ErmintrudeMcMoo

Well had my last chemo session yesterday 28 weeks done and dusted, my oncologist has booked me in for a load of tests,, ct scans, bone scans, bloods, heart scans, mammogram, to check How the chemo has affected my body before I go for my op at end of May. I cannot praise the staff at Royal Perth enough they have been fantastic. I never had any bad experiences witH the NHS either, but then again never had any major problems. My hubby's uncle lives I. Perth and has private healthcare, he was diagnosed with bowel cancer and although he's happy with his treatment he's had about $16000 to pay for stuff that wasn't covered. I do wonder if private healthcare is worth it unless it's for the extras like dental etc.

Ok, well I'm sorry your experience of the system has been so bad, certainly seems like I've been lucky,good luck with your treatment.

If I was you I'd be contacting my MP or phoning around other specialist, can your GP not put you in contact with a different specialist?

Well having had a bit of a bad time healthcare wise ( have been diagnosed with, auto immune disease arthritis, damaged nerve in back plus damaged disc a few years ago, then the icing on the cake I was diagnosed with breast cancer in September last year). I do not have health insurance couldn't really afford it, then really couldn't afford any after various diagnosis. I have a great GP who bulk bills, I've had free physio sessions ( I believe your entitled to 5 a year, which along with care plan my gp put together was enough to give me the help I needed for arthritis, auto immune and back problems). The care I have received since the BC diagnosis has been fantastic, cannot fault it. I don't know what the level of care would have been in Uk or what wait I would have had for treatment as I've been in Australia for nearly 7 years now, but I do know, I can book online for my gp appointments, the wait for the rheumatologist was about 6 weeks ( though I think they look at it on case by case depending on severity) and the wait from being diagnosed with BC to seeing a surgeon was a week, I was then poked prodded, injected, xrayed to within an inch of my life for a couple of weeks before starting chemo. As for dental treatment, well I try to avoid if possible, but the times I have had to go were a bit expensive, and my daughters braces were $6000, though we did get some money back for that at tax time.

Which restaurant in Freo do you go to Fifi?

Hubby is in the RAN, pay is good when on ship. Lots of times when he is away, so etimes for 6 months at ago but you just put your head down and get on with it. The absences certainly make or break you as a couple. Was there anything specific you wanted to know?

I'd stay the leaves with white oil, citrus can be a bit funny when they are just establishing. Personally I've had real problems with the snails this year, I planted out some cucumber plants only to find nothing but 1 stalk left the next morning out of 6 plants!

My dad was a firefighter for 30 odd years, he retired at 50 I think, the problem is the job is very physically demanding, it's ok to say let the youngster do the physically demanding stuff but with numbers in a crew being what they are that isn't always possible and certainly when my dad was in ( which I admit was a long time ago now) there weren't really any desk jobs.

Another thing to do would be to hire a wee boat down in Mandurah and go up the river, stopping off for a pub lunch on the way, we did this a couple of years ago and it was a nice day out.

Sorry that should be didn't do

It's a huge thread start at the end of it and work back, lots of useful info on there, my hubby is the RAN but we did do the lateral transfer route.

I'd do the night time Fremantle prison tour, plus you have the dolphin watching tours from Rockingham, we did both theses with visitors and both were really good. As previously said I. Another post penguin island is good day out, take a picnic and some fishing rods do a check to see if there are any outdoor cinemas on in February as well. Or you have the Captain Cook winery and chocolate cruises, as well as perth mint, take a trip up the swan valley for a wine tour, I think they have some in horse drawn carts?

Well I can't comment on anybody else but I know the ed dept more than gets its pint of blood from me. There are a lot of staff both ea's and admin who go the extra yards because they care about the kids and school community.i hope mr Barnett enjoys his million dollar new office, I'm so glad my tax is going to pay for that rather than essentials like education.

We knew this was coming, we'd originally hear 1000 jobs and it was teaching and non teaching, so maybe that was mostly Chinese whispers. Now they've announced the cuts it will be interesting to see the fall out, I really can't understand d how they can cut the ed assistants. The job losses at regional and head office levels could be painful too depending on what departments the aim for. Ultimately it will result in more kids falling through the cracks.

Ok,so what do we have so far? 1 457 is a temporary visa, so what would these families be doing at the end of the 4 years? 2. Many people on that visa chose wa because other states charge for schooling 3. Some chose that visa because they couldn't afford PR visa or didn't qualify 4 everyone going through the visa process knows that the government can and do changethe goal post, I know of very few who have not lost sleep going though the process no matter which visa they chose. 5. Can anyone clarify whether current holders will be affected? 6. I don't think it's vitriol against 457 holders its just a plain statement of the facts. 7. I don't think the State government are doing anything illegal or wrong...... unfair quite possibly, maybe even morally wrong but hey that's no surprise in WA politics. if it puts people coming to Wa off that visa and it leads to a shortage then I think the government would have to re assess their plans, does anyone know if anything similar happened in other states or did they always have it that payment for education was required?

Until the state government clarifies whether people already here will have to pay then everyone is left in limbo, it's like they just came out with the first thing they thought of without thinking about how they will fully implement it. Having said that the education dept is going to be screwed for funding, they are talking about 1000 jobs cuts between teachers and admin staff, less money coming from a central budget with schools being hung out to dry and left to pay for more things locally. Going to the education dept with a petition will achieve diddly squat, petition the government, they are the ones who make the policy. To be honest I think the government is doing this to try and put the brakes on people coming over, and it does bring wa into line with most other states.

Not sure if anyone has pointed this out as I haven't read the whole thread but I don't think you should be petitioning the education department about this as they merely follow government policy. From what I can see state government has put this out there without any further info, pretty damn poor as neither current visa holders nor schools know where they stand as yet. It's one thing to get a visa and expect to pay this but it's a kick in teeth if its going to include those already here on that visa.

Have to say I agree with Quoll, having a hubby who's just got back last month from another 6 month deployment with the navy, it was brilliant being able to Skype, talk on Facebook and even mobile phone. Totally different from 20 odd years ago when it was the odd letter (that always seemed to arrive in twos) and occasional phone all. The one thing I will say is that it can make or break you, I know plenty who have become so used to being apart that they ended up living separate lives - it can happen so gradually you don't even realise its happening!

Why not have the baby here go back to uk to live at Christmas, then hubby can accompany you and help you all get settled? He could then return to Oz for another few months. Tbh having a hubby in the Navy and having done a lot of 6 month separations in the last 20 odd years,I can honestly say its easier in theory than in practice. The other thing is that can you really go back to living with mum and dad after being used to your own house?

I had a similar thing when I got a job with the Benefits Agency back in UK, I couldn't start u ntil I produced my education certificates. I just contacted my old school who put me in touch with the right office, easy as, all sorted no probs. My hubby joined the RAN after being out here a couple of years (he'd left the RN in 07) and despite having all his paperwork it still took him nearly a year before he started (that was after an interview) they do not move quickly.

I spoke to my friend at work and she lived there for 10 years but left in 95 so it's been a while, she did say that they were probably the best years in her life( as a young married couple at the time). She said if you are a sporty family and enjoy mucking in and being part of the community then it can be great she made a lot of good close friends that she still sees regularly even now. She also said there is one shop, one bank one docs and one pub, you are 400kms to the nearest large town (karratha) though I think Tom price is about 80 Kms away, and everyone knows everyones business.It's hot 9 months of the year and there is a local swim pool but schooling could be an issue for you as she thi is the local high school only goes up to yr10 and they then get bussed to Tom Price or go to boarding school. She did say her hubby had visited last year and he had been surprised at how much of a dust bowl the town now seemed.

That's very nice for you I'm sure, however not much help to the original poster who is on the East Coast not the West, two totally different places with different job markets.

It's all down to personal preference, opinions are like arseholes...everybody has one. Personally I don't understand the claims of its too far from anything and boring we have never had a problem. People are all too quick to sneer, what I would say is have a good look round at as many areas North and South,East and West as you can and make your own mind up based on your needs and requirement.

I think that's a bit harsh, a lot of people ask about suburbs as a way to break the ice on the forum and get chatting to people.