After Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison abandoned the Coalition's proposed National Energy Guarantee which would allegedly reduce polluting emissions and lower electricity retail costs, the energy sector remains in disarray.
Showing posts with label Morrison Government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Morrison Government. Show all posts
Wednesday 17 July 2019
So much for Liberal-Nationals boasts concerning regional jobs growth in 2019
After Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison abandoned the Coalition's proposed National Energy Guarantee which would allegedly reduce polluting emissions and lower electricity retail costs, the energy sector remains in disarray.
One
hundred and sixty-five jobs are
at
risk across
regional News South Wales as Essential
Energywhose operational footprint covers 95 percent of the state apparently
considers downsizing employee numbers as a cost-cutting measure is the best way to gain the Morrison Government’s approval.
In
all probability hoping that this move will appease Morrison and he will then decide to forget his promise to force all energy companies to lower their prices.
Sadly,
this is just the sort of short-sighted approach to cost cutting which
‘The
Liar From The Shire’
would approve.
Though
how downsizing staff leads to better customer service under
The
Energy Charter
I am at a loss to understand.
The
Daily Examiner, 4 July 2019, p.1:
Methods
used to determine who stays in a job at Essential Energy have been
likened to the battle for survival in sci-fi film Hunger Games.
The
Electrical Trade Union claims workers will be pitted against each
other to save their own job and asserts that the company has told
workers Grafton will be one of the hardest hit in a plan to slash 165
jobs across regional NSW.
The
Daily Examiner was told of workers being asked to write letters to
state why they should keep their job.
ETU
secretary Justin Paige slammed the announcement of cuts, saying the
use of forced redundancies along with a “Hunger Games” style
competition between workers was causing unnecessary hardship.
“Workers
have been given less than a week to respond to the plan, with the
first staff to be made forcibly redundant as early as July 10, but we
are examining every legal and industrial avenue available to stop
them,” Mr Paige said.
“The
worst part is many of these cuts will be undertaken through what
management have called a ‘merit selection process’, which will
essentially pit workers against each other to save their own job.
Clarence
MP Chris Gulaptis and Deputy Premier John Barilaro poured scorn on
the proposed job losses…...
The
Daily Examiner,
5 July 2019, p.3:
The
ALP has accused Nationals MPs of hypocrisy over their response to
Essential Energy sacking 182 employees.
Member
for Lismore Janelle Saffin said it was the height of hypocrisy for
Nationals MPs like John Barilaro and Chris Gulaptis to claim they are
fighting against Essential Energy’s regional job cuts.
Ms
Saffin said the Nationals allowed Essential Energy to be corporatised
so they could bleat all they like but lost their say in the matter
when they agreed to the sell-off.
“The
Nationals’ excuse was that a Restart fund would be set up from the
proceeds of the sale and that regional and rural NSW would get 30 per
cent of the proceeds annually,” Ms Saffin said. “They never even
delivered and failed regional NSW. The Auditor General has showed
year after year since 2011 that Restart has not met the Nationals’
30 per cent target – it was 17 per cent last year.
“The
Nationals lost three seats at the recent State election, which is why
John Barilaro is now posturing that his hapless party is suddenly
independent of the Liberals.”
Ms
Saffin said she was saddened to hear of Essential Energy’s plan to
sack more workers as it was a cruel blow to them and their families,
and would make it harder on remaining workers maintaining or
upgrading infrastructure.
“Essential
Energy, which operates electricity poles and wires across 95 per cent
of the state, has gutted more than 2000 jobs from their ranks since
2015,” Ms Saffin said.
“It
is hard enough to get permanent roles in the regions and while jobs
have grown in the city it has been slow here…..
The
Daily Examiner,
8
July 2019, p.3:
Essential
Energy has hit the pause button on its moves to cut 182 job across
Northern NSW after a Fair Work Commission meeting which called for
the company to provide further information to its workers.
On
Friday power industry unions reached an in-principle agreement with
Essential Energy in the Fair Work Commission that paused planned job
cuts until additional consultation took place.
The
agreement means no jobs will be lost before mid-August, with unions
given an opportunity to propose alternative cost saving measures and
initiatives that could avert the need for redundancies.
Essential
Energy committed to distributing information to all employees by July
19 that includes: the justification for role reductions, the specific
impacts of cuts on remaining team members, and details of the tasks
or functions that will cease to be performed.
Essential
Energy also committed to consider alternative savings measures before
redundancy decisions.
Electrical
Trades Union secretary Justin Page welcomed the outcome, saying it
was vital workers could identify alternatives to regional job cuts.
“This
is a tough time for Essential Energy workers, their families and
colleagues,” Mr Page said.
“After
four years of deep staffing cuts at Essential Energy – which has
not only devastated those workers directly impacted, but has had
profound impacts on service delivery and regional communities –
today’s reprieve is extremely welcome, but is just the start…..
Tuesday 16 July 2019
Housing affordability for NSW North Coast renters is beyond the reach of many
On 1 May 2019 The Financial Review reported on the top twenty federal electorates with the highest level of rental stress in Australia.
The Northern Rivers federal electorates of Richmond and Page were placed in 3rd & 8th positions respectively, with a total of 13,937 household experiencing rental stress .
While the mid-North Coast federal electorates of Lyne and Cowper came in 6th & 10th place, with a total of 13,283 households under rental stress.
Anglicare Australia's 2018 Rental Affordability Snapshot demonstrates that this stress is an ongoing problem with housing affordability for those on low incomes on the NSW North Coast.
In 2018 five of the six NSW local government areas with the most unaffordable rentals were on the Far and Mid North Coast.
A St Vincent de Paul Society spokesperson is reported in The Daily Examiner this week highlighting the fact that people on the North Coast are going without food in order to keep their rental accommodation.
The Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government spends literally billions supporting property speculators and investors in their aspirations to become personally wealthy, but is ignoring the plight of low income renters trying to keep a roof over their heads.
If it will no longer invest in affordable housing through adequate targeted federal funding tied to the states increasing social/community housing stocks, the least it can do is raise the Commonwealth Rental Assistance Payment available to eligible low-income individuals and families.
Australian Prime Minister Morrison's relentless hammering of the poor and vulnerable set to continue?
The
Guardian,
7 July 2019:
The
Morrison government says it remains committed to a plan criticised as
“brutal” to dock the welfare of those who repeatedly fail to pay
state fines, and may still proceed with cuts to student payments
claimed by the unemployed, the disabled and sole parents.
The
Coalition introduced a number of welfare measures in 2017 which drew
the ire of social service groups but ultimately never came into
effect because the government failed to win the support of the Senate
or the states and territories.
Guardian
Australia reported this month that internal documents suggested the
contentious plan to drug test welfare recipients was not a priority,
but the government has insisted it remains on its agenda.
Other
welfare proposals from the last parliament included about $90m in
cuts to student payments, legislation to automatically deduct rent
from welfare recipients living in social housing, which critics said
could put family violence survivors at risk, and a plan to impose the
“demerit point” compliance scheme on those doing the remote
work-for-the-dole program, which has seen payment suspensions
surge…...
But
the spokesman did confirm the government still intended to create the
scheme to automatically dock 15% of payments for those who have
unpaid fines…...
“The
Encouraging Lawful Behaviour of Income Support Recipients proposal
remains government policy and requires legislative approval,”
Ruston’s spokesman said…..
Labor
had opposed the cuts to the $208-a-year pensioner education
supplement and the $32.20-a week education entry payment, which are
intended to help low-income people with the cost of study.
The
changes would save the budget $95m over five years, but the
opposition said the policy would hurt people with disability, carers,
sole parents and the unemployed.
The
Australian Council of Social Service has previously lashed the plan
to dock welfare payments from people with court-ordered state fines
as “particularly brutal”.
The
proposal would automatically dock 15% of an income support payment,
but critics say it will push vulnerable people into homelessness.
Welfare
groups including the Australian Unemployed Workers Union have also
expressed grave concerns about a plan announced last year to link
Newstart recipients to farm work using the national database.
The
unemployed would face losing their welfare payments for four weeks if
they turned down what the government described as a “suitable job
without reasonable excuse”.
The
department of employment confirmed the policy would begin in July
next year.
Thursday 20 June 2019
Tears before bedtime under The National Strategic Action Plan for Pain Management?
Painaustralia says of itself that it is “Australia’s
leading pain advocacy body working to improve the quality of life of people
living with pain, their families and carers, and to minimise the social and
economic burden of pain on individuals and the community”.
On 11 June
2019 it released a copy of The
National Strategic Action Plan for Pain Management having
convinced the Morrison Coalition Government that this plan is the bee knees
when it comes to pain management.
If the
following article is anything to go by it will be tears before bedtime for many
chronic pain suffers as the plan does not contain any mention of actually increasing
the number pain specialists practicing in Australia or of attempting to lower
wait times to see such specialists.
Currently NSW
Health only lists 35
pain management services in the state and most of these are attached to
metropolitan public hospitals.
Instead
people experiencing acute and chronic pain are to be offered 10 Medicare-funded group
services and 10 individual services each calendar year, with access to
telehealth pain management advice for regional areas where pain management services
are not available.
As for pain
management using prescribed medications – that is apparently going to be more
difficult to access as Painaustralia
and the Morrison Government are alarmed that opiate prescriptions in rural
& regional Australia have risen in the last ten years.
Seemingly conveniently
blind to any relationship between increased prescribing and low GP numbers, smaller often poorly
resourced public hospitals, a reliance on what might be termed 'flyin-flyout' medical specialists who prefer not to live in those rural or regional areas their patients
inhabit and the economic tyranny of distance for the patient.
The Daily Examiner, 18 June 2019, p.8:
Doctors will be sent
back to school to be re-educated about treating chronic pain and patients given
a Medicare boost under a new national strategy.
The first national pain
strategy launching today also calls for a national one-stop website to be set
up to educate people about how to manage pain without drugs and where to find
help.
“There is a screaming
need here because pain is a significant burden on the economy, on society and
the health system,” Pain Australia chief executive Carol Bennett said.
More than 3.24 million
Australians are living with chronic pain and many are becoming addicted to
opioid medications while they wait up to four years to see a pain specialist
for help.
Last year Australians
paid $2.7 billion in out-of-pocket expenses to manage their pain and missed 9.9
million days of work because of the condition.
The new strategy funded
by the Federal Government and developed by Pain Australia wants pain to be
treated in the same way as mental health, with Medicare funding up to 20
medical and group sessions to help people get it under control. It also calls
for a new certificate in pain medicine for GPs and other health professionals
that would require six months of study.
The consultation work
that took place around the development of the new plan found doctors’ knowledge
about the latest pain management techniques was out of date.
“For lower back pain
people are popping pills and having surgery but for the last 15 years we’ve
known you’ve got to get moving and rehabilitate yourself with physical
management,” Ms Bennett said.
Anti-inflammatory
medications should not be used for more than a few days and long-term
strengthening of the muscles, good nutrition and sleep were the key to treating
the problem rather than drugs, she said.
Instead of helping
patients manage pain in this way, doctors were prescribing increasing amounts
of dangerous and addictive opioid medicines.
Labels:
government policy,
Health Services,
Morrison Government,
pain
Friday 7 June 2019
So who is to blame for the new Morrison Government?
As of 4:09pm on Thursday 6 June 2019 an est. 6,613,352 Australian citizens had voted for the
Liberal-Nationals Coalition at the 18 May 2019 federal election, by either directly giving their first preference to
one or the other of these two political parties or placing them high on the range
of second preference choices printed on ballot papers.
So let’s get
one thing clear, it is not the fault of any one state or territory that the hard
right Morrison Coalition Government was returned to power. It is not the fault
of Labor or the Greens.
Full
responsibility for the election result lies with those est. 6,613,352 people and, they know who
they are.
They are the
voters now personally responsible for any and all actions of the Morrison Government,
from the date government ministers were sworn-in post-election to the day the
2022 federal election is held.
To all those
individuals I say this:
If the national
economy tanks in the next three years – it’s your fault;
If wages fall
even further behind the cost of living for low and middle income households –
it’s your fault;
If there is no significant increase in the Newstart allowance meaning that young and older job seekers continue to starve in an economy which has limited job
vacancies – it’s your fault;
If the
national debt increases even further to cope with reckless government spending
and dubious overgenerous government tenders – it’s your fault;
If the annual
budget blows out into significant deficit because so many greedy people are joining the franking credit rort – it’s your fault;
If Liberal and National parliamentarians become even more profligate while on the public purse – it’s
your fault;
If there are
more budget funding cuts to essential services, including health, public education, welfare, domestic violence, legal assistance – it’s your fault;
If more
people suicide because of the federal government's flawed and punitive debt
recovery system – it’s your fault;
If there is
an increase in the privatisation of government services with a corresponding decrease
in adequate service delivery – it’s your fault;
If the cost
of child care continues to make life economically difficult for women wanting to
participate in the workforce – it’s your fault;
If women pushed onto the ParentsNext scheme continue to be punished by the Morrison Government by the withholding of money to feed their babies and small children – it’s your fault;
If young first home buyers continue to be squeezed out of the housing market by investors and property speculators – it’s your fault;
If young first home buyers continue to be squeezed out of the housing market by investors and property speculators – it’s your fault;
If there is
an increase in discrimination against vulnerable groups, including the LBGTI community
– it’s your fault;
If human rights abuses continue in immigration detention centres – it’s your fault;
If the frail elderly don't have access to timely free urgent dental care – it’s your fault;
If the National Disability Insurance Scheme continues to fall short of its legislated responsibilities and administrative goals, leaving the needs of clients unmet – it’s your fault;
If human rights abuses continue in immigration detention centres – it’s your fault;
If the frail elderly don't have access to timely free urgent dental care – it’s your fault;
If the National Disability Insurance Scheme continues to fall short of its legislated responsibilities and administrative goals, leaving the needs of clients unmet – it’s your fault;
If the poor continue to have limited access to and no real equity in the benefits derived from a modern democratic society – it’s your fault;
If the discriminatory cashless welfare card is extended to more areas across the country and/or to wider categories of welfare recipients – it’s your fault;
If the discriminatory cashless welfare card is extended to more areas across the country and/or to wider categories of welfare recipients – it’s your fault;
If blatant
water rorts and water thefts continue and more towns/cities run low or are completely
out of drinking water over the next three years – it’s your fault;
If environmental degradation of the river systems in the Murray-Darling Basin is not halted – it’s your fault;
If a federal government data breach compromises your privacy or the privacy of a friend or family member – it’s your fault;
If environmental degradation of the river systems in the Murray-Darling Basin is not halted – it’s your fault;
If a federal government data breach compromises your privacy or the privacy of a friend or family member – it’s your fault;
If the number of citizens arrested and tried for calmly speaking truth to power begins to rise – it’s your fault;
If the
Morrison Government loses China’s goodwill as our largest trading partner in
order to curry favour with US President Donald Trump – it’s your fault; and
If climate
change hammers this nation into the ground over the next three years – it’s your fault.
There are no excuses, there is no magical do over. The est. 6,613,352 Australian citizens who either voted directly or indirectly for the Liberal-Nationals Coalition chose the political path we are now on.
These people alone are to blame for whatever flawed or corrupt actions the Morrison Government takes and the consequences of that government's neglect or indifference during its current term in office.
I reiterate. Each of you brought the second Morrison Government into existence. You own that fact. So don't even try to deflect the blame onto others.
Labels:
elections 2019,
Morrison Government
Thursday 6 June 2019
A word or two on the Australian economy…….
“The
financial year ending in 24 days will be recorded as Australia’s worst since
1992, when the nation was struggling to recover from the 1991 recession.” [Contributing
Editor Michael Pascoe, The
New Daily, 5 June 2019]
With wages growth stagnant and a rise in unemployment the slowing economy became even slower last month as consumers kept their wallets closed, perhaps sensing the uncertainty behind Prime Minister Scott 'Liar from the Shire' Morrison's empty brag of a strong economy during the recent federal election campaign.
Australian Treasurer and Liberal MP for Kooyong Josh Frydenberg let the cat out of the bag when speaking with the banks ahead of the 4 June 2019 Reserve Bank official cash rate cut when he was variously reported as admitting the economy faced significant problems or domestic and international economic challenges. A few days later it was factors which weighed on the economy.
Here is how mainstream media and statisticians presented the situation........
The
Age, 2 June
2019:
On the basis of
the December
quarter numbers Australia is already in a recession on a per capita
basis. It has been there before in its record-setting period of economic
expansion, but there is a sense this time that it will be lucky to avoid a
contraction.
Slowing economic trends
are unlikely to have reversed in the first quarter of 2019. We haven’t seen
those March quarter numbers yet, but they are unlikely to be good, and may be
bad. Political uncertainties will not have helped.
What is in prospect is
the sort of outcome that will compound the concerning result in the second half
of 2018 when GDP slowed dramatically to 1 percent year-on-year.
If that slowdown becomes
entrenched, Australia will tip into a recession for the first time in a
generation with all the consequences that will follow. This includes an
indelible political context.
After six years in
office, the Coalition cannot reasonably blame its predecessor for tepid wages
growth, weak productivity gains, spiralling household debt, a doubling of net
government debt, and a depreciation of the Australian dollar by about 30 per
cent since a Tony Abbott-led government took office in 2013.
Interest rate cuts may
further weaken the dollar. This would be good for commodities exporters, bad
for consumers.
A booming property
sector fuelled by easy credit and lax Foreign Investment Review Board
strictures on Chinese
money flooding the market contributed to an illusion of wellbeing, the
so-called wealth effect: or, perhaps, better described as the “wealth
illusion’’.
Cuts to interest rates
may give the economy a bump. The removal of the spectre of a Labor government,
at odds with aspirational Australia, may encourage investment.
However, what should be
concerning the government, as it prepares for the first session of the 46th
parliament in early July, is that unemployment in April ticked up to 5.2 per
cent from 5 per cent, and underemployment jumped to 8.5 per cent.
Finally, this brings us
to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s pledge to bring the budget back into surplus in
2020-21 and begin paying down debt. If a recession bites that undertaking will
not be worth the budget papers on which it is written.
The question will then
become whether - and how quickly - the Morrison government can bring itself to
admit its budgetary projections, reaffirmed by a docile Treasury in its
pre-election economic and fiscal outlook (PEFO), misfired.
Rather than surpluses as
far the eye can see and tax cuts on the horizon it would be dealing with an
entirely different scenario.
What would be needed in
that case is real stimulus for capital works projects rather than short-term
fixes in the form of tax cuts that might be good for the sale of Harvey Norman
flat-screen televisions, but will do little for wages growth or the economy
overall.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), media
release, 4 June 2019:
Retail turnover fell 0.1
per cent in April
Australian retail turnover fell 0.1 per cent in April 2019, seasonally adjusted, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Retail Trade figures.
This follows a rise of 0.3 per cent in March 2019.
"There were mixed results across industries" said Ben Faulkner, ABS Director of Quarterly Economy Wide Surveys, "with falls in Household goods retailing (-0.9 per cent), Cafes, restaurant and takeaway food services (-0.7 per cent), and Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (-1.2 per cent), which were offset by rises in Other retailing (0.8 per cent), Department stores (1.8 per cent), and Food retailing (0.2 per cent)."
In seasonally adjusted terms, there were falls in New South Wales (-0.4 per cent), Victoria (-0.4 per cent), the Northern Territory (-0.5 per cent), and the Australian Capital Territory (-0.2 per cent). There were rises in Queensland (0.7 per cent), South Australia (0.6 per cent), Western Australia (0.1 per cent), and Tasmania (0.3 per cent).
The trend estimate for Australian retail turnover rose 0.2 per cent in April 2019, following a 0.2 per cent rise in March 2019. Compared to April 2018, the trend estimate rose 2.9 per cent.
Online retail turnover contributed 5.7 per cent to total retail turnover in original terms in April 2019, which was unchanged from March 2019. In April 2018, online retail turnover contributed 5.4 per cent to total retail.
Reserve Bank of Australia. media
release, 4 June 2019:
Statement by Philip
Lowe, Governor: Monetary Policy Decision
At its meeting today,
the Board decided to lower the cash rate by 25 basis points to
1.25 per cent. The Board took this decision to support employment
growth and provide greater confidence that inflation will be consistent with
the medium-term target.
The outlook for the
global economy remains reasonable, although the downside risks stemming from
the trade disputes have increased. Growth in international trade remains weak
and the increased uncertainty is affecting investment intentions in a number of
countries. In China, the authorities have taken steps to support the economy,
while addressing risks in the financial system. In most advanced economies,
inflation remains subdued, unemployment rates are low and wages growth has
picked up.
Global financial conditions
remain accommodative. Long-term bond yields and risk premiums are low. In
Australia, long-term bond yields are at historically low levels. Bank funding
costs have also declined further, with money-market spreads having fully
reversed the increases that took place last year. The Australian dollar has
depreciated a little over the past few months and is at the low end of its
narrow range of recent times.
The central scenario
remains for the Australian economy to grow by around 2¾ per cent in
2019 and 2020. This outlook is supported by increased investment in
infrastructure and a pick-up in activity in the resources sector, partly in
response to an increase in the prices of Australia's exports. The main domestic
uncertainty continues to be the outlook for household consumption, which is
being affected by a protracted period of low income growth and declining
housing prices. Some pick-up in growth in household disposable income is
expected and this should support consumption.
Employment growth has
been strong over the past year, labour force participation has been increasing,
the vacancy rate remains high and there are reports of skills shortages in some
areas. Despite these developments, there has been little further inroads into
the spare capacity in the labour market of late. The unemployment rate had been
steady at around 5 per cent for some months, but ticked up to
5.2 per cent in April. The strong employment growth over the past
year or so has led to a pick-up in wages growth in the private sector, although
overall wages growth remains low. A further gradual lift in wages growth is
expected and this would be a welcome development. Taken together, these labour
market outcomes suggest that the Australian economy can sustain a lower rate of
unemployment.
The recent inflation
outcomes have been lower than expected and suggest subdued inflationary
pressures across much of the economy. Inflation is still however anticipated to
pick up, and will be boosted in the June quarter by increases in petrol prices.
The central scenario remains for underlying inflation to be
1¾ per cent this year, 2 per cent in 2020 and a little
higher after that.
The adjustment in
established housing markets is continuing, after the earlier large run-up in
prices in some cities. Conditions remain soft, although in some markets the
rate of price decline has slowed and auction clearance rates have increased.
Growth in housing credit has also stabilised recently. Credit conditions have
been tightened and the demand for credit by investors has been subdued for some
time. Mortgage rates remain low and there is strong competition for borrowers
of high credit quality.
Today's decision to
lower the cash rate will help make further inroads into the spare capacity in
the economy. It will assist with faster progress in reducing unemployment and
achieve more assured progress towards the inflation target. The Board will
continue to monitor developments in the labour market closely and adjust
monetary policy to support sustainable growth in the economy and the
achievement of the inflation target over time.
Thursday 30 May 2019
How the Prime Minister is reorganising our lives in 2019
On the day Scott Morrison arranged to be sworn-in as Australian prime minister for the second time he also made a few administrative changes.
From now on the Dept. of Human Services, which delivers social and health payments through such services such as Medicare, Centrelink and Child Support, will have the word "Human" erased from its title.
It will now be called Services Australia. A neutral name which will probably make privatisation of its more human service components that much easier down the track.
Services Australia has also been expanded to include responsibility for whole of government service delivery.
The new Minister for Government Services and Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme is noneother than the Qld Liberal MP for Fadden Stuart Robert, who in 2016 resigned as the Minister for Human Services after questions were raised over his fitness for office. Thus proving that when it comes to political probity it's not what you did in the past but who you pray with now that matters.
The new Minister for Families and Social Services was listed on 26 May 2019 as Liberal Senator for South Australia Anne Rushton. However, there is no mention of that title in her official parliamentary profile to date.
From now on the Dept. of Human Services, which delivers social and health payments through such services such as Medicare, Centrelink and Child Support, will have the word "Human" erased from its title.
It will now be called Services Australia. A neutral name which will probably make privatisation of its more human service components that much easier down the track.
Services Australia has also been expanded to include responsibility for whole of government service delivery.
The new Minister for Government Services and Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme is noneother than the Qld Liberal MP for Fadden Stuart Robert, who in 2016 resigned as the Minister for Human Services after questions were raised over his fitness for office. Thus proving that when it comes to political probity it's not what you did in the past but who you pray with now that matters.
The new Minister for Families and Social Services was listed on 26 May 2019 as Liberal Senator for South Australia Anne Rushton. However, there is no mention of that title in her official parliamentary profile to date.
Morrison has also decided that settlement
services for refugees and humanitarian migrants are being transferred from the
Social Services portfolio to the Home Affairs portfolio, giving the Minister
for Home Affairs and Liberal MP for Dickson Peter Dutton control of every aspect of the
lives of those seeking asylum or resettlement in Australia.
These and other changes are set out below........
Tuesday 2 April 2019
A federal budget for hopeless optimists was delivered by the Morrison Government on 2 April 2019
https://youtu.be/C64ZC-0Oju4
This was
Australian treasurer and Liberal MP for Kooyong Josh Frydenberg delivering his first
budget speech on 2 April 2019:
Tonight, I announce that
the budget is back in the black and Australia is back on track.
For the first time in 12
years, our nation is again paying its own way….
John Howard and Peter
Costello paid off Labor’s debt. And tonight the Morrison government sets a path
to do it again, without increasing taxes.
This matters because
over the last year the interest bill on the national debt was $18bn.
And this was in a low
interest rate environment.
This is money that could
have built 500 schools or a world-class hospital in each state and territory.
We are reducing the debt
and this interest bill.
Not through higher
taxes, but by responsible budget management and by growing the economy.
In the actual budget papers he asserts that:
Net debt in 2019-20 is
expected to be $361 billion, representing 18 per cent of GDP. By 2022-23, net
debt is expected to decline to $326.1 billion (14.4 per cent of GDP). Net debt
is then projected to be eliminated over the medium term (2029-30)
So whose debt is Frydenberg complaing about and why is the economic furture so suddenly rosy?
At the end of the month in 2013 in which Tony Abbott became Prime Minister of Australia the gross national debt stood at est. $220.67 billion and net national debt was $174.55 billion. At the time net national debt was in the vicinity of 13% of GDP.
By 2 April 2019 the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government had raised the gross national debt to $534.42 billion.
That's more than double the national debt left by the previous Labor federal government.
Frydenberg is predicting that gross national will rise to $627.26
billion by end of June 2019 with net national debt coming in at $373.47 billion and net debt predicted to come in at 19.2% of GDP by end of June.
By 30 June the federal government will have paid $18.15 billion in interest on this debt in the 2018-19 financial year.
I don't know about anyone else but to me it definitely looks as though the Liberal-Nationals Coalition governments have well and truly contribted to the national debt in the last five and a haf years.
According to the 2019-20 Budget that Frydenberg just delivered gross national debt is expected to rise for the next three financial years while at the same time it is hoped that net national debt will decrease.
When it comes to national debt a net decrease in the debt does not always mean the actual government debt is falling - it simply means that the government of the day expects to have enough assets and income to honour the total debt if the entire amount was theoretically called in by the debtors.
However, Frydenberg predicts that both net national debt and interest that the gross debt attracts will fall over the next four financial years, despite federal government expenses increasing and expected tax receipts (including GST receipts) being revised down by $26 billion over those same four years.
Frydenberg also says the Morrison Government will deliver an underlying cash balance of $7.1 billion by 30 June next year even though that underlying cash balance is $4.1 billion in deficit this year. To do that the Treasurer has to pull $11.2 billion out of his back pocket in the next fourteen months.
Months in which it is committed to delivering the cash splash it has included in this pre-election budget.
An ordinary voter like myself has to ask: Where's the money coming from to supposedly get the government books back into the black?
The Morrison Government must be privately asking itself the same question as Budget Statement 7 only gives that government a 70 per cent chance of being able to bring in a $7.1 billion suplus this coming financial year
The Morrison Government must be privately asking itself the same question as Budget Statement 7 only gives that government a 70 per cent chance of being able to bring in a $7.1 billion suplus this coming financial year
Budget 2019-20 papers can be found here.
NOTE:
Only one item in the Morrison Government 2019-20 budget is likely to be passed on 3 April 2019 before the Australian Parliament is dissolved to meet the required timeline to issue writs for the federal election. This means that all the budget promises made by Frydenberg are on the never never and if the Coalition Government wins that election it may change some budget details come 30 June.
NOTE:
Only one item in the Morrison Government 2019-20 budget is likely to be passed on 3 April 2019 before the Australian Parliament is dissolved to meet the required timeline to issue writs for the federal election. This means that all the budget promises made by Frydenberg are on the never never and if the Coalition Government wins that election it may change some budget details come 30 June.
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