Dusty Plains

Canadians and Australians have a unique relationship. That is, we are not the USA and at the same time, we are not British. Canada and Australia share diplomatic services world-wide. For instance, if you are in a country that has no diplomatic Canadian office, such as South East Asia for instance, then the local Australian diplomatic service will provide you with a new Canadian passport and the like if necessary. Equally, the Canadian Diplomatic Service will also assist Australians world wide. This has been a "CAN-AUS" arrangement for years My advice is that you will fit in, given that Canadians and Australians are not just trying to prove a point, given that we have no "point" to prove, do we?. Also, Australia has more skiable snow fields than Europe, so bring your skis. We love Canadians because they have no baggage, political, social, or otherwise, so come on over' Now, "Spiders" as you have suggested. I live in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, and the possibly of encountering one of the worlds most dangerous spiders is found in the greater Sydney Area, yet particularly in the Blue Mountains. I have lived in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, for forty years and we have spotted only two spiders in that time. Welcome "Big Guy". Oh, and please excuse the odd Brit on here with the usual negative diatribe.

Thanks once again for a negative review and actually a very poor knowledge of living in Australia. Perhaps you would be happier elsewhere and yes I know why. Give it a rest please. Its not North Korea after all.

Here is your chance. Just let it flow.

Be happy (I am) that the English language, world-wide, has many grammatical variations, including vast variations on the predominant vowel bank: "AEIOU". Check out the New Zealand News hour and vowels galore that just do not work for Australians. Is that a "pig, or a peg?" I am stuffed if I can translate it. Yet these nuances are what make the English language word wide. When I went to school, if you were using two adjectives to describe a noun then you have to hyphenate the two, or more hyphens more according to the adjectives. So in the case of a blond haired suspect at a bank robbery in Bondi then that person is a blonde-haired suspect. Syllable breaks are even more common. UK: YOG-URT Australia: Yoe-Gurt. UK: Caff ( usually a tea room or coffee house) Australia: Caffay, given that the word "café" is pronounced given the agrave accent on the "e" UK: Garage: "Garridge" ( where you park your your car under shelter) Australia: Gararrge: UK: Homage: "O'marge" Australia: "HOMidge" and so it goes on.

The ABC, as you have suggested provides emergency bulletins in times of the usual and perennial flood, fire, and storm impacts to communities across Australia. That particular arrangement however emerged about 15 years ago, and it is still going on, yet it is no longer the primary source of emergency warnings I live in one the most historical bush fire prone zones in Australia right here in the Greater Sydney Area. Emergency notifications are now also made with an arrangement between emergency services and Telstra. If bushfires or similar are effecting me I receive a directive on my mobile phone to either leave the area now or to remain in place ahead of expected bushfire impact or similar. I do not have to sit alongside a radio or television and wait until my locality amongst many others is called up usually in alphabetical order and advice given. Telstra is a carrier and not an emergency service but it will carry directives from emergency services into specific areas. Initially the arrangement was that Telstra would carry directives from emergency services to mobile phone customers based on their billing address in relation to being within a threatened area. But that was determined as insufficient given that people who do not live in that area may be passing through or simply engaged in an activity in that area also needed to be notified of emergency impacting on that geographical area. Telstra came to the party in this respect and charged governments an absolute arm and a leg to carry real-time emergency warnings to all mobile phones in a particular area. Yes, an arm and a leg was paid but only if there was an emergency and still far cheaper and far more effective than what we still pay the ABC whether there is an emergency or otherwise.

Agreed, but a "mandate" can also relate to the premise of having general or wide ranging support or influence as a popular entity acknowledged by a major proportion of society (sorry if I sound like a dictionary). In that case the ABC at 25% has no valid claim in terms of a mandate.

Generally, ABC and SBS combined, account for about 25% of the free-to-air audience, while the commercial channels combined, account for the remaining 75% of the audience. 25% is hardly a mandate.

No I don't expect that, but at the same time I also do not expect the ABC to hold a Labor / Green government to account either. Not all of us consume media simply for the purposes of politics.

Perhaps there is the opportunity to rethink ABC continuing to be wholly dependent upon taxpayers. Just like Netflix and similar the ABC could operate on subscription service only. If you like the ABC then take up a subscription then I and many others would not have to support the ABC and pay for its legal fees every time the ABC loses a court case.

Of course you can opt out of paying for advertising. It does not matter which way you look at it, there is an opt-out on every point that you have made in relation to commercial interests. Also suggesting that I may be prone to making poor choices due to commercial television.... really? I think you may be scratching for something to win argument, and it is not working for you. As opposed to commercial TV and advertising, the ABC has NO opt-out provision. You and I and the rest of the population must pay for it whether we watch it or not, and whether we are not in the country but still paying tax to the ATO, we still have have no opt-out. Hopefully the return of the Liberal Federal Government in Australia will review the opt-out scenario in relation to the ABC.

A creepy Frank Thring reminding us to get a Radio and Television License. Australian TV ad from the 1960's

You could say that, however commercial television is free-to-air to consumers, because you and I do not have to pay for it. The advertisers pay for it. I do not pay for it whether I watch it or not. You and I can elect to pay-for-view such as Netflix and Foxtel, but we can opt out at any time. In 1957 Radio and TV licenses were introduced to fund the ABC. At least during that period people could opt out of buying Radio and TV licenses, which were eventually quashed in 1974. Since then the ABC pulls its funding from consolidated revenue, namely our taxes. You and I cannot opt out, and therefore we are forced to fund the ABC.

The ABC has never been free-to-air ever since its first transmission in 1956 or perhaps '57 when it was working out of an old church hall in Darlinghurst in Sydney. The commercial channels, as bad as they are, still represent the only free-to-air transmissions in Australia. The ABC lays claim to being "independent" media. Clearly however, the ABC has always been wholly dependent upon funding from all Australian taxpayers, most of whom rarely watch it. That means that all Australian taxpayers including private citizens, businesses and industry, must contribute to the ABC even if they do not have a television or radio. That means that the ABC, for instance, is more dependent than the BBC. Would that make the ABC one of the most dependent media services world wide? It would seem so.

I must be the typical new Aussie. I have a small skin cancer on my right nostril and will need plastic surgery in January. I recently had a full blood test and all factors were good except for one, namely that I was low in vitamin D. Weird.

We have a Glaswegian woman as part our extended family here, who is dearly loved, and has been in Australia for 30 years or so but still has what we thought was a wonderful Scottish accent. But when her mother comes over for Christmas and they get chatting to each other, well its a whole new dialect. We have to get an interpreter in. Sometimes I can pick a Melbournian as Melbournians have some quirky pronunciations of certain words. For instance the word "beer" in Melbournian is often pronounced as "bee-ah". Would you like a BEE-AH"? Consequently, we get gems like: " I spent my caree=ah as an enginee-ah" Was that South or North Korea? And finally Rudolph the Red Nose Reindee-ah.

Are Scottish accents diverse? Is it only the Glaswegian accent that differs from the rest of the Scottish population, or are there variations according to geography?

That may be the case but also arguable nonetheless. Lets not forget that the Poster was looking for helpful information:

There are a number of surveys relating to the cost of living of world cities. Most indicate that Sydney is cheaper than London, overall. This particular survey is especially comprehensive: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings.jsp Sydney is generally found in the mid 30's in terms of the cost of living surveys, meaning that it is approximately the 35th city in world rankings. Melbourne is generally cheaper however Sydney has a better purchasing power based on the average wage. I am a Sydney native and I have worked as a government officer through numerous departments right across Sydney for many years and raised a family here. If you want a bigger picture let me know the general location of the position being offered to your husband. I would be happy to provide further general information.

But then again, if you are going to live in an international city, you can stick with Sydney, and only that adherence that, Sydney provides. Ask most travellers worldwide about Melbourne Australia and you will draw a blank. I hate to say this but its true, In my own experience Melbourne has always been a union town, and that is not helpful to Victorians, I like parts of Melbourne, especially the Asian restaurants in Richmond, but its a good night out, and that does not transpire to any notion living there. I also like Adelaide as an unpretentious fun town and as a Sydney-sider, I would rather be in Adelaide, I would not live in Melbourne, but I could very well live in Port Fairy and other coastal towns along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. No offence intended to Melbourne, but its just the wrong vibe for me. Its coffee and AFL and a chip on the shoulder. Now, your suggestion about living in Sydney, I have moved house six times across Sydney and on each occasion have had a better outcome on each occasion. Yep, the northern beaches "the peninsula" are way out of my budget. But there is so much going on in Sydney, especially in the transport sector, which has to be one of the worlds greatest cities to get around by surface rail, underground rail, light rail, street trams, buses and ferries etc. Even as a kid I still love to cruise across to Manly on the ferry and now I take my grandchildren on that Sydney institution. No problem. If you like Melbourne then go for it.

Agreed. Nobody has to watch TV. But tell that to the ABC. Down there at 700 Harris Street Ultimo, just marginally out of the Sydney CBD, is ABC HQ Australia. I notice lately that the ABC is very much an outlet for the BBC and other UK programs. The budget cuts to the ABC actually works well for people like us, namely taxpayers, and there is a whole lot of programs, to enjoy good BBC and other British programs as well as other programs from around the world, as well as apolitical local programmes. The greater volume of ABC, which provide reasonably good middle-of-the road programs, is no longer wasting my tax dollar as much as it was several years ago. I am not anti ABC generally, I am being entertained, and at the same time, I do not expect that my tax dollar comes with a consistent theme of "how to vote for a Labor Government" Over the last 5 years or so I have had to pay less for programs related to the usual left wing, loony, victim-based rubbish by people who have never paid taxes to keep the precious ABC on air. The only time I, and anyone else that I know of, watches ABC, is the ABC Kids channel. My grandchildren ( who are little kids) and I, when we get together, we watch Play School, Moon and Me, Teletubbies. and Bluey, together. Then it becomes, around midday, a competition between me and them as to who falls asleep first

I think that Australian Television is just about dead. Its obvious that, there are fewer and fewer "TV" people, in the industry. They have been replaced by advertising hacks and geeks who prefer to sell us products rather than entertainment. These advertising types know exactly what to flog according to the demographic that is tuned into a particular program. Dumb shows flog needless stupid products to people who will fall over themselves to buy. Of course there are the odd gems on TV but they are rare. Agree that "Hughsie" is about as funny as acute appendicitis.

Actually I am with Parley's advice on this one. Its fair and reasonable advice.

Good question. What actually is a progressive outlook? Well let's see. Why are there regulated alcohol outlets in both Tennant Creek and Alice Springs? Why are the alcohol outlets in Tennant Creek basically cages with Police inside the cage and the locals on the outside? Cunnamulla is SW Queensland has two hotels and they are also cages. Why is that? My experiences as both a government officer and subsequently as a tourist reminds me of all those places I have worked in or spent some time in certain towns where NONE of the "progressive outlook" is self-evident, as much as anyone might try to find it. In Tennant Creek NT, if 50% of all children within school age actually attend school, then that is something to celebrate in TC. Why is that? Similar problems occur at nearly every whistle stop down the Stuart Highway through the NT heading toward South Australia. Then there is Ceduna SA (also an alcohol-restricted town). Wilcannia NSW where at the local petrol station there are signs everywhere warning customers to lock their vehicles when paying for fuel. The ruse at the Wilcannia petrol station was that if you left your keys in the ignition of an unlocked car, when you return to your vehicle you might encounter youths who hang around the petrol station and have your car keys dangling over the grating of a deep drain. They will return your car keys to you for a fee of $50. Then there is Dubbo, ( riots in the Gordon (state) Housing estate several years ago which saw approximately up to 10 houses every night set on fire with firefighters and Police being attacked by youths. Their progressive outlook? It was the Australia Day weekend and so the "locals" were pissed off. I was there, ducking, rocks, stones, roof tiles and anything else that could be thrown. I had to replace two emergency vehicles as they were smashed beyond serviceable condition. Yet there were no arson charges ever made, no charges made relating to affray, assault, or damaging property including government property. So what is this progressive outlook? Here is my definition: Get up in the morning and prepare your children for school. Pack healthy lunches for your children. Head off to your job, work hard and pay your taxes. Stop being a burden on the taxpayers, and mostly stop being some sort of "victim". You are not a victim,. There are no generational victims in Australia, so drop the victim ploy and start being a contributor to Australia. Obey the law and work hard to ensure that your children have brighter prospects that you do. Now that is a progressive outlook, for everyone.

Why are your posts consistently about drugs?

Why are your posts consistently about drugs?