MacGyver

Personally I think its a no brainer, wait and see if more cases develop, and if they do rely on hope that you can contain it leading to a possible months long lockdown. Or lockdown for a few days, identify any cases that develop and know with certainty you've contained the outbreak with minimal (by minimal I mean a few days) disruption, rather than months long uncertainty and the inevitable impact on business and mental health that would have. All but NSW seem to take the view that the latter apprach is better and I suspect if NSW starts seeing clusters grow, their view will change wuite quickly to a lockdown approach. People respond to clear and decisive action, the lack of compliance in the UK was due to dithering, mixed messaging, lack of clarity and lack of consistency. 

46 minutes ago, JetBlast said:

I get there is a priority but how would they call these people up?

For some I would imagine its via employers, at least thats how it works for the flu vaccine in my work. We get an email with a link to register for early/free flu vaccination and that process confirms you work 'frontline'. So for those who work or are living in care homes, I imagine it will be fed out through the employer/organisations (who should be registered to provide care etc), or docs will attend x residential home on x date to vaccinate all staff and residents. Then for the phases based on age groups in the community, I would imagine its a lot like MArissa said. An announcement saying "If you are xx age You are now eligible, register on this website to select a place/time to receive your vaccine". Turn up with an ID document (to prove eg age) and then get the jab. 

28 minutes ago, JetBlast said:

Hello,

 

I have just announcement that the COVID vaccine is due to be rolled out soon. 
 

I am curious as to how they do this? Do they go off the Medicare database? I have a Medicare. I have used it once when I was away from my home state and that has been it. 
 

I am on a 489 so I am not sure if that makes a difference to eligibility? I will be applying for my 887 in a few months so I will be entitled to full Medicare soon anyway.  

 

Probably too early to ask but I thought I would throw it out there. 
 

Cheers. 

The first stage of rollout seems limited to Quarantine staff, frontline health workers and staff and residents of aged and/or disability care residential facilities, using the Pfeizer vaccine (approval pending in Jan). Those groups should be farily easy to identify and will likely take a while to complete. It seems likely that Astrazeneca will be the vaccine used for the larger population (as can be manufactured in Ausralia), which they expect to be approved for use Mid to late Feb. So I cant answer your question, but given it will still be a few months at least before vaccines are more widely available, we should get more clarity around how people are identified in the coming weeks and months. 

Taken from the ABC (I likely wont get a vaccine until Phase 2b, so second half of the year no doubt) 

Phase 1a - up to 1.4m doses 

• Quarantine and border workers (70,000)

• Frontline health care worker sub-groups for prioritisation (100,000)

• Aged care and disability care staff (318,000)

• Aged care and disability care residents (190,000)

Phase 1b - up to 14.8m doses 

• Elderly adults aged 80 years and over (1,045,000)

• Elderly adults aged 70-79 years (1,858,000)

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people > 55 (87,000)

• Younger adults with an underlying medical condition, including those with a disability (2,000,000)

• Critical and high risk workers including defence, police, fire, emergency services and meat processing (196,000)

Phase 2a - up to 15.8m doses 

• Adults aged 60 to 69 years (2,650,000)

• Adults aged 50-59 years (3,080,000)

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 18-54 (387,000)

• Other critical and high risk workers (453,000)

Phase 2b - up to 16m doses 

• Balance of adult population (6,643,000)

• Catch up any unvaccinated Australians from previous phases

Phase 3 - up to 13.6m doses 

• < 18 if recommended (5,670,000)

Witches are quite susceptible to water. You will have noticed the beach culture in Australia, which outsiders always believed to be for fun. This is in fact a ritual performed for generations, whereby the population enters the water en masse to purge itself of witches and witchcraft. Australian houses have also been fitted with running water and showers to esnure that any witches that escaped the beach purge are eliminated. You should be quite safe if you stick to the watery coastal areas and carry a water pistol at all times.

58 minutes ago, mt9754 said:

Yes, it’s 100% a failure of the national cabinet that so many Australians are stuck abroad.  When Victoria went into lockdown the other states ran away from the problem instead of doubling down on quarantine capacity.

Anyway, anyone still abroad - make sure you get a Phizer or AstraZenica vaccine over the next few months.  Rumours are that you will be able to skip hotel quarantine if you’ve had it.  From what i’ve read, Qantas expect flights to return in earnest starting June (they previously said October)

The other states increased international passenger arrivals in response to Melbourne's inability to receive its share of passengers. PErhaps they could have doen more, but its not true to say that they ran away from the problem.

I haven’t lived in Kinross so will let others share their experiences of the suburb. In terms of location from the CBD, I’d personally drive to the station and get the train in from there. Traffic in the morning can be slow from 6.30am onwards and anything north of Whitfords Ave will be 45 mins on a good day, at least an hour on a typical day of rush hour traffic, and probably over an hour if coming from north of Burns Beach Road.

The trains are clean, regular and reliable so worth considering and many stations have ample parking at a cost of $2 per day. Costs will be similar to driving which is why a lot of people drive, but at that time of the day from that distance, train will be quicker.

On 26/11/2020 at 16:32, Dusty Plains said:

Agreed, however the SW of WA is a boom area, socially, commercially and even industrially,  whereas Brisbane and Newcastle are generally not boom towns. Aside from the lovely areas, I am certain that the SW of WA is Perth's new Gold Coast. Brisbane and Newcastle are fine but especially in the case of Newcastle, they are not growing at the rate that is evident in the towns and cities of SW of WA.

My daughter and SIL resided for five years in Newcastle, but then moved to SW WA (Dunsborough) and would never return to Newcastle. They are far richer and happier.

SW/WA is not just a pretty face. There is sprawling new housing, commerce, industry and the retail sector has boomed. The schools are also very well regarded. I love the Farmers Markets at Busselton. 

I guess there is somewhat of a conundrum in the advice we offer here on PIO, to prospective immigrants, advising them go to the established cities or, as in the case of Harty who is an electrician, and who, has a young family, I suggest to go to the boom towns in Australia where you don't have to try and bust into an established mafiosa of existing tradies and companies that have the market already stiched up.  There are thousands of electricians, teachers, builders etc. in Brisbane and Newcastle. 

 Boom towns on the other hand are a mecca for the individual tradie.    

I agree SW of WA is at a tipping point and the secret is almost out (if it isn’t already). It’s already a lovely place to visit but in ten years I think it will really have taken off and may offer a “second city” feel to it, to offset some of the isolation Perth experiences as the only major population centre in WA. A lot of development is already underway from Bunbury down to Margaret river and lots more to come.

It won’t have the same population as the Gold Coast (nowhere near it), but it will have the same feel of a cluster of population centres combining into something greater than the individual parts, much like the Gold Coast is. it offers desirable cold winter breaks by the fireplace, beautiful warm summers, stunning beaches, established wine region, more pleasant climate than Perth and soon to be direct flights from Melbourne which I imagine will grow to direct flights from other cities. An underdeveloped gem and it’s time is about to come.

Be sure to start the Rabies vaccination and testing process early as it can take over 6 months to get your pet ready to travel to Australia due to the strict regulations.

On 18/10/2020 at 08:28, Kelpie said:

How easy is it to change nbn provider?  Is it like the UK where you choose a new provider and they deal with the switching or do you need to cancel one, choose a new provider, and hope that it all aligns? 

In my experience it's been the latter, where we had to do all the leg work. Unsure if thats the norm though

Go to Tesco and buy a few 4 or 5 plug adapters before you leave. Then when you arrive you only need one big bulky UK/Aus adapter plugged into the wall for the extension chord and can run multiple UK devices off it, with original plugs in place.

20 minutes ago, bug family said:

Mmmmm let me think Maryrose   ....some things are tangible and you can definitely make the comparison, but others not so much, therefore it is hard to be specific, that is because everyone feels different about where they live and what they experience here and have experienced elsewhere in their lives......for example in my opinion, here the suburbs are all very nice and clean and the houses look shiny on the outside, but its a facade, as on the inside they are all pretty much the same boxy soulless layout and quite dark and depressing and life here, for me at least seems to be the same ......its a choice of beach, bbq, aussie football, v8 holdens, with a bit of alcohol, sunburn, mosquitoes and endless outback...and not much else ...oooo but we have got a tour of freemantle prison that you can go on for the sixteenth time ..... for example you mention village pubs in one of your earlier posts, that feeling that you get when you discover a little village and its pub that you have never been to before....compared to.....discovering another coles in a generic shopping centre set in the middle of a bunch of houses all built on a large sand pit.....just not the same is it.....It is unfair I suppose to compare historical items as yes Britain has a massive amount of culture and historical places and I am not going to get into making a comparison list as i would be obviously biased in what I would list,  I simply tend to agree on what red rose commented that underneath the shiny exterior here it is not very shiny at all .....in fact its very dull

I haven't read too many of your posts BF so please forgive me if I'm speaking out of turn. I was just wondering if you would have/might still prefer a different city/state to Perth/WA based on what you've written? Most of the 'historical' buildings and small interesting country towns are probably to the East rather than West, with larger population density to support these things (relatively speaking). Its not the same history as the UK of course, but I wonder if it might have been enough of a hint of it to help you feel more settled?

I agree with Marrissa's comments that the pandemic wont be over any time soon, but probably side with mrsmac regarding timing of the move. While the pandemic will continue to be an issue throughout 2021 and more lockdowns may come and go, I would personally wait until the current UK lockdowns have ended/eased before making the move. Things will be quite grim for a month or two at least, until the UK (more specifically England) get things under control and start to ease restrictions. Moving internationally is hard enough without trying to line up jobs, buy cars, register for sevices etc etc in the middle of the biggest health crisis in a century. I would look to move from February to April, with the caveat that my view might be different if returning to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, where things arent currently as bad.

6 hours ago, rtritudr said:

Sometimes you do wonder if these people are being paid by China to spread misinformation.

I tend to find attitudes towards the virus are reflective of political views. People are drawn to publications that reflect their own world view and for some, this can lead to misinformation and a minimisation of the pandemic.

For example some right wing publications take the lead from Mr Trump. He is motivated to minimise the virus as he has handled it so badly. Supportive publications are motivated to minimise the virus to let Mr Trump off the hook and to conjure up “others” to blame. People drawn to those publications are exposed only to this narrative and understandably form an opinion based on this denial.

The science seems very clear to those who wish to look.

49 minutes ago, HappyHeart said:

2 week quarantine if you travel to or from NSW/Vic from WA as I understand. 

I thought it had been two weeks quarantine in a hotel facility but today Mr McGowan said nothing would change for residents of Vic and NSW, and they would have to ‘self isolate’ for two weeks with a Covid test at days 1 and 11. Has it been home isolation all this time for interstate travellers or did I pick it up wrong?

14 minutes ago, HappyHeart said:

What do we think?? Good or bad?

I think on balance it’s probably the right decision. The health argument was weakening in light of other states having no transmission with selective borders and low numbers in Vic and nsw.

Politically it is probably wise too, as headlines of families being seperated for Christmas (with less health justification for it) wouldn’t be a good look. Also the Palmer high court ruling is next week (I think) and this preemptive move might avoid a bloodied nose if the case goes against the WA government.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out, as ‘Covid safe’ behaviour isn’t really a thing at the moment in WA, just life as normal

The BBC praises Melbourne as a "world leader in disease suppression" following it's covid response:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54654646

1 hour ago, Alan Collett said:

You can call me Alan - we're all friends on here ...

I'm looking at this from what I think is a holistic perspective.   A devastated economy means an inability to fund all the demands that will be placed on health and welfare - we're heading over the cliff the way this is going/being handled.

We all get blase about Government borrowings - a trillion here and a trillion there.   It used to be that a billion $'s was a large amount of money.  Here's a pictorial of what a trillion $'s represents.

Incidentally my financial livelihood is not materially impacted by the well being of the migration industry,  just in case you were suggesting my view is tainted.

Best regards.

Hi Alan!

I wasn’t intending to suggest your view is tainted, my apologies if it came across that way. I was trying to discuss the genesis of different viewpoints, where people like myself have the luxury of focussing only on the health aspect as employment is unaffected, but others such as yourself may incorporate different factors into your viewpoint given the huge impact on migration at present.

Both are valid views/positions and perhaps selfishly I consider the current arrangements as an acceptable temporary solution given life feels very much like normal and the local economy is thriving. I realise that isn’t a universal experience, but it is the basis for my position and the reason I extend that view out to supporting Victoria’s lockdown, as I consider how well it worked in WA and imagine all other states having similar economic success and recovery post lockdown. Easy to say from a distance though!

On a bigger scale I worry about the impact of recurring lockdown, open up early, lockdown, open up earl and the impact this would have on the economy. There seems little point in lockdown unless you take the Victorian approach of locking down very hard, getting almost elimination then opening up fully (with borders intact). Long term this obviously causes different problems (isolation/ongoing quarantine).

Glad to hear you’re not overly impacted by the global chaos, I feel very lucky (and sometimes guilt) myself to be doing ok given what I see/hear others experiencing.

7 minutes ago, Quinkla said:

I'm not sure how that is flipping an argument around or how that is relevant. We know that the mortality from Covid is 2-4% and we know that if it is left unchecked, almost all of us will get it. So with Australia having a population of 20 million, that would be 400,000-800,000 deaths. I don't think many people would think that was OK if it could be avoided. 

You are viewing it from a health perspective, which I happen to agree with. Mr Collett seems to be viewing it primarily from an economic perspective.

I would argue that Australia is moving to a position whereby state borders will come down and international borders will remain closed. This will lead to a situation across the country where life is basically back to normal and a large majority are back in work (see WA economy as a good example of this). 

The main sectors that will remain impacted will be tourism and the migration industry and one might expect people working in those industries to form a view that opening international borders is a necessity. I disagree with that point at the moment but my employment isn’t dependent on open borders, luckily.

5 hours ago, Alan Collett said:

The policy is one of suppression, not eradication.

Isn't it?

Some day soon we're going to have to learn to live with the virus.   Hopefully without the accompanying hysteria.

Onwards!

 

Indeed, but living with it is a scary prospect, no hysteria intended 

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-54540544

6 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

Saw an article earlier about the fact that a single person slipping through and WA could be like Melbourne in a week or so.  It's a fair point, and the problem with the isolation approach - you are only as good as your isolation!

I think this is inevitable when reading about so many people escaping hotel quarantine etc and ending up in court. When it happens, a New Zealand approach would be my preference, go hard and go early for a short period of restrictions to eradicate it again.

I was amazed Melbourne didn’t lockdown when numbers were hitting 20-30 per day never mind 700 and can’t imagine the WA state government would let it go that far before taking action given previous decision making.

59 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

The shopping is the only thing I miss since returning to Australia.   Much bigger variety of clothing and household goods in the UK (and then of course, there's European shopping on holidays - I want to go back to Spain just to buy some more undies at El Corte Ingles!).   Can't say I thought the supermarkets were that much better than Oz except for the ready meal packages (a ready meal, dessert and wine), especially at M&S and Waitrose.  There was a bigger range of other products but as I'm a fairly basic cook, it didn't mean much to me!

I agree, the shopping for clothes etc is much better in the UK but I prefer the grocery shopping in Australia in many ways. Australia seems to try to promote 'local' produce quite well (for most things) and although not perfect, seems to have far less wasteful packaging on fruit and veg than Tesco etc in the UK. I much prefer having to go through baskets of fruit and veg to pick what I want than having perfect items every time, imported from Chile, in plastic boxes wrapped in more plastic packaging then flash frozen for the journey overseas. 

3 hours ago, Alan Collett said:

IMHO the 5k radius is arbitrary - why not 1k, or 100 metres? 

Indeed, what happened to the much touted COVID app?

Best regards.

Resistance to downloading it rendered it less useful, then those who refused to download it criticised it for being only partially useful. It's on my phone, yours?

4 hours ago, starlight7 said:

Do you agree with the really hard lockdown in Victoria or do you think it is all too much and will totally wreck our economy?I certainly agree with social distancing and mask wearing but not so sure about the 5 km restrictions, especially where we live where there are only a very few cases of Covid 19.

I think he's doing the right thing, but it's easy for me to say from a distance when I'm not struggling through the lockdown. The quarantine issues aside, once the second wave started he tried a softer approach initially. Unfortunately too many people seemed to ignore the rules and it led to huge numbers.

If I was in his shoes I'd be looking at it thinking we can open up a bit now and hope people follow the relaxed rules this time, or stick it out a bit longer and get back to zero community cases if we're lucky, then it doesn't matter so much when people inevitably break the rules.

I think the option to go softer (and possibly save his political career) was taken from him during the early stages of the second wave, when people refused to follow the rules. It would be madness to think this behaviours wouldn't happen again now.

1 hour ago, Bobj said:

Just remembered an incident in caravanning. I bought a small ‘van for living in on the Tom Price-Paraburdoo/Robe River iron ore rail projects. After they were completed, I decided to head south and east, across the Nullabor, which, in those days, was 1000 miles of dirt road. Pretty much in the centre of that road, I had a blowout on my 4wd. The temperature was about 109F and it took me 3 hours to ‘break the bead’ of the tyre. Mum stayed in the ‘van while I toiled away. 
vowed never ever to  buy another ‘van due to that.
cheers, Bobj.

 

Ever thought of writing a book of short stories (with photos) about your travels Bob? I'd buy it in a heartbeat

4 minutes ago, Raul Senise said:

 

I am thankful for your recommendations and although I often help with general enquiries for free, I do not offer free consultations and assessments. 

There are three main reasons for this:

1) The regulations have become far more complex over the last few years and even basic assessments require at least an hour or two of research to provide reliable advice;

2) A Registered Agent is liable for specific advice given, even if no money has changed hands;

3) If I were to give free assessments and consultations I would have time for nothing else. 

Thanks for correcting my post and explaining Raul, apologies for the misinformation