There also needs to be a qualifying statement

The ACCC says registration and compulsory thirdparty insurance payments arent mandatory to buy a vehicle, only to operate it on the road. However, the insurance levy charged varies according to whether your suburb is classified low, medium or high risk making it practically impossible to generalise and be precise in ads. The minimum requirement for advertising a cars price to satisfy the new guidelines (and therefore likely to be the most widely adopted practice) is for ads to include the recommended retail price of the car and a separate sum representing the combined dealer delivery charge and stamp duty. There also needs to be a qualifying statement, "Other onroad costs additional" referring to, but not quantifying, the registration and compulsory thirdparty insurance. However, by permitting the combining of the nonnegotiable statutory stamp duty fee with the oftnegotiable "dealer delivery fee" in a single aggregate, consumers are left guessing how much each is, without tracking down the applicable stamp duty scales and doing the maths. Without knowing how much of extra cost the dealer delivery fee represents, youd be unsure how much negotiating room you have. "Wed be going beyond the Trade Practices Act to say that youd have to specify the (dealer) delivery charge," Mr Martin says. The ACCC prefers dealers, if theyre advertising a cars price, to adopt "drive away, no more to pay" deals: a single allin dollar amount that includes registration and compulsory thirdparty insurance. But hold on arent these the very fees that werent "mandatory"? Its "best practice", the ACCC says, as "consumers should expect to pay no more than the advertised price". What the ACCC warns is likely to contravene the Trade Practices Act is an advertisement that lists the base price of the car plus the separate dollar amounts of GST, Rosetta Stone dealer delivery and administration fees and stamp duty. It seems a strange outcome. Isnt that exactly what buyers want to know that is, where theyre being stung, and by how much? In answer to that, the ACCC says the courts have held such a price treatment to be a complex or ambiguous calculation because it doesnt give the total of all mandatory charges or specify the cash price of the vehicle. "What the courts have said is that the price components must not be difficult to calculate, they must not be ambiguous," Mr Martin says. He adds: "In terms of consumer interest, its always tricky to know which way to go. If you insist on everybody listing all these things, the judge tells us thats complex. And is it fair on the industry to have to list all this stuff? As long as people know what theyre going to pay when they walk out the door in terms of the headline figure, I would have thought thats the main thing." Consumers need to be alert, too, to whos actually advertising the price: the manufacturer or a dealer. The new guidelines say manufacturers can recommend retail prices, but an advertisement may be misleading or deceptive if it conveys the impression a car can be bought from a dealer at the RRP. Manufacturers ads need to state that the price excludes other mandatory charges that may vary from trader to trader, and that the cars cant be bought directly from the factory. Where the ACCC warns the car industry that its ads could run into illegal pricefixing contraventions are those ads that are jointly done by the manufacturer and a group of dealers. If the advertised price has the effect, or likely effect, of controlling or maintaining prices by the parties agreeing to an artificially high advertised price, its likely to be deemed anticompetitive.

Read More

The cheesy Talkin' 'bout Your Generation

Bratich beat much more prominent WAGs for the crown, including Lara Bingle and Lee Furlong. This column is looking forward to the magazine potentially hosting a similar poll for Australia's SCRWAGs, or Sydney's Crime Relos Wives and Girlfriends featuring the likes of Shayda Bastani Rad, girlfriend of the targeted Sydney identity Fadi Ibrahim. GOT A TIP?Contact diarysmh.au or 9282 2179 WITH THE RATINGS RACE After running a distant third for the first half of the year, Channel Ten has some unlikely programs to thank for closing the ratings gap on its freetoair rivals. Last week the network finished in third place, with 24.5 per cent, just 1 percentage point behind Channel Nine and two behind Channel Seven. The ABC was fourth with 17.4 per cent and SBS finished with a 5 per cent audience share for the week. Along with the regular ratings boon of MasterChef Australia, which averaged more than 1.4 million for two episodes, Ten had two programs in the top five mostwatched for the week. The cheesy Talkin' 'bout Your Generation, which features Amanda Keller (pictured), managed what countless Ten game show launches in recent years have failed to do remember the doomed dating show Taken Out? Generation averaged 1.6 million and finished in third place for the week. It was followed by another unusual topfive inclusion, a repeat episode of Ten's US crime drama NCIS, which averaged 1.56 million. A second repeat episode of NCIS averaged 1.31 million. Either this show is so good viewers can't wait to watch it again (it's not) or there is a lack of quality, fresh crime drama in prime time. The rest of Rosetta Stone Software the top 10 for the week was rounded out by Channel Seven news and reality programs including Seven's Sunday night news, which was the most watched with 1.7 million. There was also a lone ABC wolf, Spicks And Specks, which averaged 1.45 million despite the suspension of its Wednesday night partner, The Chaser's War On Everything. With no programs in the top 10, Nine settled instead with its programs filling the top 20, including RPA and Getaway. A BIG DAY FOR FRANK LOWY The man who has done all the hard work had to look up to the eager politicians mugging for photos with soccer stars at yesterday's launch of Football Federation Australia's bid to host the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup finals. The FFA chairman competed for the cameras against the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, the Socceroo captain, Lucas Neill, and the Opposition Leader, Malcolm Turnbull. WITH THE PRESS GALLERY The Press Gallery Midwinter Ball the annual kneesup for federal pollies and journos celebrates its 10th anniversary at the Great Hall at Parliament House on Wednesday. Proceeds from the ball and auctions including journos bidding for a dinner with the Prime Minister will go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. All of cabinet and senior members of the Opposition are expected to attend, with one exception Julia Gillard will instead be on her way to the US and on to Israel. The Deputy Prime Minister will not be the only one sorely missed. At last year's event her partner, hairdresser Tim Mathieson, kept his table entertained with an indepth analysis of the hairstyles of various political figures. WITH YOUTH AWARDS While grassroots performers hoping to crack the big time collect their gongs tonight at the annual live entertainment industry awards, or Mo Awards to be held at Blacktown RSL another youthoriented awards scheme, the SOYA Awards, will have its 2009 launch tomorrow at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Read More

Heartland of hedonism

The holiday activity is relentless but peace prevails atthe new Club Med in Mauritius, writes David Scott. Seventeen cubes of light permeate the steam and bring faintoptical relief inside the hamam. It's still dark and hot but thegentle pipe music brings tranquillity to this corner of Club Med'supmarket resort in Mauritius. If the steam disappeared, theskylights would illuminate ornate floral tiles and the occasionalsweaty body. But the steam stays and so does the prevailingpeace. The southern end of the resort is called the zen area. There'san infinity pool where the water seems to run straight into theIndian Ocean. There's a restaurant to balance the sumptuous buffetat the northern end of the resort. And there's the spa, CinqMondes, with a range of treatments and the adjoining saunas, hamamand gym. Advertisement: Story continues below You are already in the tropics, in humid high20s, yet the steamroom seems to take another step towards the Club Med idyll:happiness. Club Med approaches the pursuit of happiness with scientificprecision at La Plantation d'Albion, its flagship resort on thewest coast of Mauritius. I'm among a group of Australians who arrive, jetlagged anddisoriented, to a welcome of traditional sega dancers and steeldrums. Smiling staff thrust cocktails into our hands and thefeeling of wellbeing becomes contagious. Suddenly, the jet lag hasdisappeared. The smiling staff are known as GOs, or Gentils Organisateurs,and they play a variety of roles at La Plantation d'Albion. Theywelcome us to breakfast, correct our slice on the golf drivingrange, teach us to sail a catamaran and set us up with a predinnerdrink or two. An Australian visitor confessed to other guests that she feltslightly uncomfortable in the water during a snorkellingexpedition. A GO promptly jumped in and held her hand as she swam,so she could continue Rosetta Stone Greek gawking at the rich reef life. Club Med pioneered the allinclusive holiday: once in theresort, it is possible to enjoy myriad activities, from sailing andarchery to golf and a session in the hamam. Some activities, such as excursions, scuba diving and spatreatments, cost extra but the variety of free activities and theendless buffet Italian, Mauritian, French, African and Chinese ensure that no guest can be bored or hungry. There's also a newfeature an open bar with options including champagne or cocktailsusing Mauritian rum. Five years ago, Club Med faced a choice for its worldwideportfolio of holiday resorts: to go upmarket or downmarket. "It was budget or best," says Club Med's chief executive, HenriGiscard d'Estaing, who was visiting during my stay. "We asked ourcustomers and they said, 'You should try to be the best."' Conscious of a brand built on quality, Club Med sold 65properties and spent $1.5 billion opening 20 new upmarket resorts.La Plantation is Club Med's second resort in Mauritius. The other,La Pointe aux Cannoniers, is off the northeast coast among acluster of hotels around the party town of Grand Baie. La Pointe isa fourtrident property for families, while La Plantation has fivetridents and stresses its seclusion. For its move upmarket in Mauritius, Club Med has done away withstandard rooms. French architect Marc Hertrich designed LaPlantation with 266 rooms. The 176 club rooms each span 41 squaremetres, the 60 deluxe rooms have 50 square metres and, for theultimate in luxury, the 30 beachfront suites sprawl over 71 squaremetres. Space is the main difference; all are beautifully appointed.Clawfoot baths, separate showers and distinctive basins are part ofthe new Club Med style and the suites have sky views from thebathroom and a bottle of champagne on arrival. The kingsize beds are somehow soft and firm at the same time.Flat screens beam in Mauritian news and television, with an Englishlanguage station thrown in for good measure. All the rooms have outdoor settings, where you can enjoy a gin and tonic from theminibar and watch the cheeky macaque monkeys troop through theproperty.

Read More

United colours of Bhutan

Click for more photos Bhutan Unspecified Photo: Keith Austin The tiny kingdom in the Himalayas is an extraordinaryrefuge in a crazy world, writes Keith Austin. O173;ne of the best things you can take a Bhutanese man as apresent, say the guidebooks, is a fancy pair of kneelength Argylesocks. Yeah, sure, I thought, and instead stocked up on thoselittle koalas that cling to your bag or lapel. But here we are and there's our guide, Sangay Dorji, standingoutside Bhutan International Airport with a smile as wide as thejet we just flew in on. He is dressed in a gho, the nationalcostume of Bhutan, which it is compulsory to wear during the day onpain of a fine. Advertisement: Story continues below The gho looks, basically, like a threequarterlength wrapoverdressing gown. On his feet are shiny black formal shoes. In betweenare, you guessed it, kneelength Argyle socks. It is an incongruous mixture and yet it works. He looks smartand full of wellplaced pride. A lot like Bhutan itself. Here is acountry that is the flavour of the moment, at least in the travelbusiness and among the famous, where it's not so much a causecelebre as a celebrity clause. Joanna Lumley has made a documentary about it; budding BuddhistRuby Wax wrote about it for Britain's Daily Mail; DemiMoore has been there; and the eternally bemused Michael Palintravelled through it, one dubious eye on the penis wall murals, forhis documentary Himalaya. Here in Australia the former magazine editor Bunty Avieson livedthere while her partner, the producer Mal Watson, worked on thefilm Travellers and Magicians with the moviemaking lama Khyentse Norbu. Her book about that experience, A Baby in aBackpack to Bhutan, is a fascinating insight into everydaylife in what she calls "a little pocket of sanity in a world gonemad". Holy Himalayas, even Bruce Wayne Rosetta Stone Spanish Spain supposedly ended up there inBatman Begins, the latest instalment of the Dark Knightsaga. And when a comic book character has been there, you know it'sfinally on the map. (He didn't really go there those scenes werefilmed in Iceland, probably to avoid altitudesickness problems ina country that is, literally, in the clouds.) Which makes it the place to which everybody, and nobody, hasbeen. It's traditional when writing about this tiny Himalayan kingdomto resort to cliches: comparing it with the hidden paradise ofShangriLa (from James Hilton's 1933 novel, Lost Horizon)is the horse that's most dragged from the stables and flogged toexpiration. It's also the Land of the Thunder Dragon, a mystical countrythat time forgot, a time machine, a step through the lookingglass. What it is is an absolute monarchy where the king, Jigmi SingyeWangchuck, truly is revered and where that same king is trying todo himself out of a job by introducing democracy while alsodeclaring that gross domestic happiness is more important thangross domestic product. Whatever that means. It was the last place on Earth to allow in the dreaded TV (in1999, and they're still not convinced), the first place to bansmoking but not betelnut chewing, which gives you throat cancer,and where the national sport is archery played by men inmanycoloured ghos using stateoftheart bows. It's a place where stray dogs roam the streets and howl and barklate into the night because the people are Buddhists who won't killthings but who are happy to eat meat if someone else has done theslaughtering. Most people find it endlessly fascinating even those whohaven't been there and yet one wellseasoned traveller I knowdescribed it as "passionless". My overriding impression? Disneyworld. Couldn't get it out of myhead (except on a fiveday trek when I developed bronchitis and allthoughts were concentrated on not coughing up a lung).

Read More

I had to remind Jason that he was part of a team

Akermanis no longer worried about what people thought of his handstand celebrations at the end of games, his outspoken columns, his bleached hair and darkened goatee (he had gone blonde when he found there too many talented redheads on the Lions list.) "everyone wants to be liked but I've got to the point of acceptance. My accomplishments and where I've come from give me strength to make me who I am." This laudable confidence may have been his downfall at Brisbane. Unwilling, or unable to curb his media activities, his relationship reached a new low when a comment arose in cyberspace describing coach Leigh Matthews as a "fwit". He attributed the insult to his younger brother, apologised, and discontinued his 'Akarama' website, but was stood down from the final six matches of 2006, and by 2007, after 248 games in Brisbane colours, at 30 years of age, he was lining up for the Western Bulldogs in Melbourne. As if this was not eventful enough, Akermanis also established contact with his birth father during 2006, and met his halfbrother and two halfsisters for the first time. For the Bulldogs, playing as a goalkicking small forward, his output varied, but improved in his second season, 2008, when he was considered to be in AllAustralian form midway through the year. However, Akermanis was "read the riot act" after commenting on what he felt was a "negatively based" season review. Again, what the player saw as honesty, the club saw as destructive disloyalty. "It's not what they want (me doing media), they don't deal with it that well ... but big deal," he told The Age's Samantha Lane. Western Bulldogs president David Smorgon had words with the troublesome star. "I had to remind Jason that he was part of a team. And notwithstanding that he's won three premierships, he hasn't won a premiership with this current group of players, and that's what he basically was there for to help us, as a club, have success on the field." By the end of 2009, Akermanis was still a strong contributor for the Dogs he led the team's goalkicking with Rosetta Stone Spanish Latin 43 majors but no longer a lynchpin. Originally expected to retire at the end of the season, Akermanis eventually signed on for a final season on reduced terms. The Bulldogs had been only an agonising seven points from a grand final berth maybe a moment of Aker magic could help the Bulldogs snatch their first flag since 1954. Due to the reduction in his contract, Akermanis now earned nearly as much from his various media deals than he did from playing football. The form of Akermanis and the Bulldogs, whilst not terrible, did not live up to their high expectations in the first ten rounds of 2010. The Akermanis media voice became louder, with a role at new radio station MTR giving him a platform to discuss such topics as the standard of modern footballs. Then came his article about homosexuality and football. In the firestorm of reaction, there was confusion about the various versions of the article, and whether they had been approved by the club. Akermanis eventually admitted he made a "small mistake" complaining about his article being changed. Many Bulldogs players and officials, desperate for unity, were unhappy. The administration arranged to meet to decide what course of action was necessary. The footy world waited to see if the brilliant iconoclast would survive his latest drama, sure of only one thing they wouldn't die wondering what Aker thought about any of it Jason Akermanis: milestones 1977 February 24 Born, in Mildura 1984 First game of football, for South Mildura under11s, as a seven'yearold. (he starred.) 1986 Akermanis and family move to Queensland, where he plays footy for Mayne. 1990 Akermanis is told by his mother's best friend that he is not the son of John Akermanis, as he had believed. 1991 A serious injury leads to thoughts of suicide 1992 Taking a year off Aussie Ruiles, Akermanis thrives as an athlete, winning a scholarship to prestigious Nudgee College.

Read More

Feminism Is Not Over

Germaine Greer takes part in a Women's Liberation march in Sydney in 1972. To claim the movement is a failure is not only wrong, it fails to grasp its complexity. In the past decade we've become used to gloom-and-doom announcements - that feminism has let women down, has been unsuccessful in delivering on its promises, and that the hoped-for feminist utopia has failed to materialise. And, of course, it's true that women everywhere still face problems, some of them enormous and daunting. But is this a sign of feminism's failure, or simply of how much work remains to be done? No feminist that I have ever met thinks feminism has ''succeeded'' in the sense that it is a completed program, with its work finished and all its goals achieved. Advertisement: Story continues below Indeed, I think the feminist revolution has only just begun. Gender inequality is complex and pervasive, and it manifests in many different contexts around the globe. There is no quick fix; no simple solution to all the problems that women face. Let me give an example. I recently came across a 19th-century discussion of so-called conjugal rights; a man's legal right to have sex with his wife - rape her, in effect - whenever he wanted. For the first wave of feminists in Australia, active in the 19th and early 20th century, the abolition of conjugal rights was an important goal. Yet it took a century for rape in marriage to be outlawed in this country - 1985 in the state of Victoria. Should we see these early feminists and their ideals as failures because it took a long time to achieve this goal? Or should we see them as heroic women whose fight would be continued by other women, and whose aims would ultimately be achieved? Saying that feminism has failed is short-sighted and simplistic, because it misunderstands and underestimates both feminism and the problems feminism is seeking to solve. After all, who are these feminists that are said to have failed? We've usually got that archetypical feminist in mind - often she is the second-wave activist who marched for women's lib in the 1970s and became a femocrat in the '80s, hammering away at the glass ceiling. The feminists who fit that description did incredible work - they helped secure many of the fundamental reforms that we take for granted Rosetta Stone Korean today - but still, they represent only one strand of feminism, and one approach. Real feminism is constantly evolving and splintering; it's broad, it's dynamic. Feminism attempts to articulate and redress injustices against women in a dazzling variety of contexts. We don't have a bible. It's not a cult. And there never was a feminist central command, with Germaine Greer at the head of the coven, declaring that by the year 2010 a specific set of demands must be met. Yet reducing feminism to a simplistic stereotype, then declaring it a failure, is far easier, more entertaining and probably more satisfying than grappling with nuance. It makes a better headline for a Sunday magazine supplement. It just happens to be completely wrong. Yes, some feminists have failed to achieve their goals. Others manifestly have not. There have been mistakes made, and unintended consequences that still need figuring out. Yet feminism will continue anyway, even if there are occasional setbacks and failures, because at the heart of all feminist activity is a simple desire to create a better, more just world for women. This does not mean that we should never be critical of feminist ideas. It's not a love-in. Disagreement among feminists is a sign of health, not failure. The very fact that we are able to define and discuss the many complex problems that women still face is due to feminism; that words such as sexual harassment, domestic violence, sexism - words we now take for granted - have entered the vernacular. Feminism has given us a language to talk about these issues. And in doing this, in putting them on the public agenda, feminism has succeeded even if women's problems have not all been ''solved''.

Read More

There's no need to hire a car

The legendary Cafe Hawelka. Photo: Along cobblestone streets, Robert Upe enjoys smoky coffee houses and the sweet cakes of this European city. The surly waiter wears a bow-tie and has a white handkerchief neatly pointing out of the top pocket of his black jacket as he circles the tables bearing a silver tray of coffee and tap water. He is a big man and his fingers are thick, like over-boiled frankfurts; they look like mitts better suited to a carpenter nailing an A-frame on a new Tyrolean house than handling strudels in one of Vienna's most intriguing cafes. The service is brisk at Cafe Hawelka but I am here to linger, despite the cigarette fumes, in one of Vienna's few remaining coffee houses in ''original'' condition. Entering Cafe Hawelka is like stepping into a sepia movie. Humphrey Bogart would be at home at this time-worn coffee house that opened in 1906 and survived the bombings of World War II without a broken window pane. Advertisement: Story continues below The ageing owner is Guenter Hawelka and in between helping his surly main man he tells me that much of the furniture, and dust, in the dark wood-panelled cafe is from 1906. I don't think he is joking. Guenter's father, Leopold, 99, bought the cafe in 1939 and he is also front of house: not serving but keeping an eye on comings and goings from his favourite seat. He wears a suit and bow-tie and is a picture of Austrian formality and grace as he patiently sits while tourists take his photo. Cafe Hawelka is legendary as a meeting place of writers, artists, actors and musicians and, more lately, tourists. Despite the increasing number of travellers arriving for coffee, it is still an authentic Austrian experience. Visit any time but it is liveliest between 11pm and 1am. The house speciality is buchteln, a jam-filled and sugar-topped bun made by Guenter to a secret family recipe and served from the oven at 10pm. Cafe Hawelka, Dorotheergasse 6, 1010 Vienna, open Mon-Sat 8am-2am, Sun 10am-2pm, closed Tue. Buchteln 1.40 ($2), coffee 3.60; 8am Breakfast at Hotel Rathaus is a feast of European food: dark ryes, fresh butter and homemade jam, pickled herring, prosciutto, cheeses, continental sausages and pastries. Rathaus does not sound appealing in English. However, it means city hall and this Rosetta Stone software wine-themed boutique hotel in a converted four-storey townhouse is centrally located and admired for its funky character and a rattling wrought-iron lift. Each of the 39 rooms is unique but think of wooden floors, ultra-modern furniture, mood lighting, open-plan bathrooms and pleasurable rain showers. Each room is dedicated to an Austrian winemaker with an image and name emblazoned on the door and corresponding wines in the minibar. In my room, 308, Krutzler wines are 19-29 a bottle and there are black-and-white photos of wine bottles and vineyards on the walls. The Austrian wine industry was scandalised in 1985 when some winemakers added the chemical diethylene glycol to their wines to make them taste better. Following the destruction of about 36 million bottles of wine, the industry bounced back and is known for its quality rather than quantity, with the peppery gruener veltliner dry white wine style particularly lauded. Hotel Rathaus Wine and Design, Lange Gasse 13, 1080 Vienna; rooms from 118, breakfast 15; Hotel Bristol is also recommended for its character; rooms from Or try Schweizer Pension on a budget, from 44 a night; 10am Before exploring, it's helpful to know Vienna is divided into 23 districts. The first district, also called the Innere Stadt, comprises Vienna's historic centre with cobblestone streets and a concentration of museums, galleries and shops. Districts 2-9 surround the Innere Stadt and are good locations to stay. For a range of city maps see vienna.info. There's no need to hire a car. The underground train system, trams and buses are easy to use, punctual and feel safe. The 72-hour Vienna Card (18.50, from hotels and some train stations) provides unlimited access to public transport plus discounts to 210 attractions and is the most economical way to get around for tourists. Use the card for a discount on the yellow tourist Ring Tram, which clatters around a 25-minute Innere Stadt route and provides glimpses of Vienna's landmarks, such as the State Opera and Hofburg Imperial Palace. There are headphones on the tram and running commentary in several languages.

Read More