Originally Posted by
gordonfvckingramsay
Aerialperspective, who’s business is it what car someone drives? You don’t know what their sircumstances are, whether they were particularly astute at investing their income and were enjoying the spoils, or if they inherited a sum of money from a relative etc. The fact that an expensive car was noticed in a car park somewhere means nothing.
The problem with with this country is that people would rather see an other human being held back rather than seeing them prosper, the politics of jealousy is a huge barrier to our national psyche.
Of shoring the most internal of an airlines organs is both dumb and unnecessary. The simple fact is this: all of our major airlines CAN do it here and still make MONEY. They CHOOSE to do it overseas because it DIVIDES the AUSTRALIAN workforce and makes way for greater PERSONAL gain for MANAGEMENT.
Well, thanks for that strident response. I never said we couldn't do maintenance here, etc. and in fact I think we SHOULD... I would state though that whenever QF 'off-shores' something it gets a world of criticism on here and in the press yet VA off shores virtually everything and not a peep.
OK, so in fact I DID know that person's circumstances and they DID pay for it out of wages. Everyone knows the engineers have had conditions over the years that any reasonable person would consider excessive. Please let's not pretend that the domestic airlines (both AN and TN) didn't just 'roll over' every time a strong union threatened industrial action and just upped the wages. Good luck to them, but your statement "the problem with this country is that people would rather see another human being held back" is utter rubbish... So, what you are saying is that EVERYONE in the country thinks that way??? Everyone is 100%... so you can't possibly know that.
It's not like you say... the tall poppy syndrome is very much a myth. Australians don't universally try to cut down someone who's done well. What they hate is people who get an advantage over others - people who the troops know are incompetent and yet still get promoted. Politicians who pontificate to everyone about doing the right thing then rort the system - that's not tall poppy syndrome, that's cutting someone down to size. As for the rest, what's wrong with this country, besides the 27 uninterrupted years of growth, amongst the largest pool of national savings in the world due to superannuation (now well in excess of annual GDP), one of the highest standards of living in the world, lowest infant mortality (with the exception of the indigenous population unfortunately), relatively low corruption, incredible mineral wealth and one of the lowest levels of debt as a % of GDP in the OECD. Every time someone starts a sentence with 'the problem with this country' I feel like suggesting they go and live in PNG or Libya or Iraq. Many of the 'problems' of this country are first world problems. The only serious problem in this country at the moment is wealth inequality... being facilitated by an incompetent government who only supports the management side of the equation. It is the main existential threat that could derail the system and make this an unfair country. No, we don't begrudge someone who got out there and through skill or entrepreneurial spirit or inspiration made a million... what we don't like and call out for what it is, is people who are overpaid and structure things to line their own pockets. There are people within every group that do it, not all, whether it be engineers or pilots in years gone by using their industrial strength to get more than perhaps they should or a conga-line of ramp workers lining up by a coffin and touching it so they can claim the coffin handling allowance. Nothing to do with people working hard and doing the right thing but those that are taking the p-ss are the ones that the general populace tends to want to cut down a peg or two.
Secondly, it doesn't matter a crap whether we think it's fair or not, if it costs more here than it does elsewhere (Is anyone seriously going to say that the only people in the world that can maintain aeroplanes are Australians... because that's a big statement, especially considering the bloody aeroplanes are BUILT by companies overseas). Despite that, I don't buy the argument that it's too expensive here because Germany is one of the most expensive places in the world but they do OK with high wages and still get plenty of business, so I'm FOR keeping the work here BUT the fact is that in the past elements of the workforce HAVE taken the p-ss and become paid quite beyond comparable outfits overseas. Anyone who doesn't think that's the case is living lala land or doesn't know the history. I WORKED in the industry during those years, I remember people walking out right before Easter or Xmas because someone looked sideways at them or because they wanted to launch a totally ludicrous wage claim. Problem now is that it has gone far to far the other way and now the management side have the upper hand. Typical of this is the BS that was fed to people by the government that THOUSANDS of small businesses would go broke if penalty rates weren't removed for hospitality. Well, they have been so 'small business' needs to explain to me why the local pub has the gall to charge a surcharge on public holidays when they don't have to pay penalties any more... I only mention that as an example of how BS takes over from rational argument.
Essentially, I think we agree on the on-shore maintenance issue but I'm not going to sit back and pretend everything's fine when there ARE people in the system who have been overpaid by a reasonable degree against comparable jobs elsewhere with the same skill and safety implications. That is PART of the problem. No argument for someone getting a fair wage for a fair days work but just saying that perhaps all those years when we KNOW unions featherbedded is why we have got to now.