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The Abbott Government

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ABott in 2013 "We’ve got to be very careful dealing in a powder keg like the Middle East that we don’t take action, well-intentioned action, which could end up making a bad situation worse."

After his near death #libspill he's sending an extra 300 trainers. How much does that help the budget deficit??

If that's what you get with an 8 flag announcement, I hate to think what's going to happen when he finally decides to wrap it around himself like a sports personality. Maybe he'll order the invasion he seems so fond of.
 
sydboy007 said:
If that's what you get with an 8 flag announcement, I hate to think what's going to happen when he finally decides to wrap it around himself like a sports personality. Maybe he'll order the invasion he seems so fond of.
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The man is a walking cliché. "Labor's Mess", etc are just distractions to appease the non thinking and going to war is the biggest cliché a political leader resorts to when his/her fortunes are waning.

I don't understand why Australia has a monopoly on exportable soldier training expertise, yet we can't seem to win any wars these days.
 
I don't understand why Australia has a monopoly on exportable soldier training expertise, yet we can't seem to win any wars these days.
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Yes, it seems the Taliban would be a better bet.

:D
 
The article below on where the government wants to go now on Medicare is quiet interesting in the broader detail that it offers,

The good news is that the one in four patients who are now charged around $75 for a doctor’s visit would see that upfront fee cut in half under this policy.

Other general patients who are currently bulk billed would pay an upfront fee for the first time if their doctor chose to introduce a co-payment.

It would provide doctors with a way of maintaining their incomes over the next four years while the government freezes the amount of money they get from Medicare.

The AMA did not support the government’s $5 GP fee because it involved a cut to the Medicare rebate to doctors, but the new plan involves no such cut and would, instead, involve a pay rise for doctors.

However, there are a number of reservations, including that doctors could not be prevented from directly billing pensioners, and there would be no cap on what doctors could charge.

Health Minister Sussan Ley has made clear even though the $5 GP copayment has been scrapped she still wants general patients to pay to see a doctor.

The government wants concession card holders and children to be bulk billed, but says it is wrong that seven in ten working people pay nothing to see a doctor.

“What I have said, what the PM has said is that those who can make a modest contribution to their cost of care should be encouraged to do so,” she told Parliament yesterday.

“It is necessary to ensure that the well over 75 per cent of episodes of care in this country for non-concessional (patients) that are bulk-billed needs to reduce,” she said.

Asked what she was planning, Ms Ley told Radio National yesterday she wanted a “system-wide approach to give doctors the flexibility to make the fee setting arrangements that work in their practice”.

News Corp Australia understands that system-wide approach would involve changing Medicare’s rules to allow doctors to charge patients a small fee.

Currently, doctors can either bulk bill patients and accept the Medicare rebate of $37 as the entire payment for the service.

Alternatively, they must charge patients their full fee upfront, generally about $75, and the patient has to claim back the $37 Medicare rebate.

Doctors are prevented from claiming the $37 rebate from Medicare and then charging the patients an additional small fee of around $10.

The government is discussing a plan with doctors that would for the first time give GPs this flexibility.

Negotiations over such a change are part of a wider discussion about Medicare reforms, which include removing waste and duplication such as different doctors ordering the same medical tests or frivolous blood tests.

Greens health spokesman Senator Richard Di Natalie said the move was a “back door co-payment”, and would not get the support of the Greens in the Senate.

“The co-payment has done a John Howard. It’s Lazarus with a triple bypass,” Senator Di Natalie said.

Opposition health spokeswoman Catherine King said it appeared the government was completely incapable of developing a health policy without imposing a GP tax.

“As the minister has today again confirmed, the Abbott Government remains committed to the GP tax, committed to forcing patients to pay more to see a doctor and committed to driving down bulk-billing,” she said.

“It’s clear, whatever they end up calling it, the government is determined to increase costs for patients,” she said.
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http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/he...ng-from-the-dead/story-fneuz9ev-1227248137618
 
To; the governments of Our poor near neighbours(Manus Is, Timor Leste)

'Ear' in Straila we've got an issue with old and gettin older. And we're $hit scared of a lot things and throw $billions to try'n and make them go away, or at least not get 'ear', but we're 'runin' out of ready'$$. The only lot do'n any good are the pill pusher's 'n' quacks.
Ear's what we're offr'n. For a fraction of what we're pee'n up the back fence make'n it smell to bad to get over, we can build a world class training hospital, all the standed few day's in, fews days recoup stuff 'hip's, knees some of the more complex organ stuff, in your neck of the woods to service a reasonable pecentage of our decrepit, i mean if we can give the refo's a 'Holiday in Cambodia' why can't our pensioners your tropical delights, use'n a whole lot of 'cost effective factors' local to your region that make the thing viable.
That's just the out line back of the 'beer coasta', as I look down the coast of your palm fringed beach. We know the first 'ta' squeal back 'ear', it i'll be the AMA, don't worry we'll just tell'm 'the only other alternative is to open up 457's to foreign Doctors, that'll put'm back thier bunker for a while till they organise a scare campaign, while their dividing their time between that and choose'n the next yatch, we, the GOV i'll cut a deal with Big Phama stich'n up all the kick back's that thier used to, to an 'in-service' stint over at your's, they wont know if their 'arther or matha'.' Fuk do I av to do something' or 'is that a nice place to take the yatch'.
'n' just think with a facility like that for the local population take advantage of for income and health, just down the end of the street', you guy's might get an average life expectance north of 55... in a decade or so.

Look forward to ear'n form ya

P.S we know you guy's are used to being screwed over, 'n' it's a big leap to imagine that we'd be fair-dinkum. As a peace offering, you can have Alexander Downer 'n' cook'im any way you like.
 
drsmith said:
Oh dear Joe.

I don't agree with this,

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...to-enter-property-market-20150306-13xe3l.html

It will simply pump more capital into an already over-inflated residential housing market.

Joe Hockey is either a complete idiot or the government is very worried about the future of house prices.
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I assume the Liberals internal polling indicates that house prices are a big issue in the NSW election and that's why you have Baird with his building pledge, the crackdown on dodgy chinese buyers etc.
 
Hopefully we're just going through a dumb ideas phase to keep people thinking about the IGR and then moving on to more sensible suggestions.
 
I didn't like the way the IGR paper was written and presented. It is a very big issue. It will require a long term, bi partisan agreed set of thoughtful policy approaches. I saw nothing creative in the approaches offered by Joe Hockey. Just the same story about having to cut pensions, health and education. (I suppose if people get sick and die quicker the problem will be lessened..)

A critical need to address at least part of the issue is developing a social and economic role for people between 60 and 80. It is not going to be full time work under the current demands of employers. But for all sorts of reasons people do have to have a range of productive roles in the community for a longer period of time than currently envisaged.

Obviously...
 
IFocus said:
Have been doing this for 18 months +
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Maybe in the eyes of the Green/Labor left wing socialists you would expect to hear that.

So you would say the removal of Carbon dioxide tax. the mining tax, the stopping the smugglers boats and three FTA were all dumb ideas?
 
noco said:
So you would say the removal of Carbon dioxide tax. the mining tax, the stopping the smugglers boats and three FTA were all dumb ideas?
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FTA's in general are always highly suspect given that those on the other side don't do the "level playing field" thing that Australia tends to do.:2twocents
 
Smurf1976 said:
FTA's in general are always highly suspect given that those on the other side don't do the "level playing field" thing that Australia tends to do.:2twocents
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Yes, plus the fact that our government would sign anything to keep the Nationals on side by getting a few deals for a few farmers, while the rest of our economy gets swamped with foreign goods.
 
What seems to be the case is that the Submarine contract has gone to Japan-as a sweetener to sign the FTA with them.
 
Fairfax, "Treasurer for Sale" and Mark Kenny,

THE chief executive of Fairfax Media Greg Hywood warned treasurer Joe Hockey that he should be “thankful” he was getting a printed apology for a false article because he could end up being “another Craig Thomson,” if he took the matter to court.

On the first day of the defamation trial between Treasurer Joe Hockey and Fairfax Media, the court heard that an article that ran a headline “Treasurer for Sale” was motivated out of “petty spite” after a dispute between Mr Hockey and the editors of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Darren Goodsir and Andrew Holden.

On May 5 last year, the Herald and The Age ran the story under the headline “Treasurer for Sale” on their front pages, claiming the North Sydney Forum charged annual membership fees of up to $22,000 for perks including “VIP” meetings with Mr Hockey.

Mr Hockey claims the articles falsely implied he accepted bribes to influence his decisions, corruptly sold privileged access to businessmen and lobbyists, and knowingly permitted a Liberal fundraising forum with which he was associated to accept money from the “corrupt Obeid family”.

The Herald and Age were forced to apologise to Mr Hockey after an earlier report that incorrectly claimed the Treasurer personally had to pay back money to Australian Water Holdings. AWH was being examined by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption and was connected to corrupt former NSW Labor MP Eddie Obeid’s family. NSW Liberal figures, including senator Arthur Sinodinos, were also connected to the company.

Mr Hockey’s barrister Bruce McClintock SC told the court when Mr Hockey contacted Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood after the first story Mr Hywood told him to be “thankful”.

“Be thankful you are getting what you are ... Be careful if an issue like this gets to court you are not another Craig Thomson.”

In 2011, Mr Thomson, the then federal Labor MP, dropped a defamation case against Fairfax over articles that claimed he had misused his union credit card, including paying for prostitutes. The allegations were later found to be accurate.

Mr McClintock went through emails between Mr Goodsir, Mr Holden and political correspondent Mark Kenny.

The court heard that Mr Kenny was told to rewrite an analysis piece to go with the story because Mr McClintock claims it did “not put the boot in” hard enough to Mr Hockey.

Mr McClintock also told the court the “Treasurer for Sale” story was all but finished by the end of March but was released a week before the federal budget to do “maximum damage” to Mr Hockey.

Mr McClintock said the the North Sydney Forum was ostensibly a small business forum and was not unlike any political party event where members paid money to attend events with politicians.

Documents reveal that Mr Hockey’s office was furious about the March story written by Fairfax political correspondent Mark Kenny, with Mr Hockey’s press secretary calling Goodsir’s home at 2am the day it was published demanding an apology.

According to Goodsir’s affidavit, Mr Hockey personally contacted Fairfax chief executive Greg Hywood about the story. He in turn contacted Goodsir.

“I have had a call personally from Joe Hockey about an article in today’s paper. He was insistent there be a correction, an apology. He was very upset,” Mr Hywood told Goodsir.

“Greg, the matter is in hand,” Goodsir replied.

“Thanks Darren, I’ll leave it to you,” Mr Hywood said.

After being forced into running an apology, Goodsir urged Holden not to run a follow-up story immediately but rather “have a red-hot go at this issue next week, and really go for it”.

On March 21, Goodsir told NSW political reporter Sean Nicholls to “drop all other work and be full-time on digging into NSF”, describing it as a “slush fund”.

After being updated by Nicholls of his progress on the story several days later, Goodsir wrote in an email to Holden and senior Fairfax reporters: “Given what Andrew and I endured last week with Hockey, I want to have this nailed to the cross in more ways than one ... I have long dreamed (well, actually only since last Friday), of a headline that screams: Sloppy Joe! I think we are not far off, but perhaps even more serious than that.”

Holden also discussed a news story in text messages the day after the initial controversial story ran. “In that story you can run Hockey’s claim he knew nothing though as members of the forum entitled to meet him he must have seen membership list. Beyond that f..k him,” Holden texted Goodsir.

Holden also complained about the government “freezing us out”.

“Amazing they freeze us out and then think they have a relationship that allows them to call in the middle of the night.”

The case continues.
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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/bus...t-of-petty-spite/story-e6frg996-1227254856904

My bolds.
 
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