The Albanese government

[wayneL]

Numbers are just wrong. Was this Labor's plan all along? What's the actual strategy? I can't find one. Must be a certain number from a certain place with a certain skill set, etc. Plus, purely humanitarian numbers. But, where's the plan? Surely we have one.

On the racial side, we did have a white Australia policy for a long time. I think we might have been worried about how many Chinese rushed to the gold fields in the 1850s and on Federation decided we wanted to be Anglo-Celtic. Lucky we let in all those Italians and Greeks after WW2 and the Vietnamese after 1975. Otherwise we wouldn't know what an Espresso, Moussaka or a Banh Mi was. Yet to see what we're importing of any value these days.

I can't find the link now, but saw some figures from the UK that showed migration from "certain parts of the world" to be financially negative, both in terms of GDPPP, and taxation.

They are costing.

 

[joeno]

Fully agree.

And to be clear my point isn't about race, it's simply about numbers.

We've become a country where it's possible to be simultaneously employed full time and homeless, money can't guarantee you a roof over your head.

We should never have reached that point in the absence of a major natural disaster or war.

I don't care about race either.

But I find it curious - if you're in Australia, everyone talks about how we should not be racist. We should erraticate masculinity and be gender liberal. But nobody is saying their own countries shouldn't be racist. Should be gender liberal.

We talk about costs being the reason for low birth rates. No. It's due to urbanisation and higher rates of female labour participation and education. This is why a expensive country like UAE has high birth rates and a poor cheap country like Thailand has low birth rates.

I wonder how the above 2 points tie together...

 

[Sean K]

Not sure what thread this could go in.

Labor, immigration, Palestine, WW3...

The Australian Federal Police has referred a hate-fuelled sermon, revealed by The Australian, to a counter-terrorism squad for assessment as security experts criticised the country’s approach to tackling extremism, accusing it of “forgetting basic lessons”.

Legal experts said the sermons – which included language pertaining to Jews being killed and drowned – could also “sail close” to criminality.

On Tuesday, this masthead revealed that the cleric who called himself Abu Ousayd and gave a “kill Jews” sermon in Sydney was jihadi preacher Wissam Haddad, an extremist who had expressed support for terrorist groups. His defunct al-Risalah Islamic Centre was frequented by men who went on to commit atrocities in Syria, like Khaled Sharrouf and Mohamed Elomar.

This publication also revealed how another cleric, “Brother Ismail”, had given a sermon at Al Madina Dawah Centre – run by Haddad – which called for jihad.

NSW Police confirmed they were investigating both sermons and an AFP spokeswoman told The Australian one had been “referred to the NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team for assessment”.

 

[Dona Ferentes]

currently

 

[farmerge]

Not sure what thread this could go in.

Labor, immigration, Palestine, WW3...

View attachment 165434

The Australian Federal Police has referred a hate-fuelled sermon, revealed by The Australian, to a counter-terrorism squad for assessment as security experts criticised the country’s approach to tackling extremism, accusing it of “forgetting basic lessons”.

Legal experts said the sermons – which included language pertaining to Jews being killed and drowned – could also “sail close” to criminality.

On Tuesday, this masthead revealed that the cleric who called himself Abu Ousayd and gave a “kill Jews” sermon in Sydney was jihadi preacher Wissam Haddad, an extremist who had expressed support for terrorist groups. His defunct al-Risalah Islamic Centre was frequented by men who went on to commit atrocities in Syria, like Khaled Sharrouf and Mohamed Elomar.

This publication also revealed how another cleric, “Brother Ismail”, had given a sermon at Al Madina Dawah Centre – run by Haddad – which called for jihad.

NSW Police confirmed they were investigating both sermons and an AFP spokeswoman told The Australian one had been “referred to the NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team for assessment”.

How long will it take the powers to be to incarerate these morons and throw away the key. There is enough eveil going on without the likes of these so-called clerics being able to drum up hatred. There is no place for this in Australia.

 

[wayneL]

How long will it take the powers to be to incarerate these morons and throw away the key. There is enough eveil going on without the likes of these so-called clerics being able to drum up hatred. There is no place for this in Australia.

Your government disagrees.

There was never a universe where this wasn't going to happen, so why the mass importation of these people?

 

[sptrawler]

Well I think the elders will be rummaging through the cutlery draw and Albo will be watching his back, sad really, but a poorly handled referendum will prove costly IMO.
Giving bonus payments, to offset cost increases, wont cover the obvious underlying inflation, people aren't stupid.
After being away for a month, I noticed that small shops have increased the cost of convenience food, that should give the inflation figure a prod.
Labors only saving grace is Dutton and that will only hold for so long.

Article not from the Murdoch press:

Voters cut support for Labor as cost-of-living concerns mount

More than half the electorate sees the cost of living as the crucial policy test for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Labor government.

www.smh.com.au

From the article:
Australians are bracing for rampant price hikes and falling real wages despite a federal government pledge to ease the cost of living, with voters cutting their support for Labor as they shelve their hopes for higher living standards.

Only 8 per cent of voters expect the economy to improve over the next three months and 50 per cent believe it will get worse, deepening the gloom about the national outlook when mortgage payments are soaring from higher interest rates.

• More than half the electorate sees the cost of living as the crucial policy test for Labor.
• Core support for Labor has fallen from 37 to 35 per cent over the past month, while the Coalition has slipped from 31 to 30 per cent.
• Opposition Leader Peter Dutton trails Anthony Albanese as preferred prime minister by 27 to 40 per cent, but has gained ground.

 

[mullokintyre]

In what might be a bit of a surprise to some, the Albanese government has been given praise by the Robert Gotliebson in Murdoch Press of all people.
From Evil Murdoch Press

In the post referendum era, it is fashionable to scorn the ALP government, but this week is an occasion to celebrate what is arguably the Albanese government’s greatest domestic policy achievement — the ban on unfair small business contracts.
The legislation actually came into force late last week, so Australia now starts the first full week of the operation.

Millions of contracts will need to be rewritten when they expire, and the rules for new contracts changed dramatically.

Delinquent large corporations that continue with their old practices face many billions in fines. Those fines are potentially so large that large corporate chief executives who continue to unfairly treat small enterprise service and goods providers will almost certainly lose their jobs.

For almost a decade, along with others, led by Ken Phillips of Self Employed Australia, I fought for an end to the bad practices that had infiltrated into around eight million corporate contracts.
About six years ago, I thought the nation had won when the Coalition passed legislation that declared unfair clauses in contracts to be void. But there were no penalties.
The big legal firms found ways around the Coalition’s act, and CEOs of many large corporations foolishly snubbed their noses at the clear will of the Australian parliament.

When large company chiefs decide they are more powerful than the elected government of a country where they operate and deliberately defy the will of that elected government, then they can expect the nation’s governments, irrespective of parties, will teach them a lesson.

Thanks to the work of then-ACCC chairman Rod Sims, a tougher set of proposed rules were incorporated in new legislation prepared by the Morrison government. And truly enormous fines were put in place to concentrate the minds of CEOs.

On the eve of the proposed legislation going before parliament in 2021-22, a strange thing happened. Thanks to the voting patterns in the referendum, we now know that the Liberal Party bastions of power live in the “woke” capital city electorates. Large corporate executives also live in those districts. As a result, the cocktail-party personal lobbying of Liberals by large corporates became so intense, the Coalition pigeonholed the legislation.
The ALP could not believe its good fortune and one of its first acts when it came to power was to pass the Liberal legislation and therefore become the hero of small and family businesses in Australia.

Because our large corporations plus the Business Council heads behaved so badly, the unfair contract penalties had to be severe, and they certainly are, albeit potentially too high.

The maximum penalties for unfair “contract terms” breaches by large corporations are the greater of $50m; three times the value of the benefit obtained from the conduct, or 30 per cent of the corporation’s adjusted turnover during the breach turnover period.

The average turnover of Australia’s 10 largest companies ranked by turnover in 2022 was $55bn, so if those companies breach the act for a year they theoretically could face fines in the vicinity of $18bn. Maybe that’s too high, but it’s the starting point.

It won’t be easy to get fine relief because large corporates are now the avowed enemy of the Coalition thanks to their decision in the referendum to fund one side of politics and not the other. And it happened to be the losing side, so large corporates are also regarded badly by large chunks of the population. And many in the ALP believe their profits are too high.

In an ideal world under the new legislation every contract should be negotiated, and the rights held by large enterprises should be matched with similar rights for smaller enterprises.

The ACCC concedes standard form contracts provide a cost-effective way for many businesses to contract with significant volumes of consumer or small business customers. However, prior to November 9 these contracts were largely imposed on a ‘take it or leave it’ basis and were usually drafted to the advantage of the party offering them.

The new laws have a series of stipulations which make it clear a contract is ‘unfair’ if it gives one party, but not the other, the ability to:

•Avoid or limit the performance of the contract; terminate the contract; apply penalties against the other party for a breach or termination of the contract; vary the terms of the contract or renew or not renew the contract;

•Vary the price payable without the right of the other party to terminate the contract;

•Unilaterally vary the characteristics of the goods or services to be supplied; unilaterally determine a breach or interpretation of the contract;

•Limit one party’s vicarious liability for its agents; and permit one party to assign the contract to the other party’s detriment.

In essence rights held by large corporations should be matched with similar rights for small enterprises.

Under the Act, a small business has up to 100 full or part-time employees (excluding casual workers) or less than $10m in turnover. There is no limit on the value of the contract.

And because the unfair contract act is part of consumer law, it embraces consumer contracts. That’s why most of the credit card companies are sending out new and fairer rule booklets.

Mick

 

[sptrawler]

In what might be a bit of a surprise to some, the Albanese government has been given praise by the Robert Gotliebson in Murdoch Press of all people.
From Evil Murdoch Press

Mick

Meanwhile in the pro Labor media the troops are getting restless, as I said a long time ago Albo has a lot of balls in the air and he isn't landing many of them, well they are all coming down to land and it is starting to look ugly IMO.
Hopefully he has a plan for next year, it will need to be a good one, big splash of cash and a slash on immigration maybe.

Grounded: PM brought back to earth on economy

It is tempting to see the setbacks for Anthony Albanese and Labor as a verdict of some kind on the PM’s recent overseas visits, but the challenges run much deeper.

www.smh.com.au

In fact, the government confronts a much bigger problem than these cheap and predictable attacks from Opposition Leader Peter Dutton about overseas flights.

Loading
Anxiety about the economy is the worst we have seen in the Resolve Political Monitor since the exclusive surveys for this masthead began more than a year before the last election. And there is no ignoring the damage to Labor’s primary vote, which is the worst we have seen since the survey just after the election.
That is a twin trend that should make any government admit something is wrong.
The policy problem is that 60 per cent of voters know their incomes are falling behind inflation. Labor came to power with an assurance it could “get wages moving”, but it has failed to generate higher real wages, leaving it exposed to a political backlash when voters see prices going up at the supermarket.
Labor used to hold a small lead over the Coalition when voters were asked which side was best to manage the economy. No longer. In its heyday after the election, Labor also held a small lead on managing the nation’s finances. Not any more.

The big shift over the past month is the turnaround on the key priority of keeping the cost of living down. Labor held a narrow lead of 4 percentage points on this question in October. Now the Coalition holds a lead of five points.
It is tempting to see the setbacks for Albanese and Labor as a verdict of some kind on the prime minister’s visits to the United States, China and the Pacific Islands Forum, but the challenges run much deeper than this.

First, this Resolve Political Monitor was conducted from November 1 to 5, before Albanese went to China and the Cook Islands.
Second, the survey shows that opinions about his travel vary according to his destination. While 54 per cent of voters said it was right for him to go to Washington to meet US President Joe Biden, only 38 per cent said the same for his visit to Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Third, the trend against Labor on economic management has been under way for several months. This was probably exacerbated by the debate on the Indigenous Voice, which set up a disconnect between what the government talked about the most and what voters worried about the most, but it also reflects the underlying conditions in the economy.

Inflation is staying higher for longer and will wreak havoc on the government until it comes down. Every time the Reserve Bank hammers household budgets with an interest rate rise, it chips away at support for the government as well.
Labor sounds certain it has the answer on the economy.
“I think what we’ve demonstrated is an ability to target cost‑of‑living relief to those areas where the pain is most acute – out-of-pocket health costs, rent, electricity bills, childcare,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on the ABC’s 7.30 program last Thursday.

Voters are clearly not convinced. They are turning against Labor on the economy. The mystery is whether Albanese and Chalmers have an agenda that can persuade them to turn back.

 

[sptrawler]

Another of the balls in the air, that is coming in to land.

‘We can’t do it all’: Infrastructure Australia boss on major projects

The federal government’s independent infrastructure adviser has warned that there isn’t the financing or the workers to deliver the nation’s largest project.

www.afr.com

The federal government’s independent infrastructure adviser has warned there isn’t the financing or the workers to deliver the nation’s largest projects, warning states to narrow priorities or face delays and cost rises.

Infrastructure Australia chief executive Adam Copp said the Albanese government’s looming cuts to billions of dollars in projects – some of which he questioned the value and quality of – were necessary because it was not possible to deliver the current level of work planned over the decade.

 

[macca]

Another of the balls in the air, that is coming in to land.

‘We can’t do it all’: Infrastructure Australia boss on major projects

The federal government’s independent infrastructure adviser has warned that there isn’t the financing or the workers to deliver the nation’s largest project.

www.afr.com

The federal government’s independent infrastructure adviser has warned there isn’t the financing or the workers to deliver the nation’s largest projects, warning states to narrow priorities or face delays and cost rises.

Infrastructure Australia chief executive Adam Copp said the Albanese government’s looming cuts to billions of dollars in projects – some of which he questioned the value and quality of – were necessary because it was not possible to deliver the current level of work planned over the decade.

Wrong thread but here come the blackouts, they have got no hope of building the network needed for the remote solar farms.

 

[sptrawler]

Wrong thread but here come the blackouts, they have got no hope of building the network needed for the remote solar farms.

It will be interesting to see how much the subsidies to the coal generators cost, in W.A it sounds like it is still going on, with no end in sight.

 

[sptrawler]

The elephant in the room is starting to make itself felt.
Great opportunity to address the GST.

Premiers want greater say on immigration as they push for more money for infrastructure

The push comes as the migration intake surges past the federal government’s forecast for the past year.

www.smh.com.au

 

[sptrawler]

The unions are starting to become relevant again, putting forward positive feedback.

$800 for three minutes: Workers’ idea to control runaway healthcare costs

The powerful Health Services Union is lobbying to strip bulk-billing rights from doctors who charge more than double the Medicare rebate.

www.smh.com.au

 

[Sean K]

O'Neil and Giles may be requested to hand in their cabinet keys tomorrow morning. Positions untenable.

 

[sptrawler]

O'Neil and Giles may be requested to hand in their cabinet keys tomorrow morning. Positions untenable.

View attachment 166660

It will be o.k, the brigade will be out with the banners tomorrow.
The big issue Australia is facing is to develop a loony meter, so that loonies can be tested, but then again that could probably be tested by the courts.

 

[wayneL]

It will be o.k, the brigade will be out with the banners tomorrow.
The big issue Australia is facing is to develop a loony meter, so that loonies can be tested, but then again that could probably be tested by the courts.

You don't need a loony metre all you need is to find out how many boosters they've had.

 

[sptrawler]

You don't need a loony metre all you need is to find out how many boosters they've had.

It is crazy, I was on a ship a month ago, we only had the two shots of AZ in the early days, so we could travel.
People sit next to us and you ask how they are going and most have had 5 shots of vaccine and have been in their cabin for three days with covid.
We did a 14 day Norway cruise, then an 8 day river cruise, 3days in London, 3 days in Paris, Munich, didn't get a thing. But the missus hammers me with washing hands, I mean over the top first thing when you get in the room wash your hands.
Who knows but I have seen no evidence yet that people on cruises with all the boosters get less covid, i'll keep you updated, the missus has booked 7 more cruises.

 

[sptrawler]

This is the the rod that will beak Labors back, trust me, the Chinese aren't stupid.
They are courting the our neighbours, that we bring in to do the jobs our unemployed don't want to do, they have plenty who will give good reasons why our unemployed shouldn't do the jobs, but don't mind employing islanders to do them.
We are excusing ourselves into obscene indulgence, it might look great for those sitting in the ivory castles, but it looks very much like the overlord and serf society that Australia never was comfortable with, is becoming its nemesis.
It will certainly become the pre eminent issue in the very near future IMO.
You can't sell yourself as the bastion of endeavour and achieving success for that endeavour, when at the same time you are screwing them and rewarding "sorry" laziness. It just wont work.
Maybe we should offer a swap, our unemployed, for theirs and then maybe some could see what they are jeopardising, you don't realise what you have until it is gone. Make sure you actually give it away for the right reasons, because that's what you have to live with at the end of the day.
From IMO left leaning SMH.
The last line sums it up perfectly IMO, the smug elite we deserve it and we will bestow our gratitude on who we feel are worthy, is done and dusted.
We need to get back to basics, you put fck all in, you get fck all out, unless you have a good reason for putting fck all in.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/b...-get-real-in-the-pacific-20231204-p5eoup.html

Beijing is winning hearts and minds. Australia needs to get real in the Pacific​

ByEryk Bagshaw​

December 4, 2023 — 4.57pm
Save

​

Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text size

Honiara: For many Solomon Islanders, the equation is simple. China offers them something they have not had for too long: aspiration.
“It’s the first time the local people see this kind of event happening here,” said market worker Sarisha Aiti outside Honiara’s new national stadium last week, where everything from the toilets to shipping containers to the main grandstand had been emblazoned with “China Aid” for the Pacific Games.
The stadium is next to Solomon Islands National University, where China has also built the dormitories, just a few kilometres away from the road to the airport built by a Chinese-state-owned company, and around the corner from the country’s first dedicated cardiac unit – all funded by Beijing.
“I’m so happy because other Pacific countries don’t have this type of stadium we now have,” said Lemuel Kalei as he sold bandanas in the middle of the daily bedlam of potholes, traffic and people that is Honiara’s high street.

He’s right. Not even Fiji, a Pacific powerhouse with an economy more than three times that of Solomon Islands, has flashy facilities like this.
Kalei, like some locals in Solomon Islands, isn’t thinking about geopolitics, the diplomatic implications of Chinese investment or whether the facilities will be sustainable after the end of the Pacific Games
“Solomon Islands is a third-world country,” he said. “We are living in poverty. China will give more valuable things.”

It’s a template China is exporting to other Pacific nations. Unbridled by elections or parliamentary scrutiny at home, the Chinese government is free to splash its chequebook in countries that it views as strategically important.
Beijing hopes that for the right price, these countries will support it in the United Nations, distance themselves from Taiwan, and perhaps, when it comes to the crunch, not stand in the way of an invasion of its democratic neighbour.

After years of wasteful spending, China is learning how to better target its aid and get maximum influence in return.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s push to rebrand “democracy with Chinese characteristics” is already gaining praise from business and political leaders in Honiara. Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare skipped an invitation from the White House in September because he did not want to be “lectured” about China’s intentions in the region.
Meanwhile, Australia’s contribution is noble but diminishing. The most visible Australian presence in the capital, just three hours from Brisbane, is through the Australian Federal Police. Since 2008 Australia has spent more than $3 billion in aid in Solomon Islands, making it by far the country’s largest contributor.

But for the average Solomon Islander who has not had direct experience with Australian education, health and policing programs, it remains an abstract benefactor that is far harder to find than the ubiquitous Chinese branding that now blankets Honiara.
Years of marketing failures have compounded intelligence failures that now pose a risk to regional stability.

When Australia realised that China’s influence was growing beyond shopping malls and mining and into a security deal last year, it was already too late.
Celsus Talifilu, a political advisor who left Sogavare’s office after becoming dismayed at the diplomatic switch from Taiwan to China in 2019, was the first person to publicly post the draft security deal between Solomon Islands and Beijing last year.

Talifilu received it from a source in Solomon Islands police force who had just been training in Australia. The last-ditch intervention was aimed at scuppering a vaguely worded security agreement that at worst could have allowed China to establish a military base in one of Australia’s closest neighbours, and at best allowed Chinese police to protect Beijing’s investments.
Australia was too late. Sogavare signed the agreement, and the world still does not know its final contents.
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The Albanese government does not want to allow a similar situation to evolve again. So when it offered the tiny Pacific nation of Tuvalu a deal this month to resettle residents affected by climate change it took a leaf out of China’s book and inserted a clause giving it de facto veto power over security deals it wants to sign with any other country.
Tarcisius Kabutaulaka, a Pacific diplomacy expert at the University of Hawaii, said Australia had securitised climate discussions, turning an existential threat to the region’s survival to its advantage.

“Every global power’s action towards others is not simply a benevolent act. They have to have a stake in it as well. And for Australia, it’s Australian security,” he said.
“I think that in the longer term, that’s going to affect the image of Australia in the Pacific Islands.”
It might. But as Beijing muscles up, Australia’s old strategy of quiet aid in the Pacific is no longer fit for purpose.

 

[farmerge]

It is crazy, I was on a ship a month ago, we only had the two shots of AZ in the early days, so we could travel.
People sit next to us and you ask how they are going and most have had 5 shots of vaccine and have been in their cabin for three days with covid.
We did a 14 day Norway cruise, then an 8 day river cruise, 3days in London, 3 days in Paris, Munich, didn't get a thing. But the missus hammers me with washing hands, I mean over the top first thing when you get in the room wash your hands.
Who knows but I have seen no evidence yet that people on cruises with all the boosters get less covid, i'll keep you updated, the missus has booked 7 more cruises.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm