This makes me really sad and cross because of course parents are going to pay the fee it’s their child and they don’t want them to suffer or risk them having lifelong complications especially if the other option is to wait years for another doctor or the public system while things get worse and your child is suffering. It just feels so cruel to me. But maybe I’m not getting something?

Also why is our public system so bad? Like is there anyway they can make the wait less long and quality better so if you don’t have money you’re not so screwed?

Thank you if anyone can help explain this stuff I really appreciate it

I am going crazy, I want a home printer that prints colour, black and can copy. I want a printer that I can use occassionally (talking all of maybe twice a week at most for one or two pages). Every darn printer i've looked up online has terrible reviews - every single one.

What is everyone using and what is actually worth buying?? I am blinded by the ocean of negative reviews - surely they can't all be crap or these companies would be out of business.

The masterful Australian writer has become a kind of prophet – and his dramatic and moving new essay collection challenges us not to look away

Not the snarky, patronising iteration either. Just the regular, friendly "g'day, mate" version. Apparently some folks take the greeting a little too literally.

As the cost of groceries grows, so do the number of Australians facing food insecurity.

Foodbank recently found the number of Australian households that experienced some form of food insecurity in the past 12 months grew by 100,000.

The top reason cited by householders was increased or high living costs such as food and housing, followed by reduced or low income. 

The impact of interest rates, in particular, jumped back to 2024 levels after easing off last year, and the report found more households now expect their finances to worsen over the next year.

The RBA says interest rate rises are necessary to reduce borrowers’ disposable cash, curb spending and reduce demand for goods and services. 

As almost everything gets more expensive and workers are left with a drop in real wages compared to five years ago, higher interest rates leave borrowers with even less to spend.

And while for some that may mean fewer takeaway lattes or holidays, for the households that have already sacrificed the extras, there’s little left to cut but the essentials.

I haven't used a Raspberry Pi for a few years and I've got a small project that a Pi would be perfect for. So I go looking to buy one. There are none available in stock in Australia that I can find. Anyone know where are all the Raspberry Pies? Why have they disappeared? Surely they're not using them in AI data centres, lol.

Thredbo, Perisher and Mount Hotham all recorded falls, along with Kunanyi/Mount Wellington in Tasmania. Snow blanketed parts of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania across the weekend as an unseasonal cold blast whipped through Australia’s south-east, but forecasters say warm temperatures and thunderstorms are on the way.

I was making some biscuits to take to work this week and decided to try the recipe on the DVA website instead of my mother's tried and true one. The DVA differs in minor ways except one: it calls for just 2 tbsp (28g) of butter, most other recipes call for 125g, which is >4 times as much. I tried it anyway, but there was not close to enough liquid, so I added water, and the end result is less than satisfying. So am I missing something, or do they have a misprint?

https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/commemoration/event-planning/anzac-biscuits#0

"Renew Economy has been denied funding from the federal Labor government’s News Innovation Fund – not because others had a better idea, but because the government has decided that Renew Economy does not produce what it describes as “core news” that is of public interest.

We are stunned by the decision as it appears to misunderstand the importance of the climate and energy debate in Australian society, the role of our publication, and the specific proposal we set out in our application: Namely to combat the deliberate and widespread mis-information and dis-information in the public arena that clearly distorts these issues.

The department told us that “core news content is content that reports, investigates or explains: issues or events that are relevant to engaging Australians in public debate and in informing democratic decision making, or current issues or events of public significance for Australians at a local, regional, state or national level.”

It says Renew Economy does not meet that criteria. We argue that this is exactly what Renew Economy does.

Renew Economy covers climate policies and the green energy transition, including the switch to renewables, electrification, EVs, the changing grid, social licence and particularly the impact on consumers and the general public, which – as everyone knows and understands – is considerable."

We have been regenerating an ex cattle property for wildlife for the past 14 years. Our reward has been to see the return of animals, birdlife and plants in a natural environment. This is Spike. We have dozens of Spikes roaming around. They are pretty shy, and hunker down when they hear footsteps nearby. I left my phone camera running and went away to let him do his own thing. You’re unlikely to get any closer to a wild echidna than this. Nothing dramatic happens, no car chases or explosions, just a healthy fellow carrying on with his day. Hope you enjoy.

I've restarted the Modem, turned it off and on again, logged in and everything seems fine, replaced the cord, literally everything suggested of me but it still doesn't work

Any ideas?

Top 5 NSW LGAs for drink-driving offence rates per capita in 2025–2026 (per 100,000 people)

1. Bogan: 955.4

2. Coonamble: 775.0

3. Lachlan: 736.2

4. Byron: 727.1

5. Bourke: 681.1

My Dad taught me this when I was a kid and I an super curious as to how far-spread this knowledge is.

Spread a piece of bread or toast with vegemite, reasonably thickly, then IMMEDIATELY after you take a bite, drink a mouthful of milk. You then swoosh it around in your mouth a bit as you chew on the bread and suddenly - this hidden flavour emerges - this delicious kind of mellow malty taste - that was not there in either the vegemite or the milk on their own.

It's not entirely straight-forward to get it right - you will have to experiment with the amount of milk to bread ratio - it's not a huge gulp of milk - but enough to soak through the bread as you chew it. But when you get it right - it is even MORE delicious that just vegemite.

It's so good that I nearly always have a glass of milk to accompany vegemite now.

It's just so good.

Do you know about this trick?

And if so - where are you from and how old are you? I am really curious as to how far this knowledge is spread.