Flood tax, carbon tax

[Ethnic]

Read what I've written Celly - charity will NOT be nearly enough in this situation. I trust you can understand that.

How do you suppose that Bligh and Ballieu will be able to raise a NATIONAL levy as state premiers? This is a situation where NATIONAL government is required to do what the states alone cannot.

How blindly do you hate an administration that you would deny them the funding to rebuild a shattered state even though the contribution being asked of you over and above what you would freely give is almost NOTHING to you financially.

To scream blue murder at being coerced into giving the most insignificant drop of blood to help rebuild one's very own country in the wake of a disaster - all because you hate a particular policy maker - is an attitude I am struggling to fathom.

And when you think about my name, you'll realise who I am.

Sounds like you're the one from Gladstone. Why aren't you using your usual nick?

Gillard will use this levy as a pathetic and desperate attempt to bring the budget into surplus. The mining tax, this flood tax and the carbon tax are nothing more than cheap political points for her and her useless government to babble on about how wonderful they are with the budget while our bank accounts are bled dry. Now Gillard denies that she will use the flood levy for anything other than flood rebuilding but her legacy leaves much to be desired. If Gillard means what she says then she will do the following: once the levy money is fully collected and counted, she will divide it accordingly and the distribute the money directly to the relevant Premiers and they will take full control of the rebuilding of their state. If Gillard does anything else she will prove that she is in it for herself.

[Outlaw Yogi]

Where Julia's gang mucked up most on the flood levy, was in delivery to the public, by just announcing an executive dictate rather than forwarding the proposal and letting the public make the initiative their own. Would have taken longer to get going, but would garner far more public support.

[Leftwinger]

Yes one from Adelaide, I am indeed the one from Gladstone. You can get bored with using the same nick everywhere.

Gillard will use this levy as a pathetic and desperate attempt to bring the budget into surplus. The mining tax, this flood tax and the carbon tax are nothing more than cheap political points for her

Actually in regards to mining, did you know that while certain kinds of mining in Australia (NOT the same thing as "Australian" mining) are enormously lucrative at this point in our history, it's pretty questionable as to how much of that lucre actually makes it back into the domestic economy. Mining is a tiny employer, less than 2% of the workforce. The workers often earn good money but they're just too thin on the ground for their spending to have a huge impact outside the little, concentrated pockets of them, such as my town. The bulk of the most lucrative mining is owned by well-heeled foreign shareholders. The income generated, around 6% of GDP last I looked (calling something that employs 2% of the workforce and generates 6% of GDP "the golden goose" which the economy would instantly crash and burn without starts to sound like overstating things a bit eh?) only all enters the economy in theory. It may be posted to headline GDP but much of it goes straight to fat cats in places like New York, London and Zurich.

These fluffy bunnies are absolutely rolling in cash gained by digging up and flogging off OUR natural resources. Resources that are FINITE. Given that they won't last forever and given that what they put back in is pretty minimal compared to what they take out, I think they could part with a little more of those earnings. But then again, since the mining tax was just a giant government gimmick and government would only waste it, I guess we should have always just let the status qou go on - but, hey, I digress.

I'm quite happy for my houshold to be "bled dry" to the tune of the cost of a stubby of beer a week as long as it goes toward the purpose at hand - we can't afford to wait 12 months to begin rebuilding. It has to start as soon as humanly possible. Of course, some households will pay more than that but since many of them are the ones that are somehow able to afford $600 000+ McMansions, if they can't spare the cost of a bottle of passion pop for something like this, I think it says a fair bit about their character.




Yogi - I think where Julia's gang mucked up on this was to have underestimated the cynicism of the public and probably the depths to which a politically partisan MSM will stoop.

[IQS.RLOW]

$350Bn budget and labor can't find a saving of $1.8Bn amongst all their other wasteful crap?

LW you truly are a pathetic excuse for a man. You want every one to just roll over and rake it up the arse and love it like you do. Well here's a newsflash for ya. The people have woken up to the Unaustralian Socialist Services Retards that you would prefer us to be and said a big FUCK YOU to being taxed even a "stubby of beer" because it is not to help repair QLD, its to help repair labors shocking fiscal record

[Ethnic]

Lefty, mining may only employ 2% of the working population but both the federal and state governments collect billions in taxes and royalties. Queensland alone gets about $3 billion per year from coal. This money is then used for health, education, infrastructure, community sport, poodles - who the fuck knows. In other words without mining we would be down billions.

Everything else you said seems to indicate some level of jealousy of successful and rich people. McMansions? You mean large homes that people are free to build? Sheesh enough of these stupid class wars. If you have the money, then you're free to spend it however the hell you want.

You failed to address the key concern and that is: Will the flood levy be used for sinister purposes involving bringing a certain budget into surplus or will it actually all go to helping flood victims rebuild? Since most of Australia wouldn't trust Gillard to take their garbage to the kerb, she must give ALL THE MONEY straight to Anna Bligh and Ted Ballieu for them to use on rebuilding. None of it is to remain with the federal government and their bungled way of life. Only then will she gain some credibility. I'll tell you what, thank God for Anna Bligh because Julia Gillard has been an absolute joke during the flood crisis.

[Jovial Monk]

Give money to state governments???? No way! It would all be spent on bureaucrats!

[Ethnic]

So there aren't any bureaucrats in the federal government?

[Jovial Monk]

As you move from Federal to State to Local govt you get less efficiency and more corruption.

A fed govt can’t act corruptly. You may not like Gillard but it won’t be her directing where each dollar goes.

[Ethnic]

Then if Gillard won't hand it over she'll do other things with the money. She can't resist. It's the Rudd/Gillard way. FFS Bring back Hawke - at least he had some good ideas.

Efficiency and not corrupt my aching arse - BER and Batts insulation anyone?

[boxy]

As you move from Federal to State to Local govt you get less efficiency and more corruption.

Funnily enough, I get the impression that the opposite applies. Local governments used to be the ipitome of democracy as oversight. When they were small, every voter had a fairly accurate idea of the level of trust they could give to each and every candidate, because they knew them personally.

The bigger, and more detached from the electroate the politicians got, the more they knew they could get away with, with spin and deniability, and just plain bald faced lying.