Ah yes, Mark Scott, that communist left wing unionist who came through the system by *googles* working for the NSW Greiner Liberal Party Government for the offices of Virginia Chadwick & Terry Metherell, Liberal Party.



Have you not read it yourself? If you had read it, you'd see exactly why my post was accurate.

Yeah but Mark Scott doesn't make decisions on how budget money is spent does he?

Nor is he responsible for the Bruce Holeway or things like the standoff over Doctor's contracts in the public health sector.

I get that you hate the left and things like ABC but this has nothing to do with that.

-PB

Because these people get paid a lot of money to not do all that much. There's no incentive for them to work hard and none of them do unless it makes them look good. Where is the risk in their job? If they make mistakes they get fired. I get paid a quarter of what that twat does and if I f*ck up not only will I get sued but I could go to prison.

Partly it's down to that they can earn more money in other fields, but the main justification for higher politicians wages is to reduce the temptation of corruption. Unfortunately that doesn't appear to be working.

When the public service officials were accountable to themselves and their peers, politicians got shit done because they needed to persuade various high ranking people to be on side, people who had been in their job for decades and would be for decades more. More deals were made and the country was driven forward. Nowadays the public service officials are accountable directly to politicians and will lose their jobs as soon as they disagree. Public service officials are now mates clubs for various politicians (just look at the NBN officials), and since we have 3 year election terms there's no reason for them to want to be involved in major projects which they won't see out or be credited for. So instead they get their six figure salary and do four fifths of fuck all.

Oh of course but the drawback is that high salaries do nothing to inspire solid work ethic. Politicians are self serving to maintain their wages which as you describe is maintained by being yes men/women.

Politicians are never going to agree to have their performances rated against set KPI's unfortunately (not to mention who'd set them?) so it's kind of hard to do anything now that they've made Public Servants all yes men.

If it will maintain their positions then it will. They're yes men. They'll agree to become mormons if it will win them enough votes to maintain a ridiculous wage.

I agree that they're difficult to rate. I find it ironic that politicians vote to give themselves more money and then a 20min speech as to how they've work hard to earn it.

Theres nothing wrong with a bit of hostility. Bring in hostile parties to set targets and see how hard they work just to give the finger to the other side.

I wouldn't have an issue if one side of the parliament didn't constantly criticise low income earners (against the mean salary), for earning too much. :roll:

How can you tell if there are refugees arriving or not when the media aren't allowed to report on it if they are?

Let me put it this way, if you're at home watching the football on tv and you turn the tv off at the 60 minute mark, do you assume that the game has stopped?

The burden of proof is on the person making the claim. If they're claiming the refugees have stopped arriving then remove the media black-out and prove it. If the number of people arriving had stopped then the number of residents on Nauru and Manus Island would be going down, instead they won't publish the figures of the number of residents.

Edited by afromanGT: 28/3/2014 03:12:46 AM

There is no "blackout" enforced on the media, they are free to report what they see and hear from their own or non government sources, they just won't be getting those real time updates anymore straight from the horses mouth.

In regards to "proving" there have been no boat arrivals this isn't a science experiment, they don't actually have to provide concrete proof for those statements to be accepted as true. The media releases from the minister, prime minster and Navy and lack of evidence to the contrary is sufficient proof the boats have stopped. If they were lying eventually they would be found out and it would destroy the government, no one is that stupid. Even if they showed records of declining occupancy at Manus Island or Nauru you would just allege they are doctoring the records or make up some shit so you didn't have to admit it. There is no evidence the government could produce that would convince you the boats have stopped, the pain of a Liberal government policy being successful is just too great to bear. Whereas most people are concerned about the outcomes of this successful policy which has saved lives and smashed a people smuggling racket here you are giving yourself neurosis questioning everything the government says and does. I think it's great to be skeptical and questioning and all that but it becomes a mental problem when you blind yourself to the facts to support an ideological position.

If the government doesn't give any details of it, and they're the only organisation present, then where else is anyone going to get information from?

As for there being "no blackout": http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/special-features/coalition-to-impose-blackout-on-asylum-boats/story-fnho52jp-1226709828599

Yes they do. Otherwise they're making up lies and selling it to the Australian public. For an organisation that accused the previous government of being disingenuous and lying to the Australian people they're not doing a very good job of being forthright themselves.

Probably the same sources they they get information from when they hear boats being turned around, or passengers being loaded onto life crafts, ie the media, the people smugglers, Jakarta, the asylum seekers themselves etc. It's pretty naive to think the government could "cover up" boat arrivals and get away with it.



No where does it say the media is unable to report on boat arrivals. I think you it copy and pasted the headline without actually bothering to read the article.



The accusation that boats are still arriving and the government is covering it all up and deliberately selling lies to the Australian people is bordering on paranoid delusions. That or you are trolling.

Sadly a lot of people agree with him . It's gives them a platform to basically be upright pretentious prats

Ok true pretentious was a bad choice . More bigoted racist prats

It's cool, he's taking it back.

I think the problem with 18C is it isn't consistently applied. Andrew Bolt made some comments that some people didn't like and there was moral outrage and he was take to court and censured. Anthony Mundine said Daniel Geale wasn't black enough to be Aboriginal and you could hear an ant fart, there was just silence.
In this context we have 18C creating a MORE racist society, not only failing to prevent racism but giving a green light to some forms of racism which are not punished. If you want 18C to work you have to apply it fairly to ALL races not just certain fair skinned ones.

Another problem with 18C is you have people rallying against this idea that people have a right to be bigots, and then expressing their of this notion by raising placards comparing the PM to Hitler or calling for him to be beheaded. If you're going to outlaw bigoted behaviour you have to apply it to all forms of bigotry not just racism. Otherwise you indirectly give a green light to the forms of bigotry you don't legistlate against, ie religious, cultural, sexual, political etc. And if you're going to go this far why not just outlaws all behaviour that is deemed offensive, humiliating, vilifying etc? Or do people have a right to be assholes?

As for 18C I think it should either get canned or extended to cover all forms of bigotry, because if you argue it's not ok to be a bigot it's up to everyone to set the example.

I think you're missing the point the left is trying to make with this...

"You're allowed freedom of speech... but only the type I like"

I'm a man of the left and think that 18C should be repealed.

18C really only comes into effect when the offended party has the resources to pursue the civil lawsuit, it's not a matter of 18C condoning Mundine's actions but rather a lack of will to go through the legal process. It's not criminal legislation so it's not like every single instance of racial discrimination needs to be followed up by the police, it's up to the individual or group. So essentially unless you racially vilify a prominent person who will fight issues like this or a whole group of people who can come together as a collective, then bigots can get away with almost anything as it is anyway.

I think you're all missing the point re: 18C. This is a government who wants to repeal 18C because they firmly believe "People do have a right to be bigots", but they got upset at being laughed at in parliament and evicted the 'offending' ministers. So I have the right to call you a cunt, but not to laugh at you.

I'm sorry but that is [size=9]fucking retarded[/size]


The Liberal Government is the one making the claims; that there are no more boats arriving. The burden of proof is upon them. That's the way this shit works. You make claim, you have a burden of proof. Otherwise you can just make up whatever old bullshit.

I don't agree with him but if you make it less of a big deal, it won't be so appealing to aspiring racists.

Federal budget: Joe Hockey warns of wide-ranging cuts, says all must do 'heavy lifting'

By political correspondent Emma Griffiths


Treasurer Joe Hockey has signalled wide-ranging cuts to come in the May federal budget, warning that all Australians will have to do the "heavy lifting".

The Government has just received the final report of the Commission of Audit - a document set to guide the drafting of the Government's first budget.

In a series of media interviews this morning, the Treasurer fuelled the annual flurry of budget speculation by pointing to figures showing the nation's books were on course for a decade of deficits.

He described the growth in expenditure, set up under the previous Labor government, as like a "tsunami coming across the water".

"Unless we take immediate remedial action in the budget, then Australia will never have a surplus," he said.

"The fact is we have to address this and address this fast.

"And the challenge is that everyone in Australia has to help to do the heavy lifting in the budget, because if the burden falls on a few, the weight of that burden will crush them.

"Everyone is going to have to make a contribution - big business, small business, all people from all demographics across the community."

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten - in Perth campaigning ahead of Saturday's Western Australia Senate re-run election - has dismissed the Government's dire budget warnings as a political strategy.

"What they are doing is they are creating straw-men targets and then they are going to cut them away," Mr Shorten said.

"They have no intention of achieving that target, yet they actually are pretending to inflate the deficit so they can justify their sense of emergency."

NDIS likely to face changes in budget

Mr Hockey has refused to outline where the cuts will be made before he hands down his first budget on May 13.

But he has indicated welfare payments will not be spared.

"We are endeavouring to be as fair and as reasonable as possible, but we have a mandate and there is an expectation in the community that we are going to fix the structural problems of the budget," he told AM.



Audio: Treasurer Joe Hockey speaks to AM (AM)


The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which passed Parliament with bipartisan support last May, is also slated to face changes.

"If we don't get on top of the proper management of the NDIS, not only would it not be sustainable, but it could end up as big a farce as the pink batts program or the $900 test program," Mr Hockey said.

The Government has repeatedly expressed concerns about the way the NDIS has been set up and its funding.

The latest question marks over its future has triggered an angry reaction from Mr Shorten.

"I am revolted by the fact that the Abbott Government has had nothing good to say about the National Disability Insurance Scheme," he said.

"The Abbott Government is playing dangerously with the hopes of hundreds of thousands of people with profound or severe disabilities."

Commission of Audit reports handed over to Government

The Government has said its budget decisions will be based on the recommendations of its Commission of Audit, set up last October.

The commission has delivered two reports, which the Government says will be made public, but the Treasurer has resisted pressure to reveal when.

"The fact is we have got to go through the details of it," he told Sky News.

"So we are moving as quickly as we can, but it is important that we work through all the issues carefully and methodically which is what we are doing."

The Opposition says the Government should release the audit reports before Western Australians cast their vote for the state's six Senate spots.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-31/joe-hockey-warns-of-wide-ranging-cuts-in-may-budget/5356838?section=act

Oh yay :roll:

Good lord how can we vote to have these idiots killed?

Whom ? The libs or Labour ?? They are both the same . Nothing more than slogans.

Nothing says "budget emergency" like cutting funding and then voting through your own pay rises.

Geez we are one of the richest countries one earth and have one of the highest standards of living , our public officials (on both sides) can't be that bad. By international standards our governments are first class, you should be thankful you have Abbott as PM and not Mugabe. That we are decided whether section 18C should be repealed rather than deciding whether to behead or stone people to death proves how civilised and advanced our democratic society is. Every cxnt on here should be extremely grateful they are Australian and thankful to the politicians current and former who have laid the foundations (or at least not fucked things up) on our path to prosperity.

Edited by rusty: 1/4/2014 09:51:35 PM

The main difference between the two of course being that Mugabe hated the white people having jobs and Abbott is afraid of boat people coming and taking white people's jobs.

Your whole argument that "we should be glad that as a first world country we don't have a third world government" is ridiculous. Being not as shit as somewhere else is hardly acceptable.

A country where the government supports "the right to be a bigot" but censors laughter in the only arena where the constitution genuinely guarantees the right to free speech is just embarrassing.