Working for a lady today who has been in Australia for 16+ years.

I'd always thought Australia to be a casual laid back sort of place, but it
seems to have more rules & regulations than the UK.

She was aware of the Hire a Hubby franchise which is now starting up in the
UK. Apparently in Oz they can't do any plumbing or electrical work at all -
and we thought Part P & CORGI were bad enough. Again apparently you can't
even buy fittings without your 'ticket'.

H&S has gone completely mad. She works for Western Power doing an office
job & they are subject to random drug & alcohol testing for "H&S" reasons.

And the smoko ban extends to parks & beaches.

Was it Tony Sayer who left these septic isles for Oz? If so, could you
elaborate?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On 29 Oct, 19:42, "The Medway Handyman" davidno-spam-
wrote:
Working for a lady today who has been in Australia for 16+ years.

I'd always thought Australia to be a casual laid back sort of place, but it
seems to have more rules & regulations than the UK.

She was aware of the Hire a Hubby franchise which is now starting up in the
UK. *Apparently in Oz they can't do any plumbing or electrical work at all -
and we thought Part P & CORGI were bad enough. *Again apparently you can't
even buy fittings without your 'ticket'.

H&S has gone completely mad. *She works for Western Power doing an office
job & they are subject to random drug & alcohol testing for "H&S" reasons..

And the smoko ban extends to parks & beaches.

Was it Tony Sayer who left these septic isles for Oz? *If so, could you
elaborate?

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk

Yes, all exactly so. I've been there a couple of times. You never
seen so many notices saying this and that is prohibited.
It's pretty boring as a holiday destination too. When you've seen one
bit you've seen it all. Can't say I recommend it. Especially as it's
so far away. There are better places much nearer.

On 29/10/2010 19:57, harry wrote:

It's pretty boring as a holiday destination too. When you've seen one
bit you've seen it all. Can't say I recommend it. Especially as it's
so far away. There are better places much nearer.

I thought there were some stunning bits there. Red centre certainly was,
as was the south coast. Great Barrier Reef ought to be pretty good too.

The native plant and animal life is sufficiently different there to the
rest of the world to make it worth at least one decent length visit.

Melbourne suburbs are worth avoiding, and Canberra was amusing for its
zoning ("Where's a petrol station?" "Ah, we're now in the block for them").

On 29/10/2010 20:20, Clive George wrote:
On 29/10/2010 19:57, harry wrote:

It's pretty boring as a holiday destination too. When you've seen one
bit you've seen it all. Can't say I recommend it. Especially as it's
so far away. There are better places much nearer.

I thought there were some stunning bits there. Red centre certainly was,
as was the south coast. Great Barrier Reef ought to be pretty good too.

The native plant and animal life is sufficiently different there to the
rest of the world to make it worth at least one decent length visit.

Melbourne suburbs are worth avoiding, and Canberra was amusing for its
zoning ("Where's a petrol station?" "Ah, we're now in the block for them").

I know some folk from Oz. They watch what goes on here and seem to say
all the time, 'There's a fine for that!'. I reckon I'd be bankrupt.

Peter Scott

In message , The Medway Handyman
writes
Working for a lady today who has been in Australia for 16+ years.

I'd always thought Australia to be a casual laid back sort of place, but it
seems to have more rules & regulations than the UK.

Yeah, and signs everywhere - "Private Property, keep out"

I remember when I was staying with a relation there, one of the
neighbours was lopping branches of a big tree - the other neighbours
held a "committee meeting", phoning the police etc , tut tutting -
"shouldn't be allowed "

very "unrelaxed" people


--
geoff

On 30 Oct 2010 07:10:17 GMT, wrote:

Thus spake The Medway Handyman ) unto the assembled multitudes:

H&S has gone completely mad.

Someone on "Have I Got News For You" on Thursday quipped that they'll be
banning living next, because if you're alive then you're in danger of getting
ill, injured or dying.

Conception is a fatal disease - ban sex.
--
Peter.
The gods will stay away
whilst religions hold sway

On 29 Oct, 20:20, Clive George wrote:
On 29/10/2010 19:57, harry wrote:

It's pretty boring as a holiday destination too. When you've seen one
bit you've seen it all. Can't say I recommend it. *Especially as it's
so far away. *There are better *places much nearer.

I thought there were some stunning bits there. Red centre certainly was,
as was the south coast. Great Barrier Reef ought to be pretty good too.

The native plant and animal life is sufficiently different there to the
rest of the world to make it worth at least one decent length visit.

Melbourne suburbs are worth avoiding, and Canberra was amusing for its
zoning ("Where's a petrol station?" "Ah, we're now in the block for them").

If you want somewhere interesting to go,- South America. Nearer,
cheaper and far far more interesting/exciting. I have travelled
extensively there. Start with Brasil or Peru. And travel around o the
buses.
Brasil has the best buses in the world with the Executivo class.
Everything is dirt cheap, amazing cities, wildlife, beaches, food the
lot. Not many significant mountains. Go oe your own & just catch
buses as you fancy.
Now long haul air fares have gone up so, it make sense.
(The *******s)

On 30/10/2010 09:14, PeterC wrote:
On 30 Oct 2010 07:10:17 GMT, wrote:

Thus spake The Medway Handyman ) unto the assembled multitudes:

H&S has gone completely mad.

Someone on "Have I Got News For You" on Thursday quipped that they'll be
banning living next, because if you're alive then you're in danger of getting
ill, injured or dying.

Conception is a fatal disease - ban sex.

There's probably an IPhone app that's better than the real thing

On 30 Oct 2010 07:10:17 GMT wrote :
Someone on "Have I Got News For You" on Thursday quipped that they'll
be banning living next, because if you're alive then you're in danger
of getting ill, injured or dying.

Beds should be banned - loads of people die in them g

--
Tony Bryer, Greentram: 'Software to build on' Melbourne, Australia
www.superbeam.co.uk www.eurobeam.co.uk www.greentram.com

On 10/30/2010 5:41 AM, Tony Bryer wrote:
On 30 Oct 2010 07:10:17 GMT wrote :
Someone on "Have I Got News For You" on Thursday quipped that they'll
be banning living next, because if you're alive then you're in danger
of getting ill, injured or dying.

Beds should be banned - loads of people die in themg

Hospital beds, in particular.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "The Medway Handyman"
saying something like:

Working for a lady today who has been in Australia for 16+ years.

I'd always thought Australia to be a casual laid back sort of place, but it
seems to have more rules & regulations than the UK.

She was aware of the Hire a Hubby franchise which is now starting up in the
UK. Apparently in Oz they can't do any plumbing or electrical work at all -
and we thought Part P & CORGI were bad enough. Again apparently you can't
even buy fittings without your 'ticket'.

Vested interests and politicians' pockets - same will happen here if
we're not careful.
MattyF can shed some light, but I wonder if NZ is afflicted by the same
disease.

The Medway Handyman wrote:
Working for a lady today who has been in Australia for 16+ years.

I'd always thought Australia to be a casual laid back sort of place, but it
seems to have more rules& regulations than the UK.

She was aware of the Hire a Hubby franchise which is now starting up in the
UK. Apparently in Oz they can't do any plumbing or electrical work at all -
and we thought Part P& CORGI were bad enough. Again apparently you can't
even buy fittings without your 'ticket'.

H&S has gone completely mad. She works for Western Power doing an office
job& they are subject to random drug& alcohol testing for "H&S" reasons.

And the smoko ban extends to parks& beaches.

Was it Tony Sayer who left these septic isles for Oz? If so, could you
elaborate?



Both countries have pros and cons you have no handguns we do, you have
fireworks we don't, I think you have air pistols privately , we can
only have them in clubs with same conditions as pistols.
we both have similar conditions with knifes ( don't carry without valid
reason ) but lock blades are not prohibited like Britain and no three
inch restriction.
We both have arguments about fences but our problems are not as
convoluted as yours (both parties own the fence and have equal
responsibility.
We do have different laws in different states re knifes, one stupid
state makes ceramic knifes with plastic handles illegal Which rules out
most ceramic knifes in the kitchen in that state.(Probably the
legislators are stupid and did not think it through)
We can not sell knifes to under 16s But a parent can give his 15 year
old a couple of razor sharp fishing knifes which he can take on public
transport to go fishing, but if he drops them in the ocean he can not go
over the road and buy another.
We can not have green lasers without permit (for astronomy) but I think
you can.
There would be loads more similar differences.

The Medway Handyman wrote:
Working for a lady today who has been in Australia for 16+ years.

I'd always thought Australia to be a casual laid back sort of place, but it
seems to have more rules& regulations than the UK.

She was aware of the Hire a Hubby franchise which is now starting up in the
UK. Apparently in Oz they can't do any plumbing or electrical work at all -
and we thought Part P& CORGI were bad enough. Again apparently you can't
even buy fittings without your 'ticket'.

Not correct,although you are not supposed to do electrical or plumbing
without a license You can buy most of the stuff.
All the supermarkets sell switches plugs etc (you are just not suposed
to connect them). All the electrical and plumbing outlets will sell to
anyone. The public will have trouble buying some air conditioning and
refrigeration stuff like refrigerant without a license. You can use
hydrocarbon refrigerant in many cases legally but it is kept a secret by
the closed fridge trades in case the common diy person may discover that
they can do their own.


H&S has gone completely mad. She works for Western Power doing an office
job& they are subject to random drug& alcohol testing for "H&S" reasons.

And the smoko ban extends to parks& beaches.

Was it Tony Sayer who left these septic isles for Oz? If so, could you
elaborate?

In message , F Murtz
writes
The Medway Handyman wrote:
Working for a lady today who has been in Australia for 16+ years.

I'd always thought Australia to be a casual laid back sort of place, but it
seems to have more rules& regulations than the UK.

She was aware of the Hire a Hubby franchise which is now starting up in the
UK. Apparently in Oz they can't do any plumbing or electrical work at all -
and we thought Part P& CORGI were bad enough. Again apparently you can't
even buy fittings without your 'ticket'.

H&S has gone completely mad. She works for Western Power doing an office
job& they are subject to random drug& alcohol testing for "H&S" reasons.

And the smoko ban extends to parks& beaches.

Was it Tony Sayer who left these septic isles for Oz? If so, could you
elaborate?



Both countries have pros and cons you have no handguns we do, you have
fireworks we don't, I think you have air pistols privately , we can
only have them in clubs with same conditions as pistols.
we both have similar conditions with knifes ( don't carry without valid
reason ) but lock blades are not prohibited like Britain and no three
inch restriction.
We both have arguments about fences but our problems are not as
convoluted as yours (both parties own the fence and have equal
responsibility.
We do have different laws in different states re knifes, one stupid
state makes ceramic knifes with plastic handles illegal Which rules out
most ceramic knifes in the kitchen in that state.(Probably the
legislators are stupid and did not think it through)
We can not sell knifes to under 16s But a parent can give his 15 year
old a couple of razor sharp fishing knifes which he can take on public
transport to go fishing, but if he drops them in the ocean he can not
go over the road and buy another.
We can not have green lasers without permit (for astronomy) but I think
you can.
There would be loads more similar differences.



After living in Indonesia for some time, Australia was a real culture
shock in that they were so inward looking and up their own arses. Quite
the opposite of what I expected and the image banded about by those who
managed to escape


--
geoff

On Fri, 29 Oct 2010 21:14:46 +0100, geoff wrote:

In message , The Medway Handyman
writes
Working for a lady today who has been in Australia for 16+ years.

I'd always thought Australia to be a casual laid back sort of place, but it
seems to have more rules & regulations than the UK.

Yeah, and signs everywhere - "Private Property, keep out"

I remember when I was staying with a relation there, one of the
neighbours was lopping branches of a big tree - the other neighbours
held a "committee meeting", phoning the police etc , tut tutting -
"shouldn't be allowed "

very "unrelaxed" people

Yep...its pretty much a 'nanny state'..with loads of petty and
unneccessary laws.

My sis lives in Sydney, and I visit Oz frequently. I even worked there
for a year or so.

Last visit she asked me to get her car out of her garage and leave it
parked in the road in a quiet residential area. This I duly did and
left it by the pavement, facing the way I knew that we were going.

I got yelled at for parking it facing the 'wrong way'. Seemingly you
can get fined for that. As for the 'bin rules' they are unbelievable!

On 31 Oct, 16:31, geoff wrote:
In message , F Murtz
writes





The Medway Handyman wrote:
Working for a lady today who has been in Australia for 16+ years.

I'd always thought Australia to be a casual laid back sort of place, but it
seems to have more rules& *regulations than the UK.

She was aware of the Hire a Hubby franchise which is now starting up in the
UK. *Apparently in Oz they can't do any plumbing or electrical work at all -
and we thought Part P& *CORGI were bad enough. *Again apparently you can't
even buy fittings without your 'ticket'.

H&S has gone completely mad. *She works for Western Power doing an office
job& *they are subject to random drug& *alcohol testing for "H&S" reasons.

And the smoko ban extends to parks& *beaches.

Was it Tony Sayer who left these septic isles for Oz? *If so, could you
elaborate?

Both countries have pros and cons you have no handguns we do, you have
fireworks we don't, I think you have air pistols *privately , we can
only have them in clubs with same conditions as pistols.
we both have similar conditions with knifes ( don't carry without valid
reason ) but lock blades are not prohibited like Britain and no three
inch restriction.
We both have arguments about fences but our problems are not as
convoluted as yours (both parties own the fence and have equal
responsibility.
We do have different laws in different states re knifes, one stupid
state makes ceramic knifes with plastic handles illegal Which rules out
most ceramic knifes in the kitchen in that state.(Probably the
legislators are stupid and did not think it through)
We can not sell knifes to under 16s But a parent can give his 15 year
old a couple of razor sharp fishing knifes which he can take on public
transport to go fishing, but if he drops them in the ocean he can not
go over the road and buy another.
We can not have green lasers without permit (for astronomy) but I think
you can.
There would be loads more similar differences.

After living in Indonesia for some time, Australia was a real culture
shock in that they were so inward looking and up their own arses. Quite
the opposite of what I expected and the image banded about by those who
managed to escape

--
geoff- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Heh Heh. I went on holiday to PNG for a few weeks. Now THAT was a
culture shock. No wonder they threw the Ozes out.