robfromdublin

I suspect the OP won't return to this thread given how long it's been, but if she is reading then the Federal Government has introduced a $200 voucher for relationship counselling for couples, which might be a good idea. I've got a one year old and battle persistent homesickness but nothing like PND. I would certainly not consider any life-changing decisions in the first year of having a baby. It's just such a crazy time and it's very hard to readjust to both your new lives even without the complication of being away from family. Homesickness can be a convenient crutch on which to pin all your post-baby issues. Remember that moving home is going to be very different to going back for a holiday. Would you consider emigrating to Oz a few months after having kid? No. Emigrating back to the UK would be just as stressful.

Only if you had very high fees and were in a poor investment choice. I've had a mere 8k in my UK pension and that has been increasing quite nicely even with fees. The key is what you are actually invested in. If you are invested in cash then yes, it is a rubbish investment for someone with a long timeframe to retirement like you. However, given what you've said, I'd imagine you are invested in the default fund for your super provider, is that right? This is probably the 'MySuper' offering which is a mix of growth (shares, property) and defensive (bonds, cash) assets. If I was you I'd put it all in growth, check the fees are low (~1%) and leave it there. HOWEVER, this changes if you have no intention of coming back to Australia. If, as MrsDawnRazor says, you lose the tax benefits of Super if you are not an Australian resident (I didn't realise this) then there may be no benefit to having your money in Super. You may do just as well taking it out and putting it into the exact same investments outside of Super. I would investigate the tax implications of keeping money in Australian Super but not being a resident. And I wouldnt' be relying on internet forums for tax advice! All the best with whatever you decide anyway.

Yes I think fundamentally if you have no intention of returning then there is absolutely no point in getting citizenship and incurring all that expense. If there is a chance that you will return then I would play devil's advocate and say you should get it. The super issue is a good point but if you intend to return at any point then I would just leave that in an indexed share fund and let it accumulate, rather than take it out and incur taxes.

Yeah battery is an issue, as is signal under layers of containers/packaging. Your logistics company will know what ship it's on (you would hope!), which you can then track with this site: https://www.marinetraffic.com/

Yes this makes no sense. You asked for the money to be put in his account. It was. He kept it. I'm not sure why he would even bother ringing up the ATO. Nevertheless, have you contacted the ATO? They may have a recording of his telephone call. Really though, you trusted a significant amount of money to a person with fraud convictions. Chalk it up to experience.

I guess the main issue with finding somewhere is work. What will you both do? Townsville is a good option for your wife as there is AIMS and JCU, but scientific positions are hard to come by so I wouldn't necessarily rely on that

What sort of environmental job are you looking for? My company is looking for a flood engineer, but in Brisbane. Try ringing recruiters to to get an idea of what's out there. Also the usual places like Seek and so on. Best to pick up the phone for this kind of stuff to be honest.

Both a money and time-saving tip from me: Plan your meals in advance and buy all the ingredients in one weekly shop. You'll be much less likely to buy expensive 'quick and easy' meals like frozen pizza. You'll eat healthier and if you plan to have one or two vegetarian meals a week then you'll cut down on your meat consumption (expensive). Buy your veg at the market, your meat at the butcher and have anything else you need delivered by Coles/Woolies to avoid having to actually go there.

No idea what schools are like but Clayfield may also tick a few boxes? Plenty of restaurants/cafes anyway and it will be a good bit cheaper than the ones you mentioned. It's also on the train line so it's a short commute. Hard to look past those 3 you mentioned though, they are all lovely.

I live in The Gap and love it. We chose to buy our first home there last year and one of the reasons was the very high standard of the state schools, which is why a lot of people move there. The advice above is on the money for the most part. If you live close-ish to Waterworks Road then you can catch any of the express buses into the city and it is quick. I'm not sure why the poster above thinks the public transport is poor, it's excellent, although there is no train line so perhaps that is why. If you're driving you may need to leave early to avoid traffic as it gets very busy, otherwise the buses are much quicker with the T2 lane. Alternatively you can use this lane if you have a passenger in your car. You're going to get creepy crawlies everywhere so try to be realistic about this. If this is a big issue then make sure you live in a house with fly screens wherever you end up. I've lived in 3 suburbs (Auchenflower, Stafford and The Gap) and The Gap has marginally more wildlife but I probably only notice this because I'm into that (environmental scientist). Re schools you may be able to attend the state schools even if you aren't in the catchment. This is certainly not guaranteed however. The only way to guarantee you get a place is to live in the catchment. I'm not sure what the deal is with transfer files, I suggest calling the schools and asking. There are also good private primary schools which many people choose instead of state. I have yet to hear a convincing argument as to why (facilities etc. seem to be just as good for the state school near us) but lots of people do it, possibly because the cost of private schools is considerably lower than that of childcare so it seems like a good deal! One thing to note is that the state schools in the area have received boosts to their funding because the state premier Campbell Newman is at risk of losing his seat. He has ensured that millions has been pumped into the Ashgrove electorate and that has poured over into The Gap too (e.g. http://education.qld.gov.au/schools/grants/state/targeted/schools-maintenance.html). Google 'pork-barrelling Ashgrove'! I am continually amazed by how sociable the place is, which is probably why you saw the question 'What can you do for our school?'. Two weeks after moving into our house, we were invited to a street party celebrating Christmas in July with each course of the meal hosted at a different house. We had another street party a month ago to welcome a new resident. Everyone is very welcoming and always helping each other out, it's really nice. Of course, that may just be our street. I'm sure not everyone experiences this! I'm rabbiting on so I'll stop. I can't speak highly enough of the place and I was extremely sceptical about living there when we first moved to Brisbane due to the distance from the city. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have and/or give advice about best pockets to live in if you like.

I saw the title and was about to jump in with "I got 2 in ALDI a couple weeks back that are awesome!" Maybe I'll keep that to myself

Best bet is to ask the recruiters and/or apply for those jobs anyway. 5 years is not a lot of experience so if employers are willing to hire people with only 5 years then they are probably expecting some amount of training to go with it anyway. They might advertise that they prefer candidates with O&G experience but if they're not forthcoming then they'll look to others. You might also have better skills than other candidates and so they'd go with you despite not having the experience anyway.

Hi Jodie, Medicare will cover everything except a couple of scans. I think we paid for our first set of scans in a private clinic (~$200), although we wouldn't have paid if we went through the hospital. We went through the hospital for subsequent scans and there was a minimal amount to pay if I recall correctly (<$100 total). If you go private then you'll pay multiple thousands. We had our kid in Brisbane and could not fault the service we got. We'll definitely go public for the next one. Re entitlements I'm not sure how your visa status would affect them. As a citizen you are entitled to 18 weeks maternity pay at minimum wage, with some family tax benefit depending on your household income. You'd probably get the family tax benefit as your partner is a citizen but not sure on the mat pay. Check with centrelink. Congratulations! Rob

Norway is a massive oil and gas exporter and yet 97% of its electricity is produced by renewable sources. i don't think you got my point though. It's not either coal or renewables. It's both, together. Many countries have greater than 20% of their energy produced by renewables because it makes good economic sense over the long term. Unfortunately, the issue is clouded by people who jump up and down saying renewables don't work when the reality and the FACTS are that it can and it does. i also don't see why it should be divided along left and right lines although that's what has happened. Do both sides of politics not want a stable, cheap source of energy? Renewables WILL form part of that mix.

Countries that have introduced some form of renewables? Almost all nations have done this. Despite what you say, China is the world's number one producer of renewable energy. Here's a list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_electricity_production_from_renewable_sources The top ten are China, USA, Brazil, Canada, Russia, India, Germany, Norway, Japan and Spain in that order.

It's not either/or. You can reduce reliance on coal by reducing the number of coal-fired stations and shifting to renewables. The electricity network is based on peak demand. If you can reduce the level of peak demand you can reduce the total investment in the network. That has been happening with the shift to solar and now it looks like a lot of that good work is being undone with this 'review' run by a climate denier.

You've basically just argued that the ABC is biased because the ABC is biased. Have you any facts to backup your argument or is it all just conjecture or your own opinion?

That is absolutely true. Except that Australia has the capacity to influence the behaviour of the two blokes with taps going full blast (USA & China). Persuading them to do something would have a much greater effect that doing something ourselves. Of course, Australia has no chance to persuade them to do anything unless she shows some leadership first. Nevertheless, Australia is hamstrung by being a resources provider. How do you show leadership when your government and largest companies (e.g. BHP) are bankrolled by things like coal, gas, etc.? It's very difficult. You don't see Saudi Arabia out there telling the world to stop using oil.

I think the thrust of the argument against it is not necessarily that the construction of the terminal itself will cause issues, but that there will be increased shipping traffic through the reef and will obviously bring increased risks of an incident. As for the media, as I see it only the ABC or the BBC are truly neutral. None of the papers are and so they must be read with that in mind. I don't see how the ABC are somehow Left MARYROSE02, except that the current government don't like them so they try to paint them in that light. Can you present an argument as to why they are Left-leaning?

As mentioned, comfortable means different things to different people. I reckon 2.5 is closer to the mark but that's a very broad indicator. To be honest, if you're happy to commute and live away from the CBD, you have no kids, one good income (>$100,000) and one other income then you'll be very comfortable. That doesn't necessarily mean that you'll have the same financial security as in the UK, but you'll be able to rent a decent place, eat out every so often, go to sports events, do touristy things, etc.

A refund is worth very little if you're left with 3 weeks to get new tickets for a family of four. Reducing ticket prices is the main option for them really. Can't cut many routes with less than a years notice (as you'd have to pay refunds) and you need any plane that's flying to be as full as possible as you've already incurred all the cost by then.

Thanks guys. I have the new pin so that's not the issue. The issue is I need to unlock the card to use the new pin. I'll try HSBC in the city. Otherwise I'll declare the card 'stolen' and have them reissue a new one that isn't locked.

I recently locked my Irish (AIB) debit card and had to have the pin re-issued. Unfortunately, AIB cannot unlock it remotely and I have to go to an ATM with 'pin services' available. In Australia, however, most atms do not offer pin services on another bank's cards so I have been unable to do this. Does anyone know of an ATM anywhere that does this? Maybe HSBC given they have an international focus? Somewhere at the airport maybe? I only need the card to use the annoying card reader for internet banking. I'm really regretting trying to guess the pin now. I was sure it would be easy for AIB to unlock it!

Just had this conversation with my wife as we're planning a trip back next year. I would definitely fly with them even though the incident was a little bit closer to home than most (a friend in work lost both his parents). Having said that, we would not want to risk them going bankrupt and leaving us high and dry, which you'd have to say is pretty likely unless the Malaysian government intervenes. This is based on my understanding that they were merely unlucky and followed all appropriate safety guidance.

Hi Shelly, Just so you know, as someone vaguely interested in the topic (I have a kid in Brisbane) I skipped right over your post. Obviously it doesn't matter too much if you decide not to put any full-stops or paragraphs in what you write. It's entirely up to you. But a lot of people, like myself, won't even try to read it as a result. I'm not having a go or anything (my writing is awful too) but just adding to what Rupert is saying. Best of luck in getting your kid into State High! Rob