Australian Political & Infrastructure Discussion Thread

[Imperial isa]

Now that China has stopped buying our food and coal, there are huge food shortages and huge power outages, and people aren't allowed to turn their power on, unless the temperature falls below a certain level. China is now begging Australia to mend their relationships with us so we can get back to trading together. I would have the shits with Scomo if he were to give into them. Let them come crawling back to us. They need us more than we need them. Thank God the LNP's in charge federally, I could see the ALP bending over backwards for them. Many people told Jodi McKay when she posted on Facebook about how racist it was to criticide the CCP, and I completely embarrassed her in that post. She memory-holed that post within a couple of hours

Wasn't there a Tasmanian senator who was called a racist over a question to a think tank group over china ?

[Amorosa-Coonarra Coasts]

The fundamental reason I don't like the media (press & cable TV news) is because at the end of the day - politics aside, Sky, Nine, Seven, Channel 10, BuzzFeed, VICE - they're all corporations out to make profit. They'll report on whatever guarantees them it and they sell their space - and in turn their audience - out to the highest bidder.

Harvy Norman's getting a bad rap for being one of the most prominent advertisrs - and everyone knows it. There's a hashtag trending for it: #BoycottHarveyNorman.
I know I will be.

News Corpse does have a legitimately big influence. It legitimately does, on elections, on social upheaval, but only if it suits him.
How come Trump won then, even with the accusations against him?
Same sex marriage? Works for me.
Up to 40x faster ADSL broadband? Fibre-to-the-premises NBN? No
Fair penalty rates for the lowest-paid workers in Australia Bitter medicine, worth it to tie up the deficit.
Anything that Murdy doesn't like NO! I DONT WANT THAT!
Youth? Lazy and entitled.
DUnemployed Lazy dole bludgers

Canada and NZ's journalists legally cannot lie in their releases or articles.

And just as a little addon, even James Murdoch is slamming his family's century-long business.
Key word is business. That's what it is, has always been and always will - a business.

p.s. Gerry harvey hasn't just not pulled advertising from Murdoch le Monopolist's papers and channels, but he's paying his workers really badly and says he wants them to work for free. Not only that, bragging about making money off a pandemic, sending retired horses to the knackery,

I swear to God I'll be at Betta Home Living, Mattress Xpress, Appliances Online, or Kogan.com. Good god, I didn't realise how much of a s**thole Harvey Norman is with its treatment of customers, 7-Eleven-esque underpaying of workers, contributing to the terrible treatment of horses by the racing industry, and this:

That makes me sick.

Gerry Harvy doesn't care about you; he's an elitist corporate zealot. And yet many big publications and networks (e.g. SBS, Sydney Morning Herald, four-page ads in most Murdoch papers) still advertise his company on their snot-rags of publications.

I won't be shopping at Hardly Normal, Dorkmayne or Moyce Jayne again, after hearing what he's done.

[Amorosa-Coonarra Coasts]

Dread it, GLaDOS. Run from it.
COVID breaks out all the same.

Looks like AusrePublic was right. this was going to happen as long as she
doesn't allow masks.

And yet she's being vague about it.

Who do you think's done more:
Gladys or Dan?

Also, I hate that the Sydney Moron Herld's pushing that Berejiklian's better than Ardern.
Ardern runs a country that's got a Hobbit set, heaps of cool mountains to ski on and FAR SMALLER infection rates!

Seriously, the Sydney Moron Herald is just another roll of toilet paper now.

[Australian rePublic]

(Image)

Dread it, GLaDOS. Run from it.
COVID breaks out all the same.

Looks like AusrePublic was right. this was going to happen as long as she
doesn't allow masks.

And yet she's being vague about it.

Who do you think's done more:
Gladys or Dan?

Also, I hate that the Sydney Moron Herld's pushing that Berejiklian's better than Ardern.
Ardern runs a country that's got a Hobbit set, heaps of cool mountains to ski on and FAR SMALLER infection rates!

Seriously, the Sydney Moron Herald is just another roll of toilet paper now.

I'll make a post about why it's wrong to compare NZ's Covid cases to Australia's, but yes, Gladys has handled this poorly

[Amorosa-Coonarra Coasts]

I'll make a post about why it's wrong to compare NZ's Covid cases to Australia's, but yes, Gladys has handled this poorly

Um,
what's wrong with me comparing NZ's COVID cases to australia's?
NZ has had less cases than Australia.

I'm not into NZ politics, but I do gather that Jacinda Ardern has done well. Possibly even better than
Scotty has. *although that's debatable*

[Amorosa-Coonarra Coasts]

Reminder when Clive Palmer was suing WA to open so he could go to his house he own?

States open i bet he too chicken to come here now.

Let's stop kicking the dead horse; Clive Palmer can't regain his podium.
He's not worth the attention anymore

There are bigger fish to fry than that sentient yoga ball.

[Australian rePublic]

I'll make a post about why it's wrong to compare NZ's Covid cases to Australia's, but yes, Gladys has handled this poorly

Um,
what's wrong with me comparing NZ's COVID cases to australia's?
NZ has had less cases than Australia.

I'm not into NZ politics, but I do gather that Jacinda Ardern has done well. Possibly even better than
Scotty has. *although that's debatable*

Well firstly, NZ has 1/5 of our population, meaning that if there was 1/5 of the infections that Australia had, they're pretty much on par with us

[Punished UMN]

What exactly is a jolly swagman, and why would he dance by a billabong, whatever the fuck that is.

[Amorosa-Coonarra Coasts]

Um,
what's wrong with me comparing NZ's COVID cases to australia's?
NZ has had less cases than Australia.

I'm not into NZ politics, but I do gather that Jacinda Ardern has done well. Possibly even better than
Scotty has. *although that's debatable*

Well firstly, NZ has 1/5 of our population, meaning that if there was 1/5 of the infections that Australia had, they're pretty much on par with us

still did a good job though.

Anyway, How was everyone's new years? I spent mine writing a long rant on Gerry Harvey and the media.

[Australian rePublic]

What exactly is a jolly swagman, and why would he dance by a billabong, whatever the fuck that is.

A billabong is what Americans would call an "Oxbow creek". He didn't dance by it, he camped by it. A swagman was a person who travelled by foot from farm to farm looking for work. A jolly swagman is a swagman who is jolly

[Dazchan]

What exactly is a jolly swagman, and why would he dance by a billabong, whatever the fuck that is.

Since Aussie Republic already answered this, I'll merely add, before you ask, that a jumbuck is a sheep, a tuckerbag is where a swagman stores his food and a billy is what you make tea in when camping.

Basically, the song is about an unemployed drifter who kills and eats a sheep, gets caught and commits suicide rather than facing arrest. Why anyone thinks that it's a good song to identify with is a mystery.

[Punished UMN]

What exactly is a jolly swagman, and why would he dance by a billabong, whatever the fuck that is.

A billabong is what Americans would call an "Oxbow creek". He didn't dance by it, he camped by it. A swagman was a person who travelled by foot from farm to farm looking for work. A jolly swagman is a swagman who is jolly

Thank you both.

[Amorosa-Coonarra Coasts]

I don't think Witness K and his lawyer deserve to be prosecuted just for blowing the whistle on
that Liberal that became an advisor to Woodside Petroleum, and that the East Timorese government offices
were bugged during negotiations regarding the fossil-fuel rich Timor Sea.

Regardless of what transpired,
this whole 'secret court' thing is well outside the bounds of democracy.

Why should an anonymous spy and his lawyer be raided, stripped of their passports,
and trialled in a secret court for telling the truth?

[Australian rePublic]

https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-w ... 877664.amp

Facemasks are finally compulsory in Sydney. Score one for common sense!

[Lura]

Now that China has stopped buying our food and coal, there are huge food shortages and huge power outages, and people aren't allowed to turn their power on, unless the temperature falls below a certain level. China is now begging Australia to mend their relationships with us so we can get back to trading together. I would have the shits with Scomo if he were to give into them. Let them come crawling back to us. They need us more than we need them. Thank God the LNP's in charge federally, I could see the ALP bending over backwards for them. Many people told Jodi McKay when she posted on Facebook about how racist it was to criticide the CCP, and I completely embarrassed her in that post. She memory-holed that post within a couple of hours

I too wish we would stop relying on China and just ditch them already. This whole trade debacle was the perfect opportunity to do just that. As for who we trade with in their stead? To me the obvious, natural choice is India. Obviously we can't totally replace China with India (beef exports, for one, probably can't go to India) and I'm not totally familiar with trade relations or anything, but they would be the perfect fit really. They are a democracy, they hate China probably even more than we do, have a similar population and as such probably have a similar market size, and our present relations are favourable to my extremely limited knowledge. Also, we both have a British colonial history, though the nature of that history is possibly not similar enough to contribute many common influences or a sense of camaraderie that would bolster their opinion of us.

Maybe if China wasn't holding our economy hostage, we could do relatively radical things like recognising Taiwan and be more harsh on their foreign policy, but sadly, I think this is all too wishful...

As for criticism of the CCP? No way is that racist. That's like suggesting that criticism of Israel is antisemitic. Equating the government of a nation to their majority ethnicity is just incorrect, though I don't doubt in the slightest that there are people that use this as an excuse to be intolerant in both cases.

[Kenobot]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Queensland_state_election

How did Bligh lose this badly??!!

They literally got to the point of asking people to vote Labor to make sure the inevitable LNP government didn't have too big of a majority.
It was less about Bligh, more about Beattie. The states finances had been in shambles for years, the public service was incredibly bloated and asset sales were incredibly unpopular.
It wasn't about Newman, but it became about him once he won and not for the better.

Now that China has stopped buying our food and coal, there are huge food shortages and huge power outages, and people aren't allowed to turn their power on, unless the temperature falls below a certain level. China is now begging Australia to mend their relationships with us so we can get back to trading together. I would have the shits with Scomo if he were to give into them. Let them come crawling back to us. They need us more than we need them. Thank God the LNP's in charge federally, I could see the ALP bending over backwards for them. Many people told Jodi McKay when she posted on Facebook about how racist it was to criticide the CCP, and I completely embarrassed her in that post. She memory-holed that post within a couple of hours

You're completely correct there. I'm very happy with how we've handled it so far, but I think we'll be leaving it to the Americans to handle it after January 20th.

I'll make a post about why it's wrong to compare NZ's Covid cases to Australia's, but yes, Gladys has handled this poorly

Um,
what's wrong with me comparing NZ's COVID cases to australia's?
NZ has had less cases than Australia.

I'm not into NZ politics, but I do gather that Jacinda Ardern has done well. Possibly even better than
Scotty has. *although that's debatable*

Can we stop elevating Ardern on this pedestal quite undeservedly please.
She even got into a fight with Greta Thunberg https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-15/ardern-defends-nz-climate-change-goals-after-thunberg-tweet/12987266

Now that China has stopped buying our food and coal, there are huge food shortages and huge power outages, and people aren't allowed to turn their power on, unless the temperature falls below a certain level. China is now begging Australia to mend their relationships with us so we can get back to trading together. I would have the shits with Scomo if he were to give into them. Let them come crawling back to us. They need us more than we need them. Thank God the LNP's in charge federally, I could see the ALP bending over backwards for them. Many people told Jodi McKay when she posted on Facebook about how racist it was to criticide the CCP, and I completely embarrassed her in that post. She memory-holed that post within a couple of hours

I too wish we would stop relying on China and just ditch them already. This whole trade debacle was the perfect opportunity to do just that. As for who we trade with in their stead? To me the obvious, natural choice is India. Obviously we can't totally replace China with India (beef exports, for one, probably can't go to India) and I'm not totally familiar with trade relations or anything, but they would be the perfect fit really. They are a democracy, they hate China probably even more than we do, have a similar population and as such probably have a similar market size, and our present relations are favourable to my extremely limited knowledge. Also, we both have a British colonial history, though the nature of that history is possibly not similar enough to contribute many common influences or a sense of camaraderie that would bolster their opinion of us.

Maybe if China wasn't holding our economy hostage, we could do relatively radical things like recognising Taiwan and be more harsh on their foreign policy, but sadly, I think this is all too wishful...

As for criticism of the CCP? No way is that racist. That's like suggesting that criticism of Israel is antisemitic. Equating the government of a nation to their majority ethnicity is just incorrect, though I don't doubt in the slightest that there are people that use this as an excuse to be intolerant in both cases.

India is one partner, but Japan and South Korea will likely be the more committed partners (Especially South Korea after the Kimchi fight ) given that they are in the US Sphere and already long-term friends and strong trade partners.

Well while we might not be officially recognising Taiwan, we are certainly taking steps to increase unofficial ties, which is a step in the right direction at least.

[Dazchan]

https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/fresh-testing-push-for-sydney-suburbs-as-another-mystery-case-emerges-c-1877664.amp

Facemasks are finally compulsory in Sydney. Score one for common sense!

It's good to see so many people already wearing them, even though they don't become mandatory until tomorrow.

Hopefully, we’ll avoid another lockdown. I don't think I'll survive another round of remote teaching.

[Amorosa-Coonarra Coasts]

Many say the government cares about the economy.
I sort-of agree with them.

But how come many of Australia's top companies are consistently paying little to no the amount of tax they should be?
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/top-40-tax-dodgers-2019/
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/australias-top-40-tax-dodgers-2020-fossil-fuels-dominate-once-more/

ExxonMobil, one of the most consistent, along with Santos, Chevron, Whitehaven Coal, New Zealand Milk, Healthscope, Energy Australia and Virgin Australia are consistently given tax cuts.

If the government says, "Oh, there's not enough money to fund public schools or hospitals, fund, or ensure the public broadcaster can produce consistently high-quality journalism," how come they keep giving tax cuts in the billions to companies like Origin, Adani, QANTAS or News Corp, who, again, pay little to no tax?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-10/ato-corporate-tax-transparency-data-large-companies-pay-no-tax/12967064
Around 700 companies, including notable names like Chevron, ExxonMobil, News Corp, the GEO Group, Santos and Shell didn't pay ANY tax in the 2018-19 financial year according to the ATO.

In addition, why is there no Federal ICAC?

There are countless cases of using taxpayer money for pollies' own ends, but the most notable is the Revolving Door that many Big <insert here> officials and politicians pass through.
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/revolving-doors/
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/25/revolving-door-between-politics-and-lobbying-undermines-good-policy-report

e.g. The proprietor of the Cashless Welfare Card, Indue, was formerly headed by director of the Nationals, Garry Anthony.
e.g2: Peter 'Timothy Spall' Costello, Treasurer under the Howard government, and current chairman of Nine Entertainment, has connections to, among others, Aurizon and Fortescue Metals. His wife Suzanne is the Regional Operations leader for QR Nat-I mean, Aurizon.
e.g.g. current Minister for Defence, Pyney, once had a role in EY Defence.
e.g.g.g Edition XXXIX: Anna Bligh used to be the CEO of the Australian Banking Association, representing the interests
of Australian banks.
The clear message here is that, not in ALP facts, but the Australian Taxation Office's own, unchallengable fact, that hundreds of companies with operations on our shores either pay no tax, or less tax than they make profit. Or their offshore tax havens in the Caymans....

And the whole revolving door thing, well, it just goes to show that you can tell a lot about someone if you know who they're mates with....and if you look in the right place.

.....Just an interesting infodump from the busy government offices in Ferntree Junction.

[Amorosa-Coonarra Coasts]

Oh, and apparently, Scotty's flocked off on holiday agan while Sydney's in lockdown.

Is it that time of year again, is it?

tbf, though, in theory everyone deserves a vacation after last year's sh*tstorm,
but why isn't he in governmnt making decisions.

Bsides, COVID mightn't be his fault, but this whole gas-led recovery bull is. Climate change doesn't need turbocharging,
and especially when that gas is going to be extracted from a basin in the NT, and pumped through places like Narrabri and putting residents' health at risk should it leach into local watercourses.
Hasn't the Condamine River incident already taught us fracking's bad for the water, air and Kakadu's uranium incident for land?

This isn't surprising from the man who
brought a lump of coal into parliament while Barney 'Tomto' Joyce sat there grinning. (and chatting to Josh right beside him)

No joke, Josh Frydenberg's face reminds me of an unusually-shaped and rather large rock.)

Seriously, though, the way bhp is extracting gas near the Lower Cataract River (and has been for decades) is frankly horrible. This gas might make a lot of money, but it's possibly poisoning the drinking water of those in that area, Billy!

Also, investing in literally ANY other industry would create more jobs than mining and fossil fuels - and boost the economy.

[Australian rePublic]

Oh, and apparently, Scotty's flocked off on holiday agan while Sydney's in lockdown.

Is it that time of year again, is it?

tbf, though, in theory everyone deserves a vacation after last year's sh*tstorm,
but why isn't he in governmnt making decisions.

Bsides, COVID mightn't be his fault, but this whole gas-led recovery bull is. Climate change doesn't need turbocharging,
and especially when that gas is going to be extracted from a basin in the NT, and pumped through places like Narrabri and putting residents' health at risk should it leach into local watercourses.
Hasn't the Condamine River incident already taught us fracking's bad for the water, air and Kakadu's uranium incident for land?

This isn't surprising from the man who
brought a lump of coal into parliament while Barney 'Tomto' Joyce sat there grinning. (and chatting to Josh Stoneface right beside him)

No joke, Josh Frydenberg's face reminds me of an unusually-shaped and rather large rock.)

Seriously, though, the way bhp is extracting gas near the Lower Cataract River (and has been for decades) is frankly horrible. This gas might make a lot of money, but it's possibly poisoning the drinking water of those in that area, you greedy lummoxes!

Also, investing in literally ANY other industry would create more jobs than mining and fossil fuels - and boost the economy.

At least he's not bending over backward to please the CCP, like the ALP would. The ALP's alternative to using gas would be to send it to China where they would use it with far fewer regulations than us, not to mention the fact that they have to ship it there which is also determental to the environment. Australian gas is going to get used either way, so would you prefer it be used in Australia or in China? (Same for coal) . The ALP claim to be anti-coal but didn't think twice of sending it off to China. Ay this stage, it doesn't surprise me that Scomo's gone away. At least he can't fuck off overseas this time and has to spend his money in Australia

[Australian rePublic]

https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/fresh-testing-push-for-sydney-suburbs-as-another-mystery-case-emerges-c-1877664.amp

Facemasks are finally compulsory in Sydney. Score one for common sense!

It's good to see so many people already wearing them, even though they don't become mandatory until tomorrow.

Hopefully, we’ll avoid another lockdown. I don't think I'll survive another round of remote teaching.

They are mandatory, just not enforced

[Amorosa-Coonarra Coasts]

At least he's not bending over backward to please the CCP, like the ALP would. The ALP's alternative to using gas would be to send it to China where they would use it with far fewer regulations than us, not to mention the fact that they have to ship it there which is also determental to the environment. Australian gas is going to get used either way, so would you prefer it be used in Australia or in China? (Same for coal) . The ALP claim to be anti-coal but didn't think twice of sending it off to China. Ay this stage, it doesn't surprise me that Scomo's gone away. At least he can't fuck off overseas this time and has to spend his money in Australia

Who wants to please the CCP the way they're going? And 'bending over backwards'? Wouldn't that cause harm?

As I've said before, we're sort of at a crossroads; we can't seem to trust either party, we can't trust the Greens, One Nation, Clive isn't worth mocking anymore, so who do we trust?

Suffice to say that my opinion of ScoMo outside of what he's done during COVID (aside from Cabinet and JobKeeper) still isn't very high....and his mates...
Dutto's a monster with no regard for human rights, Josh is a shady guy, Pyney's the runner of a Warhouse, the Nationals are ruining rural Australia, while Dan and Gladys were 'hopelessly incompetent'. palaschay, while a doorknob, as you might say, at least did the best she could.


Also, have you guys heard? Gladys has let her Deputy act as Premier for a while.
I bet you $10,000 dollars people are spamming 'bruz' on Twitter about it. Why coudlnt she give it to
someone like Drew Constant?

I think the next NSW election will be too close to call; with a rift in Sep. last year between the Libs and Nats, Berejiklin's Maguire scandal, and Jodi in a marginal, it'll be interesting. I honestly don't know if GladysB will keep it or get shoved.

[Anatoliyanskiy]

At least he's not bending over backward to please the CCP, like the ALP would. The ALP's alternative to using gas would be to send it to China where they would use it with far fewer regulations than us, not to mention the fact that they have to ship it there which is also determental to the environment. Australian gas is going to get used either way, so would you prefer it be used in Australia or in China? (Same for coal) . The ALP claim to be anti-coal but didn't think twice of sending it off to China. Ay this stage, it doesn't surprise me that Scomo's gone away. At least he can't fuck off overseas this time and has to spend his money in Australia

Who wants to please the CCP the way they're going? And 'bending over backwards'? Wouldn't that cause harm?

As I've said before, we're sort of at a crossroads; we can't seem to trust either party, we can't trust the Greens, One Nation, Clive isn't worth mocking anymore, so who do we trust?

Suffice to say that my opinion of ScoMo outside of what he's done during COVID (aside from Cabinet and JobKeeper) still isn't very high....and his mates...
Dutto's a monster with no regard for human rights, Josh is a shady guy, Pyney's the runner of a Warhouse, the Nationals are ruining rural Australia, while Dan and Gladys were 'hopelessly incompetent'. palaschay, while a doorknob, as you might say, at least did the best she could.


Also, have you guys heard? Gladys has let her Deputy act as Premier for a while.
I bet you $10,000 dollars people are spamming 'bruz' on Twitter about it. Why coudlnt she give it to
someone like Drew Constant?

I think the next NSW election will be too close to call; with a rift in Sep. last year between the Libs and Nats, Berejiklin's Maguire scandal, and Jodi in a marginal, it'll be interesting. I honestly don't know if GladysB will keep it or get shoved.

As a foreigner, my opinion probably means nothing but what exactly have The Greens done to warrant them being considered "un-trustable?" Their platform is pretty concrete in my opinion. ALP I can see why people are dissatisfied with, and One Nation is well, One Nation.

[Major-Tom]

Oh, and apparently, Scotty's flocked off on holiday agan while Sydney's in lockdown.

Is it that time of year again, is it?

tbf, though, in theory everyone deserves a vacation after last year's sh*tstorm,
but why isn't he in governmnt making decisions.

Bsides, COVID mightn't be his fault, but this whole gas-led recovery bull is. Climate change doesn't need turbocharging,
and especially when that gas is going to be extracted from a basin in the NT, and pumped through places like Narrabri and putting residents' health at risk should it leach into local watercourses.
Hasn't the Condamine River incident already taught us fracking's bad for the water, air and Kakadu's uranium incident for land?

This isn't surprising from the man who
brought a lump of coal into parliament while Barney 'Tomto' Joyce sat there grinning. (and chatting to Josh Stoneface right beside him)

No joke, Josh Frydenberg's face reminds me of an unusually-shaped and rather large rock.)

Seriously, though, the way bhp is extracting gas near the Lower Cataract River (and has been for decades) is frankly horrible. This gas might make a lot of money, but it's possibly poisoning the drinking water of those in that area, you greedy lummoxes!

Also, investing in literally ANY other industry would create more jobs than mining and fossil fuels - and boost the economy.

At least he's not bending over backward to please the CCP, like the ALP would. The ALP's alternative to using gas would be to send it to China where they would use it with far fewer regulations than us, not to mention the fact that they have to ship it there which is also determental to the environment. Australian gas is going to get used either way, so would you prefer it be used in Australia or in China? (Same for coal) . The ALP claim to be anti-coal but didn't think twice of sending it off to China. Ay this stage, it doesn't surprise me that Scomo's gone away. At least he can't fuck off overseas this time and has to spend his money in Australia

Pretty much every Australian PM in the last twenty years, Morrison 110% included, is soft on China. I mean, I feel for you lot, the PMs there don't often have a choice because arguably Australia is far more reliant on China than any other Commonwealth Country, be it Canada, NZ, the US, UK etc etc.

[Amorosa-Coonarra Coasts]

Once COVID's all sorted out, I think gladys (or whoever's in) should invest some money outside of Sydney. On the North or South coasts.

Byron Bay would be optimal, because SITG and something else is hosted near there

The little coastal hamlets like Bega, Yamba and the big smokes like Coffs Harbour - it'd be nice to see some doing-up here and there. I just don't want Gladys forgetting about the regional and rural centres like David Littleproud and John Barilaro are. I've seen towns like Millmerran and Cecil Plains in economic recession. The latter is virtually a ghost town on the banks of the Condamine. 'Down in the Riverina', it's the same story.


In fact, I beat Dan Andrews could boost Victoria's tourism by funding businesses in East Gippsland, hard-hit by last year's bushfires. Annastacia? QLD could do with some tourism. NT? *Crickets* WA? Could do if it wasn't so remotely populated. SA too. The ACT doesn't need tourism, nor does JBT-oh wait.

The thing with Maranoa - aside from being a very safe LNP seat, is, like most of rural Australia, sparsely populated, and mostly populated by old people. I think it's because old people will primarily vote for the coalition, no matter what, and because Labor's main voter base is in the cities, the LNP can maintain safe, sparsely-populated seats in places like Farrer, Maranoa and New England so they can remain in government.

anyway, just my general glance at things.