Auspol May - Crisis on Infinite Australias - The Something Awful Forums

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Cartoon: Jun 20, 2008; poop

It's all coming unstuck! Game over man! Game over!

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...524-gp2f04.html

quote:

Election 2016: The black hole in ScoMo's $67b black hole May 24, 2016 - 6:18PM James Massola Chief Political Reporter

A super-massive budget black hole?

The Treasurer's attack on Labor's spending falters with the use of broad fiscal assumptions. Vision ABC News 24.

Treasurer Scott Morrison has denied there is a black hole of as much as $35 billion in the government's own claim that Labor has a $67-billion, four-year black hole in its budget costings. As debate over policy costings erupted on Tuesday ahead of Friday's economic debate at the National Press Club, the Coalition's attempt to attack Labor's costings backfired and the Treasurer was forced to admit an $18 billion error - which may grow as high as $35 billion - in its $67 billion claim. The under-pressure Treasurer, when confronted by errors in government calculations of Labor policies, back-tracked and conceded that the claimed Labor funding shortfall was "at least $32 billion and as much as $67 billion. They are well behind".

Labor's shadow finance minister, Tony Burke, seized on the error, claiming the Treasurer and Finance minister Mathias Cormann had attempted to treat Australians "like fools" and that "they know the information they are giving the Australian people is wrong. And they intend to give it anyway." Mr Morrison and Mr Cormann had initially claimed the "black hole" included all opposition spending commitments, blocked measures and spending that Labor wanted to restore "When you put all these measures together you get to $67 billion," Mr Morrison said, adding it "extrapolates out to almost $200 billion" over 10 years. The contested $35 billion comprises spending cuts made by government, which Labor has disagreed with - and which the government says amounts to money that Labor will spend. Therefore, it must be accounted for and funded.

The government, as part of its plan to ensure economic management stays front and centre in the election, has been hammering Bill Shorten for a throwaway line over the weekend about adding a million dollars to a "spend-o-meter". But its mistake on Tuesday was to include in the contested $35 billion the assertion that Labor would restore $19.27 billion in cuts to foreign aid, based on a July 2015 interview by shadow foreign minister Tanya Plibersek. But Ms Plibersek announced $224 million for foreign aid over the weekend, taking Labor's final foreign aid commitment to just $800 million over four years - leaving an $18.47 billion black hole in the Coalition's own "black hole" claim. And the government's $35 billion estimate contains other mistakes, including a $1 billion typo on Labor's school funding promise, a potential $10 billion error on superannuation policies and a $200 million mistake over funding for the Ipswich Motorway in Queensland, which the Coalition has itself committed to.

Mr Morrison dismissed a suggestion there was a "black hole in your black hole" but then walked back claims all $35 billion should be counted. "Not at all. These are measures that Labor have said they oppose. Until they say they support them, it's for Labor to clarify. Worst case there is $67 billion, best case is a $32 billion black hole," he said. By the end of a lengthy press conference, Mr Morrison was forced to concede "the $35 billion, we are quite open about the fact is up for discussion and we would like the Labor Party to clarify what's in that $35 billion". The government document estimates Labor will raise $16.29 billion from announced revenue measures and savings but set against that, it accurately counts $18.15 billion in savings and revenue measures blocked by Labor in the Senate and $30.4 billion in Labor spending promises to date. That delivered what Mr Morrison called a "hard promises" figure of $30 billion.

Mr Burke said the government had "invented policies Labor hadn't announced".

"By the end of the media conference, instead of holding to the figures they were saying: 'Oh well, maybe the figures are somewhere between $67 billion and $32 billion'," he said. "We've made clear that over the medium term, there will be more improvements to the budget bottom line than spends."

Hard to run on sound fiscal management when you get your sums wrong and instantly concede that you were wrong by over 50%.

An even worse look when you are cooking the books too.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...20160523-gp1c04

quote:

Election 2016: Draft report intended to discredit Labor on negative gearing linked to Scott Morrison meeting May 24, 2016 James Massola and Peter Martin

Election 2016: Twist in negative gearing battle Draft research aimed at discrediting Labor's negative gearing policy was commissioned by the Treasurer's friend. The Age's economics editor Peter Martin has more.

Peter Martin: Hard to see the truth through the ink Research intended for use in a bid to discredit Labor's negative gearing campaign was commissioned after a meeting between Scott Morrison and a close friend and senior figure in Australia's property industry.

I am writing this as we go, and there are a number of references that you are looking at that won't be there in the final But the draft report contains a series of factual errors and makes bold claims of a "resale price cliff" and "social dysfunction" that have alarmed some in the real estate industry to whom it has been circulated. An email obtained by Fairfax Media shows Greg Paramor, the managing director of property company Folkestone, discussed the need for a study critiqueing Labor's policy with Brian Haratsis, the executive chairman of advisory firm MacroPlan Dimasi. Mr Paramor, who is a friend of Mr Morrison and former president of the Australian Property Council, made the request after his encounter with the Treasurer. "Greg recently had the opportunity to meet with The Hon. Scott Morrison to discuss negative gearing," the email notes. "As a result of that meeting, Greg agreed to provide a report to the Treasurer � he asked Brian Haratsis to undertake a study on the impact of the proposed negative gearing changes." The email, sent from an unnamed person inside Mr Paramor's company, was sent to senior industry figures last week. It also asks for feedback as "the Treasurer is keen to get the report next week".

Entitled "Short Memory: Negative Gearing and Capital Gains Tax: Foundations of the New Australian Housing Model," the attached draft report is also presented with an alternative title: "Shortened Memory". It claims Labor's policy would remove 205,000 dwellings from the rental housing stock over a decade, adding to housing stress. Asked why removing dwellings from the rental stock would add to housing stress when the dwellings would still be available for use, Mr Haratsis said the phrase was meant to refer to low-income rental dwellings. The draft says Labor's policy would both make housing less affordable and create a "resale price cliff" as large numbers of apartments were sold at a loss. Mr Haratsis explained the apparent contradiction by saying the market was bifurcated and that different parts of it would react differently. Mr Paramor confirmed to Fairfax Media he had recently met with Mr Morrison over the negative gearing issue but denied he had been asked for the research by the Treasurer.

"It [negative gearing] was one of the things we discussed," he said, but he "didn't know" why the leaked email from a member of his staff said the Treasurer was keen to get the draft report this week. Mr Morrison's office said the Treasurer met with "many people from the community and the real estate industry who are raising concerns about Labor's negative gearing proposal". The Treasurer's office denied he had asked for a report to be prepared or that he or his office had received copies. The report also says Australian governments would need to stump up an extra $3.3 billion per year for social housing and rent assistance should Labor's policy became law, more than the $3.2 billion per year it would raise. The total economic cost of Labor's policy would be $5 billion per year, a reference Mr Haratsis said has since been removed from the document after acknowledging that it was arrived at by adding up payments without subtracting receipts.

"I am writing this as we go, and there are a number of references that you are looking at that won't be there in the final," he said. "I want to go back and recalculate the numbers." Prepared in haste with what appears to have been a speech recognition program, the draft at one point refers to Labor's promise to "grandfather" the entitlements of existing investors as a promise to create "ground furthered" properties. The leaking of the report potentially blunts another avenue of attack on Labor's plan to restrict negative gearing to new properties only and halve the capital gains tax discount to 25 per cent, which has been the subject of a fierce government scare campaign. Mr Haratsis insisted it was his decision to initiate the report after his meeting with Mr Paramor, that he would fund the work himself and that it was planned for release next week - at which point "I could maybe give it to the Treasurer". The report critiques organisations such as the Grattan Institute, which engages in "Robin Hood economics" and chooses to "ostracise high income individuals" instead of focusing on tax efficiency.

Say it isn't so Scotty! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vyj1C8ogtE

All of this is on the front page of the SMH today and signals a solid swing away from the largely positive support that Turdball had been receiving. Is this the first toll of the bell weather?

I'm astonished but apparently grassroots politics isn't actually dead despite the last three decades dedicated to stamping it out in all it's forms.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-25/inner-west-council-protesters-shut-down-first-meeting/7443204

quote:

Inner West Council: Protesters shut down first meeting in Sydney Updated about 2 hours ago
The first meeting of the new Inner West Council in Sydney has been shut down after hundreds of chanting protesters refused to allow the council's administrator to speak.

Key points:

Protesters shouted at new council administrator as he spoke
Residents angry about council mergers and WestConnex
Protesters said disruptions will continue

About 200 protesters, angry at the New South Wales Government's decision to merge Ashfield, Leichhardt and Marrickville councils into one entity and the WestConnex project, drowned out Inner West Council administrator Richard Pearson during the meeting at Petersham on Tuesday night. Protesters repeatedly chanted "stop WestConnex" while Mr Pearson was trying to speak and "out" as he left the meeting.

Officers from the NSW Police Riot Squad (In no kind of an overreaction) were called in to monitor the meeting.

Go nuclear!

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-24/fukushima-operator-reveals-600-tonnes-melted-during-the-disaster/7396362

quote:

The operator of the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant has revealed that 600 tonnes of reactor fuel melted during the disaster, and that the exact location of the highly radioactive blobs remains a mystery.

# ? May 25, 2016 01:57

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# ? Jun 5, 2024 12:55

NPR Journalizard: Feb 14, 2008

Mr Chips posted:

Is it really a million people? The only numbers I can quickly find while eating my brekkie is ~120k 457 workers in 2013, and ~144k 417 (working holiday visas) in 2015.

http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2016/03/australias-disgrace-the-exploitation-of-temp-workers/

quote:

The Senate Education and Employment References Committee has released a scathing report entitled A National Disgrace: The Exploitation of Temporary Work Visa Holders, which documents the abuses of Australia�s temporary visa system for foreign workers.

According to the report, there are over 1.8 million temporary visa holders in Australia (see Table 2.5 below), with approximately 1.4 million of them having work rights. This means that temporary visa holders comprise around 10% of Australia�s labour force.

# ? May 25, 2016 02:00

screaden: Apr 8, 2009

PaletteSwappedNinja posted:

Why was Angry Anderson partying at a funeral home?

My bad, I asked him what happened and it turns out it was actually a warehouse stock job, the owner happened to be good friends with him and brought him along to liven the party up.

# ? May 25, 2016 02:35

Anidav: Feb 25, 2010; ahhh fuck its the rats again

Bout 50 people outside parliament in Queensland protesting that abortion is murder.

# ? May 25, 2016 02:39

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Anidav posted:

Bout 50 people outside parliament in Queensland protesting that abortion is murder.

damnit if I didn't have another assessment centre this arvo I'd go and counter-protest with something pithy like 'menstruation is murder'

if u have a uterus and u don't get pragnet every single possible time, u r murdering potential babbys

# ? May 25, 2016 02:41

thatbastardken: Apr 23, 2010; A contract signed by a minor is not binding!

A friend of mine just had a miscarriage at 13 weeks and if I was free I would go to parliament house and take a loving crowbar to those vultures.

the protesters, not parliament

although...

# ? May 25, 2016 02:44

G-Spot Run: Jun 28, 2005

all ~~babies~~haploid cells want to get borned

# ? May 25, 2016 02:44

Cartoon: Jun 20, 2008; poop

thatbastardken posted:

A friend of mine just had a miscarriage at 13 weeks and if I was free I would go to parliament house and take a loving crowbar to those vultures.

the protesters, not parliament

although...

Greens candidate threatens violence to a group of mentally challenged pensioners.

# ? May 25, 2016 02:54

hooman: Oct 11, 2007; This guy seems legit.; Fun Shoe

Undifferentiated cells are people too!

# ? May 25, 2016 02:54

ewe2: Jul 1, 2009

Cartoon posted:

It's all coming unstuck! Game over man! Game over!
Hard to run on sound fiscal management when you get your sums wrong and instantly concede that you were wrong by over 50%.

An even worse look when you are cooking the books too.

Say it isn't so Scotty! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vyj1C8ogtE

All of this is on the front page of the SMH today and signals a solid swing away from the largely positive support that Turdball had been receiving. Is this the first toll of the bell weather?

I'm more impressed by the refusal of journalists to take the figures and the thrust of the presser at face value, that's a real worm that's turned. When journos can fling your sums and rhetoric back at you it doesn't just mean you've lost the plot, it means they're not going to stick around for the matinee.

# ? May 25, 2016 03:02

WhiskeyWhiskers: Oct 14, 2013; "هذا ليس عادلاً."
"هذا ليس عادلاً على الإطلاق."
"كان هناك وقت الآن."
(السياق الخفي: للقراءة)

Cartoon posted:

Greens candidate threatens violence to a group of mentally challenged pensioners.

Tbf they're not entitled to their pensions until they leave parliament.

# ? May 25, 2016 03:14

open24hours: Jan 7, 2001

https://twitter.com/thebigperc/status/735303320030433282
Counter protest at the dairy thing too.

# ? May 25, 2016 03:58

Chadzok: Apr 25, 2002

Cartoon posted:

The operator of the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant has revealed that 600 tonnes of reactor fuel melted during the disaster, and that the exact location of the highly radioactive blobs remains a mystery.

better be careful of these, they creep.. and leap. and slide and glide across the floor

# ? May 25, 2016 04:49

Solemn Sloth: Jul 11, 2015; Baby you can shout at me,
But you can't need my eyes.

quote:

In an exclusive interview with Foreign Correspondent, the Tokyo Electric Power Company's chief of decommissioning at Fukushima, Naohiro Masuda, said the company hoped to pinpoint the position of the fuel and begin removing it from 2021.

But he admitted the technology needed to remove the fuel has to be invented.

Reassuring.

# ? May 25, 2016 05:49

Ferremit: Sep 14, 2007; if I haven't posted about MY LANDCRUISER yet, check my bullbars for kangaroo prints

Well they know where the fuel roughly is- it's inside the reactor vessels inside the containment building.

Which is about 100 times better than Chernobyl- they know exactly where the fuel is. Some is in the basement, some is in the shattered remains of the reactor core, some is inside the shattered remains of the containment structure, some is over there on the ground, some of it is spread in a fine cloud over much of Eastern Europe..

In terms of nuclear waste and nuclear accidents, it's actually pretty well stored and wasn't as bad as people are making it out to be.

# ? May 25, 2016 06:10

thatbastardken: Apr 23, 2010; A contract signed by a minor is not binding!

It is still pretty bad though.

# ? May 25, 2016 06:13

Starshark: Dec 22, 2005; Doctor Rope

Au Revoir Shosanna posted:

NEWSFLASH: I'm a migrant and I agree with Peter Dutton.

I'm a migrant and I don't agree with Peter Dutton.

What now.

# ? May 25, 2016 07:07

Lizard Combatant: Sep 29, 2010; I have some notes.

Peter Dutton posted:

I don't agree with migrants.

# ? May 25, 2016 07:09

Solemn Sloth: Jul 11, 2015; Baby you can shout at me,
But you can't need my eyes.

Ferremit posted:

Well they know where the fuel roughly is- it's inside the reactor vessels inside the containment building.

Which is about 100 times better than Chernobyl- they know exactly where the fuel is. Some is in the basement, some is in the shattered remains of the reactor core, some is inside the shattered remains of the containment structure, some is over there on the ground, some of it is spread in a fine cloud over much of Eastern Europe..

In terms of nuclear waste and nuclear accidents, it's actually pretty well stored and wasn't as bad as people are making it out to be.

On a scale of one to ten I would still rate it as 600 tonnes of nuclear material which we don't have the technology to remove lying in a seismically active coastal area.

# ? May 25, 2016 07:49

Anidav: Feb 25, 2010; ahhh fuck its the rats again

I'm a poo poo poster and I mostly agree with myself.

# ? May 25, 2016 08:17

MaliciousOnion: Sep 23, 2009; Ignorance, the root of all evil

La Trobe becomes Australia's first university to commit to fossil-fuel divestment

http://gu.com/p/4jh32

# ? May 25, 2016 08:45

V for Vegas: Sep 1, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER

Ferremit posted:

Well they know where the fuel roughly is- it's inside the reactor vessels inside the containment building.

Which is about 100 times better than Chernobyl- they know exactly where the fuel is. Some is in the basement, some is in the shattered remains of the reactor core, some is inside the shattered remains of the containment structure, some is over there on the ground, some of it is spread in a fine cloud over much of Eastern Europe..

In terms of nuclear waste and nuclear accidents, it's actually pretty well stored and wasn't as bad as people are making it out to be.

And in the country side surrounding Fukushima where over 100k people will never be able to return home again. And in the ocean and fish off the coast. And the stuff that is in the reactor vessels only needs to be 'pretty well stored' for a couple hundred thousand more years. Yep - people are totally overreacting to this.

# ? May 25, 2016 08:45

NPR Journalizard: Feb 14, 2008

V for Vegas posted:

And in the country side surrounding Fukushima where over 100k people will never be able to return home again. .... Yep - people are totally overreacting to this.

# ? May 25, 2016 08:48

gay picnic defence: Oct 5, 2009; I'M CONCERNED ABOUT A NUMBER OF THINGS

Frogmanv2 posted:

http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2016/03/australias-disgrace-the-exploitation-of-temp-workers/

This sort of stuff gives me the shits. I had to go back to uni and added an extra $80,000 onto my HECS/FEE HELP taking a couple of postgrad courses because it was too hard to find permanent work once I finished undergrad and moving from temp job to temp job was becoming pretty soul destroying. When the unemployment and underemployment rate is as high as it currently is there is no reason for a lot of those 1.4 million extra people to be in the workforce. Granted some of them will have skills that don't exist in the country but I'd be shocked if a large number of them were hired because they don't cost as much and are less likely to join a union.

# ? May 25, 2016 08:51

gay picnic defence: Oct 5, 2009; I'M CONCERNED ABOUT A NUMBER OF THINGS

MaliciousOnion posted:

La Trobe becomes Australia's first university to commit to fossil-fuel divestment

http://gu.com/p/4jh32

Good to see they're finally doing something right.

# ? May 25, 2016 08:53

NPR Journalizard: Feb 14, 2008

gay picnic defence posted:

This sort of stuff gives me the shits. I had to go back to uni and added an extra $80,000 onto my HECS/FEE HELP taking a couple of postgrad courses because it was too hard to find permanent work once I finished undergrad and moving from temp job to temp job was becoming pretty soul destroying. When the unemployment and underemployment rate is as high as it currently is there is no reason for a lot of those 1.4 million extra people to be in the workforce. Granted some of them will have skills that don't exist in the country but I'd be shocked if a large number of them were hired because they don't cost as much and are less likely to join a union.

I think you just hit on your reason.

# ? May 25, 2016 08:59

Jonah Galtberg: Feb 11, 2009

Ferremit posted:

Well they know where the fuel roughly is- it's inside the reactor vessels inside the containment building.

Which is about 100 times better than Chernobyl- they know exactly where the fuel is. Some is in the basement, some is in the shattered remains of the reactor core, some is inside the shattered remains of the containment structure, some is over there on the ground, some of it is spread in a fine cloud over much of Eastern Europe..

In terms of nuclear waste and nuclear accidents, it's actually pretty well stored and wasn't as bad as people are making it out to be.

you agree with greens on everything except nuclear right

# ? May 25, 2016 09:23

Snod.: Oct 3, 2014

Barnaby v RDN v some ALP shill

I haven't seen carp mentioned yet

# ? May 25, 2016 10:40

Pickled Tink: Apr 28, 2012; Have you heard about First Dog? It's a very good comic I just love.

Also, wear your bike helmets kids. I copped several blows to the head but my helmet left me totally unscathed.

Finally you should check out First Dog as it's a good comic I like it very much.; Fun Shoe

First Dog:

Kittens, extra large edition:

# ? May 25, 2016 10:50

Snod.: Oct 3, 2014

"Closing down live animal export caused people to come on boats" - Barnaby Joyce 2k16

# ? May 25, 2016 10:55

ewe2: Jul 1, 2009

Snod. posted:

"Closing down live animal export caused people to come on boats" - Barnaby Joyce 2k16

I did like Fitzgibbon's retort "well the Indonesians cut their live imports right down last year Barnaby, what did you say to them to make that happen?"

# ? May 25, 2016 10:57

Snod.: Oct 3, 2014

I think Mr Fitzgibbon just called him an idiot in not so many words

# ? May 25, 2016 10:59

Redcordial: Nov 7, 2009; TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP

lol the country is fed up with your safe spaces and trigger warnings you useless special snowflakes, send the sjws to mexico

Personally, I think tonight's episode of QandA has been quite entertaining and the audience member who just screamed about coal seam gas just made it 10/10.

Tony Jones looks loving weird tonight??

# ? May 25, 2016 11:27

Anidav: Feb 25, 2010; ahhh fuck its the rats again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYp1_iv-_a0
lmao

# ? May 25, 2016 11:46

Recoome: Nov 9, 2013; Matter of fact, I'm salty now.

https://www.facebook.com/melantifainfo/videos/1553442321627222/

lol get rekt UPF

# ? May 25, 2016 11:48

Sludge Tank: Jul 31, 2007; by Azathoth

I got some work with AEC coming up doing all the polling booths.

I have to remain entirely neutral through the whole election.

# ? May 25, 2016 13:31

birdstrike: Oct 30, 2008; i;m gay

Sludge Tank posted:

I got some work with AEC coming up doing all the polling booths.

I have to remain entirely neutral through the whole election.

you have to get into gear sometime for the car to work

# ? May 25, 2016 13:38

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

Sludge Tank posted:

I got some work with AEC coming up doing all the polling booths.

I have to remain entirely neutral through the whole election.

I recall more than one occasion in Boothby the AEC staff were loudly repeating Liberal talking points to each other the whole time I was in there.

# ? May 25, 2016 13:50

Sludge Tank: Jul 31, 2007; by Azathoth

# ? May 25, 2016 14:06

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# ? Jun 5, 2024 12:55

Konomex: Oct 25, 2010; a whiteman who has some authority over others, who not only hasn't raped anyone, or stared at them creepily...

What might be the effect of the ABC and other media organisations regularly comparing the labor and liberal policies to the greens as if it is some sort of three horse race. Like the greens have comparable policies to the major two.

# ? May 25, 2016 14:08

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