UPDATE DECEMBER 2006 PART ONE

YOU NEED A HELL OF A LOT OF LUCK IN THE LIFE ON THE PUNT

LIFE’S A GAMBLE

Poker machines account for almost 60% of gambling expenditure.  Each person in NSW put an average $194.93 through the pokies in 2003 – 2004.  Figures from the Centre for Gambling Research show a decrease in racing expenditure from approximately 22% of the gambling total in 1993-94 to about 13% in 2003-04.

An increase in spending at casinos appears to have peaked. Casino expenditure reached a high of about 20% of total gambling 1997-98, but declined to about 17% in 2003-04.  Spending on lotteries declined from 16% to 10%.

We’re a “nation of gamblers,” Bob Hawke said infamously more than 12 years ago.  But even our former Prime Minister may not have fully understood the extent of it.

Australians outlay more than $16 billion per year on gambling, up from $9 billion in 1993-94, says the Centre for Gambling Research at Canbarra’s Australian National University (ANU).

But which type of gambling would you be better off taking a punt on?  We’ve complied the odds on the different forms so you make a calculated bet if you so desire.

GAMES OF SKILL

Experts in gambling make a clear distinction between games that involve individual skill, and others.  Surprisingly, few forms of gambling involve effort or knowledge on behalf of the punter.

“Blackjack is one of the only casino games you can actually use skill and ability,” says John Croucher, professor of Statistics at Macquarie Graduate School of Management.

Blackjack is prime territory for card counters – professional players who try to memorise cards that have been dealt to figure out which cards are most likely to appear next.

The legality of card counting is questionable, with different regulations in different parts of the country.

With a game such as roulette, Croucher says you will maximize your odds by placing all you money on one spin.  People profess to spotting number sequences in roulette, but Croucher says it’s not possible.

Horse racing is another form of gambling in which knowledge and skill come into play.  You can increase your change of winning by studying the form, knowing the trainers, jockeys, horses and their pedigree.

LOTTO LUCK

A look at the odds of winning lotto – in any of its various forms – reveals low probability but high returns if you do.  NSW Lotto and OzLotto offer roughly a one in eight million chance of winning.  The odds of winning Powerball are even worse – about one in 55 million.

Even though the odds are extremely low, the good news is that those lucky enough to win tend to have the whole jackpot to themselves.  And one more thing: lotto winnings in Australia are tax-free, unless you are a professional gambler.

People tend to be superstitious with their lotto number picking.  Birthdays are perennially popular, as is choosing patterns of numbers.  Croucher says that more than half the time in lotto, consecutive numbers come up.  About half the entries in lotto these days are computer generated, but selecting your own numbers increases the odds of winning slightly.

If you just like winning prizes and are not too worried about hitting jackpot, Croucher suggests scratch lotteries as the best option.  The odds of winning are about one in four, but chances are you will win less than $10.

WAGERING

This category includes any form of betting on events, particularly horse racing but also the trots, greyhounds and so on.  People often choose this as a form of entertainment – going to the track, watching the races, enjoying the social element.

Sport betting has become increasingly popular in the past decade.  It involves betting on sporting activities other than horse and greyhound racing.  Sports betting can be conducted through the TAB and bookmarkers, on-course and off-course, by telephone or via the internet.  The Centre for Gambling Research says in 2003-04 recorded sports betting expenditure totaled $150.02 million, up from $78.01 million spent in 2002-03.

 POKER MACHINES

For poker machines, the minimum payout is 85 per cent, while at the TAB it is about 84 per cent.  So for every $100 punters spend they will lose about $15 on average.

Contrary to popular opinion, a poker machine that hasn’t paid out for a while is no more likely to pay out than one that just hit the jackpot.  Likewise, sitting on the one poker machine all night will not improve your chances of winning.

The one thing to keep in mind is that if you are lucky enough to win big on the pokies, leave immediately.

“The linger you play, the less likely you are to win,” Professor Croucher says.

The highest payout amount for a poker machine in this country is $10,000 .  Expenditure totals $10 billion a year.

Twenty per cent of the world’s poker machine are in Australia.  There are more machines here – about 200,000 – than in Las Vegas, which has about 150,000.  Crown Casino in Melbourne is Australia’s biggest poker machine venues, with 2500 machines.

WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

LETTERS

THINK ABOUT THIS

If you consider that there has been an average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theatre of operations during the last 22 months, and a total of 2,211 deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers.  The firearm death rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6 per 100,000 for the same period.

That means that you are about 25% more likely to be shot and killed in the U.S. Capital, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, than you are in Iraq.

Conclusiion:  The U.S. should pull out of Washington.

By B.R. Pratt

IT’S YOUR MONEY RALPH

For those that did not hear the ramblings of the alleged politicians in the senate the other day, the speaker on the ABC station reporting the goings on in that place, during a break while they in that place were dividing during a ringing of the bells, had time to fill in while this was happening in that place decided to give the few listeners, of whom I was one, had to fill the void with commentary during this period so the speaker decided to tell us what the Treasurer with the greatest smirk in the world has been up to lately with your money.

Ralph, he stated that the Treasurer has just given the WORLD BANK the grand sum of no less than ONE HUNDRED and THIRTY SIX POINT TWO MILLION COMMONWEALTH DOLLARS.

For that state has the HEALTH PROBLEM I’m sorry no grants this year to fix the problem just band aid grants for a remedy.

For that state that wants to sell the WATERWORKS because its broke I’m sorry no grants to fix the problem just band aid grants for a remedy.

For that state that has a TPLL ROAD/CITYLINK I’m sorry no grants to fix the problem just band aids for a remedy.

For that state who had to sell their POWERSTATION with a three hundred year contract I’m sorry no grants to fix the problem just band aid grants for a remedy.

But I may be wrong the Treasurer may have been making another payment on our world war one debt, or our world war two debt, or our Korean war debt, or our Vietnam war debt, or our Iraq war debt, or a bit of each.

Anyone got a spear promissory note to help the Treasurer with a smirk out!!

By C.S.G.

CARD DEBT FOLLOWS RATES UP

Australians responded to the May (2006) interest rate hike the only way they know how – they bought up on credit, and then did not pay off the debt.

New reserve bank figures showed we spent an all time record of %16.5 billion with credit cards during May (2006).  It even surpassed last December, when Christmas pushed up sales on plastic to $16.2 billion.

But not only did we spend with credit cards.  There were 3.5 million cash advances against credit cards taken out during the month of May (2006) at an average advance of $353.

By M. Brown, Coffs Harbour

THE HOWARD COALITION GOVERNMENT AND THE BEAZLEY LABVOR OPPOSITION IGNOR THE PLIGHT OF ORDINARY AUSTRALIAN

It amazes me how the Howard-Vaile led Coalition Government and the Beazley Labor Opposition continue to protect foreign interest in the case of the Howard Government, Foreign Multi-National companies, where as Beazley in tandem with the Greens, Australian Democrats and Christian Democrats appear to be more concerned with the fate of illegal immigrants who jump the queue fraudulently ahead of the genuine immigrant, who does everything correctly under our laws and requirements.  Can anyone tell me why?

By D. Wong, Fortitude Valley (Qld)

TWISTED LOGIC LEADS TO HILLSON’S WELFARE ROLE

The Federal Government cuts welfare funding so a greater number of people will be totally stripped of income.  Then it funds an already wealthy fundamentalist Christian church to counsel the people who lose their benefits.  Twisted logic!  Not in Howard’s Australia.

By Ian Rodgers, Petersham

 GOVERNMENT DOUBLE STANDARDS

Welfare to work changes that include eight weeks’ removal of benefits for paltry mistakes are a reflection of the gutless politicians we have and the meek obeisance of the population.

Why don’t we suspend the pay of politicians and public servants for two months every time they lie or make mistakes? 

We can always provide them with baskets of food to tide them over and, just to ensure that we are not seen to be harsh, we could perhaps provide them with some fillet steak, smoked salmon and a nice bottle of red in their baskets as opposed to the snags and home brands that these “lowlife” dole bludgers are over the moon about.

By Philip Pocock, Turner (ACT)

DISCRIMINATION?

Given that charities and religious organisations are exempt from all anit-discrimination laws, has the Government done anything to ensure that Hillsong will not discriminate against people on the basis of religion, race, sexuality, etc?

The increasing incidence of awarding contracts to religious organisations demands that anti-discrimination laws be amended to ensure that government services are not delivered in a discriminatory manner.

By Samantha Chung, Randwick

A VOTER SUPPORT, SLING

With a track record that includes being required to return government funds for poorly administered programs, what apart from cementing a voting block, can be expected from pouring additional taxpayer money into Hillsong?

By Graeme Finn, St. Peters

SECULAR INTRUSIONS ENCOURAGED

In yet another of the Federal Government encouraging religion’s intrusion into matters Secular, Clap-Along-Costello’s Hillsong proselytisers emerge as winners of a contract to “counsel” the vulnerable unemployed.

Conservatively speaking, these unfortunates should at least learn to sing in tune and vote the right way next time.

By Ron Sinclair, Bathurst

 RELIGION AND POLITICS IS NOT A GOOD MIX

I’ve always been of the opinion, Religion and Politics are not a good mix.  Testimony to this is the betrayal of Senator Steve Fielding a member of the Family First political party when he crossed the floor to support the Howards Government’s changes to the Industrial Relations Laws by introducing WorkChoices.

This will have dire ramifications to the everyday working Australian, in that many of the full time workers will have their employment conditions reduced to part time or casual positions, and could destroy the family unit who have large mortgages, to pay.

The Family First has a strong religious support based headed by the Hillsong church members.

By John Williams, Adelaide

BIG DRIVE FOR OVERSEAS WORKERS

Big retailers are embarking on the biggest overseas recruitment campaign since the 1960’s in a bid to entice workers to Australia.

McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Wagamama, Noodlebox and Brumby’s Bakeries are among the companies that are looking abroad to combat a so called national shortage of service staff.

Fertile recruitment grounds for cheap labour include China, Vietnam, the Philippines and Eastern Europe, as well as a few English speaking nations.

With the Howard Government’s dubious claim that unemployment rate was as low as 5% and an apprenticeship drop out rate of about 25%, the restaurant and service industry claim they are struggling to attract staff.

We believe employers should be making more of an effort to employ Australians, as we feel certain overseas workers are in danger of being exploited especially under the 457 visa for guest workers.

Jamie Lingham, managing director of Absolute Immigration Services, said it was the biggest recruitment drive for migrant workers in at least forty years.

HOWARD DIRECTS TAXPAYER’S MONEY TO THE HILLSONG RELIGION

On Monday August 22, 2005 Prime Minister John Howard announced a $414,000 grant to the church group Hillsong claiming it was donated without bias to the group they have worked strongly to woo.  This is the so called church group who was seen as crucial in backing Howard’s Liberal candidate Louise Markus, herself a Hillsong employee, in her take over of the long term Labor stronghold of Greenway.

Hillsong was listed with eight other projects from 79 applicants.  The Hillsong grant was the second largest of the grants.

Defending the grant Mr. Howard said the decision was based on advice from a local advisory group, headed by former police officer Tim Priest with Justice Minister Chris Ellison making the final decision.

After the Royal Society for the Welfare of Mothers and Babies who received $447,421 to help mothers in jail, Hillsong received the largest grant, more than double any of the 6 remaining benefactors.  The Chairman of the influential Hillsong church group, Brian Houston was asked earlier this month to explain why he ailed to lodge statements revealing his earnings and assets.  Under NSW corporate law companies must report income and expenditure.

Leadership Ministries Incorporated, in which Mr. Houston is a director of, did not furnish financial statements since it was listed in October 2001.  Since we told the story of Family First and Hillsond – Link >>>> Update – August 2005, Part One, we have received thousands upon thousands of Australians complaints who have vented their disgust re: Governments supporting such a Questionable religious group. 

Food imports eat up work in packaging

By Blair Speedy and Paige Taylor

In The Australian Thursday, August24, 2006 

THE push by supermarkets to stock their shelves with home-brand products has claimed a further 200 jobs, with Amcor closing plants on both sides of the country as increased food imports cut demand for its cardboard boxes.

A cardboard-box plant in the Melbourne suburb of Box Hill will close, throwing 122 staff out of work, while the shutdown of a recycled-paper mill in Spearwood, Western Australia, will lead to 87 redundancies.

Amcor chief executive Ken MacKenzie said the company had been making a loss on recycled-paper exports, while local demand for cardboard boxes had fallen as manufacturing moved offshore and food retailers sourced products from overseas markets.

“Some manufacturing is moving offshore, both in the industrial segment and in the consumer segment," he said, noting that the company had lost business from Kraft Foods, Colgate and Nestle after they all recently shifted parts of their Australian production offshore.

"The retailers are importing more product," he said. "Their house brands aren't necessarily sourced from domestic Australian brand owners."

Victorian fruit processor SPC last year lost contracts to supply Woolworths with private ­label tinned tomatoes and tinned fruit, replaced by cheaper suppliers in Italy and South Africa.

Similar moves were behind BlueScope Steel's decision in June to shut its Port Kembla tin plate mill, with the loss of 250 jobs, after demand from local canneries was hit by cheap imports.

Mr MacKenzie said increasing use of plastic crates instead of cardboard boxes to pack fruit and vegetables, as well as the impact of Cyclone Larry on fruit and vegetable production, had severely reduced demand for cardboard this year. The market is forecast to grow at just 1 per cent a year.

Asked what Box Hill should be called now that it had lost its box factory, Mr MacKenzie suggested "Bunnings Hill", after the recently opened Bunnings hardware store across the road from the soon-to-close Amcor site.

Amcor yesterday reported a net profit of $351.3 million for 2005-06, up 43.2 per cent from the previous year.

A further 22 jobs will be cut at Amcor's two other cardboard plants in Victoria, as the installation of more efficient machinery reduces the need for labour.

Along with a number of upgrades to remaining plants in Victoria, NSW and Queensland, the plant closures are expected to cost $300 million up front, but will save the company between $60million and $80 million a year thereafter. In Perth, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union said Amcor staff were shocked to be told they would no longer have jobs after September29. AMWU state printing division secretary Ron Knox said many had been working for the company in Perth's southern suburbs for decades and their skills were not transferable.

“The problem is they’re not tradespeople, and this is the only pulp mill in Perth,” Mr. Knox said.  “Some people have been there well over 30 years and the lack of notice is just astonishing.  It’s nauseating.”

AMWU printing division national secretary Steve Walsh said the plant closure was a sad day for an Australian company that was struggling because many of its customers had gone offshore, and that the manufacturing sector needed more support from the Federal Government