Dudded Diggers

[mantra]

Abbott is now being referred to as the Slime Minister. What a surprise. It does seem a little unfair. Here we have the politicians who have granted themselves a hefty pay rise of 140% over a couple of years, yet they want our troops to accept below inflation wage increases and reduced benefits. There would be few Australians who could agree with this.

The Defence Force Welfare Association's Facebook page has been carpet bombed with negative comments about the 1.5 per cent pay rise across three years plus the loss of leave days for 57,000 members of the ADF with comparisons being drawn with the massive leap in politicians entitlements and Tony Abbott referred to as the "Slime Minister".

"I saw my husband for 55 days in total last year and this is what we get," wrote one woman who called the deal pathetic.

One said "I have always voted conservative but this amongst other things have forced me to reconsider" and another wrote "you can bet there will be more partners of ADF members pressuring them to leave even more so now!".

Serving ADF members must be careful about what they say in the public domain about their employer so quite often it is the spouses delivering the fury over the ADF's latest workplace remuneration arrangement.

A common theme was the constant improvement in politicians entitlements.

Politicians' pay rises have outstripped those of Australian soldiers by more than 140 per cent over the past two decades, according to new research by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

"Amazing how the politicians sit on their bums at home in safety yet get huge wages amazing benefits, huge pensions from retirement regardless of age they retire," wrote one angry observer.

"Yet the people who they send to a war zone to do their dirty work can't even get pay to match inflation."

A woman who worked out how the $36-a-fortnight pay rise for her husband would be whittled down to a $12 increase after tax and superannuation said she feared the looming price increase in fuel - the Coalition plans to introduce a twice yearly, half a cent increase in the fuel excise.

"DHA will increase rent and water... I'm sure other things such as electricity will increase," the same woman said.

There was doubt among some defence force families about the 1.5 per cent annual pay rise costing the government $634 million across three years with questions raised about whether this number took into account lost leave days under the new arrangement.


Read more:http://www.smh.com.au/national/public-s ... z3I7ZeX3vz

SN: 6/11 Edited this post due to a complaint
SN: 7/11 Word reinstated as it is a term used in the media.

[Rorschach]

Annual pay rises and bonuses have never been part of the employment deal in any job I've had. Why should the defence force be any different?

Yes it is a small increase, but then it is an increase.

Perhaps if The Green/ALP government hadn't been so loose with our money the current government could afford to pay them more.

Didn't the last pollie pay rise come in under the ALP?

Personally I think particularly in times of conflict the defence forces should be well payed.

[mantra]

Personally I think particularly in times of conflict the defence forces should be well payed.

We can't compare their salaries to other workers. Few of us would be prepared to go where they go. Of course - if we end up with a shortage of recruits because of the lack of remuneration - Abbott could always reintroduce conscription. The unemployment figures are abysmal and the worst they've been since 2004. If they get worse, conscription could be an alternative to rising unemployment.

The proportions haven't been that low since December 2004. They were never that low at any time during the Rudd/Gillard government or at any time during the global financial crisis.

Disturbingly, apart from a brief blip in March, the employment to population ratio has been sinking during the Tony Abbott's entire first year in office. He was elected with an employment to population ratio of 61.1 per cent. In a year in which Australia's working-age population has climbed by 1.9 per cent, the number of Australians with jobs has climbed just 0.9 per cent.

The Coalition promised one million jobs in five years. In its first year in office it has delivered 105,500. In a year in which Australia's working-age population grew 1.9 per cent, the number of Australians with jobs grew just 0.9 per cent.

For Victoria, about to face an state election, the figures are dire. Victoria's unemployment rate is 6.8 per cent, the highest since 2001. Only Tasmania and Queensland have worse unemployment. Victoria's employment to population ratio is 60.2 per cent, well down on the 62.5 per cent the Coalition inherited when it took office.

Riding high in relative terms are NSW and Western Australia. The NSW unemployment rate is just 5.7 per cent, Western Australia's is 5.2 per cent. The national unemployment rate is 6.2 per cent, higher than it was in the global financial crisis and the highest since 2002.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/comment- ... z3IHp7qOdo

[IQS.RLOW]

If you are feeling sorry for the diggers, then you should go and apologise to them directly for the way you vote.

It's your fault.

[mantra]

Military wages and allowances, regardless of whether you blame the previous government, should never be compromised. This government needs to start chasing all the corporate tax evaders and others at the top of the heap who are getting government handouts so they don't have to spend their own money.

This from a digger and no doubt he's not alone in his disillusionment. The government may just have gone a step too far.

The decision to increase defence personnel wages by only 1.5 per cent, a rate below inflation that would mean a decrease in pay in real terms was the last straw.

The Defence Force member says he has “sworn to protect and serve” his country, and until now was “enormously proud to do so”.

“My identity as a Serving Member has taken some hits recently,” he said.

“The order not to wear or our uniforms in public because of an ‘unspecified’ threat — if I wasn’t scared to wear my uniform fighting in Afghanistan, I’m sure as hell not going to be scared to wear it on any Australian street. But, I’ll toe the line.

“And then there was my recent discovery as I investigated my upcoming posting, that Defence has been quietly stripping away allowances for things such as the cross country moves that it requires its members to undertake.

“I’m only going to get a third of the allowances that I got for the exact same move I made previously, and in fact am going to be out of pocket? OK, OK ... You are telling me you’re only going to pay me to fly and if I choose to drive I guess that’s just my own stupid fault.

“But today, the government that I have sworn to protect and serve, and that up to this point have been enormously proud to do so, has signed off on a deal that is essentially a kick in the teeth to every Soldier, Airmen, & Sailor.

“They have given us a ‘pay rise’ of 1.5% per year for the next few years. This is more than 1.5% below estimated inflation, and 140% less than the pay rise that politicians have awarded themselves in past years.”

“And how are we, the Serving members of this countries military forces supposed to pay the government back for this paltry pay rise? By sacrificing leave days and allowances across the board. In fact, the monetary value of the lost leave days is greater in value then the extra money this ‘pay increase’ will deliver.”

Expressing his disgust at the pay increase decision the Defence Force Welfare Association has labelled “insultingly low”, the soldier goes on to sympathise with outsiders disgusted at the military.

“If you want to attack me in the street because you disdain the fact that I am an Australian Soldier, then at the very least I can understand you,” he added.

“My own government disdains me and my fellow serving members, and it disdains us publicly and with thinly disguised contempt.

“I am an Australian Soldier and, for the first time in eleven years, I am thoroughly disgusted to be one.”

http://www.news.com.au/technology/desig ... 7114540290

[Rorschach]

Expressing his disgust at the pay increase decision the Defence Force Welfare Association has labelled “insultingly low”, the soldier goes on to sympathise with outsiders disgusted at the military.

“If you want to attack me in the street because you disdain the fact that I am an Australian Soldier, then at the very least I can understand you,” he added.

“My own government disdains me and my fellow serving members, and it disdains us publicly and with thinly disguised contempt.

“I am an Australian Soldier and, for the first time in eleven years, I am thoroughly disgusted to be one.”

This is all illogical poorly thought out bullshyt.

[mantra]

This is all illogical poorly thought out bullshyt.

Is it? I think generally Australians are disgusted with the government on this issue. We had an announcement today that at the behest of Obama, 200 more troops are going to be sent to Iraq to help train the Iraqi army - AGAIN!! Didn't we go through this exercise 12 years ago?

I would think that shortly there will be an avalanche of troops taking sick leave simply because of the reduction in their benefits and future wages. It's not worth risking their lives for a stingy regressive government who doesn't give a stuff about them.

[Rorschach]

This is all illogical poorly thought out bullshyt.

Is it? I think generally Australians are disgusted with the government on this issue. We had an announcement today that at the behest of Obama, 200 more troops are going to be sent to Iraq to help train the Iraqi army - AGAIN!! Didn't we go through this exercise 12 years ago?

I would think that shortly there will be an avalanche of troops taking sick leave simply because of the reduction in their benefits and future wages. It's not worth risking their lives for a stingy regressive government who doesn't give a stuff about them.

Yes it is.
Most Australians would like to think the people in the defence force are well paid and they are. Most people do not get automatic pay rises every year. yes it would be nice to give them one if we can afford to.
I've already spoken to this elsewhere.
So far we are not sending more troops and if the ME and Muslims could behave, we wouldn't have to.
You can think what you like... time will tell.
As for your political bias and language... it's always on show... I gather the last government thought they were being paid enough otherwise they'd have given them a pay rise eh? Of course we could turn them into a choir and teach them to sing Kum Bay Yah like the Greens want right?

[mantra]

So far we are not sending more troops and if the ME and Muslims could behave, we wouldn't have to.
You can think what you like... time will tell.
As for your political bias and language... it's always on show... I gather the last government thought they were being paid enough otherwise they'd have given them a pay rise eh? Of course we could turn them into a choir and teach them to sing Kum Bay Yah like the Greens want right?

You just choose to be contrary whether you believe what you're saying or not.

We were told we weren't putting troops on the ground - so that's a lie. When did we hear about the 200 special forces? Yesterday?

Our commitment is clear, it’s up to eight Super Hornet strike aircraft ... it’s up to 200 special forces. We have made a strong commitment to disrupting and degrading the Isil death cult and we continue to talk with our partners and allies about how this is best achieved.”

As far as more troops go - do you think Abbott has said no to Obama?

THE US has approached Australia about providing a second deployment of up to 200 more Australian “training” troops to Iraq to help plan combat operations against the terrorist army of Islamic State.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/n ... 7118873445

This from a defence wife on behalf of her husband.

And Adelaide-based defence force wife "Karen", whose husband is due to deploy to the Middle East next week and who will miss out on Christmas with his family, said she had chosen to speak out because "Defence is not like the public service. Defence Force members can't strike, they can't speak out".

At the same time, Defence personnel have flooded to join peak body the Defence Force Welfare Association, whose membership of serving men and women has rocketed from about 1100 to 5000 since the pay stoush began.

She told Fairfax Media her husband would lose his Members with Dependents food allowance under the proposed pay offer, which is worth $4905 annually.

At the same, her husband will receive a pay rise of just $1280 annually in line with the below inflation 1.5 per cent offer – leaving her and her family $3625 worse off each year.

"I could live with 1.5 per cent but it's the other stuff they are cutting, they don't talk about the allowances. It's kind of a low blow," she said.

"I get that it's tough economic times but they have changed things half way through [her husband's posting] and cut the allowance."

And Karen said she had been "lectured" by a staffer when she rang the office of Assistant Defence Minister Stuart Robert about Labor's legacy of debt before being told the Minister was "too busy to ring someone like me back".


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/ ... z3Ij11gp00

[Rorschach]

So far we are not sending more troops and if the ME and Muslims could behave, we wouldn't have to.
You can think what you like... time will tell.
As for your political bias and language... it's always on show... I gather the last government thought they were being paid enough otherwise they'd have given them a pay rise eh? Of course we could turn them into a choir and teach them to sing Kum Bay Yah like the Greens want right?

You just choose to be contrary whether you believe what you're saying or not.

No I don't... you just can't help your bias.

We were told we weren't putting troops on the ground - so that's a lie. When did we hear about the 200 special forces? Yesterday?

Our commitment is clear, it’s up to eight Super Hornet strike aircraft ... it’s up to 200 special forces. We have made a strong commitment to disrupting and degrading the Isil death cult and we continue to talk with our partners and allies about how this is best achieved.”

We were always committing air and ground troops the ground troops are there to train. There ain't nothing new about that.

As far as more troops go - do you think Abbott has said no to Obama?

I don't know what he said... do you? So far he didn't say yes and roll over and expect his tummy to be rubbed though did he. You're sounding like that idiot Milne.

BTW I cant access news limited these days. You'll have to provide the quotes.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/ ... z3Ij11gp00