on 20-04-2014 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.
on 05-03-2015 06:57 PM
on 05-03-2015 06:59 PM
not sure i want to live to be that old
05-03-2015 07:04 PM - edited 05-03-2015 07:07 PM
Abbott in hot water again - another Captain's call.
Tony Abbott's soldier pay rise risks dispute with Defence secretary Dennis Richardson
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has risked a dispute with his most experienced official, Dennis Richardson, by undermining decades of work to build a rational and independent system for setting soldier pay.
Mr Abbott on Wednesday caved in to political pressure to grant military personnel a special pay rise, in contrast with extreme austerity measures being imposed upon the civilian defence officials they work alongside.
The policy backflip may quieten servicemen and Jacqui Lambie, the outspoken Tasmanian senator, and quell a revolt among Mr Abbott's own backbench.
A spokesman for Mr Abbott said his decision "was made after consultation with MPs from electorates with a large proportion of defence personnel and families".
But he appears to have used misleading figures to support a claim that the civilian bureaucrats had received higher wage increases than their uniformed counterparts over the past six years. And he has blind-sided senior officials who are already scrambling to keep up with some frantic policymaking from Mr Abbott and his closest cabinet supporters.
"It's clearly decision-making on the run. It's another captain's call," said Paul Barratt, the former secretary of defence. "It departs from the policy that all these things are decided by the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal, at arm's length."
Mr Abbott's rationale for personally intervening to increase the government's base salary offer clashes with the logic laid out last week by his famously straight-talking Defence Department secretary, Mr Richardson.
Mr Abbott said through a spokesman that "the decision reflects the unique and crucial service of Defence Force personnel".
But Mr Richardson explained to a Senate committee that the "unique nature of military service" was already built in to a series of special benefits including tax-free treatment and a $150 daily allowance while serving overseas.
Mr Richardson said the base salary was calibrated to ensure equity and sound relations between personnel employed in the Australian Defence Force and the Australian Public Service, who frequently report to each other and work side by side.
"From where I sit, for what that is worth, the greater the differential you have, between base salaries in the ADF and base salaries in the Defence APS, the greater are the difficulties we are going to run into in terms of an integrated workforce," said Mr Richardson, who holds a civilian rank which is equivalent to the four-star chairman of the Australian Defence Forces, Mark Binskin, who works in the adjacent office at Defence headquarters in Canberra.
"The Defence leadership, both ADF and APS, have worked very hard over the years to develop a sense of being together and a sense of working together," he said. "We are still on that journey."
Close observers have told Fairfax that this latest policy surprise puts at risk decades of painstaking effort to build an equitable, rational and durable defence remuneration system.
Read more
on 05-03-2015 07:06 PM
another day, another bucket of hot water
on 05-03-2015 07:09 PM
on 05-03-2015 10:40 PM
A3: "Ross Gittins who labelled the stalled Budget measures as FAILS shortly after the 2014 Budget was released. And he was spot on.
"spot on" You mean these excerpts from a Gittins article May 13 2014?
"This budget isn't as bad as Labor will claim and the Liberal heartland will privately think.
It's undoubtedly the toughest budget since John Howard's post-election budget in 1996, but it's hardly austerity economics.
I give Joe Hockey's first budgetary exam a distinction on management of the macro economy, a credit on micro-economic reform and a fail on fairness.
Although Hockey has laboured hard to ensure few sections of the community escape unscathed, the truth is most of us have been let off lightly."
"Spot on"
A3: " I like Ross Gittins best.".
Of course you do, he is only slightly "pink" The chart is old, (sorry A3) but old dog/new tricks etc.
05-03-2015 10:52 PM - edited 05-03-2015 10:52 PM
debra9275 wrote: "So Joe 's IG report says we'll live till 100 in the future, that's more believable than the 140years of age he stated a few months ago" "Scaled it down somewhat. Big news, not."
I see research is still considered unnecessary, or inconvenient?
Facts (sorry)
"Outlining the need for changes to Australia’s health system, the Treasurer said, “There's great news on the horizon for Australia. The fact we are living longer is great news. It's kind of remarkable that somewhere in the world today, it's highly probable that a child is being born that is going to live to 150. That's a long time."
Facts, inconvenient truths (for some) !
on 05-03-2015 11:11 PM
May 13
I give Joe Hockey's first budgetary exam a distinction on management of the macro economy, a credit on micro-economic reform and a fail on fairness
I have already posted these in this thread before.
May 19, 2014
The more of the budget's fine print I get through, the less impressed I am. It's not a budget so much as a flick-pass.
The budget was a giant attempt to get back to surplus solely by cutting spending and not increasing taxes. It failed. Not so much because of the temporary deficit levy or the resumption of indexing the fuel excise, but because the cumulative $80 billion saving from short-changing the states on schools and hospitals - almost a quarter of the total saving - will have to be covered by increased state taxation.
http://www.rossgittins.com/2014/05/less-to-budget-than-meets-eye.html
Feb 2015
05-03-2015 11:19 PM - edited 05-03-2015 11:23 PM
@monman12 wrote:debra9275 wrote: "So Joe 's IG report says we'll live till 100 in the future, that's more believable than the 140years of age he stated a few months ago" "Scaled it down somewhat. Big news, not."I see research is still considered unnecessary, or inconvenient?Facts (sorry)"Outlining the need for changes to Australia’s health system, the Treasurer said, “There's great news on the horizon for Australia. The fact we are living longer is great news. It's kind of remarkable that somewhere in the world today, it's highly probable that a child is being born that is going to live to 150. That's a long time."Facts, inconvenient truths (for some) !
Joe Hockey raises prospect of Australians living until 150 to justify budget cuts
You forgot to add this bit from this outdated article you quoted from- The government still plans to introduce a $5 optional co-payment for GP visits.
Backflip number ?
Today
Australia's population will live longer and have to work longer as well over the next 40 years, with slower economic growth and a massive spike in the number of people living to 100, the latestIntergenerational Report shows.
Not 150 yrs anymore but 100yrs?
Why should anyone believe these clowns?!!
on 05-03-2015 11:29 PM
@am*3 wrote:
Not 150 yrs anymore but 100yrs?
Why should anyone believe these clowns?!!
Because most of the intelligent population understands that the population is aging. That those who worked with the promise of a pension at the end of their working days have been slapped in the face with the truth. They aren't guaranteed that now. Facts are facts. Belittling an opposing political party because of their policies comes at a price. The world has changed. Change with it or sit by the wayside. There is no one to pick you up anymore.