Antarctica contains the coldest place on Earth

NASA Science News

Dec. 10, 2013:  What is the coldest place on Earth? It is a high ridge in Antarctica on the East Antarctic Plateau where temperatures in several hollows can dip below minus 133.6 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 92 degrees Celsius) on a clear winter night......

With remote-sensing satellites, scientists have found the coldest places on Earth, just off a ridge in the East Antarctic Plateau. The coldest of the cold temperatures dropped to minus 135.8 F (minus 93.2 C) -- several degrees colder than the previous record. Image Credit: Ted Scambos, National Snow and Ice Data Center

How Australian Prime Minister Hon. Tony Abbott is ending the year

Cartoon found at the Australian Financial Review

3 December 2013

Abbott Government Mid-Year Economic & Fiscal Outlook 2013-14: no responsibility taken, excuses scattered like confetti, strong hints that it's the poor who will be paying the government bill

Joe Hockey spinning on live television at the National Press Club on 17 December 2013

Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey needs to grow a spine, find a political and social conscience and begin acting like an adult before he loses the nation's excellent credit rating, drives away investment, destroys industry and causes a recession with his juvenile point-scoring and loose talk.

Taking responsibility for his first 90 days in office (not the fictional 100 days) would be a good start.

On 3 September 2013 Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey stated that the Federal Labor Government was borrowing an average $83 million per day.

By 17 December 2013 the Federal Liberal-Nationals Coalition Government was borrowing on average an est. $216 million plus per day.

In the MID-YEAR ECONOMIC AND FISCAL OUTLOOK 2013-14 (MYEFO) released on 17 December 2013 Hockey admits that an increase in Abbott Government borrowings has increased Australia’s national debt:

* The increase in the expected level of net debt since the 2013 PEFO primarily reflects a higher issuance of CGS owing to an increase in the financing requirement, which is partly negated by higher yields (interest rates) than were assumed at the 2013 PEFO.

* The main factor contributing to the increase in net debt is the higher expected issuance of CGS relative to the 2013 PEFO of around $60 billion in face value terms as a result of the increased financing requirement. This is partially offset by revaluation of the projected CGS on issue of around $9 billion owing to an increase in expected yields and hence a decrease in the market value of CGS.

According to Hockey net government debt now stands at $191.5 billion in 2013-14.

Gross debt is of course higher and currently is in excess of $304.5 billion – with $216 billion of this amount being added to the total by the present Abbott Government between 18 September and 17 December 2013.

Impacting MYEFO is the inescapable fact that the Abbott Government has increased federal government spending over that outlined in its pre-election Fiscal Budget Impact of Federal Coalition Policies document, which in its turn also indicated levels of revenue which the Coalition was willing to forgo to meet its ideological requirements.

Some of the more significant components of the revenue write down apparent in MYEFO are ideologically rather than fiscally based.

The biggest one-off spending item in 2013-14 was the unplanned $8.8 billion it gifted to the Reserve Bank, a sum which coincidentally comprises over half of the budget deficit blow-out Hockey is complaining about.

Again according to Hockey, since the Economic Statement released in August 2013 the budget deficit has blown out from the predicted $30.1 billion 2013-14 deficit under Labor to a  $47 billion deficit this year under the Abbott Government.  That's a $16.9 billion difference in the bottom line primarily flowing on from Coalition policy and/or economic decisions.

However, the average voter wouldn't know it from Hockey's blaming Labor rhetoric.

BACKGROUND

The Pre-Election Economic Fiscal Outlook (PEFO) produced in August by The Treasury, for the information of all political parties and candidates prior to the 7 September 2013 election day.

MEDIA REACTION

The Sydney Morning Herald 17 December 2013:

How on Earth did we convince ourselves this bunch would be miles better at fixing the budget than the last lot?

Joe Hockey claims his midyear budget update is an honest assessment of the state of fiscal affairs he inherited from Labor. It isn't.

Rather, it is an attempt to lower expectations about the speed and ease with which the Coalition will be able to get the budget back on track.

He won't be able to achieve it for many years - he's not saying when - and not without significant and painful, but as yet unidentified, cuts in government spending. In short, he is unlikely to be able to do it much faster than Labor would have. What's likely to differ is who will bear most pain.

Labor would have erred in the direction of higher taxes, particularly on the better-off. Hockey has ruled out higher taxes and is hinting at cuts in government spending on ''welfare, education and health''.

Contrast this grim slog with all the Coalition said in opposition about the deficit being purely the result of Labor mismanagement.

This time last year Tony Abbott and Hockey were promising to deliver a budget surplus in each year of their first term. By the election campaign the return to surplus had been delayed until the first year after the next election.
Now even that is in doubt....

The Australian 18 December 2013:

JOE Hockey now has to stand up.

After gaslighting the Australian public for weeks about Labor's mess, the Treasurer has produced a horror outlook for the economy complete with the potential for a decade of deficits and a Devil's debt number of $666 billion.

Slowing growth, rising unemployment, a further decline in tax revenue and a sharper drop in mining investment are all wider economic challenges facing an Abbott government wedged between curtailing government spending and maintaining consumer and business confidence in the face of growing uncertainty. Without drastic action, the Treasurer has warned of ongoing budget deficits, rising debt and no chance of an income tax cut for 10 years....

But, having laid the blame himself with Labor, even allowing for the Coalition's own responsibility for part of the post-election deficit blowout, Hockey has to accept that he has indeed "drawn a line in the sand".

He must start providing solutions, no matter how tough....

Is Abbott using the Australian Tax Office as an excuse to extend the range of the Goods & Services Tax?

@AleighMP

Excerpts from the House of Representatives Hansard on 5 December 2013:

Mrs ELLIOT (Richmond) (14:04): My question is to the Prime Minister. Given that the Prime Minister said,

'There will be no change to the GST, full stop, end of story', why is the government now considering applying the GST to relocatable home parks—the complete opposite of what the Prime Minister promised?

Mr ABBOTT (Warringah—Prime Minister) (14:05): Our commitments will be kept; but obviously, in the administration of tax law, various things happen, including draft tax office rulings.

Ms RYAN (Lalor—Opposition Whip) (13:45): I am extremely concerned about the Australian tax office's draft ruling to increase the GST on mobile home parks. I am advised that my electorate of Lalor has approximately 620 mobile or demountable homes, with almost 950 permanent residents who will be adversely affected by this ruling.

Earlier this week, I spoke about tenancy eviction and homelessness in my electorate. This draft ruling is another housing pressure that our community cannot afford.

My office has been inundated by local residents from various retirement villages who are concerned about the burden of having to find between $700 and $1,200 extra per year to pay the GST if it is applied and passed on.

One constituent in particular, Bob from Ison village in Wyndham, is very worried about the impact this draft ruling could have on him and others like him, not only financially but also the undue stress it will cause.

I am aware that residents in three Lalor retirement villages are currently preparing petitions to the House on this matter. Mr Abbott promised during the election campaign that there would be no change to the GST, but now he is in government it feels like another promise is going to be broken.

I stand in the House today to oppose the increase in GST on moveable homes and implore the government to keep its promise and remove the worry this draft ruling is currently causing to the people in my electorate of Lalor.

The Australian Tax Office position:

ATO welcomes feedback on draft ruling

Media Release 22 November 2013

There has been some public misinformation about the Australian Taxation Office’s draft ruling on GST for moveable home estates.

Commissioner Chris Jordan today said the ruling was only draft, that no final decision had yet been made and the public was encouraged to set out any concerns in submissions.

“We have not made a final decision about charging GST on moveable home estates,” Mr Jordan said. “We have issued a draft ruling so the community and stakeholders can comment and raise any concerns.

“There has been a bit of public misunderstanding and I just want to make clear that the draft ruling does not apply to caravan parks and won’t come into play retrospectively.

“Submissions close on 20 December and I encourage people to set out any concerns they have.”

Draft ruling Goods and services tax: supplies made by an operator of a 'moveable home estate' (GSTR 2013/D2) was released for consultation on 30 October 2013.

The preliminary view in the draft ruling is that a moveable home estate does not fall within the definition of commercial residential premises. This is because it is not sufficiently similar to a caravan park.

Consequently, under the draft ruling, operators would no longer be able to apply the concessionary treatment in Division 87 of the GST Act to their supplies of long-term accommodation to residents.

Taxpayers do not need to change current approaches until a final ruling is published.

We are continuing to consult with industry stakeholders on this issue and expect a final ruling to issue in mid 2014.

“I am pleased and encouraged that the community knows they can engage with us on these issues,” said Mr Jordan. “We will consider all feedback.”

Feedback can be submitted before 20 December 2013 on (07) 3213 8417 or via email at steven.iselin@ato.gov.au.

Text of Draft Goods & Services Tax Ruling here.

Federal Nationals Member for Cowper, Luke Hartsuyker, alleges that he had made a submission to the Australian Tax Office asking it to withdraw its draft ruling. His fellow National Party MP for Page, Kevin Hogan, does not appear to have anything to say on the subject to date.

UPDATE

The Australian Taxation Office 20 December 2013:

Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2013/D2 is withdrawn with effect from today.....

The draft Ruling is being withdrawn following consideration of comments received over the course of the consultation period, which contend that moveable home estates are sufficiently similar to caravan parks for the purposes of paragraph (f) of the definition of commercial residential premises in section 195-1 of the GST Act. These comments support the alternative view set out at paragraph 72 of the draft ruling. Similarities to caravan parks include, amongst other things, the leasing of a site separately from a building and shared facilities....

It wasn't only Clarrie Rivers who noticed the haircut!

On 3 December 2013 North Coast Voices’ Clarrie Rivers noticed that the Federal Nationals Member for Cowper’s hair cut was so out there that it was becoming something inviting comment:

He was not the only person who noticed, as this article in The Australian on 10 December 2013 demonstrates:

The Lies Abbott Tells - Part Seven

THE LIE

The Australian 16 December 2013:

TONY Abbott has ramped up the pressure on Indonesia to resume cooperation to stop asylum boats, blaming a lack of assistance from Jakarta for an "uptick" in boat arrivals over the past fortnight.....

THE FACTS

Since the Abbott Government was sworn in on 18 September and up to 14 December 2013, 26 suspected illegal entry vessels have arrived in Australian territorial waters. Either as undiscovered land falls/escorted boats/passengers from unsafe boats taken on board naval or custom vessels.

Indonesia was reported to have ceased surveillance of asylum seeker movements in late November.

The average number of boats arriving in Australia between 18 September and 30 November was 1 boat every four days.

This is the same average number as recorded between 18 September and 14 December 2013.

There has been no significant increase (or decrease) in the number of boat arrivals since the start of the Abbott Government’s Operation Sovereign Borders.