Check the website, you can easily sign up online, and I'll bet you'll be surprised how cheap it is.

Suffice it so say that my Victory membership is over ten times the price.

I'm on a tight budget while working overseas. I might when I get back though
how much is it out of curiousity?

S&P warning to downgrade Australia's AAA credit rating unless significant cuts are made to the budget.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/warning-australias-credit-rating-at-risk/story-fn3dxiwe-1226923554794

Good work Labor - there's no deficit problem.=d>

right and what happened to the us bond market when they downgraded them? Bonds got even cheeper

aaa credit ratings matter as much as gold stars from your kindy teacher

If that were true every country would have them. They don't.

Wowwee, they only got cheaper for the investors, the government had to pay more to sell them.

Saying credit ratings don't matter is pretty dumb when our country is highly reliant on foreign capital. International investors looks to credit ratings to decide where to invest.

other way round mate it got cheeper for the government to borrow. Ratings from s and p only would matter if they were a good predicter in a change in bond prices. Im yet to see any evidence of that.

After the s and p down grade the us government could borrow at effectively negative rates since inflation was higher than interest

Edited by grazorblade: 20/5/2014 10:05:25 AM

Worth reading the article to see the extent of rustys ideological editorialisation.

Where have I editorialised? Labor is saying there is no deficit problem contrary to S&P who are saying "So we would be looking for a narrowing of budget deficits as evidence of ongoing commitment to running finances prudently" and telling us there is around a 33% chance of our credit rating being downgraded. Clearly you just don't want to admit if we sit on our hands and do nothing we could lose our AAA credit rating.

no disputing the facts but my jaw is dropping at the source

http://inagist.com/all/468226839622602753/

Its hard to know what to make of this. Its hard to believe he is just being populist since he was against off shore processing before the election....But he called the labour government communist yet he has been saying things further to the left

"Provided deficits remain relatively small and we see the government committed towards balance over the medium term and debt remains comfortably low, then there's not immediate pressure on the rating."

Considering that the LNP has doubled the deficit since September (verified fact), it's dishonest to blame Labor for this article.

It also says that there is a "1 in 3, at most" chance that the rating will be reviewed, not cut.

Unless you're willing to argue honestly, there's really no point in you trying.

The funny thing about Palmer is how the libs are getting pissed with him for supposedly having so much influence because of his wealth when that has been their schtick for years and years.

Gina, Rupert, Twiggy can all buy influence but not Clive apparently.

Seems they don't like it when someone else plays their game.

Exactly even if it's 1 in 3 chance of a definite change of credit rating it's far from a "Budget Emergency".

Also find me a post on here saying where anyone is saying "sit on our hands and do nothing". Most people disagree with the measures that have been proposed in the budget and some have even offered alternate solutions.

Can you post state politics stuff here?

http://www.smh.com.au/queensland/jarrod-bleijie-defends-choice-of-bootcamp-operator-20140520-zri5z.html

Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie has passionately defended his decision to ignore advice from his department and award a government bootcamp contract to a company which later became an LNP donor.

Speaking to Fairfax Radio 4BC Mornings, Mr Bleijie said he was "glad" he had chosen Beyond Billabong over Queensland Youth Services, which his department had recommended, because he could "see clearly the decision I made back last year was right".

On Monday night, Seven News reported Mr Bleijie awarded the contract to Brisbane-based Beyond Billabong despite his department's evaluation team finding the company would not proceed to the shortlist because its submission "lacks sufficient information and evidence on many elements on the criteria to support the claims made".

The department recommended Townsville-based QYS be awarded the tender because the $1,069,632 bid it put forward represented the "best overall value for money".

Beyond Billabong submitted a $2,231 930 bid, with the Lincoln Springs boot camp, nearly three hours west of Ingham, the result.

Twenty young people have been through the camp since late last year, eight of those sentenced by the courts.

Mr Bleijie said the Billabong bid was for a "super bootcamp" which combined two camps into one, and the QYS bid did not meet the government's criteria.

"The boot camp wasn't just about what happened in a town where the services are on offer," Mr Bleijie said.

"We have to have someone with the experience and the ability to go out bush to actually run a boot camp.

"The people who were recommended by the evaluation team were not in my view - and this is about government taking responsibility - they weren't in my view able to run it because we had similar experiences with a similar organisation in Cairns, that started this whole debate about the boot camps.

"We wanted an organisation that could get a cattle station up and running, that could get young kids on horses, mustering cattle, all sorts of things, which they are doing.

"We took personal responsibility to make sure the government had the best people to run the boot camp."

The Seven News story revealed that Beyond Billabong CEO Boyd Curran made a $5500 to the LNP six days after his company was awarded the government tender in August last year.

Mr Bleijie said he only found out about the donation on Monday.

"I wasn't aware of that and nor should I have been," he said.

"Politicians don't get involved in those sorts of things."

------------------------------------------------------------8<---------------------------------------------------------

Donate $5 500 to the Libs in Qld and you can go in at twice the price of your next competitor and bypass the tender committee's recommendations.

If this isn't corruption I don't know what is.

The Libs - letting backhanders grease the business wheels since 1945.

^^^ TV report here. https://au.news.yahoo.com/qld/video/watch/23653661/ag-accused-of-ignoring-advice/

Three hours west of Ingham is shithouse country.

-PB

Yeah but how good is it going to be when you've got a cool $2 million in the bank to spend on 8 offenders.

Fucking GOLD!

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-20/standard-and-poors-says-australian-rating-safe-from-budget-bloc/5464482

:lol:

lol ABC as a source, very credible :roll: [/ricecrackers]

-PB

not too bright are you

Love how rusty stopped responding to Grazorblade because he has no understanding of the financial market.

My understanding of the financial market is that when theres a war on my Newcrest shares go up. When things are rosy they go down :lol:

Fucking lollergasms @ Smokin' Joe wanting to sue Fairfax Media :lol:

-PB

The difference is that the Libs have their influence bought, Palmer buys his influence.

So he personally pays everyone who votes for him?

Joe Hockey sues Fairfax Media

DateMay 20, 2014 - 6:08PM
Matthew Knott

Treasurer Joe Hockey has launched defamation proceedings against Fairfax Media over front-page articles headlined "Treasurer For Sale".

Mr Hockey's lawyers filed an application on Tuesday afternoon against The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times with the NSW registry of the Federal Court. The case will be first mentioned in court on June 12.

By 6pm on Tuesday, Fairfax Media, publisher of smh.com.au, was yet to be served with the writ.

"The Treasurer has filed statements of claim in the federal court in relation to defamation proceedings against The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Canberra Times and their online services," a spokeswoman for the Treasurer said.

"The Treasurer's determination to seek to prosecute this matter against the relevant publications should not be underestimated."

The May 5 articles examined the activities of the North Sydney Forum, a campaign fund-raising body run by Mr Hockey's North Sydney Federal Electoral Conference.

Fairfax Media reported that members were granted meetings with Mr Hockey, including in private boardrooms, in return for annual fees of up to $22,000.

At the time Mr Hockey said he found the stories “offensive and repugnant” and said the matter was in the hands of his lawyers.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/joe-hockey-sues-fairfax-media-20140520-38mhf.html#ixzz32G4dbDrD

Joe Hockey has become a parody of himself.

hard to believe this is clive palmer

https://www.facebook.com/PalmerUnitedParty1/posts/501396806656303

the stats he gives at the start is correct

You know you've failed as a leader of the country when Clive Palmer can make you look bad.