@snorks I was always going to pay it back: it just would have made more sense financially to use that money on house deposit first. But it seems you think only those from wealthy families should be able to have a uni education and a house. 

@snorks I never said I wasn't okay with paying it back, but it would have been nice to have the choice to buy a house first, before prices increased. 

It took me ten years to pay off my HECS debt - wish I could have put this money towards a house deposit instead of being forced to pay it off immediately. Meanwhile, friends whose parents paid their fees upfront received a 25 per cent discount. They've eliminated the discount now but people from wealthy families still get a cheaper uni education through not having to pay inflation on a debt. And so the class division is maintained.

I would suggest adding something to the hacks you found online: if you have another adult in the house, ask them to do their part. I would hope you're not the only working adult doing the housework!

What's with the label "busy mums"? Don't all mums with young kids have a lot to do?! It's okay just to call people mums (or perhaps even parents).

@mamamia-user-482898552 exactly! Glad your comment got through the gatekeeper. Sunscreen is enough.

@snorks if you can't see that shelter is a basic necessity and not something you can take or leave then I can't help you. Tenants don't willingly pay more than a third of their income on rent - they are forced to or they end up homeless. There is nowhere else to go because of limited supply and no rental caps.

@snorks market rents i.e. the bar set by greedy investors who are taking advantage of the vacancy rate and are allowed to do this because tenants have few rights in Australia! If the investors can't bear the financial risk then they can sell. 

@healthglo landlords chose to invest in property and that involves the risk of interest rate rises. If they can't afford it they can sell, but what can tenants do if they can't afford it? There's nowhere else to go with the vacancy rate so low, so they can end up homeless. I really think housing should be legally recognised as a human right in Australia and that includes affordable housing. 

@cat yes and it's probably true that we'll never see another QE11 in our lifetimes - not only because of her character but because so few women are afforded such instant respect, not to mention having others take care of your life admin, childcare, housework etc. Imagine what other women could achieve with a fraction of her resources!

And in his second day he failed the 'never complain' ethos. That pen incident brought to mind that quote about how you can determine someone's character by the way they treat service staff, such as waiters. Time for a republic - and no Mr Albanese, it shouldn't have to wait until you're re-elected. Fine to pay tribute for a few months but a few years is excessive. 

Surely a more likely explanation is that he was joking that his fly was undone - enough to cause anyone to stop clapping. The more puzzling question is why other serious news outlets are making articles out of such silly social media speculation?

Sad that as a result of BOTH the Botox crowd and those who can afford ridiculously expensive skincare, society judges the rest of us as looking older than we are.

It's extremely distasteful that Morrison himself is now joining in on the jokes on social media. I'm sure we can all see thru his latest strategy - appealing to his blokey voting base to downplay what he did - but Turnbull was right that it's sinister stuff. It was all about power - he didn't trust five single ministers to have unilateral decisio-making ability. Instead he concentrated it all in the power of one person - and it's really scary for Australia that it was him.

Not at all surprised that Morrison did this but surely the GG was meant to act as a check and balance against this sort of behaviour? At the very least surely he should have thought it was in the public's interest to know. Otherwise what is the point of his role? 

I understand why you're leaving but on your last point, Australia was exhausting and soul-destroying for thousands of stranded Australians who were denied the right to return home unless wealthy. Sammy J's "I Can't Call Australia Home" summed it up perfectly. It was briefly illegal to come home from India, rendering citizens stateless. If only they'd had public support for their human rights.

All the more reason for Australia to have a bill of rights. You may think it wouldn't happen here but I would never have imagined being denied the right to return home - I was stranded overseas for 17 months during the pandemic. Access to Australia was limited to the rich. Unfortunately the majority of onshore Aussies supported locking out their fellow citizens, many without healthcare access.

And the contrast between the Hamish/Andy shot with all the women is a perfect illustration of the extra time and effort expected of women (often by other women). Sure it's fun to dress up sometimes but when you add up the extra time and money doing this daily for work, it's pretty unfair. 

Or perhaps the moral of the story should be this: your ideal body is yours and there's no point trying to chase something others are trying to sell which they were either born with and/or bought. So sad to see the loss of individuality in these women in their 20s and younger. If only they would have the confidence to be themselves but so difficult when the whole beauty industry trades on their insecurities.

Much better to see a kid being an individual, even if cheeky, than being quietened with a screen. Also ridiculous that they try to 'blame' only the mother and not the father - not that there was anything to blame them for - but perceived misbehavior always seems to be painted as the mother's fault.