Cost of living in Perth - no retirement for us.

"London. New York. Paris. They're all cheaper to live in than Perth, according to an international study.

The WA capital is the 13th most expensive city in the world, ahead of the likes of Vienna, Rome, Berlin, Hong Kong and Beijing, the Economist Intelligence Unit's bi-annual Worldwide Cost of Living survey has found."

Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/perth-outranks-london-new-york-in-worlds-most-expensive-cities-list-20110707-1h4l0.html#ixzz1jIyuu22f
Every dollar counts.

We are obviously feeling the pinch and having a hard time keeping up with the ever increasing cost of living here in the West.

My friends and I all know that it is expensive to live here in what has long been called, " the lucky country" and dread having to manage on retirement pensions and if lucky superannuation handouts assuming they have not all been whittled away by the vagaries of the share markets. Not for us retirement; it appears obvious that many of us will have to keep working in part time positions to supplement the inadequate retirement payments.

I imagine younger Aussies who are coining it in the mining sector, look without too much sympathy on we older Aussies who have worked hard all our lives only to be left earning modest incomes in public service, e.g.. teachers, nurses, police officers, firemen and the like. Many of us now too long in the tooth to head off to greener pastures, to earn the, "Big Bucks". The two tier economy is alive and well and living here in the West.

Who to Vote for? Now that is the question???

Libs, Labor, Greens even Family First, now who will it be?????

Questions, questions questions.

In my electorate, the Liberals are a safe bet to win, so my vote will be a wasted one. I will not be voting for them, but it won't stop the inevitable.

Reasons why I won't vote for the Libs........well.....

How could I vote for a party that is rubbishing the buildings most of the people working at my School are waiting for. We almost cheered when they started digging this Tuesday morning.

How could I vote for a party that has condemned the roof insulation program, when I had my entire house insulated for free.

How could I vote for a party whose leader does not believe in climate change nor supports the mining tax.

How could I vote for a party that has admitted it would not have supported the above stimulus package that ensured Australia was the least affected by the Economic Down turn of all the advanced world economies.

How could I vote for a party that shows no compassion towards Asylum Seekers.

How could I vote for a party that intends to keep Aussies in the dark ages and has said no to ultra fast broad band.

Well I won't be voting for Tony's crowd.

RSVP - Tony's Party

Are you going? Have you been invited, I have.....you know to Tony's Party in August.

It's strange how personal prejudices influence all manner of things and so I should not be at all surprised to find myself completely disenchanted by the leader of the opposition, Tony Abbott. I mean was it the oft shown footage of him sporting the famous, I mean infamous, "budgie smugglers" or swimming trunks, as they were called in my Dad's day or perhaps one of the in depth looks at his previous life that has ensured I will vote for the present incumbent, Julia Gillard.

Actually, I am not quite that naive and it is Tony's policies or at least a number of his statements that have made me firm in my resolve.

For starters he is a, "Climate Change", skeptic. Yes, one of those. Someone who, with all the evidence at his finger tips, still refuses to accept that all the gunk we human beings have poured into the atmosphere over the past 200 years has not had any significant impact on our environment.

Then there is his great response to the Mining Tax imposed by Julia's government on the big mining companies here in Aus. The tax that is going to get Australia back into surplus.....Tony just would not implement it. No, he would let the Miners continue to send their billions offshore, never mind the people who live in the country that makes them so wealthy.

Finally what settled it are the ridiculous ads., the Liberal campaign is running, in which they rubbish the, 'Building Schools" program and the, "free insulation" initiative, both of which admittedly have experienced problems, but which without a doubt stopped Australia slipping into the economic quagmire, that countries such as the US and UK landed in.

No, I will not be going to Tony's party this August.

Red Tape for Teachers.

The Federal Government's National Curriculum is set to be introduced across Australia at the beginning of 2011. Personally I am all for it. I have never understood why there are so many dissimilarities between the various States.

It is a nightmare for parents moving their children inter-state, and for the teachers trying to explain to them why their son/daughter has to repeat a year again, or go into a class where they are struggling to understand the Maths because they have missed a year of instruction. The anomalies are numerous. Hopefully the proposed National Curriculum will put pay to much of this.

Now, my question is this; If I am qualified to teach the Nat. Curr. in Western Australia, surely I am just as qualified to teach it in Victoria, New South Wales or the Northern Territory, so why do I have to go through all the rigmarole of having my qualifications ratified. I am not talking about Police Checks etc., as we all have to have them, no I am talking about having to go through the same process as teachers coming from overseas.

I have an Australian Teaching Degree, surely that should qualify me to teach anywhere in Australia, without all the red tape.

I do not understand.

Things I do not understand

• where all the money from the mining royalties has gone
• why Perth seems to stagnate while Melbourne seems to be exploding with vitality
• where all the young and talented people go when they finish Uni....'cos they don't seem to stay here
• why Perth has not made more of its most beautiful asset.....The Swan

There are other things I do not understand, but these four will do for now

Solar?????? What happened in WA?

Over thirty years ago I arrived in this beautiful part of the world with my small family. One of things that impressed us, besides the magnificent coast line and relaxed feel of the place was a new invention we had never seen before.

It was a solar hot water heater. Wow, what an invention, free hot water from the sun. It was unbelievable and whilst expensive, it was advertised as being able to pay for itself .... eventually.

A few years after our arrival we were in a position to build a new house and our thoughts turned to the new fan-dangled water heater. Fortunately, or perhaps more truthfully, unfortunately there was a new player on the block.....it was natural gas. Piped many thousands of kilometres down from the north of WA, it was inexplicably much cheaper than the no cosy, well low cost, solar heater. With little foresight and like most new home builders money tight and we went for the cheaper option.

It was not just the initial price, there were other factors, such as the relatively short life of the solar system's water storage tank and the fact that water from such a system was scalding during the day, but cool in the mornings and at night when most people wanted showers etc. These factors and the cost of running boosters for winter heating of the water caused many people to turn away from what was and still is the most sensible form of water heating in a State absolutely drenched in sunlight both during the summer and winter.

It seems ironic that Germany, a country in northern Europe with possibly 50% less sunshine hours than WA went on and developed the use of solar energy and now has at least 50% more solar hot water systems in use on its house roofs. Yes WA, or more acurately Australia, has been left far behind when it comes to the development of one of its most notable free resources. And why....because it is cheaper to use our non renewable resources until we have none left than it is to think of future generations and develop systems which are not only healthier for this planet but will also be there for our grand-children's, great grandchildren.

Ban ignored

WA dog owners, backed by the general populous, told the would be Dog Banners, what to do with their new ruling on an existing law...and that was to ...............stick it, or more precisely ignore it. And that is precisely what has happened. None of the cafes enforced the ban, many politicians applauded the move and it has in effect disappeared.

Dogs can again be seen happily sitting by their coffee sipping owners. At last a win for common sense.