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.

[debra9275]

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/feb/19/lead-lawyer-for-trade-union-royal-commission-p...

Lead lawyer for trade union royal commission paid $3.36m

Abbott government to pay Jeremy Stoljar $3.3m for a contract from 12 April last year until the end of this year, documents show

The lead lawyer for the royal commission into trade union corruption will be paid more than $3.36m for just under two years’ work at the inquiry.

The government will pay Jeremy Stoljar SC $3.3m for a contract from 12 April last year until the end of this year, according to documents posted on the Austender website.

Stoljar was paid another $54,366 for two and a half months work on the preparation and setting up of the royal commission last year, according to a separate tender document.

The government has allocated a total of $52m to the royal commission, which is investigating allegations of corruption and slush funds in the union movement and has so far held 70 hearings calling on 220 witnesses around the country. It will continue hearings this year.

The commission was set up after allegations involving the construction industry, the health services union and also the former prime minister, Julia Gillard, over legal advice she gave as a young lawyer to her then boyfriend, the Australian Workers Union official Bruce Wilson, which helped him set up what was later revealed to be a union “slush fund”.

An interim report delivered late last year recommended criminal charges be considered against scores of officials from three unions but found Gillard had committed no crime and was unaware of any crimes committed by others.

The workplace relations minister, Eric Abetz, said the interim report bolstered the government’s case to introduce the Registered Organisations Commission – an independent oversight body for unions and employers – and reintroduce the building industry watchdog, the Australian Building and Construction Commission. Neither organisation was specifically mentioned by the royal commission and the legislation to reintroduce both bodies is blocked in the Senate, with Labor, the Greens and crossbench senators saying they will not pass it.

$52 million?? to try and get Julia Gillard and they claim budget emergency??  OK... Vindictive little man    

[debra9275]

http://m.afr.com/p/opinion/abbott_and_hockey_circus_tightrope_QpdueoP3p8oonaJzU2BrpO

Abbott and Hockey on a tightrope as policy debate turns into a circus

Out for a trot this week were the prospect of the pension assets test being extended to the family home (closed down by the new Social Services Minister Scott Morrison within hours) and a call for GST reform to deliver tax cuts.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, not much new emerged. All the obvious people said the obvious things and went away again.

The "policy debate" has become a sterile and withered thing, and the interlinked debates about retirement incomes, taxation and welfare seem to have lost their overarching direction.

Do we want people to be self-sufficient in retirement or do we presume everyone will end up getting some sort of taxpayer-funded pension? Do we want to minimise the number of people reliant on the age pension and/or minimise the amount we have to give them? What is the most efficient way of equitably spreading taxpayer support within the community without creating distortions in behaviour?

These are always difficult points to get through the political static.The government's precarious political position makes it even more difficult to establish solid footholds from which to discuss things in a more nuanced way. It simply can't afford to walk near anything that looks like a minefield.

What's more, when federal Parliament returns next week, it will only have four sitting weeks (and only three normal Senate sitting weeks) in which to strike a deal on last year's budget before this year's budget is brought down on May 12.

[debra9275]

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/tony-abbott-plays-the-wrong-card-20150220-13klxt.html

With national security and Australian lives on the line, the Prime Minister hasn’t played the best of hands.

[debra9275]

http://www.smh.com.au/world/bali-nine-executions-julie-bishop-phones-indonesia-to-ease-tensions-2015...

The phone call had been recommended by the Australian Embassy.

The Foreign Affairs Minister said Mr Kalla was "deeply grateful" to her for clarifying the Prime Minister's comments. "He is very well disposed to Australia. I hope that my representations will make a difference but I don't know."

Ms Bishop said she had not intended to make the phone call public but agreed to speak to Fairfax Media after their conversation was reported in the local press.

Her phone call to the Vice-President, which took place on Thursday, came after Mr Abbott's vowed to let Indonesia know in "absolutely unambiguous terms" that Australia would feel "grievously let down" if the executions proceeded.

"Let's not forget that a few years ago when Indonesia was struck by the Indian Ocean tsunami, Australia sent a billion dollars worth of assistance, we sent a significant contingent of our armed forces to help in Indonesia with humanitarian relief and Australians lost their lives in that campaign to help Indonesia," he said.

The Indonesian government responded angrily, with a foreign ministry spokesman warning it did not respond to threats.

Jakarta-based international relations expert Pierre Marthinus said Mr Abbott had "jumped the shark" in his handling of the execution issue.

He said the link to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was offensive to Indonesians. "Look into the eye of a child who lost their parents and say: 'You know what? We gave you money, now we want something in return."

Mr Marthinus, the director of the Marthinus Academy, a not-for-profit centre focusing on transnational relations, said he can understand the frustration of Australians given the constant waiting and uncertainty around the executions.

But he was worried Mr Abbott's belligerence would have a lasting impact on bilateral relations. "We really don't want another fallout between Indonesia and Australia."

while I agree that we do help indonesia when  they need and it should've been brought up. Goodness knows how abbott put it to them, like a bull in a China shop? I guess diplomacy is not one of his best attributes.

[cherry*135]

Childcare report gets thumbs down from sector

Childcare experts and parents have been left scratching their heads at the Productivity Commission's long-awaited blueprint for childcare reform, arguing its proposed new funding system is too difficult to understand and that many families would be worse off under the plan.

One childcare sector representative told Fairfax Media the Abbott government would be "crazy" to implement the commission's report, which recommends that childcare funding is based on an hourly rate, benchmarked against the median price of various types of childcare. They argued this would see such a significant proportion of parents lose out.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/childcare-report-gets-thumbs-down-fr...

[debra9275]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/terror/tony-abbott-sought-military-advice-on-go-it-alone-in...

Flanked by his chief of staff, Peta Credlin, in a meeting in ­Canberra on November 25, the Prime Minister said the move would help halt the surge of ­Islamic State in northern Iraq.

After receiving no resistance from Ms Credlin or his other staff in the room, Mr Abbott then raised the idea with Australia’s leading military planners. The military officials were stunned, telling Mr Abbott that sending 3500 Australian soldiers without any US or NATO cover would be disastrous for the ­Australians.

They argued that even the US was not prepared to put ground troops into Iraq and it would make Australia the only Western country with troops on the ground.

and then to cut the wages of defence personnel... mad???

[debra9275]

The Productivity Commission's report, which went to the Coalition last October, also recommended that federal funding be extended to nannies. This was applauded by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who said it could be a cost-effective option for families with multiple children under five

nannies??

[cherry*135]

From the Tony Abbott plays the wrong card link

"Abbott expressed confidence in Johnston. He lauded the "absolutely outstanding job" he was doing. Nine days later he sacked him. He replaced him with another underperforming minister, Kevin Andrews.

And then, two weeks ago, Abbott himself was at risk of getting the sack. It was at this point that the utter absence of due process and "grown up government" emerged glaringly into public view."

Crazy

[debra9275]

[cherry*135]

Abbott government's broken promises on infrastructure lead to big cost and no benefit to taxpayers

One of the most significant broken promises of the Abbott government has had little attention – but this week things started hotting up.

Five days before the last election, Prime Minister Tony Abbott aid, "I have given a commitment that we won't spend more than $100 million on any single infrastructure project without a published cost-benefit analysis."

But then, a month before the November 2014 Victorian state election, the Abbott government handed over $1 billion to Victoria for the $5.3 billion East West Link freeway. There was no published cost-benefit analysis.

There was no cost-benefit analysis because the project is a complete croc.

The four belly-ups were: the Cross City Tunnel and the Lane Cove tunnel, both in in Sydney, and the CLEM7 tunnel and Brisconnections Airport Link tunnel in Brisbane. The last cost investors $4.8 billion.

Despite all the "M" freeways, Sydney's traffic is still a nightmare. Melbourne's is little better. The solution is not more roads, but less traffic. And you get less traffic by building decent public transport.

With all Australian governments bleating about scare resources for infrastructure, state governments should be more careful on what they fund. And the Federal Government should not encourage them by underwriting their unanalysed idiocy with tied grants.

Demanding sensible infrastructure spending with proper cost-benefit analysis should have been an easy promise to keep. But not for Tony Abbott.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/abbott-governments-broken-promises-on-infrastructure-lead-to...