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11
The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Cricket thread
Last post by Milhanna13 -
Quote from: Gointocarlton – on
Quote from: Milhanna13 – on


SEN made a decision on the fly to take talkback.  they hadnt been planning on doing it, but their text machine and socials were blowing up so much, that they announced  Finey's Final Siren  for the lunchbreak.     if that doesnt tell you what a sh1tshow that 1st session was, then i dont know what it says!!!
The caller calling for Starc's head was before a ball was bowled in the 3rd test.

that's great!!!   same as all those out there saying cummins has to be dropped - yeah, hasnt got a wicket in a few innnings, but the previous 2 years have been pretty amazing
12
The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Cricket thread
Last post by Gointocarlton -
Quote from: Milhanna13 – on
Quote from: Gointocarlton – on
Heard a caller on SEN last night saying Starc should retire. He's no good ya da ya da ya da. Nekminut 6 for.

SEN made a decision on the fly to take talkback.  they hadnt been planning on doing it, but their text machine and socials were blowing up so much, that they announced  Finey's Final Siren  for the lunchbreak.     if that doesnt tell you what a sh1tshow that 1st session was, then i dont know what it says!!!
The caller calling for Starc's head was before a ball was bowled in the 3rd test.
13
The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Cricket thread
Last post by Milhanna13 -
Quote from: Gointocarlton – on
Heard a caller on SEN last night saying Starc should retire. He's no good ya da ya da ya da. Nekminut 6 for.

SEN made a decision on the fly to take talkback.  they hadnt been planning on doing it, but their text machine and socials were blowing up so much, that they announced  Finey's Final Siren  for the lunchbreak.     if that doesnt tell you what a sh1tshow that 1st session was, then i dont know what it says!!!
14
The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Cricket thread
Last post by Professer E -
Our bowling in the first session was as bad as I've ever seen; lengths wrong, both sides of wicket and no apparent plan...minds clearly weren't on the job as shown by Head's blunder.  Smith pulling out clearly disrupted things and added to the confused state Australian cricket appears to be in at the moment - in squad selection, team selection, preparation and planning.
15
Blah-Blah Bar / Re: Shawny’s concerns about Victorian and Australian Governments
Last post by PaulP -
Quote from: Baggers – on
Perhaps an important question is how do people of low intellect, poor morality, zero emotional intelligence and seemingly deeply mired in anger/rage, such as PH (and Trump), get into these positions of influence in  the first place?

Not only do they negatively influence other discontented lost souls wherever they go, they grow anger, discontent, fear and ethical degradation. All they achieve is creating, merging and growing a movement of social decay... cheered on by emboldened malcontents.

I'd guess there's a few reasons. These types are riding a trendy wave, which is a global shift to the right, apart from rare exceptions here and there. Part of it is voters being dissatisfied with the major parties, justifiably or not. Her appeal is mostly to right wing types who are not happy with the Libs, and working class people in the outer suburbs who seem to believe that Labor has lost touch with their traditional roots. I'd guess country / rural types would also find the faux tough talk and simplistic solutions appealing, not that there's any actual solutions on offer. 5 minutes of critical thinking will reveal that at the heart of their value system is a moral and intellectual rot. People have been duped since time immemorial, and that will keep happening unless people wake up. Like the Simpsons episode where Homer discovers he has a half brother, and the half brother put Homer in charge of designing a car for the "average person." Unsurprisingly, it turns out to be a disaster, because solving complex problems requires a lot more than clowns. Be careful what you wish for.
16
Blah-Blah Bar / Re: Shawny’s concerns about Victorian and Australian Governments
Last post by shawny -
Quote from: madbluboy – on
I still think Labor will win. One Nation will steal more Liberal votes than Labor.






Libs will win with a majority and so they should. 12 years of the current clown act is well and truly enough and the voters know it this time.

The corruption and lies from this mob has gone on for long enough and everyone with even just a few functioning brain cells knows it and will vote accordingly

Even though the rusted on old Labor voters still trying to strike fear by saying Libs wont be any better, look at want Kennett did a quarter of a century ago, Libs may even be worse, careful want you wish for........ goes on and on and on.

Its their last ditch effort to impart so doubt when its all they have to cling to - well too much damage has been done to our once great state for that only remaining strategy to work on this occasion.


 
17
Blah-Blah Bar / Re: Shawny’s concerns about Victorian and Australian Governments
Last post by Thryleon -
Quote from: dodge – on
Quote from: Thryleon – on


Pauline appears to be doing enough to get herself a government pension which IMHO is all the politicians are interested in. 


As Pauline wasn't a member in 2004, she gets what the general public get (except super contributions are currently 15.4%).  No one has entered politics since 2004 for a government pension, as they don't exist.  Those that were in parliament prior to 2004 are still eligible for the old scheme.

You need to train google AI better:


Yes, they still get a significantly better deal than the average Australian.
While the days of the automatic, lifetime, six-figure pension are gone for politicians elected after October 2004, they still enjoy structural financial advantages that place them far ahead of a regular worker:

1. A Much Higher Superannuation Contribution Rate

Under the Parliamentary Superannuation Act 2004, modern federal politicians receive a 15.4% employer superannuation contribution.
• The Politician Rate: 15.4%
• The "Average Joe" Rate: 12% (the standard Superannuation Guarantee legislated for everyday Australian workers).
Note: This 15.4% rate matches the premium tier provided to career Commonwealth public servants, rather than the standard private sector.

2. The Power of a High Base Salary

Because superannuation is a percentage of earnings, the sheer size of a politician's salary creates a massive compounding advantage.
• As a base salary, a standard federal backbencher earns well over $200,000.
• A 15.4% contribution on that baseline means the government deposits over $30,000+ into their super fund every single year.
• For context, a worker on an average Australian salary of $100,000 receiving a 12% super rate gets just $12,000 a year. A politician generates a retirement nest egg at more than triple the pace.

3. Extra Contributions for Extra Roles

If a post-2004 politician becomes a Minister, a committee chair, or takes on an office-holder role, their salary increases. The 15.4% super contribution is paid on their total parliamentary salary, not just the base backbench rate.

4. Safety Nets Ordinary Workers Don't Get

If an ordinary worker loses their job, they rely on standard redundancy or JobSeeker. As mentioned, if a politician is voted out or loses party backing, they receive the taxpayer-funded Resettlement Allowance of up to $105,625 to cushion their transition [aph.gov.au].
Would you like to look closer at how much a specific political role earns overall, or see how state-level politicians' perks compare to the federal ones?



To go with all of that, here:

https://maps.finance.gov.au/pay-and-employment/parliamentarians/salary-parliamentarians

I used to be a health services worker, in the private sector.  Government employees are generally treated quite well, it scales up the more you earn. 
18
Blah-Blah Bar / Re: Shawny’s concerns about Victorian and Australian Governments
Last post by dodge -
Quote from: Thryleon – on


Pauline appears to be doing enough to get herself a government pension which IMHO is all the politicians are interested in. 


As Pauline wasn't a member in 2004, she gets what the general public get (except super contributions are currently 15.4%).  No one has entered politics since 2004 for a government pension, as they don't exist.  Those that were in parliament prior to 2004 are still eligible for the old scheme.
19
The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Cricket thread
Last post by Milhanna13 -
win the toss and what????   i know we are on the other side of the world, looking at it thru the teev.  but did anyone else see a straw colured deck and blue skies   and wonder what the hell captain pat was thinking??

some of the journos were saying it was a shot at the batsmen - cummins saying, well we know you wont fire, so us bowlers will have to take the initiative.  but then they came out and bowled p00.     odd start to the match.

then to wake up and find it had taken a couple of further odd turns.   

i guess this is why t20 will never really take over
20
Blah-Blah Bar / Re: Shawny’s concerns about Victorian and Australian Governments
Last post by Thryleon -
You can usually tell where this will land, based on how the parties behave. 

Labor are bumbling and fumbling their way to the election.  Have they stuffed up too much to bring this back?  Arguably.  Thing is, public sentiment is a bit fickle.  Labor voters are labor voters.  Pensioners, and public sector employees.  The kids at school and uni are also more likely to lean their way these days (perhaps its always been that way).   Have things deteriorated for these groups enough to say that people have had a gutful?  Probably not.  Its probably a generational thing where one party gains ascendancy and the other loses it.  Support for them goes with it, just depends where we are at as a whole.  Some see Labors recent economic policies as good.  Some see them as scoring an own goal.  To me, it spells tax grab, to others distribution or redistribution of wealth.  Personally, once something comes in, it really goes, so the genie is out of that bottle.  No putting it back in.  It all smells like a the government are attempting to claw back a lot of money spent, and then pointing the finger at the public for inflation is not helping their cause.  Most people I know are spending on needs not wants and rising costs everywhere is crippling everyone from what I can see.

The liberals.  The only real viable alternative.  They are currently on the attack, making sure everyone knows Labor's shortcomings.  There are enough there to be able to do this successfully.  Thing is, they often forget they need to offer solutions, not just point to problems.  I'm not seeing enough language to suggest that they truly doing anything that is revolutionary, even though they talk a big game, I cant tell you what they will change, and that they will make a difference.  Sentiment might be enough to get them in, it will be a somewhat phyrric victory with one stint in office, if they don't really come to the party with anything though and the geo political climate is one that seems like we are in for years of disruption.  They might win this fight and lose the next one because there is currently nowhere to go in the geo political economic climate and us being at the mercy of foreign interests.  They would do well if they suggest we become more self reliant, but sadly, we all know its too costly to do this as our labor force and regulations are too expensive to compete with foreign interests.  The costs of being an advanced economy that looks after its workforce.  That wont change.


The others.  

The Greens are labor lite.  Their votes generally end up preferences to labor, and this area is where a lot of the social norms are pulling towards regarding LGBTQ, Green energy, sentiment, et al.   If people have had enough of them as a whole, you will get that silent shift.  Thing is, people already at the greens, will likely shift to labor, and im forecasting that due to rising costs, and most of it on the usual green energy etc, they will swing from greens to labor if anything and still preference greens secondary, as thats a more natural progression.  We may have seen this last election actually already.

The independents.  Guns for hire.  They purport to be a disruptor, but they are silently on board with one or the other, and a vote for them is all about the preference vote, and ensuring that the government cant do much more harm as they have to win over more seats to perform change.  Its a vote for the status quo more than anything. 

One nation.  Any votes they win preference liberal.  Them growing means the libs are more likely to get closer to winning over labor.  Thing is, they are also likely to steal votes from Liberal.   Not sure they are a truly viable alternative, but Pauline appears to be doing enough to get herself a government pension which IMHO is all the politicians are interested in. 

Given the average person doesn't actually get one on means testing, Im assuming that they are all pigs feeding at the trough and not much more.

The disillusioned masses.  Donkey votes default to the party in power, and im not throwing money away by not voting which would be my only way to send a message about what I think of the political parties of today.   I wonder if a donkey vote sends a message.  Does anyone even contemplate this?

All adds up to more of Labor really.  Probably a split room, with no clear majority and more of the status quo.  C'est la vie.  Thats where I see things going if anyone cares.  No doubt someone will try fight me on this, but I forecast a few things in our future.

1.  GST will go to 15% sometime in the next 3 to 5 years.
2.  More tax grabbing in the short term from the everyday person and all of us feeling poorer. 

We might see world war 3, or the people going into commmunes to live.  Who knows for sure.