Skyrazer

Spending millions of dollars to prove your pals are lying rapists and war criminals. It's like he suffers from a weird case of some sort of vicarious masochism.

LVT is a sensible tax yes and was part of the Henry Tax Review. Too bad it got all but mostly ignored. NSW Libs briefly introduced a property tax which was similar in vein as an alternative to stamp duty (which is an atrocious tax that shouldn't be a thing IMO), but of course they then got voted out soon after and the Minns govt pretty much immediately scrapped it. Tax reform in this county is just a doomed endeavour.

Our whole tax structure needs to be overhauled, there's no doubt about it. Many (myself included) have been beating this horse since the Henry Tax Review. Problem is, the average aussie voter doesn't have the stomach for it so we end up with tinkering with tax cuts being the most we can hope for. Every time real reform is put on the table such as peeling back NG or adjusting franking credits (usually by the ALP), the electorate screech in horror and go voting for whoever promises not to touch said inefficient tax breaks (usually the LNP). Upping the GST would have to be accompanied with other major adjustments to our tax system so it doesn't burden the lower/middle income groups too heavily and there's no way I could see that getting traction with the electorate.

Most people have little to no idea on what it is they're voting on, so they'll likely just vote based on how they feel about Labor/Albo and with people hurting from COL and inflation, they've soured with Labor and so will lean towards No. It's being seen as a Labor initiative (when it shouldn't be) and so people will use it as an opportunity to air their disapproval for the current govt by voting no. The stars have to be in perfect alignment for a referendum like this to pass and right now they're way out of whack. I somewhat agree with Paxter in that it may have been better if Albo just pulled the plug. I think he went into this too hastily by calling it basically the second he won the election. You gotta have your cards in order to pull off a referendum like this.

Honestly, I can't wait for the vote to be done with and the thing settled. The amount of vitriol and bullshit being flung around over the Voice has just been nauseating. From the moment it was announced, I knew skeletons would start pouring out of the closet. I can't help but stand back, watch it all happen and think "FFS we need to grow the fuck up!"

Huh? Where did I say Labor govts are oh so virtuous and don't get their hands dirty? The last NSW ALP govt before the current one was easily one of the most corrupt govts this country has seen for instance. And while long serving govts can and do drop in quality over time as they get stale, dropping to lows seen by the Scomo govt is not an inevitability. The Howard govt for instance was around for longer and despite how much I disliked his administration, he kept his house pretty clean when it came to corruption. I'm sorry, but playing the "same-thing-both-sides" card with the Scomo govt and the current Labor one really doesn't fly. If they start issuing citizens illegal debt notices, secretly swearing themselves into ministries, awarding dodgy grants to favorable electorates, having affairs with staffers, attempting to coverup cases of rape between party staff and overall just seemingly not giving a fuck about anything outside of the next media cycle, then maybe you'd have a point pointing to both parties and saying they're as bad as each other.

As stated, the current Albanese govt, while hardly ambitious, is atleast not so egregiously corrupt and inept. They're implementing policies that are actually beneficial (albeit in small ways) and are not using the country as a smorgasbord to extort personal wealth from while getting involved in personal scandals every second day of the week. Not exactly much to get excited about, but atleast there's not much there to dial-up your blood pressure over.

The last LNP govt was IMHO one of, if not the worst federal govt in our country's history and Robodebt was perhaps the worst thing they conceived which is saying something. Ministers like Scomo, Roberts and Porter should honestly be serving jailtime over it along with top bureaucrats like Kathryn Campbell.

Racists were always going to vote no, no matter what. It doesn't really explain the recent decline in support. Yeah if it bombs, we won't be revisiting constitutional recognition again for decades. Probably also torpedo any prospects for a republic referendum as well any time soon. Support for it seems to have been tightly woven into approval for Labor/Albo and we've seen support for the voice decline in step with Labor/Albo's approval rating. It seems if people aren't happy with Labor, they're not going to be happy with the voice, hence why I linked the deteriorating economic factors into the fold and the bad timing of it all.

I don't disagree and I fully intend to vote yes myself. But people are going to be people and if they're too preoccupied with issues impacting themselves, they're just going to care less about other people's issues. I've already heard people saying things like "why is the govt concentrating on things like the voice when they should be doing more for housing and CoL". When people are distressed over something, they want it to be addressed first and foremost, everything else be damned. Is it logical or fair? No. But people are just self-centered like that and it unfortunately has a negative impact on the voice even though it really shouldn't.

I think a lot of it is coming down to bad timing. Fact is, the country is facing a lot of pressing issues at the moment like a housing crisis and historically high inflation. Severe challengers that people are feeling the effects of acutely and many feel the Albanese govt is not doing enough to help. Then when they see so much focus on the voice they, rightly or wrongly, feel the govt doesn't have its priorities straight and then become susceptible to souring on the voice. I don't mean to sound dismissive of the issues around indigenous people, but I feel if we weren't grappling with so many pressing issues at the moment, the voice would have an easier time getting through.

Yes the way the Senate is structured, it attracts too many freeloaders and deadweights who come in via a top ticket on a major party and then just use their ultra-safe position to mooch off a very generous taxpayer-funded wage while dicking around and doing SFA. Dunno how you could restructure it though to prevent this sort of thing. Maybe we should just do what NZ did and abolish the upper-house....

Historically, the average interest rate has been around 5%. Perhaps that's where it needs to settle to reign in inflation. At the start of this upswing cycle, I was guessing (with my not so educated opinion) rates would get to around 4% before inflation starts settling. Well here we are and it looks like it needs to go further because inflation is remaining stubbornly high. I'm just thankful I cleared my mortgage several years ago and have a decent amount of savings. Finally getting decent returns on my cash after years of getting below 3%.

Surprised NYC and London aren't in the top 10.

If they do that, they can kiss Bass goodbye. Archer was just about the only lib to increase their vote at the last election and if she continues as an independent (why wouldn't she?), she'll only increase her vote further from all the sympathy she'll garner. Not to mention the optics of a party that's in the dumpster when it comes to women dumping one of their women who's performing well.

Archer has gone against her own party several times - climate bill, Morrison censure, Super changes, etc. Her backing the Voice was fully expected. She's basically a teal really and one of the last sensible members left in the LNP.

And right on cue, they've come out against the Voice. Colour me suprised...

You can see how torn they are between their ideological drive to go no and their desperate need to move past being the "Noalition" and show some attempt at trying to modernise. We all know who Dutton is and we all know he'd personally be against the Voice. But he's aware that his strategy of saying no to everything so far has been costing him and hasn't worked out like it did with Abbott, so now he's effectively wedged. I, too, expect the Libs to settle on no as they've shown they really can't get over themselves and show any semblance that they're able to evolve beyond what they are.

Labor wins the Aston byelection. Wow, Libs truly have been decimated here in Melbourne. Result is 54-46 with a 7% swing to Labor. It's one thing to flip a seat in a byelection (hasn't been done in over a century), it's another to do so and win comfortably. If the Libs weren't so devoid of aspiring members with talent, Dutton would be toast.

If Ward is found guilty, won't that effectively eject him from the seat and force a byelection? Also, did the Libs run a separate candidate for Kiama seeing that Ward was suspended and ran as an independent? It is rather mind boggling though that the people of Kiama voted for someone who's currently being charged with multiple accounts of sexual assault....

Looks like Perrottet has stepped down as leader (as expected). I suppose Matt Kean will take the mantle from here? Can't see anyone else among their ranks as being a potential leader. Wonder how Minns will go. Haven't been following him (or NSW politics in general) too much, but looks he'll be taking a similar approach to things as Fed Labor and playing it fairly safe.

I could still barely point out Chris Minns if I saw him amongst a crowd of people. Sounds like he's been taking pages out of the Albanese playbook of small targets. Up until the campaign started, I actually didn't know who the NSW opposition leader was. But otherwise yes, it does feel like the NSW Libs have reached their use-by-date after 12 years in power. If they do lose, I wonder if Perrottet will stay as leader (unlikely) or if he'll be replaced and who will replace him?

NSW election in 2 days. Seems most regulars on this thread are from Sydney? Will be interested to see how it pans out even though I'm in Vic. Our election was a total wash with Labor easily romping it in. NSW should be somewhat unpredictable despite pretty much every poll pointing to a Labor win. Wonder if you guys will end up with a minority govt though.

The hysteria over it is absolutely stupid, yet totally predictable. Just makes me SMH hearing some idiots, who would be nowhere near the 3m+ super club, lose their minds over it. It's the "mining tax" all over again. It kinda pisses me off how any attempt to correct our structurally inefficient tax system is always met with such hysterical fear, no matter how miniscule and benign.

Pretty much - our tax system has massively distorted the market and has been in dire need of an overhaul for years now (I remember being bitterly disappointed that Rudd basically all but ignored the Henry tax review). But while GenX and boomers still make up a major voting bloc, govts of all stripes will be too scared to shoot their golden goose. Albanese has already emphatically ruled out changes to CGT with a "full stop, exclamation" .