ABF? < > WTF?

[sevengoals]

I've read about what happened in Melbourne.

Oz Border Force? Black uniforms? Weapons?
ID checks in the CBD?
Did they move the borders?

What's going on down there?

[mcjules]

Pretty disgraceful. The good news is that people took a stand and drew a line at this.

The feds have been banking on some "national security" to lift them in the polls and now they'll have to tread a lot more carefully...

[Stuckey]

What's the go here? Unless there is Djite in the headline I'm not usually interested. I even missed that there was a tram strike the other day.... I eventually found out when I got to the tram stop.

[sevengoals]

What's the go here? Unless there is Djite in the headline I'm not usually interested. I even missed that there was a tram strike the other day.... I eventually found out when I got to the tram stop.

I forgot that you are in Melbourne.

Do you need a Visa from SA?

[shinAUFC]

I dont know the full story but seriously wtf?

So anyone who isnt pale white gets asked to supply visa documentation ?

The worst one is that doctors and medical staff have been barred from reporting physical and sexual abuse at our asylum centres. I beleive they have been threatened with criminal charges if they report.

I havnt liked the persona this country has been putting out to the world of late. Actually its downright embarrassing

[sevengoals]

I dont know the full story but seriously wtf?

So anyone who isnt pale white gets asked to supply visa documentation ?

The worst one is that doctors and medical staff have been barred from reporting physical and sexual abuse at our asylum centres. I beleive they have been threatened with criminal charges if they report.

I havnt liked the persona this country has been putting out to the world of late. Actually its downright embarrassing

Tell me about it...
Australia is in the news over here for all the wrong reasons.
The climate change refusal was the last thing in the media over here.
Before that it was paying the people smugglers.
And who can forget our Prime Minister threatening Putin with a bit of "Hows your father"?

I could go on but I'm going to the Admira Wacker v Austria Wien match and my lift is here.

[bpowell454]

"Under the Act, it is a criminal offence, punishable by imprisonment of up to two years, for any person working directly or indirectly for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to reveal to the media or any other person or organisation (the only exceptions being the Immigration Department and other Commonwealth agencies, police, coroners) any incidents that occur in detention centres like Nauru and Manus Island."

I wonder why the government wouldn't trust the media with sensitive information?

[sevengoals]

Goodbye Abbott!

[bpowell454]

A good man and a good politician, but hugely unpopular. In the end he could do nothing right. The man was a volunteer firefighter and lifesaver since before he was a politician but gets ridiculed for wearing lifesaver speedos.

[EdDog]

[mcjules]

I think people tend to underestimate voters, him being ousted was not because he wore "budgie smugglers" but because either the policies put forward were no good or they were ok but they did a terrible job of communicating them.

No one can doubt his ability as a politician, his skills were extremely effective as an opposition leader but they did not transfer at all well to being a PM. His methods of 3 word catch phrases and attacking Labor rather than leading with some sort of vision was his downfall.

The influence of the conservative right on the Liberal party was a big issue too. Hopefully the real nutjobs on the fringes act on their threat to split (I don't actually think they will) as it it would lead to a more robust democracy in my opinion.

[shinAUFC]

One of the issues with democracy ( not that im saying there is a better way) is that it relies on voters being well informed and able to vote for the future while accepting there may be some hard years ahead.

They are do not care to be well informed then its much like giving children the power to out vite their parents on eating lollies for tea every night. Or....greece lol.

I dont have much of an oppinion on australian politics but the future will be a little rough.

Something like one third of the population will be retired in the future (baby boomers) expecting their pensions paid. But people are against immigration because workers to support our pensioners will just appear?

With the mining boom coming to a grinding halt some hard decisions will need to be made. You just cant have 2 decades of uninterupted growth and then cry when the inevitable happens.

I dont envy future Prime ministers as people have been conditioned into beleiving this golden age will last forever

[ZANZIBAR]

The biggest problem is everyone is waiting with their hands out wanting more. Every budget the question is..whats in it for me. Sick of people expecting benefits to get by. Try living in another part of the world and open your eyes to how good we have it.
A little off topic.
Australia is great due to our multi cultural make up. Who doesnt love going to some of the best foreign food restaurant's. Going to china town, sharing public transport with 20 people and realising there is probably 20 different nationalities sitting together happy.

[bpowell454]

I think you hit the nail on the head. Too many people go to vote saying what am I going to get out of this (not long term but short term money in the pocket) and dont think of the bigger picture. With the country in the red financially we need to be less selfish and ride it out until it gets better.

Although that is easy to say for someone like me with secure job and housing.

[sevengoals]

Australia has been trying to go forward without any clear and inclusive vision of what it wants to be.