We continue to await the return of Newspoll for the year, which I imagine might be forthcoming ahead of the return of parliament next week. With Essential Research having an off week in the fortnightly cycle, this leaves me with nothing to report on the poll front. Two bits of electoral news worth noting are that the Liberals won the supplementary election for the Victorian state seat of Narracan as expected on Saturday, confirming lower house numbers of 56 for Labor, 19 for the Liberals, nine for the Nationals and four for the Greens; and that Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has announced that the by-election for the seat of Arafura, following the death of Labor member Lawrence Costa on December 17, will be held on March 18. With that, over to you.
Socrates 12:55pm
“ It is hard to know the mood of the majority, when you only mix with and care about the interests of a shrinking minority (church going older Australians of anglo saxon descent)”
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So true, it’s a highly unrepresentative group these days.
Steely Dan,
The Coalition, who were in government a bit over 6 months ago could have passed legislation to extend the Alice Springs alcohol measures. They didn’t. They espoused the opinion that alcohol is legal and it would be discriminatory to prevent any particular group in the community from accessing it.
I’m sorry that Labor haven’t fixed all of the Coalition’s mistakes in 8 months, especially that one. Please be patient and allow them to get on with it.
“Rex Douglas says:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 3:00 pm
I see Labor partisans are still using the Voice to try and score political points. Shameless.”
Labor supporters are majority YES voters at the VOICE referendum. What’s so strange if they criticise those who either vote NO (like the Nationals), are still “uncertain” but most likely will vote NO (like the Liberals) and are spending too much time navel-gazing whereas they should have already said that they will vote YES (like the Greens)?
The Voice is an extremely important initiative… shutting up about it and pretending that’s not there is not going to happen, no matter how much the Liberals would wish it to be so.
Lol, boerwar and c@t the true friends of the indigenous of Alice Springs. Why aren’t you both up there helping out on the ground with the benefit of your wisdom?
Steely, like all the Liberals, sees indigenous people purely and simply political cannon fodder to either pretend care and consideration when they are trying to attack their opponents or else to demonise them and their “lifestyle” to appeal to the same voters that robodebt appealed to.
‘BK says:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 3:57 pm
What has struck me about the royal commission hearings is that there were so many witnesses who had neither the curiosity nor logical capacity to examine the obviously flawed averaging method of debt calculation.
Or was it lack of willingness or courage to do so? A bit like those people who won’t go to the doctor in fear of what the advice and consequences might be.’
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It has been clear to ex APS staffers that standards declined over the past decade. Just how far they had declined shocked most of us.
Rex Douglas says:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 3:00 pm
I see Labor partisans are still using the Voice to try and score political points. Shameless.
What have the Greens done now?
“Boerwar says:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 4:08 pm
The Greens are back to making all sorts of demands, noises and the like. Medicare access for prisoners, fixing up Morrison’s gas drilling decision and psychiatric drugs. The usual noisemakers are on full decibels.”…
Yep, and the usual Thorpe is in the frontline (look at me, look at me). What do the Greens expect? That their KAOS of priorities will hide their nonsense about the Voice? Their appointment with history is approaching, they won’t be able to avoid it, no matter how much they desperately try to distract everybody. In fact, I think that their supporters (the vast majority of the also support the YES vote) are going to start losing patience with their “leaders”…
Rex Douglas @ Friday, February 3, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Indeed. They obviously forgot that using the Voice to try to score political points is clearly your bailiwick.
Why aren’t you both up there helping out on the ground with the benefit of your wisdom?
__________________________________
Why aren’t you? Can’t you organise a TV camera?
TPOF and BK
An acquaintance who worked in Canberra a long time once said to me “nobody ever says no to a Minister”
I imagine for public servants the same applied with Department Secretaries.
Somebody somewhere lost sight of the legality of this, Ministers and very senior people were gung ho so it took on a life of its own.
Credit to those who kept digging, kept fighting and eventually exposed the sham in the face of a concerted and vicious campaign by the LNP and its media cheer squad.
“Lars Von Trier says:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 4:14 pm
Lol, boerwar and c@t the true friends of the indigenous of Alice Springs. Why aren’t you both up there helping out on the ground with the benefit of your wisdom?”…
Are you Liberals going to take any responsibility, after 9 years of neglect, for the current situation in Aboriginal communities, or is it all “Albo’s fault”?… Do you think that the voters are Morons?
tpof I dont claim any special expertise or knowledge into indigenous affairs issues in Alice Springs. C@t and boer have so it’s seems appropriate they go up there to offer their services. Hopefully they stay longer than 4 hours.
‘Rossmcg says:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 4:17 pm
TPOF and BK
An acquaintance who worked in Canberra a long time once said to me “nobody ever says no to a Minister”
I imagine for public servants the same applied with Department Secretaries.
….’
=========================================
Not true, IMO. I know of several instances where APS execs told ministers or more usually their senior office staff that something was illegal. In every single case that was the end of it.
Cool in my part of regional Victoria, too, especially for summer: 8.1 C, feels like 3.1 C.
When people use ChromeCast, what do they generally use to drive it? My daughter used her laptop. I have a network media system so have never needed ChromeCast.
On holidays I was trying to watch “the peripheral”, and needed to cast to one from the phone. Problem was that it was 4K. Couldn’t use the cast. Took a lot of frigging around but got TV phone app to shout to the TV directly. Only way I could get 4K to work. Website would have worked though. So would be fine watching RC.
What do people use?
PS: Phones these days. yikes. I’ve been using computers for over 40 years, and it is otherworldly the power these things have. I was using my phone to extract 1920p X264 from 4K x265 videos. Just didn’t want to do that with 5 vids.
Ventured to the curb to retrieve the garbage bins.
It was a 40m round trip and I’m sweating like Pat Rafter again.
The LNP has always promoted the view that the unemployed are “dole bludgers” and the APS is staffed by those unable to get a “real job”.
Their supporters (in the media) whole heartedly agreed and never let up promoting their warped view.
Boerwar
I’m sure there are exceptions to what was essentially an anecdote but in this case nobody spoke up.
There has been plenty of evidence that Campbell and Golightly were intimidating figures.
Even Jongen said when he tried to raise it with the latter there was a heated conversation and he was told it was none of his business.
I think Ms Lumley asked about the Clayton Utz advice being passed up and was slapped down by Essex.
Frank and Fearless were well on truly on leave during this period.
The Voice is perfectible, and it can be perfected through specific legislation once it’s enshrined in the constitution. On the other hand, the status quo is a total disaster, as expressed by just about everybody!
Themunz,
A cap on tax-free superannuation balances coming down the line? Effectively a wealth tax?
‘Rossmcg says:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 4:26 pm
Boerwar
I’m sure there are exceptions to what was essentially an anecdote but in this case nobody spoke up.
….’
The whole culture was different 15 years ago. There were powerful personalities then. These might clash. There were powerful intellects, then. There was never, IMO, the slightest doubt that if something even vaguely looked like it might possibly be illegal, it would be stopped.
Dandy: “sweating like Pat Rafter again”
Ha. It used to be a thing wasn’t it?
Dandy: A cap on tax-free superannuation balances coming down the line? Effectively a wealth tax?
I cant believe there isn’t one? The cap I mean.
Pi says:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 12:58 pm
VE: ” it’s shit. That’s all that matters.”
Perhaps you should be looking closer to home for your opprobrium and reflect on the Greens voice policy.
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It’s a moot point for those who support a party that will never govern on its own. So they just stand outside and throw stones, it’s all they’ve got. No attempt to contribute, just condemn and never actually achieve anything.
Dandy Murraysays:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 4:28 pm
Themunz,
A cap on tax-free superannuation balances coming down the line? Effectively a wealth tax?
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More like the withdrawal of an unearned benefit!
A cap on tax-free superannuation balances coming down the line? Effectively a wealth tax?
Isn’t it already set at ~ 1.6 million or am I missing the point?
From the Guardian.
‘NSW Government to grant floodplain harvesting licenses
The NSW government has again announced regulations to allow floodplain harvesting licences to be granted in New South Wales…’
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Horses mashing Kozzie. Flood plain harvesting in the MDB. These bastards cannot help themselves.
‘Oakeshott Country says:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 4:34 pm
A cap on tax-free superannuation balances coming down the line? Effectively a wealth tax?
Isn’t it already set at ~ 1.6 million or am I missing the point?’
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There is already a cap. It was set at 1.6 million on around 1 July 2016. Anything earned inside the fund since then is allowed to breach the cap. How people could get to $100 million in a SMSF is beyond me. There must be a loophole being exploited. Possibly they could put the $100 million in an accumulation fund which is taxed at 15%. There are compulsory withdrawals in the pension phase. These were drastically reduced during Covid and should, logically, be increased to ante-Covid levels.
Boerwar says:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 4:20 pm
‘Rossmcg says:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 4:17 pm
TPOF and BK
An acquaintance who worked in Canberra a long time once said to me “nobody ever says no to a Minister”
I imagine for public servants the same applied with Department Secretaries.
….’
=========================================
Not true, IMO. I know of several instances where APS execs told ministers or more usually their senior office staff that something was illegal. In every single case that was the end of it.
______________________________________
I think that is definitely true. It started to change with Howard, but it was smashed by Abbott and his successors. That said, I really don’t think Morrison was told it was illegal and decided to smash through anyway.
I think, in my own opinion and after listening to a lot of evidence so far, that this was a career move by Golightly and Campbell, that they were falling over themselves to please Morrison by promising t squeeze billions of bucks out of one of the most despised groups of people in the Liberal cosmos.
After that juggernaut was launched it took on a life of its own with some players joining the career advancement train, some joining the I can’t afford to fuck my career by asking the wrong questions and some who lacked the imagination or, particularly, confidence to follow up the sense that things were not quite right.
It could happen anywhere, but scale of the mendacity, fear, stupidity and impact on people in robodebt made this royal commission material. I hope and expect the lessons from this ghastly episode will have positive benefits throughout government.
OC,
From the Guardian: “Investment earnings are not taxed on accounts with a balance of less than $1.7m. On accounts with a balance above $1.7m, investment earnings are taxed at just 15%, well below the top marginal tax rate of 45%.”
So, not tax free, but a cool 30% discount, or 1/2 to 1/3 of the marginal tax rate a FT worker might face.
Oakeshott Countrysays:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 4:34 pm
A cap on tax-free superannuation balances coming down the line? Effectively a wealth tax?
Isn’t it already set at ~ 1.6 million or am I missing the point?
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The cap has increased slightly due to CPI but the overgenerous treatment of the unlimited balance is a scandal.
A reminder of the genocide Russia is committing against Ukrainians as a people, and of their complete disregard for child welfare:
“United States ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Michael Carpenter, stated that the Russian occupying forces deported over 14,000 children from the seized Ukrainian territories to the Russian Federation. …
… The United States ambassador stated that “Russian authorities above all seek to eliminate all manifestations of Ukrainian national identity and to turn all Ukrainians into loyal subjects of the Russian imperium.”
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/02/3/7387713/
I am curious what our resident Putin-positive posters (we all know who they are) have to say about child abduction committed by Russian occupiers in Ukraine on a mass scale. I am all curious what those posters made of the Stolen Generation report handed down here in 1997.
Boerwar
They would have those raised in the ‘old culture’ but they would have been replaced by those raised in ‘The Way of the Rodent’.
Love the euphemism ‘more responsive.’
Labor tried to turn the ship around but good ol’ Budgie Smuggler ….
….Coalition plans to bring back public service bonuses….
https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/1627986/coalition-plans-to-bring-back-public-service-bonuses/
Yet another night of Ukrainian civilians being shelled in their own homes by Russian invaders:
“The Russian occupying forces continue to attack Kherson on the night of 3 February.
Source: Yurii Sobolevskyi, First Deputy Head of the Kherson Oblast Council, in Telegram
Quote: “Orcs [Russian troops – ed.] continue massive attack on Kherson. Safety first!”.
Background: The Russian military attacked the village of Komyshany, Kherson Oblast, on 2 February. Four people, including a five-year-old child, were injured in this attack.”
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/02/3/7387711/
Yep, those Orcs sure do have the best interests of their “Little Russian” brothers in Ukraine at heart.
😡
TPOF
I’d go along with that interpretation.
More on the Russian missile strike upon a residential apartment building in the middle of Kramatorsk:
“The body of a dead woman was recovered from the rubble of a residential building destroyed by the Russian missile in the city of Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast. Hence, four civilians were killed in the Russian missile attack.
On the evening of 1 February, Russian troops attacked the city of Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, hitting residential buildings. The missile completely destroyed one of those buildings.
In the morning of 2 February, the death toll in the Russian missile attack in Kramatorsk has risen to three people.
On 2 February, Russian troops attacked Kramatorsk with missiles again. The attack damaged 13 2-storey buildings, 3 4-story buildings, a children’s clinic and a school, garages and cars.”
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/02/3/7387708/
Those bloody Russians are obviously not going to stop trying to kill as many Ukrainian civilians as they can for as long as they are able to. They must be forcibly stopped. 😡
The ATO or Treasury is proposing to treat amounts in SMSF over $5m as not super anymore. Seems fair enough.
That’s up there with old public super defined benefit scheme retirement for luxury retirement.
Boer
I suspect some of the massive balances come from a loophole existing in the Keating era; companies with more than 10 employees were allowed to average the limits of pretax contributions (which were already generous)
As employees were unlikely to use their full limit, this effectively allowed proprietors to contribute very large amounts. There was a benefit limit of 800k but this was soon abolished.
When Costello came in he called the greatest rort he had ever seen and stopped it within 6 weeks
Lars Von Triersays:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 4:52 pm
The ATO or Treasury is proposing to treat amounts in SMSF over $5m as not super anymore. Seems fair enough.
That’s up there with old public super defined benefit scheme retirement for luxury retirement.
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Half that would be reasonable, indexed to CPI.
In relation to super it might be a cap on on accumulation (super) accounts over $5 million
There are plenty of ways that people can get large super accounts, after all the largest in Australia is over $400 Million and a further 30 are over $100 million
I haven’t seen the government talk about changing the super pension limit of $1.7million (plus indexing)
Oakeshott Countrysays:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 4:52 pm
Boer
I suspect some of the massive balances come from a loophole existing in the Keating era; companies with more than 10 employees were allowed to average the limits of pretax contributions (which were already generous)
As employees were unlikely to use their full limit, this effectively allowed proprietors to contribute very large amounts. There was a benefit limit of 800k but this was soon abolished.
When Costello came in he called the greatest rort he had ever seen and stopped it within 6 weeks
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I retired in 1994 and at that time the limit for any retiree was a multiple of the average salary over the last 3 years.
Certainly not a rort. It was called the RBL(Reasonable Benefit Limit).
Costello removed the RBL and did much more damage as well.
That was the tragedy of Labor’s franking credits misfire.
They managed to worry self-funded retirees and miss the people who truly rorted super. I think the point about the $5m cap and not a $2m cap is there is only about a 1000 people in the whole country over $5m but it raises about $1.5bn per year to impose the cap.
If you go down to $2m you get something like 20,000 people.
Still if you are lucky enough to be on a defined benefit scheme like a pre 2004 MP or a retired public servant like Boer your guaranteed 80% of final year earnings for life – which is probably going to be in order of a lump sum of $5m or more.
It’s hard to imagine Labor suddenly getting profiles in courage and going after the defined benefit scheme crowd though. The $5m cap is a modest but good step in the right direction.
Lars Von Triersays:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 5:01 pm
The Franking Credit rort introduced by Costello is completely different to the Superannuation rort also introduced by Costello.
Both need to fixed.
Rex Douglas says:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 2:57 pm
Our community was promised that PEP-11 was dead in the water… it’s now alive and kicking. The Albanese Government now has a chance to do the right thing and cancel this licence for good #auspol pic.twitter.com/VXa50U5LDE— Dr Sophie Scamps MP (@SophieScamps) February 3, 2023
Deeply concerning news. @MadeleineMHKing must urgently rule out new gas exploration at #PEP11. I will fight to make sure Sydney’s coastline is protected.https://t.co/64NTS4mGiE— Allegra Spender (@spenderallegra) February 3, 2023
Labor should knock this on the head now and create a national gas reserve.
___________
Labor should carry out every contradiction in terms demanded by Rex.
Themunz,
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Lars Von Triersays:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 4:52 pm
The ATO or Treasury is proposing to treat amounts in SMSF over $5m as not super anymore. Seems fair enough.
That’s up there with old public super defined benefit scheme retirement for luxury retirement.
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Half that would be reasonable, indexed to CPI.
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Absoloodly
Dutton is the most vulnerable person politically on the VOICE issue- if the media had any proper analysis of the matter!
The Premiers stance further isolates the loony right- I predict that he will capitulate on the matter but throw a few dog whistles to the right before that.
Cronus says:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 3:19 pm
Mostly Interested says:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 12:25 pm
Cronus
Fair question imo. What this does suggest, in the absence of any other information or facts, is that there is no clear position on The Voice in the Greens. There isn’t necessarily even a suggestion of significant support for The Voice. That there is no indication at least suggests some reasonable level of disunity in The Greens compared with what polls suggest the public appears to think is a fairly clear issue. I think many would find this surprising.
Sure that’s one reading.
Or they knew they could not get consensus with Senator Thorpe in the room. So have tacitly all agreed to reach a ‘party position’ without her.
Realpolitik on behalf of Bande?
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And I think this is a part of the problem, absent any information, we’re left to pontificate (for good or bad) because a political party can’t/won’t inform the public of their position.
___________
Albanese has failed to provide sufficient detail on the Greens position!
LVT
you have touched a raw point
I get annoyed with retired public servants who fly the red flag and attack SMSF as a rort while taking a defined benefit pension- a rort with a massive effect on the bottom line.
What happened to the last tranche of Telstra shares?
Rex Douglas says:
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 3:39 pm
Nick Kyrgios’ charge dismissed by the judge after he pleaded guilty. Canberra judge said the publicity of the trial, the time that has elapsed since the incident, and the fact that it appeared to be a one-off incident, meant the case did not warrant a conviction @smh @theage— Paul Sakkal (@paulsakkal) February 3, 2023
___________
Picture the court room scene. Defence barrister rises to sum up…
“M’Lud, the Defence contends that a conviction is not warranted as my client only assaulted his victim on a one off basis.”
You would not have found an aboriginal woman in Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Yuendumu, Papunya…I am talking the coal face here that would have wanted to get rid of the cashless debit card. Just more money for men for grog and all the freakish misery that brings.