Less than 40 percent of commodity exports by value, actually.

And falling...

The truth
 

The refusal to open the WA border has been a well hidden lie folks.
It has absolutely nothing to do with protecting the mining industry (they're all vaccinated), but everything to do with the absolute failure in the hospital system here, led no less than the ever boasting Labour Government.
As we speak, hospitals here are running at maximum capacity, and that's without Covid in the state.
Fact is that they can't cope with you rocking up with a broken leg, let alone a half a dozen Covid patients needing ICU and O2 machines.
The media seems to not see a need to highlight this fact.......

But then ..............



https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....14914216ed.jpg


From ABS 2018-19 - the most recent stats that I could find.
Iron prices would need to drop a long way before that 44% (for all export commodities) dropped below the next nearest (Qld).

I'm not sure that the WA Govt ever specifically said that the border was being closed to protect the mining industry.
Though that is at least partially true and taken as a given.

But anyway, what do you see as being a quick fix for the current situation with hospital waiting times?

Yes Icarus, that is true, firefighting is a State responsibility but to effectively quarantine (no pun intended as will be revealed below) the Commonwealth and ScoMo from any responsibility is to ignore reality. First, every previous PM on both sides, including Howard, stayed in the country in summer during what was expected to be a serious time for fires across the country. Secondly, as all on this forum would know, the Commonwealth is responsible for the disposition of ADF assets if allocated to fires/cleanup/support and the Commonwealth has sole responsibility for the registration and certification of aircraft and components which is how the States get their firefighting assets approved to fly here - so, in fact, the Commonwealth is central to the effort and for him (ScoMo) to go away then offer a pathetic excuse such as "... the States didn't ask for help..." is not just excuse-making but callous and ignorant on his part.

While we're on the subject of responsibility. Quarantine is NOT a State responsibility, yet ScoMo was more than happy to suggest it being flicked to the States and has done virtually zero to do anything about taking it back when it has proved that hotels are not designed for quarantine for an airborne disease. Based on his record to date, I have no doubt he orchestrated this so he could blame the States when it went bad, which it did.

Aged Care is a Commonwealth responsibility too - ScoMo is happy for States with a high infection/death rate in FEDERALLY CONTROLLED Aged Care facilities to be blamed for that too, but - and this is an old story with him - his government was warned specifically that the Aged Care sector needed reform and that something such as disease outbreak would be devastating and as usual, he and his band of no-hopers just kicked the can down the road and hoped for the best, including that pathetically inept moron he had running Aged Care who couldn't even estimate how many infections and/or deaths there had been and again fobbed off responsibility after yet another disaster.

Numerous warnings were given about Robodebt and his shower insisted it was all legal and moral - it took a decision in the High Court to ORDER the government to cease and desist on the basis, I believe it was the Justices of the Court that said "... it is nothing more than a State sponsored extortion racket...." (or words to that effect).

None of this is to have a go at you at all, as you were just pointing out a fact about responsibilities but the track record shows that this government and the concept of responsibility are distant strangers.

Every government has its problems and screw ups but this lot have elevated it to a fine art, their true medium is obfuscation of process (sports and 'everything else' rorts, etc.) and to lie, prevaricate and shift blame for things they could have been reasonably expected to know and/or act on earlier.

Not telling the French President until the night before cancelling a major contract, providing the weasel word BS answer to the Porter affair "I'm not his boss anymore" is not just disgusting, it's amoral - and this bloke claims to be a Christian.......

Absolutely, I wasn't intending to argue with you, just basically state that if there were any morality or justice, this lot would be tossed out on their a-ses, in fact should have been in 2019 and yep, I fully expect there'll be a chance he'll win and if he doesn't, I'm sure there'll be stuff ups by a PM Albo down the track but I find it hard even based on previous LNP governments to expect the level of rorting, obfuscation, lying, corrupt and police-state mentality that has followed this particular government for its entire existance.

As for the electorate, their principal driver in throwing out Rudd and the ALP in 2013 was the entire Rudd/Gillard/Rudd saga - seems that doesn't bother the electorate anymore since they have still voted for a party that did exactly the same thing - not just the Liberals but the Nationals as well.

It has been a sh-t 18 months and I hope (and like you, expect) that things will improve but considering how well we came through the GFC, I just wonder if there might have been a bit less prevarication and a bit more quick action had ScoMo not been there.

I don't know who you were responding to, but it doesn't seem to be me as you appear to be stating what I think anyway.

I have no opinion on Shorten, but I do think based on their handling of previous crises that an ALP government might have been a bit more pro-active in getting ready for this, I don't think Shorten would have gone on an overseas holiday when the country was on fire. Bill never lit the world on fire with his personality and he carried a substantial amount of baggage into the job, including not learning from the lesson of previous oppositions in that presenting a large target gets you beaten. I do however think that franking credits was a totally sensible policy and overdue - it was one of those bribes that Howard dolled out when it cost practically nothing and it has now grown to a ridiculous level - BUT, they should have grandfathered it, to not do so was dumb and arrogant.

I don't actually blame WA for staying closed, if they've basically got to zero covid virtually, why would you open yourself up to the disaster that is Gladwrap.......

Doubtless you have seen the shipping distance from Guinea to China, and are aware of the sort of sovereign and geopolitical risks involved.

I stand corrected....... and in no surprise or shock that it was worse than I had stated.... as for the AAT, it's a well known fact that occasionally, governments of all persuasions nominate or appoint their 'mates' to government bodies - but since 2013, the Federal Government has practically changed the complexion of the AAT by appointing anyone with any link to the LNP - at least one person I can think of in NSW was appointed who's qualifications were allegedly being a Flight Attendant with a major airline and a dedicated supporter of Tony Abbott. I'm not saying the person was a bad individual, just that if the bar has been lowered to that extent, what background or basis are individuals using for their decisions on the AAT.

Fair Work Australia is another example, where the Feds have effectively increased the size of the Fair Work Commission so people of their 'line of thought' or ideology now dominate it. As I stated above, both parties have been known to appoint the occasional mate (Hawke appointing the opposition leader he replaced as GG, etc., McGowan appointing Kim Beazely as State Governor, etc.) but like with so many other things, this current federal government has elevated it to an art form.

Let me see, stealing money off poor people, locking up a family on an island at the cost of millions then finally issuing visas only to leave one of them out (a child) so they can say they did a compassionate thing when they know they did it in a way to obfuscate as usual, doing nothing about Aged Care, cutting funding to everything they don't like, stacking tribunals and courts with their apologists, knowing there's a problem, doing nothing then ducking for cover, refusing to sack a person with a giant question mark over them, then when asked if he has any comment saying "I'm not his boss anymore", rorting every cent that can quietly rort to basically buy votes in marginal LNP seats.

No wonder they don't want a Federal ICAC.......

Agree entirely. I do laugh that in the mid-2000s a coalition government was on a path to abolish the Commonwealth AAT. Now it's a dumping ground for political mates and others owed favours.

I also laugh at those who think Labor will set up a Federal ICAC with any teeth when it's Labor's next turn in government. The current chest-beating from opposition is easy and risk-free.

Agree. The only likelihood of it happening is if there is a a proposal and it has amendments forced by the cross-bench and happens at the same time as a critical piece of legislation, enabling those holding the balance of power in the Senate to force it to have teeth.

I completely disagree with the LNP's weak as water proposal in this area but I do agree that there would need to be some sort of catch all that prevents the wasting of public money, if, for instance, a politician inadvertantly carried a paper clip out of the building BUT, it does need to address obvious corruption via a set of basic principles I think.

I don't know why, but it puts me in mind of the manifesto of the Monster Raving Loony Party in the UK....... "If we are elected, we will immediately establish a frivolous fraud squad, in order to take on fraud that is not serious enough for the serious fraud squad."

Another of theirs - "We will ban greyhound racing, in order to stop the country going to the dogs."

Miles today. Why would we open borders and let the virus in this Christmas. I don’t think it’s what Queenslanders want.

Yes Miles!!! It’s what I want. Open the frickin borders, let’s infect everyone and just get the hell on with things right? I mean everyone’s going to get infected anyway right!??

Fools.

"The community cases have actually gone up since reaching 80 per cent coverage, in part because we're allowing more social events for those who are vaccinated and, I dare say, more fatigue at the control measures," Mr Cook told the ABC.
"One main lesson from across South-East Asia is that it is incredibly hard to prevent Delta's spread and, as Singapore shows, even high vaccination rates will not help that much,"

Singapore, like Australia, has also not yet opened COVID vaccinations up to children aged under 12.

Dr Leong said 80 per cent was "not good enough because it can still burden the hospital system very significantly and there will be too many excess deaths".

"The numbers are mind-boggling, given what's possible over the next few weeks," he said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison set a vaccination target as part of his four-step opening plan for Australia, with phase C triggered when double vaccination reached 80 per cent.

However, Australia's threshold is actually lower because it is based on the population aged over 16.

Singapore's threshold is based on the total population.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-...rmal/100450154

You mean like South Australia where all the polles voted to reduce the powers of their ICAC, LOL

A Federal ICAC with ‘teeth’ will require a change of govt.

FOI was pushed through parliament in the 1st 6 months of the Hawke govt.

Gareth Evans said he only had 6 months before fellow ministers would start to realise the implications & want to water it down (or not pass it all).

Yep. If some fundamental change isn't legislated within the first 6 or so months of a new government, it's almost certainly doomed to gather dust until the next election.

Not being in WA and not being in favour of under-investing in health, however, supply of trained medical staff would be the limiting factor, as opposed to (say) any shortage of mullah or will. Those staff take a long time (longer than his COVID episode) to make/acquire. If someone in WA Govt recognised the health system as a vulnerability then the main reasonable/viable course of action would be to keep the threats out, rather than attempt to build up response capacity when the personnel are not available.

The health sector is very well versed in restricting supply of trained professionals in order to preserve salaries and hierarchy. The widespread use of telehealth has been by necessity and it took the emergence of COVID to break down the institutional barriers. The long term question is around whether the health sector is prepared to improve its scalability and flexibility post-COVID. Otherwise the blame for capacity shortfalls will continue to lie equally between govt and the sector itself IMHO.

As in a team player… let it into WA and go for it? As Gladys says…. We will live with it and people will die..? That’s the team player plan?