NSW Upper Hunter By-Election - 22 May 2021

[hamohawk1]

Its posts like this that makes it glaringly obvious some individuals in the far left have rarely been more than 5km out of the city centre, nor understand the nuance of politics, particularly in this country.

Labor aren't without criticism, but as a nation we're unlikely to get the ball rolling on Climate Change meaningfully in the next 2-3 years if we don't have a Labor gov't. Having a pro-coal member is part of securing the vote, and being a stop-gap while this process commences.

 

[Number37]

Caesar
I noticed that you edited your post to remove the 'I was spot on with Eden-Monaro.'
Gems from the vault:

Will be a pretty interesting by-election. Conventional wisdom says that it reverts to the Coalition -

Bupow.

Constance and Barilaro are good mates...

Bupow

Err... sort of. McBain is fairly popular mayor, but you have to bear in mind that Bega is a town of 4,000 people and the Shire elects their councillors on a quota of about 1,900 votes. A federal electorate of 115,000 is a slightly different ballgame.

I think she will struggle. Bega Valley LGA sits wholly within Constance's state seat, and he is popular enough to take away a lot of votes from her there. That means she really needs to garner a lot of support from outside her own area, which is extremely hard for a rural mayor (especially when you're talking about places like Queanbeyan).

Presumably Barilaro will campaign for Constance in Monaro, and given his own popularity it makes it hard to see a path to victory for McBain.

Bupow

If the Coalition drop a seat they should have won because of internal politicking, there should be major recriminations.

Bupow

Despite Kelly retaining the seat, the overall demographic of Eden-Monaro skews a lot more towards the Coalition than it used to.

Bupow

Eden-Monaro is so marginal, and Mike Kelly's personal vote so strong, that you could almost call it a notional Coalition seat without him running.

Bupow

Nonetheless the NSW Shooters are proving pretty effective at taking votes from the ALP and delivering them back via directed preferences, which is worrying in terms of their future influence over that party.

3 Nationals seats they've taken but they're taking votes from Labor.

A cynic would say it’s because they added ‘Farmers’ to their name and picked up a bunch of disaffected Nationals voters.

A bunch of dissafected Nationals voters = 3 seats worth of Nationals voters.

People who like to characterise the Nationals as a politically-irrelevant party with no power clearly don’t live in NSW or Queensland.

Lost 3 seats to a party whose claim to fame is adding "farmers" to their name. LEL
Lost those 3 seats because they sold out their constituents because they were too weak and irrelevant to stand up to the Liberals.

 

[Kwality]

Ye na, lots work in hospitals eh, and frequent understaffed ED’s.

Nothing unique here ?

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Nurses will always have a whinge but the election will play out on other issues - mining etc mostly

What is it with you and nurses? You seem to genuinely hate them

 

[campbell]

What is it with you and nurses? You seem to genuinely hate them

Indeed he does.......ex wife perhaps?

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Indeed he does.......ex wife perhaps?

maybe she didnt do enough scat work around the house?

 

[Caesar]

What is it with you and nurses? You seem to genuinely hate them

More of a general lack of sympathy for people in cushy public sector jobs who think they're hard done by

 

[Ned_Flanders]

More of a general lack of sympathy for people in cushy public sector jobs who whine about pay and conditions

Cushy?

What part of being spat on, punched, urinated on is cushy? And the joys of giving 150kg peeps enemas and inserting catheters, cushy cushy cushy

 

[Caesar]

Cushy?

What part of being spat on, punched, urinated on is cushy? And the joys of giving 150kg peeps enemas and inserting catheters, cushy cushy cushy

Their pay and benefits are very generous compared to what they could expect in the private sector

I don't envy them their duties, but that's why I picked a different career

Obviously healthcare worker assaults etc. shouldn't happen and everything possible needs to be done to ensure they don't

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Their pay and benefits are very generous compared to what they could expect in the private sector

I don't envy them their duties, but that's why I picked a different career

Obviously healthcare worker assaults etc. shouldn't happen and everything possible needs to be done to ensure they don't

Okay. So what should a nurse be paid? Assume 40% of their time is working graveyard shifts and weekends

 

[campbell]

Okay. So what should a nurse be paid? Assume 40% of their time is working graveyard shifts and weekends

Beggars belief.

 

[Chief]

Their pay and benefits are very generous compared to what they could expect in the private sector

Then the private sector is at fault.

 

[Schneebly11]

Their pay and benefits are very generous compared to what they could expect in the private sector

So could you please tell us what the pay and conditions are for a private sector vs public sector nurse and why that means public sector nurses are overpaid?

 

[Caesar]

Okay. So what should a nurse be paid? Assume 40% of their time is working graveyard shifts and weekends

So could you please tell us what the pay and conditions are for a private sector vs public sector nurse and why that means public sector nurses are overpaid?

Hang on, I never said there was anything wrong with their remuneration. I just observed they are on a pretty good wicket. Great leave entitlements, great overtime rates, phenomenal job security. Pay rises all round last year, whilst most people in the private sector were just hoping to keep their jobs.

Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge health workers a good income for doing important work. I just think that as a result of being insulated from a competitive employment market subject to economic reality, a lot of them fail to appreciate how lucky they are.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Hang on, I never said there was anything wrong with their remuneration. I just observed they are on a pretty good wicket. Great leave entitlements, great overtime rates, phenomenal job security. Pay rises all round last year, whilst most people in the private sector were just hoping to keep their jobs.

Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge health workers a good income for doing important work. I just think that as a result of being insulated from a competitive employment market subject to economic reality, a lot of them fail to appreciate how lucky they are.

So what wicket SHOULD they be on?

 

[Caesar]

So what wicket SHOULD they be on?

All Australians should be on a pretty good wicket, and those who already are should be a bit more appreciative of what they've got

Just my opinion

 

[Ned_Flanders]

All Australians should be on a pretty good wicket, and those who already are should be a bit more appreciative of what they've got

Just my opinion

so your issue isnt their pay, its the fact that they speak?

you know thats not much better

 

[Caesar]

so your issue isnt their pay, its the fact that they speak?

you know thats not much better

They can say whatever they want, and I will never begrudge someone the opportunity to agitate for their own interests - it's what makes the world go round. I'm just not particularly sympathetic on a personal level when people on a good wicket whinge about how hard done by they are.

Anyway, all this is pretty off-topic. My initial intention was only to point out that a healthcare worker who opines that healthcare is a major election issue is perhaps operating from a bit of a myopic and insulated viewpoint. Employment security is currently a major concern in Upper Hunter, something that public servants have the luxury of not worrying about too much.

 

[Schneebly11]

Great leave entitlements, great overtime rates, phenomenal job security. Pay rises all round last year, whilst most people in the private sector were just hoping to keep their jobs.

The Annual leave entitlement is only an extra two weeks, and that factors in the fact they work on Public holidays and other unsociable hours. Overtime rates are because they’re working continuous night shift, not because they stayed behind in the office from 5pm-7pm one night. Pay rises that don’t take into effect house prices blowing through the roof so not really rises at all. You want that type of pay rise? Join a Union? Oh that’s right, you can negotiate better alone......

Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge health workers a good income for doing important work. I just think that as a result of being insulated from a competitive employment market subject to economic reality, a lot of them fail to appreciate how lucky they are.

Are you serious? Nurses aren’t free market tools to be fired at the whim of some stockbroker. They are providing an essential public service. You want “free market competition” in healthcare and you get a US style Healthcare system.

 

[Caesar]

Are you serious? Nurses aren’t free market tools to be fired at the whim of some stockbroker. They are providing an essential public service. You want “free market competition” in healthcare and you get a US style Healthcare system.

I never suggested that healthcare should be run as a free market competition

Just that healthcare workers should be a little more appreciative of the benefits they enjoy over the wider community as a result of the fact it's not

 

[Schneebly11]

Just that healthcare workers should be a little more appreciative of the benefits they enjoy over the wider community as a result of the fact it's not

They get those benefits for a reason mate. I would say they are more like alleviations to counter some negative aspects of the job you don’t encounter in a M-F 9-5 job. They aren’t “perks”, and they don’t need to be appreciative of anything. How about you become a nurse and then you can go ahead and complain about how cushy their package is, otherwise butt out.

 

[Caesar]

How about you become a nurse and then you can go ahead and complain

Was wondering when the appeal to authority would show up

 

[Chief]

Was wondering when the appeal to authority would show up

Well, from what we can see you don't have any experience in the field and you're bad-mouthing skilled workers as being overpaid toilet scrubbers.

 

[Caesar]

Well, from what we can see you don't have any experience in the field and you're bad-mouthing skilled workers as being overpaid toilet scrubbers.

Need to look a little harder then, that's just verballing

Have not once said they're overpaid and the closest I've come to commenting on their skills is saying they do important work

 

[Chief]

Need to look a little harder then, that's just verballing

Have not once said they're overpaid and the closest I've come to commenting on their skills is saying they do important work

As I said this is not nurses.
a lot of other roles in hospitals.
cleaners, doctors, administrators, reception......

Same difference

I'm just not particularly sympathetic on a personal level when people on a good wicket whinge about how hard done by they are.

Yeah, maybe you need to be clearer in what you mean.