Immigration no longer stamp Australian Passports in or out when you depart or return to Australia. Once they scan your Passport, they know the last time you went to the toilet. Other Departments are notified when you depart, inc. Tax Office, Centerlink. If you leave without notifying Centerlink, and you receive a pension. Your Pension is immediately suspended.

Back to Vanuatu. I spent a lot of time there particularly after Independence in 1980. We were looking at setting up Air Vanuatu. I even bought a house there off the ANZ Bank who were Mortgagees in Possession. However it didn't work out dealing with the natives ! So I moved on...

But it was a great place. After several visits I was thinking of relocating to Port Vila. Previously known as New Hebrides, the french influence there was amazing, especially in food, a fantastic aroma you noticed just walking the streets. Can't recall the name of the Hotel I used to stay at. Was on the other side of the Island and faced a Lagoon or the Ocean.. Can't quite recall.

Something to be aware of if you are an Australian resident with a British Passport but no Australian Passport.

Australia has an agreement with the Indonesian Govt that any Australian citizen on an Australian Passport going to Bali does not need a Visa.

However, someone I know who was a very long term Australian resident but only had a British Passport (never bothered becoming an Australian citizen) had to pay for a Visa to visit Bali, costing them around $300.........they were eligible for Australian citizenship but never applied for it.   Just a note, those who are elibible pensioners pay very little for their citizenship papers compared to those who aren't pensioners, google for prices etc....

graham (chickenman) wrote:

---

Big Gorilla wrote:

---

Immigration no longer stamp Australian Passports in or out when you depart or return to Australia. Once they scan your Passport, they know the last time you went to the toilet. Other Departments are notified when you depart, inc. Tax Office, Centerlink. If you leave without notifying Centerlink, and you receive a pension. Your Pension is immediately suspended.

Back to Vanuatu. I spent a lot of time there particularly after Independence in 1980. We were looking at setting up Air Vanuatu. I even bought a house there off the ANZ Bank who were Mortgagees in Possession. However it didn't work out dealing with the natives ! So I moved on...

But it was a great place. After several visits I was thinking of relocating to Port Vila. Previously known as New Hebrides, the french influence there was amazing, especially in food, a fantastic aroma you noticed just walking the streets. Can't recall the name of the Hotel I used to stay at. Was on the other side of the Island and faced a Lagoon or the Ocean.. Can't quite recall.

---

 Yes a magic place to visit, I to would like to live there a more simple and relaxed lifestyle.

Did you know Roy who had the Rossie restaurant?

And that waterfront restaurant is a good place to have a evening meal at sunset

http://www.yachtingworld-vanuatu.com/waterfront%20yachting%20world%20cruising%20vanuatu.html

 

---

 Also the airport runway was scarey just had enough room for a 737 to pull up after landing by about 75 metres 

1 st trip was with Air pacific looked as if we were skimming the coconut trees coming in from Meli beach then thud as we hit the ground, then full roar of those engines in reverse as I was saying prayers lol

graham (chickenman) wrote:

---

---

 Yes a magic place to visit, I to would like to live there a more simple and relaxed lifestyle.

Did you know Roy who had the Rossie restaurant?

And that waterfront restaurant is a good place to have a evening meal at sunset

http://www.yachtingworld-vanuatu.com/waterfront%20yachting%20world%20cruising%20vanuatu.html

 

---

 Also the airport runway was scarey just had enough room for a 737 to pull up after landing by about 75 metres 

1 st trip was with Air pacific looked as if we were skimming the coconut trees coming in from Meli beach then thud as we hit the ground, then full roar of those engines in reverse as I was saying prayers lol

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Didn't know a Roy, but as I recall Bill Webb had the Hotel Rossi which has now been demolished I believe.

Yeah, the runway there was short but long enough for B737. Bit hairy on the approach as I recall and only 1 non-precision navigation aid. Aircraft had to carry (fuel) Nandi as an alternate in times of bad weather.  TAA used to operate a B727 to Vila on behalf of Qantas but I usually flew on Air Pathetic !!

---

my wife and I have been out of country twice in last year both on pensions. We were out of country 6 weeks each time we did and not notify centre link and never had an issue. Pension was not stop and have not been contacted by Centerlink.

AL

Big Gorilla wrote:

---

Immigration no longer stamp Australian Passports in or out when you depart or return to Australia. Once they scan your Passport, they know the last time you went to the toilet. Other Departments are notified when you depart, inc. Tax Office, Centerlink. If you leave without notifying Centerlink, and you receive a pension. Your Pension is immediately suspended. [snip]

---

Not wanting to divert the thread, however the loss of privacy of citizens through technology, although frightening and urgent, is somehow not on the radar of most voters as any concern they might have at all.  Where any flag the issue as a problem, the usual rejoinder - displaying the authoritarian's stupefying 'logic' - is that one shouldn't be concerned if one is not doing any wrong!

Recently a university lecturer and friend happened to mention that somehow Centrelink (and other departments) has become aware of the recorded attendances of students.

A lot of it is data mining and they will find a use for it later. So much for the Privacy Principles - eg., that data must only be used for the declared purpose for which it was originally collected - total spin, BS and the federal government is the worst offender!

johnq wrote:

---

graham (chickenman) wrote:

---

Upon going to Vanuatu 8 times in 5 years looking at my passport the customs guy just open any page to stamp it ? [snip]

---

 I used to look on amazed as pages were flipped through, including the next available, and the bureaucrat pointedly turned to another before stamping.

Bureaucrats...., say no more.

---

 Maybe to hard to stamp in page 1 when full go page 2  etc, brains in government