I wonder what's worse, a politician that can't remember a number in response to a pop quiz question in an interview, or a politician that doesn't even read the report he's chairing a senate committee for? :-k

Male victims of violence undoubtably need support and protection. But for one hour, can we discuss male violence against women...#qanda

Simon Santosha made some great points on QandA last night, it's good to see some new voices and thoughts around holistic and integrated interventions to family violence & abuse.

I agree with NSD on a lot of things, but cannot support her assertion that family violence is a gendered issue when all independent research says otherwise and shows that intimate partner violence & abuse is largely mutual. This is not to diminish the manifestation of very real fatal and tragic outcomes of domestic homicide that ultimately affect women at a much higher rate.

So much of the focus of the rhetoric around IPV is to vilify and shame all men, of whom many also suffer emotional, psychological and physical abuse from their partners themselves.

Family violence is a complex and individually nuanced issue that brushes up against other misunderstood areas of issue such as mental illness, depression, economic pressures, broken families, social alienation and education, so I'm quite sad to see more black and white finger pointing from our new Premier.

Mental illness and domestic violence go hand and hand. First hand experinced it. Sadly the neo fems will assert that its a massive cop out.

Tony Abbott has done nothing to salve discontent on his backbench with a dismissive party-room "slap-down" of MPs who advocated a less combative approach to the issue of children in immigration detention, by telling voters how successful the Coalition had been in reducing the number of minors locked up.

"The Attorney-General's offer to an independent statutory officer of an inducement to resign her position as president, with the object of affecting the leadership of the AHRC to avoid political damage to the Abbott Government may constitute corrupt and unlawful conduct," he wrote.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-24/labor-wants-afp-to-investigate-ag-department-over-triggs-offer/6257940

Mental illness and domestic violence go hand and hand. First hand experinced it. Sadly the neo fems will assert that its a massive cop out.

NBN Co says FTTP build could be done for close to Labor's budget

The real cost of completing Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN) in its originally-planned fibre-to-the-premises configuration may well have been close to the $AU43 billion first budgeted, according to data presented by NBN Co's CEO and CFO to a Senate Estimates hearing.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/02/24/nbn_co_fibre_build_was_close_to_budget/

So very sad that it comes out now after the bogus report they were coerced into putting together by Turnbull.

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Nothing has "come out" this is just a terrible article full of factual errors and spin. The "$47 billion" refers to the capex of rolling out FTTP to 11 million premises, it omits capex of the fixed wireless and satellite networks nor does it factor in significant operating costs, borrowing costs and revenue shortfalls. The 2012-15 corporate plan estimated FTTP build costs around $28 billion, so if it we go with the guardians $47 billion that represents in no uncertain terms a massive catastrophic blow out. It's like pulling out a grape and comparing it with an apple - shocking journalism.

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Nothing has "come out" this is just a terrible article full of factual errors and spin. The "$47 billion" refers to the capex of rolling out FTTP to 11 million premises, it omits capex of the fixed wireless and satellite networks nor does it factor in significant operating costs, borrowing costs and revenue shortfalls. The 2012-15 corporate plan estimated FTTP build costs around $28 billion, so if it we go with the guardians $47 billion that represents in no uncertain terms a massive catastrophic blow out. It's like pulling out a grape and comparing it with an apple - shocking journalism.

It costs over $4000 per premise to directly connect a home to fibre broadband, twice as much as previous estimates, according to an internal review by NBN Co.

NBN Co chief executive Bill Morrow used an appearance at Senate estimates hearings on Tuesday to reveal the cost per premise for fibre-to-the premises (FTTP) broadband – the preferred model of the previous Labor government.

A six-month review by NBN chief financial officer Stephen Rue found it has cost $4316 per premise to install FTTP broadband in existing premises and $2780 in greenfields areas.

The cost per premises has increased over the past 20 months despite a quicker roll-out.

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The Abbott government will use the costings to justify its decision to pursue a "multi-technology mix" broadband model including fibre-to-the-node and hybrid fibre-coaxial technologies.

In April 2013, under the Labor government, NBN Co estimated the cost per premises at between $2200 and $2500.

NBN Co's new figures include additional inputs – such as internal labour costs and the cost of leasing Telstra's network of ducts and manholes – which were not included in previous estimates.

"We think it essential that these costs and their definitions are fully explained to assist us in our own future planning and to be transparent with the Australian public on the full cost per premises," Mr Morrow told Senate estimates.

NBN Co plans to publish regular updated estimates of the cost per premise for the various technologies being deployed in the broadband rollout.

Mr Morrow said the figures will offer more complete and accurate view of the costs to construct, connect and activate a premise for each technology.

A Strategic Review conducted into the NBN in late 2013, after the election of the Coalition government, estimated the cost per premises for the FTTP network at $4097.

Labor communications spokesman Jason Clare said: "Malcolm Turnbull should spend less time trying to fight the broadband wars and get on with the job Tony Abbott gave him – getting the NBN built by the end of 2016."

The Islamophobia stirred up by Abbott and Bolt is a bigger threat to us than terrorism

Similarly, privacy is a widely accepted principle. The possibility that the movements and conversations of all citizens could be tracked by government agencies cannot be reconciled with accepted social values.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/26/the-islamophobia-stirred-up-by-abbott-and-bolt-is-a-bigger-threat-to-us-than-terrorism

Greens offer Tony Abbott a $13 billion budget saving

The plan would tax superannuation contributions on a progressive scale rather than the present flat rate of 15 per cent and 30 per cent for workers earning more than $300,000.

Australians on the 19 per cent marginal tax rate would pay 4 per cent on their super contributions, Australians on the 33 per cent rate would pay 15 per cent, Australians on 37 per cent would pay 22 per cent, and Australians on the 45 per cent rate would pay 30 per cent.

As a supporting measure, the policy would also clamp down on "churning" wages through super funds. It will no longer be possible for Australians over 55 to get a tax benefit just for putting their salary into a super fund while drawing an equivalent wage from the same fund.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/greens-offer-tony-abbott-a-13-billion-budget-saving-20150226-13oucn.html

A party with "crazy ideas" those Greens.