You call it exploitation but free people can marry who they want and work for who they want.

Only basement dwelling Victorians

Tell us something we dont know.

"How can you trust the government of Iran to tell you truthfully if somebody is likely to face persecution when they return home?" Sales asked.

Mr O'Neill said he was "hopeful" that other governments cared about their citizens and would "try and do what is best".

Tensions boiled over on Manus Island earlier this month when as many as 600 detainees launched a hunger strike.

Almost 60 asylum seekers from Somalia, Iran and Sudan were arrested by PNG police during the unrest. The PNG government also confirmed that a number of men had swallowed razor blades, stitched their lips together and had swallowed washing powder.

anyone engaged in self-harm instantly loses credibility. it is behaviour intended to trigger media and political coverage to their situation. these refugees acting out are not interested in refuge from danger in their exit country, they are interested in arriving at their DESTINATION country and pissed off that they haven't gotten what they paid people smugglers for.

it must infuriate fpot and the rest of the easy-entry-full-benefits brigade no-end that they are so sure with their superiority complex of enlightenment that they are right and this policy is horrible and a serious violation of conventions etc. yet is is so popular with australian voters.

however the right to enter a country of which you are not a citizen is not one of those rights.

They also need to stop the torture and refoulement of children for the crime of being brown.

edit: and adults

I don't talk down people who use welfare.

Fpot its time to come clean man. Brool is a sock puppet isn't he. I won't be angry, just impressed.

I don't even know what you are suggesting the alternative conduct should be... just don't claim it... to be honourable?

There will be quite a few people that will be very upset to have ethanol in their fuel.

There was no law against what the Nazis did

pfffft. come back when there is some evidence. i heard a report pave guzzles alien semen.

I think the Feds have done pretty s***, but for real reasons not "omg Tony abbott has multiple flags behind him WORST PRIME NINISTER EVER"

They have increased spending, increased taxes, back down on 18C, planning data retention and various other privacy breaking and authoritarian laws all in the name of terrorism.

They have been a let down so far. I won't be voting for them again, a new party will have to save us from the debt and deficit disaster.

spook is quite happy to let poor little children go hungry and unclothed. why do you care so little about the children spook?

the card control will be very effective. two things i know from being an approved childcare provider:
- the government systems that can be implemented with control of funding are very sophisticated;
- the number of adults misusing cash benefits are phenomenal.

I laugh that welfare is now supposed to be a booze and tobacco self-medication fund. This is awesome, keep the mental faceplants coming.

very relevant lyrics Toll. Children should be given every chance to escape the poverty trap of selfish negligent parents.

if the party was true to their values this government would have been way better. abbott is too scared to cut the budget hard and instead has to resort to piss weak tax grabs like a deposit tax.

How did our country get to this point? The libs are as nutty as the tea party. Such a disconnect from reality in the confines of their comfy wealthy electorates.

It really sucks that nothing is open on public holidays like Good Friday because businesses simply can't afford to open due to over the top penalty rates...

The federal government has been aware of physical and sexual abuse of asylum seekers on Nauru for more than a year but failed to take appropriate action, workers from the detention centre have alleged.

The Daily Mail (aka, Hate Mail, Daily Fail, Daily Heil, Daily Moan and so on), is a reactionary tabloid rag masquerading as a "traditional values," middle-class newspaper that is, in many ways, the worst of the British gutter press (only Rupert Murdoch's Sun is worse). Its weighty Sunday counterpart is the Mail on Sunday.
The Daily Mail is to the U.K. what the New York Post is to the United States, and what the Drudge Report is to the Internet: to wit, gossipy tabloid "journalism" for those who cannot digest serious news, with a flippantly wingnut editorial stance. The Daily Mail is notable among British tabloids for rejecting the standard red-top banner in order to try to appear more upmarket and respectable, although it does sometimes go in for the full front-page picture or headline characteristic of the populist rags. It is also notorious for its frequent harassment of individuals, campaigns of hate directed at various minorities, and willfully deceiving and lying to its readers.

I linked to the dailymail because it had the video of it that i wanted, but i watched it live on TV. She definitely got smashed. Lets not play the "oh, you posted a link from this news organization, therefore its wrong" game. It's sad and old.

The only person being smashed is you brool.

I linked to the dailymail because it had the video of it that i wanted, but i watched it live on TV.

Tony Abbott has said that only the Coalition could stem the flow of asylum seeker boats because other governments would “succumb to the cries of the human rights lawyers”.

The prime minister admitted that vessels continue to depart for Australia, saying that the government has “largely stopped the boats”, a step back from previous comments indicating they have been stopped altogether.

“I’m also confident that only this government can keep them stopped because any other government, I suspect, would quickly succumb to the cries of the human rights lawyers and others and what that would mean, very quickly, is that the people smugglers would be back in business,” Abbott told reporters in Gympie in Queensland.

I would be earning more by staying in government yet that is honorable? I dunno....

Arguing from analogy requires the proposed requires the proposed objects of comparison to be relevantly similar.

It's basically child abuse.

So because in your esteemed opinion this thread is worthless you deem it practical to post attacks against people.

so politicians can have every little sordid detail of their lives splayed in the media but mega-millionaire celebrities breaking the law are entitled to privacy? pull the other one.

It was the right move to disclose Depp's infringement to the media... But it's still the media's fault. LOL

"The institution of marriage came from religion, it was adopted by the state and I have always been a firm believer in the separation of church and state and the main reason for that is it protects the church and I think the church’s institutions do need to be protected."

- Scott Morrison

We must stop the flow of cash to these evil people smugglers!!!!!!!!

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jun/10/peter-dutton-invokes-on-water-secrecy-over-claim-of-payments-to-boat-crew?CMP=soc_567

"On-water matters": Petter Dutton has invoked the controversial secrecy rule to defend not comprehensively answering claims that Australian officials paid $30,000 – in cash – to the crew of an intercepted asylum-seeker boat to return to Indonesia.

Scott Morrison was made aware in December 2013 of serious allegations of sexual abuse at Australia’s detention centre on Nauru, almost a year before a full review into allegations was commissioned, a Senate inquiry has heard.

Are you suggesting it isn't one sided unverified evidence in both reports?

“In many cases law enforcement agencies will know an Australian has been fighting with terrorist groups but will be unable to present sufficient eligible evidence to secure a conviction.

Sorry I don't have a uni paper on who buys off the plan investment developments. I just talk to real estate agents and telemarketers every week. I know I know, anecdotal evidence ain't worth s*** on an internet forum. I guess you're right.

I can't believe ABC transported a known terrorist sympathiser and convicted criminal to QANDA, THEN shortlisted his question, THEN didn't brief any of the guests he would be asking a question. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?!

convicted criminal to QANDA

We should also get on pedophiles and holocaust deniers to get a balanced view I guess...

Is this the part where you pretend to be ignorant of how David Hicks got off despite having clear evidence against him despite us having a 2 page discussion about it previously?

http://m.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/keatings-mace-spray-at-qa-20111103-1mwk9.html

QANDA is rubbish. Even Keating knows it.

The Bolt Report is far more balanced

"It's my head and I'm not hurting anyone else."

Abbott called a "tit": Link

Why do I need a helmet to go to the shops at 10kph on quiet streets?

I wonder if Q&A will invite their terrorist friend back?

The bias is every week. Every week left wing guests outnumber right wings guests. Every week.

You compare any of Abbott's foot in mouth comments with a guy who condones gang rape and refuses to retract his statements. Right....

That would be a fair comment to make if they weren't already giving massive subsidies to the well-established coal, oil and gas industries.

Except that fuel taxes have always been about road maintenance and development. If you want to rewrite the narrative now and tell the voters these taxes will not be spent on roads anymore feel free...

it is a question. trog has suggested removing all fuel tax from funding roads. what is the alternative?

i guess the voters will be the judge of that.

So when our highways fall into disrepair you will just propose nothing be done (or do you suppose the money will be taken from elsewhere??). We do know that the fuel taxes collected will be funding Clean Energy bureaucracy. I enjoy seeing where these fantasies lead, inside people's heads. A continued degradation of our highways would surely end in civil disturbance (rioting).

trog has suggested removing all fuel tax from funding roads. what is the alternative?

i read from this that you were in favour or rewriting the rationale using fuel tax to fund roads. And furthermore adding to the Australian taxpayer burden (and thus the overall size of govt, unless you are proposing tax reductions elsewhere).

one thing fuel and road haters (typically mass transit high speed rail types) fail to remember is that we will always need roads. when we invent hover cars maybe not so much but while rubber hits the ground we will always need roads. and well-funded roads reduce fatalities and increase productivity. so if we are not funding roads with fuel excise, or we in fact stop using fuel, have a think about how roads will be funded.

so what happens with the more taxes collected? why collect them if not to spend them?

if you are suggesting that fuel taxes not be spent on roads then how should roads be maintained?

it is no strawman because it is your direct quote.

At least in America every second term, they get a leader (President can't get a 3rd term ... FDR is the only exception!)

I think the biggest problem is that a two party system completely dumbs down the whole process of government and removes nuance. If you're pro-gun, you pretty much have to be a Republican and if you're pro-gay, you pretty much have to be a Democrat.

Remove the winner-take-all election contents and rather divide districts such that they elect several representatives from each district. This eventually leads to choices that don't exist along party lines and you can find a candidate that more closely represents your views (e.g., pro-gun, pro-gay, anti-abortion, pro-immigration, etc.) that has a reasonable chance at election.

What an odd observation 'the government paying them off" coming from the land of free enterprise

The only reason Uber is a thorn in the Governments side is that Taxis have to pay a license fee of $20,000 +/- and uber basically do as they please at half the price.

They are operating according to the rules, the rules as they are don't apply to their service.
Uber is considered a disruptive strategy, by it's very nature governments generally don't have the foresight to pre-regulate these technologies/strategies.

Again, I bought my Stocks in X business because it was a solid business that has never had an issue before, operating within government regulations. Why should I be allowed to lose money on that if another Business comes along that simply destroys X's market share if Taxi's are given that same treatment?

Those people should have a) not hedged their bets on a taxi license investment or at the very least b) monitored the market of their investment, noted any changes/trends and adjusted their investments accordingly. That's the risk management innit.

And in what universe would a politician have a dire need that isn't covered by proper planning?

They are needed in their offices cutting through the inertia that can occur.

The Platform owners however have no excuse, last I checked Uber was valued at $17b or something insane.

Bronwyn Bishop would retire on a taxpayer-funded salary of $225,000 plus 10 free domestic return flights per year, if she were to take the Prime Minister's hint and quit Parliament at the next election.

As someone who doesn't know a single thing about Linux, why is it a bad idea?

I can't see how using Linux is more expensive than paying Microsoft $14 mill for XP, red-hat does cost but if the Government had a single server (man im pullin this out of my arse) one server to rule them all so to speak that would be about $3000 then again normal Linux is free.

unless it's a bushfire or flood. or breaking up. then its ok.

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed
to the government's policies or actions.

9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.

Keating knew it, the government must know it. The only conclusion I can bring is that the current government is being corrupt and taking money too keep coal going, OR they are simply incompetent and think that supporting and expanding the coal industry whilst shunning renewables is the way forward for Australia. Either way, it's a s*** government.

Ready for some Australian journalism?

An Australian doctor has been brought to tears by the abuse and trauma he witnessed in Nauru's immigration detention centre.

Paediatrician Dr David Isaacs is one of several doctors, workers and guards turned whistleblowers exposing what they say is a culture of cover up, rape, self harm and abuse on Nauru, in defiance of laws that could land them in prison.

Our Government is abusing children in our name

"I saw a six-year-old girl who tried to hang herself with a fence tie and had marks around her neck. I've never seen a child self-harm of that age before," Dr Isaacs told ABC's 7.30.

'These are people, ordinary people and we're treating them with with incredible cruelty' : Paediatrician Dr David Isaacs spoke publicly of the trauma suffered by Nauru detainees on 7.30.

"After five days, I went home and had nightmares. I didn't expect that.

"I didn't expect to be so, um, traumatised by these people's trauma. These are people, ordinary people and we're treating them with, um - sorry, we're treating them with incredible cruelty," he said, clearly shaken and upset.

"It's child abuse. Putting children in detention is child abuse. So, our Government is abusing children in our name," he said.

Asylum seekers on their first day in the compound in Nauru.

Alanna Myc***, a nurse who worked with Dr Isaacs on Nauru recounted the confronting ordeal of a mother in detention.

"We'd seen that she'd been raped there. She was offered more time in the showers for sexual favours," she said.

7.30 also aired hidden camera footage of detention centre guards joking about shooting a detainee.

Detention centre operators Transfield and Wilson Security have told the Senate inquiry investigating allegations of abuse that staff are trained to report abuse, including through a special hotline.

But a whistleblower told the program that he was never told about the hotline.

The Senate inquiry is expected to demand children be removed from detention as part of its key recommendations, according to 7.30.

The inquiry is also expected to recommend mandatory reporting of sexual abuse, and for the Immigration Department and Federal Police to conduct a full audit of all allegations.

I also could win the lottery... but right now the odds are pretty stacked against me, and everyone else who will play it.

Dyson Heydon, the royal commissioner under mounting pressure to quit over his links to the Liberal Party, was on a panel that awarded a young Tony Abbott a life-changing scholarship to Oxford University.

Mr Heydon was part of the seven-member Rhodes Trust selection committee in NSW that in 1980 handed the prestigious Rhodes scholarship to the future prime minister, then a 23 year-old student politician at Sydney University.
According to documents seen by Fairfax Media at the NSW state archives on Monday, the selection committee was chaired by former NSW Governor, Sir Roden Cutler and "Professor JD Heydon" was a member.

The emergence of the Rhodes scholarship connection sets the personal relationship between Mr Abbott and his hand-picked judge to lead the trade union royal commission back decades.
Mr Abbott is under pressure to sack the commissioner after it was revealed he had been lined up to speak at a Liberal fundraiser before abruptly cancelling his appearance last week.

The Labor Party claims the royal commission is now fatally compromised and the union movement is considering legal action amid claims of "political bias" towards the government by Mr Heydon.
Fairfax Media submitted detailed questions about his involvement on the Rhodes selection committee in 1980 and whether he personally backed Mr Abbott, but a spokesman for the royal commissioner did not answer any of them, saying only that Mr Heydon had "no comment".
Mr Abbott was asked about his scholarship selection on Monday but said he could not recall whether Mr Heydon was on the committee. "That's a long time ago and the idea that I gather is being peddled that somehow he and I cooked up a conspiracy 34 years ago against the Labor Party is absurd," he said.

In his book Battlelines, Mr Abbott wrote: "As much, I'm sure, through my role in student politics as through academic or sporting prowess, I was chosen as a NSW Rhodes Scholar at the end of 1980."
It is possible that Mr Abbott had a personal relationship with Mr Heydon who became the youngest ever dean of the university's law school in 1978, at age 34. Mr Abbott studied law.
According to a source familiar with the selection process going back decades, there are "multiple interviews" with the committee before a Rhodes scholar is chosen.
Mr Heydon was the Rhodes scholar for NSW in 1964 when he was 21.

He was appointed to the High Court by the Howard government in 2003.
According to Battlelines, Mr Abbott joined the Sydney University Liberal Club in 1977 before becoming president of the Sydney University Representative Council.
His Rhodes selection, three years after Malcolm Turnbull had been bestowed the honour in 1977-78, was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald on November 22, 1980.
"A leading Sydney University student politician who wants to see student bodies scrapped has been named Rhodes Scholar for 1981. Mr Abbott, 23, a law student, has taken a strong line against such bodies using money on 'extreme causes'," the paper reported.

In his 2012 essay Political Animal, journalist David Marr, recounts how Mr Abbott "impressed a panel of worthies chaired by the governor of NSW, Sir Roden Cutler".

"For Anglophiles and rugby players, the Rho­des was died-and-gone-to-heaven time. Winners must be scholars fond of sport who display "moral force of character and instincts to lead". The award to Abbott came as a surprise, particularly to those who had seen him up close on the SRC. One jibe at the time was, 'second-grade footballer, third-rate academic and fourth-class politician.'," Marr wrote.

According to the list, the 1980 panel included Michael Birt, a former vice-chancellor of the University of NSW, war veteran Harold "Jack" D***inson, who was appointed chair the NSW Public Service Board in 1971. Academic Alice Erh-Soon Tay was also a member.

to me it sound like the ultimate long con. it's a conspiracy that goes all the way to the top. i recommend buying the movie rights.

GST to be applied to international purchases above $1000: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-21/gst-to-be-applied-to-all-products-services-sold-by-vendors/6715582?section=business

"What it effectively means is that we're going to have taxation officials travel around the world and visiting these companies and asking them to register for GST purposes."