Mr. Abbott like many others was unaware of the difference between imported and Australian manufactured boards. After visiting my factory, I hassled him for buying an import and he promptly rectified the situation buy ordering a custom handshaped mal from us. This board was only just finished and delivered to him recently.

Check out his new slider on our blog... and look out for him in the water on his (Australian made) board. http://darcysurfboards.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-mal-for-very-special-cus...

kent off, labor has put australia in debt and my childrens will still be paying it off (im 14)
Peace out Zac

Listen to 2GB much zac?

i do infact mate, and gillard has no f***ing idea

Both Gillard & Abbott are a joke!! Gillard wants to spend trillions of borrowed dollars on things we don't need & Abbott doesn't have a clue...... We are f***ked either way!!

labor's broadband plan will make runnig a business possible anywhere in Australia. you could live somewhere that actually has good waves instead of all being jammed into the cities! talk about revolutionary!

Abbott has no idea on how to run an ecconomy. He has no idea on how immigration works, and has no idea about the broadband plan. In the peoples forum the other night he said, "All I know about the internet is email really. And of course my daughters are on facebook almost every night."
Actually, its so Austrlian business can compete with Korea, Japan and China. You're an idiot Tony Abbott

Both the mainstream options are so unattractive to me (and remember, ones political beliefs can only ever be subjective).

Surely any surfer who cares about the future of our oceans will vote Green - a party who truly believe in their policies, rather than blowing in the wind with whatever false promises will win them power.

Seriously, you,think having faster broadband will make Australian business competitive with Korea, Japan and China Andy Pandy?

Yep, with those sorts of blinkered beliefs we are truly screwed. Don't forget China is a Communist country. I was in Beijing (official population 13 million) last year and the average worker earns $30 a month. How is faster BB going to magically level the playing field so Australia can compete with that?

Abbott is not the idiot in this case....

To Evo62,

Have you ever lived overseas and tried to do business with Australia? I don't suppose you have so I'll tell you that it's very hard, and if nothing is done to improve it, the task will be impossible. Just to check Australian stocks from Japan takes an inordinate amount of time Even to read Australian news sites from overseas just takes too much time. As an expat I put up with it but, mark my words, Australia is becoming an online vacuum because broadband speeds aren't keeping up with those OS.

Our news doesn't get out and online business doesn't get in.

You are right, I do not conduct business with Australia from outside the country, but I do spend 90 minutes on a VOIP conference call to the US every week with no problems with speed or delay in conversation.

I have lived OS including a stint in Kyoto (2006-2007)and and Beijing without any of the problems you mentioned. Perhaps you were unlucky?

Perhaps you missed the point.Faster BB is not the magic bullet that will transform this country. Is having faster BB going to 'magically' bring the country on par with economic powerhouses like China and even India? There is more to the story then internet speeds, things like labour conditions (low worker salaries, appalling conditions/OHS, work ethic, disregard for the environment, government....

any surfer that has ever had the pleasure of going fishing when the surf is flat would be out of their mind to vote for liberals or the greens. the greens agenda is to lock up the whole of the east coastwith marine parks so efectivly putting an end to recreational and a lot of comercial fishing. the affect of creating marine parks has already had a huge finacial impact on small coastal town such as batemans bay,port stephens and jervis bay who have relied upon fishing for decades to help generate the tourist dollar in their towns. i am certainly not against looking after our oceans but the way the marine parks have gone about locking up huge parts of the coastline without any scientific evidence is criminal.

OOPS THE ABOVE SHOULD BE LABOUR AND THE GREENS .

have a look at New Zealand's experience with marine parks. the local fishing industry were against them. but over time they became the biggest supporter when they realised the improved catches that resulted. marine life needs somewhere to rejuvinate! As for evo62 maybe you would prefer Australia to follow China with poor wages and working conditions. Tony Abbott would...it was called WorkChoices!

Right on the money Yorkes.

Fish need safe areas to rejuvenate and if we don't provide those then we'll loose all of the fish stocks and have nothing to fish at all. These marine parks are an investment in the future of the fish industry and with careful planning will increase the numbers and species of fish around the whole of Australia.

Reading the above is greatly concerning. Yes broad band is something that does need to be attended to as does the enviroment. Good to see Zac you have intrest in politics so early. Lets recap what has happened on a world scale over the past few years for "those" who travel. How many OECD countries managed to stay out of a recession, how many have keeped un employment at such a low percentage. Yes Zac we are in debt as a economy but employed as individuals. There is alot of mislead people voting and media should start taking some responsibility for this, information needs to broadcasted you can keep yor opinions.

On the subject of dumb things that come out of Politicians mouths - If Tony Abbott really believes that the telecommunication companies are going to improve the internet coverage in regional Australia on their own he is truly delusional AND as stupid as he looks.

The broadband network and helping the environment are very closely linked in my opinion.
Just for one example; our company has just gone through a major process of modernisation. They’ve closed down all of our regional offices around Australia and helped us all set up home offices. We had a few guys in Qld driving over 130kms each way to report to the office everyday. The finanicial and environmental benefits of this type of modernisation are great and more companies should look at doing it. But, I only live about 100kms out of Brisbane and I have to stand out in the middle of my driveway to get 1 bar of mobile reception…. If none of the major phone companies can give us full mobile coverage this close to a major city how do you think the people in regional areas are going to be treated if we leave it up to the “market” to invest in broadband infrastructure???

FYI, I’m sitting in a motel room in regional qld trying to work using the shit mobile wireless network that Tony wants us to put up with for the next 5 – 10 - 15 years and it has taken me nearly 2 hours to upload 2 costing sheets onto our server…..

new zealand supports marine parks because they only have a small number of them. the labour / green government has proposed up to 50 percent of the nsw coastline to be locked up as marine parks and if the greens could get their way then the whole coast would be locked up . i am not against marine parks but they they are not the only means to keeping our fisheries healthy .

only a small areas of these large marine parks will be fishing exclusion zones. these areas have been researched over the last few years and have been found to be where fish gather to breed. easy pickings for lazy or greedy fishermen not prepared to go further or search harder. by protecting these zones over time fish will increase in numbers and spill out into larger areas of ocean. short term pain, long term gain. have a closer look sleepya and dont believe everything paranoid fishermen or opportunistic polititions tell you!

Funny how you jumped to a conclusion as to who I was supporting Yorkes. I never mentioned that I was favouring one party over the other, merely presenting an opinion that faster BB will not make such a dramatic improvement to the economy. It looks like your pre existing bias may be colouring your perception of everything you read.

At least one of his policy's is surfing related. Whether it be for publicity or not he's offering more to help us as a community then labor is. How is this a bad thing for us as surfers?

Starting to see an anti-liberal trend staring to emerge on this site. Good to see that the same bias garbage we are all feed when we sit down to watch the news or read a paper has now infiltrated what was once a quick check on the waves.

Well done swellnet.

Stu,

A conspiracy is not what i am trying to convey. My point is more aimed toward the article itself, and that in my view it is making what could be seen as a positive thing for local shapers who have gone against mainstream and certainly extra profits to the same negative approach that this election seems to be forcing onto us.

I am neither a labor nor liberal supporter or any party for that matter however i feel that the negativity that now seems to be such a common part of our daily lives is only been compounded.

I had previously read the article in question and agree that Miss Gillard was referred to however this is a very minor mention and is clearly out numbered by the numerous articles regarding Mr Abbott previously posted on swellnet.

My comments are directed more towards the site itself rather then those who wish to comment. I myself am here expressing my opinion....

However I only ask and i'm sure i would not be alone that perhaps articles posted on a site dedicated to surfing could display also the positive side to a policy in question.

Surfers Want to Fillet Abbott, A Message Abbott Can't Miss, The Things That Popout of Abbott's Mouth. As well as strong reference towards him in the most recent article.

I realise Mr Abbott isn't the greatest of candidates and The same goes for Miss Gillard. And i'll also put my hand up for been misinformed when it comes to politics. I too find many aspects boring and tedious and i can understand how seeing a politician use surfing to create an image is somewhat strange if not unsettling.

However i took a course with a local gold coast shaper of over 40 years of which prior i was riding cheap chinese popouts just the same as Mr abbott. Taking this course opened my eyes and changed how i percieved surfing and all aspects including where the boards we often take for granted actually come from.

I feel that the "pilot program" Mr Abbott has pledged would be something of great benefit to surfers Australia wide.

While this may not be enough to make up for other shortcomings it is something positive for surfers to take out of this election.

Oh and just to recap recent articles run regarding Mr Abbott,

Surfers Want to Fillet Abbott, A Message Abbott Can't Miss, The Things That Popout of Abbott's Mouth. As well as strong reference towards him in the most recent article "for those who've come across the sea"

Abbott's just anounced he will base fisheries management on science while at the same time slash 12 million a year from fisheries reaserch.So effectively he will gag any scientific opposition & allow an open slather on fish stocks.Abbott admits he's a sceptic of science so he will have no trouble ignoring any warnings given to him.I guess like with global warming he dosent beleve that declining fish stocks has anything to do with man. This idiot is capable of dragging Australia back into the dark ages.

Yes,

Whilst they may not be written by you or the staff of swellnet they are still displayed by the website. Obviously there is some choice within the staff as to what is posted?

My aim when posting was not to debate whether a bias does or does not exist but more to underline the fact that something within this election might actually have some positive outcome for all of us as surfers.

Seeing as the name of the sub-heading is SURFPOLITIK it would be safe to assume that the articles contained would have information containing both of these.

This is certainly true however i feel that seeing as this site is so popular among surfers that perhaps the articles could also contain information on how the subject actually affects us.

"so efectivly putting an end to recreational and a lot of comercial fishing"

Oh god, sleepya has been reading those scare campaigns by uneducated "recreational fisherman".

As mentioned, onl a very small percentage will be no take areas. and these areas will not be where ther is strong recreational fishing anyhow, like piers. so the ads with that kid and his rod being BANNED are simply rediculous

evo62 you said "abbott was not the idiot in this case" refering to his opinion on broadband. have you heard some of his remarks on this subject in the last week? the guy hasnt got a clue! you also accuse me of bias! bloody oath im bias. i dont want this monkey taking us back to the dark ages and making us the laughing stock of the developed world!

Read it again Yorkessurfer before you fly off the handle. I'm not going to explain it like you're a two year old(you aren't are you?).

I believe broadband will take Australia into the future. We were a manufacturing country for a long time but we will never compete with the china's of the world. By building new infrustructure like broadband new ways of generating wealth will become possible. We are one of the most educated countries on earth, its time we started using our heads. negative comments arent going to achieve anything. And thats all ive heard from abbott.

Without going through all of the comments, because it seems as though they started to go off topic a bit, here is what I have to say.

I'm 24, live between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, make my own boards every now and then under my house, and once worked for a surfboard factory here in Brisbane. I can do everything in the process of making a board - shaping, glassing, sanding, polishing, resin tints, fin layups and panels, etc etc. But - I no longer have the desire to do any of it to try and make a living. I love doing it, I love making boards - but the thing that keeps me out of doing it for a job these days? Money.

If I can be guaranteed to be paid $40k-$50k for my first year (to compete with the amount that I get from being a Business/Marketing graduate) - increasing incrementally every year after - I would drop what I'm doing now, and get to work making boards.

The thing is, I'm never going to get that sort of money from making boards, because we as surfers would not be willing to pay the extra x amount of dollars for a board that would cover paying Australian workers with good skills a fair amount of money.

So we're stuck in a bit of a predicament. We can employ more skilled Australian workers in the surfboard industry, and pay more money for our boards - or we can employ, dare i say cheaper, migrant workers, and pay less for our boards.

I know that the liberals are planning to introduce somewhat of an apprenticeship type program with the surfboard industry - but once you finish your apprenticeship in become 'qualified', the amount of money you can earn while staying with your current employer becomes limited, and therefor, you would leave to make your own label/company. This would then lead to increased competetion, which would lead to cheaper prices, which would lead to nobody earning as much from boards as they want to.

This ramble may sound like I'm not supporting the introduction of these programs - but actually I support them. Why? Because I'd rather see Australians competing with Australians, rather than Australians competing with Asian made pop-outs, because we're never going to win that.

Sam

nailed it sam! too many already! not sure what the solution is but more people wont help.

I believe this, I believe that, she has red hair, he is a c***, Bob Brown i gay. Who gives a fuck! Good work getting it back on track Sampro. Every additional dollar spent on supporting Aussie made and owned products is a direct and worthwhile investment into our children’s future. A worthwhile moral decision I think. More to that lets not hold it against Abbott for posing with a foreign made board. He was no doubt unaware like the rest of us. Further to that we shoudl all practise consumer awareness. Read the labels, avoid nasty additives (colours, flavours, preservatives) and buy Australian Made. It may cost a little extra but wwe will live longer and enjoy the fruits of a higher employment rate whcih benefit the whole coutnry on a range of levels. We are so blessed, although it may not be perfect, live in one of the greatest countries in the world

We sure are lucky buddwha to have the oppurtunitys we do. To easy to forget sometimes.

The thing which i find the worst with these cheaper imported boards are that a majority of them are shaped by people who don't even surf. The hardest part of shaping a board is not the physical skill involved but the design.

Who here would buy a car designed and manufactured by someone who had never even driven a car. How many of these guys have even seen a surfable coastline?

Where will the design and innovation come from once this generation of shapers is gone?

Are we going to be surfing the same style of boards we have been for the past 40 years?

This i think is why it's so important the industry stays here. Yes there will be more local competition. I can't see why this is a bad thing.

What's the price difference.. For roughly 700 dollars you can get a handshaped board designed for your height, weight, style, personality.

Or for 300 dollars you can get a computer generated pop out with a low quality blank and half arsed glass job shaped by somebody who hasn't surfed a wave in thier life.

australia only survived the GFC because of how strong our mining and our economy was before rudd got elected, now labor want to tax the miners?! how is that logical?

Is that what you learnt while studying for your PhD in macroeconomics, is or is it the propaganda your Papa tells you at the dinner table?

Drop your bias Mr 14 Years Old and read this: http://www.smh.com.au/business/labor-saved-australia-nobel-laureate-stig...

It's written by someone who is a professor in economics - a Nobel-prize winning professor no less - who has no blind affiliation to a political party.

radbone...

From the reading I've done, Australia survived the GFC because of lots of things attributable to the ALP and the Coalition. Some of these include:

1) Govt funds in surplus. Thanks Howard et al.
2) Govt stimulus implemented thanks to 1) Thanks Rudd + Howard et al.
3) China. China kept buying our raw materials, kept the mining going.
4) Stability of the banks which are well regulated and weren't exposed to sub prime mortgage contracts. Thanks Hawke, Keating, Howard and Costello.

As for taxing the miners, it's logical for lots of reasons and you can ask the Minerals Council of Australia (the peak mining lobby group) to explain it to you since they seem to support it.

forgot to add a 5th item to that list which was the reserve bank dropping interest rates (making interest rates lower under labor than the libs - ironic really, right Mr Howard?) meaning we had fiscal and monetary policy working together to stimulate the economy.

But what has this got to do with the surfboard industry anyway radbone?

Ok guys,
I think the point being made here is that he doesn't care about the surf board industry. He is just trying to get you guys to vote for him. The picture says it all.

Benski makes some very good points.

I say bring the mining tax back. Why shouldn't the international bastards mining all of our mineral pay tax on it. It makes sense. Here you guys are, blaiming the old government for dept, and when they try to generate funds without taxing the australian public you guys all beleive the political propoganda you read in the news papers. But don't believe the press guys, make up your own mind..

Yep you only get one chance to make some money for the country from mining .Tax it & once we are back in the black spend the money on the big projects that will benefit future generations.Once it's dug up & shipped off it's gone forever.What will Australians of the future have if all we leave them is empty holes in the ground,the least we can do is leave them with some state of the art infrastructure.We take as much as we can from the future to live the good life today,a bit selfish of us isnt it.