The People’s Bank and Privatisation

My first reaction to the news that the Commonwealth Bank had made a $9.67 billion profit was a typical champagne socialist rant. “What social justice reforms could we achieve with that kind of money?” I fumed (something non-smokers rarely do). For perspective, CommBank’s profit is more than double the $4 billion allocated to the Federal Media, Arts and Sporting industries in the March budget. It’s also twice the amount the Federal Government allocated to affordable…

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How many bloggers to change a lightbulb?

The question should be – is FOMM a blog, a topical weekly essay, Citizen journalism or the random musings of a flawed human being who craves attention? When posting it on the WordPress website, I am reminded that FOMM is not a conventional blog. It’s those endless reminders from the SEO plug-in. For those who have no idea what that means, Search Engine Optimisation is the key to more hits and making it further up…

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Covid causing travel hesitancy

Some of my friends and family have decided to head off overseas (Covid be damned), and I’m just a tad jealous. Despite making plans to visit family in New Zealand in February next year, our last international adventures are now more than a decade ago. Anecdotes and photos have faded, alas. It’s probably ‘normal’ for avid travellers to do less of it as they age, for financial and health reasons. In addition, as illustrated in…

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Australians buy 56 clothing items a year

I know what you’re thinking – Crikey, someone’s buying my clothing share! That was my immediate response to a new report from the Australian Fashion Council. My trusty proof-reader, She Who Buys Quality Clothes and Keeps Them for Decades, asked: “Does that include bras and undies?” The Clothing Data report concludes that a lot of the clothing Australians buy every year ultimately ends up in landfill. As the report shows, 62% of global clothing is…

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