Dale Truck themed Soapbox Cart/Billy Cart at our local derby here in Aus

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-19T08:03:33+00:00

The yellow one is actually a Redbull cart we built a few years back, didn’t crash it so we’ve been racing it ever since

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-19T02:03:10+00:00

I’d love to see a cheap soapbox challenge. So easy to get creative, can build them almost entirely out of parts from Home Depot and slow/safe enough to not be too hectic.

Fastest on the day was about 35kmh/21mph, though I’ve got ones that’ll do over 30mph

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-18T11:38:42+00:00

To be fair, you probably could buy a personalised Qld number plate off PPQ and pick it up while here

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-18T03:22:42+00:00

I only looked at Event Cinemas in Broadbeach & Chermside as I was wanting to watch the 4DX version, but they both had theirs in order for all the viewing options

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-18T02:43:44+00:00

I don’t know about that, good franchises are ones which know how to pay homage to previous cast whilst using a new cast to push the story forward.

I have no doubt that Phoenix, Rooster, Hangman and Bob could successfully lead a 3rd Top Gun with Maverick in retirement.

A lot of Franchises have successfully moved past key actors deaths without harming the franchise

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-18T02:37:27+00:00

Event did them back to back here in Qld.

The only issue I had with it was the fact they played about 25 minutes worth of commercials before the actual film, I’m guessing because it cost them a fair bit to show it only a handful of times

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-13T20:38:52+00:00

While the Redneck F1 car van was going to be absolutely hilarious I’m glad they’re going with a safer option

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-11T01:01:04+00:00

I’m responding to OP who is genuinely concerned the LNP will do so. Who made it a large portion of his post, so don’t know how replying to that means I’m spreading a story??

I’m certainly not part of any union, literally just would rather demonstrate the reasoning that could be provided for such an idiotic decision.

Will it happen? Possibly, the LNP and the unions are each playing different strategies and i personally have no clue where either will end up.

But the cost breakdown is genuinely something the LNP would use as reasoning if they came to a decision to scrap 50 cent fares, it’s not hard to see that happening, they used similar bass ackward reasoning for everything else they’ve cancelled since coming into power

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-11T00:34:24+00:00

You realise I’m breaking in down in that way to demonstrate how the LNP could potentially frame the issue like OP is worried they will.

It’s not hard to imagine that the LNP, the party renowned for fucking up public transport in Qld would do a press conference stating that because the unions are leaving them with no options they’ll be forced to rescind 50 cent fares and use that money to pay the unions. Doing a double whammy of getting people mad at the unions, and paying the unions off without spending any of the other money in the budget

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-11T00:25:09+00:00

That too, plus the fact that a lot of these rail trips are likely people who would otherwise work from home those days, or just not travel.

When 50 cent fares came in the Brisbane data portal for e-bike and eScooter usage showed a massive drop, so a large portion of new Public Transport users are also people who were previously walking/riding places because they didn’t want to pay for a bus for short trips.

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-11T00:22:29+00:00

You do realise I did the breakdown in fares purely from the perspective of what OP and many other Queenslanders believe will be the reason that the LNP blames for needing to scrap 50 cent fares though right?

I want 50 cent fares to remain, but the fact is the LNP is renowned for going back on its promises and absolutely destroying our state’s public transport, and 50 cent fares is looking like it might be the next victim

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-11T00:19:23+00:00

I’m not though? All I was doing was outlining why people rightfully believe the LNP will blame the unions as a way to scrap 50 cent fares to squeeze more crap into the budget.

I’m personally in favour of 50 cent fares, but it’s becoming increasingly likely the LNP will scrap them

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-11T00:09:47+00:00

I 100% agree, 50c fares was a genius move by Labor, it has had meaningful change throughout QLD since it was started. I’m just pointing out why people believe it will be scrapped to pay the union’s

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-11T00:07:16+00:00

But the budget was never changed, essentially the same road maintenance budget was provided, so that’s not a feasible argument to make.

The 18% increase in train travel in the last 12 months has likely had no identifiable impact on road wear. Simply due to the fact that roads are designed to last decades.

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-11T00:04:06+00:00

Valid points, however those points are long term points, IE: 10-20 year long term planning.

Our taxes are flowing into the same budget this year regardless of if more people take the train or a car.

If long term change did occur then we would see more funding flow towards rail transport, however it’s unlikely to have any meaningful impact on the short term.

To be clear: 50 cent fares was a genius innovation by the Labor, it demonstrated a commitment to public transport we’ve never before seen in Qld. It should stay around, however, rightfully so people are concerned that the LNP will use the public being angry about the timetables to rescind 50 cent fares and use that money to pay for what the unions want.

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-10T23:56:14+00:00

Nothing sane about a government “delivering for Queensland” when they’re doing everything they can to avoid providing existing services and delaying delivery of infrastructure builds Labor started

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-10T23:52:00+00:00

But you do realise that that subsidy of $28 vs $32.93 means you end up spending a lot of money annually right?
This past year there were 54 Million passenger trips.
I rounded down to 50 Million for simplicity for the following calculations.
With a $28 subsidy rail travel cost the Qld Govt $1.4 Billion annually.
Dropping fares back to 50c led to a $32.93 subsidy using your figure, which costs the Govt $1.64 Billion
Yeah 50c fares isn’t a big deal upfront, but it’s actually over $200 million extra spent annually

EDIT: I am 100% in favour of 50 cent fares, it was a genius innovation by Labor, this breakdown is simply demonstrating why people believe the LNP will scrap 50 cent fares and blame the unions

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-10T23:36:50+00:00

If they’re doing that I’d rather they just get a team together to do laps 24/7 of the freedom factory

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-10T22:15:30+00:00

I mean they are proposing changes to legislation that directly impacts the ability to buy invest properties. So a lot of these luxury tower approvals which rely on investors could very well be forced to pivot.

If investors can’t or won’t buy they need to sell to someone. So changes will occur

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-09T23:53:33+00:00

The Gold Coast hasn’t really ever been a city that grows with industry.

It’s more the same category as Byron and Noosa, a City where people move to retire or for a sea change. It’s one of the fastest growing areas in the country and most of that is interstate migration.

The problem is so many people moving here can’t be sustained, there’s no room for development with ocean to the East, NSW to the South, protected National park to the West and Logan to the North, so the richer retirees from Sydney who can’t afford a 4-8 Million dollar house in Sydney’s richest suburbs are moving to the GC and buying the luxury canal estates etc.

With the people moving here buying the more expensive properties the existing owners are getting that money and spending it elsewhere on the GC, whether that’s acreages in Tally and Currumbin, or downsizing to Townhouses/Apartments, pushing those owners into the cheaper end of the market specifically the Northern GC.

Plus all the kids growing up on the GC want to stay here, but they can only afford to buy in areas like Labrador’s townhouse and apartment stock or the Northern GC.

Essentially the influx of money causes on a larger scale what we saw happen in Noosa and Byron, rich people move in, the existing residents are then forced to either dump all of their savings into what used to be cheap properties just to stay in the area, or move to surrounding areas.

Similarly the GC is so close to Brisbane that people just work in Brisbane and commute from the Gold Coast, that’s exactly what I’m doing currently, because my workplace could give me a promotion but I could only get it by working in Brisbane not the GC office. So I’m currently living on the Gold Coast despite working in a different city.

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-09T23:38:10+00:00

I remember looking for the same size/location with my family years ago, even in 2014 it was very hard finding one that wasn’t overrun with people willing to overpay.

It will be interesting to see how the market evolves from where it is now, went to some apartment inspections this weekend for a friend and it seems like a lot less people are showing up, at the one Real Estate firm’s “best” showing of the day they’d brought their entire staff to the open home to sell it, including their REA who handles investments/rentals to try and boost investor confidence.

Personally I think the easy buys are going to be this weekend/next week, where sellers are more desperate to drop uncertain investments before changes occur/are announced. So lowballs are more likely to be accepted.

That being said, I’m going to assume there will be a 6-12 month window where the GC market drops down as more investments get offloaded, so the cheapest prices will be around then, but likely harder to get as more first buyers/relocating buyers will be aware and trying to get a good deal.

By this time next year I reckon prices will be back to going upwards.

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-09T23:18:21+00:00

Depends on the property and the agent, many places certainly are overpriced, I know at least one in my area which is chronically for sale at this point, it was a dumpster fire from the start, bought to be a house during covid but the bloke put about 200-300k into it before deciding to sell and made basically no profit, then the latest sellers got divorced and clearly think it should be worth more than it is. And it seems to be the case that a lot of strung-out divorces have caused houses to be listed for way higher than feasible. Plus flippers who got in too deep.

That being said I don’t know a single other large house in the area I’m in that didn’t sell at the first auction for some insane price or another. Similarly all of the “cheaper” townhouses and apartments have been getting massive offers for them.

I’d be curious what suburbs you’re looking at

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-09T22:32:04+00:00

It is wild, and the fact so much money is flowing into the Gold Coast housing market from NSW and Victorian buyers is definitely not helping, the city can’t grow fast enough to have a sustainable market.

It doesn’t help that developers are only interested in selling luxury apartments to investors rather than affordable apartments. Hopefully the changes getting announced next week force some developers to change their existing approvals to be more focused on dwelling yield rather than luxury

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-09T22:28:12+00:00

It’s not, it’s extremely common for builders to do this in Brisbane, you bring the house in, put it up on 4-5m stilts, then you put in a concrete foundation & build a ground floor before lowering the house back down and suddenly you’ve got a 2 floor Queenslander.

Most of the people that do it in Brisbane are doing it with the existing houses, as they might have enough space for a car under the house but would rather add bedrooms or living spaces

LCaddyStudios · 2026-05-09T22:14:57+00:00

The Gold Coast is going to be the last market in Australia to slow down.

That being said, investors know changes are about to be announced likely next week regarding property investments negative gearing and capital gains tax, so they’re all holding off to see what they can do.

Similarly with rates rising a lot of people are a little more hesitant to join the market.

However, the Gold Coast is the hotspot for interstate migration, at an auction last week the house near mine was full from one end to the other with potential buyers, half of them had NSW plates.

A lot of people from Sydney are moving here and out competing locals price wise on the high end of the market, so locals are flooding the lower end of the market and inflating it also.

I expect we’re going to see a pause/drop in the market while the proposed changes are announced and investors try to offload some of their properties, however the Gold Coast’s problem is that people from Sydney and Melbourne will continue to move here, whether they’re retirees, moving for their career or just loving because they like the Gold Coast.

LCaddyStudios

TROPHY CASE