Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK

21.3K posts

Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK

@itjohnstone

Perth - Geneva - Madison - Reading - Melbourne

Melbourne, Australia Katılım Eylül 2012

2.7K Takip Edilen2.2K Takipçiler

Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK@itjohnstone·15h

@thomasforth How'd it look with radius 1 mile or 2km? Not discounting your points about urban public transport (& don't forget cycling infrastructure). But in my experience Dutch cities have far less separation between residential & commercial, with more residential in city centres.

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Tom Forth@thomasforth·2d

600k people live within 5 miles of Leeds City Centre. 600k people live within 5 miles of Rotterdam City Centre. Exactly the same density. Rotterdam's GDP/capita is 50% (fifty percent) higher. What's the difference? It's not really density is it.

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Tom Forth@thomasforth·2d

I think this is now wrong. North English Cities are now just as dense as their European equivalents like Amsterdam, Hamburg, Copenhagen, etc... with extremely strong economies. There are some different patterns within that density I admit, but I don't think it matters much.

Centre for Cities@CentreforCities

Britain's housing crisis and the economic growth of its major cities hinge on embracing higher urban density. This involves constructing more mid-rise residences in city centers, including London, backed by bold planning reforms and proactive public leadership👇 buff.ly/R3r2za7

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Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK@itjohnstone·16h

@b_leeder @DavidPocock "windfalls flow through" - classic trickle down language.

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Interested Outsider@b_leeder·17h

@itjohnstone @DavidPocock Governments get 30-50% of the profits as it is, windfalls flow through (you wouldn't think it if AI prop is all you read though). PRRT will actually work as intended over the next 2-3 years if prices remain elevated too. Pocock, Monique & the Teals don't want their fans to know

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David Pocock@DavidPocock·18h

Looks like the government might finally be caving to the pressure myself, others on the crossbench & especially Australians in communities across the country have been putting on them to tax gas companies making wartime profits. Australians are already paying more on petrol & we shouldn’t be paying more on beer excise than the government gets for Petroleum Resources Rent Tax (PRRT). It’s encouraging to see Treasury modelling changes to the way gas is taxed. We should have a flat 25% tax on all gas exports & enough gas exports diverted into an east coast gas reservation & we need both now. abc.net.au/news/2026-03-2…

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Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK@itjohnstone·16h

@b_leeder @DavidPocock OK - so your suggestion is business as usual where Australian resources are given away with little in return. You could just say so, rather than responding in a succession of cryptic short messages ;-)

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Interested Outsider@b_leeder·17h

@itjohnstone @DavidPocock No. Equity stakes bought 40-50 years ago would look pretty nice now, but we are still a country that encourages private investment ... that is at risk once you start introducing retrospective windfalls profits taxes (as we've seen recently in the UK & Queensland)

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Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK@itjohnstone·17h

@b_leeder @DavidPocock So you're arguing we should be nationalising things, or at least entering the market with some state-owned corporations or buying a stake in some?

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Interested Outsider@b_leeder·17h

@itjohnstone @DavidPocock We do not have capital at risk in the way the countries you mentioned do. It’s the difference the amateur institute deliberately leaves out.

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Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK@itjohnstone·17h

@b_leeder @DavidPocock We are owners of our natural resources. We give them away more or less for free. Charging for them makes sense ethically & economically. It's what other major nations do. Yes - they have state owned corps, but also major investment from private ones like Shell.

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Interested Outsider@b_leeder·17h

@itjohnstone @DavidPocock They are owners ... not that the Amateur Institute would tell their fans such ...

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Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK@itjohnstone·17h

@DavidPocock Framing can make a big difference when trying to gain public & political support. The word "tax" is a bit toxic in this regard. The framing should be payment for access/purchase of Australian raw materials. Or a royalty on their use.

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Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK@itjohnstone·17h

@b_leeder @DavidPocock Disastrous like similar taxes have been for middle east nations and Norway?

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Interested Outsider@b_leeder·18h

@DavidPocock This would likely be disastrous for the future & investment, but I think that is the Amateur Institute's aim.

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Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK@itjohnstone·1d

@TMFScottP Q is whether the operators have repaired/replaced, as opposed to whether it would be sensible to do so. Short-termism in leadership is pretty rife. As for regulations, I agree. But there is often a lot of wastage or bureaucracy tied to them. In all walks of life in Australia.

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Scott Phillips@TMFScottP·1d

@itjohnstone And if regs means safety, then I'm okay with them!

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Scott Phillips@TMFScottP·1d

Bloody hell... here we go again. More corporate welfare on the taxpayers' dime. Fuel will cost more, as a result. No, not at the pump, but the pump price *plus* the portion of your taxes that prop these places up.

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Dr Monique Ryan MP@Mon4Kooyong·1d

We can’t call ourselves a “clever country” if we refuse to properly fund science. Many Australian researchers spend more than 30% of their working year writing grant applications with a less than 10% chance of success. That's a major drag on a sector which the government says is key to productivity gains. theage.com.au/national/austr…

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Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK@itjohnstone·1d

@Mon4Kooyong It's worse than stats suggest. Because draft grant proposals go through institutional review before NHMRC submission. Many get cut at that stage. True success rate is probably closer to 5%. And then there are many researchers who've made the (rational) decision to stop trying.

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Dr Monique Ryan MP@Mon4Kooyong·1d

Australia’s research and development system is in dire straits. Minister Ayres should urgently implement the recommendations of the SERD review, which received an overwhelming number of submissions calling for reform, not ask for more public commentary. The experts have spoken. The time to act is now.

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Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK@itjohnstone·1d

@TMFScottP The 4 things that are commonly mentioned are: scale, labour costs, regulatory burden, and ageing infrastructure/tech. I wouldn't be surprised if all 4 play a role. A government taking an equity stake could try to improve some of those. Gift them money & nothing changes.

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Scott Phillips@TMFScottP·1d

@itjohnstone I don't know mate - it's a good question. I *suspect* it's scale and labour costs, but I'm not sure.

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Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK retweetledi

21group@21percentgroup·2d

Who broke Nottingham University, Vol 3? Vice Chancellor Shearer West presided over property expansion & vanity projects that have caused near-bankruptcy And the landing spot? Vice Chancellorship of Leeds Uni It's important to know when to skip out nottinghampost.com/news/nottingha…

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Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK@itjohnstone·5d

Blaming inflation on a war your government wholeheartedly supported starting is not the excuse you think it is @AlboMP @JEChalmers

Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK@itjohnstone

Albanese’s, Wong’s and Marles’s legacy will be them rushing to be the first in the world to support the USA and Israel starting a war with Iran. How’s that looking so far?

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Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK@itjohnstone·13 Mar

@TMFScottP @rex_milne This is what I fear.

Chief Nerd@TheChiefNerd

🚨 SAM ALTMAN: “We see a future where intelligence is a utility, like electricity or water, and people buy it from us on a meter.”

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Scott Phillips@TMFScottP·12 Mar

@itjohnstone @rex_milne Owned? Probably not. But if I get more value from it than it costs me, I'm ahead. If we all do, it's a big benefit.

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Scott Phillips@TMFScottP·12 Mar

Block... WiseTech... now Atlassian. AI is going to be more disruptive than most people realise...

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Michael Merrifield@AstroMikeMerri·12 Mar

But the idea that people worked less hard in the past is one of those nasty myths used to take away their autonomy in the first place. In reality, when academics were primarily answerable to their immediate colleagues, they generally worked a lot harder. 3/3

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Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK@itjohnstone·13 Mar

@TMFScottP But it is ridiculous that for some properties there will be 5 or more building inspections separately paid for by potential buyers.

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Scott Phillips@TMFScottP·13 Mar

If you understand incentives, you know why this is a *terrible* idea.

Jacinta Allan@JacintaAllanMP

If you're selling a home, you should have to provide a building inspection report - instead of every interested buyer paying for their own. We're changing the rules to require exactly that.

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David Pocock@DavidPocock·12 Mar

CSIRO have now lost more jobs under the Albanese Governmet than under the Abbott Government. We have to do better on research funding and backing our scientists. smh.com.au/environment/cl…

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Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK@itjohnstone·12 Mar

Albanese’s, Wong’s and Marles’s legacy will be them rushing to be the first in the world to support the USA and Israel starting a war with Iran. How’s that looking so far?

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Tom Johnstone BunurongCountry AU EU UK@itjohnstone·12 Mar

@TMFScottP @AlboMP Just heard a ludicrous comment from an MP saying that a large reserve is not viable because refined oil products “go off” so long term storage leads to waste. As if it’s not possible to have a constantly tapped & replenished long term storage. You know, like we have with water.

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Scott Phillips@TMFScottP·12 Mar

Wouldn't have been necessary if we had a sufficient on-shore stockpile of course. What is the government doing on that front, Chris Bowen and @AlboMP?

Hugh Riminton@hughriminton

BREAKING: Energy Minister Chris Bowen has ordered the release of high Sulfur-content fuels to ease pressure in the regions.

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Keşfet

@thomasforth @b_leeder @DavidPocock @TMFScottP @Mon4Kooyong @elonmusk @BarackObama @taylorswift13