The Albanese government

[Smurf1976]

The reasoning seems pretty sound. Over 55's are much less likely to get jobs than younger people. I'd like to see longer term young unemployed in training programs, its their best chance if they really want a job.

Age discrimination is one area where I'd really like to see government crackdown hard on business.

If someone's in good health then it shouldn't be a reason to not give them the job.

 

[SirRumpole]

Age discrimination is one area where I'd really like to see government crackdown hard on business.

If someone's in good health then it shouldn't be a reason to not give them the job.

Not enough value is put on experience.

 

[sptrawler]

Bill starting to apply the brakes, 8% spending cut, that's magic.

Crackdown on prices and junk therapies to slow NDIS spending: Shorten

Reforms could allow the NDIS to operate more like the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme or Medicare Benefits Schedule, which have clearly outlined services and set prices.

www.watoday.com.au

A crackdown on prices and junk therapies will be part of a new federal effort to save billions of dollars on disability services and achieve a controversial target of 8 per cent spending growth without cuts to eligibility for Australians who need support.

The federal government wants to use its buying power to drive down prices from suppliers – such as by negotiating bulk discounts on wheelchair purchases – that are blamed in part for pushing up the cost of the $35 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which is growing at almost 14 per cent a year.
NDIS Minister Bill Shorten outlined the plans in an exclusive interview that included a key assurance that he would not be changing the eligibility for the scheme as part of his plan to meet the long-term 8 per cent spending target, which he insists is not a cap.

 

[SirRumpole]

Bill starting to apply the brakes, 8% spending cut, that's magic.

Crackdown on prices and junk therapies to slow NDIS spending: Shorten

Reforms could allow the NDIS to operate more like the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme or Medicare Benefits Schedule, which have clearly outlined services and set prices.

www.watoday.com.au

A crackdown on prices and junk therapies will be part of a new federal effort to save billions of dollars on disability services and achieve a controversial target of 8 per cent spending growth without cuts to eligibility for Australians who need support.

The federal government wants to use its buying power to drive down prices from suppliers – such as by negotiating bulk discounts on wheelchair purchases – that are blamed in part for pushing up the cost of the $35 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which is growing at almost 14 per cent a year.
NDIS Minister Bill Shorten outlined the plans in an exclusive interview that included a key assurance that he would not be changing the eligibility for the scheme as part of his plan to meet the long-term 8 per cent spending target, which he insists is not a cap.

I don't know exactly what is covered by the NDIS but it seems to me it should only be essential items like wheelchairs, and homecare services and surely a 'basis price' could be specified and if the client wants more they pay for it.

Just saying they want something and sending the bill to the taxpayer is ripe for the ripoff merchants.

 

[macca]

I don't know exactly what is covered by the NDIS but it seems to me it should only be essential items like wheelchairs, and homecare services and surely a 'basis price' could be specified and if the client wants more they pay for it.

Just saying they want something and sending the bill to the taxpayer is ripe for the ripoff merchants.

A potential client of NDIS applies for funding after being assessed by medical folk.

It then depends who they get at the interview and how articulate their advocate is just how much they get.

There are no fixed guidelines (AFA my wife knows) as to how much money each problem receives.

As an example I read of an accountant in Sydney who said that I am a paraplegic, I have my own business and am quite capable of earning a living.

I asked for assistance for a new wheelchair and to make minor renos at home, I was given $600k pa

I know of people caring for quadraplegics requiring 24/7 care, who have been given $120k pa

He is agitating for some sort of recognised scale of disability and funding.

It is obvious that there needs to be a registry of suppliers and what carers can expect to pay for the specialised equipment that is often required.

I feel they should be funded to a level that allows them to live a middle income style of life, they should not be funded to live a life like the wealthy.

Being driven 60ks each way by a carer for a personalised 1 hr drum lesson is just one of the extravagances that I have heard of.

There are cuts that could be made or better still, more finely tuned assistance for those who really do need it.

I will say that some of the pressures that carers are under is quite heart wrenching to witness.

 

[Sean K]

LOL

 

[wayneL]

LOL

Hahaha best one yet!!!

 

[sptrawler]

Well it looks like Albo is reversing a decision that wasn't popular in Julia's reign.

Single parenting payment cut-off lifted from eight to 14

Financial support for single parents will continue until their youngest dependent child turns 14, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announces.

www.abc.net.au

Financial support for single parents will continue until their youngest dependent child turns 14, partly reversing a cut to the payment made by the Gillard government more than a decade ago.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the lift from eight to 14 would be included in tomorrow's federal budget

 

[Telamelo]

Are you a winner or loser after 'budget night' ?

Are you a winner or loser in this budget?

Your guide to who gained the most, and who missed out.

www.theage.com.au

 

[sptrawler]

Are you a winner or loser after 'budget night' ?

Are you a winner or loser in this budget?

Your guide to who gained the most, and who missed out.

www.theage.com.au

We are all winners, the subs are now funded, without a post script from the media about how upset the French are and how we are terrible for cancelling the diesel subs.
We are cutting the cost of the NDIS, without the media ranting about it being an attack on the disabled.
There is a tax cut coming for the rich next year.
Single mums are getting the child allowance back up a bit.
Where are the losers?
Everyone's a winner.

 

[wayneL]

We are all winners, the subs are now funded, without a post script from the media about how upset the French are and how we are terrible for cancelling the diesel subs.
We are cutting the cost of the NDIS, without the media ranting about it being an attack on the disabled.
There is a tax cut coming for the rich next year.
Single mums are getting the child allowance back up a bit.
Where are the losers?
Everyone's a winner.

Viva la revolución

 

[mullokintyre]

Everyone's a winner.

Mick

 

[SirRumpole]

Find out if you're among the budget's winners or losers

More money for JobSeeker, bulk-billing and spies, but more taxes on smokers and travellers. Find out who is up and who is down in the second federal budget delivered by Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

www.abc.net.au

 

[StockyGuy]

Well it looks like Albo is reversing a decision that wasn't popular in Julia's reign.

Single parenting payment cut-off lifted from eight to 14

Financial support for single parents will continue until their youngest dependent child turns 14, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announces.

www.abc.net.au

Financial support for single parents will continue until their youngest dependent child turns 14, partly reversing a cut to the payment made by the Gillard government more than a decade ago.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the lift from eight to 14 would be included in tomorrow's federal budget

So a young woman can go out on the town a few times, produce offspring of unknown paternity and get 14 years of government support? Do it again as the child turns 12 or 13... then all good on the gravy train for another 14 years?? Then perhaps get on disability pension for offensively morbid obesity, or social anxiety, wotevs - with maybe some NDIS assistance. Even on Jobseeker will likely never be offered a job due to zero experience. Then old age pension time kicks in, regardless.

 

[sptrawler]

So a young woman can go out on the town a few times, produce offspring of unknown paternity and get 14 years of government support? Do it again as the child turns 12 or 13... then all good on the gravy train for another 14 years?? Then perhaps get on disability pension for offensively morbid obesity, or social anxiety, wotevs - with maybe some NDIS assistance. Even on Jobseeker will likely never be offered a job due to zero experience. Then old age pension time kicks in, regardless.

Yep the system just keeps giving and the ones who go to work are the lucky ones, not only do they fund the system, they get to pay for their own pension.

Overall it is a pretty good budget IMO, no stupid brain fart ideas and a measured approach to spending.

 

[JohnDe]

I don't think that anyone is surprised.

Federal budget 2023: Top 10 things investors need to know

Treasurer Jim Chalmers expects the budget to be back in the black for the first time in 15 years, with a modest surplus of about $4bn this financial year. Here are the 10 items every investor needs to know.

1. Super tax rise​

The government’s plan for a new 15 per cent tax on super earnings over a $3m threshold will raise almost about $2.3bn in the first full year of receipts to the government.

What’s more, the government has offered no indication whatever if it is willing to vary the terms of this new tax – which will include “unrealised gains’. As we stand, there is no suggestion that disability insurance payouts will be exempted or that Australians living overseas will be treated any differently than citizens residing in the country.

Despite a Treasury review of the issue which concluded on April 17, confusion reigns around how the tax will be introduced in practice. The government has promised to release draft legislation in the near future to throw light on key issues, including how unrealised gains and losses will be treated.

2. Tax debts crackdown​

Anyone who owes more than $100,000 for over two years in relation to super will be in the sights of a new crackdown by the Australian Taxation Office. The move is for personal tax and super – but it will be seen as yet another policing move upon the Self-Managed Superannuation Fund sector

The government also continues a long tradition of extending funding to anything that might bring in more tax – there also is more money for expanding the general anti-avoidance rule in the income tax area.

3. Your personal tax cuts are coming​

The government has left a lot unsaid in this budget, including its implicit decision to stick with the planned personal tax cuts. The stage three cuts which are due to start on July 1, 2024 are now on target – those tax cuts will be aimed at Australians on higher incomes.

The important change in this new tax table will be the raising of the upper threshold for the 30 per cent tax rate from $120,000 to $200,000 and removing the 37.5 per cent tax band entirely. On top of that, the 45 per cent lower threshold will move from $180,000 to $200,000.

However, the top rate of tax in our tax system will still be a lofty 45 per cent, and that’s before you add the Medicare levy.

4. Housing help​

Despite an unprecedented rental crisis and the increasing difficulty of buying a house for the average salary earner, the government has offered very little – other than improved rent relief.

For aspiring homeowners, the already flagged widening of the First Home Guarantee scheme where there can be multiple names on an application is a useful -if modest – improvement.

The scheme specifically helps buyers pull together a deposit for a first home with the government guaranteeing up to 15 per cent of a loan – it means the potential homebuyer gets to have a deposit acceptable to the banks, and they also avoid having to pay deposit insurance.

5. Rent crisis moves​

One of the biggest single measures in the budget papers is rent relief, the increase in the Commonwealth Government Assistance program by 15 per cent – which works out at $31 per head a fortnight. The rent assistance changes means the ability of lower income tenants throughout the market to pay rent on time will be improved. In a market dominated by private investors, it also means there will be less risk of evictions.

However, in terms of changing the dynamics of the property market where there is simply not enough to rent – the only measure of note is an already flagged improvements in tax deductions for build to rent developers.

In short, the one per cent vacancy rates in the major cities will remain in place.

6. Inflation is here to stay​

Every investor or salary earner is facing the prospect of eroding income due to what the Treasurer calls ‘persistent high inflation … the central challenge of our economy’.

Even if we allow that the major social welfare programs signed off in the year’s budget are not inflationary- as the government claims, and economists dispute – inflation is going to hang around. The official forecast is that inflation moves from 6 per cent this year to 3.25 per cent next year and lower again the year after – this is, as an ‘ambitious’ forecast.

For investors, the message is that inflation-proofing your investments remains crucial. In effect, it means income streams need to beat inflation. Wealth advisers suggest listed companies that can muster dividend increases -not just recurring dividend payments – will reward investors. Best of all will be investments that are inflation linked, such as transport or airport stocks with a built-in ability to put through price increases.

7. Iron ore – stronger for longer​

Iron ore is riding high again – that always good news for iron ore stocks BHP, Rio, and Fortescue – along with an upbeat outlook for the tax revenue the government can gain from these giant players in the resources industry.

Treasury has used an assumed iron ore price of $US55 a tonne for decades – the assumption is very conservative and has occasionally been absurd when iron ore prices hovered near $US200. Research by PwC indicated the actual price of iron ore over the last twenty years has been $US85 a tonne – and if the government put that assumption into the budget papers it would generate more than $6bn over the forward estimates. As it turned out, the government pushed the assumption up by $US5 to $US60 a tonne and extended the time frame of that assumption by six months. It means forecast revenue will be a little better than previously, but windfall gains remain on the horizon. At the same time, it also suggests the most conservative player in the iron ore game-Treasury – just got a little more confident about the long term resilience of the iron ore price.

8. Older Australians assistance​

A significant portion of the government’s signature moves in welfare will go towards older Australians. The government has moved to improve all Jobseeker payments by $40 a fortnight, but it has also specifically improved the terms for Australians between the age of 55 and 60 – allowing them to now be entitled to the higher single Jobseeker payment.

In case you missed, there is also big money flowing through to co-operation in the medical system – a tripling of bulk billing incentives, expanded capacity for prescriptions and the very large move to improve pay in the aged care sector where there will be a 15 per cent pay rise for a worker at a cost of more than $11bn over four years.

9. Money flow towards renewables​

Investors might have made big money last year from oil and coal investments, while ‘green’ investment lagged behind in terms of returns.

But if you believe in ‘follow the money’ as a useful axiom for the everyday investor, this budget shows the way. Money is literally pouring money onto the renewables sector. The budget includes $438m for a certification program for clean energy products and a $5m clean energy skills plan. But the standout measure is a chunky $2bn Hydrogen Headstart plan to make Australian a global leader in Hydrogen ‘ as competition for clean energy investment accelerates around the world’.

Meanwhile, money flows away from Fossil Fuel. The government has moved to hit the fossil fuel industry in a pincer movement. There is a direct extra tax on the gas sector which is expected to bring in a whopping $2.4bn over 4 years.

Moreover, the big ticket energy prices relief program is linked to recipients moving towards cleaner energy – the giant $3bn energy bill discounts program (funded 50-50 with the states) includes a string of green incentives where Australians are rewarded for moving towards more energy efficient equipment.

10. Rich pickings​

A major item not to be found in the budget papers is the application of inflation indexing to a range of schemes and taxes. With inflation running at 7 per cent, one of the biggest moves this year is that the amount you can have in super tax-free will move from $1.7m to $1.9m from July 1 this year.

Also on the upside, for super investors – the government has finally found a solution to the notorious ‘arms lengths rules’. Under the new plan, expenditure incurred by SMSFs will have income limited to twice the level of a general expense.

And finally, Defined Benefit Pensions are nearly in the loop for higher super tax;

The government has been stretched to find a way to include the lucky members of defined benefit schemes in its new higher tax for wealthy super savers – the difficulty is to find a formula that will be fair, and to include both pre-retirement and post retirement issues. Deep in the budget papers, the movement has hinted it will be using the ‘valuation method’ – a calculation already in use across the pension sector.

JAMES KIRBY​

WEALTH EDITOR

 

[mullokintyre]

i have not seen to much commentary from the experts and the economists about the expansionary nature of this budget.
The vast majority of the funding is going to go to people who will consume it rather than invest it in any asset class.
So will these measure put more pressure on inflation?
How do the RBA mandarins see it all?
One other thing i noted, was that after blaming big business for causing inflationary problems by inflating their profits at the expense of everyone else, one of the underlying reasons why OZ went into "surplus" was the unexpectedly large increase in revenue from company tax,.

It was also helped as well with higher paye tax intake from more people working, plus lower unemployment benefits.
The forward estimates do not seem to forecast these three items continuing to assist the bottom line, hence the forecast large deficits over the cycle.

Mick

 

[sptrawler]

Jim needs to be careful, he didn't cut Phillip Lowe much slack, when he used the Ukraine war as an excuse for the RBA interest rates rising before 2024. ? ?
Didn't he call for an investigation into the operation of the RBA. ?

Promise to reduce power bills by $275 made before Ukraine war: Chalmers​

ByPaul Sakkal​

The government’s commitment to reduce power bills by an average of $275 was made before the war in Ukraine changed global energy prices, the treasurer has said.
Jim Chalmers was asked at the National Press Club in Canberra whether he would re-affirm Labor’s election pledge to reduce bills by 2025.

“[It] was a forecast for modelling that was done before the Ukraine war and there have been developments in the energy market since then,” he said.

 

[mullokintyre]

Jim needs to be careful, he didn't cut Phillip Lowe much slack, when he used the Ukraine war as an excuse for the RBA interest rates rising before 2024. ? ?
Didn't he call for an investigation into the operation of the RBA. ?

Promise to reduce power bills by $275 made before Ukraine war: Chalmers​

ByPaul Sakkal​

The government’s commitment to reduce power bills by an average of $275 was made before the war in Ukraine changed global energy prices, the treasurer has said.
Jim Chalmers was asked at the National Press Club in Canberra whether he would re-affirm Labor’s election pledge to reduce bills by 2025.

“[It] was a forecast for modelling that was done before the Ukraine war and there have been developments in the energy market since then,” he said.

AHHH yes, the models.
So reliable.
Until they aren't.
Unless of course the models are headed by James Freud and backed up by Kate Cebrano.


Mick

 

[PZ99]

i have not seen to much commentary from the experts and the economists about the expansionary nature of this budget.
The vast majority of the funding is going to go to people who will consume it rather than invest it in any asset class.
So will these measure put more pressure on inflation?
How do the RBA mandarins see it all?
One other thing i noted, was that after blaming big business for causing inflationary problems by inflating their profits at the expense of everyone else, one of the underlying reasons why OZ went into "surplus" was the unexpectedly large increase in revenue from company tax,.

It was also helped as well with higher paye tax intake from more people working, plus lower unemployment benefits.
The forward estimates do not seem to forecast these three items continuing to assist the bottom line, hence the forecast large deficits over the cycle.

Mick

I'll be curious what the figures are like after they've been confirmed when the adjustments are made.

When the corrected budget statement is posted in a few months I suspect that surplus will disappear