Australia
-
Dave from down under
- Posts: 4519
- Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:50 pm
- Location: Down here!
Australia
From carpet python poo on foraged food..
-
Sam the Centipede
- Posts: 2239
- Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2021 12:19 pm
Australia
Chuck it on the barbie mate!
-
Dave from down under
- Posts: 4519
- Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:50 pm
- Location: Down here!
Australia
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-01/ ... /102803156
Changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) that came into effect Friday could save people with chronic health conditions a lot of time and money.
Before, people could only collect a month's supply of their medication from their pharmacy on one prescription.
But now they'll be able to collect two months' worth of selected PBS-listed medication at once.
Let's unpack how that's going to make a difference.
What's changing?
Eligible people living with a chronic condition will be able to pick up 60 days’ supply of selected PBS-listed medicines instead of 30.
This is going to happen in stages so, for now, it only applies to nearly 100 medications.
By this time next year, more than 300 medications will be on the scheme.
That's roughly a third of all medications listed on the PBS.
So can I get double medication?
Not unless your doctor's given you a new prescription allowing you to get two months' supply at once.
And that comes down to your doctor's professional clinical judgement.
So you'll need to get a new script before you can benefit from this.
And, of course, that's only if your medication is on the 60-day supply list.
How does this save me money?
Because of the price caps on PBS medications.
They limit how much you pay each time you get your script filled for that particular medication.
If you're on Medicare, the most you'll pay is $30
If you're a Concession Card holder, the most you'll pay is $7.50
Under the new changes, you may be getting more medication, but you're only putting in one script.
And because the price cap only applies to the script — not the amount of medication — that means you may end up paying less.
So if you're on Medicare and your usual month's supply of medication costs you $30, you'll pay the same amount for two months' supply.
But if your medication usually costs $25 for a month's supply, you'll only pay an extra $5 for the second month's supply.
It'll also mean fewer trips to the doctor to get those scripts renewed.
And not only could that save you on doctor's fees, it means less travel — this can really add up for people who have mobility issues, can't drive or live a long way from their nearest pharmacy.
Changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) that came into effect Friday could save people with chronic health conditions a lot of time and money.
Before, people could only collect a month's supply of their medication from their pharmacy on one prescription.
But now they'll be able to collect two months' worth of selected PBS-listed medication at once.
Let's unpack how that's going to make a difference.
What's changing?
Eligible people living with a chronic condition will be able to pick up 60 days’ supply of selected PBS-listed medicines instead of 30.
This is going to happen in stages so, for now, it only applies to nearly 100 medications.
By this time next year, more than 300 medications will be on the scheme.
That's roughly a third of all medications listed on the PBS.
So can I get double medication?
Not unless your doctor's given you a new prescription allowing you to get two months' supply at once.
And that comes down to your doctor's professional clinical judgement.
So you'll need to get a new script before you can benefit from this.
And, of course, that's only if your medication is on the 60-day supply list.
How does this save me money?
Because of the price caps on PBS medications.
They limit how much you pay each time you get your script filled for that particular medication.
If you're on Medicare, the most you'll pay is $30
If you're a Concession Card holder, the most you'll pay is $7.50
Under the new changes, you may be getting more medication, but you're only putting in one script.
And because the price cap only applies to the script — not the amount of medication — that means you may end up paying less.
So if you're on Medicare and your usual month's supply of medication costs you $30, you'll pay the same amount for two months' supply.
But if your medication usually costs $25 for a month's supply, you'll only pay an extra $5 for the second month's supply.
It'll also mean fewer trips to the doctor to get those scripts renewed.
And not only could that save you on doctor's fees, it means less travel — this can really add up for people who have mobility issues, can't drive or live a long way from their nearest pharmacy.
-
Dave from down under
- Posts: 4519
- Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:50 pm
- Location: Down here!
Australia
Pull the other one, it plays jingle bells!
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-02/ ... /102801192
Former mayor of defunct Hurstville City Council Philip Sansom said he had no idea accepting flights to China from a property developer was considered corrupt behaviour, after the Independent Commission Against Corruption's (ICAC) findings against him this week.
Key points:
Philip Sansom was one of three former Hurstville councillors found by ICAC to have acted corruptly
Mr Sansom accepted return flights from a Chinese property developer in 2014, the ICAC found
ICAC also found he had been secretly filmed in the company of escorts, but said he didn't believe the footage would be used against him
Mr Sansom also denied that secretly recorded footage of him with escorts could have been used to extort him, which the ICAC had concluded, arguing it was a common part of doing business in China.
He said he had been "very surprised" to learn on Wednesday that the watchdog had recommended criminal charges be considered against him over return flights he accepted from property developer Ching Wah (Philip) Uy in 2014, and was considering his legal options.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-02/ ... /102801192
Former mayor of defunct Hurstville City Council Philip Sansom said he had no idea accepting flights to China from a property developer was considered corrupt behaviour, after the Independent Commission Against Corruption's (ICAC) findings against him this week.
Key points:
Philip Sansom was one of three former Hurstville councillors found by ICAC to have acted corruptly
Mr Sansom accepted return flights from a Chinese property developer in 2014, the ICAC found
ICAC also found he had been secretly filmed in the company of escorts, but said he didn't believe the footage would be used against him
Mr Sansom also denied that secretly recorded footage of him with escorts could have been used to extort him, which the ICAC had concluded, arguing it was a common part of doing business in China.
He said he had been "very surprised" to learn on Wednesday that the watchdog had recommended criminal charges be considered against him over return flights he accepted from property developer Ching Wah (Philip) Uy in 2014, and was considering his legal options.
-
Dave from down under
- Posts: 4519
- Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:50 pm
- Location: Down here!
Australia
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-05/ ... /102814920
When Humphrey Herington realised something was stealing his seedlings, he did not expect to come face-to-face with Claude the leaf thief.
Key points:
Claude the koala is estimated to have eaten $6,000 worth of seedlings
The seedlings were meant to be used to establish koala habitat
A conservationist says many landholders have expressed interest in the habitat project
When Humphrey Herington realised something was stealing his seedlings, he did not expect to come face-to-face with Claude the leaf thief.
Key points:
Claude the koala is estimated to have eaten $6,000 worth of seedlings
The seedlings were meant to be used to establish koala habitat
A conservationist says many landholders have expressed interest in the habitat project
-
keith
- Posts: 4453
- Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:23 pm
- Location: The Swamp in Victorian Oz
- Occupation: Retired Computer Systems Analyst Project Manager Super Coder
- Verified: ✅lunatic
Australia: Australian Football League GRAND FINAL
Brisbane Lions v Collingwood Magpies
9:30 PM Friday 29 September 2023
(Los Angeles time) (12:30am New York?)
I THINK it's on ESPN somewhere.
9:30 PM Friday 29 September 2023
(Los Angeles time) (12:30am New York?)
I THINK it's on ESPN somewhere.
Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most souls Would scarcely get your feet wet
-
RTH10260
- Posts: 17323
- Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:16 am
- Location: Switzerland, near the Alps
- Verified: ✔️ Eurobot
Australia
Australia rejects proposal to recognise Aboriginal people in constitution
Voice to parliament referendum fails in defeat that Indigenous advocates will see as a blow to progress towards reconciliation
Elias Visontay
Sat 14 Oct 2023 10.53 CEST
Australians have resoundingly rejected a proposal to recognise Aboriginal people in the country’s constitution and establish a body to advise parliament on Indigenous issues.
Saturday’s voice to parliament referendum failed, with the defeat clear shortly after polls closed.
To succeed, the yes campaign – advocating for the voice – needed to secure a double majority, meaning it needed both a majority of the national vote, as well as majorities in four of Australia’s six states.
The defeat will be seen by Indigenous advocates as a blow to what has been a hard fought struggle to progress reconciliation and recognition in modern Australia, with First Nations people continuing to suffer discrimination, poorer health and economic outcomes.
More than 17 million Australians were enrolled for the compulsory vote, with many expats visiting embassies around the world in the weeks leading up to Saturday’s poll.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-n ... nstitution
-
keith
- Posts: 4453
- Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:23 pm
- Location: The Swamp in Victorian Oz
- Occupation: Retired Computer Systems Analyst Project Manager Super Coder
- Verified: ✅lunatic
Australia
Yeah, this should have passed with no problems. The concept was to put specific recognition of the First Inhabitants as the original owner of Australia into the Constitution and to establish a Consultation Body known as 'The Voice'. There have been consultative bodies established in the past, but they have always been discarded by the legislature whenever the Government gets tired of them.
I think the Yes Campaign made some extremely bad mistakes, and the No campaign ran on nothing but FLUD (Fear, Lies, Uncertainty, and Doubt). The non-Aboriginal No campaign fundamentally had no argument other than sowing fear about how the political process would change and lying about "the Voice" dictating to parliament rather than mearly consulting. Leaving the Aboriginal No campaign the only No approach that had any legitimacy (IMHO).
Yes campaign mistake number 1: it was touted as recognizing the First Nations people in the Constitution. Thing is they already are, sort of.
Section 51 paragraph xxvi gives parliament the power to legislate for "the people of any race for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws;". This is not obvious, but the intention is totally understood to refer to Aborigines. This wording is from 1967 when it was changed from the original "the people of any race, other than the aboriginal race in any State, for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws". So previously, Federal Parliament could not legislate refering to race, and it was left up to the states. The original wording explicitly recognized the Aborigines, the new wording recognizes them by giving the power to the Federal Government.
The entire thing is, in my opinion, a fundamentally colonial mindset, where the European knows what's best.
Where the Yes Campaign failed is to push back by providing this argument against those Aboriginal No campaigners that said why should they want any part of the "Colonial System" (that is the Constitution). So instead the Aboriginal No voters chose to perpetuate that Colonial System and the No campaign in general could point to them and say that even the Aboriginal people didn't want such recognition.
The second mistake was not pushing back on the Aboriginal No Campaign segment that wanted "Treaty" first. Treaty is an acknowledged important goal and has been on the agenda for decades.
My problem is that without a recognized "Voice", with whom do 'we' negotiate a treaty? 400 odd tribal groups? This argument should have been discussed and the issues focused.
Yesterday's vote was a sad day for Australia
I think the Yes Campaign made some extremely bad mistakes, and the No campaign ran on nothing but FLUD (Fear, Lies, Uncertainty, and Doubt). The non-Aboriginal No campaign fundamentally had no argument other than sowing fear about how the political process would change and lying about "the Voice" dictating to parliament rather than mearly consulting. Leaving the Aboriginal No campaign the only No approach that had any legitimacy (IMHO).
Yes campaign mistake number 1: it was touted as recognizing the First Nations people in the Constitution. Thing is they already are, sort of.
Section 51 paragraph xxvi gives parliament the power to legislate for "the people of any race for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws;". This is not obvious, but the intention is totally understood to refer to Aborigines. This wording is from 1967 when it was changed from the original "the people of any race, other than the aboriginal race in any State, for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws". So previously, Federal Parliament could not legislate refering to race, and it was left up to the states. The original wording explicitly recognized the Aborigines, the new wording recognizes them by giving the power to the Federal Government.
The entire thing is, in my opinion, a fundamentally colonial mindset, where the European knows what's best.
Where the Yes Campaign failed is to push back by providing this argument against those Aboriginal No campaigners that said why should they want any part of the "Colonial System" (that is the Constitution). So instead the Aboriginal No voters chose to perpetuate that Colonial System and the No campaign in general could point to them and say that even the Aboriginal people didn't want such recognition.
The second mistake was not pushing back on the Aboriginal No Campaign segment that wanted "Treaty" first. Treaty is an acknowledged important goal and has been on the agenda for decades.
My problem is that without a recognized "Voice", with whom do 'we' negotiate a treaty? 400 odd tribal groups? This argument should have been discussed and the issues focused.
Yesterday's vote was a sad day for Australia
Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most souls Would scarcely get your feet wet
-
Dave from down under
- Posts: 4519
- Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:50 pm
- Location: Down here!
Australia
We have some dangerous cults… 
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-27/ ... /103059682
Fourteen members of Toowoomba religious group front court over death of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-27/ ... /103059682
Fourteen members of Toowoomba religious group front court over death of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs
-
johnpcapitalist
- Posts: 985
- Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 7:59 pm
- Location: NYC Area
- Verified: ✅ Totally legit!
Australia
Nice to see the entire group being held accountable for a wholly preventable death. Sadly, that kind of accountability happens all too infrequently in the US.Dave from down under wrote: ↑Mon Nov 27, 2023 6:31 am We have some dangerous cults…
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-27/ ... /103059682
Fourteen members of Toowoomba religious group front court over death of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs
-
Dave from down under
- Posts: 4519
- Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:50 pm
- Location: Down here!
Australia
Ooops…
-
Dave from down under
- Posts: 4519
- Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:50 pm
- Location: Down here!
-
Dave from down under
- Posts: 4519
- Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:50 pm
- Location: Down here!
Australia
Grant Turnbull, son of farmer who killed Glen Turner, fined $405k for illegal land-clearing
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-08/ ... /103206070
The son of a farmer who shot and killed an environment officer involved in land-clearing prosecutions has been ordered to pay $405,000 by the New South Wales Land and Environment Court in Sydney today.
Key points:
Grant Wesley Turnbull argued that his father's conviction for murder was punishment enough
Justice Sandra Duggan rejected his submission because Ian Turnbull was convicted for a separate offence
She said the clearing was likely to have had a "highly significant effect" on koalas in the area
Grant Wesley Turnbull pleaded guilty to unlawfully clearing 508 hectares of native vegetation at his Croppa Creek property near Moree between January 1 and August 20, 2014.
————
Me: not nearly enough of a fine!
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-08/ ... /103206070
The son of a farmer who shot and killed an environment officer involved in land-clearing prosecutions has been ordered to pay $405,000 by the New South Wales Land and Environment Court in Sydney today.
Key points:
Grant Wesley Turnbull argued that his father's conviction for murder was punishment enough
Justice Sandra Duggan rejected his submission because Ian Turnbull was convicted for a separate offence
She said the clearing was likely to have had a "highly significant effect" on koalas in the area
Grant Wesley Turnbull pleaded guilty to unlawfully clearing 508 hectares of native vegetation at his Croppa Creek property near Moree between January 1 and August 20, 2014.
————
Me: not nearly enough of a fine!
-
keith
- Posts: 4453
- Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:23 pm
- Location: The Swamp in Victorian Oz
- Occupation: Retired Computer Systems Analyst Project Manager Super Coder
- Verified: ✅lunatic
Australia
You're that guy from TikTok!': Why this Melbourne train announcer is now a worldwide hit
On a dreary Melbourne afternoon, a booming voice echoes across the platforms of Flinders Street Station.
“Do not vape out the door of the train. When people vape on trains, everybody around them thinks that somebody is holding a box of cinnamon doughnuts that they’re willing to share,” it says, as captured on TikTok.
“When everybody figures out that there isn’t a shareable box of doughnuts, people get mad!”
The voice belongs to leading station assistant Laurence Hewson, who’s been charming commuters with his cheeky safety announcements and quick-witted comments.
Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most souls Would scarcely get your feet wet
-
Volkonski
- Posts: 12484
- Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:06 am
- Location: Texoma and North Fork of Long Island
- Occupation: Retired mechanical engineer
- Verified: ✅
Australia
Ban on swastikas, Nazi salutes goes into effect in Australia
https://thehill.com/policy/internationa ... press.coop
https://thehill.com/policy/internationa ... press.coop
The first-of-its-kind law was passed last month as a response to rising antisemitism and hate crimes in the country, especially after the onset of the Israel-Hamas war.
Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said the law sends “a clear message: there is no place in Australia for acts and symbols that glorify the horrors of the Holocaust and terrorist acts.”
Specifically, the law bans the display or sale of symbols associated with designated terror groups, which includes Nazis. Violations are punishable by up to 12 months in prison.
More antisemitic incidents have occurred in the three months since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war than the previous year, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
There were 662 such incidents in October and November alone, the organization said, about 50 percent more than the entire 12 months prior.
Notable incidents in Australia include a group of protesters chanting “gas the Jews” in October, and a group of neo-Nazis performing a salute during a transgender rights protest in March.
The bill was proposed in June, with the salute ban being added by amendment in November. Every Australian state has already banned Nazi symbols, Dreyfus’s office said.
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
-
keith
- Posts: 4453
- Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:23 pm
- Location: The Swamp in Victorian Oz
- Occupation: Retired Computer Systems Analyst Project Manager Super Coder
- Verified: ✅lunatic
Australia
Oh gawd. Scotty (from marketing) Morrison is at it again.
Makes sense though, two sides of the same religious coin.
Story is currently only on 'live blog' that changes periodically. This link should get close - it should eventually become a regular story with its own permanent link.
From The Guardian: Australian Politics:
Makes sense though, two sides of the same religious coin.
Story is currently only on 'live blog' that changes periodically. This link should get close - it should eventually become a regular story with its own permanent link.
From The Guardian: Australian Politics:
Australia news live: Scott Morrison’s forthcoming book to feature foreword from Mike Pence
Former PM’s book, Plans For Your Good: A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness, to be released in May.
Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most souls Would scarcely get your feet wet
-
Dave from down under
- Posts: 4519
- Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:50 pm
- Location: Down here!
Australia
Hahaha
-
Ben-Prime
- Posts: 3137
- Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:29 pm
- Location: Worldwide Availability
- Occupation: Managing People Who Manage Machines
- Verified: ✅MamaSaysI'mBonaFide
Australia
"This is the highest level of security that Australia offers..." should have been followed up with "...and all it needs."
But the sunshine aye shall light the sky,
As round and round we run;
And the truth shall ever come uppermost,
And justice shall be done.
- Charles Mackay, "Eternal Justice"
As round and round we run;
And the truth shall ever come uppermost,
And justice shall be done.
- Charles Mackay, "Eternal Justice"
-
Dave from down under
- Posts: 4519
- Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:50 pm
- Location: Down here!
-
Sam the Centipede
- Posts: 2239
- Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2021 12:19 pm
Australia
No drop bears? (Fogbow passim)