Originally Posted by coloneldube

More info for anyone interested: we bought a car yesterday and thanks to our Australian son-in-law's amazing bargaining powers got $2K knocked off the asking price. Insurance through Coles has cost $405, we did this on line and didn't have any proof of no claims bonus but did have some boxes to tick about past claims (we've not had any claims in the last 4 years). I've also been trawling through looking for private health insurance. It's recommended that we do this and new migrants have 1 year from registering with Medicare to find insurance and qualify for the government rebate. We registered with Medicare when we came over to validate in April which in hindsight was a mistake but we still have until April to sort it out. The cheapest we have found so far is $160 per month for both of us, this includes 35% rebate as Tony is 69. That is for a very basic policy but I'm guessing that if we wanted to upgrade we could do so quite easily.'.

Cath & Tony

Originally Posted by Julian927

This is the type of information that we find so useful. Since putting our deposit down on the house we have been checking out buildings and contents insurance. We have been shocked at the quotes we have been getting......somewhere around the $2000 mark a year for combined policies. We subscribed to CHOICE (similar to Which and online) on our arrival here, one of the policies that they recommend is APIA which is specifically aimed at pensioners, if we take their "Defined Events" policy we could save $700 or if we take "Home Insurance Extra" which gives you new for old and accidental damage we still save $500. I know this is still a huge sum for insurance but it appears to be the best deal with a reliable firm.
Julie

Originally Posted by miscellaneous

Try AAMI, they were very helpful in my case, I only have a simple low key Building and contenets policy with them for my humble abode at £323,so might be worth a quote.

Best Wishes
Elaine

Originally Posted by Pollyana

On the contrary, a lot of people are talking about us breaking up the " site" and ruining the "forum", making people log in to different "sites" when they mean threads. Its been pointed out that many people are not familiar with the idea of a forum this large, or with the terms that go with it - a very common problem when people are new to the internet, regardless of which forum they are posting in. I'm being honest when I say I was baffled by the whole thing when i first found the site.

As with all my posts in the CPV threads, its meant to be helpful, I'm sorry you don't see it that way. If you mixed with most of the posters in the Barbie you'd find they share your opinion that I'm an interfering old busybody and should take a long walk off a short pier, but really I'm just doing my job

As an aside, I should add that it really makes no difference to me how much money you spend on someone who advertisers on the site. Being a premium member I don't see the ads anyway, and I certainly don't get any revenue from them!!

Originally Posted by sirmatt101

Just because people don't use the "correct" terminology it doesn't make them new to the internet!

With approx 32,275 threads in the Barbie there could possibly be some truth in the opinion!

Incidentally there are approx 68,000 threads in the Immigration, Visas & Citizenship Forum for Oz to trawl through!

I said I wouldn't post again, but having read so many narrow minded replies from the moderators, especially one who obviously thinks we are all on crutches, have no idea how to operate a computer, let alone find our way around the BE site, I am surprised that any of us have managed to get visas!

Matt

Originally Posted by charlie5

How on earth can you be doing your job if you are upsetting CUSTOMERS by not giving them what they want? I really seem to be living in a different world to you.

Charlie

Originally Posted by Centurion

What about those people who need information on CPVs and have to trawl through hundreds of banter or lifestyle posts to actually find information they need ? Or legitimate questions frustrated by being overwritten by chat by the vocal few and regular contributors.

As a person who had to sponsor my own mother in law through hers, I found this site invaluable in completing her application and no doubt others will. I've never contributed to the CPV threads in the past, simply put because I have no desire to read hundreds of posts of chat.

Is it really so painful to have immigration matters in its proper place and "lifestyle"/chat in another for the benefit of all ?

I would suggest that the majority of the readership on this forum are lurkers who rarely, if ever, post and use this as a source of information. Is it reasonable to have huge unwieldy threads masking the real pearls of wisdom we all have to share ?

Originally Posted by Sue

No members of BE are "customers" because we aren't "selling" anything.

Moderators are volunteers, it's not their job. They are just regular members like yourself. They just want to "give back" to the community and help people out. So I would really appreciate it if you could all bear that in mind.

Originally Posted by MikenSueNW3

RUBBISH!!!

Originally Posted by Les Avalook

How about we all just call a truce now.

We all, one way or another, have found our way back to this thread and maybe we can just nudge back to here any lost souls.

If we keep replying to the mods comments (and I know I am very guilty, but they started it ) they will never go back to lurking and our posts will just get lost in what looks like the mods and admin thread.

Hopefully in a day or so, like the snow, it will all just disappear.

As Ringo would say Peace and Love Peace and Love Peace and Love
(Gosh,I showing my age)

Originally Posted by charlie5

Yes, let us just get on with it and hope the moderators disappear again into their own world.

Charlie

Originally Posted by MikenSueNW3

Here, here!

Originally Posted by Sue

Hi everyone,

All that has happened is we've moved the off-topic, chit-chat posts to another thread. Our policy to keep the immigration forum free of chit-chat is not new, it's been in effect since the site started over 10 years ago.

We were sensitive to the fact that you had built up an infinity with each other, therefore instead of splitting your thread into countless new ones, all we did was take the chit-chat posts and put them into a new thread. So now instead of one thread you have two. One for chit-chat, one for immigration discussion. That way those that don't want to chit-chat and want to stick to the more serious issues will easily be able to indentify that topic, and the posts, that are applicatble to them. And those that want to chit-chat can continue to do so here. If you don't want to venture into any other threads on BE, that is of course up to you. You are more than welcome to just stick to the two threads and continue as you were before and not particpate in the rest of the forum.

Two threads are not a big deal, and no more difficult to keep track of than one. After all the volume of posts would be the same whether in one thread or two . (Oh and if you weren't aware you can follow any threads you have posted in here)


Please know we haven't done this to alienate anyone, on the contrary, we've done it so you can easily find the information that is pertinent to you, but at the same time be able to continue the chit-chat, and relationships, that you are building with each other
Sue

Originally Posted by MikenSueNW3

I can't really remember what you took exception to, Sue. But I have to repeat what I've said elsewhere in other words -- that too much interference by moderators is the enemy of free speech, and make a forum tantamount to living in a cyber-totalitarian state.

As for the sin of mentioning other sites, most members here are also members of other fora -- just compare their tags. Why on earth don't you simply accept that? There is a big difference between cross-referring and actively promoting another site to the detriment of this one. A forum IS the content posted by its members, and I truly believe that moderators should step in only in extremis -- where something truly offensive or threatening is posted.

Mike