Politics

[Liam_snorkel]

I live in a state that has the worst unemployment in Australia at 8.1%, where more than 67% of the adult population is paid by the government in the form of wages (ie state employees) or benefits. That means only 23% are wealth creators.

Toady we had protesters in a sawmill in the NW of the state illegally stopping production and the Green members of state government refused to condemn this illegal protest, and the federal Greens actually endorsed the illegal occupation.

No wonder Tasmania is referred to as the mendicant state.

Tasmania the food bowl begging bowl of Australia

Please, please, please vote for a majority government.

Cheers
Chris

I'm quite happy to support Tasmania with my mainland tax dollars to prevent pristine native forests being logged. Take my money dammit!

Edit: no seriously. At the slightly above average wage male full time worker I am literally the cash cow for federal tax revenue. Anyone who earns much more than me has creative accountants minimising their tax footprint. Anyone who earns much less than me pays far leas in tax every year.

Have my money Tasmania!

 

[Mardoo]

So what is a good politician? I was going to ask people to name some good politicians currently in Australia, but then realised there is a far more interesting discussion in the the question of what makes a politician a good one? How do we know a good politician when we see one?

I have liked Keating's work because he seemed to look at policies both in long-term and big picture perspectives. He seemed to realise that his personal interests might not be the best for the country and, very importantly, was willing to take the chance of finding out that they weren't. He seemed to realise that he was there to serve what was good for the country.

Again, I wasn't here then so feel free to tell me how wrong I am. Wait, I don't need to say that, do I?

I guess I have always thought of a politician as an artist whose canvas is the people, the country and their future. Granted there's a fuckload of assumptions in that.

 

[tavas]

certainly. But remember the rhodes scholarship in the 80s was more like a gentleman's club and had little to no academic basis to admission (which it does now). He studied a Master of 'arts' whatever that means at Oxford I don't know.

Hawke started with a Bachelor of Arts too, then switched to Bachelor of Letters.

 

[Liam_snorkel]

Then a bachelor of beer drinking. He (or his supporters) never brandied about the "oh look Bob's a Rhodes scholar, he must be an intellectual" line in his defense. Malcolm Turnbull is also a Rhodes scholar but nobody spits it out in his defense because its meaningless.

 

[Dave70]

We need politicians like KP.
A no bullshit capitialist not afraid to tell the bureaucrat's and ATO which hunters to go **** themselves.

http://youtu.be/EVIOmU3l0Zo

 

[MartinOC]

Are we expected to be talking about bi-polar ticks here?

 

[Florian]

I live in a state that has the worst unemployment in Australia at 8.1%, where more than 67% of the adult population is paid by the government in the form of wages (ie state employees) or benefits. That means only 23% are wealth creators.

What are the remaining 10% classed as?

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

I have a mate who is the son of Kerry Packers personal accountant. It was him that told KP that anyone who didnt minimise their tax needed there head read.

I have been told some fascinating stuff about KP.

 

[manticle]

@taschris - is being a wealth creator the only way to contribute to society?

Working in health, infrastructure, education, arts and culture etc - all meaningless?

 

[Liam_snorkel]

We need politicians like KP.
A no bullshit capitialist not afraid to tell the bureaucrat's and ATO which hunters to go **** themselves.

http://youtu.be/EVIOmU3l0Zo

Such swagger!

I have a mate who is the son of Kerry Packers personal accountant. It was him that told KP that anyone who didnt minimise their tax needed there head read.
I have been told some fascinating stuff about KP.

Got anything tale worthy? AHB loves a good story.

 

[labels]

Hands Up who was happier under the Howard government. Yeah yeah I know, the GFC and all that, but could the current mob have done better? Even really staunch Labor friends of mine are 'Not Happy Jan' and are thinking twice twice

 

[manticle]

Not personally happier and not politically happier. Most arsehole government for a while.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

I could.....but prob not a good idea

 

[TasChris]

What are the remaining 10% classed as?

People who can count.....I am not in that group.

 

[Airgead]

Greens FTW!

If you look at the figures the Tas forrestry industry is a joke. It employs bugger all people and actually costs the state money to run. The sooner its shut down the better for Tasmania.

Sucks for the people in the industry but reality will catch up with them sooner or later. Best they can hope for is some assistance to re-skill.

 

[TasChris]

@taschris - is being a wealth creator the only way to contribute to society?

Working in health, infrastructure, education, arts and culture etc - all meaningless?

Did I say or imply that health, infrastructure, arts and culture were meaningless?
Are you trying to verbal me? ( can you verbal a post?)


My point is that Tasmania is being dragged down by the noisy minority. Tassie is going backwards at an alarming rate and employment rates will not improve until the business sector has confidence in investing in the state without being illegally damaged while a complicit state government does nothing.
Cheers
Chris

 

[manticle]

You implied that being gainfully employed in a government job was not on the same level as being a wealth creator and was on par with being a welfare recipient. Might not have been your intention but the wording wasn't great.

If the silent majority is such a majority, why the **** don't they speak up? Such a meaningless term.

 

[pk.sax]

Probably because the silent majority don't give a **** or are too dumb to contribute.

Read what you may into it, there are so many shades of sheep it'd take you many lifetimes to count them by the shade of green of the grass they rolled in last. Better off with leaders that want to think ahead rather than the naysaying dickheads like abbot that want to drag everything backwards. I probably don't watch enough tv to comment but I haven't heard a single thing from that man that looks at where this country is going and to provide for the future. He just wants to pull it all back into a cozy corner where he can comprehend things and manage it that way. Wake up idiot, you ain't running for running pop's milkbar.

 

[TasChris]

Greens FTW!

If you look at the figures the Tas forrestry industry is a joke. It employs bugger all people and actually costs the state money to run. The sooner its shut down the better for Tasmania.

Sucks for the people in the industry but reality will catch up with them sooner or later. Best they can hope for is some assistance to re-skill.

Greens FTW??
I think the next election will answer that
The forest industry employs 3500-4000 thousand people directly and tens of thousands indirectly ( 2011 census data) .
The numbers in the industry has been in decline due to constant market attacks and lies by such pieces of filth as peg putt and bob brown.
The figures recently released by the Australia Institute (extreme left wing think tank who's director Richard Denniss, was bob browns senior strategic advisor) of 972 employees are just rubbish. The 972 people must be very busy to produce approx 1 million plus tonnes of various wood products in the state per year.
Forest industry is under pressure and is under performing at the moment but it will be resurgent.

Where do you suggest Australia will get its timber from? Indonesia, China, Thailand, Burma, Fiji any other third countries without the forest practices that Australia and Tasmania enshrines?

Cheers
Chris

 

[labels]

I am sure that the majority of Government workers work hard and do everthing that is asked of them. But with three tiers of government, a lot of people are employed in one of the three levels. Add to that the people on social security - including pensions, dole and everything else and we now have a 1:1 ratio of people off the teat and people on the teat. It has been published in the papers, check it out if you wish but the ratio is 1:1 Blind Freddy can see this is not sustainable.

Okay, maybe just sustainable with the mining boom and in good times prior to the GFC but now what? This country will fail if socialism prevails and we don't get off the welfare merry go round. It is time we started being responsible for ourselves and not relying on government. Social security is supposed to be a safety net - a safety net only. We need smaller government a fkn big hit to productivety and get people working, and a lot less tax and red tape on small business, then we can collectively make a really big difference.