested drug interest in monopolies both medical and recreational, and let our law keepers get on with catching and dealing with higher priority offences. 

Companions are Companions Regardless

The importance of companion animals to the disabled cannot be overstated , regardless of the disability. Unfortunately though the category of “companion animal” is a very specific category which is extended to dogs and cats while other species are exempt, therefore cannot be taken into public places with the same freedoms. 

People confined indoors due to disability physical or mental health often can only afford smaller species like parrots, birds, and even reptiles which enrich their day to day existence are challenged sometimes by the uneducated or the over officious when they choose to bring their bonded pride and joy into public view which then send them further into darker places. 

Questions of how these pets can be given equal status after the appropriate medical benchmarks of dependability are met were directed to government and was responded with legislative changes would have to go through court at the applicants expense. Not a appropriate response from someone in the disability profession I would have thought, but probably factual. 

I’m certain their are many disabled with mini pets would venture out more often and life style enhanced if their soul mates were accepted as is our loved furry four legged kids.

News Corps Moral Compass $$ Driven 

To many of us particularly those with kids in sport cringe when we see gambling and alcohol adverts during major sporting broadcasts. 

We have seen the clear evidence where betting has corrupted players, officials and entire codes so why are my alarm bells ringing when I read News Corp are signing off with a mega deal with a major world wide betting conglomerate when they have subsidiary companies running and influencing AFL and NRL codes.

These codes have been plagued with controversy with betting, drug and salary capping , match fixing issues in the past and this move will do nothing to cleaning up the reputations of these codes and officials who are trying desperately to put out fires and clean up their act. 

Yes business is business and News Corp sinking share in the marketplace in core news has to be supplemented in other ways but the marriage of sports that set influence on our kids values and link that to gambling is not socially nor morally acceptable

Time for The Soccerroos to hand in their Flop Dolls.

The World Cup in Russia is high on my agenda for 2018, however I am not liking what I am seeing in Australian football at present.The power struggle in the board rooms I believe impacted on Ange Postacoglious decision to leave the national job, which in turn will effect our preparations regardless who is appointed for the campaign in Russia. 

Secondarily I believe it’s now time our Soccerroos to create a Australian style of football that will make the other nations think twice when we run on the park.

Looking at the Aleague we are playing exactly like the European flop dolls and the commentary endorsing yellow cards for petty little knocks is not creating good roll models for our new talent. 

We screamed when Italy flopped and sent us home yet we are now doing exactly the same thing week in week out in the Aleague. We would do well to take a leaf from the Matilda’s book on “Manning Up” when we challenge in attack and defence. 

This idea of being so precious can remain with other codes as with true professionals 3 matches on 11 days is common place and fitness levels are expected to cope.

The positive perspective is all data on the Australian squad will be questionable with the new coach appointment and a change in style is a advantage but the spy’s will be at work once the appointment is confirmed. 

And thirdly to be totally realistic we will struggle if we play the same cards so our new coach must have a shock factor as did Hiddink and create the culture that brings a fear factor to the Soccerroos with skill, determination and passive aggression, not the bozo type but the type that lets the opposition know they are in for a match for 90 minutes. Mental strength and physical strength that will force the opposition to question their own abilities. 

I see some of that in some players in our Aleague today, a trait that was common in past years before we got soft but in really it boils down to the referees booking players for simulation and realising football is a contact sport. 

Voter Ignorance stymies Democracy. 

Democracy is tough and gauging the limits of ignorance of the electorate was clearly demonstrated when that punter was shattered when they could not vote for a person that was not on the voting form and didn’t care or know the structure of the party they were so passionate to support. As the count continues that ignorance is highlighted across all electorates as the informal vote in the 3 seats contested in Ipswich is over 4301 (no it’s not a post code) but it’s people who for one reason or another distance themselves from the responsibility that people have given their lives for and others that are dying to have the right. 

You can be sure those who copped out are the same who whinge that politicians are useless, the same, and the countries going backwards or just blame Joanne Miller. 

The fact is that informal vote can change governments, a state or nations direction, employment and health outcomes and it’s a wonder as most of us were surprised that last Friday was Black Friday that no one contacted the QT and complained Trump was not on the voting slip.   

Women’s Sport fights for Equality. 

It’s quite clear women’s equality has still away to go in Australia be it in the workplace or the Sporting arena.The Channel 9 bean counters have decided the Australian Women’s Test is not commercially viable to broadcast on television so again women’s sport is treated as second class. 

This Australian Women’s team is outperforming its male counterparts in the green and gold on the world stage consistently, while our Australian Men’s team fall from a Icon  every Australian knew, to a team nobody knows what game their playing let alone a Test.

If Channel 9 can’t or won’t deliver coverage their contract to the game should be terminated or we have to ask why they were given the contract knowing selective coverage only was involved and was the Australian Cricket Board agreeable to that segregated coverage? 

The decision of selling broadcast rights should not include the games soul as we have seen other sports give up their soul and bend to rule changes to accommodate advertising which eventually overshadows the actual sporting spectacle. 

Try telling supporters in nations like Germany, England and other European countries they can’t watch their national teams play be it men or women in any sport that tv outlet would be broke within a week as advertisers would desert for their own survival as they have the broadband network competition and capacity available to free to air and pay. 

Let’s start by getting our Sporting Souls back and not talk about our NBN. 

The Ethical Delema revealed by Paradise Papers. 

It should be noted the release of the Paradise Papers is not only a accolade to investigative journalism but a triumph to commitment and teamwork of journalists worldwide to work for transparency of the high flyers.The rhetoric of tax dodging over avoidance and its legalities has been highlighted however the ethical position of paying taxes back to the country where it was earned has been downplayed in favour of shareholder returns. 

The most disappointing revelation to me is some superannuation companies are big players in the avoiding game indicating the investment settings within our country need to be changed. 

If we could harness our own money and taxes from going overseas and invest in infrastructure like hospitals, schools, aged care facilities, transport, energy production for example, our employment level, standard of living would benefit and profits would return and stay home and the national debt would be paid off forthwith.

We need a strong government that will change those settings in flavour of Australia and Australians which will never happen while big business pays the piper to play its tune as it is presently. 

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