Saturday 30 June 2018
Introduction
I should have posted this piece last Saturday but because of some issues with my password and my lack of understanding of cyber security, it wasn’t possible. I take full blame, and apologise unreservedly for all the inconvenience. God only knows I have enough trouble with the pop up toaster. Anyway, I have added new material to bring it up to date.
Drip-down conservative economic theory had a big win last week and the MSM are wetting their slacks with Shorten’s slip of the tongue comment about tax.
However, the tax cuts have forged a demarcation line down the centre of Australian politics. On the left you have a leader with a lifetime of serving the worker, openly intent on making Australia a fairer place with better hospitals, better infrastructure a better standard of education with a greater concentration on those things that glue a society together.
On the right we have a leader born and bred into wealth and privilege intent on making the rich richer in the foolish belief that by doling so he will raise the standards of the poor and middle class.
Nowhere in the world can there be found any evidence of drip-down economics working. Unfortunately though it seems that aspiring to be rich is now the right’s catch phrase. That’s what everyone is hoodwinked into believing.
In America the people are told that everyone can aspire to be President but they have woken to the fact that they cannot. Aspiration is fine but it should come with honesty and equality. That all the aspiration in the world can make everyone rich and powerful. Americans have learnt this and now see it for what it is.
Money has been so promoted as the answer to everything that people actually believe it. We can no longer get by on what should be ample because we are persuaded that we must have more to simply survive.
My thought of the week
“Never in the history of this nation have the rich and privileged been so openly brazen.”
Comment of the Week
GetUp! tweet:
“Setting aside everything else wrong with Turnbull’s tax cuts for the wealthy – @PaulineHansonOz complaining about politicians giving themselves pay increases, on the same day she votes to give herself a $7000 a year tax cut, is just bloody bizarre.”
The Scandal Sheet
1 You gotta admit it’s a good line! “The trouble with Pauline Hanson is she’s looking for three senators with lower IQs than her – it’s an impossible task,” Mr. Palmer told Fairfax Media.
2 Liberal Branch Meeting brawl
And they say that manners are part of conservative ideology.
On this day in 2015
Retiring Coalition Senator Sue Boyce has made some startling revelations. Tony Abbott is sexist. The Coalition has been dog whistling over Asylum Seekers. She felt the party had moved further to the right and bemoaned the absence of women in the party. The shocker though was describing Morrison as an “extremely Christian Man”
IPOS 53-47 To Labor yesterday.
Essential Research: 52-48 to Labor
My warning of a poll drought in the previous post hadn’t reckoned on Fairfax’s Ipsos series, which fills the void with a 53-47 result for Labor, down from 54-46 from the previous poll six weeks ago. As best as I can tell, all we have to go on at this stage is an editorial in The Age that suggests both major parties are on 35% of the primary vote, which is a two point drop for Labor and a one point drop for the Coalition.
Top Tweets of the week
Adam Bandt
BREAKING: Turnbull’s tax cuts for MPs and millionaires passes Parliament, with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation & Centre Alliance’s (ex-Xenophon) support. They’ve just voted to end progressive taxation in Australia and send us on the path to becoming a US-style unequal society
Paula Dale
Seriously this Gov’t can’t be voted out soon enough they have no care for us who are doing it tuff 😣no penalty rates low wages and now tax cuts for the rich what is Australia becoming?
RabidLeftieHamster
Can someone please explain to me why Hanson had a recent shitfight with Burton over his support for this tax plan and now is voting for it herself?
Bill Shorten
Voting themselves a $7000 tax cut. And what are they cutting to pay for it? Yourlocal schools and hospitals.
Katharine Murphy
Am I the only person who thinks all the hammering of “aspirational” is a bit high concept? What does it even mean? Don’t voters just want to know the nuts and bolts of the respective packages? Aspiration is like a unicorn, desired but never sighted.
Quentin Dempster
Australia is now being governed by a new coalition: LNP/PHON/Murdoch Press. Victory for the Battler’s?
George Megalogenis
Apology accepted (as an ABC contributor). But those reader comments were no better or worse than what some of your senior commentators write/tweet about the ABC on a daily basis. Time to drop the vendetta and return to the national affairs journalism that made my old paper great.
GetUp!
Setting aside everything else wrong with Turnbull’s tax cuts for the wealthy – @PaulineHansonOz complaining about politicians giving themselves pay increases, on the same day she votes to give herself a $7000 a year tax cut, is just bloody bizarre.
Sky News
Shadow Assistant Treasurer @ALeighMP: I don’t think there’s anything fair or Australian about the notion a surgeon should pay the same marginal rate of tax as a nurse.
Tim’s titbits
1 Turnbull has suddenly become the friend of the worker. After removing some of their penalty rates. Presiding over increased cost of living. Wage stagnation etc.
2 Richo is saying if Labor does poorly in the by-elections Albo will become leader. And the election will be in September. He said.
Braddon is probably gone for Labor. Longman not looking great either.
3 It’s gotten worse these last twenty years. Lack of diversity in parliament. Gene pool is too narrow.
4 Paul Kelly wrote a good article today. Saying this week was Turnbull’s most significant parliamentary win in 2 years. I would say in the time he has been PM. Sets us up for a traditional class-based election. Do people want to pay higher tax but have the money pay for services like hospitals? Or do they want to pay less tax. Which encourages aspiration.
5 President trump will visit Australia later in the year. Means election will be next year for sure.
6 Senate passes PM’s income tax cuts 37 Votes For 33 Against.
The Senate comprises of 76 Senators ,12 from each State and 2 from the ACT and the NT.
The bill passed the upper house 37 votes FOR to 33 AGAINST.
Labor has 26 senators, Greens have 9 senators
Liberals have 26 senators
National party has 5 senators
PHON 2 senators Pauline Hanson Land, Peter Georgiou WA
Centre Alliance 2 senators Stirling Griff and Rex Patrick both SA
Labor senators, the Greens and independent Tim Storer opposed the plan.
Under the first of three stages in the plan, low- and middle-income earners will get tax relief of up to $530 a year from July 1 with benefits for people earning up to $200,000 to come into place in 2024.
The entire package cleared the Senate with the support of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation (2 votes) and Centre Alliance 2 votes”
My clown of last week
The red-headed one, yet again, still, on going.
Can someone please explain to me why Hanson had a recent shitfight with Burston over his support for this tax plan and now is voting for it herself?
My thought for the day
“Having the ability to admit that you are wrong is an absolute prerequisite to discernment and knowledge.”
