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.
"Financially it could be a "zero sum game" in light of the costs involved, he said."
"could be", is that the same as "I imagine"
As already pointed out by IF, it is not about the money because other considerations prevail:
ABC
"By contrast Mr Hockey has come out of the case with his reputation intact."
"The evidence indicates that Mr Hockey is a person of integrity," Justice White said."
The contrast would "I imagine" be between Hockey and Goodsir, the latter shown to be driven by political malice and "I imagine" not likely to change his editorial spots !
Whilst not a first, this libel case result certainly will become a concerning factor for anyone wishing to publish just an isolated "controversial" "grab" headline.
We made it in the US though, but I could find nothing in the Jakarta Post or the Iranian Press TV
CNet
Two tweets, AU$80,000: Newspaper pays for defamation on Twitter
Typing 140 characters has come at a heavy price for an Australian newspaper after it was ordered to pay AU$80,000 for defaming one of the country's highest ranking politicians in two short tweets.
The ruling is a watershed moment in Australian media law and in the country's treatment of social media -- unlike in the United States, Australia has no explicit constitutional provision for freedom of speech, regardless of the medium used.
"In his judgement, Justice Richard White found that "there would have been a large number of persons, perhaps in the tens of thousands, who read the bare tweets and who did not read further." He further noted that Mr Hockey "made good his claims of defamatory meaning" in each case and ordered Fairfax Media to pay AU$40,000 in damages for each tweet."
Interesting also is hockey's tweet accusing Rudd of the same- though I notice it was only retweeted 245 times, so although defamatory, hockeys tweet never had the same"reach"
Interesting that once again (????) you underscore Hockey's successful case apropos the tweets, and also what the trial judge noted: that whilst the (defamatory) tweet was read by many thousands the linked article was only accessed by some hundreds, thus making it actionable, and successfully.
As for "Access to Rudd at a price" there is a clear and distinct difference, grammatically and from within libel tort litigation. Like Parliamentary procedures, libel and tort law are well documented and easily accessed, so insinuating that a minister can be accessed at a price is the same as one is for sale is as silly as proclaiming that : "a division in the HOR is between cabinet ministers and shadow cabinet ministers"
Goodsir (Fairfax) was judged to be malicious, and has paid (well Farfax has) for the libellous tweets and billboard utterances, why anyone would strive to convince themselves otherwise, is rather pointless, in fact Omar Khayyรกm summed up the verdict many hundreds of years ago with"
โThe Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.โ
Taking about writs, the ALP/Harvey Shorten do not have much time for those which we have been told could be issued any moment.
Pesky election
So 150 people, together with father Rod from Gosford, attended a venue visited by Tony Abbott and made a silent protest by turning their backs on him. The protection staff wouldn't allow any of the press to photograph the protestors, according to father Rod.
If anyone was in any doubt that Australians are being silenced regarding their thoughts on our Dear Leader, then this is just another incident whereby the general public is protected from knowing about anyone not in agreement with this government. Shame on the government and their minders.
AB: "So 150 people, together with father Rod from Gosford, attended a venue visited by Tony Abbott and made a silent protest by turning their backs on him. The protection staff wouldn't allow any of the press to photograph the protestors, according to father Rod."
What nonsense, and 3 Kudos, not unexpectedly, for comments that are demonstrably wrong !
There are plenty of photographs of the protest, try here Gosford Express , and exactly how, in a public area, would "minders" legally restrict the press if it was not a security threat?
"If anyone was in any doubt that Australians are being silenced regarding their thoughts on our Dear Leader, then this is just another incident whereby the general public is protected from knowing about anyone not in agreement with this government. Shame on the government and their minders."
Nonsense yet again, the whole PR exercise was covered by the local press/Telegraph, here is a "not allowed" photograph of the turning of the backs !
I noticed these excerpts from the press coverage:
"Mr Abbott had a mixed reception, with locals greeting him with a warm welcome at a community morning tea at Mingara before protests in Gosford against funding cutbacks and the governmentโs asylum seeker policy."
"Outside the Central Coast Leagues Club, local workers and residents waving placards and chanting, protested against โcuts to pensions, unaffordable university fees, attacks on Medicare, cuts to public services and his lack of vision for jobs on the Coastโ during the union organised rally".
"โThe Central Coast is awake and we wonโt be taken for granted,โ Unions NSW spokesman Salim Barbar said."
AB, the problem with supporting a political position with (biased) information that is easily shown to be blatantly wrong, is that it and any subsequent posts will be viewed with like scepticism.
