Cartoon posted:

bell jar posted:

all i want for 2015 is for you fuckers to calm down a bit in this thread. you take things too literally and seriously and it makes you easily trolled. i want better for you

Kim Jong ill posted:

No.

chaos rhames posted:

I can't believe people get really upset about widespread economic and social injistice amd abuse, they should take a deep breath and relax.

chaos rhames posted:

I can't believe people get really upset about widespread economic and social injistice amd abuse, they should take a deep breath and relax.

bell jar posted:

i can't believe people get easily fooled by idiots wanting to make fun of them by posting obviously fake information or opinions

bell jar posted:

all i want for 2015 is for you fuckers to calm down a bit in this thread. you take things too literally and seriously and it makes you easily trolled. i want better for you

Systematic posted:

quote:

Former Immigration Minister Scott Morrison threatened to revoke the rights of an inner-city Melbourne council to conduct Australia Day citizenship ceremonies after a stoush with its mayor.
In one of his last acts as minister before he was moved to the social services portfolio by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Mr Morrison wrote to the mayor of Moreland, who had protested reading out a ministerial message during the ceremonies.
The message is meant to be read before official speeches.

Moreland City Council mayor Meghan Hopper told Mr Morrison she did not want to read aloud the message because of the government's controversial asylum seeker policies.
Her letter to Mr Morrison states: "In my introductory speech as mayor, I made a commitment to uphold Moreland's tradition of support for asylum seekers. This is a commitment I intend to honour".
Ms Hopper, an ALP member, said Moreland had made a concerted effort in recent years to welcome asylum seekers and refugees and that the minister's message conflicted with the council's policy.
But Mr Morrison responded that the message would have to be read or the annual Australia Day citizenship ceremony could be cancelled.

He told Ms Hopper that if she did not read the message, she, deputy mayor Helen Davidson and the council's general manager would be stripped of their authority to perform the ceremony.

Ms Hopper said she did not want to be"forced to act as a mouthpiece for a government whose policies this council does not agree with".
"Many citizens-to-be at Moreland are former asylum seekers," she said.
"I do not feel comfortable acting as a spokesperson when it comes to personal messages from the minister. I feel that the reading of a message from the minister in fact politicises what should be an apolitical occasion, as does threatening to remove Moreland's ability to confer citizenship."

According to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, the reading of the minister's message is not compulsory under legislation.
Despite that, Mr Morrison said in his letter to Ms Hopper that it was his "prerogative" that the message be read aloud, as it is an "integral part of the ceremony".
As part of his response, Mr Morrison included a one-page "letter of agreement" for Ms Hopper to sign, stating that she will include the message as part of Moreland's ceremony.

"If you fail to comply with this request by January 10 2015, I will withdraw your authority, and that of the deputy mayor and general manager, to preside at Australian citizenship ceremonies," he said in the letter.

Kon Karapanagiotidis, founder of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, said the then-minister's threat was "pretty extraordinary".
"All credit to the mayor of Moreland; they're trying to draw a line in the sand," he said.
"Granting citizenship is one of the most precious things we can do and Morrison is someone who has done everything he can to leave a stain on everything it means to be a citizen of Australia."

Peter Dutton was appointed the new Immigration Minister in December as part of a cabinet reshuffle and it is he who will decide whether to follow through on Mr Morrison's threat.
Both Mr Morrison and Mr Dutton were contacted for comment

Halo14 posted:

Scott Morrison threatens to stop citizenship ceremonies by Moreland City Council

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/fed...101-12gdp9.html

Quantum Mechanic posted:

Meghan Hopper talks a big loving game until you remember she's also a member of the party that voted for indefinite offshore detention

I've encountered her before on Facebook and the amount of unwarranted smug that rolls off her (as well as contempt for the Greens) is pretty revolting given the sort of policy outcomes she actively supports as a dedicated Labor hack.

Quantum Mechanic posted:

Meghan Hopper talks a big loving game until you remember she's also a member of the party that voted for indefinite offshore detention

ewe2 posted:

Nevertheless no minister has the right to enforce their petty desires on a local council, if the arrogant bastard wants his precious speech, let him read it himself, or see if he can get Dutton to enforce it through the Senate, glwt.

As for the attitude to the Greens, let them First they ignore you then they laugh at you then they fight you then you win.

quote:

immigration minister addressed a compound in late September, resulting in a state of “high alert” being called for riot, fire and self-harm. Appleby made these observations in a video diary that was recorded just days after Morrison’s address. The minister, according to Appleby, told asylum seekers: “You will never see the shores of Australia.” 

katlington posted:

Anywhere to find the message Morrison wanted included?

Mithranderp posted:

Contempt for the greens is stock standard for Labor hacks these days. Most Young Labor peeps on my facebook had a massive whinge fest during the Vic election about how the Greens obviously didn't want a truly progressive Government (because they had blank HTV cards in some electorates). Basically the Greens are betraying the Left just by...existing as another option, afaik.

quote:

FlatChat is a great site for publishing inspirational accounts of why it's not terrible living in an apartment. This is despite the (slowly changing) Australian culture of believing that living in flats is not as good as living in a house. FlatChat is to be commended for this. However, sometimes it all goes wrong, and the FlatChat readers need to be aware of this too.
The term honest property developer has just been officially added to the new Oxford dictionary as an example of an oxymoron - just kidding.
We bought our apartment off the plan as our first, and last home. We started being home owners very late in life after years of renting. Needless to say we were very excited. We signed a contract for an 80 sqm 2 bedroom apartment with a car park in a security controlled building with 9 visitor car spaces. There are commercial tenants on the lower levels and resident apartments above. One lift, no other resident facilities.
Things started to go wrong before we even took possession. The developer decided that they would also run the building, so they registered themselves as OC managers and signed a contract with themselves for 5 years. They also kept ownership of most of the commercial suites. They changed the plan of subdivision so that all of the visitor spaces were transferred to the ownership of the commercial suites - which they own, but didn't change the entitlements and liabilities on the plan of subdivision. In essence, they received 9 secure undercover car parks in a major activity centre worth about $450,000, paid for by the the people who purchased apartments - people like us.
They also changed the plan of subdivision so that they now own the roof. Gone are any opportunities to be green and install solar panels to supply the common areas. They wrote into the OC rules that any decisions of the OC could not disadvantage the commercial interests of the developer.
The OC manager bypassed some of the security measures so that customers of the commercial suites were not hindered in any way when entering the building. This reduced the level of security of the residents, and eventually resulted in a VCAT hearing. The only outcome was that the OC manager/developer charged the OC thousands of dollars in VCAT attendance fees. The actions of the OC manager were criminal, yet it seems that there is a reluctance for VCAT to punish OC managers. This proved that there are no clear lines of separation between managing the OC and being an employee of the developer.
Our 80 sqm apartment turned out to only be 74 sqm. Stamp duty was quoted at 360 in the developer's sales documents, but was actually $1400. Not a lot for a $500,000 apartment, but still 4 times that advertised. The OC fees we were quoted at $2700 per year (0.0054% of purchase price), but were actually $4100 (0.0082% of purchase price). After doing some research, I have discovered that this is the kind of fee for apartments with swimming pools, gym and rooftop garden. We have 1 lift and a stairwell which is so dirty that you need to be wearing a dust mask to use it.
A few weeks after we moved in, we saw a notice that the same developer was to build an 8 storey building next door. This building which blocked 80% of our northern light didn't satisfy them. After construction had began, they took the council to VCAT to increase the hight so it would block 90% of our light. Our local ward councillor couldn't vote on the hight issue at council meetings because the developer had made a donation to the charity she was the patron of. Convenient. The industrial strength air conditioner outlets for the building point directly at our bedroom window. I feel even sorrier for the tenants who now have their living rooms and only ventilation source through the light well between the two buildings.
One day I was looking around the outside of my building and noticed power, water and data connections between my building and the construction site next door. The developers were clandestinely using our power and water supplies to construct their building. We were never informed about this. I suspect that if I had not stumbled upon the poorly hidden conduits they never would have told us. When I complained to the the OC manager, I was told that the developer had every intention of reimbursing the OC for the costs. The actual costs would be determined by the developer - and no, I could not see proof of this as it was confidential information. Any mention that the connection of power and water was less than honest brings a threat of legal action from the OC manager.
I think the developers planned this very well. Getting residential buyers to subsidise the running of commercial interests which they own. What can we do? I am the secretary of the OC committee, but feel powerless. The developer controls the OC through the manager, and the majority of votes. At the last AGM, the OC manager controlled 16 of the 19 votes present - out of a possible 37.
Governments will never be successful in getting people to embrace medium density living unless they have an effective system to stop criminals developing and running these buildings.
I once dreamed of winning the lottery so I could buy a large detached house. Now I dream of winning enough money to hire a lawyer and get these crooks jailed.

katlington posted:

Anywhere to find the message Morrison wanted included?

bell jar posted:

all i want for 2015 is for you fuckers to calm down a bit in this thread. you take things too literally and seriously and it makes you easily trolled. i want better for you

Mithranderp posted:

Contempt for the greens is stock standard for Labor hacks these days. Most Young Labor peeps on my facebook had a massive whinge fest during the Vic election about how the Greens obviously didn't want a truly progressive Government (because they had blank HTV cards in some electorates). Basically the Greens are betraying the Left just by...existing as another option, afaik.

Halo14 posted:

Scott Morrison threatens to stop citizenship ceremonies by Moreland City Council

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/fed...101-12gdp9.html

Gorilla Salad posted:

There should be a special hell for any reporter who covers a story but doesn't bother to include the thing the entire story is about. I can't believe there is no mention of what Morrison's special message is.