My Politics #101

Labor Australia, Labour UK, Democrat US, Liberal Canada.

All of the above have manual worker beginnings, as downtrodden and abused workers came together and demanded decent pay and rights. The right for workers to strike became entrenched, and I must say abused at times. But the only thing protecting basic workers rights was that they collectively would decide on a course of action against their exploitive employers, and it worked. Pay increased, working conditions improved, and best of all safety for workers in their workplaces improved immensely. From this arose the above listed political parties. 

Liberal Australia, Conservative (Tory) UK, Republican US, Conservative Canada.

These are parties built by rich people and wealthy business people. They are anti worker, anti union, anti progressive society, such as gay and trans rights, no care for the disadvantaged in society, anti free public health care and public school education, anti taxation of rich people to improve society, anti big government control, anti regulation of safety in all kinds of areas. Anti tech regulations, anti public transport.  Also anti environment over profits, and anti renewable power. Anti brown people, unless they are factory fodder. These parties are anti everything that makes modern society better. 

But then we now have far right parties, so much worse than the conservative parties. In the UK, Reform Party, in Australia, One Nation. The US Republican Party has crossed over from being conservative to extreme far right, up there with One Nation and Reform. 

To quote the leader of Australia's One Nation, "There are no good Muslims". This from she who said thirty years ago, "We are being swamped by Asians". She has also been heard sprouting anti African immigrant comments.

I have my opinions on immigration and how it could work better for Australia, one being don't take too many at once from one country. There are refugees all over the world, and many well educated possible immigrants. Many of our successful immigrants are those who came here as students and received permanent residency before becoming citizens, my hope for Phyllis and Kosov.   

I could never vote for conservative parties simply because everything they stand for goes against my values. And OMG, voting for the felon, war monger and pederast, the Orange TACO, aka the 47th President of the United States. You just can't.

I'll try to be less ranty at the weekend.   

A good blog but beware of tour guides.

Frogdancer travels rather a lot, and her blog is a good read as she writes with wit, humour and some self deprecation. As I write she is about to visit Machu Picchu by train.

During a recent tour she posted about something a guide told her group. A quick Google and AI check definitely says this is untrue, in spite of how cruel the Spanish were.

The Inca men had long ponytails down to their hips. The Spanish would tie the men’s hands behind their backs, then tie their ponytails to their testicles. Then they’d castrate them.

I can't remember the 'fact' we were told on the open topped New York hop on, hop off bus, but I was suspicious and I checked and it was totally wrong.

This photo taken from the top of the bus, and I don't know what the statue is about, probably in lower Manhattan. Of course I could Google it, but maybe one of you already know. 

Rottnest Island, Western Australia, to paraphrase the tour guide, "We don't have an electricity connection to the island from the mainland, so we generate all of our electricity here on the island, and any excess goes back to Perth (mainland)". I guess that is by osmosis. 

Quokka barrier at the Rottnest Island supermarket. 

What to write?

I find somethin'.

Last Wednesday, I lunched with my neighbour HH. We drove in Perl to a Port Melbourne bakery. She ordered a vegetable pastie and I ordered a curried egg sandwich. I asked for half on a plate and half to take away in a paper bag, as I used to do with Ray at the same bakery. 

HH talked and was slow to eat her pastie, and eventually I opened the package and ate my other half of my curried egg sandwich. I then went up to the counter and ordered a fruit tart and coffee. 

I asked if HH minded if I bought a packet of frozen mixed vegetables, requested by Phyllis, and a 2 litre container of light milk at the supermarket. HH waited for me inside the supermarket and had spied a bottle of sweet chilli sauce to buy for herself. 

Do you mind if we visit the florist for a bunch of flowers for home, HH? The flowers were so expensive, I suppose because it is winter here. I didn't buy any. 

Do you mind HH if we give Perl a wash on the way home, HH. No problem, so I went through the car wash.

Once home before parting, HH said, I would like to take you, Phyllis and Kosov out for dinner to thank you for you kindness and care over the last few weeks after I had my fall. 

It was no big deal to help her, and she never really asked. She gracefully accepted offers of help and meals cooked by Phyllis and Kosov.

I went out again in Perl in the afternoon and it was an absolute disaster, mainly because I forgot my phone. from basic paying, to not have store cards, to paying for parking without my phone app, for buying the wrong thing and having to have money refunded, to extraordinary key and remote juggling because of recent changes. I just should not have gone out again, and my phone is as essential to me to go out as my car keys.

Jass, be safe

Someone, or more than one, mentioned about Jass on the balcony. We, that is Phyllis, Kosov and I were incredibly cautious when Jass first went on to the balcony, ready to grab her or pull her back. 

She would stick her head under the glass to look at the birdies nesting on the balcony below. Her body could have fitted under the glass. If she stuck her neck out too far, we would just call her name and she would pull her head back in.

She has shown no inclination to jump on the balcony, though she is an expert jumper, and only rarely sits on my balcony seat. She mostly just sits at floor level and watches. I just sit on a seat and watch, so I get that. Well, she did in warmer weather. She doesn't like the balcony in winter.

 

I see it as risk assessment, as you might do with your children. Yes, there is a risk to them if you let them out on their own, but I must say, young children who used to be let out on their own to learn the ways of the world, are now so mollycoddled and supervised, I doubt it does them good. 

Segueing, Neighbour HH is so stressed about her 23 year old granddaughter staying in her apartment while HH is in New Zealand, her son had to bring HH back to earth. 'Mum, she has travelled all over Europe, stayed with strangers, and had a wonderful time. She will manage without Nonna being there'. No, HH is not Italian and it's a long story why she is called Nonna, which I forget. 

Nevertheless, I will let the granddaughter into the building and show her where the key and fob is hidden in HH's  apartment, as I have access to HH's apartment. For id purposes, HH sent me a photo of her granddaughter, who I think is 23 and very attractive. There are already some written instructions pinned up in HH's apartment for her granddaughter. Lordy, HH is more of a control freak than I am.

In other news, I did not know Australian mudlarks swoop people, and I was swooped. Apparently they go for your eyes, but in this case one just bumped on my cap twice. I never saw the bird. I've been swooped by wattle birds who don't make contact, with just making a clicking kind of sound as you feal the flutter of their wings. I've not been swooped by the worst, Australian magpies, that are very different to magpies elsewhere in the world. My horror is encountering a drop bear, but as an inner suburban dweller, I am safe. It's just when I leave the city environs that I'm at risk. You just at times have to take your chances.

Every few days we give Jass a wet meal, that is tinned food. She doesn't really like it but we persist and she eats some of it. But oh my, aren't the ingredients such wankery, bought by Phyllis at $4 a tin. Jass, did not eat the long grain rice, and whatever else she left in her bowl was probably spinach, spinach being part of normal cat's diet. No? 

Monday Mural

With Sami and others, here is my Monday Mural photo. 

To me he looks like a well read older intellectual Jewish gentleman. What is your opinion?

Life happens

A couple of Sundays ago I caught a tram and then a train to Moonee Ponds Station to meet my friend Wombat in Puckle Street. We had a very pleasant lunch and then walked to the the local Court House Museum, where we saw an exhibition about the history of public transport in the locality. Naturally I found this very interesting. 

I can't believe I didn't take photos. I must have really been enjoying myself and my company. Well, I did find a mural to snap. 

I needed milk, so I caught the 59 tram to the city, alighting close to an Elizabeth Street supermarket. 

While I have no photos, it is worth noting this outing. 

In other news, HH's grandson is off to New Zealand to work in some kind of Hobbits amusement attraction. HH's daughter is going with him to help him establish himself, and asked HH to go too. But HH's son's daughter was coming to stay. It was a hard decision for HH, but she said yes. Her granddaughter can stay in her apartment alone, and I will let her into the building and give her keys.

At the age of 80, opportunities to travel overseas don't come too often but HH is doing it, although quite stressed.

Today, a month after buying Perl, she had to return to the dealership to have her nuts and bolts tightened, and any loose hanging wires tied up. I think Perl was washed too. On the way home I briefly gave her maximum acceleration, and boy does she go.

A couple of random photos. Kosov with Jass, and Jass peaking out from a shelf. Jass adores Kosov.

The Aussie Pension

There is some detail I will leave out to keep this simple. The Australian old age pension is for eligible Australians who are permanent residents or citizens who have lived in Australia for a certain period, are retired and are 67 years old or more. There isn't a retirement age in Australia but 67 is thought of as a de facto age. 

The pension is paid by the government from its general revenue, taxes if you like. Generally, wages and pensions are paid every two weeks. 

The maximum pension is about $600 a week. The pension comes with other benefits, such as cheaper electricity, gas and water, along with local government rates and medications, the latter mostly costing no more than $7.50 per prescription.

The pension is asset and income tested, but with your owned home and personal effects such as furniture, jewellery....and perhaps expensive art work hanging on your walls, are all exempt. Your motor car is not exempt, so if you take money from your bank account to pay for a new car, just because you have a lower bank balance, that means nothing. But your car is an asset that can be devalued, quite a lot as soon as you drive out of the car showroom. My new car was immediately devalued by $9,000. So at each pension review, your car's value will be part of the consideration as to what you are paid. When my next pension review happens, that will be taken into account.

I think the old age pension cuts out when you have around $720,000 in savings or in private superannuation, the figure including the value of your car. 

Superannuation, that is a scheme to provide you with money for your old age is a contribution from you and your employers to a private profit making organisation or a workplace/union based not for profit. The latter generally perform much better. Your employer may pay around 10% of your wage into super, with you paying perhaps 5% or more. You can also put in extra money, say a lump sum from your savings or whatever.

So, say you have $500,000 in superannuation, from which you draw an income of $1,000 each week, you will still receive the government old age pension, of about $115 each week.

If you have minimal money, you will receive the full pension amount of  $600 per week, plus if you rent in the private market, an extra amount.

If the dollar figures seem high to people overseas, remember Australia is an expensive country to live, and the wages quite high, with the minimum wage now being about $1,000 a week for a full time 38 hour working week. 

AU$1000 = US$700 = GB£530 = €610.