Perhaps one of the most controversial issues in Australian politics at the moment is the Carbon tax, due to come into force in July. Technically however it is not a carbon tax but an Emissions Trading Scheme. The big difference being that a carbon tax is a straight forward levy where companies are charged by the government based on the amount of pollution they produce, an ETS is slightly more complicated. With the ETS certain 'green' companies will be awarded carbon credits which they can sell to polluting companies to offset the carbon they produce, these credits will start off at a fixed rate but by 2015 they will be flexible and change with the current market. Despite this most people still just refer to it as a carbon tax, partly because it is easier to understand and partly because it is a good way for Tony Abbot to attack Julia Gillard and call her a liar after she promised there would be no carbon tax under her government. Not that politicians ever need an excuse to call each other liars.
The long and short of it is, that from the 1st of July the top 500 polluting companies in Australia will now be charged $23 per tonne of carbon dioxide they produce, and this cost will inevitably be passed on to us, the consumers. Ironically enough, one of the largest carbon dioxide producing fuels, petrol, is exempt from the carbon tax (which is a relief having just bought a new car). So how does everyone paying more money to the government actually help the environment? The theory is that less polluting products will be able to out compete more polluting products thus pushing demand for more environmentally friendly ways of manufacturing, in reality however I expect a lot of companies will just see it as an excuse to inflate their prices to increase their profit margins.
However you look at it, the carbon tax is bound to be the final nail in the coffin of Julia Gillard's government, what with the shambolic leadership battle earlier this year, the public faith in the current government is at an all time low, demonstrated by the recent Queensland elections. But what of the alternative? Tony Abbot? I shudder to think what will happen then. Still there is no point in me getting too worked up about Australian politics as I am not an Australian citizen and I cannot vote in any elections anyway.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Back on the Road
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| New Car |
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| New Car |
Our first drive took us down to Northcote plaza for a bit of shopping, before heading home for lunch, then I had to take it for my first solo drive to Epping plaza to work. The car park in Epping plaza has a 4 hour limit but staff can get a permit (in the form of a little green sticker) to park longer. I did not get my permit until yesterday so I was parinoid I would get a ticket, but Shona, my manager asured me I would be fine and that if I did she would pay for it. I think she was just glad I had a car now and that I wouldn't be walking through the streets of Epping late at night on my own. After work I then drove to Bundoora to pick up Barnadi before heading home again and attempting to get the car into the garage for the first time. So that was was the end of my first day driving.
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| Kangaroo's in St Andrews |
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| St Andrews |
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Driving me Crazy
Last week Barnadi and I took a Holden Barina for a test drive, it was the new 2012 model, a 1.6L 6 speed Automatic 5 door hatch. This was the first time I have ever driven in Australia and it was quite a nerve wracking experience aside from getting used to the very sensitive pedals and forgetting which side of the wheel the indicators were on, there are several important differences to remember with roads in Australia. They drive on the left side of the road, which is an instant advantage, but that is about where the similarity ends. The roads are generally all much wider than UK roads and speed limits and distances are all in metric, which takes some getting used to. There are additional hazards to be aware of when driving in Australia too, trams for one thing and traffic lights are a real hassle too. In the UK when a pedestrian crossing shows the green man all lanes of traffic are stopped to allow them to cross in safety, however in Australia they continue to let traffic flow from the left so you have to be extra vigilant to give way to pedestrians even if you are given a green light.
Road safety seems to be a real issue here too, and not a day goes by without some fatalities being reported on the news, I would not be surprised if this was due to a high level of Australian drivers who seem to think it is OK to drink and drive, despite big government backed campaigns to raise awareness, this does not look set to change. It is not just drunk drivers, there are also just a lot of very bad drivers on the road. One day when I was walking from the Epping station to work I saw a white van slowing down ready to stop as the light turned amber, but the car behind was so infuriated that someone might actually be following the highway code accelerated right up to the back of the van with its horn blaring forcing it through the amber to red light. I know a lot of people worry about me walking to Epping station on my own late at night, but when I see drivers like that I sometimes think I am safer on the pavement than on the road!
We took the car up to Bundoora and back and both liked it so when we got back to the show room we decided we wanted to buy one. We had to get the finance agreement in my name as Barnadi does not receive payslips and so cannot prove his income, but even this took a week to sort out as my pay has only recently increased due to my qualifying as a pharmacist. In order to confirm this they first phoned my boss, then asked me to get them to fax a letter confirming this. They then phoned my boss again to confirm they had written the letter which they had asked my boss to write to confirm the initial phone call. Their lack of trust was not helped by the fact the ABN on my payslips was wrong, making the bank think I had forged them. Still it is all sorted now and we are just waiting for the car to be registered so that we can pick it up.
My next job was to get some insurance quotes, as we were getting a new car it made sense to go fully comp, the warranty will cover any faults with the car, but not damaged made by faults with us. I tried several insurance companies, but the best quote I got was with aami, and so this is the one I think we will go with. This morning I tidied up the garage, which is still full of all the stuff we shipped from the UK but have no room to display, so we are now just waiting for the call to say our car is ready to pick up. Our first plan is nearly complete.
Road safety seems to be a real issue here too, and not a day goes by without some fatalities being reported on the news, I would not be surprised if this was due to a high level of Australian drivers who seem to think it is OK to drink and drive, despite big government backed campaigns to raise awareness, this does not look set to change. It is not just drunk drivers, there are also just a lot of very bad drivers on the road. One day when I was walking from the Epping station to work I saw a white van slowing down ready to stop as the light turned amber, but the car behind was so infuriated that someone might actually be following the highway code accelerated right up to the back of the van with its horn blaring forcing it through the amber to red light. I know a lot of people worry about me walking to Epping station on my own late at night, but when I see drivers like that I sometimes think I am safer on the pavement than on the road!
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| Garage before: No room for a car |
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| Garage now: Tidy and car ready |
My next job was to get some insurance quotes, as we were getting a new car it made sense to go fully comp, the warranty will cover any faults with the car, but not damaged made by faults with us. I tried several insurance companies, but the best quote I got was with aami, and so this is the one I think we will go with. This morning I tidied up the garage, which is still full of all the stuff we shipped from the UK but have no room to display, so we are now just waiting for the call to say our car is ready to pick up. Our first plan is nearly complete.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Call Me
The set up with mobile phones in Australia is very different to the UK. Instead of Contract and Pay-As-You-Go services the choice is PrePay or PostPay. Postpay is similar to a contract phone in the UK, you lock yourself into a 24 month contract and usually get a free or at least heavily discounted phone handset as your reward. The biggest difference I suppose is that instead of free minutes and/or texts it gives you a certain amount of calling credit, so for example a $20 per month contract might provide you with $400 worth of credit. PrePay phones however differ quite significantly from the UK Pay-As-You-Go model. When you top up (or recharge, as they like to call it) your mobile phone you will get some kind of benefit similar to an equivalent valued contract phone, for example if you top up $20 you may get $400 of calling credit. The trouble with PrePay is that this credit will only last for a fixed period of time, usually a month, (but this might vary depending on the networks current deals) and after the month you are left with nothing not even the $20 you originally recharged the phone with. This is very different from the UK, where whatever benefits you might get from a regular top up might expire in a month but your original top up amount will still be in tact if you haven't used it, for example you top up £20 and get 300 free texts, even if the text package expires in a month you will still have the £20 to use on calls and texts.
The other big difference between Australian and UK mobile phone services is the cost, Australian mobile phone services are much more expensive. This is partly due to the monopoly held by the two main mobile phone networks Telstra and Optus. Almost all the other smaller networks rely on these two networks to provide their own service with only Vodafone beginning to show signs of offering any real competition.
The reason I bring up mobile phones is because Barnadi has just decided to buy a new phone. We both signed up to a contract with Virgin soon after we got here, both getting the same phone, a Sony Ericsson Xperia arc. Within one month of owning the phone however Barnadi fell asleep on the tram to work and lost it. Since then he has had to make do with his old UK handset, but since I got my pharmacy registration through and my salary doubled Barnadi decided it was time to spend it and after much contemplation decided on the latest model Sony Xperia S. Let's just hope he can keep hold of this one.
The other big difference between Australian and UK mobile phone services is the cost, Australian mobile phone services are much more expensive. This is partly due to the monopoly held by the two main mobile phone networks Telstra and Optus. Almost all the other smaller networks rely on these two networks to provide their own service with only Vodafone beginning to show signs of offering any real competition.
The reason I bring up mobile phones is because Barnadi has just decided to buy a new phone. We both signed up to a contract with Virgin soon after we got here, both getting the same phone, a Sony Ericsson Xperia arc. Within one month of owning the phone however Barnadi fell asleep on the tram to work and lost it. Since then he has had to make do with his old UK handset, but since I got my pharmacy registration through and my salary doubled Barnadi decided it was time to spend it and after much contemplation decided on the latest model Sony Xperia S. Let's just hope he can keep hold of this one.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
A Cunning Plan
A wise friend once said to me:
Words I have taken to heart, and to this day live by, from my constantly updated daily to-do lists right up to the bigger things, such as moving to Australia. As it turns out, that plan has come together quite successfully. But don't think that has left me without a plan, currently I have 3:
Barnadi's own plans pretty much overlap with mine except he has an additional plan. Plan 4 being to buy a share in Narai Thai restaurant where he works. Also Barnadi's version of Plan 3 would include a dog and a rabbit and a hen and a quail and...well you get the idea. But as my wise friend said, plans may have to change and with the property market still booming in Melbourne, house prices are soaring to new highs and Plan 2 might be just out of reach. Without Plan 2, Plan 3 would never happen. But all is not lost as the wheels of Plan 1 have already been set in motion, and we are booked in for a test drive at the local Holden dealer tomorrow.
"You've got to have a plan......even if that plan changes"
Words I have taken to heart, and to this day live by, from my constantly updated daily to-do lists right up to the bigger things, such as moving to Australia. As it turns out, that plan has come together quite successfully. But don't think that has left me without a plan, currently I have 3:
Plan 1: Buy a Car
Plan 2: Buy a House
Plan 3: Get a Cat
Barnadi's own plans pretty much overlap with mine except he has an additional plan. Plan 4 being to buy a share in Narai Thai restaurant where he works. Also Barnadi's version of Plan 3 would include a dog and a rabbit and a hen and a quail and...well you get the idea. But as my wise friend said, plans may have to change and with the property market still booming in Melbourne, house prices are soaring to new highs and Plan 2 might be just out of reach. Without Plan 2, Plan 3 would never happen. But all is not lost as the wheels of Plan 1 have already been set in motion, and we are booked in for a test drive at the local Holden dealer tomorrow.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Happy Birthday your Highness.
Today most of Australia celebrates the Queen's official birthday by having a bank holiday, unlike in the UK where you would be hard pressed to find anyone who even knew when her official birthday was, or her real birthday (the 21st April for your information) for that matter. I was supposed to have the day off work, but at the last minute was asked to come in, not that I am complaining, I can always do with the extra hours, and the double pay for working a bank holiday that they bring! It is strange to think a country that is usually so vocal in their desire to remove their head of state are willing to honour her birthday with a public holiday, but then any excuse for a holiday.
Although the Britt's don't really do anything for the Queen's birthday, I was surprised at how much apparent patriotism there was in the UK when it came to celebrating her diamond jubilee the other week. Never have I seen the union flag so pervasively displayed in every available public space, bunting and shop windows awash with red white and blue.
Taking things to extremes one very staunch royalist was inappropriately handing out an extremely emotive piece of propaganda at my father's church which he shared with us while we were visiting last week. Now I might not be as strong a republican as Barnadi's friend Graham who works for the UK republican movement, but I have never really seen the point in maintaining a puppet monarch with no real power or purpose. The author of this badly researched paper starts by referencing animal farm suggesting if we got rid of the monarchy we would end up with something worse, what I think he fails to realise however is that with a democratically elected leader we could also vote them out if they do a bad job, unlike the queen, who good or bad we are stuck with. He then goes on with some general anti-European statements and some gibberish about how wonderful a tradition of hereditary peers is. His next blatant error however is when he states that an elected leader would see his/her successful appointment as a license to turn into a tyrant, where as a monarch (who is appointed by God) would never do anything harmful to their country. Historical evidence would beg to differ with this 'fact', for a start the concept of the 'Devine Right of Kings' disappeared with Charles I's head, it is this very concept that has allowed monarchs to commit many atrocities on their people unopposed, just look at the devastation caused to the country by Henry VIII and his children in the name of God. Anyway that is enough of a rant from me, the Authors name is Christopher Luke, I have included a link to his e-mail if you wanted to send him your own comments. (I haven't included a link to Grahams e-mail if you wanted to express an opposing view you can find his contact details on the republic website).
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| Barnadi enjoying a little patriotism at Covent Garden |
Taking things to extremes one very staunch royalist was inappropriately handing out an extremely emotive piece of propaganda at my father's church which he shared with us while we were visiting last week. Now I might not be as strong a republican as Barnadi's friend Graham who works for the UK republican movement, but I have never really seen the point in maintaining a puppet monarch with no real power or purpose. The author of this badly researched paper starts by referencing animal farm suggesting if we got rid of the monarchy we would end up with something worse, what I think he fails to realise however is that with a democratically elected leader we could also vote them out if they do a bad job, unlike the queen, who good or bad we are stuck with. He then goes on with some general anti-European statements and some gibberish about how wonderful a tradition of hereditary peers is. His next blatant error however is when he states that an elected leader would see his/her successful appointment as a license to turn into a tyrant, where as a monarch (who is appointed by God) would never do anything harmful to their country. Historical evidence would beg to differ with this 'fact', for a start the concept of the 'Devine Right of Kings' disappeared with Charles I's head, it is this very concept that has allowed monarchs to commit many atrocities on their people unopposed, just look at the devastation caused to the country by Henry VIII and his children in the name of God. Anyway that is enough of a rant from me, the Authors name is Christopher Luke, I have included a link to his e-mail if you wanted to send him your own comments. (I haven't included a link to Grahams e-mail if you wanted to express an opposing view you can find his contact details on the republic website).
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Coming Home
It was 6 months ago that we left the UK to start our new life in Australia, yet we found ourselves heading back to the UK for a friend's wedding. It was strange how the last six months seemed to fade as we boarded the plane, feeling like nothing more than a long holiday from which we were now coming home. This feeling was consolidated when we arrived in Bath, it was a glorious sunny day and it felt like we had never been away.
Bath hadn't changed much since we had left, perhaps the biggest change was the building works going on at the train station. On our first day in Bath we took the time to explore all our old haunts including the Green Park Brasserie where Barnadi used to work and on to our old house in Oldfield Park. It was clear our old house was still not being lived in and that the landlady was having a lot of renovations done. The biggest shock was to see the back garden had been completely gutted, all the plants and the pond gone forever, this was no longer our home. While we were in the area we tried our neighbours door to see how our old goldfish was getting on, but unfortunately no-one was home. Goldie our old goldfish was very old when we left the UK, at least 10 years old, during her life she had gone from the usual goldfish orange to completely white. So we have no idea if she is still alive and we will have to wait until November before we can check again.
We stayed with our friends David and Kirsty while we were in Bath, and we arrived just in time for Eurovision for which they were hosting a little party. Eurovision parties had been a bit of a tradition for us for the last few years, it started with just a few of us but this year the guest list topped 17 people a record. Guests all brought European inspired food, except for Barnadi and I who brought along some Australian wine. This years Eurovision seemed to be the battle of the ballads, the UK's entry was sung by Engelbert Humperdinck, and was a bland instantly forgettable tune that struggled to escape last place. The general consensus from those gathered was that France had the best song, a slightly more powerful number sung by a famous Indonesian singer Anngun. The winner however was Sweden with a song none of us liked. It was a miracle that I managed to stay awake for the whole thing, only beginning to drift off slightly during the scoring, Barnadi on the other hand was starting to suffer quite early on from his jet lag.
The next day was the wedding, and the true purpose of our visit. Gemma and Dan, manager and head chef at the GPB and Barnadi's friends. Ironically although David and Kirsty did not know Gemma and Dan they used to live in the same building for many years. The weather stayed good for the wedding, which was perfect as the location of the wedding, Kingscote Barn, was set in the beautiful Cotswold hills with plenty of outside space to enjoy. The service was relatively short allowing us to make the most of playing games and drinking our champagne in the sun. The good weather meant the lighting was perfect for taking photos and we got a lot of very nice shots of the bride and groom. The meal was also really enjoyable, even though we were on a table named the 'Muck Spreaders'. We shared a table with the rest of the GPB staff, past and present. Overall it was a brilliant day and well worth the 24 hour flight to attend (a fact that even earned us a mention in the Father-of-the-Bride's speech), in fact the only negative was being called a 'douch-bag' by the Bride's 5 year old nephew during a game of boules, a perfect reminder of why I never want children.
The weather stayed good for the rest of our time in Bath, and I managed to pop into the pharmacy at the RUH to say hi to all my old friends there, although I didn't have time to see everyone as I had to run off to meet our friends for lunch and get measured for a suit for David and Kirsty's wedding in November. We had lunch at the Cotes Brasserie where we sat outside in the sun and made the most of their 2 course lunch special, before going to Sub 13 for their 2-4-1 cocktails. Barnadi was really suffering from his jet lag by now and just slept through the afternoon.
We left Bath the next day for my home town of Tunbridge Wells and went for an early dinner with my Dad and Sisters before heading back to my oldest sister, Rachel's house. The next day we went to Whitstable with my Mother, a slightly grungy coastal town in North Kent. It is quite industrial and the beach is nothing special, but it is a working fishing town and delicious fresh oysters are available for a very reasonable price. It was that day the weather started to take a turn for the worse and we had several heavy showers that afternoon, although it brightened up long enough for us to enjoy a few drinks in the garden before my Mother had to go home.
We spent one night up in London where we managed to get tickets to see Shrek the Musical in the westend, before heading back down to Kent to catch up with the rest of the family and even my old friend Vanessa who I hadn't seen in years. When it came to packing the day before we left we had a bit of a problem. When we left for Australia 6 months ago we left some things at Rachel's house that we couldn't carry with the intention of picking them up on this trip, however Barnadi had done so much shopping we still had no room for most of it, so we still have a bag of our stuff at my Sisters house, maybe we will have room in November.
Rachel's husband Glen drove us to the airport on our last day, and then we were off, back home again. When we left the UK 6 months ago it was for a big adventure, we had no home to go to and no job lined up when we got here. This time however, everything is sorted and we really were just coming home. Although I was very sad to be leaving the UK again, Barnadi was happy to be getting back. The whole trip only lasted 10 days, but while we were there it felt like we had never left. Getting on the plane back to Melbourne, back to our new home, it really sunk in as to how big a decision it was to move out here in the first place. Australia is really so far away, but it is not just the physical distance which is the issue. It is hard to find the words to accurately describe my feelings, I do not regret our decision to move, but the UK will always be my true home.
Bath hadn't changed much since we had left, perhaps the biggest change was the building works going on at the train station. On our first day in Bath we took the time to explore all our old haunts including the Green Park Brasserie where Barnadi used to work and on to our old house in Oldfield Park. It was clear our old house was still not being lived in and that the landlady was having a lot of renovations done. The biggest shock was to see the back garden had been completely gutted, all the plants and the pond gone forever, this was no longer our home. While we were in the area we tried our neighbours door to see how our old goldfish was getting on, but unfortunately no-one was home. Goldie our old goldfish was very old when we left the UK, at least 10 years old, during her life she had gone from the usual goldfish orange to completely white. So we have no idea if she is still alive and we will have to wait until November before we can check again.
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| Azerbaijan: Host of Eurovision 2012 |
We stayed with our friends David and Kirsty while we were in Bath, and we arrived just in time for Eurovision for which they were hosting a little party. Eurovision parties had been a bit of a tradition for us for the last few years, it started with just a few of us but this year the guest list topped 17 people a record. Guests all brought European inspired food, except for Barnadi and I who brought along some Australian wine. This years Eurovision seemed to be the battle of the ballads, the UK's entry was sung by Engelbert Humperdinck, and was a bland instantly forgettable tune that struggled to escape last place. The general consensus from those gathered was that France had the best song, a slightly more powerful number sung by a famous Indonesian singer Anngun. The winner however was Sweden with a song none of us liked. It was a miracle that I managed to stay awake for the whole thing, only beginning to drift off slightly during the scoring, Barnadi on the other hand was starting to suffer quite early on from his jet lag.
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| The Bride and Groom |
The weather stayed good for the rest of our time in Bath, and I managed to pop into the pharmacy at the RUH to say hi to all my old friends there, although I didn't have time to see everyone as I had to run off to meet our friends for lunch and get measured for a suit for David and Kirsty's wedding in November. We had lunch at the Cotes Brasserie where we sat outside in the sun and made the most of their 2 course lunch special, before going to Sub 13 for their 2-4-1 cocktails. Barnadi was really suffering from his jet lag by now and just slept through the afternoon.
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| Whitstable Oyster Co. |
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| A taste of Britian: Some of Barnadi's Shopping |
Rachel's husband Glen drove us to the airport on our last day, and then we were off, back home again. When we left the UK 6 months ago it was for a big adventure, we had no home to go to and no job lined up when we got here. This time however, everything is sorted and we really were just coming home. Although I was very sad to be leaving the UK again, Barnadi was happy to be getting back. The whole trip only lasted 10 days, but while we were there it felt like we had never left. Getting on the plane back to Melbourne, back to our new home, it really sunk in as to how big a decision it was to move out here in the first place. Australia is really so far away, but it is not just the physical distance which is the issue. It is hard to find the words to accurately describe my feelings, I do not regret our decision to move, but the UK will always be my true home.
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