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Budget emergency?

Six months of Abbott’s idea of belt-tightening …

February 25

The Abbott government has spent $2.5 million on lifeboats to send asylum seekers intercepted at sea back to Indonesia.

The figure, revealed in letters tabled in the Senate by Assistant Immigration Minister Michaelia Cash, indicates the government is paying more than $200,000 per lifeboat, each of which is understood to be used only once.

Fairfax Media understands the government has so far bought about 12 of the boats.

March 13

The Abbott government has confirmed plans to buy Triton surveillance drones that can watch vast stretches of the seas to Australia’s north.

The program would mean about $100 million in new facilities and infrastructure in South Australia as well as about $20 million a year in ongoing work.

The 2012 Defence Capability plan flagged the purchase of up to seven Tritons at a cost of between $2 billion and $3 billion.

April 22

Australia will make one of its biggest ever military purchases with a $12 billion order for 58 Joint Strike Fighters in a move that will lift the nation’s air combat power to among the world’s most advanced.

May 13

The Government will provide Defence with $29.2 billion in 2014-15 and $122.7 billion over the Forward Estimates – up $9.6 billion increase on the figure provided by the previous Government.

Reinstatement of the ADF Gap Year Programme will cost $18.3 million in 2014-15 and $191.8 million across the Forward Estimates.

June 7

Two new Navy supply ships will be built overseas, sparking a political fight over the Federal Government’s commitment to local manufacturing.

The Federal Government says Spain’s Navantia and South Korea’s Daewoo will compete for the tenders to replace HMAS Success and HMAS Sirius.

However, the union has welcomed the Government’s decision to build 20 new Pacific Class patrol boats at home.

Senator Johnston says he wants the local industry to build the next fleet of frigates and has allocated $78.2 million for design work.

But he says he will send the work offshore if the local industry does not lift its game.

June 10

The Australian government has set aside almost $90 million for the search for missing flight MH370— expected to be the most expensive in aviation history — but it’s possible that figure could increase.

“The government has allocated $89.9 million. I think about $25 million of that is to go the defence force for the visual search they conducted,’’ former defence force chief Air Chief Marshal Houston told the ABC.

“There’s another $60 million that’s been allocated for the underwater search.

August 4

Australia’s spy and counter-terror agencies will receive a $630 million funding boost to fight the threat of home-grown terrorism, which Prime Minister Tony Abbott says ”has not changed” and is still ”as high as it has ever been”.

August 14

HUNDREDS of millions of dollars will be spent bolstering the RAAF’s fleet — and the prime minister is in line for a new long-range jet, promising uninterrupted global travel.

The government plan — scheduled to be delivered as part of next year’s Defence White Paper — includes the purchase of up to four new aircraft: an additional two Airbus tanker-transport planes and one or two Boeing C-17 heavy lift aircraft.

August 15

THE nation’s most troubled defence project — the $8 billion Air Warfare Destroyer — is now running $500 million over budget and will be delivered at least two years late.

It is understood that the latest cost increase — estimated at $150 million — has only just been revealed by the alliance building the three warships — Adelaide-based government owned shipbuilder ASC, US giant Raytheon and Federal Government’s Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO).

September 1

The Australia Prime Minister has ordered a fleet of bombproof BMWs to protect leaders during the G20 summit this year.

BMW Group Australia confirmed the Government purchased nine BMW 7 Series 760Li security vehicles. The vehicles are BMW armoured security vehicles with identical engineering and performance specifications.

The $6.2 million fleet can withstand AK47 fire, attacks with explosive devices or armour-piercing weapons.

September 7

A local consortium is preparing to tender for the 20-plus vessels to be built for the $2 billion Pacific Patrol Boat Program

September 8

In one of the biggest and most contentious defence equipment decisions in decades, the Abbott Government will select the Japanese-built Soryu Class submarine to replace locally built Collins Class boats as the navy’s key strike weapon beyond 2030.

A decision to spend more than $20 billion on up to 10 of the Japanese vessels will be announced before the end of the year.

September 16

Australia’s military involvement in Iraq is likely to cost half a billion dollars each year, Tony Abbott has revealed

In contrast …

September 17

The Federal Government has been embarrassed over its $7 million response to the Ebola virus with an international medical group rejecting the money and demanding Australian doctors be sent to Africa instead.

“We have been very clear with the government for two weeks now we are not asking for financial support, we are asking the government to evaluate Australia’s emergency medical capacity and mobilise it on the ground in West Africa.”

At least 2,630 people have died in the worst outbreak of Ebola virus in history, which has so far infected at least 5,357 people in West Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.  Despite this, our government could only come up with the same amount it spent on Tony’s new car.

 

75 comments

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  1. Roswell

    Belt tightening, or belt loosening?

  2. Kaye Lee

    The tightarse is incontinent when it comes to defence.

  3. Brownie

    So why isn’t Labor pointing out all these huge increases to the budget deficit? Shorten and Bowen should be out every day, just like Abbott did when in Opposition, getting the message out as to the wastefulness of this mob! Because they’re not, come the election Labor will of course be accused of leaving the Coalition the budget deficit and how only the Coalition should be trusted on the economy and so on.
    As much as I despise Abbott and most of the ‘A’ plus front bench ministers, you have to hand it to him that nearly every day as Opposition leader he was out there harranging Labor and kept it up but it seems to me that no one in Labor has that sort of stamina / stubbornness to do it to him. I think in the long run that will play against Labor and allow the Coalition to do the same against them when the 2016 election comes around.

  4. Graham

    Have to agree, Brownie. ALP is far too ‘naice”

  5. doctorrob54

    Brownie is 100% correct,I have been screaming this same message to no avail.We all know Labor picked the wrong man,should have been Albo.Labors death sentence was decided then.I am walking away from Lab.To many united Australian moments with abbrott for me,brakes my heart but at the moment they both make me sick.

  6. mars08

    .
    Brownie:

    So why isn’t Labor pointing out all these huge increases to the budget deficit?

    Why the hell should anyone care. The budget and the nation’s finances are sooooo three-months ago. That is when the ALP should have been making all the noise and setting the record straight. Don’t you know we have far more important things to worry about right NOW????!?!!!??

    We imminent danger of being beheaded in our sleep! The nation faces an existential threat. We are under attack from within! We are on the brink of a Muslim uprising in the suburbs. And sharia law is just around the corner. This is serious. We’re fighting for our way of life!!! etc etc.

    To hell with the budget!

  7. Kaye Lee

    Poor old Jacqui Lambie this morning on Insiders…Barry Cassidy asked her what Sharia Law is – she has no friggin idea. She mumbled something about terrorism and the constitution whilst aggressively asserting that anyone who follows sharia law should be deported. I wonder how she feels about Catholics eating the body and drinking the blood of Christ….after all, transubstantiation is real, right?

  8. marion

    Will this country ever recover from the mess Liberals are putting us in

  9. stephentardrew

    Do you not feel we have stepped over some invisible line that separates goodness from meanness, equity from justice and humanity from selfishness. If we as a society do not recover our moral sense we are in for a torrid time. Progressives are stunned by the complicity on both sides as they follow demonstrably unethical policies in the name of political expediency. I thought the role of Labor was to challenge injustice and inequity regardless of poling. No they both follow draconian refugee policies and economic rationalist principles as Labor waxes lyrical about workers rights while the LNP promote the dark side of patriotism with the obnoxious team Australia virus.

    I am glad to see many here sticking to their ethical standards and not compromising simply because the other mob are worse. Shorten was not elected democratically and Labor should hang its head in shame at the power of their devious, unjust, self-interested factions.

    War is expensive and offensive while the lives of our compatriots is cheap and of little relevance to the powers that be.

    We have a government of fools who will lead us to hell just to fulfill some ideological fantasy of elitist religious superiority.

    We have an opposition of weak kneed opportunists that cannot stand for human justice and decency.

    It is no good hoping that things will work out we must maintain our rage until we move towards satisfactory democracy for all.

  10. Hotspringer

    @ marion – Unlikely.

  11. mars08

    stephentardrew:

    Do you not feel we have stepped over some invisible line that separates goodness from meanness, equity from justice and humanity from selfishness…

    While I agree with your sentiment, I think that calling it a “step” isn’t quite right. I feel that this is a direction we have been moving for the past 20 years or so. Certainly the course was set long before that… but the past two decades has seen us accelerating towards disaster.

    Another way of looking at it is the “boiling the frog” analogy. We’re almost cooked, but most of us barely noticed.

    “As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such twilight that we all must be most aware of change in the air – however slight – lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness.”

    ~William Orville Douglas, Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court from 1939 to 1975

  12. Kaye Lee

    I have sacrificed my nails for the cause Stephen. I’ll keep typing in the hope that I can remind people of what is going on. I have just about given up on commentary because the facts speak for themselves…as long as people remember them rather than the propaganda.

    I apologise if I bore people with my repetition of debt, deficit, spending and revenue facts but I am flabbergasted that the hypocrisy, lies, and mixed messages are allowed pass largely without mention. I am longing for the day when somebody pulls up Joe when he mentions $667 billion debt and points out that was his projected debt for his policies after axing taxes, foregoing revenue, and choosing to spend a lot of money on grandstanding. The Charter of Budget Honesty was a Coalition initiative – make them stick to it by comparing their economic performance to PEFO.

    The gross debt when they took over was $280 billion, the net debt was around $190 billion. Commonwealth Government Securities on Issue now – $339.386 billion. They have borrowed another $60 billion in 12 months – $5 billion a month – about $165 million a day. Perhaps Labor could point this out with accurate figures? If they say it is Labor’s fault, point out the discretionary spending of which there is billions ^^see above for a small selection.

  13. mars08

    Back to the luscious Lambie for a moment…

    “Well I think, um, when it comes to sharia law, um, you know, to me, it’s um, it’s uh, it obviously involves terrorism, it involves a power um that’s not a healthy power”

    “I just think sharia law you get it mixed up … if you’re going to be a supporter of sharia law, and you’re not going to support our constitution and an allegiance to our constitution and Australian law, then um …”

    “That’s what I’m saying, if you’re an extremist to sharia law, you’ve got no place in Australia.”

    So many words. But what the hell is she talking about?

  14. Kaye Lee

    I find it completely incongruous that we can only find $7 million and no personnel to help with the Ebola epidemic but we can find billions for wars and mobilise people before anyone knows what to do with them. We can plan for 2030 and beyond for armaments purchases but we can only plan six years down the track for action on climate change. In both these situations our PM and Julie Bishop have said we must wait and see yet when it comes to aggression we must rush in quicker and louder than anyone else. We can’t afford doctors and scientists but thousands of police and soldiers can be found at the drop of a hat.

  15. Kaye Lee

    Trying to work out what Jacqui Lambie is saying gives me a headache. I still want her to explain her proposal that the carbon tax should be 3 or 4 %. 3 or 4% of WHAT I ask? Her mum said she never did her homework…it would seem she still doesn’t.

  16. stephentardrew

    Mars8:

    SIow rot it is or rather deliberate undermining of science for twenty years in the hope that facts may shrivel to irrelevancy so that Christian ideology remains unchallenged. The desperate need to sustain the unsustainable while taking down the rest of the nation with them in a final act of inflexible dogmatism and social Darwinian survival of the fittest. The contradictions and hypocrisy are truly mind blowing.

    Kaye;

    You just keep doing what you do regardless. I know that I and many others rely upon your first class research skills and logical thinking to distill the facts from fiction and the lies from truth. You are a true truth seeker and many of us thank you for your unswerving dedication to critical thinking. We are right behind you in the search for justice, equity, tolerance, compassion and rational analysis of the facts.

  17. corvus boreus

    I have an acquaintance who festoons the side of his fridge with passages made from small words on magnetised strips, bought by the themed packet.
    Jackie is a fridge where the owner has nothing to work with but a generic pack of repetitions of ‘um’, ‘er’, ‘I’m sure’ and ‘they should’, along with the contents of ‘the big fun bag for bigots’.
    Anyone thinking Senator Lambie is ‘funny, and a breathe of fresh air who isn’t afraid to speak her ‘mind” should take a peek at the religious fundamentalist/ extreme nationalist/ vigilante-provocateur ‘Britain First’ crew that she ‘likes and shares’ on social media(dettol-wash after).
    She displays all the reason and rationality you would expect from a suicidal substance abuser turned born-again fundamentalist on a mission.

  18. Kaye Lee

    The internet enables us to expose tall tales in our jammies 🙂 Learning is a wonderful thing (but always check the credibility of your sources).

  19. Kaye Lee

    I just wonder if PUP is big enough for Jacqui and Clive. This morning I couldn’t help but sing “and one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you”. It seemed appropriate for a myriad of reasons.

  20. stevei

    I agree that Jacqui Lambie hadn’t much understanding of Sharia Law and Barrie Cassidy was right to get stuck into her over this.

    But what struck me was the aggression that Cassidy displayed towards Lambie and I couldn’t help thinking that this is the type of interview style that Cassidy and other so called MSM journalists should have been using when Abbott and others in his government are being interviewed especially when they are lying – which they usually are.

  21. Kaye Lee

    Sarah Ferguson was good. I was sorry to see her go…she did her homework and usually asked the right questions even though time constraints often cut things short. One problem is if they grill politicians too hard they just refuse to be interviewed…note Tony’s avoidance of Q&A…he won’t face the public where he doesn’t have a script. Jacqui enjoys the novelty of the attention and the media are making hay while the lamb frolics.

  22. Peter Anson

    Stevei…. Cassidy is a coward…It’s easy to hop into Ms Lambie.. this Government is getting a free ride from the MSM. There isn’t one journalist anywhere in the Oz media game to take on any member of th LNP.

  23. Terry2

    I hear that we are about to start bombing IS with our Super Hornets : I also hear that IS are embedding themselves into civilian communities – this is going to be an absolute disaster.

    Incidentally, Abbott goes to the UN later this week to sit with the Security Council and, I would assume, get approval for the bombing that we are already doing.

  24. John Armour

    I apologise if I bore people with my repetition of debt, deficit, spending and revenue facts but I am flabbergasted that the hypocrisy, lies, and mixed messages are allowed pass largely without mention.

    Don’t apologise Kaye Lee, it’s the government’s Achilles Heel and in the absence of an effective strategy from the Opposition, somebody’s got to do it.

    I worry however that you may be helping perpetuate the “debt myth” by attacking the growth of “the debt” under Hockey rather than using your platform to attack the “debt myth” itself.

    Attack Hockey’s hypocrisy by all means but make sure you also attack his deceit, stupidity and ignorance.

    Demolishing the “debt myth” should be the priority.

  25. John Fraser

    <

    Whats happening with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) budget ?

    Perhaps Abbott is going to give them an F-35 type upgrade.

  26. mars08

    Terry2:

    I hear that we are about to start bombing IS with our Super Hornets : I also hear that IS are embedding themselves into civilian communities…

    Oh jeeez. FFS… is that what you hear??!!?!?!?

    Two quick points…

    In northern Iraq ISIS has formed loose alliances with many groups of Sunni insurgents who are opposed to the government in Baghdad. These groups ARE the local “civilian communities”. In fact some of the Iraqi insurgents in that area joined the ISIS fighters when they entered Iraq.

    Warnings that there WILL be civilian casualties should not be a surprise. I suspect that our beloved protectors are just softening us up for the inevitable… that our killing machines, cruising 5km high, will drop bombs on innocent civilians and kill them. This, of course, will be brushed away as an unfortunate accident… or the insurgents taking human shields. And, equally predictable, the civilian casualties will boost local support for the insurgents.

    Anyone who thought this would turn out any other way has not been paying attention!

  27. Kaye Lee

    Who can tell?

    In May they said…

    The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is set to axe more than 330 jobs in the wake of federal budget cuts.

    The Australian Federal Police Association says the AFP faces cuts of $138 million over the next four years, partly due to the 0.25 per cent increase in the efficiency dividend.

    AFP Association chief executive Dennis Gellatly says $42 million worth of recruiting funds will also be lost.

    Now we have our spy and counter-terror agencies receiving a $630 million funding boost to fight the threat of home-grown terrorism

  28. John Fraser

    <

    Time for voters to start looking at possible Labor contenders.

    In no particular order :

    Jason Clare
    Richard Marles
    Andrew Leigh
    Catherine King
    Mark Dreyfus
    Melissa Parke
    Stephen Jones

    There may be 1 or 2 others but the next leader of the Labor party, I think, should be one of these.

    Neither Shorten or Anthony Albanese should be considered.

  29. John Fraser

    <

    @Kaye Lee

    Oh well ….. with the new Brandis laws the AFP will now be able to shoot first and forget it.

    That's going to save a lot of money on incarceration and lawyers.

  30. mars08

    There’s a big hole in the hull and the ship is listing perilously to starboard.

    Not sure changing the Captain will do any good. The energy would be better spent closing the watertight doors and dumping some ballast.

  31. Ruth Lipscombe

    Kaye,Your blogs and insightful comments are a lifeline for some of us .Sorry about your nails but PLEAsE don’t stop?
    John Frazer— please add Penny Wong to your list.

  32. Paul Scahill

    I have thought many times that I could write something constructive about the demise of the Abbott government. Unfortunately I am not as knowledgeable as many of the AIMN followers. However, for my two bobs worth I would suggest first and foremost the processing of assylum seekers ON-SHORE, the consideration of scrapping defence spending on out of date fighter planes, similarly I naval vessels and the complete overhaul of Army Defence Personnel. If any such budget deficit exists which I doubt, then perhaps we should be looking at restraint for OUR POLITICIANS benefits (ALL) and some sort of review for those public servants who are grossly overpaid. I am sure that some committee which should be carefully selected would incorporate a satisfactory wage structure that would adequately compensate the vast majority of public servants, whom in the opinion of most receive salaries/benefits, et al, well above their qualifications. Obviously I am not, against a satisfactory remuneration, however, I am of the opinion that many are in receipt of considerably more than they are entitled. There is nothing to say that some level/structure should not apply. This should apply to all public servants, and the like, as in State or Federal.. Although, as I have stated I am not against adequate payments, only excessive. I do not support any such deal as a co-payment, or the scrapping of some form of carbon pricing. I also believe that there should be a well thought out mining tax. I am dead against the live export of animals for slaughter overseas, as I firmly believe that work of this type could be carried out by our own employees. I think there are any number of restraints that could be imposed, student degrees et. al. the commencement of a fast-rail system, an NBN which was earlier proposed and many other programmes which have been offered for consideration. I would also like to congratulate many of your writers,. especially Kaye Lee and John Kelly whom both seem to have a propensity for words. I have probably said too much, however, it is only to draw others out to say what they are thinking. There are also many deficiencies in the Superannuation system that should be investigated.

  33. John Fraser

    <

    @Ruth Lipscombe

    Love Penny ….. but she doesn't make the cut.

  34. john o'callaghan

    I dont comment very often but i always enjoy reading your posts Kaye so please dont stop as it gives people like me and others the belief that their are still people out there who care and are willing to write about it in an objective fashion. What do we do about this dreadful corrupt Govt and hopeless Opposition? i have no idea and if i did i would be a genius,but i suppose we just have to keep shouting and marching and make more noise than they do and stay positive that we eventually get a decent Opposition to back us up as we cant rely on the MSM as they are just as corrupt as their masters they serve.

  35. Kaye Lee

    I hang onto the hope that they are, after all, OUR representatives and if we make ourselves heard hopefully they will remember that. Professional politicians tend to lose sight of the big picture and we need to remind them of what is important. Honesty, integrity, compassion, vision, tolerance, altruism – doing things because they are right, not because of the polls or lobby groups.

  36. Kaye Lee

    I would like to thank all those that take the time to read our articles and to those who feel prompted to comment. I would encourage you all to share your thoughts because we all learn from each other. Whether it is sharing links you have read or suggestions about how to improve things or even just venting, knowledge is empowering and the more of us who share information, the better able we are to come up with ideas and to make informed decisions when we vote. I hope we don’t have to wait till an election to get some sense into the debate which is why we must continue to be loud, offering alternatives. If the major parties don’t listen then maybe it’s time for some Independents with knowledge and integrity who aren’t beholden to anyone except the people.

  37. James Cook

    Kay, please keep up the posts. I regularly use your information to support my discussions with friends, most of whom hate Abbott but still only get most of their news from the MSM. And on that subject, I noticed tonight that the ABC news had about one minute (in the 21st minute of the bulletin) on the climate change marches. The report said that “hundreds” turned out in Sydney (but it looked more like thousands) but totally ignored the huge turnout in Melbourne. I really despair about information services in this country.

  38. Kaye Makovec

    Me too James. Love passing them on to the Abbott Facebook page 🙂

    Why doesn’t Labor ………. ?

    As far as Victoria is concerned it looks like Labor is stuffed, literally as in taxidermy.

    We have an election in November and I have been trying to find my local Labor candidate. Finally asked a bloke I know is political and he informs me that since the boundaries have been changed to make Ripon a safe Liberal or National seat instead of a safe Labor seat (seriously, has been done like that), the Labor candidate is not going to even put up a show. Apparently nobody can remember his name (maybe Rod something) maybe a farmer from somewhere nearby who cant see the point in wasting his money when they believe the seat will go to the National bloke.
    Sigh!

    Speaking of links, seen this?

    http://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2014/september/1409493600/david-marr/freedom-abbott

  39. DanDark

    Simply AIMN keeps me sane, without AIMN and being able to connect with people in this mad mad country with the biggest mad man we have ever seen steering us into a Rogue state who has no moral compass, nor any idea of what he is doing and the consequences
    I would be more disheartened than I am as to where we are now as a peoples without aimn and the articles and comments from others

    We are now heartless country where we treat our most vulnerable, asylum seekers, elderly, disabled, young unemployed, sick, education for our kids, climate change(mother earth) with disdain lead by our morally bankrupt fed gov and their rich mates.
    Whilst the wealthy working women, bankers, oligarchs, mining companies, property developers the list goes on are now at the top of the totem poll as far as this lot of madmen are concerned we call a gov, they are only worthy of credit, money equals self worth these days , well they have it wrong and we are being taken for a dangerous ride by this Mad Monk and his brainless disciples and I hope they don’t rip this country to shreds in the mean while….

  40. mars08

    DanDark:

    Simply AIMN keeps me sane, without AIMN and being able to connect with people in this mad mad country…

    I guess another way to stay “sane” would be to ignore all the injustice and cruelty going on around you. To just in live in a world of distraction, ignorance and distractions and bias. To accept SEVEN News and the Murdock press as gospel… to forget any notion of honesty from our politicians… to go with the pack… to worship celebrities… the abandon any curiosity… to be too naive to know that ignorance is bliss. Just so certain that they know all they really need to know.

    More and more I wish I could be like all those others around me. In their cocoons… totally disengaged from the big picture… totally unaware that they are being manipulated and exploited, totally disinterested in the injustice being done in their name.

    Seriously, if there was a pill that could take me to that place, I’d probably take it.

  41. DanDark

    Mars that “pill” you speak of……I have looked for it, searched high and low, in every place nook and cranny I could think of my whole life …………..but be stuffed I can’t buy one, find one, get one from anywhere,
    but I am what I am, and who I am who I am, and I am glad I am meeeee 🙂

    and its folk like you and many others on AIMN that give me some peace of mind I am sane like you guys 🙂
    we are just living in a country that has gone totally insane with Tones and Co at the helm…

  42. mustchange

    I concur on the above comments. Sometimes I feel I am in a parallel universe with so many who can’t see what is happening before their eyes. I’m called a lefty socialist do-gooder becauue I argue about the cutting of the dementia payment, the no money for young people out of work, the Gonski disaster. As if that were an insult. I’m so pained to see what is happening to the people of this country and their blindness to it.So keep going Kaye. There are some of us here who need your sensible view of things and it helps to know I am not in a wilderness with the like minded.

  43. hilderombout

    Kay Lee, I have long been a fan of yours for dispensing accurate information to us and i would sorely miss your writing if you were to decide you’d have enough. Like others have commented, AIMN, and you in particular has kept me sane in this world of misinformation and corruption by those who are supposed to represent us. Please don’t give up on us. I might not comment as often as i’d like but that does not mean that your articles are not thought provoking and enlightening. Actually i have allowed myself to become one of the pre-selection candidates in the grassroots organisation here in the Latrobe Valley (Latrobe Valley first) to help bring some justice and support to the government’s neglect of my community, even though i am nearly 70 years old and should really be thinking of taking life easier. Your articles certainly keep me informed, so thank you!

  44. mars08

    Kaye Lee… just do what feels right. Just as others here have stated, you information and insight will be missed if you decide to keep low for a while.

    That said, I can’t help but get the feeling that you are preaching to the converted in this forum. Almost everyone here visits this site regularly because they already know things are crook. The vast majority of people here are skeptical of the MSM and want to know what’s really going on. We have a streak of curiosity a mile wide.

    Kaye Lee if you feel that you need to take a sabbatical… go ahead. It just means that we will have to satisfy our own curiosity in some cases, rather than being spoon-fed by your informative articles.

    The main thing is that you take care of yourself…

  45. DanDark

    hilderombout
    I wish you goodluck and all the best success in your venture, Latrobe Valley has always been on the bottom of a lot of govs lists for many many years now
    Whilst Morwell burnt Naptime and Rotten Ryan slept , the lies and misinformation that was give out by Miss Rosemary was gob smacking early on in the disater
    I emailed the Fire commissioner Sir Lapsley
    and said “What are you doing letting Miss Rosemary lie to the people of Morwell whilst you stand behind her knowing all to well the toxic air from the deliberately lit MINE fire is vey dangerous to the community of Morwell”
    I questioned his integrity and why he was being complicit in slowly killing the people of Morwell and surrounding areas, and” the truth will come out sooner or later Sir and you will be found out to be a fraud and a liar too”

    After a few weeks they gave them free train tickets to take a break from the fir/smoke.. well whoopy friggin do how lucky Morwell folk were then NOT, it was a joke the whole disaster and the lack of coordinated ways to fight it and control it ,and the full consequences are still to come for years..
    I live down on the coast near Port Albert now but used to live in the valley years ago, so I understand the lack of representation the community has in that area and has suffered greatly from this lack of representation by the big parties in politics,
    East Gippsland has also gone backwards because of slack unqualified politicians running the circus…

  46. DanDark

    And even with the 5 minute fix the mistakes up I still have typos 🙁 disater, was supposed to be Disaster in last comment 🙂

    Mars MSN is just for the red necks, when I pointed out asylum seekers were human on there and had rights, I was called a muslim lover and worse, they went on about how they marry girl children, well so do white blokes I said, it is brutal over there, they are like rabid dogs on Msn, after Reza was murdered, they were so it was only an illegal, and then went on to incite each other in hatred, bigotry and racism and then were like yeah they need to kill another one of them,
    I couldn’t believe what I was reading/ seeing and that our country was full of Phoney Tonys and CO..

    I lost faith in my people that day, and somehow stumbled across aimn late one night a few weeks later, and found some sane people in this mad mad mad country. and I very rarely even look at msn, its just crap and it is inciting terrorism in its own way with the rednecks and bigots of this country to hate on other races and cultures 🙁

  47. mars08

    DanDark:

    …somehow stumbled across aimn late one night a few weeks later, and found some sane people in this mad mad mad country….

    While I’m glad that you found a safe haven… you story also highlights how outnumbered we are.

    You were already an open-minder, tolerant, progressive, caring, inquisitive individual when you “stumbled across” this site. Your curiosity had you searching for information and news missing from the MSM. You knew (or strongly suspected) there was lots of “stuff” we weren’t being told.

    And, sadly, that’s as good as it gets. When you found this site you read the articles and opinions… and contributed your view.

    Now… if by some crazy fluke… any of the people I work with was to “stumble across” this forum… they wouldn’t give it a second chance. The articles would be totally foreign to what they understand of the world. And the fact that there are no corporate logos splashed over the place and no celebrity gossip WOULD BE PROOF ENOUGH for them to dismiss this as a fringe/crackpot site.

    Yeah… that’s the sort of people I work with. Every day. And it’s getting harder and harder to be around them!

  48. DanDark

    well Mars if you knew what I did for a job I have no choice but to be open minded, tolerant, progressive, caring, and curious, I am a psychic /clairvoyant have been for years now, not that I set out to be one thats for sure,, so I know how narrow minded, conservative and intolerant people can be if you are different in anyway shape or form from the main flock of white sheep.

    , I dropped out of main stream society years ago, psychics and mainstream don’t gel really, but I am who I am and like I say to idiots who want to have a go because of their ignorance mainly
    ” I know who I am and where I am going in life pity you don’t matey” that shuts them up,,
    or I say “when you start paying my mortgage then you can tell me who I can be and what I can be matey” that shuts them up too LOL,

    I predicted Julia would be prime minister when Rudd was at his highest,, people laughed at me,, guess who laughs back at them now 🙂

  49. corvus boreus

    To be fair to the press, without access to the information provided by the main stream media, I would be unaware the Henry, of the 5 member boy band “One Direction”, has but a single kidney. He has my vaguest sympathy for this defect, which will probably limit his ability to consume alcohol and coffee.
    He also possesses, reportedly, an extra set of superfluous nipples in addition to the usual pair upon his chest. Henry has 4 nipples.
    I am unsure as to the practical use of my possession of this information about the mutations of Henry, but I cannot(unfortunately) un-know it.
    Thanks MSM.

  50. corvus boreus

    P.s Post-edit: In the last post, I should have said “exposure” to MSM, rather than “access”.
    Commercial media tend to try to bellow and bray their bullshit into your brainwaves, seek it or not.

  51. Kaye Lee

    Unfortunately, the MSM are responding to what the general public want. Have a look at the explosion of reality tv shows. Far too many people do not want to know what is going on in the real real world – they would rather watch Big Brother. Having said that, many of the articles I quote from come from the MSM – they just don’t then go back and put things together, we just get today’s news instead of a developing picture. They also tend to just quote politicians rather than going to source documents to check what they are saying.

  52. corvus boreus

    The general public are also responding to what the main-stream media want.
    News should probably come with a bibliography.

  53. Kaye Lee

    That’s true cb. Advertising is brain-washing.

  54. June M Bullivant OAM

    It is as plain as the nose on your face that this government has bottomless pockets when it come to war, thanks Kaye for going the sums, do these people ever stop to ask themselves what people think about the decisions they are making. The decision to throw money at the war machine must be helping some person. It is certainly not the young, the poor and the sick. The amount that they want to save by bring in the co-payment pales into insignificance when put beside the spending on war, lost planes and the like. This is not a compassionate Government ruling for all Australians as spruiked by the Mr Abbott at his election victory, this is a huge spending, war mongering government that rapes our country by allowing huge mines in sensitive areas, that tax the poor instead of the rich. We need a name that is opposite to Robin Hood to name Mr Abbott.

  55. stephentardrew

    A wonderful case of duplicitous lying austerity misspeak as G20 continue the neocon mantra beholden to bankers and oligopoly. This article is an insult to anyone who has a fundamental grasp of economics, for example, Modern Money Theory. Joe Blo is at it again hiding form voters back home while prancing about as some doyen of truth on the big self-congratulatory G20, IMF World Bank stage. There is money just waiting to be released if only you dummies agree to suffer a whole lot more. Sounds familiar doesn’t it

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/21/g20-concerns-europe-slow-growth-stumbling-block-ecb

  56. Roswell

    June, it’s a pity, but they really don’t care what people think. This was brought home by Abbott when he mocked the first March in March. Over 100,000 people marched against him and he didn’t want to hear what they had to say.

  57. Anomander

    Tones has plenty of money for weapons and warfare, which explains why there is none available for health, education, supporting people or to prevent climate change.

  58. kerrilmail

    It’s the old boys toys thing again isn’t it??? Let’s spend billions on warfare and tech toys. Cars to protect the passengers from guns that are not legal or common in Australia, while the elderly, unemployed and disabled die on the streets because Abbott does not believe they are worth anything and Joe thinks they are leaning too hard. Such selfish, arrogant, thoughtless, inhumane actions will follow this Government and it’s leaders to the grave where many a citizen will relieve themselves for centuries thereafter, whilst history writes of the Dark Ages all over again in a once world leading, proseperous and progressive nation.

  59. Kaye Lee

    And what does the Canadian press think of Tony…..

    “What a pair they made, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Canada’s own Stephen Harper — Gollum and Mr. Potato Head — publicly thanking each other for their honesty in Ottawa last week. Unlike most world leaders — if that’s the right term — these two want to be frank; they will do nothing to stop global warming, they proudly declared, if it might hurt the economy. Not one dollar, certainly not one job, shall be lost in the fight to control climate change, the gravest issue we face today.

    The idea that climate change is also a massive economic opportunity is lost on this matched pair of fossils. Implementing sustainability is the great task ahead. It will take years and cost billions. Denial is not an option.

    And yet, both managed to gain power and hold on to it despite their obvious shortcomings. That’s remarkable for a man of Harper’s lack of appeal, even more so for Abbott, who outside Australia will always be the man who was sliced and diced into little pieces in the famous “misogyny speech” his predecessor Julia Gillard delivered in 2012. After being reamed out so definitively, it’s a wonder he can still show his face in public.”

    http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/06/16/stephen_harper_and_tony_abbott_deserve_each_other_hume.html

  60. DanDark

    And what a speech she made, I miss them days, when we had someone who could articulate and speak well, with no ahhhhhs errs and ums littered every 3 seconds through speech, no need to constantly check the air by poking her tongue out every 30 seconds like tones the lizard does,
    she didn’t have to finger count to remember 3 things like stop the boats, axe the carbon tax and repeal the mining tax, oh and when he gets to the 4th finger it’s about the big bad debt and deficit that labor left,
    pfffft pffft and pffft how did we go from one extreme to another a competent woman as leader to a dickwit god loving Nuff Nuff like tone’s the man Not….

  61. Jennifer Meyer-Smith

    My daughter and I were at the Climate Change March in Melbourne yesterday. I am invigorated by the unity, noise, community and commitment of the 30,000+ people who attended, yelled, swapped information and pamphlets, and listened to the great speakers.

    I am also involved as a newcomer with Earth Worker, which is a social enterprise by the people, and for the environment and the people. See http://earthworkercooperative.com.au/

    See our Earth Worker website, if you want to feel good about something that is happening for effective and alternative solutions to dirty coal energy and decreasing employment opportunities for people from all demographics.

    You will see Earth Worker advocates solar energy for solar hot water unit manufacturing that is affordable, and great as environmental and economic investments. You will see this social enterprise will be a boost to the community of Morwell, as an effective alternative to the coal industry.

    With an effective solar industry in the foreseeable future, Morwell won’t be exposed to such ugly fires and smoke pollution as was caused by the Hazelwood Fires earlier this year.

    Support Earth Worker and other socially and environmentally motivated social enterprises in your own communities.

    Keep up the good fight, Comrades!

  62. DanDark

    Jennifer we got a mention on a foreign news broadcast at 3 am tis morning along with the coordinated march in New York, I went yep we are being noticed for all the wrong reasons again
    They even said the name Tony Abbott, and his stance against climate change, and how us Aussies were rallying against him and his draconian ways, we are always on the foreign news because of “Tony dumb dumb” now.

    Thanks for the info on earth worker 🙂 and thanks for taking part in Melbourne’s March if I wasn’t a four hour drive away from Melbourne I would be there with bells on, but it’s a long way for a day trip for me, I will be attending the next march against Tony in the Valley though 🙂

  63. Don Winther

    I like AIMN but I just Love Kaye Lee. Thanks Kaye for another informative and accurate article.
    I have no trouble repeating any of your facts and figures which I do constantly, I’m generally well received.
    I enjoy seeing the gears turning in peoples eyes then I tell them to check out AIMN

  64. DanDark

    Don we did suggest to Kaye Lee some months ago now that she needs to run for PM, someone even offered to buy her new jammies and slippers because Kaye walks the talk, not just talks the walk,
    it was also Kaye Lees articles that grabbed my attention when I stumbled across Aimn
    now I love all the authors on here, from John lord to Victoria Rollinson and all in between,
    I often refer Aimn to others, even the office lady at the vets one day after a brief discussion about the Phony gov we have now….

  65. mars08

    Kaye Lee:

    Unfortunately, the MSM are responding to what the general public want. Have a look at the explosion of reality tv shows. Far too many people do not want to know what is going on in the real real world…

    Sort of a “chicken or the egg” thing going on here. Are the MSM only responding to what the public wants. Or are they SELLING the public something without offering an interesting alternative?

    As for “reality” TV…. it cracks me up that this mindless, contrived, semi-scripted, facile trash gets the reality tag. It is not even close to reality.

    Almost everyone I know cannot fathom my interest in current affair and history. I try to explain myself by saying that it’s fascinating and intriguing. It’s an on-going story with real people, real places, real schemes and real consequence. It’s a saga that never stops… that isn’t halted by advertising breaks. It is REAL and we are part of it. I try to get them to be curious about the evolving plot and the hidden stories.

    And what to I see in their eyes? Nothing… or, at best boredom. To them… current event and history are a bunch of separate, isolated, unrelated events which just happen. There are no narrative which can tie the events together. There is no cause and effect. And there is no simplistic, puerile story they can gossip about.

    Reality is happening all around them, but apparently it’s much too boring and vague to hold their attention….

  66. Don Winther

    The best conversation starter I have ever found is just to say ” Isn’t Abbott’s an idiot ” never fails to get a good conversation going, 4 word slogan, try it 🙂
    Instead of saying Good-ay I just say ‘Abbotts an Idiot ‘ and smile, usually get a good reaction.
    I’m impressed how many people hate this government and how many people love Australia.
    I also suggest in the following conversations that we should turn our televisions OFF and talk as much as possible to anybody, anywhere as ofter as we can, about anything. Its fun and we are forgetting how to do it which makes us very vulnerable to the likes of Abbott and the MSM.
    Remember you can trust your televisions advice!
    Sorry, off track again.

  67. Kaye Lee

    Don,

    That’s not off track at all. It is a great strategy because if someone disagrees then they have to say why. That is why I pass on as much information as I can so people can refute the lies that are told to them and spread the word, with sources.

    We DO need to speak to each other. It reminds us to listen and to care. That is one of the crucial things missing at the moment.

  68. DanDark

    I was in the wool shop getting some knitting stuff last week, and I commented on Phony Tony and gov and they laughed, I said “Also known as Commander Cockhead” they laughed harder,
    I said well you got to give it to the jerk for being such a jerk 🙂

  69. DanDark

    But now the kids sometimes refuse to go in shops with me, cos I embarrass them they tell me, I say back “one day kids you will thank me, when Phony Tony’s back in his motherland, because he will be ran out of this country”

  70. Albert M White

    No doubt the poor, the homeless, those on all kinds of benefits, single mums, unemployed youth, who will receive no aid for 6 months, all who visit doctors and pay their $7, will assist in financing all those “absolutely essential Abbott infrastructure projects”. They will puff out their chests with pride when they see said purchases with dear leader, Abbott, posing beside/in/on them for photo ops and election promotion material. Aren’t Australians fortunate to have such a prescient leader, one who involves all his minions in supporting his luxury lifestyle and maintaining his plutocratic support corps in the manner to whcih they have become accustomed, complete with subsidies and off-shore tax havens.

  71. Jennifer Meyer-Smith

    Two words to describe Tony Abbott: DIRTY PIG.

  72. Kaye Lee

    John,

    I came across that article when I was googling to see what reaction to Abbott is like in press OUTSIDE Australia. It’s an eyeopener. The non-Murdoch world is looking at us in bemusement. You might also enjoy this one.

    Let’s start with the most recent brush Tony had with the enemy (i.e. the rest of the world minus Canada), when he informed the press he wouldn’t be attending the UN Climate Summit in September because of “domestic issues.” I really hope that means he has “mow the lawn” penned in his diary for all of September. Apparently his main objection to attending the summit is that he doesn’t want to “clobber the economy.” This is an incredibly courageous statement.

    Courageous in the same way it is for an 80 year old who never learned to read to go “back 2 skool.” Even Peter Costello concedes Mr. Abbott is “an economic illiterate”. Yet despite his challenges Tony Abbott, the economic equivalent of a hillbilly crying with joy after finishing “Green Eggs and Ham”, quickly followed his job creation statements with airing his unwavering view that climate change is “not the most important issue the world faces”. I love that view! The answer anyone gives after stating that opinion may as well be, “It’s Vikings”.

    http://www.sbs.com.au/comedy/article/2014/07/04/tony-abbott-vs-world

    Looks like Tony has found his Vikings

  73. Dave

    tony the terrorist… the world is running out of resources fast with expanding populations and here abbott is looking for a war to gear up defence spending for his mates businesses, disenfranchise the vulnerable especially the under 30’s, introduce conscription to rid the country of tony’s undesirables and if they return damaged then charge them thru the nose for medical and pharmaceutical treatments…. but he’ll probably make some draft exemptions for full time uni students… (meaning of course if you’re rich you can but your way out of it…) …. yes it sounds like a conspiracy but sociopathic Neo-liberal Fascists aspire to control us all

  74. sam

    I was talking with my friend whom works in the RBA back when the JSF deal was done: all those ‘Forward Estimates’ are things that ‘could’ be brought into a budget but at the end of the day this is exactly how it happens: (its incredibly boring and we had other things to discuss)

    An accountant types in a number creating the currency to ‘pay’ for any given asset which gets deposited into a bank account somewhere. Presumably a series of payments according to the defense contract. MONEY CREATED AT A STROKE OF A KEYBOARD.

    THERE IS NEVER EVER a bank account that has ‘tax’ revenue dollars sitting in it that the government takes or waits to take money from. They are never constrained by tax revenue.

    Thats the whole point of a ‘budget’ its looking at income versus outgoing spending all tallied up over a given period of time (financial year). SO any decisions about say making tax revenue equal to or greater than spending is post rationalised. Tax money does not go anywhere once its recieved it just becomes an accounting number.

    So the mechanics are such: government has to issue currency before it can tax it back. Government does not need to issue a ‘debt’ every time it creates currency with the stroke of a keyboard.
    Foward estimates can be post rationalised into a series of ‘budgets’ versus tax revenue if desired. But thats purely political. Throughout Australian history the lions share of spending was not. Hence government running budget defecits.

    So it makes you wonder. If they are willing to go ahead and do this for defence but not for job creation, small medium business, infrastructure, the environment, healthcare, running existing programs… then why hasn’t the government been sacked already?

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