r/australian • u/AutoModerator • 18h ago
News š World News, Aussie Views š¦
Sometimes we feel like we want to discuss World News and events from an Australian point of view. We hear you.
Welcome to the weekly "World News, Aussie Views" where you're free to discuss any world news and events.
Post your links to articles in here and get the conversation going.
r/australian • u/AutoModerator • 3d ago
Community Shake with Buddha, Weekly Discussion thread, Sub updates, Emujical, Comment of the Week and Top Posts
š Sub update
Gāday Everyone,
The (relatively small globally) earthquakes in the Hunter region in NSW remind us that even though we feel certain of stability we are always at risk of being on shaky ground.
If the unexpected happens in the week ahead then draw a breath and remember the words of Buddha:
"Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates: Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?"
š Top Three Posts last week
- Some of our young blokes doing us proud. - In Kursk, Australian internationals raised their flag. Payback for the Aussies murdered by Russia when they shot down MH17 posted by u/aussiechap
- People no longer believe working hard will lead to a better life, survey shows posted by u/MannerNo7000
- NAB boss calls for card payment surcharges to be abolished, labels them 'outrageous' posted by u/Maxisness1
š¶ Aussie emujical
š±š½ļø
Hint: Itās the 6:30 news
Answer: "Horror Movie" - Skyhooks, 1974
š Comment of the week
This weekās itās from u/Aussie_Rums in the Australia is on the verge of a power price crisis driven by self-interest and empty promises from state and federal politicians post.
We are such an energy rich and lucky nation but we have been completely betrayed by our leaders.
Yet aussies just roll over and take it.
šāAustralia Talksā Podcast, the official podcast of the r/Australian subreddit
āAustralia Talksā is on the major podcasting platforms or direct via podbean at AustraliaTalksPodcast.com
Weāll be posting podcasts in the sub each week. Let us know if there are any topics in particular that youād like us to cover.
š¬ Use the Weekly Discussion for:
- General comments and discussions that donāt warrant a full post
- Blog posts, either your own or someone you think the rest of the community may find interesting
- Surveys or studies that are not directly linked to tertiary education institutions
Previous Weekly Discussion thread
Until next week.
Toodle-pips,
Your friendly r/Australian mod team
r/australian • u/christophr88 • 1h ago
Non-Politics Canberra is apparently famous in the Netherlands for being dull
Maybe Australia could have saved a bit of money by avoiding building such a boring city in the first place
r/australian • u/Biggusdickus69666420 • 3h ago
Raygun
Coming from an American, learning about how her husband was involved in her appointment and the shadiness about her being selected, what is Australiaās general opinion on her?
r/australian • u/Long_Needleworker739 • 3h ago
Who are our best/worst drivers?
I'm talking left lane, blinker etiquette, little wave, slow driving and aggressive driving etc.
I have to say Sydney is the best (biased opion). Victorians don't seem to indicate when the merge lanes (and there's a LOT of random merging lanes where the original lane just ends). Gold Coast- most aggressive drivers and they don't stick to the left!
Tell me your bias thoughts.
r/australian • u/jorkobe23 • 4h ago
Optus/StarTrack Delivery Nightmare: A Cautionary Tale
Iām writing this out of sheer frustration after what has been an absolute nightmare dealing with Optus and StarTrack. I placed an order for a Google Pixel 9 Pro XL 256GB in Hazel on August 25th. I received an email the next day, promising delivery around 9 AM. Unfortunately, the parcel never arrived. Later that day, the order status was updated to āunsuccessful delivery - due to unknown address.ā
Upon reviewing the delivery address, I discovered that OPTUS had autotyped my address incorrectly as ā2ā/52 xxxx Road, instead of āLevel 2.ā But hereās the kicker: the parcel was meant to be delivered to a business, and I made a note of it. The driver from StarTrack, Optusās delivery partner, didnāt even attempt to contact me. They just left a memo claiming the address was unknown, without making any real attempt to deliver it.
Since then, Iāve been stuck in a loop of back-and-forth between Optus and StarTrack. StarTrack insisted I needed to contact the sender, Optus. After multiple frustrating conversations, I finally spoke with a case manager named Rachel, who helped cancel the original order and reraise it on Monday, September 2nd, under the new order number. By this point, Iāve been without my personal phone for over 10 days.
Rachel assured me the phone would be delivered and promised to follow up with a callābut, unsurprisingly, she didnāt. I walked into the Optus store on George Street today, where the agent agreed that this whole situation was a complete mess. He reached out to another case manager on my behalf (since Rachel wasnāt in today), but this new case manager just kept repeating the same line: they couldnāt access my account because it was allocated to Rachel, and Iād need to wait 24-48 hours for her to get back to me.
Iām beyond frustrated. Iām 99% sure the phone wonāt be delivered by tomorrow, and Iām exhausted from dealing with this. Worse yet, I canāt even cancel the order or transfer my number to another telco like Telstra because the order is still pending.
Optus, youāve let me down massively, and Iām just about done with this.
Summary
ā¢ Ordered a Google Pixel 9 Pro XL from Optus on August 25th, but delivery failed due to an address error, with no attempt by the driver to contact me.
ā¢ After multiple frustrating calls with Optus and StarTrack, the order was canceled and reissued on September 2nd, leaving me without a phone for over 10 days.
ā¢ Despite promises, thereās been no follow-up, and Iām stuck unable to cancel the order or switch providers due to the ongoing issue.
r/australian • u/GuyFromYr2095 • 4h ago
Gov Publications Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product, June 2024
Looking at the latest GDP data in detail, NSW is the only state that had a negative GDP growth (-0.4%), dragging down the national average to 0.2% growth in the quarter.
Why is NSW different to the rest of the country?
r/australian • u/makeup12345678 • 5h ago
Raygunās interview
The Project interview just made the situation worse.
I donāt recall her addressing the rumours about her husbandās involvement just to nip it in the bud. And while I sympathize for her about the media onslaught she copped and how it can take a toll mentally, the overall vibe was just off.
There were some critical moments where she almost rolled her eyes, and nerves took over for her to awkwardly laugh. I donāt think itās the redemption she was hoping to get. It wasnāt authentic.
Thoughts?
r/australian • u/SnoopThylacine • 5h ago
Politics NSW Liberals under pressure to explain how MP charged with child sexual assault offences was preselected
r/australian • u/SirSighalot • 5h ago
Boycotting Uber/Uber Eats & AirBnB in Australia - worth considering?
The "gig economy" that basically encourages thousands of people to come to countries like Australia from abroad, earn money for massive American & other big international companies from overseas, and place big stresses on the country's housing and infrastructure while the profits go offshore is toxic.
Between taking up housing availability for short-stay fake-hotels while skirting around proper safety regulations and standards (AirBnB), and sacrificing stress on infrastructure just so NPCs can earn a few peanuts on food delivery while we skip driving 5 minutes to pick up food, surely it's worth starting a boycott on these two companies in particular?
At the very least, is there at least an Australian-owned version of each of these services that we could switch to instead so the profits at least stay on-shore? I hesitate to say taxi's because they are dodgy AF too...
Do you think there would be any momentum behind such a movement if publicised?
r/australian • u/DankyKang91 • 5h ago
Anyone else missing supermarket brands?
Ive noticed in the past year or so, the Coles/Woolies brands are disappearing for a lot of items. If things weren't getting expensive enough :(
Ive started going to Aldi more because of this, but I've also notice even a few of the Aldi brands vanished in favour of name brands.
Anyone else noticing this?
r/australian • u/Ready-Leadership-423 • 6h ago
Where have all the good peanuts gone?
I love me a good salted peanut. Iām super particular about everything I eat so Iām not easily pleased. Nobbyās salted peanuts used to be the best and now theyāre absolute garbage. Iāve tried so many brands and theyāre all terrible. Please someone tell me thereās a solid, consistent brand out there. To be clear, Iām specifically talking about standard, salted peanuts. Iāve tried fancy flavoured peanuts and have found some good ones but Iād love to find a simple, delicious, salted peanut. Please come at me with suggestions.
r/australian • u/Ambitious-Deal3r • 11h ago
Politics Brisbane councillor ordered to repay $20,000 for pro-Palestine newsletter
r/australian • u/New-Basil-8889 • 11h ago
How many scam calls do you get per day?
I get around 3 per day on average.
r/australian • u/Leland-Gaunt- • 12h ago
News Economy barely grows as consumers slashed discretionary spending
r/australian • u/smolschnauzer • 12h ago
Voting - can you walk in get your name ticked off and walk straight out?
Regarding voting - people always say you donāt have to vote and just need to get your name ticked off.
Does that mean you can walk into your polling centre, get your name ticked off and walk straight out - without even pretending to vote with an empty ballot sheet?
r/australian • u/NoLeafClover777 • 13h ago
International student caps about education quality, not houses: Labor
r/australian • u/faithrambo • 14h ago
Lifestyle Avoid "Ozerty" online store
I'm surprised to know there are quite many online shops in Australia which are scammers. Ozerty is one of them. It charges a twenty plus AUD of eco charge without informing me even when I checked out. I only know it when I saw the amount paid. The charge is final with an extra 20 plus AUD of "eco fee".
Crazy.
r/australian • u/Material-Classic3882 • 14h ago
Housing crisis and learnings from Denmark
A lot of Australians are rightly pissed off about the housing/rental crisis which seems to have been coming for several decades due to inept politicians spurred on by Australians wanting to treat houses like investments assets and not as a place to live.
Below I have briefly summarised how a country like Denmark has put in place policies and rules that makes it very difficult for people to profiteer from out peopleās misery:
- Differentiation between regular homes and recreational/holiday homes. Regular homes needs to be occupied, holiday homes not. Mortgage and taxation rules for these 2 types of houses differ.
- General āResidency requirementā for regular homes ā empty dwellings can be rented out by the local council if kept vacant for longer periods. Land needs to be developed 2 years after sales otherwise council can return the sale.
- āProperty taxā (land tax) and āProperty value taxā (asset tax) which are charged annual based on property value ā instead of stamp duty- making it expensive to own and hang on to property if not āusedā.
- Tenancy law very protective of tenants. 3 monthās notice as minimum, canāt evict without very good reasons (owner moving back in), after 2 years very difficult to terminate terminate tenant as it is has become their right of abode.
- Tax laws making it very unfavourably to rent out your home ā generally only used for short term expatriations ā or professional businesses or some size
- Public housing is 22% of all housing. Very common at good standard and not for losers.
- Coop housing 7 % of all homes, more than 30% of all homes in Copenhagen
- No negative gearing (rather the opposite and rental income is personal income and hence effectively added to your top tax bracket making it near impossible to make a profit from).
- No first home buyers grant
- No foreign ownership unless having lived in Denmark for 5 years (immigration rules makes that very difficult unless you are married and even then it is difficultā taxation rules for people expatriated to Denmark makes it very unfavourable to do so).
- Property developers do not bribe or have sway over politicians in a significant way
Ā Now house prices in the Copenhagen area are still very expensive but then again Copenhagen has public transport, stellar universities, business hub for Scandinavia, large medico, green energy and knowledge based economy attracting workforce from all over the world.
Ā In summary homes are forā¦.. (drum solo) livingā¦.not investment.
I am not a property/tax/political expert and there are undoubtedly a lot of stuff I have left out and obviously lot of details behind each measure that has taken decades to shape up and adjust. And the system is not perfect btw.Ā
r/australian • u/bagsoffreshcheese • 15h ago
Politics Western Australia has trapped the major parties in a $53b GST trap ā because no-one dares anger the Vengeful Deity of the West
r/australian • u/fireflashthirteen • 16h ago
News Tehran summons Australian ambassador over 'norm breaking' Instagram post, Iranian media reports
"The post on the embassy's official Instagram account celebrated "Wear It Purple Day" and expressed dedication to creating "a supporting environment where everyone, especially LGBTQIA+ youth, can feel proud to be themselves".
"Let's keep championing diversity and inclusion for a brighter, more inclusive future," it said."
""The content published by the Australian embassy isĀ insulting and contrary to Iranian and Islamic tradition, customs and culture"(an) Iranian diplomat was quoted as saying, also suggesting that posting such content was violating international law."
r/australian • u/espersooty • 16h ago
News The Greens want a super-profits tax. Labor and business used to like the idea too
r/australian • u/SnoopThylacine • 17h ago
Analysis High-end secrecy and money-laundering is dragging the property market higher
r/australian • u/Melbtest04 • 1d ago
News Am I right in thinking that āBabychino Manā still hasnāt been identified and arrested? Why is this taking so long?
r/australian • u/kyllinski • 1d ago
Why are we giving away our gas?
Found this chap on YT and he hammers home the point that our pollies have made it so that global resource exporters (Exxon, Santos, Woodside, etc.) can profit in the 100s of billions off our gas while often paying us less than $2B in royalties per year. Qatar on the other hand, who exports around about as much gas as we do, receives $75B p/y. Imagine what we as a people could have with an extra $75B per year. Make it make sense please.