My comments re bogans was in no way intended to be derogatory.
Some of the finest people I know are bogans. When life is all about the footy scores and personalised number plates on your HDT Commodore that say Macca, then life is not all that bad.
The anti bogan brigade are simply annoyed to see air travel become something that more than just the elite can enjoy.
Trevor, my name on pprune is a dead giveaway as to my locale. Every country has its bogans, even HKG. The difference being that you and I dont generally sit down for a home cooked meal with the local equevelant.
My perspective - having been out of oz for 5 years, I miss the blue skies and the fresh air and the open spaces and SYD harbor and the colors and the contrasting shadows that you dont get in HKG/China BUT I find ozmates to be living in the industrial relations dark ages and in an employment/benefits environment that will not last. I enjoyed such an environment and would love to see it continue but the awakening dragon (and India/Vietnam etc) will quickly force its version of reality on all highly unionised western nations such as oz no matter how unfare it may appear.
Ozmates need to get smart and pragmatic or risk becoming a third world nation. Howard knows this almost as much as Keating did. Dixon knows this.