I have not met a single person who likes what the government is doing or even believes what the government is claiming about why they are doing it. So who actually voted for it? And why haven’t I heard of them? And why is the government giving speeches as though people believe the whole “for children’s safety” angle when I have not run across a single solitary Australian citizen who buys that? Like genuinely I do not get who this is for. Cause it’s not for kids safety, adults are inconvenienced by it. All I can think is that a group of data stealing companies got together and decided to lobby for it…am I not far off?

Just curious because some other countries have trialed on opt-out program for decreased organ donation but in Australia it's still opt-in only. Do you guys think that this would be helpful for increasing donor numbers in Aus but could also have its own issues...like would it increase distrust in the medical system? Not sure.... just looking for some other perspectives?

Previous post here with menu screenshot: https://www.reddit.com/r/australian/comments/1x6c9sl/another_day_another_mandatory_service_fee_on_all/

I raised the issue with Consumer Affairs Tasmania (CAT) who advise

Whilst businesses are free to set their own prices, they must communicate clear and accurate prices prior to consumers booking, ordering or making a purchase. Businesses must display the total price payable for any purchase, which includes taxes, duties and all unavoidable or pre-selected extra fees.

...

Following receipt of your notification, CAT attended La Sardinia Loca to review their price displays with respect to requirements under Australian Consumer Law. 

I am pleased to advise that Management has updated their menus and the hospitality surcharge has been removed from the relevant price display.  The business was subsequently advised of the requirements and their obligations under the legislation.

Does anyone take the overnight train from Sydney to Melbourne, there's the option to get the sleeper cabin?

Some Aussie themed trivia for your Friday arvo. I hand write a free trivia quiz every week as a hobby, and I put together a one off for Australians. The average score for this quiz is 10/21. Out of around 60 people that did it, the highest score was 17. Let me know how you go!

A few to warm up (answers in spoilers):

1. Brisbane is Brizzy or Brisvegas, Melbourne is Smellbourne or Melbs. What is the one colloquial nickname for Adelaide, according to an ANU article?

Radelaide

1. According to Bunnings' national retail sales data, three indoor plants dominate Australian homes. The Peace Lily and Devil's Ivy are second and third. Which plant is the top seller?

Montsera

1. The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, hosted in Australia and New Zealand, sparked significant national interest. Which two Matildas players were the top two most searched Australians on Google in 2023?

Sam Kerr and Mary Fowler

1. In 2025, Sydney recorded an average daily temperature of 24°C. To the nearest one degree either side, what was the Melbourne equivalent?

21°C (So 20, 21 or 22 is correct)

1. Which Aussie Rock Band will play 18 concerts around Australia beginning in September 2027, the first proper shows from since they broke up in 2010?

Powderfinger

1. Sold during a 12 month trial in the Northern Territory, which self defence product is the government now moving to make permanently legal in the NT, including for 16 and 17 year olds?

Pepper Spray

1. Veteran finance presenter Alan Kohler has announced he will retire from the ABC at the end of this year. For more than two decades on the 7PM News, which three word phrase did he use to end each finance report?

"And that's finance."

1. What did Edward Hammond Hargraves discover near Bathurst on February 12th, 1851?

Gold. And it marked the start of the Gold Rush.

1. Which of these is NOT a way people have been caught smuggling cocaine into Australia in 2026? Concealed inside a commerical quantity of frozen berry boxes, welded inside a tractor, injected into the pouches of toy kangaroos.

Injected into the pouches of toy kangaroos.

1. "Which famous landmark received this one star google review from a patron?

“In real life it’s a very underwhelming sight, much smaller than you would imagine, rusty in colouring and unimpressive. A realistic symbol of just how little new or interesting this city can offer to anyone from the northern western hemisphere. The more time I spend here and in NZ the more I realise what a waste of cash this trip was.”"

The Sydney Opera House

Here is a link to the full twenty question quiz: thewednesdayquiz.com/australia

Drop your score in the comments. Feedback is welcome! (especially if you think I’ve got an answer wrong) Thanks :)

How come Pauline Hanson hasn't said anything about Brendan Nugent for attacking Helen Haines apart from posting that deplorable cartoon?

What if Nugent isn't white?

Either way, following her logic, shouldn't she be demanding him to go back to the own country of his ancestors?

PS For those who said she did - sure, she condemned the act but my post was about her specifically referring to the perpetrator other than a general motherhood statement against violence.

Tell us what you have planned for the weekend. You can either add in the comments or make a standalone thread with the tag [TGIF].

I need to spread / recieve some happiness (because I don't have much haha).

Cost of living, job losses, rate rises, the mortgage forever increasing, scrimpting on food, some homelessness - the list goes on.

I want to hear peoples happy / funny stories - can be anything at all - work related, parenting related, friends, pets - anything!

I'll start:

Today 5yo said to me: "You're a bad parent". I just asked if he could take his bag in from the car.

Fortnite is back on iOS in Australia. Just in time for Duo Fold release as well.

Hi all, this is just going to be a bit of a political analysis medium-quality rant
I've been a labor voter for a few years now and with the recent rise in One Nation support, e.g., in the polls, people considering it a serious major party contender, invitation to the press club, lobbying efforts, etc.

I've had Liberal folks I talk to about One Nation say that support for them is declining and they have no serious policy proposals apart from the imflamatory stuff about LGBTQ+ and Immigration.

A major discrepency for me in the past few months I've realised is that despite not seeing a lot of One Nation supporters literally anywhere in person they're quite prominent in voting. I'm no political analyist and I'm obviously coming at this from a biased perspective but I have a few explinations for this.

1. Polls do not nessicarily correlate to votes.

It's a pretty trite thing but useful in understanding why polls can show a greater disparity between parties than at the election booth. People change their opinion, some voters are undecided, some people will react differantly to new policy proposals. Even if you look at the average of graphs over time of primary vote from several sources unless you're reviewing that against past elections and being cognisent that a new party being a genuine major contender against Labor or the LNP hasn't happened for a while, so we don't really have a lot to contrast it against.

1. People can agree with One Nation, vote on polls that they're going to vote for them but not speak publicly about it because it's a contentious issue.
   

This one's rather self-explanitory, support for a semi-racist, transphobic, and radical appearing politican doesn't look great on your CV so people would rather keep their political views to themselves even if they're still going to vote for them.

1. Political Presentation, physical distribution, and perception.
   This one is somewhat linked to the previous one but is in referance to distribution. To paraphase the space between us; an area can be very politically diverse but also heavily politically segregated. So evern if someone lives in a city that is very diverse on paper they might inhabit a section that is not diverse at all. So even if there is a large majority of One Nation voters in a given area, they might mostly interact with people who have similar policits (think rural communities that could be full of One Nation voters).
   

If you're struggling to understand this in action let's imagine a city that is made up of 50% Liberal-National Party voters and 50% One Nation voters. A given person from a Liberal suburb may interact with 90 people who will vote for the Liberal party but only 10 people who says they would vote for One Nation, and vise-versa for one nation. If you were to get a perfect poll of everyone in the city the result would have a 50/50 split, but this alone wouldn't tell us how often these voters interact with one another or the way in which they're distributed.

Also people tend to be rather closed about political discussions with people they are not friends with, and chances are you're more likely to make friends with people whom you share politics with if you're the kind of person who likes to know someone's politics. Yes this is a self-callout but I also know people tend to view reddit as a very political platform so here you go.

Sorry this post can get a bit rant-y and I might edit it based off of feedback but I suppose I'll put this out there if it helps explain to anyone else confused about the discrepency.

Kayo’s decision to implement advertising when you pause is a truly horrific user experience.

It’s a streaming service. It should allow me to rewind, pause or fast forward.

Instead, they’ve decided that any time you scrub the playhead the timeline is hidden and all you get is an ad for who knows how long. Could you have treated your customers with any more contempt?

The advertising exec who pitched this should be forced to have every single photo they look at on their phone only shown after a pre-roll ad for erectile dysfunction medication, and the product manager who oversaw the build never let near a Jira board and dev team again.

For context I've been thinking about this on and off for years and I was to make absolute sure this is what I want.

Everything is pointing towards being a clinical psychologist.

I love helping people, I have first hand knowledge in trauma, stress, mental health and a lot of other things.

I am a person where I see someone having a problem and I already ask questions to find the core of the issue and always somehow answer their questions as I see beyond the issue and what was the starting point.

I am emphatic and understanding.

I just want to know what do I need to study? I never finished year 12. I am over 25 years.

I have completed TAFE courses so I do have certificates.

Price is increasing from $79 to $99 from 25 November. This follows the increase from $59 to $79 two years ago. Only slightly above inflation.

Hi everyone, I’ve lived in Australia for about a year now. I grew up in going to international schools and moved countries often growing up. Because of this my accent is exactly the last person I talk to, most times, it is australian.

I am from India, a female, 26, and work in a male dominated field (R&D). I also look racially ambiguous (India is a diverse country) because of which people aren’t able to pinpoint me right away. I have been trying to date here in Brisbane, and I have met really nice and interesting people usually. I tend to get a lot of matches as do most women, and go on dates with guys who are looking for the same things as me.

About a couple times, I have had a few people match me first, initiate conversation, often based on my photos, my prompts, call me pretty etc. We get to talking, and then within the conversation, if it would come to my ethnicity and I tell them I’m from India, either I find myself being unmatched or they stop responding.

Just today, a guy kiwi guy complimented me and greeted me in Maori (I think he assumed I was maori?), and I responded back in Maori appreciating the culture, and he apparently worked in the same field as my dad, which I told to him about , and went on explaining how my dad currently works in India and worked in Singapore and Dubai before this, he casually mentions “Oh why India out of all places? Aren’t wages there way less than Dubai or Singapore”, I told him that my parents are both Indian, which is why he still works there and they get paid pretty well, I found myself unmatched lol.

I’m curious to why there is still prejudice if I’ve “assimilated”, and look good enough to be matched and talked to but sometimes this happens, and it ruins my mood.

Additionally, I lived in the US before this, and this was never my experience, but I’ve dealt with this more than twice here in Australia.

EDIT: Thanks for all of your responses, kind words and inputs. Some FYI:

1. All the guys that did this were not white men (at least fully), this has happened thrice, one was a part sri-lankan and Irish australian, the other one was Maori (idk if this is okay for me to say but they did look white passing) ofc and third was a Korean guy. Most white men have been great and respectful.
2. I have my ethnicity listed out as “south asian” and the app is Hinge

P.S: Thank you kind people, most of you have given such a constructive input, I truly appreciate everyone’s input. I’m still learning so each comment has been utterly helpful.

Pretty ridiculous we are giving so much away, we are all struggling with rising costs, inflation while rich multinational companies take our resources away.

The oil and gas companies are the least taxed out of all Australian resource companies and make huge profits. Prelude up at WA’s north has paid zero tax under current rules for example

I've noticed since Covid there has been a sharp increase in people just lacking any humanity these days. Not the majority but an increasing amount of people hiding behind anonymity on the internet. I've been on the net' for 30 years since I was a kid and there have always been griefers and trolls on any discussion board but 95% of the time people recognised they were just trying to wreck things and ignored them. Now they are getting applause and support. The internet truly brings all the village idiots together under 1 huge umbrella.

Now I notice more and more when any tragedy happens a huge amount of the commentators seem downright cruel in what they say. They are not always sock puppets but people with lots of friends and sometimes successful business owners. It's not just FB, but Instagram, here, X (the worst) and other news groups.

Just reading some of the news stories about what happened to Helen Haines and the comments on these 'social' pages are horrific 'she got what was coming' 'the guy who was driving is a hero' 'why was there no witnesses, I'm just asking questions' 'Vaccines won't save you from a car lol'

Most news pages have disabled comments but 7 still have theirs up on 1 or 2 stories about the attack and it took 3 secs to see how bad we've become as a society.

It's the same when that madman Dezi Freeman killed those 2 policemen, all these weirdos are supporting him for standing up for himself and fighting against a corrupt system. I even saw a guy at my local shops with a 'Not Guilty' T-shirt and a picture of Dezi on it last year. Same when a disaster happens in Asia, Africa or the Middle East, people laugh about it and make jokes and they get loads of likes and reactions.

Just makes me think how backwards we are going as a society.

Because they now ship with Aramex.

Currently struggling with a parcel that refuses to make it’s way to me. The parcel didn’t require a signature, my apartment complex lobby is littered with packages from other couriers, if they were able to get in did the driver even try?
$5.50 redelivery fee is making me seethe with rage.

Can anyone share their Aramex horror stories so i know i’m not alone.

UPDATE:

They were redelivered.. but heavily damaged 🥲 one book has a big tear in the cover i don’t even know how they managed it.

Hey everyone, just wanted to put out a quick warning for anyone selling a car, motorbike, or bicycle on Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree at the moment.

I recently listed a bike for sale and was immediately contacted by a buyer who seemed incredibly keen. However, before they would even come to inspect the bike, they insisted that I needed to provide a vehicle history/inspection report and a PPSR check. They explicitly told me to use a website called **aussieinspection.com** (not to be confused with the legitimate home inspection company in Darwin that uses the .com.au address).

**How the scam works:**

The "buyer" refuses to come look at your item until you buy a report from their specific link.

They claim it’s a quick and easy site for sellers to prove the vehicle is clean.

If you use the site, you are hit with a high fee ($30–$150) for a completely fake/useless document, or worse, **they harvest your credit card details and identity information.**

**Remember the Golden Rules of Selling:**

**Buyers pay for the PPSR.** In Australia, it is standard practice for the *buyer* to do their own due diligence.

All a genuine buyer needs is your **VIN, chassis number, or registration details**. They can take that information and run an official check themselves on the actual government website (**ppsr.gov.au**) for just **$2 AUD**.

If a buyer sends you a specific external link and demands you pay for a report before they visit, **it is a scam.**

Thankfully, I caught on, blocked the account, and reported them to Facebook before entering any card details. Stay safe out there and don't fall for these scumbags!

Hey guys so basically I’ve been very confused for the past few weeks regarding who I really am, lemme give yous a bit more info about myself. I’m 17 years old living in Australia and I was brought here in 2017, so bascially nearly 10 years, I’ve been raised in a Chinese environment but my view, values, beliefs and other things are aligned with the Australian side. Of course you can’t just forget a language and quite frankly I don’t think that’s beneficial for anyone, I still use Chinese with friends family and to guys stuff from China cuz it’s cheap. I do ‘Aussie’ stuff, fishing, sports etc and I’m joining the adf, and I love this country, I spend the better half of my life here. But now I’m hesitant about if this country accepts me, especially after some comments and gestures made by possibly the next pm and her party and her supporters. I even might want to vote for her but I feel like I might get called a hypocrite.

So now, am I being defined by my ethnicity, cultural roots or my beliefs and values? Sorry if it’s all a it messy, trying to fit a few weeks of thinking into one post

American here. I've been wanting to try these for a long long time, I bought some today. Holy crap. Maybe the best cookie (apologies) *biscuit* I've ever eaten in my entire life. I love you guys, but I love your biscuits even more.

And now I have to figure out how to get some authentic Australian ones (which are made with different ingredients?) up here in Florida. I honestly can't imagine how these could be any better.

There's a recall dated 21 October for a kids' Sound Monster fidget toy because it doesn't meet button battery safety requirements. Apparently it was being sold from September 2024 until earlier this month.

Makes me wonder how many people would even know they've got a recalled product sitting at home. I reckon retailers should be doing more to contact people directly, especially when kids' products are involved.

Has anyone actually had a store contact them about a recall, or did you only find out by chance?