The Sa Wasteland

[rhys5169]

good on ya Steve

[RubyRS4]

5 more hours and I hand over the keys to the Stagea

Buyer took it for a spin last night and loved it.

... hmm, what to get next?

[heslo]

That will be sad to see her go Reuben... may I ask why you are selling up? Need more $$$ for the house I take it?

[RubyRS4]

That will be sad to see her go Reuben... may I ask why you are selling up? Need more $$ for the house I take it?

Sticking to my priorities. Didn't want to sell ... no way did I ... but something's got to give. I'll be getting another Stagea, rest assured.

For now I'm driving around the silver Stag, which is also up for grabs.

[Nightcrawler]

Good. It means when time comes for me to buy a place, the property will be cheaper ;P

Ben, you realise that when you come to buy a place that 1). you may no longer have a job, and 2). the banks are very shortly going to be demanding people have 20% deposits - yes 20%. The downturn in the property market will drive this heavily, where banks will become very nervous about prices falling and exposing them to potential losses in the case of Mortgagee in Possession.

All these people out there who have no jobs and simple buy investment property after investment property while reaping in tax benefits are the cause the houses were inflated beyond their worth and are directly reponsible for the lack of affordable accomodation - rental properties included.

Incorrect. It is a myth that property is an investment - in the current climate anyhow. Extremely few properties return even close to the interest cost alone - eg. $300,000 renting for $300 per week - @ 6% interest = $18,000p.a - rental return $15,600 minus management fees (20%), land tax, maintenance etc. The real gains in property is in capital growth - and while this has been remarkable in the past 6 years - evidence suggests that property growth will be effectively 0% for the next 3-5 years off the back of the GFC.

Also, in my opinion the biggest driver of property prices is 1). irresponsible lending practices by lenders who have given way too many people (many of whom should be lifetime renters) loans, on the back of 100% and even a ridiculous 107% lends (includes stamp duties and costs), and 2. more significantly greedy loan brokers who actually talk people into buying more expensive houses ("why only buy a $250,000 house - based on your earnings we can lend you $400,000!"). These guys earn a commission from the banks when they write a loan - the more the borrower borrows, the more commission they get.

I find it amusing that labor bashers myopically ignore the fact that this Global Financial Crisis (GFC) was the catalyst for many of these businesses cutting their workers. It has nothing to do with trade unions.

The GFC is partially to blame, but pretty much EVERY business knew we were screwed the second Labor got in power - this is history repeating itself. Labor haven't done a damn thing for business, but have enabled the Unions to bring unsustainable labour policies into play that big business just won't stand for. True this isn't the only driver, but it is a big factor.

I work in IT, we have NO UNION and we're feeling a 3% downturn since last xmas. 3% might not sound like much but its just the beginning. All of these businesses are closing/moving because they are nervous about being able to survive - its a marketplace after all and if people are scared about their livelihood and income then they're hardly going to be spending it on plasma tv's, new cars and such things - hence the stimulus package. Now I don't anticipate everyone out there to spend their refund on buying goods - a lot of them will put it on credit debt and other things that dont really stimulate the economy but would help them out marginally.

True. I have expressed my thought on the stimulus packages before - an absolute waste of time with money that could have been much better spent keeping businesses in business in the form of tax and payroll tax cuts - if the businesses remain open, the staff keep their job. Giving people $1 to blow on a plasma has a VERY short term effect, and will only somewhat slow the death of the business. On the other hand, encouraging business to stay open and helping them to remain profitable is a longer term proposition - something KRudd and Swann obviously have no idea about. I am just wiaintg for the to utter Paul Keating's famous words "the recession we had to have".

Companies like Bonds have been offshoring workers for the last decade. If you don't believe me, try calling up Telstra or Optus or AAPT and tell me if you're talking to an Australian or someone from a foreign country that's prepared to work for peanuts.

Again, because Unions have forced the minimum wage up to unsustainable levels for business. Unskilled phone jockeys getting $30 an hour. Why bother keeping the jobs in Aus? They didn't.

Out of all of this, we were going to have a recession either way, I won't dispute that. But by making business friendly policy and taking certain actions, you can limit the effect it has on the economy. Labor have done nothing but a pathetic knee-jerk reaction, and so Australia will sink for the next 3-5 years, like the rest of the world. When you don't have a job, don't come whinging that the world economy is to blame. There will be 1 person responsible, and unfortunately you seem to have voted for him, instead of the successful ship that was the Liberal party for the past 12 years, that has steered is into and through the unbridled period of success the country has been through for the last decade.

[RubyRS4]

Can anyone tell me if it IS normal for a HKS turbo to make spooling noises (like a whistle)?

Is this normal induction noise.

Also, does a bellmouth dump pipe provoke noise at high rpm from the wastegate opening? ... or would this signify a leak between the turbo and dump pipe?

Edited April 3, 2009 by RubyRS4

[typevu]

"Australian made cars are the best"

lol late April fools I presume

[ontheranch]

Just read in the newspaper that there has been vandelism and tyre slashings happening often where I park my car everyday.

[Murry33]

wheres that ontheranch??

[Normsta]

I do agree with all the points you have raised there, Nightcrawler, except 1.

Out of all of this, we were going to have a recession either way, I won't dispute that. But by making business friendly policy and taking certain actions, you can limit the effect it has on the economy. Labor have done nothing but a pathetic knee-jerk reaction, and so Australia will sink for the next 3-5 years, like the rest of the world. When you don't have a job, don't come whinging that the world economy is to blame. There will be 1 person responsible, and unfortunately you seem to have voted for him, instead of the successful ship that was the Liberal party for the past 12 years, that has steered is into and through the unbridled period of success the country has been through for the last decade.

I think we would have been in recession with Howard/Costello or with Rudd. Sure, Rudd has stuffed up a lot of things, the stimulus included, but even if the Liberals were still in power, we still would have had the GFC and onflowing consequences. If they would have been worse or not I don't know, but they sure would have been there either way.

The Libs were riding the good times of the economic boom in mining that has now slowed down or even collapsed. While the mining kept our economy afloat, our manufacturing sector continues to be moved off-shore, and now that that's pretty much gone, where do we support jobs?

Edited April 3, 2009 by Normsta

[Dohmar]

Ben, you realise that when you come to buy a place that 1). you may no longer have a job,

Funny, I had 3 times when I was unemployed during John Howards term as PM and lo and behold I actually have a full time job now - that is Full Time, not permanent part time or any of these 'non permanent' jobs that seemed to be the norm during 'Work Choices' - what choice did the worker have? Sign here or we'll find someone else? Ironic that the unemployment figures quoted were massively fudged (such as counting people on Work For Dole as not officially being 'unemployed' because the government was sooo generous and would give WFD workers an extra $20 on top of their dole cheques).

Incorrect. It is a myth that property is an investment - in the current climate anyhow. Extremely few properties return even close to the interest cost alone - eg. $300,000 renting for $300 per week - @ 6% interest = $18,000p.a - rental return $15,600 minus management fees (20%), land tax, maintenance etc. The real gains in property is in capital growth - and while this has been remarkable in the past 6 years - evidence suggests that property growth will be effectively 0% for the next 3-5 years off the back of the GFC.

Well OK, you got me on this one. I do agree that people shouldn't be getting homeloans that they cannot afford, that subprime debacle was a good point.

The GFC is partially to blame, but pretty much EVERY business knew we were screwed the second Labor got in power - this is history repeating itself. Labor haven't done a damn thing for business, but have enabled the Unions to bring unsustainable labour policies into play that big business just won't stand for. True this isn't the only driver, but it is a big factor.

Every business? Oh Please, the company I work for was experiencing a 15% PA growth before the GFC - they were making great gains last year (Yes, Kevin was PM last year too) and its only the GFC that has made the growth slow down.

Giving people $1 to blow on a plasma has a VERY short term effect, and will only somewhat slow the death of the business. On the other hand, encouraging business to stay open and helping them to remain profitable is a longer term proposition - something KRudd and Swann obviously have no idea about.

Hrm and here is K.Rudd getting a lot of praise from Obama and Sarkozy about his stimulus package. Surely theyre not politically biased?

When you don't have a job, don't come whinging that the world economy is to blame.

Typical liberal scaremongering that.

There will be 1 person responsible, and unfortunately you seem to have voted for him, instead of the successful ship that was the Liberal party for the past 12 years, that has steered is into and through the unbridled period of success the country has been through for the last decade.

One man is never to blame. I suppose if the GFC happened had Howard been in power, you'd still be blaming the unions.

As much as the liberals ran a tight budget, they were voted out due to their duplicity and lies. Also, Howard isn't an economical genius. He left Hawke with a 1.6 billion deficit which took a fair while for them to write off.... I would argue that much of the prosperity the liberals took credit for were due to some of Keatings initiatives, however you're free to disagree...

[scandyflick]

all this talk about GFC is making me hungry...

... im gonna go get some fried chicken.

[TALBO]

Political arguments are futile, it's all very easy to blame Labor/Rudd.

[SLED]

in addition to Andrew's original post,

I've said it before, I'll say it now and I'll keep saying it, the majority of Australians are employed by small business.....period!

A government that refuses to recognize this fact is a govt that does not see the bigger picture and remains cross eyed at the fly on his nose (ie. short term fixes like the stimulus package which just draws out the eventual death of small business & the economy).

That Gillard woman sits there with a smug grin on her face and brainwashes the workforce into believing Workchoices is a dirty word when in fact the alternative is far worse. You now have the Unions & govt heads dictating what small business must pay the worker, what conditions it provides and if you employ a bludger, don't even think about laying them off as you'll face an unfair dismissal suit that will knock your business over anyway.

As a director of a small company, if I have an employee that goes out of his way to work hard and put mine and the business's interest before his needs, do you think that I'm not going to consider him as a valuable employee and do my best to stop him going elsewhere?! At the same time, if I have a worker who is just a sponge (all take & no give), I want to have the power to get rid of him.....1 worker on the dole queue does not equal all the employees of a business on the dole queue once the business folds.

Workchoices actually gave incentive to become a better worker and prove to your employer that you are a valuable asset which in turn strengthens the small business and leads to a healthier economy........want more money, earn it!!

On that note, approx 10 years ago, the Hawthorn footy club looked like it was going to go under if it didn't merge with another Vic club. The club bandied together as everyone saw the bigger picture, moved home grounds and took a significant cut in wages.....where's the club today? Who are the current Premiers?! Shame some employees would rather be out of work than agree to a paycut.

EDIT: Almost forgot, as for making a fantastic living through the ownership of investment property....if that were the case, I wouldn't have to work anymore, instead I pay more land tax than most people pay in income tax. More rental properties on the market now than ever before and in ratio of house price increase to rental increase, the latter falls way behind....positive gearing is something we'll be telling our grandchildren about like a fairytale......prices in Adelaide were destined to skyrocket due to the high prices on the eastern seaboard, not just because the baby boomers bought up big time.

[Damo_R34]

Political arguments are futile, it's all very easy to blame Labor/Rudd.

yeah its like religion, your Catholic, your Buddhist, your both never gonna agree.

[Normsta]

Workchoices actually gave incentive to become a better worker and prove to your employer that you are an valuable asset which in turn strengthens the small business and leads to a healthier economy........want more money, earn it!! On that note, approx 10 years ago, the Hawthorn footy club looked like it was going to go under if it didn't merge with another Vic club. The club bandied together as everyone saw the bigger picture, moved home grounds and took a significant cut in wages.....where's the club today? Who are the current Premiers?! Shame some employees would rather be out of work than agree to a paycut.

While I wasn't a fan of the Libs, I do agree that WorkChoices was needed to improve productivity and actually give an employer some sort of choice on their staff.

People need to appreciate the fact that they actually have a job. I am sick and tired of seeing incompetent employees who do not give a shit about their job enjoy full job security in their place of employment. Especially in these times coming up, where unemployment will rise dramatically, the employer should have the oppertunity to hire the best people out there for their positions. And if the people are incompetent and lazy, they simply will be fired or not hired for the position until they get their act together.

Edited April 3, 2009 by Normsta

[SLED]

While I wasn't a fan of the Libs, I do agree that WorkChoices was needed to improve productivity and actually give an employer some sort of choice on their staff.

People need to appreciate the fact that they actually have a job. I am sick and tired of seeing incompetent employees who do not give a shit about their job enjoy full job security in their place of employment. Especially in these times coming up, where unemployment will rise dramatically, the employer should have the oppertunity to hire the best people out there for their positions. And if the people are incompetent and lazy, they simply will be fired or not hired for the position until they get their act together.

Amen brother....this is my harsh but true take on the 2 govts.

Having a job is my right! = Labour/Unions

Having a job is a privilege! = Liberals

[Damo_R34]

heres a pickle,

Port vs West Coast at Subi. I have tipped WC, but am probably gonna change it...

Thoughts?

[Damo_R34]

http://www.j-spec.com.au/list/index.php?ID=14354 wow!

[TALBO]

heres a pickle,

Port vs West Coast at Subi. I have tipped WC, but am probably gonna change it...

Thoughts?

As much as it pains me to admit, I picked Port!