Re: Aus Federal Politics thread (VI)

[skully]

Hehehe, the crazy pinko enigma is clutching big time.

[JGK]

So much for the wrecking ball...

Carbon tax price lift not on GST scale

October 19, 2012 - 1:58PM
Evan Schwarten AAP

The carbon tax is expected to have lifted consumer prices by around half a per cent during its first three months of operation.

Economists say the greatest impact has been on electricity prices, though the tax is also believed to have lifted gas prices, council rates and fruit and vegetables.

Still, the carbon tax's effect is expected to be less than a quarter of the spike in prices after the introduction of the GST in 2000.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation for the three months to September, on October 24.

AAP's survey of 15 economists on Friday revealed a median forecast for the CPI to have risen by 1.1 per cent during the September quarter.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch Australia chief economist Saul Eslake said the carbon tax was expected to have lifted the inflation rate 0.7 per cent during the 2012/13 financial year, with about 0.5 or 0.6 per cent of that believed to have occurred in the September quarter.

He said that by comparison the introduction of the GST lifted prices by about 2.9 per cent (contributing to a 3.7 per cent rise in CPI) during the three months to September 2000.

"Compared to the impact of the GST 12 years ago, it (the impact of the carbon tax) is quite small," he said.

"So to describe it as (in the words of federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott) `a great big wrecking ball to the economy' is just hyperbole," he said.

The GST was introduced by the Howard government on July 1 2000 and brought in more than $26 billion (in 2000 dollars) in its first year of operations, or about 3.4 per cent of the value of the national economy at the time.

By contrast, Treasury expects the carbon tax, introduced at the start of this financial year, to bring in $7.69 billion in its first 12 months, or about 0.5 per cent of the current value of the economy.

AMP chief economist Dr Shane Oliver said that while the GST covered most consumer goods, the carbon tax affected relatively few items.

He said the GST had been introduced at a time of strong consumer confidence and high inflation, a sharp contrast to the present environment.

"The key is, I think, the carbon tax was introduced at a time of consumer price resistance in Australia, where retailers were having discounts," he said.

"So it is of no surprise that the impact of the carbon tax is certainly a lot less than might have been expected."

Westpac economist Justin Smirk said he expected the carbon tax to have lifted the CPI by 0.4 per cent during the September quarter, with half of that impact coming from higher electricity prices.

© 2012 AAP

[skully]

A man who spend his life looking for tax loopholes supporting a tax. What a weird little pinko you are, MrK.

[embee]

A man who spend his life looking for tax loopholes supporting a tax. What a weird little pinko you are, MrK.

SGDT

No Taxes ... NO Tax Loopholes

[skully]

[Paul Keating]

Faceless men striving to take down a leader in SA

[JGK]

A man who spend his life looking for tax loopholes supporting a tax. What a weird little pinko you are, MrK.

But I look for commoditised tax loopholes for Aussie battlers rather than for rich pricks.

You can't get any more pinko than that.

[skully]

Are you one of those Aussie battlers?

[Mick Sawyer]

Are you one of those Aussie battlers?

Is Warren Buffet a battler?

[lardbucket]

He donates to battlers ... and like Bill Gates, he would recognise that a direct donation is more likely to hit the target than a donation filtered through 25 layers of tax collection, collation, and governmental bureaucracy.

It's never as simple as Battlers v Rich Pricks.

[JGK]

Are you one of those Aussie battlers?

I was when I started.

[embee]

HSU members call on Thommo to sue them ....

As the police investigation into Mr Thomson draws to a close, HSU members from Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney's eastern suburbs lined up to attack the federal MP, who has threatened to sue anyone who suggests he paid for escort services.

Katrina Hart, a clinical support officer at Prince of Wales and HSU Randwick Campus sub-branch president, called Mr Thomson's bluff and said: "Craig Thomson, you are a liar, you paid for prostitutes with my money and the money of every other HSU member. You (took) $100,000 from us. I dare you to sue me."

A hospital porter, who wished to be identified as Andrew, has worked at Prince of Wales for 16 years and said "people here feel burnt" by Mr Thomson's actions, which have been detailed in Fair Work Australia's 193-page statement of claim filed in the Federal Court on Monday.

"Seriously, everyone here at the hospital has just given up on believing this man. It's all crap," Andrew said of Mr Thomson's claims that he was innocent of all charges.

Speaking directly to the NSW MP, Andrew added: "You've ripped us off and it's all there in black and white."

[lardbucket]

He is - possibly - the least credible of our current crop of pollies, but that is a hotly contested position.

What is the collective noun for liars? Dare I suggest that - like owls - it should be a parliament of liars?

[Mick Sawyer]

He donates to battlers ...
It's never as simple as Battlers v Rich Pricks.

I was thinking of his plan to shut down the gaping capital gains concessions with a corresponding offset for the true battlers.

It's never as simple? Of course not.

[skully]

Pinkos and Libs, as expected, don't have enough seats in ACT to form government. So a continuation of the Pinko/Green alliance, I guess.

[skully]

Look out, we Middle Class are gonna be smashed by the Pinkos again

"FINANCE Minister Penny Wong has said any cuts made in the upcoming budget update will be "fair" and again attempted to justify moves to deliver a $1.5 billion surplus given worsening international economic conditions.

The government is expected to release its mid-year economic and fiscal outlook as early as this week amid reports that it will need to find an additional $4 billion in spending cuts and revenue measures to meet its surplus target."

-----------------------------------------------------

By "fair" she means tax the fark out of those earning more than $80,000.

Say the smarmy bitch on Foxy Nooz this morning. Hateful talentless amateur.

[JGK]

Nick Minchin - ubersook...

Minchin says UN seat win 'disgusting'

October 21, 2012 - 11:23AM

'I think it's frankly disgusting that we've spent this money': Former Liberal senator Nick Minchin. Photo: David Mariuz
Former Liberal senator Nick Minchin has labelled Australia's successful bid for a seat on the United Nations security council as "disgusting".

Mr Minchin said the lobbying process, which cost about $25 million, was a waste of money because Australia's spot was a temporary one.

"We will have no influence because all the decisions are made by the permanent members of the UN security council," he told Network Ten's the Bolt Report program on Sunday.

"I think it's frankly disgusting that we've spent this money, this time and this effort to pursue something that I think compromises our aid program and potentially compromises our foreign affairs positions."

Australia was on Friday named a non-permanent member to the 15-country council at the UN headquarters in New York.

The federal government has said it's a massive diplomatic win for a middle-ranking power like Australia, with Foreign Minister Bob Carr calling it an endorsement of Australia's good global citizenship.

Mr Minchin, who was a cabinet minister in the Howard government, maintains it is a bad outcome.

"And now we've got Bob Carr prancing around the world saying he's going to solve the Syrian civil war," he said.

"What about our backyard? We've got lots of problems in the Pacific we should be focusing on."

Australia's bid for a two-year term on the security council beginning on January 1 was begun by former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd.

The council's permanent members, which have veto rights, are the US, UK, China, Russia and France.

AAP



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/minchin-says-un-seat-win-disgusting-20121021-27z4u.html#ixzz29v3n00s8

[Paul Keating]

Did Minchin tell Downer that when he wanted to apply for a temporary seat?

[skully]

Dunno why Minchin would give a shit. Abbott will inherit the position next year. Seems like a lot of whinging for no reason. Still, all this came out on Andrew Bolt's show, so it would've been a bit like Hadley interviewing Gloria or Albanese interviewing Emerson.

[skully]

Ugh, I see that latest Neilsen Poll has the Vulture surging a head of Abbott on the back her misogyny blast. Does that mean we'll get more of this tiresome palaver for the next year?

[Paul Keating]

Seriously when push comes to shove on Election Day people will remember the scandals like Thompson and Slipper and vote out the ALP.

These polls are misleading.

[lardbucket]

yep ... anything that resonates with the pollees

Paul Howes might get her yet, though. He's still not happy about the Slater and Gordon episode, the whole 'naive' young girl deceived by Mr Wilson act, and the files that have been shredded.

[Paul Keating]

Let there be no doubt Labor will lose.

But the only worrying thing for the Coalition and this is evident in all polls in all papers is that their primary vote is either the same or only one or two percentage votes above the 2010 election. For what is supposedly such a shite government not many are leaving the ALP to vote conservative. They are simply not voting ALP.

[Henry]

So the public doesn't like Gillard, but they hate Abbott more. Turnbull must be itching.....

[JGK]

Except that the Liberal pollies all hate Turnbull.

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