Playing the politics of envy with a fixed smile.........

Left to Right: Clive Palmer, Gina Rinehart and Andrew Twiggy Forrest

Last week one North Coast Voices reader sent me a link to the Fair Go For Billionaires’ Wealth Calculator. Unfortunately my annual income just wouldn’t register, so I went to the mainstream media for some examples.

The Central Telegraph reported on 3 May 2012:

It would take a person earning $70,000 a year - which is roughly the average salary in Australia - 56,000 years to earn Mr Palmer's net worth.

No, that's not a misprint - 56,000 years.

Conversely, it takes Mr Palmer, the man who plans to bring you Titanic 2, just 70.8 minutes to earn $70,000…..

Ms Rinehart? Well, it takes her just 28.8 minutes to rake in $70,000.

And if you've got a spare 67,857 years you too could earn her net wealth…….

Mr Forrest needs only 20 minutes to make a measly $70k, but the average Australian worker earning the same amount would need 6,057 decades to match his net worth.

Of course the lower your annual salary, the more depressing it gets.

Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Gina Rinehart

Photos from the ABC website and Google Images

A selection of NSW environmental damage/water pollution convictions February 2011-April 2012

According to Nine News on 5 May 2012:

Fourteen serious "code red" environmental breaches have been discovered at facilities across NSW, during a state-wide audit of high-risk industries.

The audit, which covered 40 facilities across NSW, discovered 62 instances of non-compliance, of which 14 were considered "code red" or "high risk", the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) said.

On the same day The Sydney Morning Herald reported that:

The sites guilty of code red breaches include the Huntsman Surfactants Plant in Matraville, which the audit found was storing and handling hazardous chemicals without appropriate safeguards to capture any leaks or spills, ''thereby increasing the likelihood of polluting waters''.
The plant was also found not to be monitoring underground pipes, which transported effluent, for leaks. It was fined and a follow-up visit after the audit found all problems had been addressed.
The chemical manufacturer Pax, in Ingleburn, was also served with a penalty notice for its code red violation; a valve on part of the plant which was supposed to prevent the uncontrolled release of contaminated water was found not to be working. The valve was fixed immediately after the audit and the company was fined.
The most common serious breach was companies not having complete or up-to-date emergency response plans, including the Origin Energy plants in Port Botany and Kooragang Island...

This is a selection of convictions recorded by the NSW Environmental Protection Authority on its POEO Public Register over the last twelve months:

3/04/2012 BMG ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP PTY LTD Negligently dispose of waste in a manner that harms the environment, $100,000 fine. Ordered to pay investigation costs of $15,684.50

6/03/2012 COFFS HARBOUR HARDWOODS SALES PTY LTD Damage reserved land, $40,000 fine and, Pick plant that is part of a threatened species, $45,000 fine. Both counts - Ordered to undertake remediation works and to publicise details of the offence in the Coffs Harbour Advocate and Bellinger Star.

12/12/2011 AUSTAR COAL MINE PTY LTD Pollute waters. Ordered to pay $75,000 to the Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority for the Mount View Corridor Threatened Species Habitat Rehabilitation Project. Also ordered to pay investigation costs of $17,269.13.

24/11/2011 BIO TORQUE FUELS PTY LTD Pollute waters, $500 fine. Ordered to pay investigation costs of $12,000 – plus two breaches licence conditions with fines totalling $1,500

11/05/2011 BIG RIVER GROUP PTY LTD Pollute waters, $67,000 fine. Ordered to pay investigation costs of $24,644.80

8/2/2011 XSTRATA MANGOOLA PTY LTD Pollute waters. Enforceable Undertaking

Orica Limited is yet to be prosecuted for a 1kg hexavalent chromium spill at its Kooragang Island plant in Newcastle or the arsenic, sulphuric acid and liquid ammonium nitrate spills at Newcastle and Port Kembla in 2011.

Thought of the Week for Climate Change Sceptics

Common sense is what tells you the world is flat

[Gingers Meggs cartoon strip wall grafitti]

Sometimes I wonder into which alternate universe I have wandered

Australia successfully survived the Global Financial Crisis under the stewardship of a federal Labor Government which did not panic and, with the cooperation of states and territories, acted swiftly to support weak points in the national economy.

So well did the nation weather this financial tsunami that a year on from the initial rolling economic destruction it was being openly stated by northern hemisphere economic commentators that Australia was the envy of the rest of the developed world and, in 2012 in comparison with that same developed world we still have low unemployment, low levels of government debt, low interest rates, an economy which is holding its own despite an historically weak manufacturing sector and good international credit ratings.

Which begs the question of why this Essential Report survey question elicited negative attitudes in these responses below - from 42 per cent of the very people who barely felt any effect of this global crisis.

Trust to deal with GFC

May 7, 2012

Q. If there was another Global Financial Crisis, which party would you trust most to deal with it?

	15 Aug 11	Total	Vote Labor	Vote Lib/Nat	Vote Greens
The Labor Party	31%	25%	68%	2%	42%
The Liberal Party	40%	42%	5%	83%	5%
No difference	20%	23%	19%	11%	39%
Don’t know	9%	10%	8%	4%	14%

If there was another GFC, 42% would trust the Liberal Party more to handle it and 25% would trust the Labor Party more. This represents a shift to the Liberal Party from net +9% to net +17%

The Liberal Party was rated higher than Labor with all demographic groups. Those most likely to trust the Liberal Party more were men (47%), aged 55+ (48%), full-time workers (50%) and income over $1,600 pw (50%).

Commonwealth Budget Papers 2012-13

Over at www.budget.gov.au the 2012-13 federal budget papers are available for those interested in delving deeper than tomorrow's tabloid newspaper headlines.

• Budget Speech
• Budget at a Glance
• Budget Overview
• Budget Paper No.1  Strategy and Outlook
• Budget Paper No.2  Budget Measures
• Budget Paper No.3  Australia's Federal Relations
• Budget Paper No.4  Agency Resources
• Appropriation Bills

• Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook
• Final Budget Outcome

• Portfolio Budget Statements
• Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements
• Portfolio Supplementary Additional Estimates Statements

• Ministerial Statements

Past Budgets

A look back at the lack of Coalition economic theory expertise - as Australia waits for the 2012-13 federal budget to be revealed

Hours out from the 2012-13 federal budget, a look back at 2011....

Gross debt - gross ignorance on Saturday, 12 November 2011:  

Admittedly, the notion of gross and net government debt is a little complex, but when someone speaks authoritatively about gross debt in particular, one would hope they understood the intricacies of the concepts involved and how the government debt market works before they opened their mouth. It is embarrassing and disturbing, therefore, to hear the Shadow Finance Minister Andrew Robb, join with the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Barnaby Joyce and Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott deliver sensational criticisms about the rise in gross debt in Australia.

The views of the Liberal and National Party leaders - the alternative government in other words - highlight a gross misunderstanding of markets, economics and conceptualising what is big and small.

Read the rest here.

Warning: Scamsters using the Tax Office to dud the unsuspecting

An email (copy below) currently doing the rounds and purporting to be from the Australian Tax Office is a scam. Avoid it like the plague.

Dear Australian Taxation Office customer,

After the last annual calculation of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $250.50 AUD. Please submit the tax refund form and allow us 3-5 business days in order to process it.

A fund can be delayed for a variety of reasons. For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.To access the form for your tax refund, please Click Here (link removed).

Thank you,
Australian Taxation Office Online Department.

Read the ATO's advice about scams here.