I am still in a number of local Facebook groups across NSW after joining them during the Bushfires/Find A Bed. The thing that is incredibly stark at the moment is the number of people who don’t have housing. One group posted about around 50 families camping on Moruya beach The local op shops are sold out of warm blankets, so people have been taking them down to the families, who are grateful for them.

So Matt and I bought some land yesterday (actual contract exchange is in a couple of weeks), and I had no idea how absurd the process was, so let me tell you. For starters, the land is in Menangle, about 10 minutes from where my parents bought in 2014. We paid about the same- them for 5 acres with a shed with an apartment on it, us for a 500sqm block. That's how much the market has changed out this way

I get why people are frustrated with the Red Cross, truly. I am frustrated too and it is agonizing to see families who so need those funds having to wait. But the demand placed on them by a government who has been happy to let them to lead relief efforts is extraordinary Planning for the long term is smart. Administrative costs are reasonable and people need to be paid. Also, processing and vetting literally thousands of applications takes time.

I am really, really frustrated right now. I have promised to be transparent from the start with @findabedAU, and I think part of that transparency has to include being honest about the frustration. We are so incredibly flat out. I missed a meeting yesterday because i just forgot about it. Because taking the time to get organised and put stuff in my diary just isn't even possible at the moment. That isn't to complain, it's just an illustration of how busy we are.

Just got a letter from Centrelink saying they're witholding 20% of our childcare rebate to repay a debt. A debt that we don't owe, that they have confirmed on the phone we don't owe, and that we have called about THREE TIMES. That's $45 a week for us. We can deal (at least, we can now, while I'm still working), but this sytsem is appalling.

Ok *flexes fingers* I was expecting this argument (it comes up literally any time you talk about women's sport), so it's probably time to take a look at it a little more closely.

https://twitter.com/andrew_blow/status/1087956065516486656

There are two problems with the argument. The first is the assumption that we only watch "the best of the best". There are innumerable sporting leagues where people well below that level develop a substantial following. American college football, A-League, schoolboys rugby...