How much did Prime Minister Abbott's travel itinerary cost taxpayers in the first half of 2014?

Looks good doesn’t it? Nada costs for Tony’s domestic air flights and no plane charters according to the Summary of Parliamentary Expenditure for the first half of 2014.

Except that the gentleman in question often costs Australian taxpayers $1,000 plus for domestic flights in his VIP special purpose aircraft – and that’s by splitting the nominal (rather than actual) flight cost between him and every member of his entourage.

Then there are the ghost flights when an empty VIP special purpose aircraft has to pick up the Prime Minister, Ministers, MPs or the Governor-General away from Canberra or for an empty aircraft to return to its Canberra base.

These empty plane costs appear typical:
$14,520 Canberra to Perth
$12,540 Kununarra to Canberra
$12,540 Canberra to Tindal
$12,210 Darwin to Canberra
$11,220 Tindal to Canberra
$11,220 Pearce to Canberra
$6,270 Maryborough to Canberra
$5,610 Canberra to Maryborough
$4,950 Canberra to Adelaide
$4,290 Adelaide to Canberra
$2.640 Melbourne to Canberra
$1,980 Canberra to Sydney
$1,980 Sydney to Canberra

So when Abbott flies from Canberra to Sydney (with members of his personal staff in the 2013-14 end of year parliamentary break) for a total of $1,350 - it will cost taxpayers an additional $2,310 to fly the aircraft and crew back to Canberra.

Rather obligingly the Royal Australian Air Force makes its records public:

Schedule of Special Purpose Flights 1 Jan 2014 to 30 Jun 2014 by clarencegirl

National unemployment and Tony Abbott

Tony Abbott was Minister for Employment Services/ Minister for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business from 21 October 1998 to 7 October 2003. During that time John Howard was Australian Prime Minister.

In October 1998, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.7%.

When he left that ministry five years later in Oct 2003 the unemployment rate was 5.6%.

As a federal minister there was no talking down of the Australian economy or the annual government budget during that time. His main political narrative was all about more jobs, higher pay and greater wealth for the people of Australia.

Tony Abbott has been Australian Prime Minister from 18 September 2013 to date. During the same period Eric Abetz has been Employment Minister.

In September 2013 the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.6%.

By Sept 2014 the unemployment rate had risen to 6.1%

In October it had climbed to 6.2% and now the latest figures for Nov 2014 show the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 6.3%.

In the Abbott Government's first Mid-Year Economic Outlook 2013-14 (December 2013) it was clearly stated:

 The unemployment rate is expected to drift up to 6¼ per cent by the June quarter of 2015. 

By the Mid-Year Econonomic Outlook (December 2014) that expectation had been revised up to 6.5% for 2015, remaining that high until at least June 2016. 

This new unemployment rate prediction represents over 803,952 people without a job.

I fear that Prime Minister Abbott’s penchant for bellowing budget crisis, debt & deficit! at every opportunity, the unfair May 2014 budget his government constructed and these high unemployment figures since he came to office are inter-related.

* With the exception of the MYEFO figures, all data is from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) series Labour Force, Australia.

Tony Abbott's Real Christmas Message: Over 15 million Australians likely see the cost of their GP increase by at least $5 and perhaps much more

It’s December 2014 and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott didn’t release his real Christmas Message on YouTube this year – he used a 9 December media release announcing he had cut Medicare rebate payments for standard GP visits by $5 and that there would be no Medicare fee increases for all services provided by GPs, medical specialists, allied health practitioners, optometrists and others until July 2018.

An est. 8 million patients, including children, pensioners, veterans, nursing home residents and others with concession cards would be exempt from the $5 co-payment.

That leaves over 15 million other Australians who are likely to find they have to pay extra to see their local doctor, even if the practice has a general policy of bulk billing patients for the current $37.05 Medicare standard consultation fee.

Given there is now also a requirement that general practitioners spend more time with patients to qualify for the standard consultation fee, many doctors may make the decision to abandon bulk billing altogether and charge an upfront fee of at least $60.

Medicare data for 2010-11 reveals that on the NSW North Coast an est. 83.9% of all medical services were bulk billed in the federal electorate of Richmond, 81.4% in the Cowper electorate and 72.6% in the Page electorate.

UPDATE

The Daily Mail 14 December 2014:

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) recommends GPs charge $75 for such consultations, meaning patients without concessions are usually out of pocket $37.95. But Dr Costa told The Newcastle Herald that because some doctors were already charging $80, it was likely some would be charging at least $100 by 2016.

NOW we have a budget in trouble and it's all the fault of Abbott, Hockey, Cormann and the rest of those mindless ideologues

Herald Sun 1 December 2014:

Forget Treasurer Joe Hockey's prediction of a balanced budget in 2017-18 because it's "well and truly toast".

That's the assessment of Deloitte Access Economics economist Chris Richardson, who is predicting bigger budget deficits across the forward estimates in the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook.

Mr Richardson, who has long criticised both sides of politics for their handling of the budget, expects the 2014-15 deficit to blow out to $34.7 billion, about $5bn more than forecast.

Deficits will be $10bn larger in each of the following three years.

"Red ink will once again be the new black," Mr Richardson said about the MYEFO on Monday.

Australian Financial Review 1 December 2014:

Around half the policies in the May budget will never see the light of day and will have to be recast or replaced.

Economic conditions mean that the Coalition’s boasts that it could fix the budget faster than Labor are in tatters. The budget bottom line deteriorates by the day.

So how much have Abbott and Pyne spent on finding ways to convince voters that creating an unfair barrier to higher education for the working class is OK?

AusTender snapshot 29 November 2014:

It seems that once Federal Government politicians swan off for the December to February 2015 parliamentary holiday break, their backroom boys may not be enjoying quite such extended rest as they may have to return to their desks in order to delve into the $149.8k of data supplied by Orima Research.

Looking for ways to bombard unsuspecting voters with propaganda, advertising, 

information which attempts to convince them that higher education access and equity is not really an issue for their children, women in general and all low income families under Abbott & Pyne's unfair and unpopular tertiary education reform agenda.

And an advertising blitz is all that is left to the Abbott Government in the new year as the Senate voted down its higher education changes 33 to 31 on 2 December 2014.

900 more science jobs forecast to go by June 2015 in Abbott's Australia

ABC Rural 26 November 2014:

The CSIRO is set to lose one staff member in five over the next two years.

The effect of the Federal Government's cut of $114 million is now becoming clearer, with at least four regional research sites under threat.

National organiser for the CSIRO Staff Association, part of the CPSU, Paul Girdler, says 878 staff are to be cut over two years, until June 2015.

"It's over 100 more than originally forecast.

"Over two years, the CSIRO is losing 21.5 per cent of its workforce, or one in five jobs.

"This new analysis demonstrates the cuts are even worse than when they were announced."

Given the cuts last year, the total tally is 1,400 jobs at the Science Organisation.

Now it includes 36 scientists in agriculture and biosecurity fields, the majority in Canberra and Southern Queensland, while 75 scientists in Mineral Resources and Energy, and 71 in Land and Water, are targetted.

Mr Girdler says the futures of regional CSIRO sites are already threatened.

"The ones we have particular concerns about (include) Griffith in the Riverina.

"CSIRO has already announced it would close by 2016. We're trying to fight to keep that site open, but we have concerns.

"Three other sites will close unless they receives additional funding. One is Atherton in north Queensland, which is Ecosystem Science research.

"And two in NSW, the Radio Astronomy sites at Narrabri and Parkes."…..

"As of this week, two thirds of the people directly affected by the 2014 announced changes have been advised of or have completed their transition.  For the remaining positions that need to be identified and discussed with staff, leaders will be talking to individuals as soon as possible to resolve uncertainty.

"I appreciate these changes have been very difficult for all and I can assure you that your leadership team is committed to supporting staff through this time of change," says Mr Roy.

UPDATE

The Age 2 December 2014:

A world-leading CSIRO chemist who was  tipped to win a Nobel prize has been made redundant.

In September, the same month San Thang was nominated as a frontrunner for the illustrious prize in chemistry, he also ceased working as a senior researcher for the national science organisation, which has been hemorrhaging staff since June last year following severe budget cuts and a restructure.

As compensation, Dr Thang, who has worked at CSIRO for almost 30 years, was given an unpaid honorary fellowship. He continues to work at his former laboratory in Clayton, mainly supervising PhD students…..

A CSIRO spokesman confirmed Dr Thang had been made redundant as part of these changes.

As a direct consequence of the federal government slashing $115 million from CSIRO's funding over four years in the May budget, the organisation is expected to lose another 400 researchers and support staff by mid next year in addition to 300 positions being cut as part of an internal restructure.

This month, the CSIRO staff association released new data showing the size and scale of the job cuts were larger than expected, reporting that 878 positions were to be cut by June 2015.

But another CSIRO spokesman said the organisation did not expect a major variation from the number of staff reductions it announced earlier this year, around 720 positions.

Is the Abbott Government 'Relocation Assistance to Take Up a Job' program shaping up to be a dud?

The Abbott Government Relocation Assistance to Take Up a Job program commenced on 1 July 2014.

Eligible participants who have been unemployed for at least twelve months can receive financial assistance of up to $3,000 if relocating to a capital city, $6,000 if relocating to a regional area and an extra $3,000 if relocating with dependent children.

By 22 October 2014 only 145 people out of the estimated 745,500 unemployed persons across Australia (ABS 6202.0 Labour Force statistics September 2014) used this program to move from where they were living to take up a job elsewhere.

The Guardian reported that: In each state the majority of those relocating stayed within state borders. The largest number of relocations occurred within Queensland, where 26 of the 43 movers stayed in the state. Data showed that 30 people accessed the program from NSW, 27 from Victoria, 19 from South Australia, nine from Tasmania and six from WA. So far, no one has left the Northern Territory, but 15 people moved there from around Australia.

These 145 jobs are allegedly in accommodation and food services, manufacturing, and agriculture, forestry and fishing.

According to Federal Assistant Minister for Employment and Nationals MP for Cowper Luke Hartsuyker of these 97 men and 48 women, 42 were under 30 years of age and another 42 were between 30-40 years old.

With the national unemployment rate trending at 6% and only 0.019450033534540577% of the registered unemployed participating in this program to date, it is not shaping up to be a resounding success.

The former Federal Labor Government’s relocation incentives which commenced in early 2011 also did not have a high take up rate.

One has to suspect that the level of financial assistance on offer does not come close to meeting real life relocation costs for the majority of long-term unemployed Australians in 2014.

Quote of the Week

"Before I take my pension out I check to see if it's still in there because I'm scared that Tony Abbott has stopped it."

[Participant in a discussion group quoted in The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 October 2013]

How will Abbott fund his costly war?

This quote from an article in The Sydney Morning Herald on 3 May 2014 is well worth remembering as the Abbott Government’s penchant for living beyond its means sees government borrowings grow to over $355 billion last month:

Figures from the Australian Tax Office and federal government show the average Australian can expect to pay about $4600 in indirect taxes this financial year....

The Henry Tax Review, which reviewed Australia's taxation system after the global financial crisis, found Australians pay "at least" 125 taxes each year.

Of these, 99 are levied by the federal government, 25 by the states and one by local government (council rates).

If readers are wondering where from among all these taxes Treasurer Joe Hockey and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann will find the billions required to also sustain Tony Abbott’s desire to strut the world stage as ‘war’ leader, then this article in The Australian on 10 October 2014 may offer a clue as to the direction in which some of his political troops might start looking to raise the money:

In a GST reform-shy political environment, the Wednesday evening meeting almost felt like the gathering of a secret society, according to one MP who was present.

One attendee told The Aus­tralian: “Please don’t write this, because if you do it will give the command-and-control structure more reason to clamp down on ­debate.”

Of course it was nothing of the sort: some MPs received written invitations; others were informed of the meeting by word of mouth. But the sentiment speaks to the difficulties Liberals interested in pursuing GST reform face. 

Fear of a scare campaign has made all sides of politics wary of opening a debate on the GST, with the ­former Labor government, for ­example, putting the consumption tax entirely off-limits from Ken Henry’s review of the tax system in 2009.

Former West Australian treasurer Christian Porter, now a federal MP, had used the party room weeks ago to announce that WA Liberals planned to submit their own recommendations to the government’s taxation white paper process, due to report next year, outlining their hopes that GST equalisation could be amended.

The Prime Minister said he thought that was unwise. Joe Hockey used the comments to attack Barnett’s fiscal competence, drawing a rebuke from deputy leader Julie Bishop, the most senior West Australian MP, who was not at Wednesday’s meeting.

“The message in the party room to Christian was pretty clear, but I think everyone decided they were interested enough in getting informed”, said an MP who was in attendance.

A senator said: “Most people were very surprised by the ­turnout.”

Among the Liberals in attendance were: Smith, Porter, Simon Birmingham, Steve Ciobo, David Coleman, Sean Edwards, Ian Goodenough, Peter Hendy, Steve Irons, Nola Marino, Don Randall, Luke Simpkins, Rick Wilson, Zed Seselja, Ken Wyatt, Scott Ryan, Mitch Fifield, Kelly O’Dwyer, David Fawcett, Rohan Ramsey and Melissa Price.

John Howard’s long-time chief-of-staff Arthur Sinodinos was there too, although absent were Hockey and his Finance Minister, the West Australian senator Mathias Cormann.

It wasn’t just Liberals in attendance; Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie and lower-house MP Kevin Hogan attended, as did crossbenchers David Leyonhjelm, Bob Day and West Australian Palmer United Party senator Zhenya Wang. “Their attendance was very interesting,” another MP who was present said.

Leyonhjelm said the meeting struck him as a growing sign of interest in reforming the GST among federal Liberals.

The sense of purpose that something needed to change when it comes to the GST was “in the air”, as one senator put it……

More interesting than the well-worn complaints in Nahan’s speech was the question-and-­answer session that followed.

Liberals appeared to recognise that the only way to equalise the GST, which meant getting other states to agree to lose surplus receipts they were currently enjoying, was by making wider changes to the tax, indeed to the Federation, which could mean broadening the base and increasing the rate.

In a sure sign that Liberals are concerned about “retribution” from Abbott’s office, as one MP put it, no one contacted by The Australian was prepared to name those who asked questions of Nahan about how best to reform the GST in a way that might bring most premiers along for the ride.

Adjusting the GST is a sensitive topic. Abbott has been permanently scarred by his experience as John Hewson’s press secretary before the “unlosable” 1993 election, in which the then Liberal opposition argued the case for a broadly applied 15 per cent GST.

The discussions around the room on Wednesday evening broached a range of reasons that reforming the GST might be necessary: to lift government revenues; to tax currently untaxed parts of the cash economy; to pay for ballooning spending in areas such as health and ageing, not to mention costly initiatives just over the fiscal horizon such as the ­national disability insurance scheme; to lower inefficient taxes that stifle international competitiveness; to restore the structural soundness of the budget, and in turn return it to surplus; to bring consumption taxes in this country into line with other developed ­nations; and, of course, to ensure a fairer distribution of the GST, along the lines West Australian MPs have long been complaining about.

Just as well for Hockey that Ciobo, his parliamentary secretary, was present to take notes. [my red bolding]

The Prime Minister has been careful in recent days to state that he won’t be introducing “new” taxes to fund this second war in Iraq. Of course raising the Good and Services Tax (GST) would not be introducing a new tax.

This was Abbott in The Coffs Coast Advocate in May 2014 on the subject of raising the GST:

Mr Abbott told the ABC this morning that it was up to 'grown up governments' to find ways to fund their own areas of responsibilities.

He would not be drawn on whether he would support a GST increase, saying that was a matter for the states, even though the Commonwealth collects it.

Mr Abbott said that would be discussed as part of white papers on taxation and federation.

According to The Guardian, the subject of the GST was raised again at the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting on 10 October 2014:

The West Australian premier, Colin Barnett, agitated over the “broken” system for carving up revenue from the goods and services tax (GST) – a perennial topic of frustration – by emphasising that the current system was bad for the stability of state budgets.

In an attempt to broaden the argument rather than simply complain about WA being a net provider of funding to smaller states, Barnett argued Queensland and New South Wales would be “next in the firing line” to lose funding under the existing formulas and this could lead to ongoing “chaos” in state budgeting.

Abbott pointed to a forthcoming tax white paper as the vehicle to address these concerns and achieve a “transparent and fair system”. He noted that the present GST system may well be fair “but it is certainly not transparent”.

Abbott Government killing Australia's sustainable energy future

The Guardian, Australia's investment in renewable energy slumps 70% in one year, 3 October 2014:

Australia’s investment in renewable energy projects has slumped below that of Algeria, Thailand and Myanmar, new figures have shown, with the sector “paralysed” by the government’s review of the Renewable Energy Target.

Just $193m was invested in new large-scale clean energy projects in the third quarter of 2014, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Investment in the year to date is $238m.

This represents a massive 70% slump on 2013 investment and has resulted in Australia slipping from the world’s 11th largest investor in clean energy to 31st in 2014.

This ranking is below Algeria, Myanmar, Thailand and Uruguay. By comparison, Canada has invested $US3.1bn in large clean energy projects so far in 2014.

The slowdown in renewable energy investment is pinned squarely by Bloomberg on the government’s review of the RET, which mandates that 41,000 gigawatt hours of Australia’s energy comes from renewable sources by 2020.

A recent review of the RET by businessman Dick Warburton found that although it has created jobs and driven investment, it should either be suspended or shut down completely.

The government has yet to formally respond to the report, instead holding talks with Labor on a “compromise” position that may see the RET altered in some way without being scrapped entirely. Labor, the Greens and the Palmer United Party all oppose any change to the RET.

Kobad Bhavnagri, an analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, told Guardian Australia that the renewables sector is “in the doldrums.”

Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance

“The government’s position has caused this, it has had some pretty strong anti-renewables rhetoric, particularly anti-wind, and wants to close certain clean energy programs,” he said. “The review has been particularly protracted. The industry was fearful the recommendations would be extreme and they were. It has been shattering.

“I think the government has backed itself into a corner because the Warburton review lacks credibility. I don’t think it’s in Labor’s interest to agree to any changes to the target.”……..

"My comments get on the tellie - yours don't. You can't be heard!

YouTube may not be the tellie, however it records the Australian Education Minister Christopher Pyne for posterity just the same....

http://youtu.be/xt7CxXh5nQw

Abbott's parliamentary troops have publicly broken ranks with their leader

Members of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights:

Senator Dean Smith, Chair Western Australia, LP

Laurie Ferguson MP, Deputy Chair Werriwa, New South Wales, ALP

Andrew Laming MP Bowman, Queensland, LP

Ken Wyatt AM MP Hasluck, Western Australia, LP

Senator Matthew Canavan Queensland, NAT

David Gillespie MP Lyne, New South Wales, NAT

Senator Carol Brown Tasmania, ALP

Senator Claire Moore Queensland, ALP

Michelle Rowland MP Greenway, New South Wales, ALP

Senator Penny Wright South Australia, AG

The Committee has the following brief:

a) to examine Bills for Acts, and legislative instruments, that come before either

House of the Parliament for compatibility with human rights, and to report to

both Houses of the Parliament on that issue;

b) to examine Acts for compatibility with human rights, and to report to both

Houses of the Parliament on that issue;

c) to inquire into any matter relating to human rights which is referred to it by the

Attorney-General, and to report to both Houses of the Parliament on that

matter.

To date this committee has considered 140 legislative instruments received between 2 August and 5 September 2014 and, on 24 September 2014 the majority Coalition component (3 Liberals, 2 Nationals) finally found the spine a national electorate had thought lost forever by voting to inform Parliament, the Prime Minister and Cabinet that the government’s policies concerning unemployment and superannuation: (i) limits the citizen’s right to social security, an adequate standard of living, an adequate standard of health care; (ii) discriminates on the basis of age; and (iii) breaches the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) to which Australia became a signatory in 1972 and ratified in 1975.

Excerpts from the Committee’s Twelfth Report of the 44th Parliament September 2014:

Minerals Resource Rent Tax Repeal and Other Measures Bill

2014

Portfolio: Treasury

Introduced: House of Representatives, 1 September 2014

Purpose

1.50 The Minerals Resource Rent Tax Repeal and Other Measures Bill 2014 (the

bill) would repeal the mineral resources rent tax (MRRT) by repealing a number of

acts (Schedule 1).1

It would also make consequential amendments to other

legislation,2

required as a result of the repeal of the MRRT (Schedules 2 - 9)……

Committee view on compatibility

Right to social security

1.56 The right to social security is guaranteed by article 9 of the International

Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). This right recognises the

importance of adequate social benefits in reducing the effects of poverty and plays

an important role in realising many other economic, social and cultural rights,

particularly the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to health.

1.57 Access to social security is required when a person has no other income and

has insufficient means to support themselves and their dependents. Enjoyment of

the right requires that sustainable social support schemes are:

*  available to people in need;

*  adequate to support an adequate standard of living and health care; and

*  accessible (providing universal coverage without discrimination and

qualifying and withdrawal conditions that are lawful, reasonable,

proportionate and transparent; and

*  affordable (where contributions are required).

1.58 Under article 2(1) of ICESCR, Australia has certain obligations in relation to

the right to social security. These include:

*  the immediate obligation to satisfy certain minimum aspects of the right;

*  the obligation not to unjustifiably take any backwards steps that might affect

the right;

*  the obligation to ensure the right is made available in a non-discriminatory

way; and

* the obligation to take reasonable measures within its available resources to

progressively secure broader enjoyment of the right.

1.59 Specific situations which are recognised as engaging a person's right to social

security, include health care and sickness; old age; unemployment and workplace

injury; family and child support; paid maternity leave; and disability support.

Right to an adequate standard of living

1.60 The right to an adequate standard is guaranteed by article 11(1) of the

ICESCR, and requires States parties to take steps to ensure the availability, adequacy

and accessibility of food, clothing, water and housing for all people in Australia.

1.61 The obligations of article 2(1) of the ICESCR also apply in relation to the right

to an adequate standard of living, as described above in relation to the right to social

security.

Deferral of proposed increase in compulsory superannuation contribution

1.62 Schedule 6 of the bill defers by ten years the proposed gradual increase in

the compulsory employer superannuation contribution to 12 per cent.

1.63 The statement of compatibility concludes that Schedule 6 does not engage

any human rights, noting that the deferral of the proposed increase in the

compulsory superannuation contribution:

…does not affect an individual's eligibility for the social security safety net

of the Age Pension (funded from Government revenue), which continues

to be a fundamental part of Australia‘s retirement income system to

ensure people unable to support themselves can have an adequate

standard of living.

1.64 However, in the committee's view, the provision of superannuation engages

both the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to social security.

1.65 Accordingly, the previously legislated increase in the compulsory

superannuation contribution may be viewed as a measure to promote both of these

rights. The deferral of the introduction of that measure may therefore be viewed as a

limitation on those rights.

1.66 The committee's usual expectation where a limitation on a right is proposed

is that the statement of compatibility provide an assessment of whether the

limitation is reasonable, necessary, and proportionate to achieving a legitimate

objective. The committee notes that to demonstrate that a limitation is permissible,

legislation proponents must provide reasoned and evidence-based explanations of

why the measures are necessary in pursuit of a legitimate objective…..

Repeal of low-income superannuation contribution

1.68 Schedule 7 of the bill proposes to repeal the low-income superannuation

contribution (LISC) for contributions made for financial years starting on or after

1 July 2017. The statement of compatibility concludes that Schedule 7 does not

engage any human rights, noting that the LISC:

…was funded with the expected revenue from the MRRT, which is being

repealed. In order to ensure that the concessions in the superannuation

system are sustainable for present and future generations, the LISC is also

being repealed.8

1.69 As discussed above, the committee considers that the provision of

superannuation engages both the right to an adequate standard of living,9

and the

right to social security.10

1.70 The proposed reduction of the amount paid to low-income earners to

compensate them for the tax paid on their superannuation contributions therefore

may be viewed as a limitation on these rights.

1.71 The committee's usual expectation where a limitation on a right is proposed

is that the statement of compatibility provide an assessment of whether the

limitation is reasonable, necessary, and proportionate to achieving a legitimate

objective…..

Read the full report here.

Women will bear the brunt of the Abbott government's budget cuts

The Sydney Morning Herald 11 September 2014:

Women will bear the brunt of the Abbott government's budget cuts.

New analysis drawing on National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling budget impact models and latest census and Australian Bureau of Statistics data, shows women in low and middle-income households can expect to suffer the biggest financial losses from the Abbott government's budget savings.

And the worst hit – by far – will be women in low-income households.

A single mother in the lowest disposable income group can expect to lose one of every four dollars lost by that group in the budget's aftermath come 2017.

Women in middle-income households will suffer much more than high-income women.

The analysis comes as Prime Minister Tony Abbott released a video on the weekend in which he said one of his government's main motivations in future will be "protecting the vulnerable."

The new slogan marked a deliberate and noticeable change of rhetoric from Mr Abbott's previous public messages, and follows months of criticism that he and his Treasurer, Joe Hockey, have endured for their budget's likely negative impact on poor households…..

A senior economist at the Australia Institute, Matt Grudnoff, said women are, on average, poorer than men in Australia, and the analysis showed the budget would not help matters.

"This budget is reducing gender equality even more. If you look at the pay gap between men and women, it's an issue that's getting worse, not better," Mr Grudnoff said.

Recent figures from Bureau of Statistics show the pay gap between men and women in Australia had widened to 18.2 per cent, up from 17.1 per cent at the start of the year.

Between November 2013 and May 2014, Australian men's salaries increased an average $24.90 per week and women's increased only $7.09.

Read more here.

Oh, Mr. Abbott, personal savings from your repeal of the price on carbon overwhelm me

THE LIBERAL PARTY ALL-SINGING-ALL-DANCING SPIN

             Snapshot from Liberal Party of Australia official Twitter account

MUNDANE REALITY

My first electricity bill after the 1 July 2014 repeal of the ‘carbon tax’ arrived in August. The one-off savings totalled $6.20 or 1.61% of my power bill.

Of course after that lordly sum was deducted I was still left with a rise in fixed charges of $27.53 which will endure as a cost rise until mid 2016.

Tony Dum-Dum strikes again

Yet another commentator exposes Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s kindergarten-level understanding of demographics, economics and the national tax system……

Microbusiness 22 August 2014:

Tony Abbott has spoken-out against Treasury Secretary, Martin Parkinson’s, claim last night that the Government had failed to sell the case for tax reform, noting instead the following:

“I’ve been saying on many occasions that tax reform starts with scrapping the carbon tax and scrapping the mining tax. It certainly doesn’t end there and that’s why we’ve got a white paper on tax that we will be publishing towards the end of next year.”

No, Prime Minister. Tax reform involves broadening the tax base and replacing inefficient taxes with more efficient ones. The scrapping of the carbon and mining taxes do neither and will push the tax burden further onto Australia’s diminishing pool of workers – hardly a sensible approach given the ageing of the population (not to mention adverse impacts on the environment).

The Abbott Code Explained - Part Three

The Abbott Code

Dept of Social Services Commonwealth Home Support Programme:

Support at home is key to helping older people remain at home and in their community for longer.

From 1 July 2015, the Australian Government will launch the Commonwealth Home Support Programme, which is central to the aged care reforms, and will support the development of an end-to-end aged care system.

The existing Commonwealth HACC Program, the National Respite for Carers Program, the Day Therapy Centres Program and potentially the Assistance with Care and Housing for the Aged Program, will be combined under a single streamlined Commonwealth Home Support Programme to provide basic maintenance, care, support and respite services for older people living in the community, and their carers.

Please see the ‘Overview of existing programs’ information sheet for further detail about the programs that will form part of the Commonwealth Home Support Programme.  This consolidation will create a nationally-consistent programme that continues to provide older Australians with the care they need in their own home and community, while being more efficient and easier to understand and administer.

Dept of Social Services Key directions for the Commonwealth Home Support Programme: Discussion Paper, 2014:

In recognition of the challenges posed by this fundamental shift in the structure of our population, the Australian Government is pursuing a reform agenda - in partnership with clients and carers, aged care providers, workers and health professionals - that will reshape the aged care system to make it easier for clients and carers to access services that are high-quality, client-centred, maximise independence and are responsive to the changing needs of people as they age.

Decoded Message

We expect that amalgamating and streamlining the home support services available to older Australians will generate considerable savings.

In our 2014-15 Budget Paper No. 2 we stated that $1.7 billion in savings over six years from 1 July 2018 will be achieved by reducing the rate of real growth in the Commonwealth Home Support Programme funding from 6 per cent annually to 3.5 per cent annually. 

What we didn’t announce at the time (and what we hope older voters do not notice before the next federal election) is that user fees-for-service will increase from 1 July 2015 under our new nationally consistent fees policy. Going from a current national average of around five per cent collection to fifteen per cent nationally by 2017-18.

Currently the basic service fee for home care recipients is equivalent to 17.5 per cent of the single, full rate, basic pension (that is $60 per week) and, recipients with incomes above the threshold are charged an income-tested fee. 

Making sure the elderly realise that aging is a sin is our goal.

Abbott Government budget cuts to be achieved by freezing funding indexation - full list of programs

The Daily Telegraph 3 August 2014:

AUSTRALIA’S immunisation program delivering lifesaving vaccines is among the targets of a secret hit list of $165 million in federal Budget cuts.

Divorced parents, the aged, depression sufferers and programs to help Aboriginal teenagers secure a place at university are among the targets of the “nip and tuck’’ ­approach to spending.

For the first time, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has confirmed the programs that face an “indexation pause’’ to Parliament in a ­secret hit list of 111 programs across multiple portfolios.

In the May Budget Treasurer Joe Hockey confirmed a $165 million freeze on the ­indexation of funding for multiple programs but did not specify which would be cut.

But the full list of programs that face a nip and tuck to spending has been released to Parliament.

It reveals cuts across 10 portfolios including health, education, agriculture, communications and the ­Department of Social Services.

Senate Opposition leader Penny Wong had demanded the government release the documents....

Australian Government Administered Programme Indexation Pause From 1 July 2014 or 1 July 2015