"I have cochlear implants and I can only buy parts to fix them or upgrade then from 1 #corporation bc of tech exclusivity. upgrades to get new processors for both ears cost $23k & insurance only covers 90% (and it’s “good” insurance)"
Fair enough. Maybe increase the House of Reps to 200 members, and the Senate to 100 (16 Senators per state, plus the four territory Senators). Or maybe go crazy and have 15 Senators per state (8 in one half-election, 7 the next), two for the NT, and 8 for the ACT. What do you think?
Number of federal MPs in Australia needs to rise. Here’s why
Our leaders, liberals, progressives, whether they be good people, bad people, mediocre people or total non-entities are one & all puppets of bad people.
A passing thought while I'm in Western Australia...
WA was never part of New South Wales, so 26 January 1788 - Sydney's foundation day - can have no meaning for it per se.
The only significance 26 January can have for this part of Australia is a celebration of the arrival of white settlers on the continent. So nothing to do with the modern nation state of Australia, and everything to do with white supremacy.
It really won't do as the date for a unifying national day.
@fuck_cars Something I wish Australia would change is laws prohibiting any vehicles between a 200W ebike and a full motorcycle. I'd get a lot of value from a 60kmph limited 1kW ebike. But currently to sell such a thing it would have to comply with all motorcycle requirements, and things like ABS on both wheels is really not required for such a device.a #AusPol#eBikes
PM says he's calling in the Israeli Ambassador to demand a full explanation. Don't call them in Albo, kick them out. There's no way Australia should continue as a friend and ally of Israel. They are a rogue state that has a long history of disdain for the rule of law and human rights. #auspol
I know I don't shut up about this but frankly not enough #people are angry about the 5-day/40 hour workweek (and I am AWARE a lot of people #work even more than that). I feel like a lot more people should be absolutely furious that we only really have two days a week and some occasional hours in the evening to socialise, run errands, do chores, or relax.
It's no wonder so many people are profoundly lonely and disconnected from their #communities when maintaining a social life in what little free time we have is incredibly difficult. If you have kids, a second #job, a very long commute, or other responsibilities, it's nearly impossible.
We literally aren't meant to live like this and I'll never stop being shocked how many people just take it as the natural state of things and don't want to throw a brick through a #billionaire's window every time they think of it.
"The gas giants won’t have to explore for new gas fields themselves. Santos, Woodside, Origin, Chevron, BP and Shell won’t have to spend a cent looking for new deposits — you’ll be paying for it instead.
Heading out to fill my bike for a meandering ride to Westbury. I guess I’ll vote and get a democracy sausage before I’ll head off. It feels somber, like a funeral #Auspol#Referendum
Looking suspicious:
Police killing of a person for the crime of being sunsmart, and going out to buy an energy drink, and running from someone who grabbed him by the elbow from behind.
We really need a commission of inquiry into Police use of firearms, non-lethal weapons, interpersonal rapport-building and negotiating skills, and martial arts -
compared with international benchmarks.
Sigh. The article is far, far too charitable towards watchful waiting (ie conversion therapy with a nicer name) and ROGD (or moral panic pretending to be a clinical label). But I suppose I should be grateful that at least one media outlet in Australia is actually covering the influx of anti-trans activism into medical care. Contrary to the indifference and blithe overconfidence of cis progressives in this country who seem to think it only happens in the US and UK, it’s happening here too. #auspol
What a nightmare couple of years that was, mercifully over quickly.
And how petty can you get? Read this bit - what a pathetic individual: "Abbott’s chief-of-staff turned Sky News incendiary, Peta Credlin, roused the crowd: 'Like all good Liberal functions, no Welcome to Country!'"
Liberals gather to celebrate 10 years since Tony Abbott’s election win
So despite climate change, Australia's federal government has just committed an extra $3.25 billion into building a toll road and a 20-lane freeway widening.
"Pouring an extra $3.25 billion worth of federal funds into Melbourne’s North East Link is a good use of taxpayer money, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has insisted, despite the project’s cost doubling just a few months ago.
...
"The North East Link – which includes 6½ kilometres of tunnels – will stretch from Bulleen to Greensborough. It will widen the Eastern Freeway by up to 20 lanes.
"Allan revealed in December that the 10-kilometre toll road had more than doubled in cost since it was first announced.
"The toll road was initially budgeted at $10 billion and reassessed in 2019 at $15 billion. But the government revealed last year that the updated cost estimate was $26 billion."
The saga of Waverley Park — Melbourne's car-dependent suburban AFL stadium with a planned seated capacity of over 150,000 (not a typo!)
A really good run down by @philip on the plans by the AFL (and its predecessor, the VFL) to build the world's largest stadium in outer-suburban Melbourne.
Unfortunately, a planned railway line past the stadium to Rowville was never built. That meant a massive 25,000-spot car park as the only real means to get there.
While most of it has been demolished and redeveloped for housing, the oval itself still used by Hawthorn Football Club as a training and administration centre.