Aussie/NZ animosity reaches new levels with motel ban

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The 16,000 residents of Lower Hutt, New Zealand learned the meaning of “demoralizing” this week. The owner of the Palmerston North Supreme Motor Lodge (an Australian) has prohibited the people of Lower Hutt from staying at his motel. I’ve been banned from some pretty nice places … nice. If some motel gave me the boot, I’d be humiliated.

Guests from Lower Hutt – and the nearby larger town of Wainuiomata – aren’t worth the headache, said Steve Donnelly, owner of the property. A bunch of midemeanors by visiting high school sports teams triggered the decision, but it seems to have been a long time in the making. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, “Having had about 100 people from there over the last couple of years and maybe one that we liked … it is not worth it and we would do the same to anyone who causes us that level of stress.”

Wainuiomata Indoor Sports Club stands accused of finally having pushed Donnelly over the edge, though club owner Calena Hura denies any wrongdoing. The principal of Wainuiomata, Rob Mill, blames the motel management (as Hura does).

So, how does the community fight back: people threaten to stay at the motel for a week!

Snakes get loose on Qantas flight

by Jeffrey White on

A Qantas Airlines flight from Alice Springs to Melbourne had to be grounded after four baby pythons escaped from their foam box in the plane’s cargo hold.

They were among 12 pythons being flown to Melbourne.

Passengers were offloaded and transferred to other aircraft to make connections. The plane itself had to be fumigated. So far the bodies of the four snakes have yet to turn up.

Authorities are at a loss to explain how the snakes managed to escape in the first place, and it is unclear just how the flight crew learned that snakes were loose on the plane.

The plane is back in service, likely with the corpses of four reptiles somewhere in its hold.

Locals in lead for Best Job in the World

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If you want a great job, move to Queensland. In the ongoing “Best Job in the World” contest, two of the top five are from Queensland – with contest leader Clare Wang from Taiwan. According to international betting agency PinnacleSports.com Wang’s odds of nabbing this cushy assignment are 3.5:1. Queenslander James Hill follows at 5:1 (in the #2 spot). Hailey Turner, from Brisbane, is in fifth, with odds of 13:1.

Unsurprisingly, an American and a German are in a race to the bottom. Greg Reynen (from the United States) has odds of 44.8:1, with Mirjam Novak edging slightly ahead in this immaterial corner of the contest at 43.5:1. The odds for contestants with experience in the porn business were not revealed, but common sense would suggest they aren’t favorable.

The final 16 candidates will head to Hamilton Island next month to spend a week participating in this spectacular publicity stunt working on the island and exploring the Great Barrier Reef.

The Best Job in the World lured 34,684 applicants as part of a $1.7 million global marketing gimmick. It’s paid off already, generating AU$100 million in publicity for Queensland.



The winner will get a lazy one-year contract for AU$150,000.

Get to know the top Aussie in the contest, Hailey, after the jump.

Top 10 wine spots, none in U.S.

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I realize that, on the world stage, our homeland isn’t exactly the most popular place right now. Part of it stems from eight years of political buffoonery, and a healthy dose comes from traditional “old world” bias against the United States. Like most of us, I’ve learned to adjust for a touch of this when I read international news coverage. To a certain extent, I understand it … we’re more like France than we realize. But, it’s tough when our country doesn’t get the credit it deserves.

This is especially the case for wine.

In an article detailing the top 10 wine spots in the world, Forbes deemed none in the United States worthy of the list.

1. Castello Banfi, Tuscany, Italy: not an adventurous pick for the top spot
2. Montes, Colchagua Valley, Chile: trying to seem enlightened, succeeds
3. Ken Forrester, Stellenbosch, South Africa: see #2, with the same results
4. Fournier, Mendoza, Argentina: doubling up on South America in the top five? Trying too hard …
5. Leeuwin Estate, Margaret River, Australia: could call for the middle of the pack
6. Felton Road, Central Otago, New Zealand: again with the doubling up …
7. Bodegas Ysios, Rioja, Spain: classic location, should probably be higher
8. Quinta do Portal, Douro Valley, Portugal: this would have been more exciting at #3 or #4
9. Chateau Lynch-Bages, Bordeaux, France: obligatory, but at #9?
10. Peter Jakob Kuhn Oestrich, Rhein/Mosel, Germany: obviously added to the list out of a sense of obligation

And, where are we? No Sonoma? No Napa? Or, a break from the norm with Oregon?

The collection of wine destinations seems to a certain extent like a Little League awards banquet. No country is on the list twice, giving the impression that the reporter sought to dish out as many trophies as possible. The wide reach, of course, makes those absent even more evident.

As you can see, the list is more likely the result of a careful analysis of balancing out different regions and meeting reader expectations than it is a genuine reflection on the most interesting wine destinations in the world.

This is why I hate “listicles”: they have less to do with the content than they do with managing perception. Blech.

Pay to play in Aussie airport parking lots

by Tom Johansmeyer on

For the past decade, Australians have griped about the escalating cost of short-term airport parking. Accusations of monopoly pricing were leveled, and a year ago, the government got involved, having the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) keep an eye on parking lot fees at the country’s five largest airports. The results are amazing.

Airports pull in 11 percent of their revenue from parking. In Melbourne, it’s a whopping 21 percent, while Sydney‘s airport pulls in a more modest 7 percent of its financial take from the parking lots. Since no government agency is willing to put its head on the chopping block the ACCC would only say that this is “consistent with airports having a monopoly position.”

Of course, there are perks to paying. People parking at the Melbourne airport were the most satisfied customers, with those frequenting Sydney’s lots at the bottom.

But, convenience always wins.

The Sydney airport is only 10 kilometers (a little more than 6 miles) from the city, and only 13 percent of passengers use the airport’s parking lots. Melbourne’s airport is more than twice as far away, making airport parking more sensible.