Cost of Living

I have been wondering about this for quite some time.  So I decided today to do a little checking.

Turns out the average annual inflation rate in Australia is round about 3%.  This means that since 2004, the price of everything has gone up by 26%.  More or less.  This is the official figure.  The start date I am using coincides with my arrival in this country.

Lets look at some practical truths.

Gasoline:  Was $1.10/L now $1.55  increase:  41%
Cat Food  Was $0.89/ tin  now $1.53  increase: 71%
Pepsi Max:  Was $8.99/ 24 cans  now: $14.99  increase: 66%
Bread  Was $1.10/loaf  Now: $1.49  increase: 34.5%
Cheese: was $8.99/kg block  Now $11.99  increase:  33%

I don't want to even talk about meat.  This country is crawling with cows, exporting tens of thousands overseas yet a t-bone costs about $24/kg.

Were I to discuss power costs, some of the older people out there may well have a heart attack.

Recently, I had to fill my car up.  I stopped putting fuel in the tank when the pump read $100.  I hadn't finished filling it.  Fifteen years ago I worried about how much change I would get from a fifty.  

My council rates, in 3 years have increased from $489 to about $600 per 6 months.  A shocking and undefendable increase in excess of 20%.

I know in the last three years, the wages where I work have gone up about 5%.

Thats all.  5%

No wonder there's more month left at the end of the money.

I can't see the official figure as being accurate.  I would actually suggest that the effective inflation rate over that time period was closer to 7% than 3. 

Cut back, I'm told and forced to do, regardless.  But now, If I cut back any more I'd need a guillotine.  A sentiment the crowd of creditors must certainly share.

I'm beginning to think I know what its like to be Greece.

The Wealth of Provinces

I am originally from the Province of Alberta, in Canada.  And while I live in Australia now, I still keep an eye on what happening there.

There was a recent election campaign that saw the upstart Wildrose party pit themselves against the entrenched PC party.

While the Boobie bus incident made me laugh- and still does- the election did have one very important calling card.  Resource royalties.

Alberta is the land of Oil.  Especially tar sands oil.  More expensive to take out of the ground, but one of the largest land bound reserves on the planet.  Top three I think.

I believe that the royalty- and feel free to correct if I am mistaken- the current royalty the province demands is about 17.5%.  Oil companies, naturally, are whinging about paying that much.  The Wildrose party, apparently wanted to REDUCE this royalty to promote investment, saying that companies might not do business in the province because it was expensive.

Expensive?  Got news for them.  So's oil.

The oil is in the province.  If the corporations want it, they'll do business, and at $90+ per barrel, they will still be fighting for the rights to set up shop.

A dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow.  The future wealth of the province depends upon the management of those dollars.  The fact is, those rates should be increased.  Failure to increase them means you are throwing the future of your children away.  Oil is a finite resource.  What are you gonna do when its gone?

Thankfully. the Wildrose party lost.  But the current government needs to do something about it.  The Wealth that belongs to the people of Alberta is bleeding out.  This should be stopped.

Apples to Apples

On the surface the political systems are very different when it comes to comparing the governments of Australia, Canada and the USA.

The USA is a republic, with a presidential head, while Canada and Australia share a decidedly more British model.  The president is a directly elected office, while the Prime Minister is determined by the party leadership, and it is possible to be prime minister without a seat.  Both Australia and America have elected senates.  In Canada, its appointed.  The American president faces primaries run state by state, and makes the actual election campaign run well over 12 months.  In Australia and Canada, party leadership is appointed by party faithful usually well before any election campaign.  In America, the Senate representation on a state by state basis is equal.  In Canada, Senate numbers are based on provincial population.  In Australia, votes can be cast on preferential basis- don't ask me how the system works, I mistrust it, while America and Canada use first past the post.  In Australia every citizen of age votes by law, in the other two, you can if want- or not.

So, it sounds different right?  Apples to Oranges?  Can't make a comparison?  Wrong.

Because of the nature of politics, consider:

The presidential race is down to 2 people in the US, the selection of either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party.  In Australia it's down to the Labour party or Liberal/National party coalition selection.  In Canada, Its usually between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party (Jack Layton's rise of the NDP to official opposition status I believe has as much to do with election weary Canadians and the Liberal party's responsibility in calling it at least as much as the Charisma of the late leader.  Mulcair, his replacement, I suspect was a poor leadership choice).

Each opposing side puts together a brief of policies during the election in which they believe will win the the majority of votes.  Everyone knows the brief is pointless, and few if any promises will be kept.  Because the information made public previously was inaccurate, or some crisis will arise which promptly sweeps everything else to the side (GFC for instance).

The election itself produces very like personalities in the candidates.  A classic example is the 1999 American race between Gore and Bush- so alike in form and policy one needed a split screen TV to tell the candidates apart.  This also seems likely in the upcoming Australian election, a conservative labour leader facing a labour leaning LNP coalition candidate. Who will it be?  Speedos (a reference to Tony Abbot pulling a "Stockwell Day") vs the Backstabber?  Is this even a choice?

Tony Abbot in Speedos

Stockwell Day in a Wetsuit

Southpark had it right.  Every election leaves a one a choice between a "turd sandwich" (complete with pickle) or a "giant douche".  The only winner is the candidate who actually wins.  The voters always lose.

Its always apples to apples.

Shire Elections, Coming Soon, but not Soon Enough for Me.

And no, Frodo isn't running this year, as far as I know.

I know what you're thinking.  Hasn't he said enough about politics in the last week?  The answer is:  I am Canadian.  It is ingrained in me to keep talking about politics until someone tells me to shut up.  And even then, I can still choose to ignore em.

I'm bringing this up because there is another election in Queensland this year.  We go to the polls to pick our local Shire representatives.

I bring this up because a few years ago, and much against the wishes of everyone, the State Labour government, under Peter Beattie, forced many shires to merge into "regional councils".  The Shire in which I live was absorbed, along with 3 others to form the Tablelands Regional Council.  At the time, this move was opposed by everyone, except of course for the people who made the decision.

So, not so many weeks ago, 600 or so people in Mareeba, one of the shires forced to merge with us got together discuss issues affecting the town. (Cairns Post, Mar. 2, 2012).

They promptly blamed amalgamation and voted 600 to 1 in favour of devolution.  This, at least, means that I am actually in agreement with people in Mareeba.

You see, I don't want Mareeba in my Shire as it turns out.  There are number of reasons for this.  The biggest reason is the climate there is different from the climate here.  I live on the edge of rainforest, as does the residents of Herberton, Eacham, and Atherton.  The land is different, and the air is cooler.  Our interests, therefore, are different.

Further, there is a marked difference in attitude between Mareeba and Atherton when it comes to business.  One of the best examples was the decision by McDonald's to locate in Atherton.  As I understand it, they tried Mareeba first, but received a less than warm welcome.  Atherton, clearly, and certainly when I moved here, had a more diversified and vibrant business community than its competition to the North.  Atherton council seemed more business friendly.

Indeed, many locals talk about the Mareeba Mafia.  This loose knit group of people acting in concert in order to protect themselves from competing business and so on.

But business is the lifeblood of any community, and so, a willingness to remain open to new businesses critical to any community's future.  I want to be in a community that is pro business.  I want to live in a community that recognizes that role in the community.

So, if they don't want to be part of the regional council, fine.  Let's not fight to keep them.

I hope the door doesn't hit them on the ass on the way out.

Queensland Election 2012

Its my first vote in an Australian Election, and it is all over the news here.

LNP Defeats Labour!

Labour wasn't just defeated, it was destroyed.  Crushed.  Run through the electoral meat grinder.  They fell from a majority government to less than 10 seats, last time I checked.

The state parliament is 89 seats, and the LNP claims about 75 of them.  Quorum aside, only one third of the LNP MPs need show up at any given time to pass laws.

The media is shocked at this kind of loss.  After all labour seats that have been held for 100years by the party have been taken by the LNP.  But truly, no one should be shocked.  Labour has done some things that Labour should never do.  It privatised profitable assets.  It ran a poor campaign.  They even put a guy in my riding that looks like Adolph Hitler's great grandson...

 

See?  Who was in charge of the local Labour Party publicity?  This is a shocking image.  They would have been better off if they had stuck with Jason Briskey.  I had a better publicity officer when I ran for city council in Edmonton 11 years ago and she wasn't paid.  Its no wonder this riding went to Katter's Australian Party.

But the campaign run by everyone was shocking.  There was a horrible and disgusting anti-gay marriage ad run the KAP.  I'm sorry, but you know what?  The images were shameful in the way they were used.  Why was the ad run at all?

I DO NOT CARE WHAT GOES ON IN YOUR HOUSE.  If you have found someone to love, that is precious, and good on you, gay or straight.  I don't even care of you have children- 2 parents will always be better than one.  But the bottom line is, its not my business.  Therefore, I do not care.

Next time, Bob Katter, take a lesson from the Kim Campbell election team and shut the fuck up.  You'll get more votes.

The LNP's campaign was lackluster.  I hardly heard a peep out of them this whole election.  So quiet, in fact, you didn't hear of any mistakes either.

But they also weren't operating with such an unpopular track record as the Bligh government.  Yes, Bligh government.  Anna is a descendant of that most infamous of captains.

Thirteen years of selling profitable government assets and forced shire amalgamations, and the disgusting and expensive Carbon Tax passed by their Federal Brethren took its toll in Queensland.  Labour was rightly thrown out of government.

Should have happened years ago.