on โ20-04-2014 10:21 PM
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.
โ23-03-2015 09:43 PM - edited โ23-03-2015 09:43 PM
on โ24-03-2015 09:07 AM
on โ24-03-2015 09:16 AM
Electorally, clipping the aid ticket is low risk for governments.
The unspoken justification is that there are no losers โ not ones who can vote here anyway. And as far as Australians are concerned, most either don't care enough to change their vote over aid, or even resent billions of Australian taxpayers' dollars being sent to foreign lands.
Nonetheless, the major parties have largely eschewed the populist low-road on foreign aid, preferring instead to maintain broad bipartisanship.
on โ24-03-2015 10:05 AM
here is something interesting I noticed last night
Australia has sent back 15 illegal immigrants from Nepal, Iran and Bangladesh into Indonesian waters off West Javaโs Sukabumi, an official said on Monday.
The illegal immigrants had reached Australiaโs Christmas Island and stayed there for three days, an official of the Sukabumi Immigration office, Markus Lenggo, quoted the immigrants as saying.
"They said they crossed to the Australian island from the Pamengpeuk coastal village of Garut [in West Java] on March 17, but after three days they were sent back to Indonesian territory," Markus said.
The 15 illegal immigrants -- six from Iran including three girls, seven from Bangladesh and two from Nepal - were found stranded on the coast of Pangumbahan in Sukabumi by the police on Sunday.
They were then sent to the Sukabumi Immigration Office, which put them in its detention center, he said. Nine of them were in possession of official documents from the UNHCR refugee agency showing that they were asylum seekers, but the rest claimed that they had lost their documents.
"We are awaiting directions from IOM [International Organization for Migration] and the Law and Human Rights Ministry on what to do with the immigrants," he said as quoted by Antara news agency.
One of the asylum seekers, Muhamad Baleyet Husain from Bangladesh, said the Australian authorities told them they had to be sent back to Indonesia as the two countries were in the midst of a political row following the planned execution of two Australians drug convicts.
"We arrived on Christmas Island but the local authorities sent us back to Indonesian waters using a boat accompanied by Australian officers," Husain said.
Husain, who spoke fluent Indonesian, said he had stayed in Indonesia for six months before attempting to seek asylum in Australia
so have we 'stopped the boats' or not??
on โ24-03-2015 10:09 AM
When he announced that 10 Save the Children staff had been booted off Nauru for allegedly coaching self-harm and encouraging protests to embarrass the Abbott government, former immigration minister Scott Morrison declared the "public don't want to be played for mugs".
But Mr Morrison on Monday rejected claims he smeared Save the Children staff and said he would not apologise for their treatment by his then department, despite an investigation failing to back up the original accusations.
On Monday, Mr Morrison โ now Social Services Minister โ insisted he had made no allegations against Save the Children.
on โ24-03-2015 10:15 AM
Labor is demanding Prime Minster Tony Abbott detail what work meetings he scheduled in Melbourne on Sunday after revelations he used a taxpayer-funded jet to attend a Liberal Party donor's birthday party.
Mr Abbott began his Sunday in Brisbane then flew to Sydney to attend New South Wales Premier Mike Baird's election launch, which began at 11am and concluded just after midday.
The Herald Sun has revealed Mr Abbott then jetted to Melbourne where he later attended a lavish birthday party for Paul Marks at the Huntingdale Golf Club
on โ24-03-2015 10:21 AM
PRIME Minister Tony Abbott used a taxpayer-funded RAAF plane to fly to Melbourne, where he attended the birthday party of mining millionaire and big Liberal donor Paul Marks.
Mr Abbott joined about 45 people for the birthday party at the exclusive Huntingdale Golf Club on Sunday night.
He started the day in Brisbane and flew to Sydney for the NSW Liberal election campaign launch with Premier Mike Baird before flying with a small group aboard the RAAF VIP plane to Melbourne.
another article on that same story
on โ24-03-2015 11:06 AM
on โ24-03-2015 11:10 AM
on โ24-03-2015 11:22 AM
Love this one. So close to the truth.