Melbourne rentals – crazy!, originally uploaded by jmansfield.
This is the state of the Melbourne rental market at the moment. This 3 bedroom house in Brunswick had around 80 ppl viewing it – I don’t like our chances :(
Australian parental leave
I knew Australia had a poor record for paternity leave but I did not know it was this bad. I just read in today’s Australian Financial Review that
“Australia is one of only two countries in the Western world that do not have government-paid [paternity] leave. The other [funnily enough] is the United States.”
And I knew Sweden had it good but I didn’t realise how good. According to the Economist
“In Sweden, a couple can take up to 13 months off work between them, with the state paying 80% of lost wages up to a ceiling of SKr24,562 ($3,425) a month.”
Luckily when we had my second son William my wonderful employer The Hiser Group paid me full pay for 2 weeks.
And it amazes me how many people think we are lucky to get the baby bonus – give me strength!
In the next elections, can Australians please vote for a government who cares about our social values, the environment and education – not our bloody economy!
An epiphany
Today something simple but amazing happened. My Mum messeged me on IM and during our conversation mentioned that Grandad had just come online as well and proceeded to invite him into the conversation.
It was one of those moments where you stop and think about how amazing the technology we have is. And it got me thinking that it’s pretty cool that they have the energy and have taken the time to learn how to fumble their way around on a computer.
And then the epiphany came – it’s will be post-children before I’ll have the opportunity to take on a large personal challenge like they did. My days are consumed with making money and my evenings with grooming my children for life in the big wide world.
Melbourne audio tours
These are a great idea – http://www.abc.net.au/melbourne/podtours/default.htm
Will have to try one some time soon.