That great sector of the Australian community, retirees, is being set upon again by government. The issue has passed barely noticed in the media but the political consequences for the Turnbull Government are sure to be profound.
On January 1, 2017, changes to the aged care assets test will see more than 100,000 Australians lose their part pension payments in entirety. More than 300,000 will have their pension payments cut.
There is a perception many retirees are rolling in money. They have assets many could only dream of. Perhaps that’s why the media has shunned the issue.
Let me ask the question, who among us could lose 20 per cent of our household incomes and come away unscathed?
It gets worse. With the loss of the pension, the government will also cancel retirees’ pensioner concession cards which allow them to enjoy discounts on council rates, car rego, energy bills and public transport tickets. Back of the envelope, that’s three grand per annum retirees will have to find.
Full column here.
RODENT:- here ya go Bald! If we count all ISIS attacks in 2016 up to November (outside of Syria), they killed 1127 people, out of whom 1042 were Muslims. Mark Stewart of Newcastle University in 2010 demonstrated that the chance of being killed by a terrorist act in Australia was one in 33.3 million. The chance of death by traffic accident, by comparison, was one in 15,000. Ding! More people die each year here in Oz from falling out of bed than terror attacks. Two a week die from domestic violence, and three hundred a day from smoking.
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Red-back spiders have killed three hundred times as many Australians in this last century as terrorists, sharks a hundred times as many, backyard pool drownings ninety times as many. No one seems to worry about these deaths? How many people have jellyfish killed over the last century? Why are we not spending a requisite amount purging our seas of these spineless murderers? What about the evil Eastern Brown snake – a real killer and a danger to real people. Shouldn’t we be spending money on huge resources to seek and destroy this threat to life, I mean this snake terrorises people so must be a terrorist by definition, right?
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Thousands of deaths by suicide in Australia; virtually none by terrorism. What should we focus on? Far more people suffer from domestic violence than from terrorism in Australia. Why so much fear and spending on terrorism? Its about votes…same as the refugee scare…its all about keeping us scared and guess who will save us? Tony and his mob. KICK THE WALL DOWN!!
JUST ON THAT:-possibly the only thing that could save Malcolm’s leadership is a terrorist event that no doubt he will be praying for. That or a flotilla of boats to arrive!
I see Lance Corporal Jones is filling in for the AFP investigation into the fire boming of the ACL’s head office in Canberra.
DON’T PANIC! DON’T PANIC! indeed.
I see the Australian is promoting the goose stepping Bernardi as the conservative saviour. the comments section proves just how delusion many are in this country.
Innovation and agility is going to smack the cons in the side of the head.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/ge-grids-dont-need-rely-synchronous-generation-89161/
This article from from Britain’s Independent on Angela Merkel government.
” Last New Year’s Eve crimes most from the influx of ME foreign nationals states ,1200 women were sexually assaulted in German cities ,600 in Cologne and about 400 in Hamburg “.”More then 2000 men allegedly involved with 120 suspents nnamed.” Where are all the screeching women’s activists we often see on the streets when right wing politicians arrive in their locations? This allowing criminals and ISIS cowards into the country , has brought attention to locals identifying huge problems in “PC appeasement politics” with social engineering and welfare handouts with attractions that now showing civil action of vigilante right wing groups now on the rise .
Jean Baptiste what say you to One Nation’s Malcolm Roberts who says Climate Change advocacy is for idiots, basket weavers and cloth earned nutters?
Sad cafe , the ominous Bassman often says in Germany now.
Just reading after the surge of near one million new arrivals last year in Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel has strenghened her own personel defense forces around her fortress from angry hostile Germans’ after the outbreaks of rapds assaults and crimes of human nature. The passage of human abuse now inflicting on locals from foreign nationals and refugees with hidden ISIS buried among the flock of arrivals , has turned this country into internal conflict with no chance of abatement at this stage .
Merkel must surely be planning a’ one way ticket’ out by now , or, participate in some negotiations over requests into locals calling for sending the perpetrators back to their desert countries where they belong continuing destroying there and killing among themselves. As locals saying ,”don’t come here destroying our country” after destroying your own.
She’ll win the next election and comfortably, Rodent. Her approval ratings are back just under 60 per cent but in any case there are no credible or practical alternatives.
I hope you are right but Rodent took $100 off me….months before even Michael Moore predicted Trump would win. Rodent said Trump would win…and he did…even though Clinton polled 3million more votes than his Trumpness!!
If I was a betting man i’d take good odds on that, Jack. In the meantime the Tunisian chap is still lurking and possibly a further threat. Hard to believe he managed to escape that scene. As has been mentioned in the press the German authorities are a lot more tight lipped on info than the French. Possibly a good thing. Still I find it hard to believe Merkel will be given another chance.
Rodent just offered his SP services, Milton and I know Bassman is a ton lighter that he would prefer to be. I will decline the offer of a bet, thank-you Rodent. I know a little about German politics and the centre right almost invariably dominates in loose coalition with other right wing parties. The Syrian refugee crisis has stirred up the pointy edges of the spectrum, left and right, and made things less certain. I have noted Merkel’s return to popularity and that is significant but I wouldn’t want to have a burnt crumpet on the outcome.
It’s actually another CDU/CSU (kind of a Bavarian equivalent of the CLP or LNP) and SPD Grand Coalition like her first Cabinet. The SPD are still nominally Social Democrats.
The second one with the more classical liberal, FDP, is the one you may be thinking of.
Also, the current German Education and Research Minister has an amusing surname – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_Germany.
Surely it’s pronounced ‘Vanka’ which is almost as funny, Rhys.
I see Cory Bernadi is considering splitting from the Liberals and forming his own party
Please, please, please God make it so! Do it Cory and take Tony, Erica and fat George with you. I can’t see a downside, with the hard right out of the picture we can have sensible government, or labor gets in.
Goodbye bribing companies not to pollute, goodbye supply side economic claptrap, goodbye billion dollar loan to Adani
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/do-turnbull-a-favour-windsor-urges-bernardi-to-defect-and-says-malcolm-turnbull-should-piss-or-get-off-the-potty-20161221-gtg617.html
Bernardi would probably lose his ride on the gravy train, too, not being in the almost guaranteed, what, second position on the Senate ballot. A win-win.
gutless gob is gunna what? HA!
Carl on the Coast
If you get a “buzz” from reading Einstein, this, from Einstein, will fill you with inspiration.
“THE WORLD WILL NOT BE DESTROYED BY THOSE WHO DO EVIL, BUT BY THOSE WHO WATCH THEM WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING.”
I’ve long felt that way and I’m no Einstein.
Consider this from the attached link.
“Conservative climate deniers often link their repudiation of climate science to fears that cultural values are under attack from liberals and progressive.”
https://independentaustralia.net/environment/environment-display/einstein-climate-change-denial-and-politics,5117
Rodent 1:50PM
If you have evidence that Bill Gates and Dick Smith are “antimated” it is your civic duty to report them to the police.
I am shocked that you have used the views of antimated “characters” to further your arguments. You should report yourself to the police too.
Rodent 21 Dec 1.50pm
Jeez Rodent, maybe it’s just me but that post went way over my head.
I struggled with “this delirious hallucination activists shedding alarmism” so soon after ” reindeers on the moon with no grass.”
No need to explain the whole ‘denier’ thing, but what I don’t get is your obvious reluctance to put down The Australian, toss the shockjocks, take a leap of faith and research the actual facts on the science of global warming. You know what I mean, Science websites like NASA & the CSIRO for starters.
Accepting the ‘opinion’ of somebody whose income depends on denying climate change is just not smart mate.
Bill Gates & Dick Smith are both fantasticly generous philanthropists. I reckon five dollar Turncoat could take a lesson. He could have performed a xmas conservative miracle & stumped up a much bigger note for that homeless man he used for a photo op last week. To be kind, maybe he just had nothing else but a Platinum Amex in his wallet at the time.
Merry Christmas Rodent, with kindest regards, Bella