Xanthi Bar Restaurant - Greek Cuisine

We are fussy about Mediterranean food. Few restaurants are impressive to have met our standard of what constitutes and represents Greek cuisine. Xanthi offers more than run-of-the-mill dips and grills. Every dish has the zing that comes up rather exceptional for the unexpected diners.

Greek Salad - excites the tastebuds with bursting flavours of fresh vegetables, fragrant olive oil and herbs.

Grill Octopus - flavoursome and grilled to the precise texture that is well cooked but neither burnt nor chewy.

Spicy Meat balls of pork, beef and rice served with melted cheese on top.
Looks quite ordinary like any other meatball of Mediterranean origin.
The difference lies in the loosely bound mince that is smooth and tasty.

Lamb Skara - slow cooked, tender to every bite, yet filled with multi-dimensional character.
The sauce is yummy but subtle and unassuming.

Pork belly baklava as the name suggests comprises lean pork stew wrapped in cripsy filo topped with crackling. Very delicious with the thick brown sauce topping.  However, it may be a tad sweeter than most who are used to savoury main dish. The sweetness comes from the date and pistachio, ingredients usually meant for dessert.

We gave some of the fried dishes a miss after prior research on previous customers' reviews.

Dessert is usually the best but also more costly proportionate to the main meal.  These selection appear most interesting on the dessert menu - olive oil ice cream with fig and pistachio & filo wrapped semolina with chocolate sauce topping and mixed spice ice-cream.

It was an enjoyable experience. Worth a second visit.

Labor's attempt at equity an achievement albeit motivated by electoral agenda

Even if sceptics argue nothing else has been achieved, at least Gillard has dragged Australia towards a more equitable tax system.
Labor has ventured into what is regarded as no-man's land.  Even the mighty USA where narrow interests are growing stronger, have blocked fairer distribution and reformist policies at every turn. 

Westpac chief Gail Kelly has little to gain by speaking up for the Gillard government.  The simple explanation is that businesses that look beyond profits would acknowledge the key to long term viability is to ensure a cooperative, stable and conducive environment. 

The 2012-13 budget has tried to shift some burden of tax to the wealthy, taken away some medicare benefits from higher income households, and redistributed some allowance to the lower income families. This does not preclude criticisms from professionals, many of whom serve businesses, of scoring points and postponing vital boost to the economy. Glad that we are no where near European state of affairs, when the whole world is just praying that the ship does not sink to the bottom. 

The likes of Kelly are rare. But they do exist. Take Warren Buffett, the world's second richest man, for instance, who supports raising taxes on the rich and urged the government to do more for the poor. While bankers have been vilified since the GFC, Kelly is worth listening for a moment.

Is there a better alternative to Labor government? Most likely we would be worse off. Would destructive Tony Abbott who seem to have gained from the negative image of the Gillard government make a better PM? I really doubt it but the danger of a worse scenario is not unforeseeable. There are few good men in the opposition Liberals as well.  

Get off Gillard's back, urges Westpac chief

http://www.businessday.com.au/opinion/political-news/get-off-gillards-back-urges-westpac-chief-20120507-1y96k.html

Quote :

Kelly's stance is in sharp contrast to some of her peers in big business, particularly in the mining industry, who have been publicly at loggerheads with Ms Gillard's government over policy issues.

In an apparent dig at miners who have campaigned against the mining tax, Mrs Kelly blasted businesses that she said were attempting to ''run an agenda through third parties or the media''.

This approach was not conducive to economic reform, she said.

Westpac has also faced criticism for job cuts at the bank.

''She [Ms Gillard] stepped into the role. She does listen, I can tell you from personal experience,'' Mrs Kelly said. ''Even if you have a different starting point she will listen. And I really respect that in politicians.''

Mrs Kelly said she had had a number of ''robust discussions'' with Ms Gillard on policy issues where they may not have agreed. ''But we work our way through them and there's a very healthy respect.''

The banks argue the higher cost of raising funds - both from offering attractive rates to depositors and raising money on global wholesale markets - is forcing them to hold back some of the reduction in official interest rates.

Australian Jobs - Productivity Race against Globalisation - Role of Smart Managers where Policy Makers Fail

While perpetual growth is not possible without trade-offs, there are many unexplored avenues that Australia has forgotten and afraid to venture despite many shocking examples of faltering economies.  


Australians are now reaping the benefits aof hard work of the 1990s and resource boom but will eventually have to pay the dues for the falling net productivity even after taking into account heavy investments in mining and unfavourable weather conditions.  


I have been quite disappointed with the lack of economic knowledge among the older seclusive folks and alienated segments of society. Many prejudicial ideas and recommendations have been circulating in the form of chain mail to keep out foreign workers and prevent outsourcing of lower value added work, thinking it will save Aussies jobs forever. It is unfortunate many have fallen for political rhetoric and no-policies approach. 


Closed doors are short sighted remedies which portend long term problems and degradation. Doing nothing will not get us any further than the river of progress.  There is no gain without any pain. We need to invest for the future regardless of what researchers may have found in other countries. It is not surprising that Australia is lagging behind in science and technology because most of us feel good in this Lucky Country and are not keen to make improvements. 


Workers with mortgage to repay and families to feed, are motivated to safeguard their jobs through self-help.  In some workplaces, middle level line managers and senior staff members are enthusiastically securing higher value work to keep themselves relevant and useful, and that which warrant their current decent salaries. 


To wait for help can take forever without visionary leaders who could rally the people behind tough policy decisions. Competition may be good in helping to raise standards but it is risky business. It is in everyone's interest to to respond with the right tools and ideas. The government, enterprises, managers and workers have to collaborate for sustainable growth to generate benefits to be shared by all. Working harder is a given, but working smarter is the key challenge for all. 


Extracts from : http://knowledge.asb.unsw.edu.au/article.cfm?articleId=1578

Quote :

    There is daily clamour in the media about lifting Australia's productivity. The rate surged in the 1990s but has now fallen well back in world rankings, according to the Productivity Commission. Employers are agitating for action to improve Australia's performance. Talk of boosting efficiency through labour flexibility has unions worried about another push for individual contracts that cut wages and the return of tougher industrial relations laws, similar to WorkChoices, the controversial legislation introduced by the previous federal government in 2006 that has since been dismantled.


     Organising the use of labour and capital more efficiently – doing more with less – is the only sustainable source of improvement to material wellbeing and increasing Australia's GDP, says Eslake.

The high per-capita incomes now enjoyed by Australians can be attributed to favourable commodity prices and thus strong terms of trade. The committee recommended the government introduce a national productivity growth agenda and a target for the medium term to 2030. It also called for more research by the Productivity Commission (PC) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, with a cost-benefit analysis for any policies on productivity growth.

The Productivity Commission's submission to the inquiry argued that 70% of the recent rapid decline in the productivity cycle ending in 2003-04 was due to mining, with declining resource quality and large capital investment that has not yet translated into output. Utilities – electricity, gas and water – have been affected by reduced capital investment and reduced rainfall; and agriculture, by drought. Low spending on infrastructure, education and training, or research and development (R&D), were unlikely causes of the productivity dip, although they are important in the long run, the commission said.

A reform program is needed not only to improve the allocation of resources across the economy, but also to heighten the performance incentives for employers, while helping to enhance their organisational flexibility and capability.

Policies should favour an open and competitive economy, ongoing regulatory reform and efficient investment in human and physical capital. The first wave of market-opening reforms of the 1980s and 1990s removed many entrenched inefficiencies from the economy and provided ongoing incentives for productivity improvement. Still on the PC's "to do" list are competitive reforms in areas such as coastal shipping and aviation. Continued tariff reductions and improved competition in pervasive small business areas such as pharmacies, taxis and newsagencies are also earmarked to stimulate innovation and lower costs.

Quiggin is sceptical about this approach for the 21st century, claiming the micro-economic reforms of the 1980s have been exhausted."Technological progress is a long-term driving force that has improved our living standards," he says."What goes with that is a skilled and educated workforce that can take advantage of that technology".