on 06-01-2017 11:11 AM
on 09-01-2017 01:49 PM
@lyndal1838 wrote:There could be two ways of looking at it David.....you don't own a car because you are too poor to buy one or run one.
Or you are not poor because you don't own a car...you don't have to find the money to buy a car and run it.
"Poor" is a very subjective word anyway....what about those who are asset rich but poor in terms of disposable income such as pensioners who own their own home. You can't eat the doors or pay the bills with the windows.
And the working poor who work their guts out but will never be "rich" by anyone's standards.
perhaps my 'dont own a car therefore poor' was a 'poor' (excuse the pun) way of saying what i ment.
if you live in the metro area with buses and shops close by you can live without a car on a low income.
but once you move to country areas where buses are non existent and walking to the shops would take hours if not longer, a car is pretty much non negotiable. i dont know how many rural people manage to put decent food on the table every day.
no doubt there are a lot on the pension that are doing ok. also there are a lot not doing ok.
it would be nice to have a govt not tarring the whole lot with one brush as 'ripping off the system'
as thats the message that seems to be getting out.
on 09-01-2017 02:27 PM
@bright.ton42 wrote:And I believe (if I've checked it correctly ) a single home owning pensioner can have assets of $250,000. So someone living on the pension with those sorts of assets should be comfortable.
It depends rather on what those assets are and why you own them.Suppose,you are single and, as a retirement plan, you were relying on the rent from a $450,000 house to supplement your pension. Now, in one fell swoop you have lost not only your small part pension but all the benefits that go with it. Is the income from that property, once you've paid rates and maintenance on it, going to keep you in comfort?
09-01-2017 02:47 PM - edited 09-01-2017 02:48 PM
David I live in the bush, I agree, a car is essential and of course we pay far more for petrol/diesel than those in the larger cities. But having said that, I wouldn't live anywhere else. We are are far from being wealthy but we have everything we need, we eat very well, all our bills are paid on time and there are a few spare $$ in the bank for emergencies.
on 09-01-2017 04:18 PM
and so it will continue, doesnt matter who is in govt, they protect the criminals in their ranks.
its basically theft from the public, there would be no 'pay it back' if they wernt so blatant as to get caught.
most people who steal from their employer lose their jobs and in a lot of cases face prison!
on 09-01-2017 04:21 PM
@bushies.girl wrote:David I live in the bush, I agree, a car is essential and of course we pay far more for petrol/diesel than those in the larger cities. But having said that, I wouldn't live anywhere else. We are are far from being wealthy but we have everything we need, we eat very well, all our bills are paid on time and there are a few spare $$ in the bank for emergencies.
of course you and i are not 'normal'
we are happy with our 'lot'
normal people like Ms Leys think its 'normal' to have plenty but still should have 'more'
ya rekon she would be offering to pay anything back had this not blown up as it has?
on 09-01-2017 04:31 PM
It is not really theft from the public purse David. The travel costs were legitimate according to the rules....it is just questionable if her "extra carricular activities" were legitimate. It would have still cost us, the taxpayers, the same amount whether she attended to her personal business or not.
I am more interested in what Government business was done on her New Years Eve trips to the Gold Coast....those could be her undoing. We al know there is no government business conducted over Christmas and New Year.
on 09-01-2017 05:25 PM
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-09/sussan-leys-taxpayer-new-years-with-sarina-russo/8170744
dear oh dear!
i see a lot of calling in of favours to get her out of this tangled web.
hope shes got lots of friends.
on 09-01-2017 06:11 PM
IMO they were only "legit" if all those trips she made to the GC on ( supposed ) government business were really necessary or were some made so she could tie in some personal business while she was there? Interesting, her partner just happens to own a business up there ...hmmm
on 09-01-2017 08:28 PM
on 09-01-2017 08:32 PM
From what I have read and heard on the news the travel costs were legit for legit meetings....the only questionable item on the agenda was the unexpected purchase of a $800,000 property.
I would question the partner's travel costs though, especially after the disclosure of his business interests.
As David says, I think she will be calling in a lot of favours to wriggle out of this, and the New Years Eve trips.