The Abbott Government

[IFocus]

Promise Tracker: The Abbott Government's broken election promises jump from 8 to 12

Here's how the new promises change the tally: of the 78 promises now being tracked, 15 are delivered, 12 are broken, four are stalled and 47 are in progress.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-07/abbott-government-broken-promises-jumps-to-12/5870784

 

[Logique]

A bit of levity, not too partisan. From Tim Blair's blog.

 

[Calliope]

Abbott is punching above his weight. Putin will pat him on his head, make smoothing noises and tell him to behave himself.

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has vowed to have a robust conversation with Vladimir Putin at the APEC summit to ensure the Russian president guarantees he's doing everything possible to assist investigations into the MH17 disaster.

THE Kremlin has confirmed that Mr Putin will hold formal talks with Mr Abbott in Beijing but says the meeting "will be short".

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...-to-putin-abbott/story-fn3dxiwe-1227116717531

 

[noco]

Abbott is punching above his weight. Putin will pat him on his head, make smoothing noises and tell him to behave himself.



http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...-to-putin-abbott/story-fn3dxiwe-1227116717531

Got to give Abbott 10 out of 10 to have the gutz to front Putin.......I doubt whether Bill Sh#@en would have fronted Putin.

 

[Calliope]

Got to give Abbott 10 out of 10 to have the gutz to front Putin.......I doubt whether Bill Sh#@en would have fronted Putin.

After all his blather, what choice does he have? Meanwhile Shorten gets it right without the shirt-fronting bullsh!t.

Mr Shorten this morning said he hoped Mr Abbott would use the meeting to “get to the bottom” of the affair, but predicted Mr Putin would not tell the truth.

“The Russians support the separatists in the Ukraine, separatists fired the missile which killed people; I don’t believe that the Russians don’t know what’s happening the Opposition Leader told ABC’s Insiders.

“In other words if they opened up the books and they told us what’s really going on we could get closure for a whole lot of people who are caught up in something well beyond their control with devastating consequences.

“Putin is not going to tell us the truth, but Tony Abbott has to at least ask.”
Mr Shorten said Mr Abbott’s threat to “shirt-front” Mr Putin “weakened our legitimate outrage” over the attack.

“But also I think we need to show leadership and be supporting European efforts for peace in eastern Ukraine. That at least might make some sense of a senseless barbarity,” he said.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-...17-probe-shorten/story-fno88it0-1227117275560

 

[luutzu]

After all his blather, what choice does he have? Meanwhile Shorten gets it right without the shirt-fronting bullsh!t.



http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-...17-probe-shorten/story-fno88it0-1227117275560

I agree with you about the shirt-fronting, but I would bet my house that Abbott, the US, UK... they all know what happened. It's all showmanship.

With our eyes over the Ukraine, like it would be over any warzones, the chances of us not knowing what happen is zero. Just I think, and hope, that our leaders, including Abbott, has enough sense to not show it and anger the people to demand war with Russia or something.

 

[banco]

Got to give Abbott 10 out of 10 to have the gutz to front Putin.......I doubt whether Bill Sh#@en would have fronted Putin.

Yeah it takes such balls to have a tense conversation with someone. What do you think they are going to start throwing punches?

 

[drsmith]

No knitting here,

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-...-names-julie-bishop-woman-of-the-year/5877886

 

[sptrawler]

There was a wage explosion when Hawke was elected .

Your post 4481.
Maybe because Hawke and Keating achieved wage restraint by consultation, Abbott wants it done by imposition.


You obviously have problems remembering your own story.

And yes, Abbott is real nasty, like bringing in self increasing taxes like the fuel excise indexation which will constantly erode the paypackets and increase itself due to the inflation it has helped to cause.

The fuel excise indexation was introduce by Hawke and Keating, then stopped by Howard.

You really do have an obvious bias that is showing through.

 

[Julia]

On "Insiders" today, when that photo was screened and mention made of the article in Harpers Bazaar, Fran Kelly still had to make it all about Julia Gillard, commenting that Ms Bishop's suggestion that women should just get on with it and stop whining was actually a barb directed at Gillard's misogyny speech.

It was a remark on a par with her support for those who booed Abbott and Howard at the Gough memorial.

What nonsense. Julie Bishop is not disposed to be part of the feminazi brigade and doesn't need to be precious or over-sensitive. She does exactly as she suggests, and just gets on with her job. Great role model imo.

 

[SirRumpole]

The fuel excise indexation was introduce by Hawke and Keating, then stopped by Howard.

It matters not who introduced the tax/indexation in the first place, it's a nasty tax, and Abbott is responsible for reintroducing a nasty tax.

Good on Howard for ending fuel excise indexation, boo to Hawke/Keating for it's introduction in the first place, boo to Abbott for its reintroduction.

 

[noco]

It matters not who introduced the tax/indexation in the first place, it's a nasty tax, and Abbott is responsible for reintroducing a nasty tax.

Good on Howard for ending fuel excise indexation, boo to Hawke/Keating for it's introduction in the first place, boo to Abbott for its reintroduction.

Rumpy, we need da monya to pay back the Green/Labor credit card.......don't be so mean....every little helps...your contribution at the servo will be welcomed.

 

[SirRumpole]

Rumpy, we need da monya to pay back the Green/Labor credit card.......don't be so mean....every little helps...your contribution at the servo will be welcomed.

If we had a decent MRRT there would be no need to hit the average consumer.

 

[noco]

If we had a decent MRRT there would be no need to hit the average consumer.

We had one but it was costing more to administer than what was returned....just another Green/Labor hare brain scheme that did not work.

Labor certainly hit the average consumer with their CARBON DIOXIDE tax....you can't get away from that one.

 

[Calliope]

There are no world leaders (let alone Mr Abbott) capable of "shirt fronting" Mr Putin in the manner that President Reagan (and MrsThatcher) confronted Mr Gorbachev in 1989.

The need now, 25 years after the fall of the Berlin wall, is for global leaders to show the strength and resolve that Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher did back then.

In 1987, president Reagan, against the advice of nervous US diplomats, stood before the Brandenburg Gate and confronted the Soviets: “Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” In his determination to end Soviet tyranny in Eastern Europe he was backed by Mrs Thatcher, the Polish leader Lech Walesa and pope John Paul II. The popular uprisings against Moscow’s diktat that followed were unstoppable and the Soviet empire disintegrated. The same qualities of leadership and vision are needed now in the face of Russian expansionist ambitions, especially against Ukraine. Mr Putin must be deterred not only from further belligerence along NATO’s eastern and northern borders, but also to be left in no doubt he will not be let off the hook by the international community as long as he persists in his illegal seizure of Crimea and continues to behave like a poor global citizen in relation to the atrocious shooting down of MH17 by Russian-backed rebels.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opi...hy-the-wall-fell/story-e6frg71x-1227117664153
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtYdjbpBk6A

 

[sydboy007]

Your post 4481.
Maybe because Hawke and Keating achieved wage restraint by consultation, Abbott wants it done by imposition.

You obviously have problems remembering your own story.

The fuel excise indexation was introduce by Hawke and Keating, then stopped by Howard.

You really do have an obvious bias that is showing through.

Do you believe taxes should be automatically increased, or should the Govt of the day make the case for an increase in tax revenue with each budget?

I do support an increase in fuel excise, but I don't support automatic increases in them, unless we're going to do the same with income tax thresholds as well.

 

[sptrawler]

Do you believe taxes should be automatically increased, or should the Govt of the day make the case for an increase in tax revenue with each budget?

I do support an increase in fuel excise, but I don't support automatic increases in them, unless we're going to do the same with income tax thresholds as well.

I don't particularly like taxes in isolation, they have to be weighed up against proposed spending that they are going to fund.
Some taxes are indexed automatically, e.g smokes, alchohol, whether they should have to be validated every budget is somewhat subjective.

I gave up smoking and tailor my alchohol consumption to my finances, therefore to a degree the amount of tax I pay on these is in my control.

Fuel excise indexing kind of falls into the same criteria, a lot of people on this forum applauded the carbon tax, on the basis it forced people to be more efficient in their electricity usage.

Well indexing fuel, will probably bring about a similar outcome, with vehicle usage and the type of vehicle people chose to fullfill their requirements.

 

[luutzu]

There are no world leaders (let alone Mr Abbott) capable of "shirt fronting" Mr Putin in the manner that President Reagan (and MrsThatcher) confronted Mr Gorbachev in 1989.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opi...hy-the-wall-fell/story-e6frg71x-1227117664153
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtYdjbpBk6A

I heard differently about Ukraine and the fall of the original Evil Empire.

With Ukraine, and this I've heard from a few experts on Europe/Russia... is that there were agreements with Gorbachev (?) and US/Europe powers that NATO must not expand beyond Poland. That countries like the Ukraine are historically Russian and must be left within Russian sphere of influence. NATO decided it want Ukraine to join the EU, spy masters work to overthrow the Ukraine's elected, and Moscow friendly, president and here we are.

Just repeating another perspective I heard.

With the fall of USSR... it's not people power or triumph of democratic values... the USSR just went bankrupt. Too many races with the US, a weak centralised Communist economy, probably a fair bit of sanctions, and the final blow came when the US realised most of Soviets cash come from its oil/gas... it tells Saudi Arabia to increase supply and good bye Evil Empire.

 

[SirRumpole]

Treasurer Joe Hockey faces $51 billion deterioration in finances between budget and MYEFO, economists say

Treasurer Joe Hockey is facing an estimated $51 billion deterioration in Commonwealth finances between the budget and MYEFO, economists say.

Mr Hockey is due to hand down the Government's Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) before Christmas, but the combination of a Senate hostile to key savings measures and slumping commodity prices looks set to make his festive season anything but.

The latest report from independent consultancy Macroeconomics finds savings worth $11 billion annually in four years' time are currently tied up in the Senate and unlikely to pass.

It also estimates the Commonwealth will lose up to $10 billion in 2017-18 from a deterioration in the economic outlook since the budget in May, particularly due to a further steep slide in the iron ore price.

The falling iron ore price has slashed Australia's terms of trade – the prices it gets for its exports versus what it pays for imports – and thus lowered national income, hitting both expected corporate and income tax revenues.

If Macroeconomics' forecasts are on the money, without further spending cuts or tax increases, the Commonwealth budget will be $24 billion in deficit by 2017-18, $21 billion worse than the modest $2.8 billion deficit that was forecast in May's budget.

Unfortunately, Treasurer Hockey has failed to galvanise broad public support for his budget because of the perception or reality that much of what he has planned is just plain unfair
Macroeconomics director of budget and forecasting Stephen Anthony

The worsening conditions and blocked savings will also have smaller, but increasing, effects on the deficits over this financial year and the two following, leading to a cumulative deterioration of $51 billion across the four years of the forward estimates.

Macroeconomics director of budget and forecasting Stephen Anthony observed that the budget did have almost $40 billion in savings over the four-year forward estimates, and would have been on track to return to surplus in 2018-19, if not for measures being blocked by the Senate and commodity prices falling further.

While he said Mr Hockey's first budget was an economically sound and overdue attempt at bringing the budget back towards balance, he added it had failed on the political front.

"Unfortunately, Treasurer Hockey has failed to galvanise broad public support for his budget because of the perception or reality that much of what he has planned is just plain unfair," he noted in the report.

"He has certainly placed much of the fiscal adjustment burden on the poorest members of the Australian and international community (the unemployed, students, low income pensioners and foreign aid recipients) up to 2017-18, whilst failing to reign in tax concessions for high income earners."
Unpopular measures 'not worth political pain'

Worse still argued Dr Anthony, a former Treasury official, many of the most unpopular measures do not actually contribute a large part of the savings.

"Many of [Mr Hockey's] budget cuts are just not worth the political pain, including the six-month qualifying period for unemployment benefits for persons up to 30 years of age, and the $7 co-payment for GP visits and tests ordered by GPs," he wrote.

"They divert focus from the passage of the few key structural reforms that were announced on budget night that could help to complete the fiscal repair job (age pension indexation, fuel indexation, state health and education grant indexation changes etc)."

The political furore over many of the changes means that only around half of the savings and revenue measures announced by Mr Hockey on budget night have so far been passed into law, leaving a $20 billion hole in the Government's budget over the next four years.

The Government maintains it can still gets its savings through the Senate, although some ministers have conceded they will have to compromise.

Dr Anthony noted that lowering age pension indexation, tightening family tax benefit part B eligibility, reducing senior health card eligibility and reintroducing fuel excise indexation would cover about half this gap.

The Government has already moved unilaterally to reintroduce fuel excise indexation but will have to refund oil companies the increase if it does not receive Senate approval within a year.

The Macroeconomics report suggests the other half of the gap could easily be covered by removing high income superannuation concessions.

On its modelling, taxing all super contributions at the taxpayer's marginal tax rate would yield $12 billion per annum, some of which could even be returned in low and middle income earner tax cuts.

Alternatively, the report suggests tinkering with a range of other aged benefits – such as removing the senior supplement and including the family home in assets tests – and a range of efficiencies in medical spending, industry assistance and Government procurement and services to bridge the shortfall.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-11/treasurer-facing-51-billion-budget-black-hole/5880718

Wonder how long Hockey will last as Treasurer ?

Might be time to give Turnbull a go.

 

[noco]

Treasurer Joe Hockey faces $51 billion deterioration in finances between budget and MYEFO, economists say



Wonder how long Hockey will last as Treasurer ?

Might be time to give Turnbull a go.

The way you shouted your entry to your post, I am sure you will be more than happy about the "deterioration in finances".