Month: September 2011

Penny Wong’s Greek Gift


The report that Finance Minister Penny Wong has plans to withdraw hundreds of millions of dollars from the Future Fund is most disturbing. There appears to be no reason for such plans safe to keep intact Labor promise for a surplus budget in 2012. This appears to be wanton and reckless behaviour that tells us our worries that Labor Governments are more fiscally irresponsible are not astray.

When Peter Costello set up the fund, the understanding was that no withdrawal can be made unless actuarial advice is that the liability arising from public sector superannuation obligations would be fully funded. This advice has yet to be given in fact the current advice is that for the 2012 budget, the liability would not be funded.

So why is Penny Wong and her boss the discredited and unwanted Julia Gillard, so hell bent on this course of action? Australians should be up in arms and say to this government to stop messing with our future. First the carbon tax to wreak uncertainty on the economy, now this banditry of a raid on our future fund.

While not every one of us has a direct interest in this fund, undermining the future fund would do serious damage to the government’s sovereign financial rating which would in turn send our country down the Grecian path with similar tragic outcomes. Hands off the future fund!

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Well Done Stosur!


It was great to watch Samantha Stosur emphatically defeat Serena Willams this morning, to win the 2011 US Open. I’m sure Serena Williams would have wanted what would have been an emotional victory, with the 10th Anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. As is often the case however, little Australia peeks up and stakes its place in the world, punching way above its weight.

Well done, Stosur – what a great champion you are!

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Beauty at my doorstep


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Thomson and Friends – More Gillard Woes


Craig Thomson was exonerated by the NSW Police. Or was he? The police investigation simply found that there was no evidence to suggest the credit card in question was used illegally. Craig Thomson had earlier suggested it wasn’t him who used the card to pay for prostitutes, implying the card was used by someone else. This was where the illegality could have resided – it could have been a credit card fraud offence. The fact that there was no suggestion that the card was fraudulently used simply confirmed Craig Thomson did use the card to pay for prostitutes, contrary to his denial. So in a funny way, the “exoneration” actually implicated Craig Thomson – not for any criminal conduct for in relation to using union money for an improper purpose.

Craig Thomson said he would provide a full statement to the parliament, but did not say when.

HSU members should no doubt be up in arms that union officials can be allowed to use their hard earned money for personal benefits and for despicable peccadilloes no less. The likes of Thomson continue to tar the image of unions and its officials.

The more recent story of Michael Williamson being accorded favours by Gilleland and his printing business surely does the image of unions and its officers absolutely no favours. The “Health Standard” must be one of the most glossy union newsletters around and “Communigraphix” probably need to maintain the gloss to continue operating out of the northern beaches of Sydney.  The continuing silence of these union mob can be telling. I often dislike the saying “there is no smoke without fire”, as it can be easy to create smoke in order to create the impression of a fire, but in this case, I have a feeling most would that saying its usual meaning and unless Thomson and Williamson both responded vigorously, they will do themselves, and the Labor Party absolutely no good whatsoever.

 

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LBJ at Bob Sacker Oval off Mahoney’s


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It was another crisp early spring late arvo at the oval across the road from our house and LBJ was having a whale of a time with about a dozen other dogs. He’d run around with the other dogs for a bit then follow me as I walk the parameter of the oval. We dont have too big a window to do this as it gets dark a bit after 6 and I have to get home to get dinner ready for Tress and Kiddo, but we both enjoy this time tremendously. Soon the cricket would be starting so we may not get to use the oval as often too.  At just over 2 years of age, Scruffy is no longer the youngest fellow there.  I started to get to know the other dog owners when Kiddo started getting busy with school work (VCE is only less than 2 months away now) and can’t get Scruff out as often. Last couple of days I found myself looking forward to our walks – probably no where as much as the little black jedi but it was enough to prod me along.

PS – calling Scruff “LBJ” and saying we were at the oval, sort of gave WordPress the impression this piece is about “All the way with LBJ” and the Oval Office… hilarious!

 

New Model Needed (Brilliant Skit)


If the ABC was Relevant (Part 44) (a John Clarke, Bryan Dawes skit).

(The  Customer)

[Scene: A car yard. BRYAN is perusing the stock.  He is approached by  JOHN]

John:  Morning! Looking for a new car?

Bryan:  Nope. Prime Minister, actually.

John:  You’re the third one this morning. Anything in  mind?

Bryan: You  know…….. nothing fancy, reliable, economical family model.  Something to get the country from A to B.

John: You  mean like a Howard?

Bryan:  Yeah….a little Johnny. Nothing flash, does the job. Low  maintenance, economical, sensible. Runs for years, no  troubles.

John:  So…. you used to have one?

Bryan:  Yeah. About 10 years. Great little model – don’t know why I got rid  of him – biggest mistake I’ve ever  made ….

John: What  happened?

Bryan:  Traded him in for a Kevin 07.

John: Big  mistake…

Bryan: Lot  of people bought it. Good political mileage.

John: How  was the Kevin 07?

Bryan:  Came with a $900 factory rebate – that was  good.

John:  Anything else?

Bryan: Not  much. Sounded nice but nothing under the bonnet. It was a  lemon.

John:  Didn’t stick around for long did it?

Bryan: Nah  – had a factory recall. Shipped overseas and was never seen  again.

John: What  was the problem?

Bryan:  Lots. But the final straw was the navigation system. Plug it in and it automatically loses its own way.

John:  Whatcha got now?

Bryan:  It’s a Gillard-Brown.

John: The  hybrid?

Bryan:  Yeah. The Eco-drive system – not a good idea. An engine that can’t deliver hooked up to a transmission stuck in permanent  reverse…

John:  Green paintwork with a red interior. And steering that always  lurches to the left for no apparent reason – that’s the  one?

Bryan: The Fustercluck model.

John: The only one they made, Bryan.  Not the vehicle of choice for the road to  recovery – but did they finish up fixing the navigation system?

Bryan:  Made it worse.  Turn it on and it does a press release, heads off in  all directions and goes nowhere.

John: So that’s why you’re here?

Bryan:  That’s right. I’m stuck with a government that’s wasteful,  expensive, ineffective and past its use by date.  I don’t suppose  you’ve heard of the “Cash for Clunkers” scheme?

John: Join  the queue brother.

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Retail Tailing Off?


I was in the Dick Smith outlet in Box Hill earlier today, looking for an adapter for a very old printer in our office. I could not find the adapter so I thought I’d ask one of the 2 shop assistants I saw in the shop. Neither of them showed any interest in serving me, even though I was standing right at the front of the reception, making it as obvious as I could, that I was waiting for help. I stood and waited for easily 10 minutes. One of those 2 shop assistants was behind the reception counter on the phone, obviously on a personal call. He could not have missed me, the only person waiting at the counter at that time. When he finished the call, he walked away from the counter and went to the back of the shop. It wasn’t until about 5 minutes had passed before he came back to the reception counter. I wonder if both the workers were hoping I would go away after waiting for a few minutes. As it turned out, my near 20 minute wait was futile as all it took for one of them to finally attend to me, was less than a minute to say to me the adapter wasn’t available.

It is the same with the Myer Forest Hill Chase store. For as long as they have existed (since taking over the Harris Scarfe store), they are one of the worst Myer outlets I know. The service is near non-existent and when you do get service, it is the most unfriendly type.

Ditto the Gazman outlet at The Glen shopping center in Glen Waverley. You either get no service or when you do, you get the most unfriendly, almost rude service.

So why is there a prevalence of bad service in retail outlets? You hear complaints on talkback radio but it is only when I put my own recent bad experiences that I realise it isn’t an isolated or aberration of a problem. It looks like the trend now.

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Home Reno? Forget Supa


We’ve been toying with the idea of renovating our home, as opposed to looking for another one. The idea was to get ourselves a place with another living area. A house down the street from us  just had something done and we liked what we saw so we asked them to come around to discuss some design ideas and get a feel of the budget involved.

Extensions Unlimited had someone ring me, came over, and provided great service in terms of letting me know what’s involved, what’s possible and what’s not advisable, etc. The professionalism and courtesy from them was terrific and if I do proceed, they would definitely be considered.

Having heard about the SupaGroup on the radio, I thought I’d also contact them. They rang, we teed up an appointment and all was looking ok until I got a call from a Sales Rep, basically saying the job’s not what they usually do. They tried to be polite about it but the bottom line really is, the job’s not big enough for them. This sounded really strange, especially if you look at this page which describes what they do. The Sales Rep had said SupaGroup doesn’t do renovations, just extensions. Yeah, that’s right.  I mean, have a look at this page – on SupaGroup website:

Renovations

Why move when you can renovate ?

The home you are living in is most likely the home your family has grown up in.  It’s been the scene of so many unforgettable family parties and events.  Your driveway is probably the place where your children took their first wobbly bike ride, and your street has become familiar as the back of your hand.

Why would you every want to move ?  Particularly now that Supa Group Constructions can help turn the house you’re living in now into the dream home you have always wanted.

Our designers willcreate practical and stylish proposals that:

  • Maximise space
  • Effectively fuse your existing floor plan with the new renovation
  • Satisfy your everday usage needs
  • Captures the ambience of your existing home
  • Creates a setting for a new lifestyle specifically based on your ideas and Dreams

We have been thinking about converting our car port into a double garage, creating a front entrance, and building a new rumpus where our deck on the side lawn now sits. These are the main works, and at the back our minds, we were also thinking another bathroom. Sure, it may not be massive work but aren’t these sort of works precisely those within the sort of stuff described in their website? Why agree to an appointment and then call to basically say sorry your job’s too small, albeit euphemistically conveyed? All of the goodwill possibly generated by their promotional expenses on radio etc just got shot in a 2 minute conversation. Even if Supagroup provides a superior quote for me, I’d have to now think really hard before I would even contemplate going with them. Supagorup has a really strange sales practice. Not bad, not unethical, just really weird PR approach. Maybe it was just the Sales Rep being lazy. Never mind, just cross SupaGroup off my list – hopeless group, not supa for sure.

Marriage and Family – Dont LIke The Old Model? Think Again


Gay Couple with child
Image via Wikipedia

A report by a family law professor has found “…adverse impacts on Australian children of the rapid changes in family structure, including the rise in parental separation due to divorce and the breakdown of co-habiting relationships.”

See the news articles here and here.

That law professor is Patrick Parkinson from Sydney University and was a key policy advisor which shaped the Family Law Act 2006. The report was commissioned by the Australian Christian Lobby and you’d expect sneers arising from this to suggest somehow the report may therefore carry less weight but any reasonable consideration must not ignore the expertise Professor Parkinson brings to the subject.

I’ll make the obvious extension to same sex relationships. I have alluded to this in earlier entries, going back some years now, but it needs to be said again. We don’t know yet what the abandonment of traditional nucleus family of a heterosexual relationship, legally married, does to the well being of children and society as a whole. This model for a nucleus family is being abandoned principally to accommodate individuals who prefer to decide for themselves what is – or feels – right. That appears to be no different to what Eve and then Adam did in the Garden of Eden. It’s the age-old issue of rebellion against God and putting ourselves up as gods instead. Some call that sin.

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IPCC – Religious Sect or Scientific Community?


Global Warming
Image by mirjoran via Flickr

The climate change question is starting to look really farcical to me. If anyone – especially a lay person – is really interested in finding out if there really is global warming caused by human beings, at least of the sort which requires major modification to our industries and consumption, he can do a lot worse than start at this site (“Watts Up With That?”).

The scientists at IPCC are more politicians – the sort who elbow each other in a corporate environment to jostle for pole positions – than scientists. They stack peer review committees with fellow converts, and would not admit any views from the other side, even when such views are presented in normal scientific papers with normally accepted standards. If you only preach and listen to the converts, these puppies are more akin to climate change high priests of a closely guarded sect than an open scientific community.

At best, it is an issue for which the jury is still well and truly out. Why wreck the economy and livelihoods for this rubbish?

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