Diary of our stinking Govt.

[boris1gary]

As it's more than 100 days now, it has been suggested that a new thread was needed.  The current govt has been breaking promises and telling lies at a rate so fast it's hard to keep up.

This below is worrying, "independent" pffft, as if your own doctor is somehow what? biased, it's ridiculous. So far there is talk of only including people under a certain age 30-35, for now. Remember that if your injured in a car, injured at work or get ill, you too might need to go on the DSP. They have done a similar think in the UK with devastating consequences.

and this is the 2nd time recently where the Govt has referred to work as welfare???? So when you go to work tomorrow (or tuesday), just remember that's welfare.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-20/disability-pensioners-may-be-reassessed-kevin-andrews/5400598

Independent doctors could be called in to reassess disability pensioners, Federal Government says

The Federal Government is considering using independent doctors to examine disability pensioners and assess whether they should continue to receive payments.

Currently family doctors provide reports supporting claims for the Disability Support Pension (DSP).

But Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews is considering a measure that would see independent doctors reassess eligibility.

"We are concerned that where people can work, the best form of welfare is work," Mr Andrews said at a press conference.

[monman12]

Gosh a new  source and not with "Independent" in its title: The Vine, wow.  I guess that it is a straight unread C&P,  as usual, from this Fairfax nurtured  site for  younger matriarchs.

Unfortunately a whole article will be tainted when a portion of it is shown to be codswallop: (especially compounded by  no research when a C&P of it is posted)

"The health budget is not out of control. As a proportion of GDP, Australia’s healthcare spending has remained constant. In 2011 it was 8.93 per cent compared to the OECD average of 9.3 per cent. The proportion of this contributed by the federal government expenditure remains constant at around 41 per cent."

Gratton Institute
"Health expenses are likely to increase by 2 per cent of GDP
as their growth over the last decade continues, driven
primarily not by an ageing population, as many believe, but by
the increase in the scope and volume of health services."

"The health budget is not out of control. As a proportion of GDP, Australia’s healthcare spending has remained constant. In 2011 it was 8.93 per cent compared to the OECD average of 9.3 per cent. The proportion of this contributed by the federal government expenditure remains constant at around 41 per cent.

"As a proportion of federal government expenditure, health expenditure has actually fallen - from 18.1 per cent in 2006-07 to 16.1 per cent in 2012-13."

Health expenditure - total (% of GDP) in Australia  (World Bank Indicators)

"And then he drops some fact bombs: :

"The health budget is not out of control. As a proportion of GDP, Australia’s healthcare spending has remained constant"

I think the "fact bomb" has a faulty detonator, or the fruit of The Vine is somewhat sour!

nɥºɾ

[boris1gary]

wait to see the graph in support of the planned changes.....

Anger as Coalition waters down financial advice laws

Consumer groups and industry super funds have hit out at the federal government's decision to push ahead with controversial changes to financial advice reforms.

Under changes to be introduced from July 1, the government will abolish a 'catch-all' provision for advisors to act in the best interests of their clients.

It will also exclude general advice from conflicted remuneration rules and remove the requirement for investors to 'opt-in' to authorise ongoing fees every two years.

The changes follow months of debate and speculation over the amendments to the future of financial advice (FOFA) reforms, introduced under Labor in response to a series of corporate collapses.

Consumer group Choice said the changes would wind back essential protection for consumers seeking financial advice.

''Conflicted and poor financial advice has cost consumers billions and in too many cases led to people losing their homes and life savings,'' chief executive Alan Kirkland said.

''This is why consumer protections were originally needed and exactly why they should not be removed.''

Industry Super Australia said the changes would see the re-introduction of kickbacks paid to financial advisors.

It said the removal of the 'opt-in' clause would allow commission-like fees to erode consumer investments, including super.

 
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/anger-as-coalition-waters-down-financial-advice-l...

[boris1gary]

Medical co-payment belongs on scrap heap

Another reason for the AMA’s response to this proposal is the lack of evidence. Modern medicine is evidence-based. We are trained not to accept blind assertions or opinion, or indeed ideology, in determining the best treatment without the supporting evidence.

For months, Australians were pre-medicated for the budget on the narrative that Australia has a budget emergency, with the finger of blame pointed at an out-of-control health budget. 

The health budget is not out of control. As a proportion of GDP, Australia’s healthcare spending has remained constant. In 2011 it was 8.93 per cent compared to the OECD average of 9.3 per cent. The proportion of this contributed by the federal government expenditure remains constant at around 41 per cent.

As a proportion of federal government expenditure, health expenditure has actually fallen - from 18.1 per cent in 2006-07 to 16.1 per cent in 2012-13.

The co-payment is unfair and unnecessary. Ideology has pushed this proposal too far. It is poor health policy. The Prime Minister should step in and scrap this policy. If not, it deserves to fail in the Senate.

Associate professor Brian Owler is president of the Australian Medical Association. 

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/medical-copayment-belongs-on-scrap-heap-20140618-zsbb3.html#ixzz358twM...

[cherry*135]

What about cutting funding & services for TAFE and the push towards private colleges? ( Govt student loans available for some private courses also).

No upfront costs is the Abbott Govt's catch-cry. Study now, pay later!! ( if you can get a job earning over $50 000, with only a TAFE diploma as your qualifications, no work experience)

Example a Diploma of Business fees are:

TAFE NSW: $1514 - annual fee

Private college: $9,600 (9 mth maximum to complete the course) MCI institute is my example here. Students to get a 'free' ipad Air!
No exams at this institute.


$9 600 is a ridiculously high amount to pay for a TAFE level diploma for a 9 mth course.

Diploma level courses were the only ones this college offers.

A student youth who never finished or failed their final year at school wouldn't get entry into a Diploma course, they would have to start at a lower level.
Some Diplomas TAFE prefer the person is already working in the field before they enrol.

[boris1gary]

Am, there will be a graph for that.  

[cherry*135]

😉

[cherry*135]

Saving Joe Hockey: the budget we should have had

The under-30 dole doozy

Denying the dole to those under 30 for six months arguably is the harshest single issue in the budget. When you're promising a higher unemployment rate anyway and arming those over 50 with a $10,000 incentive to be employed, there's an ugly element of doctrinaire cruelty in punishing people for not getting jobs that aren't there. Sure, Eric Abetz would like to reinstate an underclass of cheap itinerant rural labour, willing to work for little more than bed'n'board, but even dedicated Liberal supporters are uneasy about this one – perhaps with a view to higher crime rates.

But it's also the easiest problem to fix: just drop it. It won't get through the Senate anyway so better to confess it was a terrible mistake and ditch it without trying to defend it. Blame an unhealthy IPA element in the party and purge them. Besides, you don't really need the IPA and Murdoch extremists now – remember that you are now in government.

Education dedication
You're being given low marks for your dedication to improving education, probably because you're not dedicated. The flip-flopping on Gonski was shameful and Christopher Pyne's hair splitting has been as bad a look as two big finance types sucking fat cigars.
(And while mentioning it, quit the cigars. Most Australians are intelligent enough to realise smoking is a dumb look. Again, you no longer have to follow the Murdoch/IPA line. And it's bad for you.)
But improving education is hard. It's the most important investment you make in Australia's future. In the long run, it may be the only thing you can really do to maintain Australia's living standards.
Leaving it to the states hasn't worked and won't work. The "competitive federalism" ideology is a crock – it dooms the poorer and dumber states to becoming poorer and dumber.
Thus it's not possible to abandon Gonski unless you have something better to replace it. Your job of being a responsible treasurer includes changing your colleagues' language: it's not a matter of spending on education, but investing in it.
This investment is required across the board – from childcare/pre-school through to tertiary. This probably is your second-hardest job. You could start by grabbing the $5 billion earmarked for the Tony Abbott's paid parental leave thingy and applying it to childcare/preschool.
But that leads to your hardest job:

Man up to Tony

You have an increasingly unpopular leader, or a decreasingly popular one, if you prefer it that way. Having successfully helped the Labor Party to lose the election, he had the shortest political honeymoon in living memory and now enjoys all the credibility of Tony Abbott. Yet he seems to be happily riding roughshod and unchallenged over the government, from an expensive mistake like the PPL to the rich symbolism of his knights and dames.

In your own department, you have the shame of being forced by a vindictive leader to flick the Treasury secretary you respect and need and recognise as the best person for the job. You have the backing of party elders Howard and Costello in wanting to keep him – but, so far, you've lacked the ticker to simply say "no" to your leader.

This should be acutely embarrassing for you. If you're not capable of reining in your prime minister now, there's a strong chance he'll get worse. That's what routinely happens with CEOs who consider themselves bulletproof and aren't given reality checks.

More in link

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/comment-and-analysis/saving-joe-hockey-the-budget-we-should-have-had-...

[monman12]

Good thing about graphs, if they are from a reputable source  (not an "Independent" "citizen blogger'), is that they can graphically correct unresearched C&P material mindlessly  offered to support a closed political viewpoint:

The health budget is not out of control. As a proportion of GDP, Australia’s healthcare spending has remained constant. In 2011 it was 8.93 per cent compared to the OECD average of 9.3 per cent. The proportion of this contributed by the federal government expenditure remains constant at around 41 per cent.

 What nonsense. Clue: trend.

                              Health expenditure - total (% of GDP) in Australia  (World Bank Indicators)

"The proportion of this  (Australia’s healthcare spending)  contributed by the federal government expenditure remains constant at around 41 per cent." 

Allow me to point out that a constant  "41 per cent" of  a steadily increasing healthcare spending cost actually means that spending is also increasing at the same rate !!

It does pay to check a C&P,  because one might have discovered:

"Health spending is eating up more and more of government budgets, both state and federal. In fact, government health spending grew 74% over the past decade, far faster than GDP, which grew by 46% above CPI.

 nɥºɾ

PS

2013 The Conversation/Gratton Institute

Health spending is eating up more and more of government budgets, both state and federal. In fact, government health spending grew 74% over the past decade, far faster than GDP, which grew by 46% above CPI.

Health spending started from a large base too. Australian governments are spending almost A$42 billion more this year in real terms on health than they did a decade ago.

[durruticolumna]

Does that 74% increase in health expenditure include the private insurance rebate? And if so what percentage does that make up?

[nero_bolt]