Unqualified " Sparkies " !

 There is a shortage of qualified electricians in New South Wales and labour hire companies are using unqualified people because of the amount of work offering.  It seems inevitable that this will bring about a death because forty percent of house fires are traced back to an electrical fault.

There are 69,365 registered electricians licensed to work in this state and to some extent the shortage can be blamed on the coronavirus.  The pandemic has prevented electricians being imported from overseas to fill the vacancies and urgency is causing contractors to take short cuts.

Skill and training is working to fill the gap and since 2018, 45,000 apprentices have undertaken fee free training, but the danger is the work being undertaken now by unqualified tradesmen which is not being detected.

Fair Trading can impose on the spot fines of up to $22,000 on unqualified individuals working in the industry and $ 110,000 for any company using unqualified labour.  Unfortunately, there is little regulation of electrical work to enforce these penalties.

Much of the wiring in the average home is hidden away behind the wall panels and in a new building the occupier has every reason to believe that the work is up to standard.  The danger is not restricted to a house fire from faulty wiring, it can cause electrocution if a metal object within the house becomes " live ".

It is believed that the scope of this unregistered work is widespread.   Not only is it prevalent in new housing but is featuring heavily in the home renovation sector..  When a handyman renovates a room or adds to the home and looks for an electrician these unqualified tradespeople are not hard to find.

That old saying that " A little knowledge is a dangerous thing "  is true.   They have probably worked for an electrician as a labourer and picked up a few clues, but the safety aspect of wiring is way beyond their skill level.

Often it is the householder who accepts an unqualified electrician or plumber on the basis of the job cost.  It looks like simple work and the quoted price is very acceptable so what is the harm  ?  If the house is later sold and that fault causes loss or damage the work done by a previous owner can become a legal issue.

Thankfully, those 45,000 apprentices will start filling those gaps in the immediate future and that may put the unqualified out of business, but it still depends on the end customer to insist on seeing proof of registration.

If the person giving a quote doesn't seem to have it handy, that is a very good reason to walk away !

A Turn To The Right !

The outcome of this American Presidential election awaits the decision of the voters but the composition of the highest court was decided when Amy Coney Barratt was confirmed as its newest justice by a 52-48 vote in the US Senate.

That was a " block " vote by the Republican party, who may not control the Senate when the election votes are counted, but Barratt is 48 years old and Justices serve a life term so she could hold her position for decades.

Donald Trump was certainly a controversial president, but he appointed more Supreme court justices in his single term than Barrack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton appointed together in their two term presidencies.

There is no doubt that Barratt meets all the technical criteria to sit on the Supreme court, but what interests most Americans is her attitude to two important issues - abortion and gun rights !   The three Justices appointed by Trump all have very conservative leanings and together carry the Supreme court in a 6-3 conservative balance.

Barratt is a dedicated Catholic and the Catholic church is implacably opposed to abortion in any circumstances.  She has expressed criticism of " Roe v Wade ", the case that legalised abortion  decades earlier and which is expected to front the court for review when it passes through the lower courts.

The other issue is gun control.  The right to bear arms is guaranteed in the American Constitution and guns were single shot muskets when that document was framed.  Today citizens have access to military grade machine guns and there have been constant massacres of innocent people.  There will never be a law change to lower the number of guns on the streets while the conservatives hold a majority in the Supreme court.

Trump is a Republican party president and the Republicans have the numbers in the Senate at present.  They voted as a " block " and refused to hold the confirmation of Barratt over until after the election and it is possible that if their opponents win this election they may add more justices to the Supreme court to rebalance a more liberal tilt.

What we are seeing here is a vast change in the political stance in the most heavily armed country on earth.  Its Supreme court is the final arbiter of law and in the past the selection of new justices was achieved by nominees gaining a majority vote from the combined meeting of Senators from all political parties.  That has now changed to whichever political party has the numbers in the Senate.

If nothing else, this Trump presidency has cemented party politics into the pivotal role of appointing the balance of the Supreme court and the wise decisions which guided that country in the past will be replaced with political diktat.

The Trump era will continue as an echo chamber for years to come !

Taming " Party Animals " !

A " holiday " means different things to different people.  To some it is to experience the delights of a region they have not visited before and so they try the local cuisine and visit places of interest.  The vast majority are well behaved and this tourist industry employs thousands of people and is an important component of the Australian economy.

Unfortunately, there is a segment which critics label " party animals " who do damage to the rented property they occupy with wild parties and an excess of alcohol.  The noise factor is deafening and neighbours are deprived of sleep by load music and general mayhem.

This holiday scene has spread from hotels and holiday resorts to private homes which are now often becoming " short term rentals " listed with companies like" Airbunb ".   As a result, neighbours in quiet suburbs can encounter these wild parties attracting police attention.

The government is seeking to bring these short term rentals under control by implementing a management scheme which would place a five year ban from lease arrangements.  This ban would apply to both the property owners and the leasing company which could not offer it on their listings.

This is a very logical move.  The owners of property in a tourist hot spot get a better return from short term rentals in the holiday season than from conventional long term tenants.  It is in their interests that the property remains undamaged and it is reasoned that the ban threat will make rental companies more selective in the customers to whom they hand that house key.

The government plans a " two strike policy ".  Problematic renters would be denied property access where a disruption occurred during their tenancy and the individual property would be included in the five year ban when police reports showed regular and repeated police visits to that address.

This legislation is being urged to pass through parliament and become law before this coming Christmas but to become effective it would be necessary for all short term rental property to be combined on a register, and that is not scheduled to come into effect before next June.

In effect, rushing through draconian legislation without the proper control measures in place is going to be ineffective and will do nothing to protect neighbours from the damage and noise disruption inflicted when these party animals run out of control.

It is highly likely the government is looking in the wrong direction with this ban.   The ban only comes into effect after the damage has been done and the imposition of a very substantial bond would be more effective in making renters think twice of the monetary loss they will suffer for bad behaviour.

Obviously, there are some people so out of control that they would never be acceptable to be in control of a valuable property.  It is better to apply lateral thinking to screen such people out of selection from gaining rental access than trying to repair the damage they cause !

An Unusual " Incident " !

 Doha in the Persian Gulf has become the " hub " world airlines use as they criss-cross the world on passenger journeys.  This week Qantas flight QR908, bringing returning Australians home from London, where they had been stranded by the coronavirus lockdown, made a four hour Doha stop-over.

They had just settled back on their jetliner for the last leg of the journey to Sydney when a surprise announcement required women passengers to return to the tarmac. The request was specific to women, and no explanation was offered.

Women from both the Qantas flight and other airlines were greeted by a line of waiting ambulances.  Each ambulance was staffed by female medical personnel and each passenger was required to lower their underwear for a genital inspection.

Most strongly objected to this intrusion but eventually complied and it was later learned that a newborn baby had been found abandoned in one of the rest rooms reserved for airline passengers.  The baby was alive, but obviously both it and its mother would be in need of medical attention, hence this strange request.

This genital  inspection delivered no outcome and it is surmised that a local women with an unwanted pregnancy must have slipped into the passenger facilities.  The fact that this action was ordered without explanation made it a frightening incident that thirteen Australian women passengers had imposed without their consent.

Perhaps a timely reminder that when we leave Australia and travel through other countries, we are required to obey the laws in force under those jurisdictions.  In particular, the sexual act is strongly regulated in some parts of the world and transgressions outside of marriage can be punished by stoning to death of the guilty woman.

These laws differ widely depending on which religion is involved and how strictly it is enforced.   Our Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, known here as " Dfat " are well versed  in the known trouble areas. Australians travelling are well advised to lodge an itinerary of their intended travels with Dfat and be advised of problem areas they may encounter.

Apart from sex, the two other points of disagreement usually concern modesty and alcohol..   The shorts and bra tops popular in Australia would not meet the custom requirements in place in other parts of the world.  Women with uncovered hair give offence in some countries and a little discretion pays dividends in avoiding conflict.

Alcohol in all its forms is totally banned in some parts of the world.  Even having alcohol hidden away in luggage can be considered a serious offence if it is discovered in a  customs search, but that medical inspection in Doha was certainly something  that broke new ground for Dfat !

Curbing Gambling Opportunities' !

 Federal independent MP   Andrew Wilkie has long sniped from his Hobart base at the damage poker machines do to to the living standards of family's addicted to their enticing music and offer of a cascade of money.

In particular, his ire has been directed at linked poker machines which enable the jackpot offer to be stupendous, but entice the player by congratulary music and a light show when the " win " payout is even less than the amount wagered on that roll of the symbols

 Wilkie has turned his attention to money bet with  "bookmakers" now that many international " bookies "  are established in Australia and are heavily  advertising their services on national television. He wants to extend the laws that cover " money laundering " to make bookmakers responsible for paying compensation when stolen money is used to fund bets.

He justifies this by making comparison with the pawnbroker industry which is highly regulated. A pawnbroker advances money by way of a " loan " calculated against the value of property surrendered by the applicant.   The  loan is much less than the value of the goods held and must be repaid within a nominated time frame.

Should that not happen, the pawnbroker becomes the legal owner of the surrendered goods and may sell them at a profit.  Strict laws ensure that each loan is recorded with the name and address of the borrower and the police check regularly to discover stolen goods that have been pawned.

Stolen goods held by a pawnbroker are confiscated and compensation paid to the original owner if they have been sold and not recovered.  It is the pawnbroker that suffers this loss if he loans on stolen goods. In the past, this has been the method used by thieves to turn stolen goods into cash money.

The bookmaking industry does not advance loans and bets are made with cash money and any resulting legislation will need to clear that hurdle. Crime research shows that money stolen from  employers is often used to pay gambling debts but it is impossible for a bookmaker to be sure that the money offered has been legally obtained.

It is unlikely that we will see a law change to make bookmakers responsible for bets made with stolen money.  Wilkie's proposal has a degree of support from the crossbench but both of the major parties are seeing the difficulties of  turning this proposal into law.

A bookmaker would be entering shaky legal ground to refuse a bet on suspicion the offered money might be stolen. That might open a claim for " character assassination " if it is later proved the better's remote uncle had died and he had inherited a fortune.

The desire to place a wager is as old as humankind itself.   It is an integral part of the human psyche and it caused trouble back in the time when Roman legions marched the known world.  Andrew Wilkie is probably pursuing an impossible dream.

Such is the perversity of human nature that we aggressively reject proposals that save us from our own folly !

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A " Great Train Journey " !

 Bali is out of the question for a holiday because of closed borders to combat the pandemic but the New South Wales rail system has opened up a four night rail journey that presents a new experience in the delights of touring the picturesque country towns of this state.

Just imagine a journey on a train with sleeper and dining carriages similar to the legendary " Ghan " that runs from Adelaide to Darwin.  This new service has being called " Aurora Australis " and the journey starts and ends at Sydney's Central station.

This is not a high speed dash from one place to another. The railways describe it as a " slow rail cruise " in which the train stops at night  and there is plenty of opportunity to visit the towns along the way.  You will gain the experience of sleeping at night in your private quarters and enjoy fine dining which will feature the food for which country NSW is famous.

The Aurora Australis leaves Central and travels south to Wollongong and then up through the southern highlands to Moss Vale where it will make its first overnight stop.  The next morning you journey on to Goulburn, Junee, Coolamon and stop again for the night in the exciting MIA city of Griffith.

The next leg of the journey takes in Temora overnight and then its on to Stockinbingal and an overnight stay in beautiful Parkes.   The final days journey takes in Mount Victoria, Katoomba, the Blue Mountains and  a return to Central in Sydney.

Stops in all those towns and cities are packed with entertainment. Guided tours take the travellers to places of history and culture and ten off train meals are included.  A shuttle bus takes passengers to entertainment where it is beyond walking distance from the train.

The rolling stock that now serves as Aurora Australis was once the sleeper express that connected Sydney and Melbourne.  It has been faithfully refurbished to deliver the delights of rail travel on similar journeys to the Ghan and the Southern Aurora which compare with the great train journeys of Europe and America.

These Riverina regional rail tours start next year and each five day, four night journey will commence on March 10, March 24 and October 6, 2021.  Passenger numbers will be limited, so it would be a good idea to make an advance booking to secure your place.  The price per person is very reasonable considering the distance covered and the service standards. It is $3,995 and a booking can be made at just $250 per person. 

One of the things this coronavirus taught us is the hazard of being caught overseas when borders close and air travel shuts down.  Thousands of Australians have been stranded in Britain, Europe and America through no fault of their own and nearly six months later many are desperate to get home.

Wise minds thought it appropriate to offer an exciting rail journey not only within the country, but within the state to reduce those hazards to zero.  Many will be pleasantly surprised at the delights New South Wales contains within its own borders.

Differing Industry Standards !

 What exactly is " Australia Post " ?   To most people it is those noisy little motorcycles that ride up and down their street each working day delivering the mail into their letterbox  They also run a network of suburban post offices and clear the kerbside boxes we use when we want to send a letter somewhere.

In this digital world, they also run a division that delivers parcels and since we have embraced internet shopping, that is rapidly becoming the fastest growing segment of their services.  All aspects of " Australia Post " are owned by the Federal government.

The chief executive of Australia Post is in trouble because she authorised the purchase of four French Cartier watches worth $3,000 each as incentive rewards for the four senior executives who successfully negotiated  the inclusion of banking services into the post office network.

This chief executive is a woman and she has eared the ire of the prime minister for what he terms a " scandal involving taxpayers money ".  It is demanded that she stand aside during the investigation that will follow, and this is despite that incentive by way of watches being approved by the Australia Post board.

The prime minister was so intemperate to suggest that if she was not prepared to stand aside, then " she could go ".   The threat of dismissal hung heavily in the air.  It also seems evident that the Australia Post board may not escape censure for embracing commercial practice in a competitive industry.

The fact that a service is government owned does not shield it from the need to recruit talented staff and pay them at a commensurate level with their competitors.  The money market is notorious for rewarding successful executives with " bonuses " that run into millions of dollars.   In comparison, a three thousand dollar watch pales in significance.

The chief executive of Australia Post clearly felt that her senior management team had performed well in bringing banking services under the network umbrella.  These services will simply add to Australia Post's bottom line and that reward is important to the governments financial standing.  The provision of a watch regarded well by its famous name was a relatively inexpensive way of signalling job approval.

When a government agency competes with the commercial sector its salary range is usually determined by parliament.  The treatment Australia Posts chief executive has received will send shock waves through the entire public sector.

The message is abundantly clear.  Forget trying to recruit bright and talented people who will expand the services offered because they will work at a pay disadvantage with private industry.  Any form of incentive for meritorious service will attract the attention of parliament and the usual political point scoring.

Safety in the public service requires keeping one's head below the parapet at all times and never straying from accepted public service standards.  Boring inefficiency is the price we pay for maintaining political expediency !