Also, I checked the graphic Rugbyfan referred to, and it wasn’t held up as a direct quote of the Al Qaeda letter…

“America’s lackeys” had quotation marks, to indicate a direct quote, then the countries were listed, and yes, Australia was at the head for the reasons I pointed out in my previous post…

“learn your lesson.. the brigades of death are at your gates” was also directly quoted, hence the quotation marks.

I can see where Rugbyfan is coming from, but it wasn’t done to “scare” anyone… we have no control over every person’s interpretation, so it comes down to the individual…

Cheers
r

Hi guys,

It’s 7.41am at the minute, when i get in to work I’ll have a look at the scripts that our Sydney bulletin ran so I know what you’re talking about… in fact, I’ll cut and paste them so you know exactly what Jim Waley read.

Cheers
r

Also, just so there’s no doubt on where I stand on this issue, I will make the following statements… newsrooms across all media have different producers, reporters and news directors. That means different beliefs, ethics, interpretations, levels of intelligence etc.

I work for National Nine News. We report day to day events and we do it as accurately and objectively as we can. The person in charge is the news director, and no, we don’t do stories to keep the advertising dept or Kerry Packer happy.

As I have stated on these boards previously I have issues with the likes of A Current Affair and Today Tonight, who are into sensationalising. To call many of their stories journalism is an insult to journalists.

My main beef with Pisces is sweeping statements and criticisms of the media, because it’s too big to be covered by such comments. Like the oft repeated mantra here that there’s no such thing as THE real estate market, it’s made up of lots of different markets.

That’s all for now.
r

So what’s the answer to “doing more” then Pisces? Walk around looking over our shoulders all the time? I don’t know the answer myself…

And what relevance does this have to the discussion?: horrible stories like a young boy being shot in the street and left to rot all because he stole some food.

A lot of us have our stories Pisces, as aussierogue said, don’t assume we’re all sitting in armchairs.

r

Pisces,

It appears it doesn’t take much for you to get disturbed, since you so often describe things as “disturbing” you.

Speaking for Channel 9 only, would you like a Goebbels-type person sitting over my shoulder telling me what stories we should run, how they should be written and what pictures to use? Something tells me that perhaps you think that might be the way to go… The moment media and government jump into bed together is the moment we all become blind.

By all means be critical and analytical of what you see in the media, but don’t verge on hysterical and immediately label anything you don’t agree with as lies or sensationalism.

Answer me one question, what possible interest could the media have in publishing “misleading” reports about real estate? And give me some examples too. In a past argument you tried to tell me how newsrooms were run, when you had absolutely no inside knowledge of them… I hope you are a bit better informed this time.

Show me proof and I will stand corrected, and one more thing, let’s keep this thread on topic, if it gets personal, I’ll be deleting it straight away.

r

(for those who don’t know, Goebbels was the minister of propaganda for the Nazis)

Yes, I would suggest you read back through old threads, read books and learn as much as you can. If it was easy everyone would do it.

Cheers
r

what made you change your ideas terry? (apologies if you’ve explained this in the past)

cheers
r

The World Today – Thursday, 27 November , 2003 12:10:00
Reporter: Stephen Long
HAMISH ROBERTSON: A new study has raised concern about an issue that’s certain to feature prominently in the next Federal election, the very high cost of buying a home.

New figures out today put housing affordability at a new record low and prospects for first home buyers are worse than ever, according to the report by the Housing Industry Association and the Commonwealth Bank.

Well, our Finance Correspondent Stephen Long joins us in the studio with more on the story.

Stephen, how grim is it really looking now for first homebuyers?

STEPHEN LONG: Well grim indeed according to these numbers Hamish.

The Housing Industry Association says its affordability index has fallen by 9.4 per cent in the September quarter and is 22.5 per cent lower than it was a year ago. They say affordability has fallen because of a 10.1 per cent rise in house prices, but you’re looking at 30 per cent over the year in Sydney and that’s brought the total loan repayment needed to service a typical first home mortgage to $1740 which is 28.4 per cent of average household income, but in Sydney you’re looking at 45 per cent of average income going to service a typical first mortgage.

HAMISH ROBERTSON: And this could be political dynamite in the run up to a Federal election.

STEPHEN LONG: Oh indeed, but it must be remembered that the decline in affordability for first home buyers is the flipside of rising asset prices for those already in the market, so it’s mixed in terms of the political effect.

Also, there’s a question of whether there’s some lies, damn lies and statistics in these figures.

The Housing Industry Association and the Commonwealth Bank are saying that a first home has risen by about 10 per cent in the September quarter, but the Housing Industry Association’s figures put, sorry, the Real Estate Institute’s figures say that the median price of a house in Sydney rose by just 1.1 per cent in the quarter and unit prices actually fell and so you’ve got to wonder whether certain statistics can suit a certain case.

HAMISH ROBERTSON: It does seem that the relatively low interest rates by historical standards are more than balanced by the very high level of property prices.

STEPHEN LONG: Well indeed, and so people who are in the market are sitting pretty, but there is a serious concern about first homebuyers. I think this is the third time in a row we’ve seen a record low figure for the affordability for people who are out of the market and trying to get in.

HAMISH ROBERTSON: Stephen Long, many thanks.

westan,

I think we Tiger faithful are in for another long year somehow…

r

“Good, then do what we did and what a lot of our parents did, go buy something you can afford further out, and then further down the track you can trade up to the $400k home in suburb x.”

The problem I have with this quote, is that even out Lynbrook/Cranbourne way in Melb, houses are around the 330k mark. How far out do you expect people to go?

I think if people are responding to this thread they should let us know how old they are… because a lot of older people often think the young ‘uns have got it easier, when I reckon it’s a load of garbage. Quoting an age might give a better perspective where people are “coming from.”

“Self sacrifice isn’t always fun, but it’s often an effective tool to get what you want in life.” – I do agree with this statement wholeheartedly. My point is that right now, self sacrifice can be just as whole hearted and dedicated as 5 years ago, but housing affordability is undoubtedly more difficult RIGHT NOW, and that is the original question.

Assuming a 300k house in Melbourne, which will buy you bugger all… if a young person is able to save $300 per week out of $600 net pay cheque, it’ll take them at least 3 years to save enough to get a 10% deposit and another 5% for costs… yes, the FHOG helps a little bit, but by the time the person is able to buy, the price of where they are looking at would have gone up by a whole lot more than 7k.

In a lot of ways, today’s younger people have never had it easier… but housing affordability is definitely not one of the areas where they’re “cruising”.

Cheers
r