I feel sorry for IGA supermarkets because much as one wants to shop there it is simply too expensive to do so.

Before coming down to Melbourne we lived in a Brisbane suburb that had only one supermarket. It belonged to Coles and I’ve never been so frustrated by a supermarket store as I was by this one.

It was a well known fact in New Farm that prices at this Coles were high. Without competition there was no incentive to win over customers. Items were often out of stock or out of date.

So when we heard that an IGA store was going to open in the vicinity of Coles, the locals were quite excited about the prospect. The IGA opened with a fanfare. Our local member was there to launch the whole thing and I looked forward to shopping there.

I went to the IGA store a few times because I was keen to support it. However, it turned out that the ordinary grocery lines at IGA were more expensive than those at that infernal Coles, so, instead, I chose to travel a long distance once a week to do my main shopping elsewhere. The result of all this was that the local Coles supermarket lost out on my business as did the new IGA store. I was so fed up with the whole thing that I was prepared to give up on the district.

Much as IGA ads on TV promise that their prices are competitive, I have visited several of them and they can’t beat the two bigger chains .

Apparently, according to the ACCC report which I rubbished (…just a little) yesterday, Metcash, which supplies the IGA stores is responsible for charging each individual IGA store too high a wholesale price for its goods. Apparently it can’t match Woolworths’ and Coles’ wholesale prices

Now, even though the ACCC cannot do anything about the problem of Metcash, at least it has explained why IGA prices are much higher than those at Woolworths and Coles. Of course, this leaves the consumer in as bad a position as before. To understand why IGA is expensive may be beneficial, but when it comes to the hip pocket nerve, one goes for value.

As the ACCC says, we need more competition, but how can we have that when the population of Australia is so small that it does not attract the major large enterprises such as Wal-Mart? Having enjoyed shopping at several Wal-Marts in the U.S I think it would be wonderful if this chain came Downunder. Then Coles and Woolworths would have to confront real competition.

When I heard the result of Kevin Rudd’s official inquiry into food prices, I was not surprised. Any idiot can tell that prices are going through the roof and that nothing is going to be done about them. But it takes an especially duplicitous candidate for the Prime Ministership to pretend that an inquiry is going to lower prices. To be honest, Rudd never said he would lower grocery prices, but he certainly gave the impression that he would. And that’s what got him elected.

Let’s face it, how can any politician guarantee that prices will fall under his watch unless he becomes a dictator and nationalises the food industry? So we are destined to suffer from rising food prices and we cannot turn to the government for help.

And as for that ACCC, our consumer and competition watchdog, the best that it can do is to suggest that the large supermarket duopoly precludes competition. And for that bit of wisdom they get paid? Can the ACCC do anything about the problem? Of course not.

So here’s the scenario for the near future. Prices will continue to rise. We will continue to pay more and more while Rudd and the other bureaucrats will hold inquiries. It’s the old chant about “Something must be done about rising food costs. An inquiry is something. So let’s do it.”

Perhaps Rudd should hold an inquiry into the efficacy of inquiries. Sounds ridiculous? Not to our Prime Minister. When things turn sour, he will find any excuse to hold one. After all, he likes to portray himself as a very assiduous man and what can be more assiduous than holding thousands of inquiries and producing reams of statistics without solving one ruddy problem?

Is this a crazy world or what?

The Palestinians are at war with Israel. They declare it constantly. They teach their children in kindergarten and on TV that the Israelis are Satans who must be destroyed.

And yet, when some Fatah members are in danger from Hamas, where do they run for refuge? To Israel. Can you believe it? They are more terrified of their fellow Arabs in Hamas than they are of their “occupiers.”

So what does that say about Hamas? I shake my head at the irony of it all…

Financial experts are warning us that Australia’s economic future looks bleak. We may indeed face a recession next year and people may lose their jobs. Not an illustrious beginning for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his treasurer, Wayne Swan.

Isn’t it amazing that when the miracle worker came to power last November he was so quick to point out that Australia is suffering from inflation. The treasurer talked down the economy so successfully that we are now in trouble. Is this the recession we have to have just as it was in another Labor Prime Minister’s term? I always felt that when Wayne Swan (at Rudd’s command) told us that bad times is a comin’ it would be a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s like pointing the bone.

I find it hard to believe that Swan can now show his face in public and tell us that others are responsible for depressing the economy. Yes, there was a problem in the U.S with subprime loans and yes, some of the institutions took a blow, but Swan should have emphasised that Australia was in a good position. He should have done a Winston Churchill and offered encouragement rather than gloom. In finance it’s very often a matter of perception, as it is with many things in life.

We seem to have gone from sunshine to doom and gloom in the space of six months. Paradise is lost for the time being while Rudd swans around at the Olympics. No doubt he will offer some more advice to the Chinese in robust Mandarin. I know I’m impressed.

The Prime Minister certainly collects thousands of frequent flyer points, doesn’t he? Too bad he believes the world stage is more important than our little country. He will probably take the credit for getting rid of the smog in Beijing as well. But then, perhaps we are better off when he is out of the country.

I wish he would take the Honourable Treasurer with him on his Grand Tours. Perhaps to Zimbabwe which, I hear, has a bit of an inflation problem too.

So here we are in Melbourne after a long car trip from Brisbane.

I’m surrounded by cartons which are slowly being unpacked.

The internet is up, but the email is still not working. Have you noticed how the name Telstra and Horror rhyme perfectly? Telstra only supports Microsoft Outlook apparently, so we are stuck.

We had the phone connected but had no phone books which is very weird because the technician should have carried phone books in his van with him. But instead, we had to phone Sensis and do the usual talking to a computer for half an hour only to be informed that we had to place an order for phone books which would take three days to come.

As it turned out, that information was incorrect. The phone books were waiting for us at the door the next day, but had we not gone outside and tripped over them they would still be there. It’s amazing how often Sensis gets it wrong and yet Telstra tells us that Sensis is the best thing that they have achieved. This could very well be true, of course, since Telstra is one lousy monopoly and has no reason to improve its service.

We need good competition between service providers and this arrangement that Telstra has cannot benefit the customer. As we waited for a human being to answer our call to Sensis we were assured by the friendly computer voice that it sincerely regrets the delay and that my call is important. It’s certainly comforting to hear that the recording cares but I would have liked it to end with “Have a nice day” and then I could have replied “No worries.”

For the past two weeks I have been immersed in sorting stuff, packing stuff and throwing out stuff. Quite frankly, I’m stuffed.

Yep, we are in the process of moving to another city. The cartons arrived about a week ago and I’ve had to decide how to fill them. This has to be one of the most excruciating experiences in life. I keep on complaining that I’m not good at this sort of thing. It’s killing me!

My laconic husband makes an entrance. He is calm and patronising… so annoying. He can’t see what the problem is. Why don’t I just decide what I want to keep and where I want to pack it?

He’s full of useless advice like that. If I could decide what I want to keep and if I knew where to pack it, there wouldn’t be a problem, would there?

I probably won’t post anything for a few days because my precious computer will be packed away tomorrow and who knows when Telstra will connect broadband at the other end?

Shouldn’t take me too long to unpack, I imagine. All I have to know is where I want to store all that stuff. How hard can that be?

After spending a fortune bringing back Dr Jayant Patel back to Australia to face several charges including manslaughter, he has now been granted bail on a surety of $20,000. What a joke! Is he actually going to sit around waiting for the trial?

I have already said that Patel will never be convicted for his alleged crimes and I reiterate my views. If it can be claimed that the paedophile, Dennis Ferguson, cannot get a fair trial in Queensland, then surely the same excuse can be made for Patel not being brought to court.

With a nickname like Dr Death how can he be given a fair trial here?

Let’s face it, if Jayant Patel did a runner while out on bail, Anna Bligh and the culpable Queensland Health Department would heave a sigh of relief. All they ever wanted was to look as if they were trying to bring Patel to justice.

The last thing the government of Queensland really need is to bring to light the terrible situation in Bundaberg and in other regional hospitals which encouraged doctors like Patel to perform surgery beyond their ability. But then the government is also guilty of that same fault as Patel and has been shown to be quite inept at providing adequate health care for the people of Queensland.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Queensland Health provides Patel with another business class ticket out of the state just as it did the first time that Patel left Australia.

I have always believed that if you negotiate with kidnappers and terrorists then you are asking for trouble. You are guaranteeing that there will be more kidnappings in the future and you are encouraging further acts of terrorism. Continue reading →

In 2001 I discovered the Suzanne Grae label. I wear very simple, casual clothes and found that the chain of stores called “Suzanne Grae” had quite a good selection of clothes at a reasonable price.

I chose a few items and was so impressed by the quality and style that I decided to write to Naomi Milgrom, the owner of the stores. I raved on about the colour range and the ease of care of the garments.

Yes, I probably went overboard with my praise because I must have jinxed the buyers at Suzanne Grae.

Since then I have had to admit that the quality has declined. It was so disappointing to find that there were hardly any co-ordinating outfits and I deplored the trailer trash fashion that was all the rage.

This happened all those years ago and I believe that the quality has consistently become worse. The stores sell stuff that I can’t possibly wear. In my view, the fabrics are cheaper and nastier with each passing year. Styles seem tarty and so I have had to reluctantly abandon Suzanne Grae.

Having come to the realisation that if I praise something then I can be guaranteed that my praise will be the kiss of death, I wonder if I could apply this same tactic to our Arab friends?

In my opinion, therefore, Arabs are the most wonderful, ethical, brave, intelligent people that I know and I wish them all the best!