If you’re going to grandstand on an issue, then it’s wise to do it properly and not cut any corners.
On Monday (28 November 2016), Turnbull and Shorten stood arm in arm and ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with indigenous leaders outside parliament to show ‘solidarity’ with Charlie King’s No More campaign. The only things missing were the ‘Je suis Charlie’ placards:
Continue reading “To Domestic Violence (Against Women), Some of Our Parliament Says No”
Anyone who thinks that the supposedly deluded conservative base of the Liberal Party didn’t win – or achieve exactly what it set out to achieve from the 2016 federal election – needs to look at the Kevin Rudd’s failed UN campaign and think again.
Continue reading “Rudd’s UN Failure Shows Again That the Delcons Won”
Shortly before the 2016 federal election, I suggested that Labor’s left was sabotaging Shorten’s election campaign:
As for Andrews, he and Labor’s socialist left (more relevantly) hardly came down in the last shower. They’ve had Shorten lined up for a while and the CFA matter hasn’t been foolishly timed. It’s been perfectly timed…
The 2016 federal election has proven yet again that treachery and retribution are certainties in politics. TMR looks at where and how they were served.
If you haven’t been following the Victorian CFA issue closely, let me quickly bring you up to speed: Daniel Andrews and the Victorian State Labor government are pushing to bring the Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) (a volunteer organisation) under the control of the United Firefighters Union (UFU).
At face value, Andrews is simply paying back a debt owed to the UFU – largely for its assistance during the 2014 Victorian state election campaign. However, there’s a lot more to this than meets the eye.
Although a state matter, the Victorian CFA issue has not been confined to Victoria. It has has involved years of treachery, intrigue and opportunism all rolled into a broad factional and union power struggle. As you’ll soon see, the CFA and Andrews are merely pawns – and they’ve had a far greater and more targeted impact on the 2016 federal election than you might think.
In what can only be described as homicidal economic science, Bill Shorten and Labor want to eradicate all negative gearing, except for new home constructions and reduce the capital gains tax discount from 50% to 25% (applying to assets held for more than a year). To make things really explosive, Shorten also announced that none of the changes would apply to properties purchased before July 2017.
Apparently, Shorten thinks this will solve the housing affordability ‘crisis’ while giving the government an extra $3 billion a year to play with. In other words, nowhere near enough money to solve the budget catastrophe but plenty enough to wreak havoc on everyday people’s lives and create complete uncertainty in the economy.
Increasing the tax on super contributions is yet another ill-conceived ‘budget fix’ idea which attempts to tax our way to prosperity.
The whole point of super is to decrease people’s reliance on aged welfare (which currently amounts to $60.7 billion of spending annually – or 1 in every 7 dollars spent by the federal government). The more super is taxed, the greater the disincentive to save and the more people will rely on welfare in their retirement (shocking stuff, I know). Given that our population is ageing and that around 80% of retirees receive a full or part pension, discouraging even more people from funding their own retirement is something we can ill afford. However, this is precisely what is going to happen, regardless of whether Turnbull or Shorten wins at the upcoming election.
Continue reading “Editorial – Super Tax Will Cost More Than it Raises”
Earlier this year, I speculated whether it was only a matter of time before Labor ditched Bill Shorten.
Since then, Turnbull has nosedived in the polls and given Shorten some breathing space – to the point where Andrew Bolt concluded that it’s spared Shorten the axe and Sportsbet now has him at $1.02 to lead Labor to the upcoming election.
Perhaps this was all a Turnbull master stroke to ensure that he faces Shorten and not the far superior Albanese on the campaign trail? If so, then well played (assuming that there is also a plan to make up the lost ground).
Continue reading “Putting Shorten’s Improvement in Perspective”
This was Bill Shorten on the ABC’s 7.30 program in December 2014:
What I agree is that for Australia to have a bright future, then we’ve got to go for growth. And the way you go for growth is you spend money on skills and training and higher education. You make sure that you have a system where the infrastructure is being built and it’s working…
Have you ever played fetch with a dog and pretended to throw the ball for the dog to chase? The first time you do it, the dog cheerfully bolts off to ‘retrieve’ the ball. Then, after about 20 metres, it stops – confused as to where the ball is. After a bit of sniffing around, it ruefully trots back to you with no idea of what happened and how the ball ended up back in your hands.
Amused by the whole affair, you do it again with the same result. However, after about the third or fourth time, the dog is on to your charade. As you ‘throw’ the ball, it now just sits there looking at you – wondering when you’re going to stop taking it for a fool and just throw the damn thing.
Continue reading “Editorial – Has Mr Jingles Had a John Hewson Moment?”
The Marcus Review 