Must have been pretty chilly - I’m out of town at the moment but I was looking at the forecast the other day and thinking it was looking like good weather for snow in the Brindies.

I don’t really care about the cafe, shop, or cultural displays but it’d be good to have the observation deck again (ideally free this time, but I don’t like my chances).

Yes, it’s amusing to think of him going to what have been a fair effort to catch a lyrebird all to find it probably went straight back down the hole after it’d been lugged up to the top.

It is indeed a surprisingly big hole, worth the short walk if you’re in the area with some time for sightseeing.

I’d be thinking something like 30mm hardwood tri quad to create a sloping transition (ideally something reasonably close in colour to the floor). Leaving a vertical edge on the inside seems too likely to end up with stubbed toes at some point.

It’s one of these things that logically you know must happen occasionally (and I’ve even seen pictures of it) but still doesn’t seem right.

I am impressed the shark got it out again and didn’t end up with a permanent internal echidna spine collection.

The American inspired variety of sovereign citizen is enough, I don’t think we really need our own special version of the idea.

It is a bit of an odd name really. I suspect it’s due to a combination of their size, many having some orange colouring, and their habit of making off with your fruit come night time.

To be fair, Canberra didn’t score that highly on anything else so the overall score was considerably lower.

It does seem to get consistent usage - I think it’d make a lot of sense for the commute if you lived along the route and worked normal hours in the city. The increase in development was also noticeable - Flemington Rd has a lot of housing built along it now which would have been at least helped along by the presence of the light rail (I expect a lot would have been built regardless, but maybe not as quickly).

Sounds a pretty good use case for an electric truck; low speeds with constant stop/start driving is well suited to electric vehicles and a known route means range is much less of an issue (just spec it with enough to cope with expected decline over its service life and you’re set). The harder part will be making sure there’s enough charging capacity in the depots to cope with a fleet of trucks, I would expect upgrades will be necessary for that.

Yes, I would think Finland would be more around the top of the Snowies/Vic Alps, particularly as you approach the treeline. England seems a better fit for the ACT (though you might need to ignore summer for that).

I feel like inflation has rather diminished the impact of the monetary side of a contempt finding - $5k just doesn’t have the same impact as six months in prison anymore. It’s like how you see the occasional old sign in lifts warning that smoking can be punished by a (presumably initially impactful) fine of up to $20…

I was concerned these recent stabbings would start a push towards screwing over people like me who regularly carry pocket knives, and unsurprisingly it’s started. It’s rather disappointing how many people go straight to pearl clutching at the mention of a knife even though I and many others have had them on hand as useful tools for decades without feeling the need to stab anyone.

They can get funding, but not in the next election. If you get more than 4% of first preference votes then you can get money after an election to help repay expenditure for that election, up to the lesser of the amount you have spent or the number of first preference votes multiplied by a few dollars (currently $3.29). Reading the info page it seems to make it easier they pay out $12k if you qualify and you can claim more if necessary.

This does mean it’s worthwhile spending your first preference on a smaller candidate you approve of though. They aren’t necessarily getting ahead with that funding but being able to offset their election spending would be a real benefit to people/groups which don’t have piles of money to spend (and makes it more likely they’ll be able to try again next election).

Didn’t even notice until now, but yes it is an unfortunate choice of words in that title…

Fernwood, a women only gym, is allowed to exist.

Because there are sections of the law which allow exemption from the gender discrimination section for various reasons, and they have successfully argued that there are benefits to having a women only gym which are important enough to deserve an exemption (to provide substantive equality). They also only allow women patrons, so men are not charged for a service that is not equally provided.

I don’t really see it as problematic for a discriminated class to seek to foster a space free from those who perpetuate that discrimination

Neither do many other people, which is why such examples as Fernwood have received exemptions from the law and why there is a specific exemption in the laws for both female and male only clubs.

I don’t think it sets a precedent for protected classes to be discriminated against as “art” because men aren’t a class that needs protecting

Allowing discrimination based on gender without substantiating the businesses eligibility for an exemption under the law absolutely would set a precedent for the courts. While you may agree with this particular case of discrimination it is not a good idea to open an opportunity for more discrimination in the future - keep in mind it may not always be the type you agree with.

Good. I think the other option - setting a precedent allowing businesses to skirt discrimination laws by claiming their behaviour was art - would have been a rather poor decision.

I suspect that would be the better option for helping with the related issue of retaining existing staff…