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Rob

@robbomck.bsky.social
193 followers 296 following 742 posts

Canuck in Oz, mucking about here for now. Interests include tech, music, politics, economics, journalism, photography, bushfire preparedness, cooking... and so on.

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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Agree
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
There’s a lot going on, and it seems to me that the fundamental problem is that people around the world making consequential decisions are either idiots, assholes, or of course, a bit of both. #auspol www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
abc.net.au
Migration cuts, AI and rising interest rates means an era of long-term disinflation
The Reserve Bank will increase interest rates on Tuesday, but three new factors entirely outside the bank's control are pulling rates in different directions.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
WTF? Seems to more prove the need to place consequences on fscking up at scale, more than it proves any need to use space, power, and water doing the same things as the fsckups? #auspol OpenAI breach proves need for more data centres, major parties say www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
abc.net.au
OpenAI breach proves need for more data centres, major parties say
Labor, Coalition agree OpenAI's Medicare breach proves the need for Australia to secure "a seat at the AI table" by rolling out data centres nationally.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
iPhone confuses me when I think “I’ll share this article”, and the share thing offers me Waze, but not Bluesky. Odd.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
the robot didn’t go rogue or misalign. OpenAI through malice or negligence, used one of its tools to break laws. Consequence them so the reward function for being assholes is negated. #auspol www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Open AI attacked Australia’s health system – and then doubled down on its negligence. The time for ‘wait and see’ is over | Kate Crawford and Edward Santow
Human hackers face serious consequences, and so must AI companies. There is no excuse for what happened
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Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl @deardara.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
stop! this is like saying "an oil derrick has gone rogue again" and spilled oil all over the Gulf. humans are responsible for these things. stop treating AI like a mystical uncontrollable sky god. The humans running this are responsible, period.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Read it twice and it still sounds like folks in charge took money from the party (where’d that come from) and PayIDed a company they co-own… I’m sure that plays well with shonks who vote, but sounds pretty dodgy to me. #auspol www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
One Nation admits using party funds to build $56,000 shed on James Ashby’s private property
Email to members says money lent to a party-linked company to establish a micro distillery
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
No, I think I’ll enjoy community radio instead.
A plea from Spotify emailed to ask a user to come back.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
What a magalicious idea - Dan seems to idolise Javier and Elon with his chainsaw bluster. Let's put cocaine back in coke, bring back asbestos and ban seatbelts too. Twits. #auspol Coalition vows to 'take a chainsaw' to climate laws and offshore wind www.reddit.com/r/australia/...
reddit.com
From the australia community on Reddit: Coalition vows to 'take a chainsaw' to climate laws and offshore wind
Explore this post and more from the australia community
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Thanks Joe. Might as well enjoy your next cigar now that you got another boot into the poors like the good old days. Why not belt the rich with reforms instead? #auspol Former treasurer says economic reform in Australia will take 'financial crisis' www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
abc.net.au
Former treasurer says economic reform in Australia will take 'financial crisis'
Former treasurer Joe Hockey says meaningful fiscal reform is not possible in Australia as it often conflicts with voters' economic self-interest. He says it will take a "crisis" for governments to ena...
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Mar Hicks @histoftech.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Precisely this—the power attributed to technology makes it incredibly useful for laundering responsibility
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Judah Grunstein @judah-grunstein.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Don't get me wrong, Uruguay certainly has its share of challenges. But the fact that they chose the most politically and economically stable country in the Western Hemisphere underscores the degree to which their proposed alternative to the state actually depends on a strong and functioning state.
nytimes.com
Tech-Utopian Movement Praxis Says It Has Found a Home in Uruguay
After a sprawling world tour, Praxis, a New York-based, crypto-backed “digital nation,” has signed a deal to build a physical city in Uruguay.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
there is no fucking heat in my wages #auspol www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
abc.net.au
Rates set to rise as RBA governor says 'heat' needs to be taken out of job market
All four major banks and the bulk of money market traders believe the Reserve Bank will raise interest rates next week and governor Michele Bullock did nothing to dissuade them during a speech in Sydn...
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
A: banks and card companies and all the other layers will get their pound of flesh in other ways. Funny how the bright sparks behind this idea won’t mention that. Pay cash, choose no-fee bank products, hang on to your money. #auspol www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
Australians will no longer be hit with card surcharges from 1 October. What will the ban mean for you?
Fees on Visa, Mastercard, and Eftpos payments will be banned – but what does it mean for retailers, rewards programs and consumers?
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The Cathy Wilcox @cathywilcox.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Good to see this finally get coverage in my old paper. This is the same mob who campaigned against me, but it wasn’t sufficiently newsworthy then.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Should be legal to collect the folks who thought they’d make money off this, and slap them with a fish until they clean it up. This is bloody kindy level knowledge - clean up after yourself #auspol www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
A coalmine on Trish’s Queensland farm has been abandoned. Will anyone clean it up?
The state government is reviewing laws introduced to ensure taxpayers are not left footing the bill for rehabilitation, leaving one cattle farmer wondering: what happens next?
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Lucy Hamilton @lucyham.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
This ✊ Defend *all* woman (and everyone) from the far right’s oppressive patriarchal ethnostate plans.
Vivi
Follow
@our_shadow_flag
As a woman, I'm literally BEGGING you to STOP "protecting" me from trans people. I don't need this shit. My rights aren't being stolen because trans people have rights too.
Stop using women as a fucking human shield for your bigotry. We are not your moral cover.
Fucking spare me!
J.K. Rowling ® @jk_rowling • 1d
WOMEN'S RIGHTS
AREN'T YOURS TO...
6:59 PM • 14 Sep 26 • 236K Views
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed." -Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953
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Lucy Hamilton @lucyham.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Outstanding reporting from #Canada on how deeply embedded Atlas Network partners & people are in trying to get #Alberta to be a separated US pawn. (Note Gina Rinehart is part of the problem there too.) The Atlas Network’s ppl want profit for donors, not your good. See #NZpol links. #Auspol #Cdnpoli
INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM FOUNDATION
Before immigrating to Canada, Alberta Institute founder McCaffrey was president of the youth wing of New Zealand's right-wing ACT Party.
McCaffrey said he was introduced to Atlas partner Frontier Centre for Public Policy by David Seymour, who directed the think tank's Saskatchewan office before returning to New Zealand to resume his political career with ACT.
Since being elected to the New Zealand parliament in 2014, Seymour has denied his links to Atlas Network, calling questions about his connections to the group a "conspiracy theory."
McCaffrey replaced Seymour at the Frontier Centre's Saskatchewan office in early 2012, went
through the Atlas Network's leadership academy program in 2013, and worked for the Manning Centre from 2014 until establishing the Alberta Institute.
McCaffrey has also been active in the UCP since its founding, including as a member of the party's 2018 policy committee.INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM FOUNDATION
Separatism has gone from an idea on the margins of the conservative movement to one at the centre of Alberta's government.
Over the last decade, a cadre of libertarian think tanks has been instrumental in bringing Alberta separatism into the mainstream, promoting the idea through research, conferences, social media and the press. They've helped craft government policy to prepare Alberta for independence, and to make the threat of secession a powerful "or else" in the province's stand-off with Ottawa.
Connecting this web of institutes and academics are their ties to the U.S.-based Atlas Network, and the revolving door relationship between members of the network and the administration of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
Atlas Network is a U.S. non-profit that acts as the hub connecting a global network of about 500
libertarian think tanks in more than 100 countries.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I agree with Greg.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
software based in the actions does all the petty and malicious shenanigans humans do. New rule of thumb: don’t trust new software any more than a new human. Get references. Have a probation period. It is HR and office politics, at scale. www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/14/1...
technologyreview.com
AI agents blew the whistle on their cheating colleagues
Swarms of AI agents could supercharge scientific progress or wreak havoc. New research from Google DeepMind suggests that peer pressure could keep them in line.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
in which the magic touch of PE is shown again to be shit for the industry it seeks to suckle wealth from. Why the fuck don’t we take the chance to move those hospitals into the public system, which, near as I can tell, works a lot better? #auspol www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
abc.net.au
Major private hospital operator to be divided up following financial collapse
Australia's second-largest private hospital operator will be divided between a consortium after it went into receivership last year.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
when you inspect the impact modelling, don’t smudge the crayon for the next person The tick box beside “Gina likes” had better be ticked too #auspol www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
abc.net.au
One Nation unveils 'breathing space' plan for net-negative migration
One Nation unveils its plan to slash immigration by 750,000 places over three years, with major cuts targeting international students and the families of skilled migrants.
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Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
To put a finer point on it: he is right.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Let me understand: I'm already cutting back spending, assholes blow shit up, which makes my nondiscretionaries more expensive, which is solved by making my mortgage more expensive? Fuck that. #auspol Analyst warns of 'late-stage bubble' as rates and oil prices surge www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
abc.net.au
Analyst warns of 'late-stage bubble' as rates and oil prices surge
Global interest rate hikes are predicted as oil prices spark inflation fears.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
I like this post and the ensuing thread.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Important to think about things like this; though I think we’re at the pointy end of needing to do the hard work of connecting with respect and care… www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...
radiofrance.fr
Le pluralisme est-il un piège ?
Comment faire coexister différents points de vue en démocratie ? Pour répondre au trouble que génère la notion de pluralisme, le sociologue Arnaud Esquerre publie "Le point de vue manquant, médias et ...
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
hope this guy’s sentence gets tripled or more as a result of the appeal… www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
How one woman’s Tesla was remotely controlled – and used to harass her – by an abusive ex-partner
Enrico Pucci was able to control his former partner’s electric car remotely, controlling its speed, temperature settings and lock
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Anyone want to help build a buyers/workers AI to rebalance the power distributions a little bit? theconversation.com/ai-is-helpin...
theconversation.com
AI is helping businesses learn what customers will pay – and workers will accept
Businesses are increasingly turning to AI and personalised data to become more efficient. Will that leave workers earning less and customers paying more?
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
i’m in. This guy sounds wiser than all the rich so-and-sos who think they should rule the world. Let’s try it! theconversation.com/do-tech-bill...
theconversation.com
Do tech billionaires dream of shared abundance? We should probably just tax them
Democracy demands that citizens are treated equally under the law. The tax avoidance practices of the ultra-rich violate that principle, a new book argues.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
time for different people to be top bureaucrats. like folks that do the job without embarrassing themselves, or can handle someone else doing some spinning #auspol .https://theconversation.com/top-bureaucrats-dont-want-to-be-criticised-on-social-media-but-their-fix-may-be-unconstitutional-291448
theconversation.com
Top bureaucrats don’t want to be criticised on social media, but their fix may be unconstitutional
Some of the country’s highest-paid public servants would like politicians to stop posting videos of them online. It would be an antidemocratic, even unlawful, move.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
revelling in a little daydream where enough people do not buy stuff from the companies playing these shenanigans… at all, until the complexes fall silent and there is no point to the pollution. arstechnica.com/features/202...
arstechnica.com
The complex corporate web behind a $3.2 billion AI data center
When multiple companies are behind one project, who bears responsibility for problems?
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
in which barnaby joyce gets frustrated at minimal expectations of knowledge and preparation #auspol www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
abc.net.au
Under pressure to explain super policy, Joyce says he is 'not Jesus Christ'
The One Nation Treasury spokesperson sidesteps questions about modelling the inflationary impact of the proposal, saying Australians are "not stupid" and can manage their own money.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
yeah nah - send the bill to the fossil fuel folks who made billions out of stuffing up food. #auspol www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
Record strength El Niño could mean bigger supermarket bills for Australians, experts warn
Predicted hot and dry weather in growing areas in eastern Australia identified as ‘one of the key issues’ that will affect food prices over next 12 months
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Annoyed with these so-called structural shifts which are wittingly or otherwise initiated by a few folks - not the zillions of normals who just want reasonably priced groceries. And the inevitability in the descriptions is horseshit: people made decisions. #auspol www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
abc.net.au
Global economy on a financial crisis 'trajectory' as bond markets dive
If inflation remains stubbornly high in Australia, we can expect interest rates to rise and asset prices to go down. But it's that exact scenario that risks putting the global economy on the trajector...
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𝕯𝖆𝖓🍂🎃🕸️ @arepublic86.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
🇹🇭Nene Royal🇹🇭 doing Metallica's Master of Puppets. She's pretty damn good. Only 16 but you'd think she's a seasoned rock goddess with how confident she blasts through it. 🤘🤘🎸
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
oh what a surprise when the shadowy shenanigan shysters playing clever with letters of the law to sow shit are revealed. No doubt @lucyham.bsky.social has a chapter or three on them. Now… about VIC campaign laws… time for an update? #auspol www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
Alarming AI ads are flooding social media in the lead-up to Victoria’s election. But who is behind them?
A machete-wielding robber, a ‘tsunami of debt’ … campaigns echoing opposition talking points outspend major parties
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I hope the author will follow this descriptive with a more pointed diagnosis of ways to achieve some definition of a solution. But until those with influence and advantage in the world of this summary have less of both, fine words change little #auspol www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
That sound you hear is not the world ending – it’s liberalism being monstered | Waleed Aly
It turns out most of us no longer believe in progress. And when that happens, it quickly becomes a crisis for societies like ours
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I would prefer a considered economic policy that addresses causes of cost of living to this ahistorical sound bite bubble of an idea that will likely freak the RBA out. #auspol www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
abc.net.au
Live: One Nation reveals plan to divert superannuation to boost pay
Australians paying rent or a mortgage would be given a choice to divert a portion of their superannuation to boost their income for up to three years under a One Nation proposal. Follow live.
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Wolf Hour @wolfhour.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
"No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level - I mean the wages of decent living." .. (Franklin. D. Roosevelt) ..(cartoon Nick Anderson)
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Blue Oleta @blue-oleta.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
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Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Stewart Lee over a decade ago joked that worried about “political correctness” was just a generation of people confused about health and safety legislation, and he ain’t wrong.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Increase in productivity since 1979: 93% Increase in hourly pay since 1979: 34% Just so happens that ~25% of workers were unionized in 1979. Today? 10%. As unions declined, the super-rich have taken a larger share of wealth generated by labor. We must build back union power.
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Craig Sicknick @jan6risingvoice.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
The only way to get a company to change its ways is to stop buying their products or using their services. www.pcmag.com/picks/best-a...
pcmag.com
Beyond Chrome: The Best Alternative Web Browsers We've Tested for 2026
If you stick with Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari, you're missing out on some intriguing extras, including ironclad security, privacy, and the ultimate in customizability. These 6 under-the-radar bro...
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
In which the Coalition demonstrates again there is nothing it won’t paint with ideological dogwhistle claptrap for a short term sound bite. A successful housing strategy by definition will be a collective win if folks work together. Doofus is not doing that. #auspol www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
abc.net.au
Trading 'woke palaces' for 'basic' homes could come with drawbacks
The shadow housing minister is spruiking a simpler building code to speed up housing construction, but could cutting back on energy efficiency and accessibility cost more in the long run?
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Evan Greer @evangreer.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Age verification makes everyone less safe. Age verification makes everyone less safe. Age verification makes everyone less safe. Age verification makes everyone less safe. Age verification makes everyone less safe. Age verification makes everyone less safe.
techdirt.com
Hackers Had A Live Feed Of Every ID This Verification Company Scanned. For Over A Year.
From the very beginning of this recent obsession with identifying everyone online (yes, they like to call it "age" verification, but it always ends up as identity verification), we've been pointing out that it was a huge privacy nightmare waiting to happen. Or maybe it wasn't waiting. Maybe it was already happening. This week a...
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Just sayin - we do not HAVE to accept an economy that looks like this… gizmodo.com/the-ai-took-...
gizmodo.com
The 'AI Took My Job' to 'Payday App Took My Money' Pipeline
The big winners of the AI jobpocalypse are payday apps.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Here is something to get cranky about. anildash.com/2026/09/02/c...
anildash.com
VC isn’t VC anymore — understanding the rise of Cancer Capital - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Keeping to a theme here, I’d trade one of those bullshit submarines and and set up a proper funded “support the folks caring for kids” system. No get rich quick dicks need apply. #auspol #formerfosterer www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
theguardian.com
Foster carers in Victoria receive just $231 a week – one quarter the cost of caring for a child
Exclusive: Report by Australian Institute of Family Studies found payments to foster carers fall ‘significantly short of a meaningful contribution’
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Rob @robbomck.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I think that anyone who starts from “Let’s see how much we can make out of looking after people” is on permanent Clean Up Australia duty. #auspol www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
A $1.95m deposit and $10k a month: welcome to the for-profit world of Australian aged care where no one is a winner | Julianne Schultz
Like all the privatised care services, the business of aged care is about property, cheap labour and public money
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