Two Little Words: Carbon Tax

You'd have to have been living under a rock to have not heard the grumblings and rumblings in parliament this past week about instilling a tax on carbon. But what does this all mean and why are people getting so emotional about it?

What is it?
A carbon tax is a tax on pollution; it places a fee on production, distribution or the use of fossil fuels based on how many carbons they emit. The Government then makes a price per tonne which becomes a tax on utilities such as electricity, natural gas, oil and petroleum. The aim is that a rise in price and tax on businesses and households will ease on the consumption of these utilities and therefore help protect the environment from further damage and global warming.

Australia
The Gillard government is proposing a carbon tax to begin in July 2012 and to run for three to five years before becoming a free trading emissions scheme.

How will this effect me?
Although the Gillard government have not come out and said what the set prices will be, there has been speculation by the coalition that Australian households could be paying more then $300 a year in electricity bills and an extra 6.5 cents a litre in petrol; $3 more then what we're currently paying. Greens leader Bob Brown claims that the tax will not hurt Australians hip pockets, telling channel 10: "Our job is to ensure that the average Australian household and car user is not punished by a carbon price. The idea is to make polluters pay." However, the Gillard government have said that the money from the tax will come come back as a form of compensation for low income earners and they will benefit from the tax scheme.

Why are people angry at Prime Minister Julia Gillard over this?
On the eve of the election Julia Gillard quite plainly stated: "I rule out a carbon tax." adding more fuel to the fire (pun intended) that Prime Minister Gillard is at the mercy of the Greens and Independents that helped her win the election. The tax hasn't passed through parliament yet and still may not become a tax, but people are already worried if it does pass, petrol prices and household bills will be so inflamed the cost of living will be almost unattainable. Time will tell.

Quote Of The Day

"Gossip is when you hear something you like about someone you don't."

-Earl Wilson

The Modern Guide To Making Your Marriage Work: Tip 1, Cheat

The below quote by now deceased actor Paul Newman is possibly the most romantic words to have ever been uttered out of a mans mouth. Newman was married to his wife, fellow actress Joanne Woodward for 52 years before his death last year. Newman was often asked questions about his relationship, perhaps from people who wanted to know his secret - how could he have been with only one person for 52 years? How, in today's day and age, where 1/3 of marriages in Australia end in divorce, did a marriage survive that long? Newman and Woodward may have been lucky, Newman summed Woodward up as being steak, but do people nowadays want some take-away in their relationship? A side of wedges instead of the healthier and safer side of salad to accompany their main meal?

Recently, their has been a spate of articles on cheating; but they have focused on women doing the cheating, more specifically married women cheating. I'm not saying that this is a startling new revelation; people have been cheating since the dawn of time, and I'm not saying that men cheating is any less offensive, but it seems just as many women as men are cheating, but they don't want to leave their marriages and in all other aspects then the bedroom, are happy.

The articles have exposed that these women don't want to leave their husbands, they often still love them, they just want that side of wedges as well. Women have always been depicted as the more sensible and caring of the species, but these articles have shone a light on a new breed of woman: they want their cake and eat it too, and they often don't care for the other woman or their husbands. According to the article that appeared in Cleo's January issue "High Infidelity", relationship expert Susan De Campo says that many women justify their affairs by blaming the wives, believing that they're filling a void in that person's life and vice versa. One woman told Cleo: "I don't really feel sorry for his partner, I don't think she gives him what he needs. But I keep it separate in my mind anyway."

For these women, their affairs are getting the fun stuff they want from a relationship, without the boring everyday stuff. These women are getting hot sex, presents and ego boosts and then going home to their husbands. But for all the ego stroking and mind blowing orgasms, it it worth the time and effort? One woman in an article in  The Age recently divulged that she had two phones; one for everyone including her husband and one for her lover, which she pulled apart and put together every time to text and ring to organise hook ups. Another woman has a special program on her computer that wipes the memory as soon as she turns it off, a rather expensive but necessary tool for her infidelity.

To these women, cheating is a way to keep themselves and their families happy; they don't want divorce and see this as a way to maintain the marriage; but is it unhealthy or could this be the way of the modern marriage? Is it downright unacceptable and these women should be burned at the stake? Or would this be acceptable if both parties knew about it and both could cheat? A new film coming out called "Hall Pass" addresses this issue when the wives and husbands give each other a hall pass (ie free pass) for one week to be with someone other then their partners. It will be interesting to see how this works; will each couple see the light and see that their partner is really the one for them, or will it wreck havoc and just point out the flaws in their marriage?

Are women better cheaters (ie smarter about it and therefor have been doing this for years without getting caught) or is it a "I deserve better then this" 2000s mentality?

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts.

PS: I would like to add that I am totally biased about cheating and  I don't condone it, but I was fascinated by these women and their ability to not feel guilty.

Quote Of The Day

"Why fool around with hamburger when you can have steak at home?"

-Paul Newman

Quote Of The Day

"In the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

-Abraham Lincoln

All's Fair In Love And War? Or Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned?

I didn't want to blog about this. I wanted to ignore it and hope that it went away, but alas, it hasn't. I doubt the writers who I admire and wrote those immortal words above, ever thought about Twitter, Facebook, nude scandal photos, Federal court cases, studio apartments and disowning parents, but I find that the two quotes above fit this little scenario perfectly.

For those of you who don't live in Victoria, this story has probably not even made a ripple in your pond, but for Melbournians, it's an ongoing tidal wave.

What is now well known is that last year a young girl fell in love with an AFL footballer and when things didn't work out, she posted nude photographs of his teammates on her Facebook page and then the whole of Melbourne discovered her pain.

Their are several reasons I wanted to ignore this. One, I was undecided how I felt about the whole situation: do I feel sorry for her or the footballer? Sure, something unfortunate has happened here but is she really campaigning for women everywhere, or is she setting us back about 40 years? This post is not here to try and decide who was right and who was wrong, and two I felt the young girl in the middle of this saga is too young to fully comprehend what she's doing, but what I do want to ask is this: do you think Australia places their athletes on a pedestal? Can our footballers, no matter what code they play, do no wrong in our eyes? Boys will be boys sort of thing or are they victims of eager, unstable women?

For now, the girl is being looked after by the St Kilda football club, something that she claimed she wanted from the start: for them to acknowledge that she had been poorly treated, but should the club as a whole have to take responsibility or should the individual footballer and even the girl take responsibility for their actions?

I hope for her sake she can move on from this and come out stronger and wiser.

But what do you all think? Can situations like this be avoided in the future? Or till the end of time will we be hearing about  drunken athletes and a girl who has been taken advantage of? As always, I'm eager to hear your thoughts.

Quote Of The Day

"Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden where the flowers are dead."

- Oscar Wilde

Quote Of The Day

"With people, as with pies, the upper crust is often the weakest."

-P.K Shaw

Australia: An Untamed And Restless Lover

As I watch from my safe and comparatively dry state at the horror that is rising in Queensland, I send silent prayers to those who have been effected and for the safe return of those 51 people who are still missing. I shake my head and wonder, how can one state burn while another is submerged? I am constantly amazed and shocked at the diversity and ferociousness that is Australia's landscape.

In Australia, if we're not burning, we're flooding, yet to find the happy medium of just right. It seems Australia is a violent lover, prone to fits of rage and drama and forever unsettled. Below is an iconic poem by Dorothea Mackellar, written in 1907 when she was in England and homesick for Australia. The poem has been mentioned a lot in the last few days and I think it sums Australia up beautifully.

When accusations and questions fly of who was at fault, let us remember: although this is tragic and reports suggest it will take two years for the state to recover, floods and bushfires are a natural part of Australia and have always happened, and will happen again, as sad as that is.  As Australian's we must be mindful of this and just do our best to support and help those effected. Read the poem and please  leave me your thoughts on the poem and if you think the floods could have been prevented.
 
           My Country

The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded lanes.
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins,
Strong love of grey-blue distance
Brown streams and soft dim skies
I know but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!

A stark white ring-barked forest
All tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot gold hush of noon.
Green tangle of the brushes,
Where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops
And ferns the warm dark soil.

Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When sick at heart, around us,
We see the cattle die -
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady, soaking rain.

Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the Rainbow Gold,
For flood and fire and famine,
She pays us back threefold -
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze.

An opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land -
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand -
Though earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.

By Dorothea Mackellar

Quote Of The Day

"I don't feel old. I don't feel anything until noon. Then it's time for my nap."

-Bob Hope

Reflection And To Infinity And Beyond

2010 was a big year for me and for those around me. My year began with me sleeping through the new year thanks to jet lag, but I awoke at 3am in frosty London; as a dear friend pointed out to me, how can 2010 be a bad year when it started it off so well?

For the next 5 weeks I sped through Europe, discovered the literary land of England, ate Haggis and backpacked through the Republic and Northern Ireland. Along the way I met amazing people, secured life long friends and learnt that I can survive on my own and that my sense of direction wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was.

I came home to a family that missed me and a wonderful man who understood how important this trip had been to me, even if it did mean I was somewhere in northern England when it was his birthday. When I came home I decided that 2010 was going to be my year: I was going to write my little arse off and leave the job that was strangling me.

After a few months back I left my job  to what I thought would be my dream job and foot in the door, when in fact I had never been further away from my dream. I learnt a lot, if anything, to listen to my instinct and follow it. Although the job posed to be my big break, I could never shake the questioning in my head and the voices that kept asking was this job right for me? It turned out it wasn't, and I left on my own terms and it was if a weight had been lifted when I handed my resignation letter in. I now am somewhere new and a new adventure has begun and this one lacks voices and a weight in my stomach.

2010 also brought with it the loss of a beautiful person in my life. A powerful flame that was extinguished far too early and made me remember once more that life is indeed a gift and one that shouldn't be taken for granted; it's the one gift you can't refund and no rainchecks are offered. It inspired me to live life to the full and spend more time with those I  love, something I hope to do more of  in 2011. As one friend left, another one entered thanks to work as I was  introduced  to a lovely girl with a fellow passion for writing and books and although she now resides in another country, I hope to stay in contact with her.

Friends were married and great parties were had, another sign that we are all moving ahead some on one path, some on a slightly curvier road, but all moving ahead with our lives. 2011 is already set to have more weddings and maybe even some babies and I'm looking forward to finding out what's around the corner.

After 20 long years deprived of a premiership, my beloved Magpies finally held the cup that had eluded them for so long. The Grand Final losses of 2002 and 2003 were still raw with me and I waited with baited breath to see what would happen in 2010, although it took two weeks to happen, Collingwood supporters around the country (yes, we are everywhere) could finally smile and say "we are the premiers."

This blog has had some spasmodic entries this year but it's never far from my thoughts about what I want to achieve from it. I promise that 2011 will bring with it new features, thought provoking issues and some fun mixed in there as well. So please, continue with me on this journey as we tackle issues that effect us and some that should just be known about.

Wishing you all a very happy, exciting and healthy new year,

Girl On A Soapbox

Quote Of The Day

"Half the things that people do not succeed in are through fear of making the attempt."

-James Northcote

I Heart Melbourne In September

September in Melbourne means a few things: Melbourne returns to a luscious green from the steely grey of winter, mist  hovers over the Yarra as rowers return and amble through the twists and turns, the Spring Racing Carnival begins and most importantly, it's AFL finals time.

There are I hear, some people in Victoria who don't care about AFL, but for the rest of the state, where upon meeting someone the second question out of your mouth is "who do you go for?" it's the best time of the year. Heartbeats quicken, palms go clammy, your voice goes hoarse from yelling. You make friends with complete strangers from the strong bond that is the love of your football team. If your team has made it into the top eight, the next four weeks of your life are going to be thrilling.

Of course, with the ecstasy comes the heartache and as each final is played, one team must leave and not return until the next year. 2010 saw the top four sides make it to the preliminary finals. What everyone thought would be 1 versus 2, has in fact become 1 versus 3. Collingwood and St Kilda will meet for a 1966 Grand Final re-match, one that this blogger hopes will have a different ending.

In 1966 St Kilda beat Collingwood by a point to win their only flag to date. St Kilda is hungry for a win, especially after Geelong deprived them of Grand Final glory last year, but the Magpie army is strong and has just as big an appetite.

All eyes will be on the MCG come Saturday and the ground will be a sea of black, white and I suppose some red. For those who love the game, it's bittersweet-we get to witness the two best teams of 2010 fight it out for the cup, but it also signifies the end of the home and away season, and no more football until the pre-season next March. For those who don't love the game (we have heard you exist) high-fives and "thank god that's over" can be heard. Perhaps move to New South Wales or Queensland?

Come Saturday, may the best team on the day win. Until next September. GO PIES!!!!!!!

Quote of the Day

"I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: 'no good in a bed, but fine against a wall''.

-Eleanor Roosevelt

Quote Of The Day

"To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first."

-William Shakespeare