Thursday 2nd of May 2024
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top bananas...

top bananas

It took just two days for the price of bananas to jump in supermarkets after Cyclone Yasi hit, but the early price rise is the result of a gesture from the major chains to help farmers recover.

Coles and Woolworths have back-paid farmers for bananas picked before the cyclone in anticipation of crop damage.

Banana Growers chief executive Jonathan Eccles says it is a positive move on behalf of the supermarket chains.

"What both supermarkets have done - the fruit that's already in their warehouses - they have backdated payments to the growers at well above what was the normal price they were paying," he said.

"So as an example, $16 to $18 was probably just the going rate pre-cyclone, and now they're paying $50 to $60 a box back to the grower for that fruit that was already in their warehouse."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/08/3133471.htm?section=justin

Gus: thank you... Excellent policy. Make us pay more for the bended fruit to support the farmers... And at the same time I understand that with a higher wholesale price comes a bigger profit margin, or am I mistaken? Unless as prices go up, we buy less — that's the leverage of the Federal Reserve on interest rates. Bugger. The banana business can be complicated...

adding more bends & curves .....

Hi Gus,

I never cease to be amazed with the generosity displayed by awstraylens, particularly if it involves giving away other people's stuff .....

I'm not surprised that Jonathon Eccles is happy with Woolworths & Coles, as would his banana-bender members, who still stand to benefit from all forms of government & community handouts, in addition to the windfall gains being extracted from us in the meantime .... if we're dumb enough to buy bananas.

Down my way, the community is up in arms over our local Council having decided to donate $10,000 of ratepayers' funds to the Premier's Flood relief Fund in QLD.

The Fund has raised in excess of $200 million to-date, due to the extraordinary generosity of thousands of businesses, big & small, & millions of Australians across the nation giving what they can & is testament to the real spirit of generosity that runs through most Australians. Having said that, many in our community don't feel that the Council donating ratepayers' funds is in the same spirit, & that whilst the gesture might make our Councillors feel & look good, it is no different to me trying to give-away something of value that belongs to you & I'd probably wind-up before the Courts for attempted theft.

But, to quote that renowned philosopher & nation-builder; the solitary figure on the hill, looking into the middle distance in stoical silence; that great protector of the people; the master of democracy, mister dopus dei himself ... the great budgie smuggler: "shit happens".

Cheers,

John.

 

pear-shaped...

One of the misunderstood purpose of the levy to rebuild "flood-ravaged" Queensland is to reconstruct the "infrastructure" that was demolished or damaged by the floods — to build it to flood-proof standards possibly. Add cyclone Yasi to this and the need for the government to raise some extra money is necessary. Donations may reach 350 millions but the need is in the vicinity of 5 billions...

Cutting the broadband roll-out is not an option. Deferring aid to poor countries is not an option.

I am 99.9 per cent confident that had Tony and his cronies been in power, they would have slapped all Orstralyens with a levy — possibly a fixed cash deduction independent of income to make it look "democratic"... Tony would also have gone back to the days of horse and buggy in regard to the NBN... This of course would have pleased Uncle Rupe...

see Pear-like shape of Korean broadband....

scott who .....

Hi Gus,

And you can feel the hand of the little scumbag on your knee at every opportunity ... this time below, he's got Scott Morrison playing 'straight man' & it's left up to Joe Hockey to try & defuse the situation, which he seems to have managed to do.

Cheers,

Senior Liberal MP Joe Hockey has taken on a Coalition colleague critical of the funeral arrangements for victims of the Christmas Island boat tragedy, saying Australia has an "obligation" to their families.

A row has broken out over taxpayer-funded travel arrangements for family attending funeral services for victims of December's Christmas Island disaster, with the opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison saying the cost was unreasonable.

But Mr Hockey, the opposition treasury spokesman disagreed, saying: "I would never seek to deny a parent or a child from saying goodbye to their relative."

At least 30 people died when the asylum seeker boat crashed on rocks and broke apart off Christmas Island's Rocky Point on December 15.

"No matter what the colour of your skin, no matter what the nature of your faith, if your child has died or a father has died, you want to be there for the ceremony to say goodbye, and I totally understand the importance of this to those families," Mr Hockey said.

"I think we as a compassionate nation have an obligation to ensure that we retain our humanity during what is a very difficult policy debate."

The government has defended its decision to cover the cost of flying the asylum-seeker group from Christmas Island to Sydney where the funerals are being held today.

Hockey Breaks Ranks On Boat-People Funeral Row