karaddin Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Oh don't get me wrong, HELP is good but when you are systematically targeting basically every factor you are making it harder to go to University, and harder to pay it off afterwards. He was pretending these issues don't even exist just because you can get a loan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horza Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 oh, and let's not forget the utterly deranged changes to Newstart, which aren't motivated by anything more than contempt for the young and unemployed. EDIT: Reminder: the public service is top heavy with layer upon layer of paper-pushing bureaucrats and needs to be radically streamlined... unless your department happens to be Defence or PM&C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brook Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 oh, and let's not forget the utterly deranged changes to Newstart, which aren't motivated by anything more than contempt for the young and unemployed. Well I'm sure they'll play very well on talkback radio... I wonder what will see the more dramatic rise, crime rates or homelessness? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karaddin Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Oh I forgot to give my shoutout to the cuts to the CSIRO as well, showing us why we don't need a Minister for Science! Also loving "The medicine we withhold because you can't afford it now may save your life in the future with the new discoveries we make from withholding your medicine now! Pity if you've died in the meantime". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Abbott is threatening an election if the Senate screws around with the budget. Please, please, please... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
north of the wall Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Abbott is threatening an election if the Senate screws around with the budget. Please, please, please...Could not be happier if that happened. But I doubt he would be so stupid. Would he?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horza Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Not for the first time is the nation left hanging on the question of what is going on inside Clive Palmer's head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brook Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 No way will he call a dd election. He's not stupid enough for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Well, it's a win-win situation. If he backs down from his threat, he looks an utter coward. If he goes through with it, he loses badly. Don't make threats you're not prepared to carry out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horza Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Twelve senate seats up for grabs in each state - PUP's vote could go backwards and they'd still be a in with a chance of winning balance of power... Well, it's a win-win situation. If he backs down from his threat, he looks an utter coward. If he goes through with it, he loses badly. Don't make threats you're not prepared to carry out. When it comes down to the crunch, I don't think he's done enough to lose. The Coalition can run on a platform of making tough but necessary choices and make the argument that the electorate didn't vote for a Palmer veto on everything they do and further indulging him will lead to 2010-2013 parliamentary chaos. But as per above, even if they won, the way the Green and PUP votes are going at the moment they'd only be cementing crossbench control of the Senate, they have much better chances of getting their way if they can pick apart the crazy bunch Palmer currently has to corral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 Agree with Horza, Abbott won't lose the House of Reps any time soon, but the Senate is a problem for him in a DD scenario (even moreso than now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 I think even if Abbott calls another election, he's not going to lose the House of Reps. People who think he would be automatically committing suicide by going to an election are getting a little bit ahead of themselves. Conservative voters (apart from the crackbrained Tea Party and some deranged Republicans in the states) tend to be quieter and less activist than your average progressive, so public sentiment is not always easy to gauge. The Senate would be a problem but I'm unsure of whether Palmer would do any better - he may in fact go backwards if people don't think he's a serious politician and the votes for him were a one-off protest vote at the last election. The Greens would probably benefit the most. Regarding the budget itself, it's not a good one. I'm ok with the petrol excise and debt levy as revenue raisers, as well as stricter means testing on the Family Tax benefits, but all of the health stuff (Medicare copayments etc) is wrong. The uni fees will not solve the problem - they need to do other stuff on tertiary education, not this. While they probably should have cut costs on the military, as has been pointed out I think the fighter jets was beyond our control - probably there is some enormous break clause from the US if we didn't carry through on the order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brook Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 My reasoning for saying 'he's not that stupid' is not that I think he would lose the election but that he would have absolutely no chance of winning the senate. So it's a risk of losing some seats (certainly some of the marginals in Western Sydney would be a risk of flipping), and eating into his lead for next election for no real benefit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brook Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Joe Hockey demonstrating how wonderfully in touch he is "I'd say to you, Chris, one of the things that quite astounds me is some people are screaming about $7 co-payment. One packet of cigarettes cost $22. That gives you three visits to the doctor. You can spend just over $3 on a middy of beer, so that's two middies of beer to go to the doctor. Let's have some perspective about the costs of taking care of our health. And is a parent really going to deny their sick child a visit to the doctor which would be the equivalent payment of a couple of beers or one-third of a packet of cigarettes?"Q: Well, if you were 27 years old and had lost your job and weren't getting unemployment benefits, you might not have the choice of a middy of a beer, a packet of cigarettes or a visit to the doctor. "Well, I would expect to be in a job. That'd be the starting point, you'd be in a job. And we need you to work." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horza Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Joey Antoinette. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubby Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Best tweet I saw bandied about: Tony Abbott - Australian Prime Minister 2013-1813. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brook Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Meanwhile, Pyne is claiming he said 'grub' here... http://video.au.msn.com/watch/video/pyne-calls-shorten-c-bomb-in-parliament/x78q4ru ETA apparently that video has been wiped https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TsNL3uBw1g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 I don't think Pyne would use that word personally (crap I just defended him twice in a week!) The more I think on the uni fees thing, the more I'm annoyed. Our system is just getting less and less able to promote social mobility, which I have always seen as being relatively high in Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karaddin Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Did you listen to the video Pax? It sounds pretty definitively that word to me and not remotely like grub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horza Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Out of all the offensive things Pyne has announced... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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