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.
And finally for the last of the Kudos trio:
"I've alrady read it and seen it numerous time and know that Triggs did not say that in February. I also saw what happened when she was pressed to take a guess at answers in November and read the letter of clarification from December, hence my request for the full quotes in context."
The date is immaterial (also who she met) other than Triggs has admitted to two Senate inquiries that a supposedly independent apolitical statutory body decided to withold commencing an inquiry because a federal election was in the offing. That makes the decision political.
Perhaps these excerpts from Hansard will help you "remember" what Triggs has actually said. :
Prof. Triggs : Because to do an inquiry that would go through a caretaker period and the possible election of a new government would be inflammatory. It would not assist the argument, especially as we would not be able to report until after that new government was elected or the existing government was returned. It would not have been a helpful thing to do during the process of the election.
Prof. Triggs : With respect, Senator, I think you are completely misunderstanding the process. I have no obligation to advise or consult the government about an inquiry at all. That is a totally independent matter for my discretion. So whether I did or did not is absolutely irrelevant."
Prof. Triggs : I appreciate that people may question why the inquiry was called four months or so after the new government came into power. I knew that that was a political risk. You are quite right in saying that some people have perceived it in that way. I have tried to explain the reasons I called it. I think the quality of the work the commission has done historically and now commands greater respect than the allegation that we acted politically. We did not and I did not. I will stand by the decision that I made to hold it when I did.'
My previous excerpts:
Triggs: Senate Estimate inquiry Nov 2014
"........There are a number of reasons why I did not call an inquiry exactly at that moment, as I would very much have liked to have done, and that was that it was very well known and understood that we would have an election within weeks, and that is exactly what happened. Had I called the inquiry at the peak period, I would have walked straight into a caretaker mode or certainly into an environment in which this very fraught issue would be highly politicised....."
Triggs: Senate Estimate inquiry Feb 2015
"… I wanted to call an inquiry and I could not call that inquiry as we approached caretaker mode. It was simply inadvisable to do so....."
It is a pity that Triggs did not appreciate that her role should emulate "Caesar's wife" apropos the timing of the report. As to who she met or did not meet, and when, she just appeared to have recollection problem.
G58, Triggs most certainly made the comments herein reproduced above.
@monman12 wrote:
Triggs: Senate Estimate inquiry Feb 2015
"… I wanted to call an inquiry and I could not call that inquiry as we approached caretaker mode. It was simply inadvisable to do so....."
G58, Triggs most certainly made the comments herein reproduced above.
Nope, that is incorrect.
Senator O'SULLIVAN: You said there was no trigger. I am happy for you to strike that down. That is the purpose of this. You said that:
… I wanted to call an inquiry and I could not call that inquiry as we approached caretaker mode. It was simply inadvisable to do so.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has appointed a new personal photographer, part of a growing trend among Australia's politicians to exert greater control over their image
NEWS CORP photographer Brad Hunter will join Mr Abbott's media staff later this month, raising concerns that news photographers will gain less direct access to the prime minister.
Although it has long been a fixture in US politics, Mr Abbott broke new ground when he employed a former press gallery cameraman to his staff after the election, a move that frustrated television crews who found themselves forced to rely on footage provided by Mr Abbott's press office.
It was not uncommon for the weekend television news to have only Mr Abbott's weekly video message, recorded by his staff and distributed on a Sunday, to use in bulletins
