Becontree Boy

Very badly, I confess. Pensions will remain frozen under a Johnson administration. However, it is not a sin to pitch for a political party which aligns with my views.

Yes, none of this happens unless Labour wins the election. We have a manifesto commitment by Labour to apply the upgrades to all UK state pensions internationally. I am a member of the international branch of the British Labour Party with 3,000 members worldwide who are watching this matter closely. I have every confidence that a Corbyn led Labour government will see this matter through.

I'm sorry my comments have upset you. Your choice on 12th December is indeed your own.

Yes, that would be great. But Labour's manifesto pledge guarantees at least that the value of your UK state pension from now on will increase by at least 2.5% a year. After years of hard campaigning particularly by Australian and Canadian pensioners, this represents a significant policy shift.

But up to now you don't get the same out if you live in Australia and other mainly commonwealth countries because you are not entitled to the annual "triple lock" upgrades of at lease 2.5% p.a. Oddly, if you retire to the EU or USA you do get the upgrades. The UK government will even pay you the fully updated amount if you return to the UK for more than one month. Labour's manifesto commitment in part rectifies this by paying the upgrades for now on. For a new retiree that means an ongoing commitment to pay a pension of the same value as that in the UK. I accept that not everyone wants to add to the NI contribution fund and receive a full pension. It is a personal choice.

A couple of points. - Many people weren't aware their UK state pensions were to be frozen by moving abroad. - The principle holds that wherever in the world life takes you, if you pay the same amount of National Insurance contributions in then you should get the same amount out. I think any fair minded UK citizen would hold to that principle, and these are exactly the ones who would vote Labour.

Aboriginal or Cornish. It hardly matters. What counts is the quality of his scholarship going back over the records and diaries of the first European settlers in Australia.

The figures are based on the full basic rate of state pension. I got them from https://adviser.royallondon.com/technical-central/rates-and-factors/state-pension/basic-state-pension-rates/ . I imagine that you could add additional amounts to that based on the amount of SERPS you had, but that will vary from individual to individual. But the principle holds that UK state pensions are frozen and that Labour's proposals, at the least, will prevent them from diminishing further in value. I'm glad that you have chosen to vote Labour and share your worries about the future of the NHS if left in Tory hands.

Yes beyond a protected amount, you will be able to take 50% of your UK state pension on a Centrelink assets test. So regardless whether you rely on superannuation to top up your retirement income, a Centrelink age pension, or a combination of both, you will still be better off with Labour's UK state pension incease. But there is also a moral argument as well. Australian tax payers make up the difference in means tested cases. Labour sees a future in which new UK pension recipients get the full pension with annual increments of 2.5%+ regardless of where you live in the world. That's got to be fairer on Australian tax payers. If you've paid 35+ years of NI contributions in the UK you should get the full pension entitlement and ease the burden on Australian taxpayers. My votes for Labour as a big step towards this.

Anybody from the UK who has paid National Insurance Contributions for at least ten years is entitled a part UK state pension upon their retirement. If you've paid 35 years of National Insurance contributions you are entitled to a full basic UK state pension. It's possible to pay "Class 2" contributions if you've been working in Australia to make up complete missing years. For those who have not worked for some of those years, more expensive "Class 3" contributions can be made to improve your UK State Pension. For details on exactly how to do this, I would suggest you contact "British Pensions in Australia", an independent voluntary and campaigning organisation which has developed expertise in this area over many years (see https://www.bpia.org.au/ ). A basic full British state pension is currently £168.60 per week. If you retired before April 2016, the full basic rate of pension is £129.20 per week. Sadly though, British Pensioners living in Australia and many other mainly commonwealth countries have been disadvantaged over the years because the value of their UK state pensions has been "frozen" to that available on the date a person retired. Hence, for example, a person who retired in 2000 would not get £168.60 but instead would receive £67.50 per week. However, if Labour is elected on 12th December 2019, the situation improves for British pensioners living in Australia. Labour will apply the "triple lock" to UK state pensioners living over here. This means that the value of pensions will go up by at least 2.5% a year. For people retiring after Labour's new rules come in, it means that their pensions are "unfrozen". What you get as a full basic pension from the UK in Australia will always be the same as what you would get in Britain. For those who have already retired, the "triple lock" annual increase will be applied to the "frozen value". Labour's offering represents a real improvement for British state pensioners in Australia. Vote for the conservatives and nothing like this is on offer. If you have a vote in the UK elections, I would urge you to consider voting Labour to help secure this direct benefit in your standard of living. Labour's manifesto can be read at https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Real-Change-Labour-Manifesto-2019.pdf . The discussion on pensions is on page 76. The British Labour Party branch covering Australia and New Zealand can be contacted at australasia@labourinternational.net . Our twitter account is @AusNZ_Labour . See us on instagram at australasia_labour

Dark Emu is a powerful book. It goes to the accounts of early white explorers and settlers to describe a pre-European Australia of settled farming communities. I'm fortunate to have living evidence of such a community close by where I live in south west Victoria. The Budj Bim Cultural landscape has recently been granted UNESCO World Heritage status. It contains the architectural remains of a stone hut community of at least 200 homes built around a wooden and stone eel traps. The traps go back at 6,000 years. A keeping place and interpretation centre is being built on site, and the intention is to put some of the traps back in operation, but even now visitors can clearly see the remains of huts and traps. Pascoe points out the remains of other dams for acquaculture and agriculture all over Australia. Budj Bim is no "one off". Read Pacoe's book and your view of Aboriginal Australia may be profoundly changed.

Hi Ali - I'm not really in the business of solixiting Tory votes, but yes, if your in-laws live overseas they coukd follow the pprocedure described on the meme and vote. But if you have sympathy with Labour, I'd urge you to register if you've lived overseas for less than 15 years. Generally, speaking, if you have a care for family left in the UK or you have been paying UK Nstional Insurance contributions for more than ten years (which qualifies you for a part state pension) then I would argue that you still have a stake on what happens there - even if you don't plan to return. Labour Votes provide the best way to protect their and possibly your interests.

Jeremy Corbyn is a longstanding anti-racist who has actually taken part in activities to defend Jewish people in his constituency. Jeremy has always worked for peace in Northern Ireland. Yes, he met sinn fein leaders, but so did the UK government in secret talks that led to peace talks and the ceasefire called the Good Friday agreement. Aside from that, Labour offering a jobs creating Green Industrial Revolution which will allow the nation to tackle the pressing problem of clinate change. Hecalso intends to end the crippling poverty in the UK raising vulnerable individuals and families above the foodbank line. I recommend looking out for Labour's full manifesto which should be pyblished next week.

Labour is giving voters a choice: back a renegotiated brexit which orotects the interests of working people or remain in the EU. A 'hard brexit' would do great damage to the economy. What do you not like about Jeremy Corbyn?

If you have lived overseas for less than 15 years, your vote in the UK General Election on December 12th matters. Apply to vote in the Thursday 12th December UK General Election at https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote We suggest that once registered, you apply to your last UK local council for a "proxy vote". Generally, this is somebody living in or near your last constituency who can vote in a polling station on your behalf. Postal votes take too long to arrive to vote and then post back from Australia and New Zealand. DEADLINES:- Midnight Tue 26 Nov: - Register to Vote application received by Electoral Registration Officer: 5 pm Wed 27 Nov: - Your proxy’s application to vote by post received by Electoral Registration Officer - Application to change or cancel an existing proxy, postal or postal proxy vote received by Electoral Registration Officer: 5 pm Wed 4 Dec: - Application for a new proxy vote received by Electoral Registration Officer (All times are UK) This information brought to you by the Australasian branch of the British Labour Party. To help us campaign for Labour amongst Britons living in Australia and New Zealand, please contact australasia@labourinternational.net. Web: https://www.labourinternational.net/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/australasia_labour/ Twitter: @AusNZ_Labour

Yes the attitude of the UK uni is a "known" unknown. We will have to see what they say. The attitude of potential placements here in South West Victoria also have to be tested. I know from experience as a student at Flinders University SA, that Victorian placements were hard to get as many give preference to students from Victorian Universities. That said, there can't be too much demand for placements in rural SW Victoria as compared to Melbourne. We'll work through these issues but the visa is the big unknown.

My daughter (Age 35) is a British Citizen living in England. I'm an Australian/British dual national living in Victoria. She begins a BSc course in Physiotherapy at a UK University in September with a view to her and her young family joining us in Australia (assuming she obtains her one year's post qualification experience and physiotherapy remains on the skilled occupation list). We had planned for her, her husband and daughter to spend a short holiday with us in Victoria next August. However, she has just found out that she has to do her first, month long student work experience placement in August 2020. It occurred to us that she might be able to do this placement here instead of having a holiday. She would, of course, return to her studies in the UK after completing the placement. The student placement would likely be in a local hospital, physiotherapist's practice, or aged care home. I've spoken on the phone to the Immigration department in Melbourne and they pointed me to a Subclass 651 eVisitors passport or a SubClass 407 Training Visa (I'd never heard of the Training Visa before). I'm still unclear as to which of these two visas would be appropriate. Has anybody had any experience in using either of these visas for this purpose - or has anybody used another visa to cover a student work experience placement? A working holiday visa wouldn't cut it as she's already had one and now has a family. Any advice regarding this would be welcome and appreciated.

"No Live Trace". My son got this recently on his full ACRO police check for immigration purposes (he needs a C600 tourist visa to come visit us in Australia). I thought they'd done the wrong check until I phoned them up. It turns out that this is what such a check on time-expired UK criminal convictions will turn out now. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection therefore request an additional form from the UK Police called a "Subject Access Request". This is supposed to detail all convictions and even "NFA's" (No further action, no court appearance). This additional information puts the Australian authorities fully in the picture. Only problem is that the border protection people require this information within 28 days and the UK Police promise they'll deliver it within 40 days. The UK Police guy suggests that if you put the reference no. of the police check (starts PC16) in the Subject Access Request and indicate that you need it because of "no live trace" then the UK Police will speed the request up. The unhelpful deadlines are currently a matter of negotiation between UK and Australian authorities. All a bit different to six years ago when all his successful C600 visa application needed was the police check (and a statement of remorse about his youthful convictions). I wouldn't mind, but he's only staying with us for less than three weeks!

Altona Beach is a bit of a hidden gem. Pretty beach pier, and esplanade with free parking (unlike nearby Williamstown) and a good selection of shops including a Polish deli (very important to an old Polak like me). Far to the rear there is a large oil refinery, but this is buffered from the town by a large lake and wetlands. I've visited Altona Beach four times now. It's great unhurried place to chillout in the cafes during weekdays and good for a family beach activities during weekends. Recently we went there to celebrate Waitangi Day (New Zealand's national day) and enjoy music, stalls and activities put on by the area's Maori community. Easy travel into Melbourne by rail with a station in the centre of town, however car commuters face the challenge of getting across the Westgate Bridge - no fun during the rush hour ... but who'd want to drive to work in Melbourne? Only downside: On my first visit we did smell the oil refinery - the wind must have been in the "wrong" direction.

Wouldn't rely on it. I understand this is one of Boris Johnson's flash in the pan initiatives which we'll probably hear nothing more of again. Set this vague possibility up against the current reality that non-EU citizens will be forced out of the UK soon if they earn less then GBP35K a year. See http://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/mar/12/eu-workers-deported-earning-less-35000-employees-americans-australians

Melbourne's a great choice but don't hunt for an IT contract between November and February if you can avoid it. They are few and far between. Concur with previous postings about rentals. If you are renting then for starters I'd look anywhere within half an hours commute of the CBD. This would give you an opportunity to really get to know a great city. From rental experience, I'd recommend somewhere like Box Hill as being a good place to start. If you are buying then, unless you are both well paid, it might be worth considering further out. Oh, I read you can manage a $1million - that will give you quite a few options! You can buy a tiny refurbished Victorian workman's terraced house in a trendier part of the inner city and a small mansion in the outer suburbs for that! I live in the first country town west of Melbourne called Bacchus Marsh. Great character: Australia like it ought to be! It's just a 40 to 55 minute commute to the CBD by Vline from there. Here's an example of what $1 million would buy you in the Marsh: http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-long+forest-121954154 . Out west but nearer the CBD, you have plenty of new estates like those in Tarniet, Melton and Rockbank but, like those in the outer Eastern suburbs, they are all a little anonymous. Personally, I'd avoid the inner west, like Footscray and Sunshine - but if you're young and hip then you might like it that industrial urban decay newly meets gentrication there. Good luck for your futures in Australia - I'm sure you'll find something in Melbourne and Victoria to meet both your aspirations and your pocket!

I think many pomsinOz readers have been through periods where we've felt just like you. You don't even have to move to Australia to feel like it. I remember the culture shock involved in moving from Essex to South Yorkshire in my early 30s. The new estates in areas like Narre Warren remind me a little of British "New Towns" and their associated blues. Chances are that you are not the only person there (native or immigrant) feeling like a fish out of water there. It takes time to build up community spirit. Maybe a move nearer Melbourne CBD into a more established community might help? We moved beyond the CBD out west to the old country town of Bacchus Marsh and, after 4 years here, feel more connected to people in our local community than anywhere else we have lived in either UK or OZ. Certainly 8 months is too early to give up on Australia. I'd suggest, like other posters, getting involved in activities locally. If that doesn't work then a move down the road could possibly do the trick rather than a really expensive one back to the UK.

Brands are important! That's why advertising agencies spend millions of pounds in advertising to create and nurture them. And the brands that do best are the ones that we remember and associate from our childhood. Yes, there are Aussie equivalents to most of them, but a little indulgence (and a willingness to pay over the odds for something familiar) never did any harm. Coles and Foodworks sometimes have English sections. A few years ago I was told, that Coles will stock English brands where the population are 10% or more English. Everything on "Westbounds" list can be found without too much effort. For harder to find products try specialist "English Shops" found in most State Capitals and other big cities. Some of the continental deli's will also stock English products. Strange thing is, I found that supermarkets in New Zealand stock a much bigger range of UK brands and there are many more specialist "English Shops". A tourist trip over the Tasman is therefore also a chance to nab some long lost friends. PS: This year, Coles has stocked a few "Heston" Waitrose lines for Christmas puddings and mince pies. I hope they're good because they are pricey and we won't be tasting them until Christmas Day!

Too true. Remember that Alan Jones was recently forced by media regulators, ACMA to go to "Accuracy School" because he has misrepresented the facts on so many occasions. See http://theconversation.edu.au/a-very-naughty-parrot-acma-sends-alan-jones-back-to-school-10212 for more details.

If Alan Jones represented the true sentiments of the majority of Australian people then I'd be on the first plane back to the UK. He is a very bitter and unpleasant man. Thank goodness we don't have to put up with his rants here in Melbourne.