skipjack

NZ has noticeably lower salaries than Aus and less tax benefits. We moved from NZ to Aus and found higher wages, more job ops and a lot more tax back and tax benefits, even on a fairly high wage. Which all makes life a bit easier particularly with young kids. Superannuation contribution in govt jobs is a a lot more in aus and it's good to see the super growing well when in NZ it just wasn't going anywhere. On the plus side for NZ, we found it had a better way of life with smaller cities. We found it difficult to live away from the big city sprawling suburbia in Aus. We managed it, but in NZ everywhere is smaller and it's so much easier to get a great place to live in a good suburb. Not so easy in Aus. Melbourne area anyway. There's not a great deal in it but if I won the lotto and my kids were younger I'd definitely be tempted back to NZ.

Both are great suburbs, we live in Torquay and it was the same dilemma for us. We love Torquay as it's so beautiful and relaxed. Highton is closer to the high schools and sporting/swimming facilities. Then again Torquay is building a state of the art high school. Plenty of contemporary houses in both areas. Pop in for a coffee/meal we have kids aged 5 11 13.

You'll really be pushing it to do Melbourne to SA along the GOR with one stop. The GOR is a fairly slow and in places a very winding road - not a straight freeway! And it's to be enjoyed not rushed. Stopping to check out the koalas and kangaroos as well as the scenery and a good few cafes. I would plan your first stop at Lorne for lunch and then head on to Apollo Bay for the night.

Classic rock loud on the ipod ! Saw Iron Maiden in concert supporting Thin Lizzy with Phil Lynott . Now that was a while ago. Torquay is great. Good beach, surfing and cafe scene. Good holiday atmosphere in the summer. The afternoon sea breeze keeps it cooler in the summer which is very welcome on the 30c+ days. Lots to do with the kids. It's a long commute to Melbourne although a lot of people do commute. First impressions can be misleading as it's spread out with four shopping areas. Also it takes a while to realise there are several beaches, not just Front Beach (Whites, Fisho's, Front, Cosy Corner, Back and Jan Juc beaches). And further along, if you want to die happy, surf out on Bells or Winkipop on a big swell day.

Triple J is national and no adverts. It's part of ABC which is the aus equivalent of the BBC. http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/ Lots of info on festivals, good music and some good aussie bands. Don't expect 80's, nostalgia or Hotel California

Multifocal lenses with all the coatings and stuff (not inc. frames) about $300+

A lot of developers aggresively lobby the local council and State Govt for more land citing it will lower housing costs and create jobs. What then happens is the developers drip-feed the development in stages onto the market; restricting land supply and encouraging land prices to increase. Developers then petition the council for more land to be re-zoned using the same argument and the environment they have created and control.

The best advice I received was never take a child on a plane until they were old enough to carry their own bags. Sadly It was several flights and years later before I realised the wisdom of this. This is of course completely unhelpful and useless advice for you but advice that you will one day be able to pass on to others. Probably around 2019 You'll be fine. They can't fall out. Have someone at the other end to help look after the wee one when you are a bit jet-laged and need sleep.

Hi, I don't know much about the GSM process - can any one help so i can advise someone else? As commissioned police officers are on the second SOL list (State/territory nomination), could a UK police officer apply through as a GSM? How does the state nomination work? Thanks

Matthew Flinders and Belmont are two good government schools. Grovedale is average but good for sport. Torquay is going through a restructure and building a new school so not good for 2012 but should be good for 2013 when the dust settles. Barwon Heads to Torquay is a short run.

Straford upon Avon and Oxford are both an hour or so North West of London if you fancy a bit of Shakespeare or historical Uni buildings. Oxford has a good restaurant, pub and cafe scene being a big student town. Easy for a day trip but well worth a couple fo days to see the sights.

Official Warnings (from Vic Police website) If you have recently received an Infringement Notice you may apply for an Internal Review. Victoria Police has the discretion, upon review, to withdraw an infringement notice and issue an official warning in its place. Each application for an official warning is reviewed on a case-by-case basis with factors such as the circumstances, time of offence, weather conditions, traffic density and type of road/land abutting taken into account. For example, if you recently received a speeding fine but have had a good driving record in the past. You can apply for an official warning if you: Hold a current driver's licence, including probationary, or current learner driver's permit. Have not been issued with a speeding, other traffic fine or official warning within the previous two years. Were caught doing less than 10 kilometres per hour over the speed limit. Do not deny that you committed the offence. Note: The above guidelines do not apply to infringements that have been paid. An official warning will not be given for red light, mobile phone, seatbelt or generally any serious road safety offence, unless a proven emergency situation can be shown. Multiple Infringements Victoria Police has recently implemented guidelines regarding the enforcement of multiple speed camera infringements issued to drivers detected at low speeds within certain freeway/highway zones. These guidelines are being adopted to ensure that drivers are being afforded the opportunity to positively alter their driver behaviour, without being penalised by multiple infringements. Note: These guidelines do not apply to mobile speed camera detections or fixed speed/red light safety cameras at intersections. For the purpose of these guidelines, a Low Speed Infringement (LSI) is a speed of less than 10 km/h above the posted speed limit. The discretion to be applied to multiple low speed infringements relates to: Those within a given 24-hour period. Those received over a period of several days, prior to the driver becoming aware of the first issued infringement. Further discretion in the enforcement of multiple speed detections, not resulting in licence loss, is also being adopted. The same principles will also apply to multiple offences of driving/using an unregistered vehicle, with enforcement of one offence per 24-hour period, subject to certain criteria. In essence, you may be eligible to have multiple infringements that come within the guidelines withdrawn. These guidelines are in the process of being automated with a view to ensure that in the future, multiple low speed infringement (LSI) detections in a 24-hour period will not be issued. Until this system is automated, requests for reviews of such matters must be sent to the Traffic Camera Office, which will consider the request, and has the discretion to determine that only one fine in a specific zone will be upheld. Should you wish to be considered for withdrawal of infringements within these guidelines, please forward a written application for review to the Traffic Camera Office, address below. Officer in Charge Traffic Camera Office GPO Box 1916 Melbourne 3001 For more information about your eligibility for an Official Warning call Civic Compliance Victoria on (03) 9200 8111, between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. Callers from regional Victoria can contact Civic Compliance Victoria on 1800 150 410 for the cost of a local call.

There's a few big festivals each year in and around Melbourne. Falls festival is probably the closest thing to a Glastonbury style festival. Also Port Fairy folk festival and Apollo Bay Folk festival are two events that take over local coastal towns. Lots of stuff actually in Melbourne from pubs to stadiums. A good place to begin to find out about the Australian music scene is to listen to Triple J (radio) and check out their web site. It's part of ABC (like the BBC but Australia) http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/

Giant walk-in beer fridges in bottle shops with wall-to-wall slabs of chilled beer. Can't beat them. Makes me laugh everytime I think of the small three-shelf fridge that used to be in my local offy in the uk.

I saw the Queensland episode last week - What was that all about? What was with the big, bigger, biggest house? I hope they realise soon that in Aus nobody gives a stuff about the size of your house. Qulaity of life is what counts. Give me a cosy little house in a good area and a couple of mil in the bank anyday. And when will they add Tassie to the map? I think an episode on Lonny, Hobart and some Tassie couuntryside would be far more entertaining than a hour stuck in Frankston.