Oz Federal Election 2013 - Discussion and Comments

[medhead]

Of course they are related. If you say kids don't need air conditioned classrooms but a gym is a worthy spend? I think the priorities are upside down.

Firstly, the comment was that they built a new classroom without air conditioning. They have a new class room! My comments have been about what has been provided. A class room is not useless because it doesn't have A/C.

Secondly, I said they don't need A/C. I didn't make a comment about comparative worthiness. But in that climate, subtropical, A/C is not needed. I'd rather see them spend the saved operating costs on things like numeracy or literacy or even tackling childhood obesity in a gymnasium.

It's worth remembering that I'm not making a comparison of worthiness. I've made 2 unrelated comments about 2 separate building projects. It is rather dodgy to try to link these 2 separate comments.

Finally, Bonaire makes evaporative A/C. This does not work in a humid climate. If ever there was a wrong priority installing A/C that doesn't work in that climate would have to be it.

 

[dfcatch]

When I was in school (in Victoria) - the rule was 36 degrees IIRC.

And trust me - we LOVED IT when the mercury rose or when the power went out and therefore unsatisfactory learning conditions

Only losers actually wanted to be at school

(Oh - and parents of course!!)

 

[medhead]

you'd need that in Victoria. In cairns, I had a subject called beach. For years 10 to 12, I was involved via the school with a project that got me a free trip to the reef every month. Plus the marine parks guys took us out on their boat one weekend. School was rather good.

 

[browski]

At a time when every other western country had massive unemployment increases, today you still complaining about the government school building program that kept the building and construction industry from collapse. The mining and housing industry where losing jobs. So the choice was spend billions on unemployment benefits and lose years of new skilled trainees from the industry, or get people out and working. Furthermore, wasn't there something about a family having working parents that encourages the children in the future to work, or create generations of unskilled and unemployed citizens. Real what would you prefer.

Also, not one person I met who got the government help to insulate their roof or get cheap solar power has raised one complaint about it, as they know they got something for nothing and now getting the benefits of not paying high electricity or heating/cooling bills.


Where the fault lies, read today's paper where the problem got back to the last lib gov we had. They sold the farm, and got high tax receipts from over priced minerals. The problem then was not using that money to invest in infrastructure, but give tax cuts to high end groups, and also allow them to double dip with tax rebates. So people today complain about the mining tax and carbon tax. If people are not paying income tax, which was governments primary base of revenue, and people would march in the street if the GST was raised (or all exemptions such as on food were removed), then the government has to raise revenue from new sources. So if I hear one more person complain that their family earning $240,000 + a year now has to pay their own private health insurance, well I have a answer, leave. So which person has made the tough decisions JULIA, and not mr tony.

Nice post...........but aren't you a little too educated for this forum? Seems out of place.

 

[dfcatch]

you'd need that in Victoria. In cairns, I had a subject called beach. For years 10 to 12, I was involved via the school with a project that got me a free trip to the reef every month. Plus the marine parks guys took us out on their boat one weekend. School was rather good.

Yes - I discovered that Thurs afternoon compulsory sport included "x-country" as an option.

I seem to recall that involved running down Alexandra Ave, running up Anderson St to the 1st Botanic Gardens entrance.......then doubling back and into the City

 

[Pushka]

Is that Rose Park Primary School?

 

[dfcatch]

Is that Rose Park Primary School?

Melbourne High

 

[Pushka]

Ah. Lots of similarities with Adelaide then.

 

[amaroo]

If he has the hallmark of a great PM then why has Malcolm Fraser said he will say or do anything to get power?

My fear is he will become a big joke like George W Bush.

As we all know Malcolm was a PM for the time....replacing the only Gov (ALP) that has ever been sacked.

IMO, Malcolm has taken his time....but he's finally caught up with Bob & Paul - confusing reality with fiction.

 

[amaroo]

Photo courtesy of Mrs LW.

View attachment 15190

They came to see how our taxpayer funds were spent on building a new hall. I'll admit it is a great hall and I never knew what the old one was like, so kudos from that viewpoint.

Peter is looking much older than Wayne. Must have been the hard life on the road as a muso

I'd rather be Peter......Wayne, doesn't look that good around the middle.

The sooner all Politicians are barred from attending such events the better. It's not the LIB/NAT or ALP opening these things

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Spoken like someone who doesn't earn $240k a year

Not at all - I agree. Ever heard of sacrifice in life? They need their mortgage in Brighton, 2 SUVs for the family (one just to drop the kids off at school), horse riding lessons, annual skiing trip in Japan or Whistler, private schools, negative gearing the second property, and pay some more tax reduced money into their super... then complain because they lose their middle class welfare? Cut the cloth to fit. there is no way in the western world that a joint $240K income is NOT sufficient to live and raise a happy healthy family. The private health rebate was good while it lasted but seems a fair thing to remove.

The cost of private health care is another matter... instead of complaining about losing the rebate everyone should be asking why their premiums are going through the roof... what really irks me is that my premiums go up by $10 a month every year, but my health fund actively encourages people to claim their reiki session once a month. Why not cut the reiki rebate and keep my premium from going up??

 

[whatmeworry]

At the end of the day do we want to end up like the USA? Where the rich and well connected pay little or no tax because it is good for the rest. Ok I don't advocate we go down the route of nanny states like Norway/Sweden etc but I do also argue we do need to reduce welfare to people who don't need welfare and close loopholes. During my undergraduate days I heard stories of James Packer receiving Austudy and not to mention wealthy farmers children getting Austudy.

 

[dfcatch]

At the end of the day do we want to end up like the USA? Where the rich and well connected pay little or no tax because it is good for the rest. Ok I don't advocate we go down the route of nanny states like Norway/Sweden etc but I do also argue we do need to reduce welfare to people who don't need welfare and close loopholes. During my undergraduate days I heard stories of James Packer receiving Austudy and not to mention wealthy farmers children getting Austudy.

I don't know whether that's fact or fiction - but the sooner people move on from their undergraduate days and replace those thoughts with real world experience the better for everyone

And that goes for people with either side of politics views!

On another note - yes - a $240K income family should be able to pay the bills.

But don't for one minute assume that all families who attend private school have lifestyles or income as per you mentioned. Most don't, and many struggle so that they can provide the opportunities for their kids.

Many "private school families" earn much less than many on this forum.

 

[wmetz]

You totally missed the point, no economy can give tax cuts (reduce tax rates) on one hand, and on top of that, give massive tax rebates (or refunds like private health insurance) or in the case of Mr Tony rebates to hire nannies. Just look at US. The election loser earned over $30 million yet paid less then 15% overall tax. Tax revenues have to come from somewhere. Buses, trains hospitals etc services are subsidized.The footpath you walk on is subsidized. And when you have useless people running states like in QLD now, building tunnels to nowhere and shifting the debt from private owners to the state, then where do you think the money comes from. There has to be a point when a government has to say to people you earn enough you can look after yourself; and do not expect the government to keep giving handout to people who if cannot live on a high income without government intervention, then something must be wrong with them. This is not the 1970's where the top tax rate was over 60%. Very few people are paying over 30% today, after deduction, the min tax free threshold etc.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

On another note - yes - a $240K income family should be able to pay the bills.

no two ways about this - in the absence of special needs - a joint $240K income ($120K per parent) nets $85853 in hand per year per person (including 1.5% medicare levy). That's a disposable income of $3302 per week, or $471 every single day including weekends. It is is impossible to not to be able to live on that.

So this year high income earners lost their private medical insurance rebate... with a 2.5% minimum yearly pay increase everyone on that sort of income would get, the loss of the rebate isn't even noticed.

 

[wmetz]

Yes they shouldn't notice the little extra out of their pay packet, but many people earning high income kept writing to the editor and complaining about having to lose some of their rebate. I remember one young couple with no children complaining that with combined income over 160,000 a year they would lose their rebate and it was wrong gov to take it away. wt?

 

[cove]

How about a $1,000 per person departure tax. That would reap in a bit and be very unpopular in this forum.
If Wayne Swan gets the Monthly tax payments off businesses then you will see jobs vanish in the private sector. He plans to start this on big business and move it onto every business.
We could end up with a brilliantly manned public service with no private enterprise to keep funding it.

 

[Sprucegoose]

How about a $1,000 per person departure tax. That would reap in a bit and be very unpopular in this forum.If Wayne Swan gets the Monthly tax payments off businesses then you will see jobs vanish in the private sector. He plans to start this on big business and move it onto every business. We could end up with a brilliantly manned public service with no private enterprise to keep funding it.

I am very happy to pay $1k for Swanny for take a one way ticket to Timbuktu.............I can really wait until the 14th September either...

 

[11sjw]

How about a $1,000 per person departure tax.

Wow, pretty good way to ensure we holiday at home. "Dad this BP doesn't have a Qantas Lounge, where can I go and sit?"

If Wayne Swan gets the Monthly tax payments off businesses then you will see jobs vanish in the private sector. He plans to start this on big business and move it onto every business.
We could end up with a brilliantly manned public service with no private enterprise to keep funding it.

Wayne Swan? Imagine if the Greens got a hold of the country? :shock:

 

[cove]

They already have got hold of the Senate and the new leader of the Greens thinks all of Australia could be modelled on Tasmania. We need a healthy business sector to provide worthwhile jobs. The spending needs to be brought under control.