Adventure Ausrama Blog

We are moving toward a safer driving future. It is not just the development of driver-less cars. Special highways will have to be built for these, so it some time away before it is in common use. Just how "hoons" are going to get their fix with no risky overtaking existing anymore is anyone's guess. No, it is all the research going into improving existing vehicles. Bosch Australia is working on a system whereby people walking behind a car will automatically trigger the brakes on a reversing vehicle. One company is already going ahead and selling its own version that can be fitted to older cars. Considering rear beepers have been on cars for years would the average driver buy the product? It would be easier to modify existing beepers to apply the breaks and have an override switch. Then, I am only a consumer not a developer. How do I know what I want? It would be useful if a toddler could be detected in a driveway for example. The family car market could certai

Despite the boom times in Australia which has finally peaked, a significant proportion of working Australians do not have permanent full-time positions. This is because both sides of politics have freed-up the hiring contract between employers and employees. The claim that bank holiday and annual leave pay is included in the casual rate is rubbish. People are hired for a per hour fee. No moneys are set aside for rest day payment.  Part-time employees can be called in to work at any time of the day or night. Even in management the market is distorted. Tests to find the "ideal" personality to do the job have never been tested in the real world. They have been written by university people who teach and must write a certain number of papers for "respected" journals. Governments are reducing employment in the public sector. When they have to get the work done in future by the private sector the real cost will become apparent.  While contractors offering specific

A fall in house prices is a good thing for first home buyers, but it puts a squeeze on the rental market. With lower property values investors invest in other things, the bank or the share market. You would think that rents would move up and down with the price of housing, believing that monthly rents are tied to monthly mortgage repayments. This is a generality that is not always true. The reality is that as house prices fall, rents go up as investment to built more rental properties declines. In Canberra rents increased by 2.2 per cent last year. Perth continues to experience a drain of money to mining areas from Perth city itself. Consequently, new rental properties have not been built and rents have also increased. Those on low incomes who do not earn enough to get a mortgage are at the mercy of the rental market. As rents rise they have to pay more. Furthermore, students from poor families cannot afford to pay high rents. Despite the mining boom in Australia, many a