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”.

Never try to set the record straight at Clarence Valley Council

Local government is the vital third tier of Australian government and at its best the decisions it makes are based in good governance, as well as responsive to both legislative obligations and the will of the electorate, with its official minutes an accurate recording of fact.

Sadly, Clarence Valley Council does not always fit this profile.

A case in point is the Attachment to Item 14.167/13 in Clarence Valley Council’s Ordinary Meeting Minutes of 19 November 2013.

This attachment contains errors of fact in that it records anonymised statistical information which is incorrect.

If a casual reader of these records wished to look further using just the terms “code of conduct” and “$14,900” (both of which are in said document) a Google search to date will still bring up the name of the councillor in question because local media reported the matter on 16 and 18 October 2013.

As of 12 October 2014 this misleading document remains a part of Clarence Valley Council official digital records available on the Internet, even though Council has had an approved corrected document available to it since 5 June 2014:

Snapshot of excerpt from Item 15.024/14 in  Corporate, Governance and Works Committee Business Paper, 14 October 2014

Cr. Toms is obviously becoming tired of Clarence Valley Council’s historical record continuing to knowingly contain incorrect information, which can be easily linked to her name and which is capable of raising doubts about her conduct in the minds of casual Internet browsers.

The Business Paper for Council’s Corporate, Governance and Works Committee meeting scheduled for 14 October 2014 contains Motion 15.024/14 by Cr. Toms seeking Correction to Department of Premier and Cabinet Division of Local Government Code of Conduct Complaints Report 2012/13 and Public Notification.

The response by Clarence Valley Council management to this motion descended into farce very quickly with this:

When one compares it with another attachment 14.162.13 in the very same November 2013 committee minutes, one can see how risible this argument is:

Snapshot of attachment list recorded for Clarence Valley Council Ordinary Meeting Minutes,19 November 2013 - taken on 12 October 2014

Apparently the historical record can be easily amended when it suits and thus far it hasn’t suited Council’s executive to do so in the case of Attachment 14.167.13.

Not happy, NSW Labor!

The NSW Labor men who betrayed the Clarence Valley:

Labor candidate for Tweed Ron Goodman, Labor candidate for Ballina Paul Spooner, State Opposition Leader John Robertson and Labor candidate for Lismore Isaac Smith. 

Photograph: The Northern Star 1 October 2014

Letters to the Editor in The Daily Examiner, 11 October and 6 October 2014:

Labor falls short

STATE Labor has fallen short on their promise to declare the Northern Rivers gasfield-free.

What political games are they playing? What plans do they have for this region?

What backroom deals have already got the nod?

The mighty Clarence River has always dominated the Northern Rivers.

We are the largest of the northern council areas. It's impossible to imagine the area not to be seen as part of the Northern Rivers.

Yet that's exactly what the State Labor Party has done.

Nothing more than empty promises from politicians.

When will governments get real and start acting on real change that benefits all, not just the top end of town.

More support for renewables is needed, not more fossil fuel madness.

Jennifer Lewis

Ewingar

 Labor fails on CSG

At the NSW Labor State Conference in July 2014 the following urgency motion was passed by the political wing of the party: “That Conference: 1. Notes: a) on the NSW North Coast there is overwhelming community opposition to Coal Seam Gas and Unconventional Gas mining and mining operations; b) the community's concern relates to the harmful effects of CSG mining on water quality, farm lands, the environment, communities, residents' health and tourism; c) the CSG industry has no social license to operate on the NSW North Coast; d) the NSW North Coast has unique environmental qualities; and e) CSG mining is incompatible with the NSW North Coast's important employment sectors including tourism and agriculture; 2. Condemns the NSW Liberal/National Party Government's pro-CSG fracking, drilling and expansion agenda on the NSW North Coast; and 3. Calls on the NSW Labor Party to: a) support an immediate moratorium on all CSG activities and licences within the boundaries of the State Parliamentary seats of Lismore, Ballina, Clarence, and Tweed on the NSW North Coast; and b) support a declaration that the State Parliamentary seats of Lismore, Ballina, Clarence and Tweed be 'CSG Free' and therefore be off limits to the Coal Seam Gas and Unconventional Gas industries.” [Janelle Saffin & Justine Elliot MP].

On 30 September Opposition Leader John Robertson and Labor Northern Rivers candidates at the March 2015 state election, Spooner, Smith and Goodman,  betrayed the Clarence Valley when they sent out this media release: “Labor is committed to ensuring we do not compromise the quality of drinking water supplies by allowing CSG and unconventional gas exploration within the core catchment areas. Labor will declare a total ban of CSG and unconventional gas in the Northern Rivers of NSW, encompassing the local government areas of Ballina Shire, Byron Shire, Kyogle Shire, Lismore City, Tweed Shire, and Richmond Valley. This region is pristine and stunning with World Heritage listed national parks and recreational areas. It has a unique quality of life with a blend of lifestyles ranging from alternative to agriculture. It has a mild, sub-tropical climate with a significant elderly and retirement population. The region also has the nation’s most significant internal migration in Australia. The industries of tourism, cattle, sugar and dairy all rely on the area’s natural values. The environmental values of the region are internationally significant. The development of the CSG and unconventional gas industry would fundamentally undermine these environmental assets and the economic drivers that rely on them and should not be allowed.” 

Apparently the Clarence Valley, its vital water catchment, significant environmental values and tourism, sugar cane, commercial estuary fishing, forestry, other primary production industries are less than nothing to NSW Labor as it gears up for the state election.

To say that I am disappointed, that Federal MP for Richmond Justine Elliot and former Federal MP for Page Janelle Saffin failed to follow through and ensure that Robertson lived up to the state conference resolution which sought to also protect the southern-most parts of the Northern Rivers, would be an understatement.

When I contacted John Robertson’s Sydney office I was told “at least you have the moratorium”. Well, that particular Labor policy statement has more holes than a block of swiss cheese and will give little comfort to Clarence Valley communities if unconventional gas miners come knocking at their doors.

JUDITH M. MELVILLE

Yamba

UPDATE

On 29 October 2014 NSW Labor announced that it had included the Clarence Valley in its policy permanently banning coal seam gas/tight gas/unconventional gas exploration, mining and production in the Northern Rivers region.

NSW North Coast development referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption

A tale the NSW North Coast has heard many times before – a metropolitan-based developer is allegedly using a handful of local investors to hopefully cloak his proposed over-development with a modicum of legitimacy.

West Byron at North Coast Nature

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE WEST BYRON LANDOWNERS:

01/10/2014

Dear Warren Simmons, Peter Croke, Gary Macdonald, Alan Heathcote, Tony Smith, Terry Agnew, Timothy Stringer, Ronald Geeves, David O’Connor, Kevin Rodgers and Richard Sykes,
We, the people of Byron Bay,  want to let you know that we believe you would be doing an irreversible harm to our town if your proposed rezoning and subsequent development of the West Byron wetlands goes through.
If this land is rezoned for intensive residential and industrial development, our lovely low-key, laid-back town would become a congested mess and look like so many other ruined coastal towns. The natural environment that brings people here must be protected; we will not accept more appalling traffic queues into town and an overcrowded parking nightmare.
We have asked, via your representative Stuart Murray, for meetings and for genuine community consultation but you have declined. You can do something about this terrible plan. You can stop it. For your property you can submit a more reasonable proposal to Council that avoids the most sensitive areas, enables an amount of development that will not overwhelm Byron’s ability to cope with it and still makes you sizeable profits.

Please consider the wellbeing of Byron Bay residents, the tourism industry, local koalas and the Belongil estuary and don’t attempt to sacrifice them for your profit. We will not accept this development.

Signed:

See full list of signatures here.

Echo NetDaily 1 October 2014:

The West Byron development proposal is to be referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) today (Tuesday) by NSW Greens MLC and former Byron mayor Jan Barham.

Ms Barham told The Echo that the site ‘may have been wrongly defined’ and is worthy of investigation. ‘The community deserves to be assured that a project of this scale has not been brought forward for state approval wrongly.’

‘I believe that it is important that this matter is clarified before any assessment of the proposal by the government,’ she said.

The 108-hectare land is currently under planning minister Pru Goward’s determination for large-scale housing/industrial development, and sits just 2.5 kilometres west of the CBD on Ewingsdale Road.The Echo understands that Sydney-based developer Terry Agnew is by far the largest shareholder at around 80 per cent, along with other local investors.

Ms Barham says there appears to be ‘irregularities’ from when the site was defined in 2009 as West Byron Bay Urban Release Area for inclusion in the Major Development SEPP.

It comes after a meeting was held between Ms Barham, local state MP Don Page (Nationals) and members from the Byron Residents Group last week……

Surfing the Coldstream Festival, Yamba 18 October 2014

The entertainment line up here.

Amargi Wolf: Please help save some dingoes!

Go Fund Me at http://www.gofundme.com/9fp5c4:

This little black pup was found whining in the bush near Grafton. Although not a common colouring for dingoes, he is very dingo-like. DNA tests will tell, but of course this costs money, as does vaccinations, worming, feeding etc etc... Please help us look after this beautiful little fella!

I take on young rescued dingoes, for rehabilitation & rehoming. The costs involved in such a project have been & still are huge - special fencing, food, vet bills, DNA tests, desexing, immunisation, microchips, registration, pest & medical treatment, equipment etc etc..

More rescues are coming in now, as this year's pups become orphaned by the Winter baiting programs. I need another compound & holding pen, and to be able to cover the costs of looking after the new pups - some of which no doubt will involve extra vet bills. 

I am on a pension due to physical problems, I get the odd job here & there as a dog trainer & canine behaviourist, but not much due to where I live, as well as the physical problems which make it painful for me to travel. 

Please help in any way you can, even the smallest donation will be greatly appreciated! If you are unable or prefer not to donate online, please message me & I will send you bank details for a direct deposit :)

Tweets of the Week

It is time to be afraid, very afraid, in Abbott's Australia

There are realistic and credible circumstances in which it may be necessary to conduct coercive questioning of a person for the purposes of gathering intelligence about a terrorism offence….

The existence of other, less intrusive methods of obtaining the intelligence will continue to be a relevant but non-determinative consideration in decisions made under subsection 34D(4).

[Australian Security & Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), October 2014, submission to to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security Inquiry into the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Foreign Fighters) Bill 2014]

ASIO detention powers should be repealed not extended. Detaining non-suspects for up to seven days, virtually incommunicado and without effective review at the time, removing the right to silence on penalty of imprisonment, and criminalizing any disclosure of detention, is excessive and disproportionate in view of existing powers, the level of terrorist threat, and the absence of any declared public emergency justifying derogation from protected human rights. The regime violates the freedom from arbitrary or unlawful detention under Article 9(1) of the ICCPR and the right to effective judicial review of detention under Article 9(4) of the ICCPR.

[Ben Saul, Professor of International Law (Syd Uni), 1 October 2014, submission to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security Inquiry into the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Foreign Fighters) Bill 2014]

If you reveal it, you’re guilty. If it goes to court the question is whether a journalist revealed information, not whether they’re justified in revealing that information. 
[Professor George Williams, Director of Public Law, University of NSW, Statement to Media Watch re National Security Amendment Bill (No 1) 2014, 1st October, 2014]

Australia now stood alone as the only country in the world with the types of control order and preventative detention order the government wanted to keep, after Britain substantially amended its regime.

[Professor George Williams, The Guardian, 3 October 2014]

But the key provision is section 35P, which bans disclosure of any information that relates to a SPECIAL Intelligence Operation.
This ban applies to any person.
So journalists, whistleblowers, bloggers and even tweeters could all end up behind bars. 

[Paul Barry, ABC Media Watch, 6 October 2014, re National Security Amendment Bill (No 1) 2014]

[North Coast Voices, preview of An Untold Story insert which will be displayed every time this blog judges that Abbott Government laws make it unsafe to mention or debate an issue of importance]