See What Susie Says

Thanks everyone for the really interesting comments. I’d just like to make a point or two… it’s funny how a few of the people defending banks appear to work for them… they would hardly be unbiased commentators. Secondly, banks are more than commercial operations, they offer a public service that most of us can’t live without. Often starting a new job means you have to open up a bank account and have no choice. And of course most of us need to borrow money to buy houses. Yes, we need them, and yes, they need to stay in business. But the Government needs to do more to make sure they operate ethically and don’t scam money off the back of mum and dad investors with higher than normal interest rates and bullcrap account fees. And if banks were fair dinkum about service, they’d make it effortless for people to change banks - we as consumers need to vote more with our feet. And we need to keep up the pressure on politicians - they are all listening to debates like this one at election time.

Can you believe the CBA lifted its home loan rate by .45%, almost double the RBA increase?  Commonwealth Bank? Rubbish. The CBA stopped caring about the common people a long time ago. Shareholderwealth Bank is more like it.  It’s about time we stopped treating the banks like some elevated pillars of society that we supposedly depend on, and see them for the aggressive, greedy, low-end profiteerers they are.  I note Wayne Swan said “It’s no wonder so many Australians are so angry with our banks.” This comes from a Government that couldn’t bring itself to vote for the recent Senate Inquiry into the banks. Don’t feel our pain Wayne, do something to reduce it. 

A health crisis has hit Melbourne’s new housing estates, as isolation and poor basic services make it hard to care for kids, a damning new report has found.
There is a “mismatch between families’ child-centred ideals” and the actual daily “challenges of raising their children” in new outer areas, Deakin University researcher Dr Fiona Andrews has found.
A Herald Sun investigation shows many council areas with new estates have poorer health outcomes, including lower immunization rates, lower breastfeeding rates, higher post natal depression and less kids attending preschool.
In Hume, Wyndham, Casey and Greater Dandenong council areas, key maternal and child health indicators are all well below the state average.

Continue reading 'Victorian new housing estates - Aussie dream or nightmare?'

Melbourne Cup time provides the ultimate proof that money and fame don’t buy you taste – or a good time.
The Birdcage might be the destination for the A-list but the carpark and concourse is where the real fun is to be had. You don’t get to waterslide in your tuxedo in the Emirates tent. Or do the can-can in soggy stilettos and a bin liner over your head. As the rain continues to bucket down, thousands on the outer just concentrate on drinking themselves warm and dry in the way Aussies do best. When you’re drinking by the crate, Carrington is as good as Cristal champagne anyday.

Continue reading 'At race time, what’s more fascinating - the fascinators or the fillies?'

Welcome to our new blog, log on each day to see what’s happening with The Big O!
Today the issue is child protection.

And then cast your vote accordingly in November.

Continue reading 'Are we doing enough to protect our most vulnerable kids?'