Science is Not Democracy

Democracy is the people say "No" to Carbon Tax - Sydney's Hyde Park 7 July 2011

Why? This is, in my opinion, because human knowledge is not at maturity as yet: we don’t even understand our own DNA completely, we still cannot travel near speed light, we still cannot cancel or create a storm, etc…
As we learn or invent something new, the old one become obsolete. History has proven this time and time again.

Remember Galileo Galilei – the telescope inventor? On his time, almost all existing scientist say that earth is flat and sun is circling earth. Now we know it for sure now that that was incorrect, but you may ask Galileo. He got the torture and pain to say it, that time. Even get banned and ex-communicated by Catholic Church. Only at 1992, the church apologize to him – more than 300 years late.

Remember pesticide called DDT? It was banned around 1972 because scientist say it caused cancers and danger to environment. And because of that, millions of people die for Malaria as before the ban, it was used to control the mosquito. And of course after learning it the hard way, it was then “un-banned”

About the Global Warming/Climate Change itself

Lord Christopher Vicount Monckton speaks at the rally

Put it this way: so someone is challenging a UN body and nobel prize winner, do you think if they don’t have a solid prove, they will go ahead? Of course, no. Why put name, reputation, money and everything else for something that has been declared winner? If they have only even half the evidence, do you think they just want to risk it all just for the sake to dispute it? Of course no…

CO2 giving a green house effect and produce some warming is known fact, but how much it will endanger the planet and whether caused by human is totally different question.
If you want to know first hand, bring yourself to the presentation from Lord Christopher Monckton and team. Visit Galileo Movement , ask them when is the next one and see it yourself whether it is just a BS or not.

My gut feeling telling me, the real truth will be somewhere in the middle. For the purpose of this Carbon Tax article, let us say that this matter is still need to be debated and investigated further and let me refresh some factors that make Carbon Tax just unnecessary sacrifice with massive consequences for no real purpose.

Carbon Tax

Jo Nova

At present moment, Gillard government plans “Carbon Tax” as a fixed price that has to be paid by 500 top pollutant company for every ton of CO2 that they produce. Then in 3 years the price will be floated to the market as traded commodity. Knowing that the increased cost experience by those companies will be passed to the customer in domino price change that at the end have to be paid by every household, included in the tax is a compensation compensation money for 9 out 10 household in  price to offset the increase of the price.

Just by this fact alone, we can see it is meaningless tax. By their own words: this tax is to hurt pollutant for them to change the behavior and favor the renewable energy. But if the consumer is compensated for the increased price (meaning they still buying from the polluter), then there will be no effect on the company , just business as usual. And the whole excercise is just money merry go round with huge admin cost.

Global Market makes Carbon Tax Causing Job Loss

Say ABC company traded in Australia, company XYZ traded in Brasil and they are both producing the same product i.e: they are competitor. Since Australia have carbon tax, the price of ABC company’s product will be higher than XYZ company – this is given. So, if this happen, ABC will lose market share, as their customer in China or India will prefer the cheaper prices. And at the end it’s about survival, ABC company will then just move its operation to say Malaysia or Indonesia to maintain their competitiveness in long run. This means: job loss in local market is imminent.

Malcolm Roberts of Galileo Movement

How about local company? As the tax will eat the profit away, companies will grow slower, less staff will be hired, more company will go bankrupt, and at the end Australian economy will grind to halt.

What the Purpose?

And after all the fuss and problem, I still cannot see what is the purpose of this tax ?

If it were to save the earth, why all other nations is just laugh at Australia ? Australia just a  small population. At about 20 millions mark population – the whole Australia population  is just the size of  Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. Even if all the activity stop and all Australian get extincted (i.e: all die), the effect of Global Carbon Dioxide amount will be very miniscule.

Is it just for warm and fuzzy feeling that Australia is the leader in Global Warming effort ? – such a childish purpose then…. How about if it is not warming as it claimed? It became leading embarrassment rather than anything else.

Remember a direct statement from Julia Gillard before the election “There will be no carbon tax on government I lead“? I kind of believe in what she said, she meant it. Unfortunately, as the election result is not up to her expectation and she has to negotiate with Greens (which is not really “green”) and independent senators to form minority government , she is the one take all the blame of all this fuss to maintain her power as PM – as the hard-left intention fuel its ambition.

Lord Monckton on a seminar in Sydney

What’s Next?

With so much resistance at all level, I would think that it is in the interest of Government to know exactly what the Australian really want. Please respect us that we are not just dummy and idiot.  We can see and look trough whether it’s good or not.  If election is too much, then a referendum or plebiscite is not that bad really…. let us find out whether the nation is really want to sacrifice the wealth to be the “leader” in climate change.
In the meantime, REJECT THE CARBON TAX !

Further Reading:
http://joannenova.com.au/
http://www.galileomovement.com.au/galileo_movement.php
http://www.conscious.com.au/
http://www.nocarbontax.com.au/2011/04/warning-science-zone-dr-david-evans-eplains-why-co2-is-not-the-villain/
and more on the web

No Carbon Tax

Sea World Gold Coast

Polar Bear Swim

Then you can top it up with premium (read: need to pay more) services such as helicopter ride (starts only $49 adult), diving with shark, behind the scene tour, etc.

The food outlet is quite limited to McDonald-style menu and cafe menu (cake, rolls, sandwich) – no asian food on the shops.

And also, they have quite efficient handling for lost and found. Unfortunately, with 2 screaming kids on the haul, we forget to take the “peripheral bag” after a ride. A small trip to “Guest services” to register your lost item, and one hour later they call me that they have found the bag and I just pick it up at the area where they found it. Looks simple, but this implied: your report is really registered, and staffs all over the big park are talking each other under some kind of procedures. Well done !

A few tips

• 

  Curious penguin

  Schedule at least 2 days to enjoys all Sea World can offer: marine animals, rides, shows, etc. You can “finish” all of them in 1 day, but it’s gonna be quite a rush…
• Don’t plan picnic, not only there is not much space, the park ban commercially pack food and esky.
• Buy combine ticket (with other parks) to get the biggest bang for your buck.
• Check the website for show schedule, plan the visit on that schedule as the animal exhibit/rides can be a filler in between.
• Parking space is plenty. If you find yourself cannot find parking space then it’s too crowded already – just reschedule if possible or come earlier.
• If you purchase VIP pass, the queue for processing the photo card is quite long – do this later don’t waste your time
• Limited locker is available so better leave unnecessary item at hotel or car.
• You can park at the resort (see below – just 30 second drive further down the road) – enter and exit to the park via the monorail and you can have early dinner in one of their restaurant at the end of the day.

The Sea World Resort, Hotel and Water Park

Sea World Resort Lobby

A small part clearly visible from the Sea World is a area of swimming with big tower a la wet n wild called “Water Park”. Not that huge, but I guess it is designed to entice all Sea World visitor to become the guest of the hotel.

Linked with a monorail system, the hotel is offering no frills 2 double bed room, good for family of 4 at the price of normal room. Depends on the package when you buy the room, you can choose to have room only, room and access to Sea World, with all the perks like: the water park, behind the scene Dolphin presentation, etc.

For a start, the hotel offers coin operated laundry and dryer machine at $4 each to wash your dirty clothes. This is quite unusual for a 4 star hotel to give facilities usually only available for backpacker hostel. Well, of course the “usual” hotel laundry also available.

Water Play at swimming pool

The hotel’s swimming pools area offers great welcome to kids. Plenty of shallow area, big water play just like in the big park, squirts play, etc. As mentioned, you can extend your kids’ swimming day to the linked water park.

For the big boys and girls, spa pool operates every 7am, countless of sun deck, side-pool cafe, waterfall, sauna, gym, massage, etc will make your day to enjoy with love one or even for simply watching the kids play. And , oh, a golf practice net to warm up before your round of golf.

Not to mention Elmo and Sesame Street Beach friends that come every 9am to greet the kids.

Guest Facility

For your reference, in March 2011 (not school/public holiday – but includes week end), standard 2 double bed room for 4 is $137 per night (booked in Nov 2010) – you maybe will just get semi-decent room for 2 at Surfer’s Paradise with that price.

If you are traveling with kids, I would recommend strongly stay at this resort.

Enjoy your holiday !

p.s: this article is current as of March 2011 – check the latest news from their website

Wet ‘n’ Wild Water World, Gold Coast

Wet n Wild

Own by the same conglomeration that own Movie World, the theme park just located within 1 minutes drive of each other. However the experience will be totally different. As water  park, the park is actually not really for every one, why?

• For a start, if you don’t like get wet and be thrown around while falling, then this park is not for you. That’s  because ‘wet and be thrown around while falling’ is by default what you get there.
• Certain level of fitness is required: not only to climb the stair of those 30 meter or so platforms, but also to carry your floating device up there while enduring the chilling wind while queuing. (Especially children)

Having said that though, if you just after “normal” pool for children to play around while the bigger “boys” do serious stuff, this water park is good for you as there are some “normal” pool.

Also, the rides on this park is relatively safe because the main power of the ride is gravity (except probably “SurfRider”). I mean when you get thrown from the platform, you ride the water only under gravity force rather than from some powerful roller coaster. If you have physics background, you will find it’s quite fascinating to determine the maximum force, speed and what can happen during the course of the rides.

Anyway, the full price general admission is $54.99/$34.99 for adult/kids – not as expensive as other theme park, but it’s still expensive. Again try not to pay the full price by combining with other theme park ticket or purchasing VIP pass (unlimited 3 theme park pass: movie world, sea world and wet n wild for $99 up to 30 June 2011).

SurfRider from Wet n Wild

A few Tips

• Beware that roughly during April – September, although not as prominent as Sydney/Melbourne, the temperature does lower than the other months.
• Wear a swim shirt/diving shirt. Not only to give you 100+ SPF protection from sun, it also shield your body from wind during queuing in the platform rides.
• Use the locker provided ($9 whole day, currently) to store your valuable – too many people could mean reduce the safety of your valuable if it’s just hidden under the towel.
• Pack your lunch as the eateries inside the complex is very limited: in number and choices.
• Minimize congestion during start and end of day in changing and showering by changing & showering at hotel. I don’t think the number of shower/change room are enough for crowder day.
• Use the “Splash Cash” rather than go to locker to get your wallet every time. (“Splash Cash” is barcoded water proof wrist band that “filled” with your money – unused money will be refunded when you go)
• Bring extra towel for your spare. I don’t think towel hire is available.
• It’s quite big property/area, make sure you set a meeting point/”base camp” , especially if you have big contingent.

If you have a good tips for other to know, feel free to write and share it via comment section below.

Enjoy your visit at Wet ‘n’ Wild Water World, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

p.s: this article is current as of March 2011 – check the latest news from their website

The Warner Bros’ Movie World Theme Park

WB's Movie World, Gold Coast

As kids under 3 years old is free, there is not much for them. But Movie World is one of the theme park that still quite friendly for younger/smaller kids. They still have what called “WB Kids’ Zone” that is suitable for kids under 110cm height. But you will get the most of the park if you have kids 7 years old or older.

Located a little bit outside the CBD, the 30 min trip from Surfer’s Paradise perhaps one of the most anxious trips your kid ever have. There are plenty of parking. If you find yourself cannot find a parking space then just head home without hesitate – it’s gonna be too crowded.

Price: Make The Most of Your Dollar Bang!

The full price ticket of Movie world currently on Mar 2011are: Adult $74.99 and Child $49.99 (3 – 15 years). Those number are ridiculously expensive. The good news is you can combine the ticket with other theme park or buy a annual pass instead to make it more reasonable. For example, “VIP Pass” currently offers 3 theme park pass valid up to 30 June 2011 that “only” cost you $99 where you can make unlimited entry to all three park until it expires. Even if you just use it once on each park, it’s far less expensive. I guess this is just a marketing plot.

Anyway, the park opens 10am and close at 5 pm – so 7 hours. With meal break/toilet break your effective hour will be about 6 hours.

There are 8 rides and 3 shows at this time of writing. The actual rides may change over time, but the number will be around that (unless they expand, of course). With end of day parade that you probably don’t want to miss, you probably want to check out all of those attractions perhaps with some repeat of one that you like.

Therefore with 6 hours (=360 minutes) divided by 11 then average time spent per ride/show will be 32 minutes. With the ride itself at least 10-15 minutes, then the queue should not exceed 17-22 minutes.

Now, that’s the problem. I just got there on a week day, 3 weeks before school holiday, and visually there is no queue. But I still spend average of 10 minutes per ride to wait to our turn. Hence,  any visible queue will easily double or triple or multiply your queue time.

So, I can safely conclude, on the week end, school holiday or public holiday, it will be almost impossible to get to see everything.

Also, check their website http://movieworld.myfun.com.au to see if there is special event and maintenance schedule that could ruin your day.

A few tips

• Never ever pay the full price – try combine or pass ticket to make it cheaper. Even a trip to a ticket agent downtown will give you better price
• If possible, plan the visit on weekday. And further, not in a school holiday or other public holiday
• If it’s raining, reschedule your visit – not worth it. (Yes, there are some outdoor ride/show but it will slash the fun by much)  – or at least bring spare shirt and towel (forget umbrella and rain coat)
• They ban commercially pack food and esky, so probably do not plan a picnic, just enjoy the venue fully
• Come as early as possible – be there when the gate is opened
• Download the map from website and make a plan which ride to hit first the night before (as well as to make it more familiar with the venue and build up excitement)
• Don’t buy those souvenirs or plush toys during the day. At the end of the day, you may get “lucky” to find “end of day” sale that let you to buy those $20, $30 item with only $10.
• The height restriction is very strict. Every ride there will be staff with height gauge. So, if your kids is around 110-120cm boundary, wear a thick sole-but-comfy shoe  or even do your hair up straight!  to make it more solid in passing the minimum height (Nothing will happen because you are shorter by 5 cm!! – nothing)

Do you have any hot tips? Let’s share it by putting your comment below…

Enjoy your visit to Warner Brother’s Movie World, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia !!

p.s: this article is current as of March 2011 – check the latest news from their website

The Understanding First

Before go to the real “action” of removing stain on practically any hard surface. You need to understand this very quickly. See illustration below:

Understanding Stain on Hard Surface

1. The stain sitting on top of the original surface. (as illustrated at no 1 above)
   This condition happened if the stain is new, or the surface is not porous, or laminated with some waterproof material (e.g: tiles, etc). The stain is the easiest to remove in this condition
2. The stain has penetrated inside the top surface (as illustrated at no 2 above)
   This condition usually happened if the surface is quite porous, or the original paint is attacked by the stain, or very old stain. The stain is the hardest to remove in this condition.

(and all other condition in between)

Then, basically there are 2 ways to remove the stain:

1. Chemical dissolve-ment: the stain is dissolved with our cleaner so that can easily be wiped.
2. Physical abrasion: the stain need to be physically removed (similar like scrubbing with sand paper). This will involve some imperfection on the original surface (as illustrated at no 3 above). If the abrasion/scrubbing is still within the thickness of the paint, you will not notice the difference. But if the abrasion is too deep, you will start seeing the original color of the surface.

The Tools

In my experience, the following tools below are quite adequate as a weapon in “war on stain at hard surface”:

Stain Removal Kit

1. The humble paper towel. The more absorbent the better.
2. Rub alcohol (IPA – Iso Propil Alcohol) – buy in chemist or supermarket. If you want stronger one, by Ethanol.
3. Any house hold cleaner as “Degreaser” (cut oil based stain). Pictured is BAM power cleaner.
4. Chux’s Magic Eraser: the white sponge. This eraser works as very fine sand paper that do the abrasion and absorb/trap the stain

Make sure the kit above is ready at all time !

Removing the stain: the tips

• Stain is best to be removed as soon as possible (to prevent the stain penetrate too deep to the surface – see condition no 2 on the illustration above)
• Choose cleaner: You need to guess what is the base of the stain: oil, water, or alcohol and use the appropriate cleaner as below (just guess, do not worry if you are not sure).
  If it’s oil based (crayon, lipstick, oil painting, etc) use the degreaser.
  If it’s alcohol based (marker, anything with quick dry alcohol smell) use the IPA
  If it’s water based (water paint, syrup, etc) just use water
• Spray or apply generously on the paper towel and rub it on the stain. The idea is to dissolve the stain chemically as soon as possible from the surface.
  If you choose the correct cleaner, you will see the stain immediately smearing. If not, try the other cleaner.
  Make sure you have plenty of paper towel to absorb the excess IMMEDIATELY – or you just making the blob of the stain larger.
  Warning: the cleaner that you choose COULD also dissolve the original painting. Just be prepare for this. Try at small area first !
• If the stain persist, then the stain has penetrated the surface (see condition no 2 above). The only way to remove the stain would be by physical abrasion.
• Wet the Chux’s magic eraser and squirt all the excess water off (just need damp one), then apply small pressure to the stain. If the stain did not come off, apply more pressure. Remember you don’t want to remove all the painting, just enough to remove the stain (see condition 3 on the illustration above). This white sponge will be soiled upon used. You need to wash it with water from time to time during use. After some usage, you will notice that the sponge become thinner – then just use the new block.
  Warning: if you have glossy finished surface, using this physical abrasion will possibly remove the shininess of the affected area – but I guess it’s still better than those marker drawing…:-)
• Removing the stain if a “repair job” – it’s still better to prevent the stain before happening. So, do not expect 100% recovery all the time…

There you go… Good luck removing that painting on the wall !

Disclaimer: don’t blame me if you stuff up – I just share what I usually do – so far it’s not bad at all – always try on small patch first before go Gung Ho…

My mother is the best
She cooks delicious food
Like restaurant  make it

My mother is the best
She cuts all our hair
As barber and hair stylist

My mother is the best
She teaches driving all 4 sons
As the only female in the house

My mother is the best
She takes care our garden well
Orchids, tomato and mango grow

My mother is the best
She bakes like professional
Cookies, bread , cake? Piece of cake

My mother is the best
She fixes the plumbing at our place
Even not all the male can’t do

My mother is the best
She lectures accounting and finances in uni
Even she was an architect before

My mother is the best
She makes money while asleep
As the share pass profit target

My mother is the best
She loves kids dearly
Even my daughter adore her

My mother is the best
Now that she has grand children
She still as energetic as before
She is still my great mother
She is my super mother.

Happy Mother’s Day !

One of the negative effect if the living cost is relatively very high compare to other city in Australia. Although Sydney is still in top cities in the world to live in (rank 10 according to 2009 Mercer Quality of Living Survey), there are significant price that you need to pay to call yourself “Sydneysider”.

Beautiful Sydney Harbour

Note: all cost will be calculated to yearly figure (1 year = 52 weeks) then all converted to monthly figure.

The Biggest Continuing Living Cost: Accommodation

As bachelor (student included), you cheapest alternative is to “share accommodation” with other bachelor/family. This usually a bedroom for yourself and share everything else (share kitchen, share lounge room, share bedroom – if your bedroom is not equipped with bedroom) – all electricity gas and internet broadband usually included in the weekly rent.

A share accommodation near university or city will cost you on average about $300 per week (highly depended on all the “perks” included).

As couple with or without family, the cheapest accommodation arrangement is to rent 1 bedroom unit (“unit” means “apartment”) or 2 bedrooms unit. In Sydney, the common rental market will be “unfurnished” property – meaning the unit will be rented without furniture. The one usually included in the rental are: kitchen cupboard and stove, dryer, dishwasher(not always) and washing machine (sometimes) only. The rest, you need to buy for yourself and move it along with you as you move to new address. The contract is minimum 6 months (you cannot break the contract unless you pay the whole period or find replacement) – but usually 12 month is the norm.

A decent 2 bedroom units around 30 minutes drive from city cost you on average about $400 per week.

Fully furnished apartment is not common and if there is, usually you will pay premium – beside the hassle that you will be liable if you damaged the furniture.

One bedroom apartment is relatively cheaper than 2 bedroom, but they are harder to find, hence the difference with 2 bedroom usually only $20 – $30 per week which make you consider the 2 bedrooms unit more spacious and has more value for your money.

Renting a free standing house is generally will be around $150 per week more expensive compare to unit. But you have your own backyard/frontyard, can have pet (dog, cat), better lifestyle (you can have BBQ every week with friends), etc

To rent a property you will need to go to a real estate agent (exist almost in every corner of business center), fil some forms and provide 4 – 6 weeks rental as deposit/security or “bond money“. Some reference check and official ID. The payment is weekly or fortnightly in advance.

Buying an apartment/unit for migrant will be a more difficult unless you have the money to buy it outright or just borrow small portion of the money. Currently, thanks to the Global Financial Crisis, you will need roughly 25% of the price to cover for deposit and cost. Meaning, a $400,000 2-bedroom units, you need to have $100,000 cash in a bank and borrow the rest. Then you need to show proof of income (Australia’s employer), proof of saving, credit history, etc. And you need to be permanent resident or citizan. Otherwise your purchase need to be approved by FIRB (Foreign Investment Review Board) – means: more cost and paperwork.

For more detail estimate of your particular area/suburb, you can start with http://www.domain.com.au/ or http://www.realestate.com.au/

Utility Bill: Water, Gas, Electricity

If you rent a property, the water bill is paid by landlord (so you don’t pay water bill) – but you still need to pay electricity and gas. Some older unit don’t have gas service which will be a disadvantage as gas is cheaper than electricity. Mainly during winter where you need to have heater. Gas heater will have significantly lower running cost compare to electric heater. The same applies to stove for cooking. Choose unit with gas if possible.

Gas and Electricity are billed per quarter (every 3 months). For gas it would be about $100 per quarter (depends really on usage) and For electricity is around $300 per quarter.

For more detail about Electricity and Gas you can start with AGL., Energy Australia or Integral Energy.

So here is the comparison so far:

First Capital Expenditure

Now that you have a place to live, then you need to look at one off capital expenditure that you need to buy.

First of all will be furniture: bed, dining table, some chairs, study table, cupboard and sofa. That’s basic item that you need to have. For 2 bedroom apartments, you can fill out your empty units with as low as around $2000 (check out Fantastic Furniture home starter package) but the quality will not the very best. You can buy more decent basic furniture for about $5000 for 2 bedrooms.
(At UK you can check and get a lot of home furniture at connecthome.co.uk: Shop online for a wide selection of home and office furniture, kitchen appliances and gadgets at low internet prices and fast home delivery service – connecthome.co.uk)

Next to furniture is some electronic basic item that you will definitely need them: TV, Fridge, Vacuum Cleaner and some kitchen goodies.

The other item that really important considering Sydney is a very big place and the public transport – although much cheaper than last year now – thanks to new myzone ticketing system – is still not up to scratch. Having a family car is not a luxury in Sydney – perhaps more a necessity. To see more detail about having a car in Sydney, read: Sydney Living Cost 2010: Car Ownership Expenses

Food & Groceries

If you cook most of your meal by yourself (or your spouse), then family of four (with 2 school kids) will need at least around $500 monthly. Dine out will cost you around $10 – $15 per person. More fancy restaurant can cost you around $25-35 per person. So, with 2 dine out a month you need to spare at least $100 extra.

In Australia, although duo-poly from the 2 major supermarkets: Woolworth and Coles Supermarket still a dominant factor, many smaller player especially Aldi (soon: Costco) have already giving consumer much cheaper grocery prices.

Transportation Cost

If you have a car , the cost of transport is roughly around $6000 per year – see Sydney Living Cost 2010: Car Ownership Expenses – The public transport has been quite overhauled for the last 3 month or so – now with around $48 per week (or around $2000 per year) per person, you can basically do unlimited travel around Sydney metropolitan area. See MyZone ticketing system. Of course it could be cheaper depending on the method of transport and area that you want to travel.

For this article, I assume within a family a parent will drive a car and the other one use public transport.

Entertainment

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Next Page >>>

Entertainment

The fact that Sydney is quite expensive should not prevent you to enjoy live. Go out to the beautiful beach such Bondi, Manly, Coogee, and many other will be the cheapest option as probably you just need to pay for the parking and your lunch. Going to the cinema to enjoy the latest movie will cost you around $20 per person (not including beverage/snack). Kid go to “playland” (Lollipop, Clown Town, Jitterbug, etc) will set you back about $15 per kid.

I suggest to spare at least $150 a month for your family fun.

Internet and Mobile

Internet connection is getting cheaper. With $50 you can get unlimited download (it’s actually 130GB full ADSL2+ speed and 1Mbps shapping after that – 1Mbps shapping is practically very fast , hence can be consider unlimited – see TPG). For mobile phone, there are literally hundreds of plan out there, one of the value is to have post paid contract for 24 months with $29 cap per month that will be more than enough for most people. Three have such plan with very good handset free.

Education Expense

For you with kid on school age education expense is something that you need to be considered. While public school is free, Catholic school will charge around $600 per quarter and private school can charge much much more than that. So, beside the school fee, be prepare to spare at lease $500 per kid per year for uniform, stationary, excursion, etc which is extra from school fee.

For you with kid under 5 years old, you need to pay the expensive child care service to look after your kid while you are at work. Or alternatively one of the parent need to be at home (not working) to look after the kid. The rate of child care center is about $75 a day. The government will refund 50% of them (until certain limit) – so, you need to have enough cash flow while waiting for the quarterly refund. For the calculation on table I will put one school age kid and one under 5 kid.

Additionally, you might need to pay about $25 “after school care” per day, if you cannot pick the kid about 3pm (15:00) from school. This service is also 50% quarterly refunded.

Health and Tax, Health Insurance (Optional but highly recommended) and Other Insurance

Australia is one of the country that has high tax. Average Australian will pay at least 30% of salary to tax office. The maximum is 45%. So, if you are employed with $60,000 p.a salary, expect only take around $40,000 home.

But with the high tax, come the benefit: if you are permanent resident that live more than 2 years in Australia – with some condition, of course – you will be eligible for social security payment (or “dole”) if for some reason you are unable to work. And the best part is: medical facility is generally free.

If you feel sick and need to see a doctor (General Practitioner), just go to a clinic that do “Bulk Billing” and you will pay nothing for your visit. The same thing apply for more serious matter as operation / surgery, etc. Just show your “medicare card” – Medicare also over delivery and other hospital services such blood work, etc. Unfortunately medicare did not pay for your medicine (although some is subsidized). So, prepare to spend around $200 per year to all this cough syrup, panadol, some ointment, etc…

For non resident, say tourist – expect to pay around $150 to visit a doctor and thousands of dollar just to spend a night in a hospital.

So if all medical bill will be generally free, why we need to purchase private health insurance ? Some of the important reasons:

1. If you don’t have private health insurance, the government will charge 1.5% extra from your income as “medicare levy”. So, with $60k p.a you will pay $900 extra tax. If a health insurance for family is $200 per month, total $2400 – then you don’t have to pay that $900. Yes, you still have to pay additional $2400-$900 = $1500 per year for insurance, but rather than giving $900 for government, it is better spend it for your own benefit.
2. You are covered for emergency transportation. The medicare will cover your hospital bill, but if you need helicopter to transport you in emergency you need to pay that helicopter bill – as well as normal car ambulance. If you have private health insurance, you don’t have to worry about this.
3. You have additional “benefit” for day to day health related expenses such as: spectacle or contact lenses, remedial massage, physiotherapy, podiatrist, chiropractor and dentist cost. Although highly depended on the “plan” that you sign up with, these “perks” is quite worth it if you use some of the mention above. For me, since both me and my wife wear glasses, go to remedial massage from now and then, occasional physio due to sport(mostly golf) injury, some chiro treatment for bad sleeping position, regular dentist visit, etc, this “perks” value to more than $1000 per year.

Other insurance that you might want to consider are income protection insurance and trauma/life insurance (especially if you have mortgage) – but as starting point, just use income protection ans life insurance you can pay with your superannuation account. (Your employer will pay 9% – soon will be 12% – compulsory contribution, you just need talk to the superannuation company to start your insurance under the account)

Summary

Above is the summary of all discussion in this article. Note on the last row is the salary projection that you need to ear to cover the expenses assuming 30% income tax.

If you just arrive in Australia for the first time, expect 2-3 months before getting decent job. For some reasons, if your experience was just from overseas, it will be quite difficult to find similar job in Australia. Usually it takes 2 step behind to go 1 step forward. So, in term of money, prepare at least 3 months full cost plus the capital expenditure on your first arrival.

Once arrive in Sydney, first thing you do after a good night sleep in hotel is: go to bank and open account there. The big 4 banks in Australia are: Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ and National. Where you open the account is immaterial as you can withdraw and do any other service on different bank. The 2nd step will be securing your home – find a rental place !

Yes, it’s not that cheap to live in Sydney – considering also Australian Dollar is now almost in parity with US dollar. But it’s better to prepare more than living miserably in a great city.
See you in Sydney, soon !

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To tell you the truth, I am not a die hard football fan. I mean I did not follow English league, Bundesliga, or even Australian own A-league. But I will not miss the world cup for the world.

So, mark your calendar, the first match will be on Friday , 11 Jun at 23:00 and the Final will be on Monday , 12 July 2010 on 03:30.

Watching World Cup On TV

The great news is, at this 2010 world cup, all 64 matches can be watched live on TV without a need to subscribe for Pay TV. Yes, it’s free to air TV at its best. Thank you to SBS station. (For international friend, the “main” TV station here in Australia is Ten, Seven and Nine – SBS is more on niche market – confirming soccer or football is still not on the main core)

Here is the full schedule from SBS: SBSWorldCupTVSchedule.pdf
(print it out and stick it on your fridge!!)

Make sure your TV at its best, at least, make sure you can receive the Digital Transmission – the HD (High Definition) version is preferred for best quality – (buy a HD set top box if you have not). For you that in the market for nice new bigger TV, forget the Plasma, forget the LCD TV, you should aim for LED TV (In general: as bright as plasma, but as reliable as LCD – the best of both world) – some of this LED TV is also 3D (3 dimension)-TV, but I doubt SBS will broadcast in 3D.

Alternatively: FIFA Fan Fest – Darling Harbour, Sydney

But for you that want MORE than just watching it on TV, there is a special treat from FIFA and NSW government, it’s call FIFA Fan Fest.

FIFA Fan Fest in Darling Harbour (digital impression)

The first time of its kind, FIFA chooses 6 cities in the world: Berlin, Paris, Rome, Mexico City, Rio de Jaineiro and Sydney (Do you see that all those cities has hosted world cup before, except Sydney – so it’s a clue perhaps… .

And on those city FIFA extends the invitation to come and celebrate the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa to more football fans around the globe with: a giant screen in secure environment with FREE admission to watch LIVE all the match with fellow fans.

And in Sydney, the FIFA Fan Fest is on the beautiful Darling Harbour (see the digital impression above). Yes, a giant floating screen to watch football with friends and family.It’s free and secure! So, how awesome !

It’s predicted there will be 30,000 fans each nights for the whole months (maybe triple on the final day!) – the police has express concerned already that it gonna be a big if note huge task – considering alcohol is available. Take this as good aspect, now that the police and organizer cannot really under estimate this huge event, everything will be more prepare and more resources thrown in into the event. Australia has been a very famous with making huge event a family friendly one – so this will be one as well !

For more info about FIFA Fan Fest ^tm, click here. or here. Official info is here. If preferred you can book Ibis or Novotel on site for your super indulgence football experience.

Just come to Darling Harbour at the scheduled match and you might see me there !

One caveat: it’s winter in Australia – temperature will be 5-10 degree Centigrade in the early morning!!

If you are interested to become a volunteer to this great event, hopefully the registration is still open at here. You will be given meal voucher and cool uniform to watch the big screen at super premium location.

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

The Darling Harbour Fan Fest has 2 big screen locations: Cockle Bay and Tumbalong Park. Each hold 10,000 crowd. Once the number is reached, you will be denied entry!!
It’s for obvious reason: prevent overcrowding, in case of emergency. Hence come early ! If you have been denied entry that’s mean you are late, just come a little bit earlier, especially popular game.

(In Cockle Bay in particular, the site will looks like still got a lot of space, but remember the screen is on the water (floating), there is quite a  gap between screen and water – furthermore, if you know darling harbour, there is spiraling decorative fountain in the middle that is now closed with wooden platform – cannot hold unlimited number of crowd.)

Socceroos Chance

Being in the hard group with Germany, African Champion – Ghana, and Serbia – the Australian team is quite the underdog. But the OZ has been known to do the unpredictable…. I hope 1 win and 2 draw can bring them to the knock out stages like previous cup. With Cahil and Kewell on the team, these seniors will ignite the spirit of the team!

Draw with the German as it’s just the first match for both, one win against Serbia and another draw with Ghana – that’s my prophecy…

What is “Socceroos” ?

For international friend, the Aussie loves to name their National Team with national animal or Australian unique word as nickname.

“Socceroo” is “Soccer” and “Roo” (short for Kangaroo – an animal unique to Australia).

You can see other similarity with The Wallaby (a small kangaroo) as nickname of the Australia national rugby union team, The Kookaburra (a bird native to Australia) as nickname for Australian national men’s hockey team while the ladies team nicked “HockeyRoos”. “Boomers” and “Opals” for basketball national team, etc

2010 Socceroos Jersey

The dark and light color version of Socceroos Jersey 2010

Available for purchase at NikeStore.

To show your support for Australia to host FIFA World Cup 2018 or FIFA World Cup 2022 click here.
To check out Football Federation Australia (FFA) click here.

Enjoy the festivity of  2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa ^tm in June 2010 !

Buying The Car

Sydney has wide range of car running on its road. Any brand or model car you want, the chance is it is here in Sydney (although sometimes it has different name).  Some tips when you buy your first car in Sydney:

1. Set you budget/maximum price
   First thing first, define how much you want tospend on a car. Once you get soaked to it, it’s hard to really limit your budget. Better start with this. There is a car for every budget. Even for $1000.  Around $10,000 will get you a very decent car.
2. Buy from dealership.
   You can buy car from private sale or from dealership. Buying privately will give you better price, roughly $1000 – $2000 cheaper than buying from dealer, but it has no protection for buyer. Buying from dealer will give you 3 months warranty where the dealer need to fix/replace any faulty item – giving you peace of mind.
   Another factor to consider, there is a lot of stolen /rebirth car that being sold via private sale, unless you do thorough title check, you may end up with stolen or non-genuine car.
   Shop around, visit 3-5 car dealer before even consider any car – check some online pricing before start. Beware: Sydney’s car salesman is very very good at its job.
3. Don’t buy brand new car.
   Buying brand you car will cost you premium money. Try to buy a car and as soon as you drive it away from the parking lot, the price has dropped maybe 20% if you re-sell  it immediately. In other word, it has worst depreciation. Also especially if you need to borrow money to buy the car.  It’s much better buy smaller/older/cheaper car but buy  it outright with your savings.
   My recommendation would be buy those 3-5 years old cars with low kms on the odometer. It will last at least another 5 years with proper maintenance and you have the biggest bang for your money.

Some websites to start: RTA website,  http://www.carsales.com.au/, http://www.carpoint.com.au/, http://www.drive.com.au , http://www.autoweb.com.au/

Cost of Car Ownership

Cost of Car Ownership

1. Registration Cost

This is the money that you pay to the government for owing a vehicle. The exact value varies from car to car, but normal family sedan will be around $300 mark. To register, for car that have more than 5 years old age, a safety check call “pink slip” is also compulsory. But the price is not that expensive: around $35 mark only.

You need to own a driver license first. Currently the fee is $47 for a year. (5 year license is $151, but depends on the number of year you have driven, you might not be able to get this one) – The cost to get the driving license (Driver Knowledge Test+ Driving Test) is $83. For for information check RTA website.

2. Compulsory Third Party Insurance (CTP / “Green slip”)

This insurance is compulsory to cover medical cost if you injured somebody on a accident. The cost varies according your driving record, but it will be around $600 – 700 mark every year.

3. Service/Maintenance Cost

Most of the modern car (made at year 2000 or above) will have the requirement to be serviced every 10,000km or 6 months. Unless you drive very long distance, you will only need to service your car twice a year.

The cost of service will vary according your brand of the car and the type of service needed (major service, minor service, 100,000km service etc). But be prepare to pay around $300-$500 for each service. It becomes around $1000 per year.

4. Comprehensive Insurance Cost

This insurance is not compulsory. This basically only to cover the cost of repairing if you have accident for both your card and the other party. It also cover some other liability that may arise from accident. For example: if you hit a house and the house collapse, you are liable to fix the house with all the content. Usually this insurance give you upto $20 million legal liability.

The cost of this insurance is roughly around $800 – $1500 (depending on your driving record, type of card and your address).

It’s actually a small price to pay for your piece of mind. Without insurance, a private car repair (panel beating, painting, etc) can cost you at least $5000. Remember, if you are the driver at fault, you need to fix 2 cars. I strongly recommend this insurance

Some big insurance company that can provide you online quote: AAMI, NRMA, GIO, Budget Direct, Bingle

5. Petrol Cost

Cost of petrol will depend of the type of car (the bigger machine the higher the cost), the way you driving the car, the traffic that you drive and the distance you travel.

But for the purpose of this article, say you have a car that consumed on average 10 liters for every 100km (or 10km for each liter) and travel around 15,000km per year (around 40km per day). The price of petrol is now around $1.10 – $1.40 (vary each day, let use $1.25 as average)

Then, each year cost of petrol =  (15,000 / 10) x $1.25 = $1,875

6 Unexpected / Other Cost

Driving around Sydney with car could induce you with some unexpected cost such as parking fine, speeding camera fine and other infringement. For new driver, it’s very common to het these fine if you are not extra careful.

Also, some big ticketed item for your car from time to time will need replacement: shock absorber, tyres,etc. And although you are insured, every accident you need to pay the “excess” roughly around $600 or more.

You may also consider to become a member of Road Side Assistance at $92 per year. See NRMA motoring website.

Parking ticket also something that you need to consider. Although most shopping center will give you free (or at least 3 hours free) parking, some other premium places such Sydney CBD, Darling Harbour, Airport, Bondi Beach, etc will charge you parking fee ranging from $2 per hour to $15 per hour.

So, prepare to spend at least additional $500-$1000 on average per year.

Summary

So as summary, see below table for your cost of ownership:

Remember, the cost above is after you buy the car itself.

It’s not that cheap to have a car and drive in Sydney, but at least you have prepared.

See you on Sydney road !