OT ish. Oz.

[The Medway Handyman]

Working for a lady today who has been in Australia for 16+ years.

I'd always thought Australia to be a casual laid back sort of place, but it seems to have more rules & regulations than the UK.

She was aware of the Hire a Hubby franchise which is now starting up in the UK. Apparently in Oz they can't do any plumbing or electrical work at all - and we thought Part P & CORGI were bad enough. Again apparently you can't even buy fittings without your 'ticket'.

H&S has gone completely mad. She works for Western Power doing an office job & they are subject to random drug & alcohol testing for "H&S" reasons.

And the smoko ban extends to parks & beaches.

Was it Tony Sayer who left these septic isles for Oz? If so, could you elaborate?

[geoff]

In message , The Medway Handyman writes

Yeah, and signs everywhere - "Private Property, keep out"

I remember when I was staying with a relation there, one of the neighbours was lopping branches of a big tree - the other neighbours held a "committee meeting", phoning the police etc , tut tutting - "shouldn't be allowed "

very "unrelaxed" people

[A.Clews]

Thus spake The Medway Handyman ( [e-mail]) unto the assembled multitudes:

Someone on "Have I Got News For You" on Thursday quipped that they'll be banning living next, because if you're alive then you're in danger of getting ill, injured or dying.

[PeterC]

assembled multitudes:

Conception is a fatal disease - ban sex.

[stuart noble]

assembled multitudes:

There's probably an IPhone app that's better than the real thing

[Tony Bryer]

Beds should be banned - loads of people die in them

[S Viemeister]

Hospital beds, in particular.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "The Medway Handyman" saying something like:

Vested interests and politicians' pockets - same will happen here if we're not careful. MattyF can shed some light, but I wonder if NZ is afflicted by the same disease.

[F Murtz]

Both countries have pros and cons you have no handguns we do, you have fireworks we don't, I think you have air pistols privately , we can only have them in clubs with same conditions as pistols. we both have similar conditions with knifes ( don't carry without valid reason ) but lock blades are not prohibited like Britain and no three inch restriction. We both have arguments about fences but our problems are not as convoluted as yours (both parties own the fence and have equal responsibility. We do have different laws in different states re knifes, one stupid state makes ceramic knifes with plastic handles illegal Which rules out most ceramic knifes in the kitchen in that state.(Probably the legislators are stupid and did not think it through) We can not sell knifes to under 16s But a parent can give his 15 year old a couple of razor sharp fishing knifes which he can take on public transport to go fishing, but if he drops them in the ocean he can not go over the road and buy another. We can not have green lasers without permit (for astronomy) but I think you can. There would be loads more similar differences.

[F Murtz]

Not correct,although you are not supposed to do electrical or plumbing without a license You can buy most of the stuff. All the supermarkets sell switches plugs etc (you are just not suposed to connect them). All the electrical and plumbing outlets will sell to anyone. The public will have trouble buying some air conditioning and refrigeration stuff like refrigerant without a license. You can use hydrocarbon refrigerant in many cases legally but it is kept a secret by the closed fridge trades in case the common diy person may discover that they can do their own.

[geoff]

After living in Indonesia for some time, Australia was a real culture shock in that they were so inward looking and up their own arses. Quite the opposite of what I expected and the image banded about by those who managed to escape

[David J]

Yep...its pretty much a 'nanny state'..with loads of petty and unneccessary laws.

My sis lives in Sydney, and I visit Oz frequently. I even worked there for a year or so.

Last visit she asked me to get her car out of her garage and leave it parked in the road in a quiet residential area. This I duly did and left it by the pavement, facing the way I knew that we were going.

I got yelled at for parking it facing the 'wrong way'. Seemingly you can get fined for that. As for the 'bin rules' they are unbelievable!