That’s weird, that’s queer, that’s crazy, that deserves a long hard look.

Bizarrely, here in Vic we have had free NP camping but lots of sites that were booked were no shows. Plenty of vocal "I told you so"s weighing in.

Blackers, Ya reckon it’s peeps booking out neighboring sites for free so the real patron doesn’t have any neighbors whilst camping.

Nah, even though that sounds like a pretty smart move. Regular campers are the ones flagging the issue. Its more likely a case of "lets book it" and forgetting or something else turning up. The argument against seems to be that by making it free it becomes worthless. For example, Tidal River at the Prom, which used to require you to enter a ballot a year in advance to get a site over Christmas holidays, was half empty. It has been oversubscribed for decades, but plenty of space this time. There has to be a happy middle ground.

Came across this and I have so many questions . Be interesting to see where this goes.

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This is so messed up . A texas town’s taxpayers can’t get their own $$$ directed to where it’s needed and laws prevent them from doing so .

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That’s bloody nuts. America first hey….except if it’s Israel.

World has turned upside down...

At least msm are starting to wake up.
Govt still bit behind, except Pocock it seems.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2025/may/30/gaz...

If enough people get behind Pocock then surely Labor will have to rethink its position on this .

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Supafreak wrote:

If enough people get behind Pocock then surely Labor will have to rethink its position on this . https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJ-9rfBTjfP/?igsh=MTNoY3VzbmVndWIzNw==

Yeah I would almost be OK (well not really)with this if the $$$ stayed in Australia and helped the transition to renewables, but alas off to foreign share holders.
Really make me question Australia 's sovereignty??
Who us pulling g the strings behind the scenes ????

@andy-mac
"Really make me question Australia 's sovereignty??
Who us pulling g the strings behind the scenes ????"

It's called "the Game of Mates". There's a book about it.
https://gameofmates.com/
Australia has been a captured petrostate for a long time now.
Our sovereign rights and wealth and what should be the common heritage of every Australian were sold out by our political class for self interest a long time ago.
It's not just Ministers from both sides who leave Parliament and go to work for fossil fuel companies, Ferguson, Robb, Combet, McFarlane, Newman, Bishop, dozens more, but the revolving door of senior public servants and "advisors" who move from fossil fuel companies and their lobbyists into ministerial offices and vise versa, they number in the many hundreds. That's how the charade of "decision making" is controlled by the fossil fuel industry. In the decade up to 2018 over 180 of them. Who knows what that number is today, no one does, it's a rats nest of corruption and undue influence, and it's treated as business as usual in Canberra.
https://theconversation.com/revealed-the-extent-of-job-swapping-between-...

There is no disclosure of this which is why current figures cannot be accessed.
There are dozens of fossil fuel lobbyist firms with ministerial access wandering the halls of Parliament.
But go to Canberra and protest this corrupt system and they will arrest you and lock you up.
Promised disclosure laws that never eventuate and a joke of an anti corruption commission keep the influence, or more accurately, the control of these fossil fuel companies over government decisions and policy hidden from public scrutiny, and the MSM is largely controlled by people like Murdoch and Stokes who have extensive fossil fuel holdings themselves.
It's a stitch up, the fix has been in for a very long time now.
What is even more frustrating is when you look at the political donations made by these, well, cunts that are made to both sides they are tiny, in the tens or hundreds of thousands mostly, when compared to the vast profits made. We get sold out for a pittance by our so called leaders.

We don't live in a democracy, we may have AEC monitored elections but the whole thing is rigged, which is how these companies get given our resources for free, destroy our sacred places like Juukan Gorge and Murujuga and then get fkn subsidised on top of that, while places like Norway and FFS Qatar derive huge amounts from similar resource extraction.
Similar patters of the Game of Mates exist in other sectors like gaming, agribusiness, pharmaceuticals, construction, banking, defence procurement, and many others.
We're fucked, unless you are one of the "mates", the system isn't designed to provide anything for you.
If you have kids or grandkids then their future is already rigged against them.

At least our waves are good, but our democracy and who gets the benefit from the vast extraction of resources is a joke. A shit joke that is anything but funny.
Our "sovereignty" has been for sale and sold out a long time ago.
Like any real action on climate.
By weak as piss criminals masquerading as leaders.
And their "staffers"
and "advisors".
Albo is just the latest incarnation of that.
Just another grub.
https://www.marketforces.org.au/politicaldonations2020/
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/11/mps-and-the-oil-indu...
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/environment/2024/03/02/who-sets...

Thanks for the mates links A12 . I could never get my head around why governments allowed this to happen. The political donations were tiny compared to the profits being made . In the USA the link between FDA and big pharma was exposed 40 years ago but nothing’s changed there either . Screwing the world in order to feather your own nest is next level cuntyism .

^^^

there should be people tearing shit up in the streets!

there's always a healthy cohort doing so for climate change - which is an ok and reasonable thing to do - but about the selling out of australia...

steely cold silence

a slight murmur occasionally from the odd 'journalist', and late to the party, david pocock occasionally fires up...

but generally nothing much above a whisper

friendly jordies is even mute as far as I'm aware... he's almost australia's best journalist atm, which is weird in itself... but he never fires up about anything incriminating labor, such a labor stooge...

and this is the real criminality of it all...

"What is even more frustrating is when you look at the political donations made by these, well, cunts that are made to both sides they are tiny, in the tens or hundreds of thousands mostly, when compared to the vast profits made. We get sold out for a pittance by our so called leaders."

just like labor selling us out to china, it's all for pittance at the end of the day...

absolute pittance

You got your bitumen destroying monster drott fired up Syppy?
No prisoners all the way to Canberra?

Sypkan. Federal Government taxation vigilante. Oh, you are still here, you made or missed the cut.

I thought when you were buried with only your head above the ground that hopefully the Swellnet Victa mower would’ve clipped you permanently, such bad news for all of us on a Saturday evening.

The master of hubris survives.

AW

sypkan wrote:

^^^

there should be people tearing shit up in the streets!

there's always a healthy cohort doing so for climate change - which is an ok and reasonable thing to do - but about the selling out of australia...

steely cold silence

a slight murmur occasionally from the odd 'journalist', and late to the party, david pocock occasionally fires up...

but generally nothing much above a whisper

friendly jordies is even mute as far as I'm aware... he's almost australia's best journalist atm, which is weird in itself... but he never fires up about anything incriminating labor, such a labor stooge...

and this is the real criminality of it all...

"What is even more frustrating is when you look at the political donations made by these, well, cunts that are made to both sides they are tiny, in the tens or hundreds of thousands mostly, when compared to the vast profits made. We get sold out for a pittance by our so called leaders."

just like labor selling us out to china, it's all for pittance at the end of the day...

absolute pittance

Jordies did a video on this issue. Will try and find it later.
Basically pointing out that too many powers that be pulling strings and Labor have their hands tied. Murdoch IPA etc
If they try to change things, they lose power.
Kind of like Shorten campaign. Think it scared and scarred them.

Sad situation...

Saying that, reckon tide turning and they should run on it... lnp will never.

Yep
It’s a seize the moment sort of thing
They can legitimately claim a mandate
But they won’t

Indeed mr. seed

as many an astute commenter said when the initial ukraine gas price hike kicked in...

and labor did nothing but pander to gas cartels

'they have the political capital to finally do something - but surprisingly, and disappointingly- did nothing... It's a real lost opportunity...'

now, 3 years on, 3 years of getting reamed later... the issue is mainstream...

and still nothing

but pandering to gas cartels...

labor are pathetic

gives an the opportunity to bail a totally ludicrous labor vicco government and their failed belt and road / ridiculous spending / failed big australia project though...

again

talk about reamed...

the rest if australia that is...

has that dandrews statue gone up yet?

maybe we all should chip in for that too?

some weird thinking goes on down there...

very weird

Here it is....

https://m.

Morning Andy- mac , I watched the FJ video , if he’s saying that the mining industry has the power to get whichever party they prefer elected , does that mean they preferred Labor this election just gone ? It seems with the Woodside decision coming shortly after the election plus it doesn’t come into effect for another 5 years, what behind the scenes deals were done ?

Supafreak wrote:

Morning Andy- mac , I watched the FJ video , if he’s saying that the mining industry has the power to get whichever party they prefer elected , does that mean they preferred Labor this election just gone ? It seems with the Woodside decision coming shortly after the election plus it doesn’t come into effect for another 5 years, what behind the scenes deals were done ?

Interesting take supa. Maybe, but don't think so, they seemed to push lnp from my perspective.

My takeaway is that it was more a go at Teals and fringe parties think tanks etc.

Unfortunately it seems that the Mining Industry is just too powerful paying off both sides of politics and will bring down any govt that goes against them ala Rudd.

Should Albo govt do more? Yes in my view, at least change tax laws or try as it seems that the public mood is changing as awareness grows. The wealth should stay in Oz and we cannot go on about the environment if we let projects such as this go ahead.

Same could be said re stance on Palestine, but not time or place.

Yes Labor, let's start having your actions follow your words.. .

I’m fantasising that labor is foxing and that they will turn around before next election and say that they have listened to the people and have reversed their decision on an extension. Yeah I know……dream on .

This diver might think twice before he goes looking for octopus again .

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Did well keeping the beak away from his heck, bloody hell

seaslug wrote:

Did well keeping the beak away from his heck, bloody hell

Yes, hectic. Makes you wonder about the "mate" filming, at what point would they decide to stop shooting and actually help out? Like with that young fella who got washed off the rock fishing, could have been capturing his last moments. Not sure I understand the mentality.

Dunno. Looks a bit staged to me.
I reckon he could have ripped the occy off anytime. Pulling on its hood is just going to make it want to hold on tighter, and he probably knows that. It looks like he's doing it just for effect. He also makes no attempt to unwrap a tentacle with his other hand.