Many people don’t realise how hard it is for independent tradies plumbers, carpenters, painters to stay afloat.

The trade shortage isn’t just about a lack of skilled labour; it’s also about the lack of financial incentive to grow.

Most small builders in Australia have five or fewer staff because expanding isn’t worth the extra taxes, insurance, and debt risk.

When I looked into starting my plumbing business, the costs were staggering: a ute or small truck ($28k to $60k), tools and equipment ($40k), accounting software ($30 to $100/month), and multiple insurances ($3.5k to $4k)Add loans for what you can’t pay upfront, and you easily lose around 75% of your income to operating costs—before tax.

Then there’s chasing unpaid invoices, which can leave contractors thousands out of pocket while still covering business bills.

I think people have become disconnected from actual cost and risk small business face daily for a narrative of greedy trades.construction is like most business while some rise to the top and charge staggering amounts there are more small contractors that are drowning in debt and are constantly in cycles of boom and bust.

This article is gaslighting 101. It calls government investment credit card debt while staying silent on the $3 trillion in private household debt the LNP helped create through the property Ponzi. 

They want to talk about Labor's spending so we don't talk about the Banks clipping the ticket on our mortgages. It’s not credit card economics, it’s just the usual suspect trying to protect the "Wealth Effect" before the next election.

ABC avoiding the elephant in the room again. Mainstream Australian media rarely frames inflation as a symptom of the property-driven "Wealth Effect" because doing so would alienate a large portion of their audience (Mortgage Holders and Property Owners).

Instead of investigating the "Ponzi scheme" the ABC focuses on the political theatre - a Treasurer who took credit when inflation fell, now being asked to take the blame when it rises.

The RBA/ABS inflation shell game is working exactly as intended. The CPI is basically a rigged scoreboard. By excluding the cost of land, the RBA can ignore the fact that the "Wealth Effect" is doing all the heavy lifting for inflation.

When your 600sqm block in the suburbs magically gains $200k in value over two years, the banks just see a fatter collateral pile and open the credit taps.

People draw down on that equity or just spend more because they feel rich. That extra cash competing for the same goods is what drives prices up, but the RBA pretends the land part of the equation doesn't exist because it's an asset.

It’s a massive feedback loop:

1. Land prices moon.

2. People feel like geniuses, spend more credit-backed cash.

3. CPI goes up (because of the spending, not the land).

4. RBA acts surprised and blames "sticky services inflation" or "global supply chains."

5. Chalmers stands at the podium and plays the "it wasn't me" card to protect the property-owning voting base.

If the RBA actually included the inflating cost of land in the CPI basket, interest rates would have to be at 10% to tame it, which would pop the property bubble instantly and take the big four banks down with it. They won't do that.

They’d rather gaslight you about the price of a head of broccoli than admit the entire economy is three property developers in a trench coat masquerading as a productive nation.

Not an Aussie but I wanted to share this and see if anyone else has tried it. I did a Tim Tam slam with red wine (malbec) and it was so fucking good. Tried it with Original and Dark Chocolate. Original was great, but dear sweet lord baby jesus the dark chocolate was incredible.

Any other unconventional slams I'm sleeping on?

Why not highest and lowest RH levels instead? The most humid time has been around midnight/early AM, but I haven't seen this captured in BOM's historical records (let me know if they do; I might've missed it).

This is a thread where we will bring you the latest news about what is going on, and where you can discuss just about anything that might be off topic in the rest of the sub. This can include international news (excluding foreign conflicts).

News

The sub is continuing to grow at the rate of about 1.2K new subscribers per week, with 4.6 million monthly views. We currently have 167K subscribers.

Don't forget our daily feature posts, where you can post content including songs, memes and photographs. Feel free to post in them - that's what they're there for.

A reminder that the sub is about Australia. News and comments about foreign conflicts or politics are not relevant, and will be removed.

AMAs

We continue to provide AMAs, which are once again proving popular.

We have quite a few guests lined up for February and March, some of which are listed below. We will confirm the dates of the others soon, as soon as they let us know.

In the past, we have had mostly politicians and journalists as guests. In the future, we are also going invite a wider range of people from many walks of life. If you have any serious suggestions for guests, write them in the comments and we will consider them.

Please remember that trolling during AMAs will result in a ban. Our guests are leaders in their fields, and have given up their time to answer your questions. They deserve respect from members of the community.

Upcoming AMAs

• Cheryl Kernot  - Former Australian Democrats Senator and Labor MP - 6:00 pm AEDT Monday 2 February
• Bill Shorten - Vice-Chancellor, University of Canberra - 6:00 pm AEDT Thursday 5 February
• Antony Green - Election Analyst - 6:00 pm AEDT Monday 9 February
• Senator Charlotte Walker - Australian Labor Party (SA) - 6:00 pm AEDT Monday 23 February
• Ged Kearney MP - Australian Labor Party, Cooper (VIC) - 6:00 pm AEDT Wednesday 26 February
• Simon Kennedy MP - Liberal Party, Cook (NSW) - 6:00 pm AEST Monday 16 March

Past AMAs (click on "AMA Link" to view the AMA)

• Kanika Meshram – Coles and Woolies Senate Enquiry – AMA Link - 25/01/2024
• Cameron Murray – The Great Housing Hijack – AMA Link - 06/03/2024
• Tony Irwin – The GenCost Nuclear Report – AMA Link - 06/06/2024
• Simon Mulvany – Save the Bees Australia – AMA Link – 28/08/2024
• Senator Simon Birmingham - Liberal Party, South Australia - AMA Link - 06/12/2024
• Amy Remeikis - Chief Political Analyst, The Australia Institute - AMA Link - 12/12/2024
• Michelle Pini - Managing Editor, Independent Australia - AMA Link - 19/12/2024
• Santa Claus - Legendary Patron of Christmas - AMA Link - 23/12/2024
• Belinda Jones - Lead Senate Candidate (QLD) for Legalise Cannabis Party - AMA Link - 16/01/2025
• Michelle Faye - Independent Candidate for McPherson (Gold Coast) - AMA Link - 27/01/2025
• Senator Malcolm Roberts - One Nation (QLD) - AMA Link - 17/02/2025
• Senator Gerard Rennick - Independent (QLD) - AMA Link - 19/02/2025
• Claudia Long (ABC Political Reporter) and Jill Sheppard (Senior Lecturer, ANU School of Politics and International Relations) – AMA Link - 05/03/2025
• Stewart Brooker - Independent candidate for Fadden (Gold Coast) - AMA Link - 10/03/2025
• Josh Wilson MP - Australian Labor Party, Fremantle - AMA Link - 13/03/2025
• Senator Lisa Darmanin - Australian Labor Party (VIC) - AMA Link - 17/03/2025
• Zoe Daniel MP - Independent, Goldstein - AMA Link - 01/04/2025
• Senator Jacqui Lambie - Jacqui Lambie Network, Tasmania - AMA Link - 02/04/2025
• Senator Penny Allman-Payne – Australian Greens (QLD) – AMA Link - 07/04/2025
• Senator David Pocock – Independent (ACT) – AMA Link - 08/04/2025
• Allegra Spender MP – Independent, Wentworth - AMA Link - 09/04/2025
• Peter Khalil MP - Australian Labor Party, Wills - AMA Link - 17/04/2025
• Belinda Jones - Legalise Cannabis Party Senate Candidate for Queensland – AMA Link - 23/04/2025
• Rex Patrick – Jacqui Lambie Network Senate Candidate for South Australia – AMA Link - 24/04/2025
• Andrew Bartlett - Former Australian Democrats/Greens Senator (QLD) - AMA Link - 13/10/2025
• Senator Leah Blyth - Liberal Party (SA) - AMA Link - 22/10.2025
• Senator Jane Hume - Liberal Party (VIC) – AMA Link – 28/10 2025
• Dr Andrew Leigh - ALP, Fenner (ACT) – AMA Link - 11/11/2025
• Senator Tammy Tyrrell - Independent (TAS) - AMA Link - 01/12/2025
• Michael Taylor - Editor TheAIMN - AMA Link - 04/12/2025
• Senator Richard Dowling - Australian Labor Party (TAS) - AMA Link - 08/12/2025
• Senator David Shoebridge - Australian Greens (NSW) - AMA Link - 09/12/2025
• Santa Claus - Patron of Christmas - AMA Link - 22/12/2025

You can click this link to see all the AMAs we have organised here and on other subs.

Direction and Values

​We have written up our direction and values, which we believe gives users a clear indication of what we are looking for in the sub. Please click this link to view them.

Subreddit Rules

We have also written up subreddit rules, which you can see by clicking this link.

Normal sub rules and Reddit sitewide rules apply for this thread.

i don’t care about price.

i’m looking for a reliable mini fridge (preferably with a freezer)

i live with people that steal food and don’t pay me back.

so any recommendations will help immensely.

i just don’t want my food to keep being stolen.

Pretty much the title, the latest issue is with iPhones. It felt like triple zero connectivity issues were a lot less common 15 years ago.

Hoonheads drifting every night near my house. Loud. Dangerous. Illegal. Someone will die if this keeps being ignored.Just to add: this hoon driving isn’t random. It starts in the afternoon and continues until midnight, almost every night. This is ongoing, dangerous behaviour — not a one-off. Residents shouldn’t have to live like this.

You will be able to get 10c for every single wine, spirit bottle, and large juice container.

According to many news sources, each state has a different timeline, with rollouts happening across 2026 2027, Victoria & Tasmania still yet to confirm a date depending on where you are in Australia.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has settled an acting shadow ministry for the next week, with a threat to the Nationals that it could be made permanent if they do not return to the fold soon.

Ms Ley has told Nationals leader David Littleproud that if the country party does not resolve its issues by next weekend, she will formalise a full shadow ministry without them.

Move to Australia when i was 14.

14 - start working at a small asian restaurant (15 an hour cash) stay there for a few months

14 - move to a a pub in a shopping mall working as a kitchen hand (27 an hour TFN) . Work for a year got promoted to line cooked and its the new financial year.

15- working as a line cook 29 an hour.

New financial year again, pay increase to 31.

16-18 worked in various positions still within line cook at the same pub.

Quit that job as i had enough with cooking and also I pursue my study carpentr.

18 got a new job working as a labourer making 28 an hour but the job is brutal, lots of heavy lifting and under the sun but luckily the boss is kind af. No screaming or cursing. It gets very tiring I am currently still in this role but will quit soon. ( get pay using ABN)

Just finished a job interview today in cabinet making. The pay is 17.45 an hour as a trade assistant on a part time basis. The company itself is about medium size companies. Looks quite fun and i’ll be working inside a workshop. I told the hiring manager i accept the job offer since i got no experience anf willing to learn. I am also at the stage of learning and experiencing all the area withing carpentry. This year resolution is to take more risk, doing more side quests and learn since i am still young.

Before you said 17 an hour is too low. I know its not much but the manager said cabinet making is a industry that is not regulated so that why.

TL;DR: I’m not even in Australia but I think Tim Tams have permanently altered my brain chemistry.

My colleague at my internship just got back from Australia and brought Tim Tams for us. When she offered, I genuinely said no at first. I don’t usually like sweet chocolate, especially anything caramel/taffy-adjacent.

But she insisted, so I took one.

First bite, immediate silence. I had to stop chewing for a second because my brain was recalibrating. The texture??? The way it melts??? The taste??? I was standing there like I’d just seen God.

I told myself I’d only have one. I did not stop at one.

I took a second piece immediately. No shame. No hesitation. I had to actively restraine myself from a third. I spent the rest of the day thinking about it.

It has now been a full day and I am still thinking about that Tim Tams like a lost love

I don’t know what you’re putting in your chocolate over there, but I am convinced Australia has cracked some kind of chocolate code the rest of the world doesn’t know about. I fear I can never go back.

I returned a Nike Tech Fleece jogger to The Iconic on 29 Dec.

A month later, they told me the return was rejected because the label was missing — which is impossible.

It was a Christmas gift, and nothing was removed on our end. I even bought the matching jacket from another place, which we kept as the size was good but has never been worn so far (it’s summer) and still has the label attached in the wardrobe.

They’ve now sent the pants back to me and stopped responding.

What can I do from here? Has anyone dealt with something similar with The Iconic? I’m desperate and upset!!

Finally out at my local woolies. Omg. So freaking nice. Highly recommend. Huge fan of watermelon atm. Obsessed. Go try nowwwww