Tau

joined 2 years ago
MODERATOR OF
[–] Tau@aussie.zone 1 points 1 hour ago

The little Honda is a pretty attractive idea, looks nice and it's good to see something that's supposedly designed to be fun to drive rather than yet another sluggish poor handling SUV.

The BYD Atto 1 I think though is a more significant model simply because it's something that's at least approaching affordable to an average person. That 24k price is really narrowing the gap between the cheapest cars and cheapest EVs and I expect will result in a noticeable increase in uptake.

I like that another van option is appearing too, it's sure to be well above a price I can justify but having more secondhand options in the future will be good for me when my Transporter gets beyond logical upkeep.

 

Residents are being urged to check the Revenue NSW unclaimed money register, with about $300 million waiting to be returned.

There are more than 800,000 individual payments being held by the state government in the form of unclaimed business refunds, dividends or cheques.

Some items are of low value, while others range in the millions of dollars.

[–] Tau@aussie.zone 8 points 2 days ago (20 children)

And there goes the chances for a minor incident. I guess I'll just hope it stays below the level of us getting dragged into another war that we shouldn't need to be involved in...

[–] Tau@aussie.zone 3 points 3 days ago

It does appear that they have, as of a few minutes ago the article is now saying Venezuela's government has accused the US and that a anonymous US official told Reuters the US was performing strikes in the country.

[–] Tau@aussie.zone 11 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Hopefully this ends up just being another relatively minor step in the progression of this conflict, but (probable) air raids on another nations capital does sound like something that could escalate quickly.

 

At least seven explosions, low-flying aircraft, and one column of smoke have been seen in Venezuela's capital, Caracas, according to eye-witness reports.

The southern area of the capital, near a major military base, was also without electricity.

Venezuela's government did not immediately reply to AP's request for comment.

The cause and and precise locations of the disturbances were not immediately clear.

Update: US President Donald Trump says the US has captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

[–] Tau@aussie.zone 12 points 5 days ago

Pretty good so far, hopefully it'll continue that way

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Happy New Year (aussie.zone)
submitted 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) by Tau@aussie.zone to c/australia@aussie.zone
 

A somewhat diminished crowd compared to usual in Canberra due to a storm earlier, but the fireworks still looked nice.

[–] Tau@aussie.zone 7 points 1 week ago (3 children)

That would be the best idea to reduce the issue and there is a lot that could be cut out. For example looking at recent shopping the potatoes could have come in a hessian bag instead of plastic (or loose and paper bagged in the shop for small amounts) and the lettuce really did not need to be in its own plastic bag. Soft plastic is harder to replace though for some things (e.g. cheese) so having a way to recycle what will be used is good.

 

A large-scale soft plastics recycling facility at Taree is processing most of Australia's recycled soft plastics and stockpiled waste from the failed REDcycle scheme.

Processed soft plastic is sent to a range of Australian manufacturers for reuse in a range of products.

Efforts are underway to boost demand for products made with recycled plastic.

[–] Tau@aussie.zone 0 points 1 week ago

Hope this puts into perspective the widely spruiked majority support for tighter gun laws that was used to help ram through changes in NSW.

[–] Tau@aussie.zone 3 points 2 weeks ago

Interesting that they mention a decrease in sparrow numbers because that is something I've noticed too. Go back 20 years to my childhood and sparrows seemed to be all over the place, now they're a more occasional street bird.

[–] Tau@aussie.zone 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Depends on the state. NSW for example is one that does vary depending on weight (based on weight ranges, not a full sliding scale) - there's a ~$180 difference between my sedan and van due to the van's higher tare weight placing it in the next category up. QLD on the other hand is one that doesn't - they charge based on the cylinder count instead.

[–] Tau@aussie.zone 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

That looks like a strong contender, I'd be alright with that too as they appear to still have a nice tall palm tree shape (I do think species that end up with clear trunks have a aesthetic edge but with the bottom trimmed all would be good).

 

Anyone have ideas as to what species this young palm tree is? It grew by itself and I'm considering transplanting it to a more open location, but ideally I'd know what it will turn out to look like long term before I do that. This is around Canberra which might help narrow it down (i.e. it has to be something fairly cold tolerant).

 

WA Labor senator Glenn Sterle has criticised a proposal to reduce speed limits on unsigned roads.

It suggested default speed limits could be reduced to 70, 80 or 90km/h.

More than 11,000 submissions were received during public consultation on the proposal.

 

Archive link: https://archive.md/2025.10.26-023636/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/glamping-proposal-for-national-parks-slammed-as-privatising-public-assets-20251025-p5n57y.html

Commercial operators could reserve sections of public campgrounds in national parks to offer services such as glamping under a proposal being explored by the NSW government which has been slammed as “privatising public assets”.

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service has called for expressions of interest from businesses to provide “supported camping” in 16 national parks and reserves across NSW.

Selected commercial providers would be given early access to book out parts of campgrounds up to 365 days in advance, more than double the 180 days allowed for families.

Greens environment spokeswoman Sue Higginson said the proposal was “regrettable” and inequitable, expressing concerns that the scheme was a “beachhead” for the further privatisation of public campgrounds.

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submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by Tau@aussie.zone to c/australia@aussie.zone
 

I don't like it, it's another exercise in taking a functional website and 'modernising' it by making it look like a mobile app (i.e. the make it look attractive to kindergarten kids school of design).

For my own use cases it's made it more annoying to get to the 7 day Canberra forecast, made the local radar harder to see, and I'm not noticing a link to the written ACT region forecast which I will want to look at in winter.

 

Commercial e-bike operators could face huge fines under new laws proposed by the state government.

Transport Minister John Graham described the dumped bikes across Sydney as "an eyesore".

The reforms come as Transport for NSW data revealed 15 per cent of people had ridden an e-bike.

 

Drivers with an iPhone 14 or newer — including the latest iPhone 17 models — will be able to connect to NRMA Roadside Assistance via satellite, even when they’re beyond mobile coverage.

According to another article this will also work with various other roadside assistance providers:

Roadside Assistance via Satellite can be used in Australia to get help from NRMA, RACV, RACQ, RAA, RAC, RACT, and AANT.

 

The New South Wales Government has introduced legislation to remove temporary speed limits in road work zones when outside of construction times.

Rather than forcing drivers to always slow down through road works – regardless of whether workers are on site or not – the new proposal will allow speeds to be raised when construction isn’t taking place.

However, in some cases, reduced speed limits will remain to ensure driver safety.

The NSW Government says it expects the change to be implemented next year following consultation with stakeholders this year.

 

The Queensland government says it's open to reviving a road rule which would allow Brisbane drivers to turn left at red lights.

It was previously trialled under the former Labor government, which axed it in 2021 amid safety concerns.

Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg says the government is seeking advice from the department on how the trial could be rolled out and what needs to be considered.

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