For those that fear coming to Australia!

[Ozexpatriate]

5 hours ago, kevinlms said:

An import apparently via the USA. Nasty things and no natural enemy. The fire ants are I believe the type that appeared in Tom & Jerry cartoons.

They're not "from" the USA. They were introduced into the US in 1940. They are native to the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil.

 

The article even says so:

Quote

Fire ants are an invasive species originally from South America. 

 

They could have hitched a ride to Australia from any location between Brazil and the US.

[kevinlms]

31 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

That'll probably be the Orb Weavers!  I  usually cop  a face full of  them on summer bin nights. 

 

Can't you find a larger photo?

 

We were watching the club cameras the other evening and almost immediately a spider crawled across the lens, filling the screen!

[monkeysarefun]

2 minutes ago, kevinlms said:

Can't you find a larger photo?

 

We were watching the club cameras the other evening and almost immediately a spider crawled across the lens, filling the screen!

 

 

I have several "What the  ($*@ is that?" videos from home security cameras taken at night time......... 

[kevinlms]

14 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

They're not "from" the USA. They were introduced into the US in 1940. They are native to the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil.

 

The article even says so:

 

They could have hitched a ride to Australia from any location between Brazil and the US.

Yes I know that they aren't native to the USA, but it was believed that they came via the USA.

 

Here's the relevant quote from the same article.

 

The ants were first detected in Australia in Brisbane in 2001 and it's likely the pest arrived in shipping containers from the US.

[Ozexpatriate]

Just now, kevinlms said:

it's likely the pest arrived in shipping containers from the US

A guess. And even if the infected container left a US port, it could just as easily have been earlier infected in any central American port before hand. It's not like those things get fumigated with each use.

[Sidecar Racer]

25 minutes ago, kevinlms said:

Can't you find a larger photo?

 

 

 Oh don't do that , our tame bear is already hiding behind the  sofa .  🤣

[hmrspaul]

7 hours ago, kevinlms said:

An import apparently via the USA. Nasty things and no natural enemy. The fire ants are I believe the type that appeared in Tom & Jerry cartoons.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-23/fire-ants-threat-to-outdoor-lifestyle-economy-environment/103740690

I am very proud that I managed to convince our policy people that these were a plant pest and we could use our legislation to insist on eradication of an outbreak in a publicly accessible glass house, probably all of 30 years ago. The UK didn't have suitable legislation to protect people or animals, only plants! I don't remember where we thought they had originated, the glasshouse was in the habit of importing plants from many countries. I used an Australian quarantine service leaflet to convince our policy that action was required. 

 

Invasive pests are a difficult call - those lovely Rainbow Lorikeet are fabulous on the East coast, but are doing a good job of pushing out the locally native Australian Ringneck in Perth and surroundings on the West Coast. https://science.ebird.org/en/status-and-trends/species/railor5/range-map?week=1&static=true

 

Paul

[kevinlms]

9 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

A guess. And even if the infected container left a US port, it could just as easily have been earlier infected in any central American port before hand. It's not like those things get fumigated with each use.

Of course it's a guess, but almost certainly Australia would receive far more containers directly from the US, than central America.

[kevinlms]

Here's another one in a series of defamation cases, by a media company which has lost, over a dog claimed to be stolen by a barrister.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-26/gina-edwards-awarded-150k-in-damages-defamation-cavoodle/103771666

[St Enodoc]

1 minute ago, kevinlms said:

Here's another one in a series of defamation cases, by a media company which has lost, over a dog claimed to be stolen by a barrister.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-26/gina-edwards-awarded-150k-in-damages-defamation-cavoodle/103771666

If I were to claim that someone had stolen something, I don't think I'd pick a barrister...

[kevinlms]

4 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

If I were to claim that someone had stolen something, I don't think I'd pick a barrister...

I did some work for a number of years for a small legal firm and was told that they would always assist me if required. Never had to put that to the test and hope I never do!

[Gwiwer]

2 hours ago, kevinlms said:

I did some work for a number of years for a small legal firm

Better than working for a large illegal firm I s'pose 🤣

[franciswilliamwebb]

19 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

If I were to claim that someone had stolen something, I don't think I'd pick a barrister...

 

Too right.  There's nothing worse than spit in your coffee😉

[St Enodoc]

11 minutes ago, franciswilliamwebb said:

 

Too right.  There's nothing worse than spit in your coffee😉

Well, there is, but it involves words that aren't usually acceptable on RMweb.

[J. S. Bach]

6 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Well, there is, but it involves words that aren't usually acceptable on RMweb.

One of them being "tea"!

[faulcon1]

Some way wish to visit our great land but what if you venture into the vast interior to watch trains. Miles from anywhere without a care in the world until something goes wrong medically and with the nearest hospital hundreds of miles away who are you going to call. Well not Ghostbusters but the RFDS the only angels I know of. It's the only flight you'll ever take without paying for it although you'll be in no state to enjoy the flight, at least not to the hospital but once better they'll fly you back to where your family and friends are waiting for you and that flight is free too. The RFDS also flies dentists to outback locations so that the people living out there can receive regular dental care.   

 

 

Edited Thursday at 13:08 by faulcon1

[monkeysarefun]

33 minutes ago, faulcon1 said:

Some way wish to visit our great land but what if you venture into the vast interior to watch trains. Miles from anywhere without a care in the world until something goes wrong medically and with the nearest hospital hundreds of miles away who are you going to call. Well not Ghostbusters but the RFDS the only angels I know of. It's the only flight you'll ever take without paying for it although you'll be in no state to enjoy the flight, at least not to the hospital but once better they'll fly you back to where your family and friends are waiting for you and that flight is free too. The RFDS also flies dentists to outback locations so that the people living out there can receive regular dental care.   

 

 

 

 

 

A little known service that the RFDS provides is called Memory Lane flights.  "A no-cost service open to all Australians in end-of-life or palliative care, Memory Lane offers the chance to reconnect with lives, families and friends, which can mean the world. The Flying Doctor Memory Lane service supports people to visit a place of personal significance; to admire their own garden, to feel the breeze of the seaside, or to be surrounded by their loved ones and pets.

Our custom-built Memory Lane vehicles enable people in end-of-life care to overcome access barriers, visiting a place that holds meaning safely and comfortably. Our expertise in transporting people to access needed health and wellbeing services means we are well-placed to deliver on our commitment."

 

Basically its a free trip provided to anyone approaching end-of-life or in palliative care who wishes  to revisit a place of special meaning to them.  A specialist medical team travel with them and all care is provided free of charge during the trip.

 

Donations pay for the service.  I'm going out on a limb here by saying that I';m pretty sure that no  other country provides anything like this, especially free of charge. 

 

Australia - how good is it?!

Edited Thursday at 13:31 by monkeysarefun

[kevinlms]

32 minutes ago, faulcon1 said:

Some way wish to visit our great land but what if you venture into the vast interior to watch trains. Miles from anywhere without a care in the world until something goes wrong medically and with the nearest hospital hundreds of miles away who are you going to call. Well not Ghostbusters but the RFDS the only angels I know of. It's the only flight you'll ever take without paying for it although you'll be in no state to enjoy the flight, at least not to the hospital but once better they'll fly you back to where your family and friends are waiting for you and that flight is free too. The RFDS also flies dentists to outback locations so that the people living out there can receive regular dental care.   

 

 

Sorry, we had this discussion before and this service is NOT generally free.

 

Conditions must be met. See this and following posts.
 

 

[PhilJ W]

The nearest thing here in the UK to the RFDS has got to be the RNLI which is also funded by charitable donations. The main difference is that the lifeboats are crewed by volunteers who are unpaid (with a few exceptions). And of course they often put their own lives in danger.

[kevinlms]

16 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

The nearest thing here in the UK to the RFDS has got to be the RNLI which is also funded by charitable donations. The main difference is that the lifeboats are crewed by volunteers who are unpaid (with a few exceptions). And of course they often put their own lives in danger.

Probably a reasonable comparison. Plenty of fire and other services like SES, which are volunteer organisations largely.

 

Australia is tricky for medical stuff. Much is covered under Medicare (similar to NHS), but not everything is. Ambulances is one that isn't generally free, nor is dental.

Medications fall under the PBS mostly, but certainly not all. There was a guy on radio a couple of days ago, who was saying that the medication for a rare disease, costs him $3000 for 3 weeks supply, with no subsidy at all! Although the PBS were looking at the issue.

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, kevinlms said:

Sorry, we had this discussion before and this service is NOT generally free.

 

Conditions must be met. See this and following posts.
 

 

 

 

If you are in a remote area and require medical assistance and you are an Australian citizen, then it is definitely free. The question of where you have to be in order to be considered remote enough for the free  service rather than the states ambulance service can be open to contention though 

 

I have a bookshelf full of those charity teddy bears that the RFDS sell you to fund raise off of and I'd better get my moneys worth if ever I  cop a heart attack west of Lightning Ridge! 

Edited Thursday at 15:24 by monkeysarefun

[monkeysarefun]

2 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

The nearest thing here in the UK to the RFDS has got to be the RNLI which is also funded by charitable donations. The main difference is that the lifeboats are crewed by volunteers who are unpaid (with a few exceptions). And of course they often put their own lives in danger.

 

 

Both the rural fire services and the state emergency services in the various states are volunteer forces, or at least those who do the frontline work are. In times of significant disasters like the 2019 bushfires they can be asked to travel across states, for weeks at a time, leaving families and jobs.

 

Often the strain on funds is so great that they have to pay for their own travel, meals and protective clothing , on top of being on unpaid leave for weeks at a time.   Some state governments did tend to take them for granted, relying on the grace of volunteers to save on having to pay professional fire and emergency personnel, but since the recent major disasters the government (at least in NSW)  has been coughing up for decent equipment that is up to spec for doing what these blokes expect it to.

 

These guys are all volunteers, the truck the camera is on stayed there in order to protect properties on the left once the firefront had passed  over. Rural firetrucks have the ability to drench themselves in a curtain of water to protect the crew, which is what this one did as it sat there.

 

 

 

Edited Thursday at 16:31 by monkeysarefun

[kevinlms]

8 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

If you are in a remote area and require medical assistance and you are an Australian citizen, then it is definitely free. The question of where you have to be in order to be considered remote enough for the free  service rather than the states ambulance service can be open to contention though 

 

I have a bookshelf full of those charity teddy bears that the RFDS sell you to fund raise off of and I'd better get my moneys worth if ever I  cop a heart attack west of Lightning Ridge! 

As I said before.

 

Conditions must be met.

 

As Gwiwer said and he claimed he used to work for them (RFDS).

 

A fact which catches many a visitor and indeed some residents out. 

Ambulances are within the emergency service response when required (dial 000) or provided for patient transport when needed. But they are not free at point of use as they are in many other nations. 

 

Have it your way, but if you expect it to be free, you're in for an expensive trip, if you don't meet the criteria - but perhaps you personally do. But don't give out wrong advice, that it's free to everyone.

[kevinlms]

7 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

Both the rural fire services and the state emergency services in the various states are volunteer forces, or at least those who do the frontline work are. In times of significant disasters like the 2019 bushfires they can be asked to travel across states, for weeks at a time, leaving families and jobs.

 

Often the strain on funds is so great that they have to pay for their own travel, meals and protective clothing , on top of being on unpaid leave for weeks at a time.   Some state governments did tend to take them for granted, relying on the grace of volunteers to save on having to pay professional fire and emergency personnel, but since the recent major disasters the government (at least in NSW)  has been coughing up for decent equipment that is up to spec for doing what these blokes expect it to.

 

These guys are all volunteers, the truck the camera is on stayed there in order to protect properties on the left once the firefront had passed  over. Rural firetrucks have the ability to drench themselves in a curtain of water to protect the crew, which is what this one did as it sat there.

 

 

 

In Victoria, it has been recently stated that a fair number of fire trucks are over 30 years old and are a few years away from being replaced. Not good enough.

[monkeysarefun]

15 hours ago, kevinlms said:

Ambulances are within the emergency service response when required (dial 000) or provided for patient transport when needed. But they are not free at point of use as they are in many other nations. 

 

Have it your way, but if you expect it to be free, you're in for an expensive trip, if you don't meet the criteria - but perhaps you personally do. But don't give out wrong advice, that it's free to everyone.

 

 

Hmmm, perhaps you are thinking of  the Air Ambulance?  Part of the ambulance service, which will appear beside your crashed car in the outer suburbs and take you  to hospital. That is NOT free, and is part of the regular ambulance service which requires you to take out ambulance cover in order to mitigate the cost. 

 

The RFDS though is an entirely different thing  and if you are an Australian resident, you don't get charged for their service. 

 

From the RFDS FAQ page current to right now:

 

 

The RFDS provides free health care services to all Australian residents, including:

 

24-hour emergency help to accident victims and patients with life-threatening illnesses in remote areas

 

doctor and nurse consultations with people in remote locations by phone or radio

 

transfer from small rural hospitals to large city facilities

 

regular health clinics in remote areas delivered by dentists, mental health workers, doctors, community health nurses and other specialists

 

medical help to outback travellers

 

medical chests containing pharmaceutical and medical supplies for remote locations.

 

 

To add something else into the mix, the Angel Flight network is a similar organisation that flies those from remote areas  to city or regional centres  in order to undergo cancer treatment, see specialists etc. This is similar to the RFDS in that it is a FREE service  that relies on donations.

 

 

https://www.angelflight.org.au/

 

Edited Friday at 15:37 by monkeysarefun