As stated I have an issue with the 'offend' terminology in the legislation. I think that's where unnecessary cases spring from. I think offend is also a difficult thing to define.

The remainder of the legislation is fine, we need laws against racism.

It's crazy. There is a video of him giving a speech about why it is not necessary for the government to pay for childcare for families earning more than $350,000 p.a. and Senator Hanson-Young replying by shouting him down for being a middle-aged, white male.

Yup, he was one of the ones that tried to get that amendment made and I believe they instead went with Derryn Hinchs'

-PB

I'm relatively libertarian on social issues so I don't find everything he says crazy but I strongly disagree on his economic policies. I also think he has a glass jaw. Would never vote for him but you know what you get with him.

$1 billion in investment for a solar farm and battery storage in SA. Note this is in addition to the state government's plans for a battery and gas plant.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/30/south-australia-to-get-1bn-solar-farm-and-worlds-biggest-battery

Shows what a government that actually walks the walk on encouraging innovation rather than just talks can achieve.

*Lefty fanboy gif*

Any investment in infrastructure is always a good thing (most of the time).

-PB

The senate is too obstructionist to pass any significant budget reforms.  These minor parties and individual senators mandates are usually linked to spending more money (eg veteran affairs, farmers, pensioners) rather than any funding cuts, and populist Senators like Lambie, One Nation and Xenophon know that their political lives rely on doing as little damage to the electorate as possible.

Having a convoluted senate is wonderful if you're the Labor party and your funding model is debt, it's always bad for the long term budget though.

Lets be clear, a $1 billion solar farm is an investment in the SA government political stocks, not SA energy.  

That statement reads like someone hasn't actually read the article and doesn't understand it's completely funded by private investment.

Considering the economy has gone down the toilet since the Libs took power in 2013, it seems that debt is the domain of the current government 

The economy is exactly where Labor have left it. Slowly ticking over with no significant change.
Eventually, one of the major  parties will have to bite the bullet and make some unpopular cuts.

Fucking lel

-PB

What of the LNP and their huge increase in the debt?

-PB

Your picture of Berisha in your sig is the best conservative answer to your conundrum 

Same old scenario. The narrative is that Labour will cut from the top to appease the peasants and LNP will try and reduce the welfare burden and piss everyone off.

Same shit different day with our out of touch pollies.

Maybe we need to give the Greens 4 years to capitulate our economy so that we can rebuild and have some positivity :laugh:  

LOL

-PB

Go back to the stoneage to build up once again haha

-PB

Extreme measure :laugh:

I resent both the major parties so much. I watched Scott Morrison trying to defend his business tax cut on Sky News yesterday arvo and he could not give a straight answer to a question. It shits me to tears how incapable these parasites are at answering questions. They make such roundabout answers it makes you forget the questions :laugh:

Very low wage growth for ordinary people while corporate profit growth has been healthy is a big issue. While what Vanlassen says is technically true, people don't feel it and it's going to bite the LNP in the arse next election. I don't think Labor have enough of a policy platform yet to try and address it yet but they need to if they want more than 1 term.

Any kind of business stimulus is always portrayed as a benefit solely for businesses and the corporate elite. With this new package the government is (badly) selling, I think the government has done a terrible job of explaining its benefits for everyday people. The reality may be that it doesn't. The data may not show that it even does benefit everyday worker bees.

Scott Morrison would not give a straight answer when asked to present numbers to Sky News. If he doesn't know the numbers, he's not doing his job. He would know the data well. Obviously he's avoiding the question because they're ambiguous and he doesn't want labour jumping on him over it.

Muh trickle down economics!

-PB

Yeah I'm not specifically talking about the cut to the company tax rate but I have my doubts as to whether it has any benefit to everyday people and if it does for some whether that offsets the lost revenue (I explained my thoughts on that back around election time).

My comment was more general than that, and based on the facts that wages are pretty much stagnant and corporate profits are increasing. Cutting penalty rates doesn't build a strong case for that. You can add housing prices are sky rocketing at the same time and you can see why people are feeling everything is pretty shitty at the moment. That's regardless of the economy "slowly ticking over". 

The economy went to the toilet from the 2008 GFC and onwards, not with the liberals getting into power. 

the budget deficit isn't something that can be fixed overnight. It will take a number of years - at least 3 and more realistically, about 5 or 6. So for the next 3 to 6 years, Australia's debt will increase no matter what. 

What is most unhelpful, is the cross bench of minor parties which are obstructionists to the Government's economic and fiscal agenda by not passing bills to claw back some money. 

When those bills threaten vulnerable members of the community it is the responsibility of the opposition and minor parties to block them.

that's not what is happening though.

they are blocking just about everything to score a political point or for horse trading purposes. 

There is so much middle class welfare handed out during the boomy Howard years to families earning well over $100000 each year. these are hardly vulnerable families despite cost of living pressures. The vulnerable are the unemployed and pensioners or the chronically sick. 

but once welfare is handed out, it is hard to repeal. 

Juicy Q&A.


Dr. Sommerville getting hammered by an old lady who has made a decision to end her own life rather than go into care. Refreshing to see someone give it to a panelist who isn't talking about lefty stuff like energy and climate change. People should have the right to meet their maker on their own terms.

Nikki Gemmel is full of shit. People are ridiculing Trump on the basis that his decision to fire rockets into Syria was unsuccessful. Would their decision change if it was more successful? Unlikely.

Like believing that wind turbines cause infrasound sickness?

So its neither party's fault?