Abbott intends to institutionalize economic disadvantage for newborns?

Leader of both the Australian Liberal Party and Coalition Opposition, Tony Abbott, has announced his 'official unofficial' parental leave policy with an initial broad brush annual costing of over $3 billion per annum.

This is what Abbott told ABC TV Lateline:

TONY ABBOTT: Well, the total cost of this will be about $3.8 billion. About $1 billion will come from the baby bonus, $2.7 billion though I'm anticipating will come from a levy on the taxable incomes of larger businesses.

So what exactly does this mean at face value?

Abbott intends a Coalition federal government to directly pay 26 weeks parental leave to one parent of a new baby or adopted young child and he will set the payment rate at the equivalent of that parent's normal weekly pay packet to a wage/salary ceiling of $150,000 per annum.

Abbott intends to fund this cash transfer payment by taxing the top 3,000 plus profitable Australian businesses and to withdraw a billion dollars annually from the existing federal Baby Bonus scheme.

It is highly unlikely that the majority of parents taking advantage of the proposed parental leave payment will be drawn from employees of those companies paying the new annual tax.
The majority will in all probability be the female parent and be employed by exempt businesses.

Leaving aside the looming problem of convincing his Liberals-Nationals colleagues and big business that a narrowly focused levy is the way to go, there are other matters Tony Abbott needs to explain.

Like why a woman on minimum wage should have all of the 26 week installments of the Baby Bonus (totally $5,185 at last reckoning) counted towards the minimum wage equivalent parental payment coming from the federal government, when a woman normally earning thousands more over the same period and already much better off financially will be losing a lesser bonus amount and receiving sometimes many thousands more in direct government payment for looking after a newborn/adoptee.

Abbott intends to directly subsidize the more financially well-off mother and child at a higher weekly rate because that parent was fortunate enough to acquire a tertiary degree or other form of higher education/training along the way to decent wages and conditions.

Bottom line - Abbott intends the infants of ordinary working class women to receive less than their more affluent cousins.

Talk about rampant inequity and inequality.

Onya Burkie!

One of the most sensible government backflips in years; "The Agriculture Minister Tony Burke has reversed a decision that came in just eight days ago allowing beef imports from countries which have had BSE, better known as mad cow disease. Instead there'll be two years of analysis."
Onya Burkie! Leave the creation of shonky biosecurity policies to the likes of former Howard Government ministers if they ever return to power - you just concentrate on keeping Australian primary production as clean, disease free and safe as possible.

Rats in the rooves

There's a lot of not so quiet muttering on the North Coast as retirees discuss the possibility that the subsidised roof insulation installed in their homes over the last year is unsafe.
All the media exposure about shoddy work and greedy spivs has masked another emerging problem - that of other types of roofing work contracted for by local affordable housing providers.
Seems at least one provider is canvassing its tenants to find out if one particular company has left a trail of leaking or unsafe roofs in its wake after sub-contracting work to non-tilers.
Whatever happened to company ethics or pride in a bloke's workmanship?

A word in your shell-like, Tones

Since he successfully knifed 'Truffles' Turnbull in the back and vaulted over the corpse into Liberal Party leadership, Tony 'Mad Monk' Abbott has been almost unrelentingly negative in what he says for public consumption in his unofficial 2010 federal election campaign.
Presumably he thinks that constant carping and attack will compensate for the tissue thin economic, social and environmental policies in which he wraps himself.
Even when he attempts a 'positive he fails. You've just gotta laugh at his latest contribution which will be welcomed like a dose of plague by the Coalition's traditional supporters in big business.
Tones, despite slight incremental growth in recent opinion polls, this negativity will eventually kill you if you persist.
Nobody likes a whinger.

Bring out your e-waste!

Bring out your dead e-waste! Bring out your e-waste!

Heard that call from your local council sometime in the last two years? Then you are one of the lucky ones.

Responsible people are running out of room in their garages and sheds to safely store this waste, while local government often only pays lip service to policies on garbage, recycling, safe disposal and landfill.

Clean Up Australia Day founder, Ian Kiernan, has stepped up calls for national laws to crack down on e-waste producers, as almost 600,000 Australians rolled up their sleeves and got stuck into the annual litter bust.

Which is fine sentiment, but also ignores the fact that ordinary people are storing mini-mountains of this waste, because many local councils are unwilling to take it off the homeowner's hands on dedicated kerbside collection days.

Will global warming be the death of the party balloon?

The passing years don't just mean that I am getting older, they also add to the number of times I've done mundane things like made beds, swept floors, cooked meals, hung washing and come home tired from work.

The years also mark the fact that I've done a heap of fun things including....... blowing up festive brightly-coloured balloons for birthdays, anniversaries, farewells and plain old Let's party! occasions.

This year I have inflated a slew of balloons for three separate events with party packs purchased from three different stores on the NSW North Coast which were not air-conditioned.

A large number of these balloons were obviously starting to show a degree of heat stress - some sticking together in the packet, others showing slight fading and a few slow leaks developing as they were inflated.

Which set me wondering - will such fragile things as party balloons retain a reasonable shelf life in the face of the record high temperatures Australia has been experiencing in recent years?

And what else might be found to last for relatively shorter periods in stock store rooms and on display shelves?

Balloon graphic from Google Images

2009 Annual Australian Climate Statement Map from BoM

Now it's K-K-Keneally the Art Critic

What is it with pollies? As soon as they get into positions of power or prominence the barely qualified little tossers decide that they are art critics come morals police.

Now we have NSW Premier Kristina K. Keneally telling us not to inhale as we pass one of the portraits entered into Archibald prize competition.

K-K-Keneally trills; "I don't think this was a painting we needed to see...."I certainly won't be going to view it."

Ms Keneally said she would be happy to view the rest of the paintings in the competition.

The NSW North Coast would be much better served if this premier turned her mind from moralising about art towards the very real parlous state of the Pacific Highway.

She still hasn't come north at the invitation of Northern Rivers mayors (or sent anyone in her stead) and as of last Friday, Ms Keneally had not officially replied to the invitation sent 28 days ago.

What a poor showing!