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11 hours ago, firstone said:

 

They're just makin hay while the sun shines. In 2 weeks they'll bring it down to get people back out and about. Meanwhile use your apps if you care to.

 One day BP OTR (the family that own The Bend track) were $1.15 one day then $1.59 the next, then $1.12 the day after that. Shell did the same. Now most are at 99cents

 

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sydney petrol station e10 was 49.9c lt, many are down to 80c lt.

E10 1.33 lt in our fkn town and our local mayor calling for a shut down of our local region.

FFS even the banks are playing fair.

Government going into record debt to pay for the economic crisis which generations beyond our lifetime will pay for.

It's the usual arsholes. BP/ Woolworths,  SHELL/ Coles and CALTEX. All our fuel in this country is from the same suppliers.

Government treasurer said he'd crack down on toilet paper profiteering. Why not this blatant disregard for people already struggling. 

$25 or more extra per 60lt fill up could make a huge difference in many people's life atm.

 

Hope their chooks turn into emus and kick their dunny down. 😊

 

 

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On Tuesday morning I paid 99 cents a liter for E10  and today at the same servo it is $1.23 for E10  what gives with these A holes the whole sale price for fuel is at record lows but they still have to jack it up and screw everyone in a time of crisis ...

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 Yesterday On The Run BP near me (which 40 odd servos are owned by the Shahin family/The Bend owners and have a huge monopoly here) was 88c/l. Today its $1.19 and Shell have followed suit when the supply price is .84c (just saw that on the news).

 I don't mind profiteering, as why else would they be in business, yet that's just ripping people off when the independent stores are still at 84-88cpl 

 

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Just now, LeeM said:

 Yesterday On The Run BP near me (which 40 odd servos are owned by the Shahin family/The Bend owners and have a huge monopoly here) was 88c/l. Today its $1.19 and Shell have followed suit when the supply price is .84c (just saw that on the news).

 I don't mind profiteering, as why else would they be in business, yet that's just ripping people off when the independent stores are still at 84-88cpl 

 

You know what to do Lee.

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I do maintenenace in housing trust homes (fixing doors, walls, most things building related), and today was nearly the worst day yet for me wanting to say something to these tenants and the authorities about how they're living and how they treat these homes.

 2 year old house in a reasonably nice area with current tenants occupying it for 3 months had 24 fist size holes in the walls and doors, door handles missing or broken, screen doors kicked in, flooring torn and damaged, graffiti inside and out, roller door damaged, windows smashed etc. I was told to only fill the holes in the doors with wood putty, yet the tenant said she wasn't having it and wants new doors and door furniture (which I agreed with in my head). Told her I cant do it as it's not in the budget, then she has a crack at me because she's 'not white' and they deserve everything to be new.

 Now I don't give a shit who you are, yet if you are provided a brand new house and you treat it like this, you deserve nothing but a tent in a caravan park! 

 Residence 2. Small 2 bed unit, absolute shit hole with crap everywhere, and I'm there to change a window winder. Bloke and missus obviously off their guts already on meth and drinking cans of cider at 8.15am tell me they want this, that and the other extra, to which I explained I don't have the authority and I cant change their screen door that's been kicked in by their neighbour, as it's a security item we don't do. As I'm repairing the damaged window frame and fitting the winder (as I straddle a cabinet and many dirty clothes coz I don't want to touch them), the bloke complains that I've fitted a winder that doesnt match the frame colour perfectly! 🤔 "Sorry mate, that's the only colour available". So as I walk into the loungeroom, his missus and another skanky mutt friend are sitting there smoking ice with the glass pipes and discussing how they're going to spend their extra dole money..."I'm gunna buy that nice cider we like!" "Yeah, I might too...and a shitload of this gear...its pretty fucken good!" Says to me "Oh, you're not supposed to see this (I'm in the house don't forget), don't dob us in to Housing SA!" 

 I wanted to say how about clean your unit so that your kid who is in the other room grows up to be a decent adult, not a useless crackhead like you! Then the neighbour arrives and the arguing started and a baseball bat came out. Time to leave methinks! 

Residence 3. Gday, I'm here to fix your cabinet and fly screen mate! "No, fix my door and chain lock or you can f..k off!" Ok then, I'll call the office to see what I can do. "If you don't come back with a new door and chain lock, just fucken leave". Ok then. Neighbour sticks his head out "What do you want?" Here to work next door mate. "Don't make any noise or I'll be over there". Called the office then left...sharpish!

Res 4. New 4 bed home 18 months old...shit hole. All door handles bent, damaged or missing. "Yeah, I dunno what happened to them?" says Ms 20something with 4 kids. Ceiling cornices damaged... Now how the hell do you damage a cornice FFS?  As I'd had enough today, I said they don't get damaged without someone damaging them! She laughed and said "Yeah I s'pose...herheherher". 

 As she was entertaining some other dole cheats with beers and cider, they too were discussing how they're going to spend their new found government handouts... "I'm gunna buy that new barbecue at Kmart!" "Yeah, I'm gunna buy a few cartons of piss and some weed and fuck myself up for a few weeks" followed by laughter and a lot of "Yeeeeeah man..." 

 I know some here feel some sort of empathy for these people, but after today, I really really don't...not one bit at all! They are the filthy scum of society and YOU'RE PAYING FOR IT! Until you've seen all of this with your own eyes (I see it nearly every day) you just can't fathom what utter filth this scum lives in and what they do to themselves. The sooner these pathetic excuses for humans are dobbed in the better. They should be booted out to fend for themselves in a remote area where there is nothing...nothing at all except for a tent and a bucket. They don't deserve pity or any handouts when they don't help themselves. Drugs are just part of the problem, yet to me it's the mentality of these dickheads who expect everything handed to them on a platter, yet the bleeding hearts of society expect the rest of us to feel sorry for them? Ok then, you come and do my job day in day out and not change your mind! 

 

 

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18 minutes ago, firstone said:

Fookn ell.

I can't find anything to say.

You really deserve better. Anyone does.

 

 I feel for the kids mate. They're not going to get a chance at a decent life being around that every day

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32 minutes ago, mal911 said:

Totally agree with you LEEM

Seen it all before and the one common thought between them all is they think society OWES them.

Maybe I got it wrong....working a 60hr week every week

 

 Just had a chat with the boss about it.

 I have new powers as of now! 😁👍

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1 hour ago, LeeM said:

 

I do maintenenace in housing trust homes (fixing doors, walls, most things building related), and today was nearly the worst day yet for me wanting to say something to these tenants and the authorities about how they're living and how they treat these homes.

 2 year old house in a reasonably nice area with current tenants occupying it for 3 months had 24 fist size holes in the walls and doors, door handles missing or broken, screen doors kicked in, flooring torn and damaged, graffiti inside and out, roller door damaged, windows smashed etc. I was told to only fill the holes in the doors with wood putty, yet the tenant said she wasn't having it and wants new doors and door furniture (which I agreed with in my head). Told her I cant do it as it's not in the budget, then she has a crack at me because she's 'not white' and they deserve everything to be new.

 Now I don't give a shit who you are, yet if you are provided a brand new house and you treat it like this, you deserve nothing but a tent in a caravan park! 

 Residence 2. Small 2 bed unit, absolute shit hole with crap everywhere, and I'm there to change a window winder. Bloke and missus obviously off their guts already on meth and drinking cans of cider at 8.15am tell me they want this, that and the other extra, to which I explained I don't have the authority and I cant change their screen door that's been kicked in by their neighbour, as it's a security item we don't do. As I'm repairing the damaged window frame and fitting the winder (as I straddle a cabinet and many dirty clothes coz I don't want to touch them), the bloke complains that I've fitted a winder that doesnt match the frame colour perfectly! 🤔 "Sorry mate, that's the only colour available". So as I walk into the loungeroom, his missus and another skanky mutt friend are sitting there smoking ice with the glass pipes and discussing how they're going to spend their extra dole money..."I'm gunna buy that nice cider we like!" "Yeah, I might too...and a shitload of this gear...its pretty fucken good!" Says to me "Oh, you're not supposed to see this (I'm in the house don't forget), don't dob us in to Housing SA!" 

 I wanted to say how about clean your unit so that your kid who is in the other room grows up to be a decent adult, not a useless crackhead like you! Then the neighbour arrives and the arguing started and a baseball bat came out. Time to leave methinks! 

Residence 3. Gday, I'm here to fix your cabinet and fly screen mate! "No, fix my door and chain lock or you can f..k off!" Ok then, I'll call the office to see what I can do. "If you don't come back with a new door and chain lock, just fucken leave". Ok then. Neighbour sticks his head out "What do you want?" Here to work next door mate. "Don't make any noise or I'll be over there". Called the office then left...sharpish!

Res 4. New 4 bed home 18 months old...shit hole. All door handles bent, damaged or missing. "Yeah, I dunno what happened to them?" says Ms 20something with 4 kids. Ceiling cornices damaged... Now how the hell do you damage a cornice FFS?  As I'd had enough today, I said they don't get damaged without someone damaging them! She laughed and said "Yeah I s'pose...herheherher". 

 As she was entertaining some other dole cheats with beers and cider, they too were discussing how they're going to spend their new found government handouts... "I'm gunna buy that new barbecue at Kmart!" "Yeah, I'm gunna buy a few cartons of piss and some weed and fuck myself up for a few weeks" followed by laughter and a lot of "Yeeeeeah man..." 

 I know some here feel some sort of empathy for these people, but after today, I really really don't...not one bit at all! They are the filthy scum of society and YOU'RE PAYING FOR IT! Until you've seen all of this with your own eyes (I see it nearly every day) you just can't fathom what utter filth this scum lives in and what they do to themselves. The sooner these pathetic excuses for humans are dobbed in the better. They should be booted out to fend for themselves in a remote area where there is nothing...nothing at all except for a tent and a bucket. They don't deserve pity or any handouts when they don't help themselves. Drugs are just part of the problem, yet to me it's the mentality of these dickheads who expect everything handed to them on a platter, yet the bleeding hearts of society expect the rest of us to feel sorry for them? Ok then, you come and do my job day in day out and not change your mind! 

 

 

Mate I grew up in an area that had all that stuff going on (I was in a relatively normal house with parents that worked, mortgage etc so we were considered rich...which is what you think until you hit your teens & see where you really are in the pecking order) and I totally understand that picture (Edit - was lucky enough to get sent to a good school & had a normal family life so had plenty of opportunities to study, move on in life etc).  I also spent about 6 years as a firefighter in a similar area & some of the houses & self inflicted living conditions are just amazing.  Undoubtedly some of these people do not deserve what they have - yet plenty of others really do need that help and get out of the hole.  For the truly hopeless in society I see it purely as compassion and (in a more heartless manner) insurance.  If they're given enough to get by then they won't cause too much chaos elsewhere.  As far as the double amounts go....some don't deserve the single amount but I'm hopeful that there will be some kids out there that benefit from that bit of extra money (and how anyone survives on the normal rate is beyond me).  A mate of mine used to get flown out to settlements to do exactly the sort of work you are doing and he had lots of similar stories to tell - it is sad & a waste but I don't know what the answer is.  The worst part is the poor kids that get born into that....won the lottery by being born in this country and then missed it by 'that much'.  There was a doco a few years back about kids growing up in Claymore & one of the tenish year olds said they spent an hour every day on the way home from school looking for four leaf clovers because it was the only way they could imagine getting out of that area and having nice clothes & a car like their teacher.  Still in primary school but recognising already the shit spot they are in.  When asked by the interviewer what the hardest part was they said watching dad hit mum.  Poor buggers deserve better than that.  I just wish that for every idiot out there jamming that extra money up their whatever that there is another family that can finally buy some good clothes & food for their kids.  

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 Dont get me wrong @Gavin (CliffToCoast), there are thousands who do deserve much better.

 To have a pensioner cry in front of you because they think they're going to have to pay money they can't afford for a door closer that fell off the screen door of their immaculate housing trust home breaks your heart. Even if it was their fault by accident, I wouldn't say that in my notes. I go out of my way to help the pensioners and other 'good' tenants who most certainly are doing it very tough (I can't tell the boss half of the extra work I do for them, as I'd get in trouble myself!), as they deserve it.

 I will never understand the mentality of these cretins who just live as they do, and associate themselves with the same kind. I've seen it a few times now, and believe me I've seen some horrendous 'living' conditions, yet today was the worst yet. I've noted on two of those jobs that 2 people must attend any future work, as the threat of violence is very real. We always wear toolbelts when we arrive at dwellings that look shit, as a hammer is very close to hand to protect ourselves, as most jobs are one tradie only. A unit I was in on Monday was a violent murder scene late last year, yet the new tenant is a junkie who gets home invasions every other week, so we boarded the place up and fitted dead bolts on the rear door. I bet that lasts a week and we're back there again. Same as a job I'm on tomorrow that I've been to before. Shithole, single mum junkie with a kid, and some damage that was no doubt done by the tenant. Sadly (to a point) it keeps me in a job, yet even though I greet every tenant with a smile and 'Gday mate' to treat them as I'd like to be treated, it has worn very thin with biting my tongue with these idiots.

 I too cant believe how they survive on the dole with rent, food and bills, yet they always have enough for their drugs, grog and ciggies, so what's the answer? Giving them more money and/or education isn't it in my opinion, as they'll just buy more of the above and don't care about being educated, yet when that stops and they revert back to their normal fortnightly money, you watch the crime rate soar! One tenant in a street we call Afghanistan boulevard (in reference to a war zone, not the demographic of people who live there...it really is a dangerous street) told me she pays $200/wk for rent when she gets $250/wk dole money, yet she has a nice car, a fridge full of grog and bongs all over the place, so how is she doing that on her own with a kid? I reckon she's a dealer or a hooker.

 Kids don't belong in that environment, and 9/10 places I visit, I swear they were only born by their trash 'parents' to gain more money to ensure they never have to get a job. That's an impossibility at the moment with what's going on, so they're safe in their drug haze world for a lot longer. Sadly, so are the kids.

 The politicians and bleeding hearts club people need to come and see this in real time, not listen to those who are part of the problem and try (successfully) to pull the wool over the worlds eyes. Then, and only then, they might get a wake up call and do something about it. I'm blown away by just how many properties are owned by the housing trust, and all they do is pay for the damage and turn a blind eye. The local Housing trust site rep I know is well aware of it and regularly stops certain jobs from happening, yet he is also overruled at times, so his hands are also tied like mine are. We have 3 guys full time doing just housing trust repairs, and when you think some of my days include 10-12 different sites per day, you can imagine how much that is costing the government and the tax payer. 

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Heavy topic.  Living in a place that has much less of this spending, what happens if you don’t tip the money and time is you get the same stuff on the streets.   There are streets not far from me which are full of encampments of dilipated RVs and tents and stolen gear strewn around- garden firniture, bikes, bbqs you name it.  Periodically one of these burns down and I see the ashes but I don’t know if everyone got out or died.   I ride my bike through some areas like this and have to dodge the human shit on the bike path.   Some drop it right there some bag it and throw it and it lands on the path.   The cops occasionally clear it up and move them on but they just find somewhere else.  
 

I also knew someone supplying stainless steel screen fittings for blokes like you to fit.  They were continually working on designs to make these indestructible but it was a healthy business supplying the hardware as it got destroyed by axes, grinders, whatever a home invader/wasted husband had to hand to get back inside when locked out. 
As noted it’s the kids that are the victims in this and we as a society have to start broaching the topic of preventing future harm.  You can go to jail for treating pets the way some of these kids get treated but biological parents rule all.  I know someone (not in Oz) who had an adoption finalised of an at-risk kid, but the biological father appeared a year or so later and the kid was taken from them and returned to the family.  It was heart-breaking for them (3 years later they still mourn the loss).  My point is the adults in this situation are lost for the most part.  The only hope to correct is to fix the cycle.    And a lot of people are invested in keeping the cycle going for whatever reason rather than actually fixing it.  The pattern has to be interrupted, leaving people (and children) to live in these conditions is not compassionate or humane.   I find it weird that we have have police threatening to arrest you for waking on the beach but we are willing to let people live in squalor and violence because one person is easy to enforce but the other are too difficult.

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 Agreed mate, yet it is up to the individual MOST of the time to make things better for themselves. Noone is forcing drugs into them, and addiction is a tough one to kick, yet doing it in view of their kids is most definitely their choice. 

 Then you have the living conditions of what I imagine is 60-70% of the unemployed tenants. They have the time on their hands to do basic cleaning like picking clothes up off the floor and doing the dishes at the very least, as I've seen cockroaches scatter when I've kicked clothing away in kids bedrooms, yet they never do and that's how the kids grow up.

 We regularly board up homes when they've been vacated and earmarked for demolition to build new homes to house these people, yet most of the time that is just an invitation for squatters and vandals to rip the boards off and do whatever they do in there. We only use philips head screws to secure it all, which I've said is a total waste of time, yet the housing trust won't pay for security screws so that's how it gets done and the damage is their problem. A lot of the time, the squatters etc are armed with battery operated grinders and a variety of screwdrivers I'm told (which they probably stole from someone) so we're fighting a losing battle. 

 If I was the housing trust manager, I'd be a right bastard and deny a lot of the works we do, yet I'm not, so I'll just get paid to do what I'm supposed to do. We have just signed up for 40 of 80 kitchen renewals with the other 40 pending, so that will keep us busy for a while, yet I'm sure we will be fixing them within the next year or so 🙄😁

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The question then becomes how you separate the worthy from the others & then what you do with the 'unworthies'.  I used to think of graduated housing where you get moved up or down depending on how you treat the place.  But once again the kids get punished on the way through.  It's a problem that has been unanswered for a long time.....on the positive side Lee, there will never be a lack of demand for maintenance on those places (as heartbreaking as it is to work in that environment).  I had to check a smoke alarm once in a smallish block of about 20 very old villas, right in the middle of a suburb like you've described.  The whole place was filled with seniors (war widows maybe...) and it was as neat as a pin.  Poverty everywhere but very neat poverty.  I felt incredibly sad for them being surrounded by the ferals in the rest of the suburb - going to the shops would have been a major stress event for them.  I feel for you mate - I only get glimpses every month or so on the odd job but if you're in it day in/day out it would be a grind.

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You're doing a good job Lee especially helping those that deserve it like the pensioners.

Having spent nearly 30 years working for Centrelink I used to see those same people behave exactly the same way they did to you Lee but we never had weapons to defend ourselves, well that's not entirely true. I used to keep a very sharp letter opener handy just in case. Got close to using it quite a few times.

I even had young fellows on a couple of occasions take a swing at me (in the office) while I was sitting down. Missed me (just) but boy didn't they run when I stood up (i'm not exactly what you would call a small bloke and in those days I was in my, let's just say undesirable motorcyclist phase 😀 ) brandishing a very sharp letter opener in my hand😀

Would I have used it? Not sure but thankfully it never got that far. Fortunately I had a boss who turned a blind eye to my responses because all the difficult cases were sent my way. If I had a dollar for every time I was called white trash/c@#t amongst other names I would own a 50 year old Ferrari by now😁. I treated them the same way as they treated me. Nice to me and I would bend the rules (but never break). call me a white c@#t and I called them whatever colour they were back at them and on many occasions I told them "there's the f#$king door now get the f@#k out".

Was it the right thing to do. No but I'll be f@#ked if I'm going to take shit from anyone especially when I'm trying to assist them.

Funny side to some of those people was sometimes after a few weeks from me responding to their insults they would come back to the office and when I called their name they see that I was about to interview them and they would turn around and walk back out the door. Used to get a good laugh out of that.

I have a very simple way the government could tackle this problem of people having kids just so they never have to work (I used to know a lot of females that openly bragged about that fact).  You wouldn't believe the amount of woman who had a second child when their first child turned 15.

It won't help the kids alive today but it would for any future kids but the gumbyment would never go for it (votes).

It's simple. No more FTB and reduce the Sole Parent Pension for any children after you have had 2 children. Give the Australian people 2 years notice so they know that after that date you can have as many kids as you want but the gumbyment will only pay for 2. Harsh, yes but something has to be done. 

Will save billions of dollars over the years and whilst it won't stop some people it will certainly slow down women popping out kids to a crawl and hopefully those kids will have a reasonably decent life.

I could go on and on about what I had to see and put up with but it just gets me angry and frustrated. On several occasions we (Centrelink workers) were asked how to improve the system etc and it always fell on deaf ears. There is no one in politics with the balls to make the hard decisions that quite frankly this country really needs.

Lee don't let the bastards get to you (I know your frustration). Don't want to see you lose your job because of some crack head.

 

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Some people will never understand how privileged they are to have a home that boasts clean running water, a toilet connected to sewerage and electricity. Plenty of other "First World" societies that don't have access to such basic necessities. 

People struggling in Australia don't know what real poverty is. They maybe more appreciative of their environment if they did though. Not at all saying people don't have it tough, but its a different level of struggle compared to other parts of the world. 

 

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 Well said @hugh

Today's jobs were 

House 1. 3 rooms of filth and all wardrobe doors ripped off (8 in total) and they had a sook because I can't fix them because they're beyond repair. One dickhead said its going to cost them $ personally. Sorry, just doing my job.

 House 2. Absolute shit hole inside and out and a junkie. Screen door beyond repair. "Dunno how it happened mate". Yeah I do mate. We only repair screens that have been damaged from the outside. This one was kicked out from inside, so it now goes to Housing trust and I dare say you'll cop the bill. He wasn't happy 😅

House 3. 4 metres of outdoor eaves broken and a big hole in it. "Dunno how it happened mate" 🙄 Looks like a broom handle has been shoved up there a few times mate! "Yeah dunno mate". 🙄

 House 4. Pretty mid 20's girl living in a shithole and off her guts on something, and I'm there to fix some wall damage. "Dunno how that happened mate" Looks like a fist sized hole to me. "Yeah maybe it was my ex". Do you want a hand job for $20? I'm broke" 😳 I'll have to pass on that mate, but thanks anyway.

 House 5. Knock on door to fix an internal door. "Who is it" Here to fix your door mate. "Fuck off" Ok then, I'll take that as a no 😅

House 6. Very disabled bloke on crutches who can't walk and refuses to use a wheelchair. Helluva nice guy and I'm there to fit skirting quad all around. After 20 metres, I get to the very last screw...the LAST screw and BOOM! I hit a water pipe that was installed directly under the rear aluminium sliding doors and am all of a sudden having a very cold shower 😡😡😡😡😡 Bloke can't move to switch off the water mains, so I jump up and run out the back (thankfully it was close by) and return to a flooded kitchen. Shiiiiit! 😡 Tenant was fine about it and said shit happens, so I clean that up and call the office etc etc then leave site once a plumber is organised. Whole door frame has to come out because some asshat installed the pipes there. Bet they lose money on that job! 

Last job was easy and a nice old lady, then I get a text from the boss to do a quick job not far from where I am. No worries 👍 Clean up, jump in the van and 'click...click click' Shit...a flat battery 😡

 A week I'd rather forget

 

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