— Justinian (@JustinianNews) November 6, 2024
ECHO, 5 November 2024:
A pair of critically endangered beach stone-curlews are nesting in the dunes on Clarkes Beach, they are one of only 13 breeding pairs in NSW.
Beachgoers are asked to stay off the sand dunes and leave nesting birds alone as their nests are just a small area of scraped sand.
‘It’s so important these birds are not disturbed because they only lay one egg and the chick is cared for by both parents for seven to 12 months,’ said Chloe Dowsett, Coast and Biodiversity Coordinator.
‘We are hoping people will do the right thing and play their part in helping these special birds expand their family.’
On other beaches spotted pardalotes and rainbow bee-eaters have been sighted nesting in the dunes with the Byron Bird Buddies rescuing a group of baby bee-eaters as the area surrounding their nest was being damaged by people trampling and climbing on the exposed dune.
‘All of these precious birds are easily disturbed by walkers, joggers and especially dogs so we are asking people to be aware and take extra care when they are on the beach,’ Ms Dowsett said.
Basically the U.S. presidential election boils down to a two horse race - with the bookies (U.S. Electoral College) not the jockeys or the punters laying their bets (registered voters & their ballot papers) deciding the outcome for the country and the national economy.
On Tuesday, 5 November 2024 these two horses are attempting to win by a length:
Republican candidate & a former president, Donald John Trump, born 14 June 1946.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA631bMT9g8
and
Democrat candidate & U.S. Vice President, Kamala Devi Harris, born 20 October 1964.
Momentum is on our side, so let's continue to organize, energize, mobilize, and make our voices heard.pic.twitter.com/Rc0ADVl2jz
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 3, 2024
ABC News Live (U.S.) will have 5 November live election day coverage on YouTube live from midnight Sydney time at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYpNU_3oPYk
ABC News (Australia) USA Votes live from 6am 6 November 2024 at
https://iview.abc.net.au/show/usa-votes-election-day
NBC News (US) Decision 2024 live blog updates at
and
NBC News voting results by state at
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-elections/president-results
NOTE:
* U.S. population numbers as of 1 July 2023 obtained at
https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-national-detail.html
** Australia's east coast AEST is 16 hours ahead of Washington & New York and 19 hours ahead of San Francisco & Los Angeles.
The reason for this gloom? Well if household spending is any indicator, it is likely to be because cost-of-living pressures have been grinding people down for what seems like a long and tiresome 29 months.
The Reserve Bank cash rate target/interest rate may have stopped climbing at 4.35% and stayed there for the last 12 months but it's not showing signs of coming down anytime soon.
Households around the country are still having to tighten their belts in order to make pennies stretch as far as possible in the face of persistently high prices for goods and services.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, Monthly Household Spending Indicator: Experimental estimates of household spending, Reference period September 2024, Released 1/11/2024
In 2024 from 1 January to 30 September national household spending fell from 4.2% to 1.3% as most people focused on covering the essentials – food, medicines & other health costs, transport costs including petrol & car repairs, mortgage payments, rent, schools fees etc.
While household discretionary spending fell from 3.6% in January to 0.8% in September, as many chose to avoid clothing/footwear purchases and spent less on such thing as recreational activities & eating out.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, National household spending, March to September quarterly graph, September 2024
The national barometer for the level of tension in household spending choices is possible marked most clearly when it comes to the purchase of alcohol and tobacco.
National fall in spending on alcoholic beverages and tobacco – January to September 2024
NSW -12.3%
Vic -13.3%
Qld -8.8%
SA -11.9%
WA -2.9%
Tas -11.1%
NT -5.7%
ACT -6.7%.
Earlier this year in May 2024 the NSW Minns Labor Government announced that 671 new EV public kerbside electric vehicle charging ports at 391 sites are to be installed across NSW, in what is expected to be the largest rollout in the country.
These new chargers are to be installed over the next 12-months and be open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
However, looking at the NSW Transport Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Map it looks a though there are only around 31 stations across the entire 20,758 sq kms of the Northern Rivers region - from the Clarence Valley up to the NSW-Qld border and, many of these tend to be relatively clustered.
So it was good to read that another electric vehicle charging station had been added to the mix in north-east New South Wales.
ECHO, 1 November 2024:
A new electric vehicle (EV) charger has been installed at 44 Cherry Street, Ballina in the heart of the Ballina’s CBD, close to Northern Rivers Regional Art Gallery, shops, cafes, and other tourist destinations.
For anyone driving an EV the installation of new chargers, particularly in regional areas is a definite bonus as the number of EVs on the roads increases. The Australian Automobile Association’s EV Index shows that battery electric (BEV) and plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) sales represented 9.6 per cent of new light vehicles sold in the second quarter of 2024.
‘Ballina Shire Council is thrilled to celebrate the installation of new electric vehicle charging stations on Cherry Street in Ballina. This fantastic collaboration with Essential Energy and EVX reflects our dedication to working hand-in-hand with the community and industry to seek innovative and sustainable solutions for our region,’ said Ballina Shire Council Mayor, Sharon Cadwallader.....
The horrifying reality of being a woman, perfectly summarised by @_CaitlinORyan
— Supertanskiii (@supertanskiii) October 18, 2024
If you give even the slightest shit about women, watch it all. This is what it’s like. pic.twitter.com/1KKAJY9VPt
🎶"IT MASTIFF BEEN LOVE, BUT IT'S ROVER NOW"🎶 pic.twitter.com/XBeqXb7PUP
— Paul Bronks (@SlenderSherbet) October 19, 2024
NIMNMBY
— MattGolding Cartoons (@GoldingCartoons) October 26, 2024
Not ln My Neoclassical McMansion Backyard @theage pic.twitter.com/RFaNBGf9iJ
