Deluge.

Cold. And wet. Not the best of seasons, but the cities here are better equiped and designed against such extreme weathers. When the majority of the planet is suffering droughts, it is fortunate that it rains here.

One part of the city NOT designed for rains is…the public transport. Specially the trains. Today morning too, there are cancellations and breakdowns, and thousands of commuters are stuck on the way.

Surprisingly, one of the best places online to keep upto date on Victoria's public transport system is Daniel Bowen's twitter feed.

Great quote: "Interchanging is a transport planner's dream, but a passenger's nightmare.

A few more months of this and the sun will shine again.

Closing thoughts: Here is the corrected map of Australia.

Holiday Hangover

Oh gosh. Returning from a long holiday is really difficult. Horrible. Sucks all your energy out.

But on the bright (?) side, won't have to do to this very often. Gonna hibernate all through the winter.

Heres to the chilly weather.

Happy Vishu. Happy Easter. And remember the fallen.

Happy Vishu. Happy Easter.

Its always fascinating when these two days coincide, celebrating different events from different communities. Theres more than one reason to rejoice.

This year, we will also take time to remember those soldiers who died protecting the good in this world. So that we could enjoy it.

These are good days.

DST woes

Woke up too early today. Or thats what I thought. The clock shows 6:30 am.

But the phone says its only 5:30 am.

DST is off !

Great, so we now have one extra hour in the day.

Wondering what to do with it .

Maybe I can go back to sleep.

Australia’s consumer protection

Having lived in India all my life, there are things I got used to. Like dodgy customer service. You know, when you buy a product or service from the market, and it does not work as intended. Or when you place an order for something, and it does not get delivered on time. Over the years, I noticed private companies upping the quality of their customer service, public companies never cared. Ever rising competition between private companies, with the need to retain customers, and the risk of receiving ‘negative reviews’ in the era of social media, all led to private sellers trying to resolve their customer’s complaints.   This was unheard of a few decades back, when national television used to air public service announcements about consumer rights, and consumer courts. I just sort of assumed that the problem was India being a ‘developing’ nation, and such problems are not to be found in developed countries.

How wrong I was.

Australia is an eye opener. In terms of customer service and consumer rights, I think they are a few years behind. The people at sales counters are extremely cheerful, of course. IBut once they have made their sale, it falls back to ‘its-somebody-elses-problem’ mode. And this is one of those areas where reality lags expectations.

In India, larger companies run 7 day call centers. Some even 24/7, specially telecom , banks and travel companies. Surprisingly , most Australian businessess run only a 5 working day service on the weeks. And strictly 8am to 5pm. For after hours services, they have a voice mail system , where you could leave messages for them to service later. So if your rental car breaks down, you are on your own. Of if you want to know when your phone will be disconnected, you have to wait for them to respond to your email.

But the problem I think most consumers here are going to be unhappy about , is online orders.

I recently placed an order for a water filter, to be used on the tap on a kitchen sink. Such things are still expensive in this country, and the best deals are online.  The company is called truwater, and I think they are just resellers of products, and have no inventory of their own. I made the online payment, and the amount was promptly deducted from my account. The product was to shipped to my address in 1 week. But I failed to get it delivered even after 2 weeks. Finally, I made the call to their (non-existant) customer service line.

It went to voice mail.

I even emailed them. No response.

After 1 month of initial order placement, they finally reponded that they were facing issues with their supplier. And that the order will be delayed. Further.

I called them up, and this time somebody picked up.

I politely told them to cancel my order.  I was promplty told it cannot be done.

I then rudley asked for order cancellation. Out of the question. The lady  told me I would get an order update within a week.

So now is 5 weeks after order placement.

I decided to slow down. It was a water filter, after all.

But after 7 weeks, I was still told that the order would be further delayed.

I tried to contact someone via social media, or linked in. Tried various channels. And none worked.

Frustrated, I finally decided to google the one place that could help me. I googled:

“Australia consumer protection”

Turns out, Australia has a different consumer rights authority in each of its states. Since I was dealing with an NSW company, I ended up at the website if NSW Fairtrading.

After reading all their site documentation, I finally decided I qualified to raise an complaint with them.

I uploaded all my emails, and proof of payment. And stated my problem in detail. I guess they gave the company a call. Because my order was shipped the same week. And I received it the next monday !

I later had to call NSW Fairtrading to update them, and to close my complaint.

Thats all it took. A little nudge. And the bad boys had to oblige.  In the course of my investigation, I had found that lots of customers had faced a similiar issues with truwater.

Check Australia’s consumer rights site here. This page shows the small claims tribunal of all states.

So there you go. Before placing any online order with any unheard of company down under, look up their service review. And if they refuse to deliver, or to reverse payment, promply call up the fair trading onbudsman, or consumer protection group of that state.

Don’t wait. Customer service here is still in its nascent stages. But you do have rights.

Ideas that won’t work in India - Free outdoor movies

Sometimes, a little outside perspective works. Specially if it is you are having the perspective change, instead of someone else giving it to you. When one travels to foreign countires, one sees ideas, projects and movements being executed so flawlessly, one wonders how and why didn’t we think of them in our place ?

I saw some Melburnians organizing and executing one such little idea here this summer. The Govt of Victoria, in collaboration with local partners, decided to put on a show for the people .  A real show. A movie. Movies itself is nothing new to Indians, but here are the key words which set the event apart.

Outdoor. And Free.

Instead of charging upfront and limiting entry, they organize the show outdoors under the summer sky. And keep it free. People have to bring their own blankets, food , and whomever they want, and dogs too. Of course there will be popcorn and drinks stall, but the idea is to get people to bring whatever they want to enjoy the evening.

This is another one of those things people here get around easily. People bring in their blankets and picnic boxes, some even bean bags and pillows. The venue is easily reachable via public transport, so most of them just walk in, but lots of cycles and skateboards and scooters were visible. So many ways to get around !

The show would start after sunset, so there  was enough time to get your favourite place. And although the event was free, they were considerate enough to provide portable public restrooms.

The movie I went to was Black Panther. I had seen it. But it was fun seeing it again in a community. All those little families sitting together in circles and groups, with their pets. Everyone brought their favourite food, lots of picnics !

It reminded me of that bioscope cinema scene of that movie, Swades. The act of meeting and attending socially was more fun than the movie itself. I am sure people would not have minded paying for the event. But keeping the venue open and free just made it that much more fun !

Australia’s public barbeques

 

In case you missed the signs so far, Australia loves its barbeques. Although the origin of barbequing is credited to other countries, no other country does it better than Australia. These guys love their slow cooked meat, so much that the government provides free outdoor grills for people to use. Well most are free, some are coin operated. They run on electricity, and are easy to use, and very popular with the crowd.

One of those things you don’t see in India. Or in most other countries, for that matter. There are websites to search for public barbeques, and there are lists curating the best places to bbq. Most of them are near beaches on protected forests.

There is something about cooking your own food at a public area. I guess its the earthiness of it all, cooking fresh food with good views to soak in. It is a great way to hangout with family and friends. We went BBQing again this weekend, and though we are seasone experts in the area, the experience continues to surprise me.

The earliest images of public park barbecues (as opposed to those in national parks) in the State Library are from Brush Farm in May 1976, at about the time Warringah council, among others, began investing heavily in its barbecues, creating a competitive asset with relatively little effort, says Caroline Ford, author of Sydney Beaches: A History. Like Randwick's clearing of Coogee beach in 1859, councils have always seen their public spaces as avenues to boost the local economy.

An attachment with a long history, our fondness for a meal cooked outdoors speaks of deep Australian connections between nature and culture. Nineteenth century stock workers, travelling, camping and yarning around a nightly campfire, are oft-touted as the origins of our barbecue culture, but that is a convenient, if romantic, story we like to tell ourselves, says Richard White, historian and author. Still, he says, imagined connections to a bush or even prehistoric past give us all a break from modern living - albeit in safely contained primitive experiences on regulated "fires" in places where our ancestors would never have made camp. Add the outdoor cooking-friendly climate, a fear of bush fires, an awareness of protecting the environment and a deep sense of shared ownership of beaches and their parks - not to mention a palate that has largely been shaped by the abundance of cheap, good meat - and formalised, taxpayer-funded barbecues make reasonable, if privileged, sense. But perhaps the most important factor in their popularity is the very element that makes the idea of the "Australian barbecue" hard to pin down. Post-World War II immigrants, mostly southern European, did more for normalising alfresco cooking and eating than swag men ever did.

So the next time you want to hangout, and have no place to go, head to the nearest public BBQ. Just remember to clean up properly after you are done, for the next guys in line. And thank the country for providing this extra-ordinary service. Its truly a national treasure.

 

 

33 Degrees at 6 AM

 

If there is still anyone asking for proof of global warming, they only need to wakeup, and wakeup here in Australia. It was 33 degrees today, at 6AM. Enough for most people to start sweating. And it only gets worse from here. The forecast maximum temperature is 42 degrees today. Yesterday Adelaide hit a max of 46 degrees,toppling a heat record from 1939 ! That's almost half boiling point.

In a way, this is expected. After all, it is summer here in this part of the equator. But these are also record temperatures, and signs of times to come. Experts warn these could be average, everyday temperatures in the next few decades. Time for climate change deniers to wake up and smell the smoke.

But despite the cloud and the heat, the air is still clean here. Nice , crystal clean pure oxygen. Mother nature is still alive and working hard here. Not many countries can say that.

So fellow Aussies, stay in ,stay covered. Drink lots of water, and go back home soon.

 

Too much, too fast.

 

First day back in office today. Technically, that was last week, but everyone here takes and extended one week off into the new year. So, Jan 7 it is.

Weather has been playing games, last week it was so hot, and this week it is now back to winter ! And..it rained on the weekend.

But reading the news, it seems the world too wants to hit the ground running. So much happening, and it has been only 7 days into 2019.

Mr Trump is still trying to build his wall, and now wants  AMERICANS to pay for it, instead of Mexico. But there is a place where somebody is really building walls.

Down south in Kerala, my place, they built a human wall, a women’s wall, to show their strength. It was a massive success, and while all this was capturing attention, two women finally achieved that which scores of others had failed at.

Then , there was the strike. Embarassed, and insulted, religious men decided to show their strength the only way they can, by shutting places down and destroying public property. Too bad for them, merchant’s association decided to boycott their strike. Is this all really happening ?

Meanwhile, more earthquakes hit Italy and Indonesia. And one more mass shooting in the US, and the yellow vest protests in France. And Indians are still trying to claim their scientific superiority by making absurd claims about its past. And Australia is only worried about its climate, and its cricket losses.

So much happening. Too fast.

This is going to be a long year.

 

Getting trickier to get in here

 

I have been out of touch with the whole Australia PR migration thing. But the other day, someone enquired how we got here, and asked for pointers. I looked up some information before passing on my tips, and was surprised that things have changed quite a lot in the meantime.

Changes galore:

For one, they now have the EOI slots only once a month, compared to twice a month earlier. This change was from August 2018. The number of invitations remain the same, but applicants will have to wait and entire month to find out if they made the cut. Ohh..the agony !

Minor news: they changed their website from border.gov.au to immi.homeaffairs.gov.au

They also changed the minimum points required. From July 2018 onwards, an applicant needs to have a minimum of 65 points to apply. This cutoff was earlier 60. This will help Australia get better skilled people, and it means theres no place for lazybones to enter the country.

And…they have set a higher score for some job codes, including the very popular Softwar Engineer. Take a look at the latest results available online, from September 2018.

A minimum 75 points required for Software Engineers now ! No places for 60-65 pointers anymore.

The affect of this new set of rules can be seen in the applications as well. Applicants are buckling up to increase their scores, trying to keep up with the increasing cutoffs. Over at the immigration tracker, there is an increase in the median scores, whereas earlier it was full of applications with 60 & 65, now the most common scores are 70 and above, some even getting 80 !

 

Application charges for some Australian visas are going up on 1 July 2018. The government is hoping to generate $410 million dollars over a four-year period from 2017 to 2021.

 

Fineprint:

So , what does this all mean for new migrants ? Well, most of this was expected. Immigration is currently a hot topic in Australia, they recently had elections in Victoria and candidates were fighting about how the cities are getting populus, where as rural regions remain empty. Also the increase in terrorist-like attacks have gone up, with migrants being arrested for those crimes.

The changes they have brought about are not targetted at any particular country, region, religion or laguage. And that is such good news, compared to how other countries totally ban immigrants just based on their nationality. But these changes will probably affect Indians the most, simply because the receive the highest number of resident permit visas.  Australia is making it more difficult to get in here, this will allow highly skilled and experienced folks to come in. Theres simply no place for anyone average.

But looking at how the applicants are also increasing their own points, it is clear that the higher threshold is still reachable. All it takes is will power (lots of it) and planning (some). Applicants with 5 years experience and good english can easily score 70 points. They need to score top points in English to get higher.

Good luck, and hope you make it too.

 

 

 

 

 

Journey: Migrating to Australia

I have been getting a lot of questions from friends and strangers alike, about how we went though Australia’s General Skilled Migration program and secured our 189 resident permit. Although I have described bits and pieces to many, I realize I am now forgetting the details of our journey. So this is where I will document it for eternity.

October 2016: I officially started the migration process. It will be evident later that I had been very lazy in the planning and execution of the process. I first contacted a migration agent who had helped a colleague secure a PR. The price he quoted was hefty. And mine was a straight forward application, as I had worked in the IT industry after completing by Bachelors in Computer Engineering. I felt I did not feel the help of a migration agent to process what I thought was a straightforward visa application.

We first submitted the EOI with 60 points as an ICT Business Analyst in March 2017. Yes , it took us that much time to go through the paper work. We waited till July 2017, and saw that there was no point waiting any longer.

In July 2017, I got my skill re-assessed for Software engineer. Also retook the PTE English test, and scored superior. Mrs also cleared the PTE test. Total points now : 80 ! We re-applied our EOI with the new documents on July 13th. Missed by one day because there was  an allotment round on the 12th ! The delay was entirely due to ACS cunningly timing their results with the allotment dates.

EOI accepted on 26th July.

We applied the visa will all documents on August 1st.

Medical took 2 weeks. Got it done at Fortis Bangalore . Medical was uploaded on 23rd August.

Then was the excruciating wait. The application status was still ‘Received’.

On Sept 7th, we got the mail, that our Visa was granted.

The actual journey was only from 26th July to 7th September. But due our naivety we had to wait for almost a year.

So tip 1: Plan everything. If you are not sure, or are on a time limit, hire a migration agent. 

Migration agents are much more familiar with all the steps, and will strictly follow up on the process for you. Ultimately you will get a visa faster. If you decide not to engage an agent, then you need to diligently follow up on the process at every step. It took us almost a year to get our visa, because we got lazy along the way.

You will need money. For two people, one primary and one dependent, it will cost about 4 lakhs in INR. For all the tests and assessment required. It will be wise to keep track of your expenses.

Tip 2:  Don’t apply with 60 points. 

The  189/190 visa application process is well documented. There are free online points calculators which will help you find the best way through. They will mention that a minimum of 60 points is required for an application. But what they won’t tell you is the system is setup so that the applications with the higher points get a preference at almost every stage of the application. So whatever you do, do NOT apply with 60 points. Try and increase your point score. If you can apply with 75 points, your EOI will be picked up within 15 days, in the very next cycle. DIBP will often change the minimum score requirement through the application year, so there is no point in waiting.

Assuming you are between 25-32 years of age, and have 8 years work experience outside Australia, and have cleared the English test with the lowest ‘Competent’ rating, you will get the minimum 60 points.

But if you can go back and improve your English test and score ‘Superior’ rating, you will get a total of 80 points ! If you are married, and your spouse can score ‘Competent’ on the English test, you will get 5 more points .

Tip 3: Take the Pearson English Test. Do NOT take the IELTS test.

I cannot stress this enough. Every site and forum explains the points system with the IELTS example. And a lot of aspirants take this test too. But if you are taking the IELTS for Australia migration then please stop ! IELTS is a two day , paper-written test. The test itself is graded manually. And you will have to scribble a lot. However hard you try, you will not be able to score anything more than the minimum 6. Unless you have a beautiful handwriting. And have been writing letters all your life.

Take the PTE. It costs around the same, but is an automated computer driven test. Its shorter, about 3 hours, and your handwriting does not matter. Most of the visa applications are from software engineers, and have been using computer keyboards through their career. Such people can ace this test. At least the written part. There are numerous articles and videos explaining tricks to beat this test. And if you still need help, sign up for a coaching class.

Tip 4: Unless you are 100% sure, do NOT apply EOI as a Business Analyst

I learnt this the hard way. Since I had 10+ years of experience, I thought my application would be better as a ICT Business Analyst. Big mistake.

Check the occupation ceilings page on DIBP. Australia invites EOI applications under 71 different codes. There is an upper limit on the number of EOIs handed out in each code. As of the current year, 2017-2018, the code with the highest ceiling is…wait for it…Nurses. More than 16000 nurses can apply and be selected this year !

For software engineers, the ceiling is 6000.  For Business Analysts, its only 1000. So there is one BA for every 6 software engineers.

As the number of visas get allotted get closer to the ceiling, the minimum points required to apply in that code increases. So it gets more difficult to get an EOI under that code.

Here is a revelation, the code under which you applied for the Visa will not be printed on the visa anywhere at all. So you can apply as an SE and work as a BA. Or vice versa. But try and apply through a code which has a higher ceiling. Increases your odds.

Tip 5: Move parallelly.

We made the mistake of following each stage one at a time. This took more time. There are various steps required, but they can all be executed in parallel, thereby shortening your wait time. Again, this is where a migration agent can help you out.

1: English test

2: Skill assessment

3: Police clearance (PCC)

The skill assessment is the step which is going to take the longest time. From gathering all the document required to scanning and uploading and then waiting, it could take 1-3 months for this step. So it is best to start here.

Simultaneously, prepare for and take the English test. The scoring of each test will only take 1 week, so you will get the result soon.

The PCC is more tricky, you will need to apply to the passport office where you are staying, and gather all the relevant documents to prove your temporary and permanent address.

Oops, this is longer than I expected. I will follow this up in a later post.

Good luck !

Australia VISA 189 EOI 261313 tip trick hack

It floods here too

 

Living in India through floods and famines, I thought, had prepared me for the worst of climate change elsewhere in the world. Almost, because I knew well to stay at home today. Because it is flooding outside right now.

The whole NSW region, Sydney specially, has been continously battered by rain and winds since early this morning. The memes are out, and still coming in.  Roads are flooded, trains have stopped, underground stations are flooded too, and people are stranded. Just like that time.

But the one thing that separates this reality with what was witnessed back home, was that NSW was prepared. The oncoming storm was called out weeks ago, and warnings were issued well in advance. People still tried to get to work, but I guess most are safe.

Some pics:

 

 

 

As of right now, there are no deaths reported. Two deaths have been reported. Far less than what is otherwise expected.

There is no fighting nature. All that we can do is to be prepared.

100 years to the War

 

Today, November 11th 2018, marks the 100th anniversary of the armistice, of the great war. Of course, it was not called the ‘First’ World war, because the world never expected more of such a violent war.  Although fought by European powers, the war ended up changing the geo-political map of the whole world.

Even India had to send forces. Read about how Indian soldiers had to fight for a country that was not their own.

Vast numbers of Indians lost their lives in World War I, a war fought at an industrial scale of brutish intensity.

Letters written by Indian soldiers—some of which have fortunately survived in censor reports and have been admirably edited by the historian David Omissi—suggest that several motivations were at work. The material benefits of military service understandably played an important role. Joining the Indian army meant partaking of a well-established system of pay, perquisites and patronage. As former soldier Lehna Ram reminded his son Heta Ram, who was serving in France, “I served the state for 21 years and now receive a pension of `40 from the sirkar. I live in peace and comfort.” And the war effort led to an expansion of this system. “The sirkar has increased the rates both of pay and pension,” wrote Kala Khan to a kinsman in Punjab, “and at the same time has granted free rations.”

 

Above all, their encounters with Europe drove home to Indian sepoys the abject conditions prevailing in India. As one soldier wrote, “When one considers this country [Britain] and these people in comparison with our country and our own people, one cannot but be depressed. Our country is very poor and feeble and its lot is very depressed.” Another observed, in similar vein, “The Creator has shown the perfection of his beneficence in Europe, and we people [Indians] have been created only for the purpose of completing the totality of the world.”

After coming here I learnt of how Australia too was called to fight for the British side.  The first time I read about the world wars were in school, during the much hated ‘history’ classes. I failed to grasp the many reasons mentioned in our textbooks which led to the war, and I still don’t quite understand them. There is no justification for the deaths of millions who perished in the war. But yes, we can remember them. And learn from out mistakes.

 

What was India’s role in the Great War? As the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War approaches, we look at significant role played by British India. pic.twitter.com/o4IlhZO93r

— Asian Network on BBC Sounds (@bbcasiannetwork) November 6, 2018

 

 

Two is enough for this planet. Lets hope we don’t see a third.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portarlington Trip

 

Have you heard of Portarlington ? Its a little coastal township in the Port of Phillip Bay, right at the entrance to the sea.  A short ferry ride away from Docklands, Melbourne, the place has amazing views of the bay, and is the perfect place for a short holiday. It reminded me of those picturesque British coastlines often seen in movies. A village by the sea. And thats where we went for a holiday during a long weekend.

 

 

Hiked the 1.3 km Rambler’s walk. Best part is that all the attractions are within walking distance of the port, and we saw a lot of visitors walking and cycling across the coasts. What continues to surprise me is that these idyllic holiday points are within a few hours travel from the city, yet the place itself is like stuck in time. It looks and feels as if one has gone back in time to a quieter , calmer time.

Tourists, mostly families visit the place in groups, yet they are mindful of the cleanliness of the place. There is no rubbish on the ground, and no crowds rushing in a hurry. The vehicles drive slowly, giving way to hikers and cyclists, and children have a blast in the children’s park. There are public grilling areas free for use, people can bring in the foods they want to cook and eat. And everyone is expected to clean up afterwards. There are affordable eateries across the street, nothing is over priced.It is a historic town, and they do have their own museums and churches to show. But there is no graffitti defacing public property.  The free restrooms are clean, and there are fountains providing drinking water.

 

We in India still have centuries to go before we can reach this level of maturity. And love for nature, things old and new.

Summer’s back !

 

Something funny happened this week. It got hot. Temperature went about 20 degrees ! That means, summer is back ! Also rained ! Through the night. Just the way it should be.

I am still getting used to reverse climate trend here in Australia. Its like an exclusive club, the rest of the world are missing out on .

So here’s to summer holiday !

 

Onam

 

Happy Onam to all you Mallus of the world ! Every year Onam falls in the month of Chingam which is the first month of the solar calendar, according to the Malayalam calendar. And it is a complete 10 days celebration that consists of several rituals starting from floral rangoli, boat races, a grand feast and the traditional attire that makes the festival a day of happiness and merrymaking for everyone around.

 

We celebrated our first Onam here in Australia. Thanks to an already vibrant Keralite community, it was relatively easy to procure all the ingredients for our little grand Ona-sadya (feast) right here in Melbourne. I recall it was comparitively difficult just to get everything in Bangalore.

The state of Kerala, however, had a much more muted celebration. Following in the aftermath of the uncprecendeted rains and floods till last week, the state is still in the middle of a massive rebuilding and rehabilitation programme.  The political slugfest concerning the ‘promised’ foreign funds continue, and petty politics has already tarnished the image of the state and the country as a whole. In short, Kerala is so desperate for funds that it is seeking it directly from other countries, having ruled out the option of tapping its own resources. One of the ways the state government is looking to raise funds is by increasing tax on alcohol. As always, the state is also relying on its reliable army of non-resident Indians to send home remittances and donations for the cause. The irony of the ‘most’ developed state of India is having to figuratively beg for money is not lost.

 

 

But on the other side , the state is now celebrating stories of heroism, bravery and resilience. There was a massive social movement among the masses to not only survive the floods, but to successfully overcome it. The new super heroes without capes are the fishermen, and IAS officers, who went beyond their line of duty to do the right thing. It should be notes, there were no mentions of heroic politicians , just common men doing whatever they could.

And that is the only way to rebuild a nationn.

 

 

PS: Read how M K Gandhi ralied the nation in 1924 to help after the Malabar floods of that year.

Australia has now had seven prime ministers in just 10 years

 

Australia has now had seven prime ministers in just 10 years -- here's who they are and how long they were in office

By Sarah Kimmorley|Aug. 24th, 2018

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Scott Morrison has just been named as the 30th Prime Minister of Australia.

It comes after a leadership spill was called on Friday and former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull resigned from parliament.

The Liberal Party voted on three candidates — Morrison, backbencher (and former Home Affairs minister) Peter Dutton, and Deputy Leader Julie Bishop.

Here’s a look at the seven prime minister Australia has had over the last 10 years.

Scott Morrison

August 24, 2018 — current.

Malcolm Turnbull: 3 years

September 15, 2015 — August 24, 2018.

Tony Abbott: 2 years

September 18, 2013 — September 15, 2015.

Kevin Rudd: 2.5 months

June 27, 2013 — September 18, 2013.

Julia Gillard: 3 years

June 24, 2010 — June 27, 2013.

Kevin Rudd: 2.5 years

December 3, 2007 — June 24, 2010.

John Howard: 12 years

March 11, 1996 — December 3, 2007.

John Howard is the second longest serving prime minister of Australia after Robert Menzies.

75 days

 

 

75 days. Of misery. Of patience. Of hope. Thats how long I had to wait. Its one of those rare times when I had all the time in the world, but nothing to do.

In the end, it feels sweet. All that hard work was worth it.

When I initially arrived in this new country, I was damn sure I would land a job right away. Surely, I had everything they wanted. Few people out there could boast of my skill and experience.

Or so I thought.

I had to wait 75 days. In order to land my first job.

Later I heard stories of people waiting more than 3 months just to land their first gig. Ouch.

There are accounts of people taking up low paying unskilled jobs just to get some income. Desperate measures.

I guess I was more fortunate.

So now, its back to the 12 hour overtime-without-overtime-pay schedule for me.

Things have a funny way of working out.

Living in a city for humans.

Its been a about a year since I came here, down under. And have been living in the great city of Melbourne during that time. By now I am familiar with most of the city's layouts, know how to get around efficiently, and know which places to avoid. There are some nasty places, yes. But the city continues to amaze me every now and then, when I see the efficient movement of people (and their pets), and how everything goes about as clockwork. Melbourne has been called the most livable city, the best city to retire in, and many other fancy terms as well. And IMHO, the city deserves the title. After having lived in the top cities of India, and a few places abroad, mostly Europe, life here is much more easier, and comfortable. Provided you can foot the bills, of course.

I have known how the city got its name, and why it is situated in Victoria state, since my school days. This story was retold in the British TV series Victoria. Story goes, when the young queen came to power in 1876, she had few friends she could trust in the palace. Everyone was scheming to get her out of power. Everyone , except Prime Minister Lord Melbourne, who mentored her in politics and thus helped her start her long rein. Thats how the city got its name. The state was named Victoria around 20 years later. It is thus fitting that the capital of Victoria be called Melbourne, future generations are sure to read upon this story.

This is truly a properly planned city. A lot of people have put their heads together to come up with its layout, from the streets, the efficient tram system, right down to water and utilities. The central area is always crowded, but there is no gridlock. It has the most efficient public transport system I have seen (Sydney trains and buses are frequently late). They have really taken into account people who could have problems moving around, even with disabilities. So in any Indian city, disabled have a hard time getting around, here they are able to travel without anyone's help. The cities traffic lights have a sound based alerting system, and there are markers on the street to assist the blind. The PB/5 pedestrian button embodies an audio-tactile device combining a two-rhythm buzzer, a vibrating touch panel, and braille direction arrow. How cool is that ? Here is something city planners in India can learn from,if they ever learn anything.

Melbourne is also a place of cultures, sometimes I felt like I am walking in China or Korea. There are shops and restaurants  from all over the world, greek, indian, chinese.. I guess this could be due the vibrant student community here, Victoria is called the educational state. But there are also expats and tourists coming in from across the globe. For people like me, the reverse climate here was surprising. Its summer here when its winter in the northern hemisphere, so its a good place if you want an instant change of weather.

The main area of the city is just 10 streets crossed horizontally, forming a grid. You can get from anywhere to anywhere within 5 minute. And did I mention that all tram travels in the CBD are free ?  This initiative means people will always take the public transport, leaving their vehicles at home. Something else India an learn from. Morons in Delhi government increased metro fares, arguing that they are taking losses. If you truly want to give people to use public transport, you have to decrease the fares. Or , if possible, make it free ! Never mind the loss, the cities environment stands to gain. And thus, the people. Germany is now looking into making public transport free to fight air pollution.

These guys don't mind shutting down parts of the city for public occasions, something even the smallest Indian cities struggle with. For New Year last year, they shut down traffic in many areas, opening them up for the public. Theyy brought in extra security, and there were ambulances on standby. Hell, they even brought in and setup rows of functioning portable toilets ! I have never seen such an initiative in India. A and and then the next day, the place was back to normal, with no garbage on the streets, and no sign of the public event. They did this again for Australia day, and every major public holiday.

I specially love the unpredictable weather here. It can get really hot and rain and cold ,all within the same week. Something exciting to look for. But the roads don't get clogged with water and rubbish, and vehicles still move around.

Its no wonder that people don't want to go back, once they see how carefully the city is planned and administered. Its truly a city designed for people. For humans. And I call myself fortunate, to be able to stay here for some more time.

Maybe forever.

Trip to Phillip Island

 

Man, I’ve been busy. With all the work in office, calls and meetings and gym and yoga and what not, how many hours does one get for oneself ? I wonder how these Auzzies manage to do it. Now one of the reasons we had considered and decided to move here to Australia is to have fun. Enough of this ‘work yourself to death’ mentality they spread in India.  Have fun. See the world. Have some time for oneself.

So thanks to the Queen’s birthday, we got a long weekend to indulge in this time. Went on trip to Phillip island. Its a small part of the country, isolated in the sea, but now connected via bridge to Melbourne. The whole place is one big reservation basically.  Like a huge national park, for birds, animals. And maybe even trees. Theres hundreds of miles of coastline, beautifully preserved , clean of all those rubbish and eyesore usually seen on (Indian) beaches.  And the weather , don’t get me started on the weather. Even in the winter, the place gets a lot of sun, and its perfect for hiking ! Or in our case, lazily dragging feat through the sand.

The place is about 140 kms away from Melbourne, so under 2 hours of driving time. Tour operators run day services to the place, so no worries if you can’t drive. There are some hotels, but I think most people just stay on Airbnb if one needs to stay overnight. For some reason, there are huge surf shops, everyone is driving huge cars into the beach. There is a Koala reservation centre half way through, but all the one we saw were sleeping high in the trees. Also, they don’t let you hold and cuddle these creatures like they do in the zoo. The southern and western coasts of the island lie within the Phillip Island Important Bird Area, so identified by BirdLife International because of its importance in supporting significant populations of fairy penguins, short-tailed shearwaters and Pacific gulls. In addition, there is a wildlife park where wallabies and kangaroos roam freely amongst the visitors and can be fed by hand. Seal Rocks, at the western end of the island, hosts the largest colony of fur seals in Australia (up to 16,000). In recent years, other than local population of critically endangered endemic Burrunan dolphins or migratory killer whales, southern right whales and humpback whales are starting to show recoveries in the area long after commercial and illegal hunts by the Soviet Union with the help of Japan in 1970s, and the numbers using the area as nursery are growing rapidly, allowing a rise in hopes to establish commercial whale watching activities in the vicinity of the island.

But the real highlight of the place is the penguin parade. Every evening, a bunch of ~1000 penguins waddle up from the deep blue ocean, into their burrows on the island. They have been continusly studied since the sixties, so by now, they are used to being stared at. Again, they can’t be watched from close quarters, due to it being in the evening, and because the burrow area is restricted to visitors. It is amazing how the staff have taken care not to disturb these gentle creatures in any way, opting to let them enjoy life in the wide open.

We also went trekking to Pinnacles, its a 2 hour return hike at the southern most tip of the island. Blue, pristine waters. High in the air on the cliffs. The feeling cannot be easily explained.

Again, the way these sites have been preserved it astonishing. Auzzies really know mother nature, and have steps in place to preservce ancient sites like these. And visitors happily comply. Most of the hiking areas and beaches are free, and see millions of tourists annually. But there was no litter to be seen on the beach. Neither in the water. With only a few sign boards asking visitors to keep the place clean, they have managed to enforce a cleanliness lockdown.

 

Happy to have moved here. And there are still more places to explore.