Australia - The Land Down Under

[Condobloke]

I watched that video a few days ago.

I have worked in those areas. It is hard country. Unforgiving.

The people have resilience in spades. This is more than a test for them

The overlay map above showing the British Isles size in relation to part of the Australian Outback, is both awe inspiring , but also frightening. The mindset required to cope with the vast distances and isolation is hard to describe. Lauren has it in spades. The heartbreak and feeling of 'uselessness' is rampant....at least for a while.....at least until they all band together and get going, again.

They are a tough breed.

Their mental health is impacted, from hearing the screams and cries from cattle and sheep as they drown.
The cost of that impact cannot be measured.

 

[Condobloke]

Major flood arrives at Birdsville

Birdsville is experiencing one of its biggest floods in decades after the Diamantina River rose by nearly four metres in 24 hours, causing major flooding.

www.weatherzone.com.au

Clouds clear to reveal immense scale of Queensland flooding

Satellites have captured spectacular images of the massive floods currently affecting southwest Queensland.

www.weatherzone.com.au

 

[Condobloke]

Lyrid meteor shower – how to see it from Australia

The Lyrid meteor shower will be visible from Australia later this month, offering stargazers an opportunity to see one of Earth's oldest known meteor showers.

www.weatherzone.com.au

 

[Condobloke]

Up to 1 trillion litres of floodwater may hit outback's Menindee Lakes

As a mass of water makes its way down from Queensland, the Menindee Lakes in outback New South Wales could be the beneficiary. Having slowly dried up for months, the fortunes of the bird and fish sanctuary may be about to change.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Condobloke]

Floods obliterate key outback roads as graziers fight to stay in business

Thousands of kilometres of outback Queensland roads have been destroyed by floods, forcing cattle trucks on huge detours, doubling freight bills and leaving families on remote properties feeling even more isolated.

www.abc.net.au

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Remote SA community cut off as Queensland floodwater creeps through

The outback town of Innamincka has been marooned as floodwater from Queensland makes its way through the region.

www.abc.net.au

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Outback flood tops 1974 levels, towns evacuate amid major stock loss fears

Outback Queensland residents say the floodwater has reached "unprecedented" levels, with many forced to evacuate their homes and leave stock to fend for themselves.

www.abc.net.au

 

[KGIII]

‘Pro-Vegemite’: Albanese backs cafe owner as Canada cracks down on iconic spread

An Australian-Canadian cafe owner has been ordered by the Canadian food regulator to scrape Vegemite off his menu. The prime minister skated in with elbows up.

www.smh.com.au

 

[Condobloke]

Wars have been started for lesser reasons.

Good to see that boofhead albanese stuck up for Vegemite at least.

Vegemite has a long, Long history in Australia.

As much as I would like to give the poms a serve re their inferior product, it would appear this has more to do with something of a political nature....and I will not go there. ......except to say...'Get over it Canada, and move on. Competition (and other things) makes the world go around. If you have an Aussie there who is sufficiently entrepreneurial to import $9K (!!!!!) worth of Vegemite to your fair country, then he would at least have earned your undying, unflagging support.

 

[KGIII]

Wars have been started for lesser reasons.

I intentionally left the link without comment. I figured you'd say almost exactly that.

Vegemite has a long, Long history in Australia.

Yup. I figured you'd find it amusing. I found the link in a (mostly) political thread on another site.

And, yeah... We can't hash out the politics on this site - but I'm going to guess we have similar thoughts on it.

If you live in Canada, and if I've (now) read the rules, you can import it for your own consumption. It can not be imported and sold. It can not be imported and served in a restaurant. It does look like you can import it for your own consumption.

I am not a lawyer. I'm certainly not an expert in Canadian regulations.

And, here's a sentence I never thought I'd say...

Consult a lawyer before importing Vegemite.

 

[Condobloke]

And !.....An UPDATE to Vegemite-gate !

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/19/albanese-claims-victory-in-vegemite-fight-as-https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/19/albanese-claims-victory-in-vegemite-fight-as-canada-concedes-spread-poses-low-risk-to-humans

and from the author this fine topic: -canada-concedes-spread-poses-low-risk-to-humans

That has to be the greatest joke of all time. Millions of Aussie men, women and children have been squaffing down Vegemite since their birth..... since Vegemites release in 1923......without any ill effec ts.

Just spare a moment to do the maths.....that's around 102 years, without a single death from Vegemitosis (and that is a just now invented word)

 

[KGIII]

The link doesn't work for me.

Also, as someone who has Canadian citizenship (my Native American heritage is from Northern Maine and Canada) and someone who has been to Australia, I think I should hold a position.

LOL Umm... Can we be political if it's Vegemite-related?!?

I say, free the Vegemite! Let the Canadians decide individually if they want Vegemite! Make Vegemite free (as in liberty, not in cost). It's my mouth, so it should be my choice! Let the people eat Vegemite and let them be proud for doing so! Down with the tyranny!

Hmm..

We should stage a worldwide protest to show that we stand with the Vegemite lovers in Canada. I'll have to come up with something funny so that I can make a sign to hold up.

Australia has some military cargo planes. They should make a bunch of parachutes that work with Vegemite packages and then they should drop them out of the planes all across Canada. (Well, the populated part of Canada.)

It's not an act of war. It's a humanitarian mission!

 

[theLegionWithin]

The link doesn't work for me.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/19/albanese-claims-victory-in-vegemite-fight-as-canada-concedes-spread-poses-low-risk-to-humans ​

 

[KGIII]

 

[theLegionWithin]

weird. it worked when I corrected the link

 

[KGIII]

It's giving me the 404 page. Ah well...

 

[Condobloke]

This link ?

Albanese claims victory in Vegemite fight as Canada concedes spread poses ‘low’ risk to humans

Prime minister said his government had lobbied Canada to reconsider ruling that cafe could not import Vegemite

www.theguardian.com

 

[KGIII]

This link ?

Albanese claims victory in Vegemite fight as Canada concedes spread poses ‘low’ risk to humans

Prime minister said his government had lobbied Canada to reconsider ruling that cafe could not import Vegemite

www.theguardian.com

Now that link works. (We can tell by how the forum displays it, at least generally speaking.)

And, it seems that they already moved on and came to their sense. Good.

 

[wm460]

Good to see that boofhead albanese stuck up for Vegemite at least.

That would be the first time PM AnAL ever stuck up for something Australian.

 

[Condobloke]

Australia.
Friday Night.
Down to the pub
Order a Chicken Parmi (parmigiana) and a Pint (beer)

Cost?

$47.

Friday night takeaway for the family, consumed at home

cost...$100 +

Pick yourself up off the floor and read/digest the following.

This is not just the case in Australia, I am sure.

Across Australia, there is a creeping sense that, to borrow modern phraseology, the math isn’t mathing.

What might once have fallen into the category of acceptable middle-class consumption now feels closer to luxury.

'The math isn't mathing': Middle-class consumption now feels closer to luxury

From our coffee addiction to a weekend pub tradition, some of the simple pleasures many Australians have taken for granted now feel like luxuries. But if patrons can no longer afford to visit the pubs and cafes we love, there may be something bigger at stake.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Condobloke]

Queensland, Australia.....Floods

"We're looking at losses of cattle about 270,000 … 176,000 for sheep and about 41,000 for goats,"

he said......Queensland's Department of Primary Industries director-general Graeme Bolton.......
Bare in mind he relies on others for info.......I reckon he has under estimated.

AgForce general president Shane McCarthy said the long-term impact to the agriculture industry would be profound.

"Restocking is always going to be a problem … there's also some years, if not sometimes generations, of genetics that have got into those stocks and there is no replacing that in the short-term at least," he said.

Livestock losses across western Queensland reach catastrophic levels

Western Queensland graziers are facing devastating livestock losses, with an estimated half a million cattle, sheep and goats dead and a tough road to recovery still ahead.

www.abc.net.au

Pics of cattle, even more heartbreaking. So much so that some journalist/photographers will not take them, and if they do they will not release them.

 

[Condobloke]

Maccas pickle anyone ?

In a Pickle - AustralianFarmers

Pickles and McDonald’s are a long-standing partnership. But many of us may not have thought about how those perfect circles are grown, fermented, sliced, and finally, served up on your burger. Incredibly, there is just one family responsible for all those Maccas pickles Australia-wide. The Parle...

farmers.org.au

Ben Parle and his family have been supplying pickles to McDonalds for over three decades.