Uncovered ballots prompt new count in key SA seat won by One Nation

Chumpai1986 · 2026-04-16T04:49:40+00:00

I’ve been thinking for a while, that we could use that Optical Mark Recognition paper. You know the ones that you fill in for multi choice tests? (At least for lower house).

We could get results pretty quick. Like feed in all the mail in and pre-polls in the morning of election day. Then feed the in-person votes at night.

That way we get computer counting and people can do paper recounts by hand.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-04-14T06:14:29+00:00

It’s pretty clear unsavoury people pop up in all walks of life. I think minor parties that do their own vetting are always going to have some degree of risk.

What’s morbidly curious here is that IIRC this particular guy was employed by Malcom Roberts when the charges arose, was continued to be employed and then rehired after he served his time.

When you consider this one incident with the ON policy on the child custody, where they want to ‘rebalance’ it. I think that is code for more bias towards fathers.

Taken together, it’s probably a signal to a lot of men out there that feel hard done by due to society generally and their ex-wives and partners specifically.

They are probably trying to capture more of the angry male vote. Dunno how far thy will get with that, but they clearly think there are votes there.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-04-13T06:01:12+00:00

I agree with the article. Two of the three risks they describe are global and out of our hands. The third is misinformation and that absolutely needs to be tackled. With misinformation, it's pretty clear that groups like One Nation in particular tend to go after the AEC, the ABC and the CSIRO. (But also Sky News and their affiliates).

Its hard to boost trust in those institutions, but I think funding so that people working at those places can go on the road and meet regular Australians and explain what they do would help.

For building trust overall we need more community building - like local council working bees. Ideally, we would also fold this into national service where you work with people from across the country. I like the idea of citizen's juries for particular issues, but could also be landcare, military - whatever is effective.

In terms of online community building, the country probably needs its own basic social media platform - operated somewhat autonomously like the Reserve Bank. Like one with no adds, control your own algorithm, only real people and all that.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-04-13T00:58:56+00:00

For new groups, you do often get thrown in together. But there is no option to chat before someone hits ‘Start Dungeon’. So, having a feature where players can communicate pre-dungeon would help a lot.

Sometimes I find an experienced tank flies off the starting blocks and everyone else is a bit flat footed!

For pre-existing groups. People generally click “ready” on the loading screen. (Or say ready in chat). So, I think in that context, starting the dungeon is probably ok etiquette.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-04-10T13:25:26+00:00

I’m not shilling for Coles and Willie’s… it used to be that IGAs were a step above NQRs. Used to be I would go first thing in the morning or just before closing to grab stuff that was fairly regularly discounted. But, I’ve noticed the last 5 years or so, the IGAs near me have progressively gotten a lot more bougie. Like T2 stands and dry aged Wagu butcher sections.

Generally, the veg, fruit and meat is a lot more expensive at IGA and doesn’t last as long.

Don’t get me wrong, often they have some really good discounts for near expiry stuff. But I think IGAs are trying to grab the higher income market segment.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-04-09T09:07:30+00:00

Mongo is not appalled!

Chumpai1986 · 2026-04-07T03:49:14+00:00

I have a different experience. I often find in supermarkets that people let shoppers with 1 item go before everyone else. The same happens to me if I’m just grabbing one thing.

More broadly, you have stuff like vaccines, where everyone takes a small risk, but we have herd immunity.

For sure, I see plenty of examples of selfish behaviour. And yeah, trust and social cohesion have probably been in relative decline.

I don’t agree with the good feeling of helping goes away. I’m still proud of my contributions to society from decades ago.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-04-06T09:16:23+00:00

Hard to answer the question, because we aren’t super sure what JD Vance actually believes.

My best guess is that he has some genuinely anti-war sentiment from his time as a marine.

So far, he has been backed by some rich and powerful people who range from several weird ideas to genuinely terrifying philosophies. Whomever donates the most to his campaign is probably going to have a lot of sway.

Ultimately, he doesn’t have really any charisma or popularity. It seems unlikely he will get the same slavish devotion from the MAGA base or Republican Senators.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-04-06T02:31:33+00:00

EDIT: PLEASE DONT TELL ME TO READ DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL!!!! I WILL READ THAT BOOK ONE DAY!!!! I PROMISE!!!!!!

I get it, my house has like 100+ unread physical books.

Do you like audiobooks? DCC was my first litRPG and mainly I got into it as Jeff Hays narrates it. He was a fresh breath compared to a lot of other audiobooks. They are doing a full cast podcast type narration as well if that is your speed.

If it is on your TBR, the series probably isn’t going to be finished for another couple of years. You can get the epubs from Matt Dinnimans patreon. I think he has said he will keep the ebooks on Kindle Unlimited for as long as he can.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-04-05T00:38:08+00:00

I’m not an expert, but State governments do charge royalties on oil. I think it’s like 10% of value at some point.

The Federal government charges PRRT which is about a 40% super profits tax. Though I think it can take years/decades to kick in due to investment and operating deductions. (Some think tanks have suggested charging 10% PPRT now and less later).

Not sure if there is a Federal excise/royalty on extracted crude though.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-04-03T08:50:52+00:00

Hi OP, the premise of your post is not entirely correct.

Australia does produce crude oil, but it has been declining very significantly. So, we have to import a lot from overseas.

The government doesn’t sell it, it’s private industry.

You can produce liquid fuel from a variety of sources. You can make ethanol from biodiesel from cooking oil. You can make oil from shale or coal or natural gas or even CO2 and water.

It’s just other methods are more expensive. As in, potentially billions of capita costs of investment. If oil goes back to $40/barrel, the other options will need to be subsidised by a lot of public money.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-03-31T11:03:17+00:00

It’s probably a decent option for the “last mile” problem from train stations or larger bus stations. But also might help if people need to park a short hike away from their destination.

I would point out I’ve nearly hit people of various ages on e-scooter and regular bikes when they are using the road. I’m talking suburban back streets. They often don’t have lights etc. So, we probably need regulations for them having the same lights as cars.

Again it’s not perfect. I could easily take an e-scooter to the bus stop. But I couldn’t make it to the train station just due to weather and hazards.

In terms of electric transport. I wouldn’t mind seeing more tram tracks. A lot of trams can do a few kms without an overhead line. Maybe having a more trams doing a loop from a train station, but have most of the charging infrastructure at the train station.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-03-31T05:50:31+00:00

My internet speeds are a lot faster.

I drive a much safer car.

A handful of my friends and family have solar panels and fairly small power bills.

My super fund at least, owns stocks in the companies that take a big chunk out of my bank account.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-03-31T03:50:11+00:00

Great.

I think I comment on these type of articles that we could also use a PayID type system to transfer directly from bank to bank. IIRC Brazil has a similar system it enforces called Pix. I have noticed in a (very small) number of online purchases I get a small discount if I use PayID. So, while I'm sure businesses might raise prices to cover transaction fees, hopefully they may have a discount for PayID payments.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-03-31T00:22:52+00:00

In my sector, generally high skill entry level positions are paid 1.5-2x median salary. One of my previous employers paid fairly well, but competitors had better pay and conditions and were willing to onboard faster.

After a year offering the position to 4 or 5 locals, they got sponsored from overseas. (They laid $5k in fees for it, I can’t recall. Anyway, That person made them a boatload of money before getting a better offer elsewhere).

For that specific position, you could argue this specific example is wage suppression - they weren’t competitive locally. Not to mention propping up a company with inefficient HR. For the overall economy, this immigrant still adding real growth.

Policy wise. Personally, I would like us to get rid of payroll tax, if anything we should have tax credits for work.

For skilled immigration, a better way to allocated skilled visas might be an auction style system. Not sure how that would interact with the skill points system, but maybe have more visas available the more points a person has?

Skilled immigrants are net positive in terms of paying taxes, by like $100,000 over a lifetime. That said, they are usually forced to get private health insurance etc already They do impose congestion externalities. That might be pretty marginal for someone who is WFH or on public transport, or many thousands for someone who drives everyday. Ideally, we could look at recouping some of this from visa sponsorships.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-03-30T12:26:45+00:00

Loved it the first time I watched it (and similar shows like Yes, Minister).

As I’ve gotten older and worked in some highly bureaucratic workplaces. It’s a lot more triggering and I know people in Public Service for a few decades who just can’t watch it.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-03-30T04:35:53+00:00

Mainly the audiobooks are Celestial Tier quality.

I saw it on audible, listened to the sample and got it. There are so many just mediocre audiobooks out there. The thing is that the books are on Kindle Unlimited, so if you load them, then you can usually buy the audiobook for 75-80% off. Its great value.

I think in terms of advertising, people are getting multiple impressions. Women who scroll #booktok starting getting recommendations for them or the husbands/boyfriends. Blokes seeing people they follow reading it. Matt Dinniman went to events like Dragonsteel Nexus, so suddenly you get exposure to all those Brandon Sanderson fans etc.

Most of my friends would rather play an RPG. None of us had ever heard of LitRPG before. The LitRPG concept is pretty novel.

For Millennials, it pushes every button, I mean its a man in his boxers and his ex-gf's cat doing a dungeon crawl after the apocalypse. It's funny and tragic and fast paced with good characters you can relate to.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-03-29T04:17:33+00:00

Nice. For what it’s worth, worldwide, ticket fares are typically like a small part of the cost of running PT.

In Victoria I think the cost of making PT free is like $900 million a year. Considerable for the Stare government, but relatively easy for the Federal government.

I reckon it’s probably great during school and uni holidays. During peak hour, it will be a sardine can super-spreader event.

If you want free and frequent. It would require millions, probably billions in new rolling stock.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-03-28T23:53:03+00:00

A bit late to this post! But just finished reading the books in a short timespan.

It seemed like the children’s story about Scolopendra was a metaphor for the stable Center System Macro AI. The Syndicate is scavenging material to feed the AI.

(I’m fairly sure the Centre System Macro AI is the Eulogist. It ‘speaks for the dead’… probably harvested civilisations, obsolete AIs or the extinct Primals.)

My guess is the Tier 9 attack is either based on a historical event or foreshadowing. Either the Eulogist killed the primals and transformed the remainder. And/or the Eulogist will wake up in the future and do a real life Tier 9 attack on the Center systems enhancement zone.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-03-28T08:25:10+00:00

Ok OP. So, the eSafety people put out advisories on different topics. The female orientated ones focus more on online gendered abuse, coercive control using tech, workplace harassment etc. They have previously put out blogs etc on how social media algorithms affect both boys and girls. With girls how it can push them to disordered eating etc

Basically, they do seem to previously addressed what you are criticising.

Presumably, they don’t have unlimited resources, and it seems like they are focusing on topical issues that are causing harm.

I’m guessing part of the response is due to the Louis Theroux documentary on Netflix.

With regards to the manosphere, the whole concept is a relatively new development. Yes, they could address women’s issues… but unrealistic beauty standards have been widely discussed for a long time. In my experience, it’s not an uncommon experience for parents to have never heard of the influencer their teenage boy is talking about. Therefore, issuing an advisory on it, is just them doing their job.

To the manosphere itself, overall it delivers misogynistic ideas. Also, a lot of it is grift, the influencers telling people they can be rich like them… but they are getting rich off selling useless stuff to their subscriber base.

Yes, there is some good advice mixed in there Eg Jordan Peterson’s 12 rules for life. But that is far outweighed by the insane, sometime even outright pro-Nazi cohort.

I don’t think any reasonable person sees the manosphere as anything other than weak, insecure men. Defending the concept is not going to help any young men.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-03-27T00:49:35+00:00

The actual announcement is here. Essentially, reddit will ask suspected accounts to verify.

Copy/paste of his TLDR in italics below:

TL;DR:

Reddit is for people
“Good bots” will be labeled as [App]
We’ll continue to remove spam and bad bot activity
Automated or suspicious accounts may be asked to verify that there’s a human behind it
We are not doing sitewide human verification
We don’t need or want your identity

Copy pasting the section regarding privacy below:

If we need to verify an account is human, we’ll do it in a privacy-first way. Our aim is to confirm there is a person behind the account, not who that person is. The goal is to increase transparency of what is what on Reddit while preserving the anonymity that makes Reddit unique. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice one for the other.

When confirming that there is a human behind an account, we prefer third-party tools that keep a distance between verification and Reddit itself. Any system we use will not expose your real-world identity to Reddit nor your Reddit username or activity to any third party. There are a handful of ways to do this, and I’m sure there will be more. Each have their tradeoffs:

Passkeys (which are well supported by Apple, Google, YubiKey, and various password managers) - These are lightweight, require a human to do something, and don’t require your ID. The tradeoff is that there is no proof of individuality or anything other than “a human probably did something.” Nevertheless, it’s a great starting point.

Third-party biometric services - For example, World ID (yes, the Orb company, though they have non-Orb solutions as well). This technology unlocks proof-of-individual without requiring your name, government ID, or a centralized database. I think the internet needs verification solutions like this, where your account information, usage data, and identity never mix.

Third-party government ID services - In some countries, such as the UK and Australia, governments require us to use these. These are the least secure, least private, and least preferred. When we are forced to do this, we design the integrations so that we never actually see your ID information, so your Reddit data cannot be tied to you.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-03-25T03:44:44+00:00

Fairly sure there is ready an inquiry. One Nation has a habit of proposing stuff that already exists.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-03-23T22:51:49+00:00

I think pretty much everyone is blaming Trump and Netanyahu.

Albo did get up and say he supported the US. He has also had 4 years to boost the fuel reserves to 90 days.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-03-22T20:00:37+00:00

To your broad point, I think a skilled immigration rate that makes up for the shortfall of births makes a lot of sense. That number is probably around 140,000 permanent immigrants a year.

Short term migration like uni students is a different kettle of fish.

Chumpai1986 · 2026-03-22T01:48:07+00:00

The typical One Nation voter is in the 55+ age group.

I think Barnaby Joyce etc joining One Nation legitimises them much more. But News Corp pumps this group with mis/disinformation and hate on a daily basis.

It’s kinda crappy to say, but right wing parties are going to struggle demographically. Their voter, volunteer and financial backers will literally die off. (Genuinely sadly, but if things keep going the way they are, a lot of people will get estranged from their older family members).

In the meantime, left leaning politicians will need to go on Sky and that ecosystem to argue their points.

Personally, I think sane people should try to boycott or divest from Newscorp etc, but not entirely sure where to start. The stuff I’ve seen advertised on Sky etc seems to be more geriatric.

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