AusPol July - Due to penalty cuts and tax hikes all wit is suspended

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > AusPol July - Due to penalty cuts and tax hikes all wit is suspended

«‹›68 »

Don Dongington: Sep 27, 2005; #ideasboom; College Slice

Lid posted:

https://m.facebook.com/TimKennedyMMA/posts/1078650138838938:0

AKA I'm a sociopath who feels absolutely no remorse for killing babies and everyone who does should probably harden up BOOTSTRAPS

TO NOBODY'S SURPRISE EVER

https://www.theage.com.au/business/workplace/penalty-rates-cuts-devastating-parliamentary-inquiry-finds-20180724-p4ztdd.html

quote:

Cuts to weekend penalty rates have hit Victorian women and regional workers hardest, threaten the state�s economic growth and have not created any more jobs, according to a Parliamentary report.

The State Parliament�s Penalty Rates and Fair Pay Select Committee was scathing of the effects of the cuts to Sunday penalty rates for retail and hospitality workers that began in July 2017, saying the reductions hurt the most vulnerable workers and had not achieved their stated goals.

RELATED ARTICLE
Wage theft is paying for our fine-dining experience

But Opposition MPs on the committee attacked the inquiry as a waste of taxpayers� money designed to help the Labor Party attack the Turnbull government�s industrial relations policies.

The committee�s final report, published on Tuesday, argues there is little or no evidence that the promised benefits of the cuts � more jobs and more hours for retail and hospitality workers � have materialised.

Instead, the committee�s chairwoman Labor MP Gabrielle Williams wrote, the reductions had hurt the standard of living of up to 147,000 workers in Victoria, particularly young employees and women.

�During the inquiry, it became clear that the reduction in penalty rates is already having a significant detrimental impact on thousands of workers in the affected industries, particularly women, young people and employees in rural and regional parts of the state,� Ms Williams wrote.

�These workers, many of whom are among Victoria�s lowest-paid, have had their take-home pay reduced at a time when cost of living pressures are rising.

�As further penalty rate cuts are implemented in coming years, these effects will be magnified.�

The committee cited evidence from Professional Pharmacists Australia which reported no increase in opening hours of pharmacies, or more pharmacists employed following the first penalty rate reduction.

While noting it has been less than 12 months since the first penalty rates reductions took effect, "the anticipated benefits of the penalty rate reductions have been realised", the committee concluded.

But the committee was able to recommend little in the way of concrete action by the state government which has very limited influence on industrial relations policy.

Instead the Andrews government was urged in the committee�s report to �advocate� for changes to the Commonwealth�s industrial relations policies to protect the take-home pay and improve protections for workers.

The one recommendation where the state could act, the introduction of a criminal offence of knowingly underpaying workers, has already been promised if Labor wins November�s state election.

But the two Liberals on the committee, Robert Clark and Dee Ryall, wrote dissenting report savaging their Labor and Greens� colleagues motivations for holding the inquiry.

�This inquiry has been a blatant misuse of public funds by the Andrews government,� the two Liberals wrote.

�While the issues involved are important, the Victorian Parliament and government have almost no role in them.�

Mr Clark and Ms Ryall said the committee could not attract many witnesses other than those from the union movement who simply used the process to assert their policy positions.

�Most stakeholders have recognised the partisan motivation for this inquiry and its lack of genuine purpose,� the Liberals wrote.

Don Dongington fucked around with this message at 03:14 on Jul 25, 2018

# ? Jul 25, 2018 03:02

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 31, 2024 13:25

bandaid.friend: Apr 25, 2017; My first car was a stick

https://www.buzzfeed.com/elfyscott/women-are-twice-as-likely-to-die-in-the-six-months-after-a

quote:

Women are receiving poorer quality treatment for heart attacks in hospitals and are dying at twice the rate of men in the six months after these visits, according to a new Australian study.
The research, published in the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA), looked at patient data from 28 hospitals across all states and territories from 2009�2016 for men and women who had been diagnosed with a specific type of heart attack known as an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), where one of the heart's major arteries is blocked.
The researchers found that women were less likely to receive important intervention treatment in hospitals such as revascularisation (surgery to restore normal blood flow such as coronary artery bypass) and stents.
Six months after hospital treatment, women experience more major adverse cardiac events such as another STEMI or stroke and are twice as likely to die as men.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 04:03

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

ABC has an article up saying how Tradesmen need to stop handshake contracts where no written contract for a job exists and they just assume they will get paid for the job via a handshake and what happens is the client just disappears and pays the tradies nothing and they can't do anything about it because no contract actually exists.

How dumb are Australians?

# ? Jul 25, 2018 04:16

Whitlam: Aug 2, 2014; Some goons overreact. Go figure.

Anidav posted:

ABC has an article up saying how Tradesmen need to stop handshake contracts where no written contract for a job exists and they just assume they will get paid for the job via a handshake and what happens is the client just disappears and pays the tradies nothing and they can't do anything about it because no contract actually exists.

How dumb are Australians?

Strictly speaking the bolded part isn't entirely true, it's just often so much time and expense to prove there is one and what it was that that it's frequently cheaper to let it go than it is to go through the courts.

As to the second part, never underestimate it.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 04:32

kirbysuperstar: Nov 11, 2012; Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess.

Anidav posted:

How dumb are Australians?

plastic bags

# ? Jul 25, 2018 04:47

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

Anidav posted:

ABC has an article up saying how Tradesmen need to stop handshake contracts where no written contract for a job exists and they just assume they will get paid for the job via a handshake and what happens is the client just disappears and pays the tradies nothing and they can't do anything about it because no contract actually exists.

How dumb are Australians?

I feel like there's a space for a quick handshake contract app in the market.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 04:48

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

Konomex posted:

I feel like there's a space for a quick handshake contract app in the market.

Every day we stray further away from God

# ? Jul 25, 2018 04:50

Ghost Leviathan: Mar 2, 2017; Exploration is ill-advised.

And here I thought the stereotype was without a written contract the tradie will take your money and disappear off the face of the earth. Probably goes both ways.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 04:58

Amoeba102: Jan 22, 2010

Handshake contract and paid in cash so you can under report your income.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 05:04

Intoluene: Jul 6, 2011; Activating self-destruct sequence!; Fun Shoe

kirbysuperstar posted:

I should probably opt out of the health record thing but I'm pretty sure I can never get health insurance again anyway and the idea of a shitbag insurer glancing at my file and filling their trousers in horror is funny to me.

Nah, you totally can. Every insurer has to give the same rate to everyone for the same policy before loading and the Australian Government Rebate is applied. The term is "community rating". Legally, health insurance providers cannot discriminate in Australia. Only thing you'd step in to is 12 month wait for pre-existing conditions.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 05:09

Don Dongington: Sep 27, 2005; #ideasboom; College Slice

Ghost Leviathan posted:

And here I thought the stereotype was without a written contract the tradie will take your money and disappear off the face of the earth. Probably goes both ways.

One might get you a royal commission from the Coalition.

Guess which one!

# ? Jul 25, 2018 05:12

You Am I: May 20, 2001; Me @ your poasting

Anidav posted:

How dumb are Australians?

kirbysuperstar posted:

plastic bags

Pauline Hanson's One Nation

# ? Jul 25, 2018 05:13

kirbysuperstar: Nov 11, 2012; Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess.

Intoluene posted:

Nah, you totally can. Every insurer has to give the same rate to everyone for the same policy before loading and the Australian Government Rebate is applied. The term is "community rating". Legally, health insurance providers cannot discriminate in Australia. Only thing you'd step in to is 12 month wait for pre-existing conditions.

Maybe I was thinking of life insurance. Either way I told the guy what I had and he kinda just noped out of the call. Thanks for clarifying that, though - appreciate it.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 05:25

Periphery: Jul 27, 2003; ...

Yet another reason why the apartment market is going to absolutely poo poo the bed: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-25/residents-in-apartments-slugged-thousands-to-change-power-supply/10029842

quote:

As power bills surge, people are being told to shop around for cheaper deals.

But if you live in an apartment block switching electricity providers can be a confusing, painstaking process with large hidden costs.

Melbourne resident Jeremie Renard lives in a building with 175 apartments and for two years has been trying to change over from power provider WIN Connect.

WIN Connect is one of Australia's largest providers of embedded networks, which is where a private company powers multiple properties in the same building.

"It is quite difficult as you need to assess who the meters belong to and you either need to buy them back or get new ones," Mr Renaud said.

"You need to hire lawyers to help, it's extremely complex and time consuming."

Mr Renard said residents in his West Melbourne building will have to pay $50,000 to replace the metering if they switch energy providers, but will save money in the long run.

"We looked at the savings and just for the electricity it could be $40,000 per year. In two years you are already making a profit," he said.

WIN Connect's contract with the building has been in place since 2009, and states "we have the right to remove all hardware after providing you with the opportunity to purchase all or part of the hardware".

Mr Renard said the Owners Corporation had to wait for the existing five-year contract to expire before it switched providers.

An embedded network essentially involves a contract between the building owners, sometimes the developer, and an energy retailer to supply power to those living in the building.

Developers save costs by contracting electricity companies to supply the infrastructure and the metering throughout an apartment complex.

In return, the energy company is contracted to provide power to the whole building, which can tie customers to lengthy contracts, some as long as 20 years.

Under the contract, the company managing the embedded network can set prices on electricity tariffs, and if the agreement is terminated they may remove the meters from the building.

Strata lawyer Tom Bacon said with the explosion in apartment living and rising energy costs, there was an urgent need for reform to prevent electricity infrastructure being privately owned.

Mr Bacon said while embedded networks operated on the presumption of lower costs, the power companies could charge any fees they liked and trap customers within the network.

"Unless there is urgent reform, not next month, not next year, but right now then it is going to be too late, he said.

Mr Bacon said high-rise dwellers would often discover they were caught up in lengthy contracts they did not know existed.

"The capital costs of having to pay for the retrospective installation of meters and conduit throughout the building is prohibitively expensive," Mr Bacon said.

Wouldn't surprise me it this also happened with other things like internet etc.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 05:35

Dude McAwesome: Sep 30, 2004; Still better than a Ponytar

Periphery posted:

Yet another reason why the apartment market is going to absolutely poo poo the bed: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-25/residents-in-apartments-slugged-thousands-to-change-power-supply/10029842

Wouldn't surprise me it this also happened with other things like internet etc.

I live in a building with one of these embedded power networks. They charge above the market rate and it�s impossible to get out of. It�s hosed.

But then I�m looking into some future apartments being constructed under a capped-profit and ethical/sustainable model and they�re planning on embedding their own networks. And making the claim that it�ll be green energy at 60% of the market price of fossil fuel energy. Also planning to install their own 100/100 fibre lines and charging 75% of market rates.

The development is still a few years away, but it sounds good in theory.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 05:41

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

Intoluene posted:

Nah, you totally can. Every insurer has to give the same rate to everyone for the same policy before loading and the Australian Government Rebate is applied. The term is "community rating". Legally, health insurance providers cannot discriminate in Australia. Only thing you'd step in to is 12 month wait for pre-existing conditions.

And this will never, ever change, no matter how much giant for-profit insurers lobby Australian governments.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 06:00

Cartoon: Jun 20, 2008; poop

Anidav posted:

ABC has an article up saying how Tradesmen need to stop handshake contracts where no written contract for a job exists and they just assume they will get paid for the job via a handshake and what happens is the client just disappears and pays the tradies nothing and they can't do anything about it because no contract actually exists.

How dumb are Australians?

Verbal contracts are legally binding :shrug:

# ? Jul 25, 2018 07:13

Don Dongington: Sep 27, 2005; #ideasboom; College Slice

Yeah good luck paying for a lawyer on a handyman's income of... $maybe.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 07:14

JBP: Feb 16, 2017; You've got to know, to understand,
Baby, take me by my hand,
I'll lead you to the promised land.

Rocking up and threatening the customer with violence is free and effective. You can also break the things you fixed while there.

E: or do they mean dummies working on a crew with no employment details? Tradesmen working solo should be loving over all and sundry without issue.

JBP fucked around with this message at 07:22 on Jul 25, 2018

# ? Jul 25, 2018 07:18

bell jar: Feb 25, 2009

JBP posted:

Rocking up and threatening the customer with violence is free and effective. You can also break the things you fixed while there.

JBP advocating literal crimes in response to possible crimes? Where is the old JBP?!

# ? Jul 25, 2018 07:23

Don Dongington: Sep 27, 2005; #ideasboom; College Slice

I got the impression we were talking about wage theft by small businesses bringing on casual skilled labour then not paying for it, rather than sole traders getting hosed by customers.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 07:43

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

News Corp

WE can barely turn on the TV or flick through a newspaper these days without hearing about Australia’s housing affordability crisis.

But apparently, there’s actually no such thing.
That’s according to property expert and The Freedom Formula author Bushy Martin, who is convinced the only issue is with our own “entitled expectations”.

He said as a nation we were asking the wrong questions and treating the “symptoms rather than the cause”.
“Everyone goes on about the affordability crisis and there’s no doubt about it — if you want to buy property in Sydney or Melbourne’s inner ring, that’s going to be unaffordable for most people,” he told news.com.au.
“But it’s more of an accessibility and expectations issue than an affordability issue.
“It’s a dynamic multifaceted issue where isolated reactive and ill conceived interventions for the few are likely to have unknown and unintended far reaching consequences for the many.
“So do we really have a housing affordability issue? Yeah, nah.”
Mr Martin said first home buyers represented just one in seven property purchasers — and that as a country, we shouldn’t change the entire system for the “politically correct squeaky wheel minority”.
“Should we be turning housing policy on its head to cater for the few by meddling with the market that could potentially have significant impacts on the many?” he asked.
“Or should the few learn to suck it up, grow some b*lls, lower their short term expectations, start saving and become rentvestors or learn to live with a bit less for a little while to get started?”
Mr Martin insisted while we did have a problem in highly sought after areas, it was not happening across the board.
“We live in the best country in the world and the best locations come at a price because everyone wants to live there,” he said.
“So the issue in these lifestyle meccas for first home buyers is the savings deposit hurdle.
“But this belies the real underlying issue — our entitled expectations.”
He said most people were missing a “massive opportunity” by believing they had to own the home they lived in.

And he said our “instant iPhone everything world” was at least partly to blame, with people expecting to get everything they wanted immediately without putting in the hard yards.
But Mr Martin pointed to his own experience as an example of how to buck the trend.
He and his wife Sonya both started with nothing following previous relationship breakdowns before amassing an international portfolio of 12 properties together.
They achieved it by rentvesting — or investing in affordable properties outside of where they actually wanted to live, and then renting in their chosen location.
“We recognised pretty early on that having a mortgage and putting a dirty great noose around our necks and living on dog food and baked beans for 30 years probably wasn’t the way to get ahead,” he said.
“We made a conscious decision to rent in the location of our choice at a fraction of what we’d have paid in a mortgage, and we started putting all our energy into investing our income into assets — we bought property in affordable, fringe areas on the outskirts of Adelaide.”
He said it all came down to a question of “lifestyle versus loanstyle”.
“If we want the dream home in the dream location now, we need to compromise on lifestyle,” he explained.
“Or you can choose to enjoy a better lifestyle now by securing a lesser starter home further away.”
He said many Aussies needed to learn to “separate access from ownership” and realise we don’t necessarily have to own the best house in the best suburb in order to be “living the dream”.
Mr Martin stressed that while he was qualified to talk about property and finance, he was not a financial planner or accountant, and that people should talk to professionals before making major financial decisions to make sure it suits their risk profile.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 07:46

Intoluene: Jul 6, 2011; Activating self-destruct sequence!; Fun Shoe

Mr Chips posted:

And this will never, ever change, no matter how much giant for-profit insurers lobby Australian governments.

Who knows but for now, dude can get private health insurance.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 07:46

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

https://realestatetalk.com.au/property-investment-strategy-bushy-martin/

# ? Jul 25, 2018 07:46

Doctor Spaceman: Jul 6, 2010; "Everyone's entitled to their point of view, but that's seriously a weird one."

quote:

Mr Martin said first home buyers represented just one in seven property purchasers

Why is that? :iiam:

# ? Jul 25, 2018 08:23

JBP: Feb 16, 2017; You've got to know, to understand,
Baby, take me by my hand,
I'll lead you to the promised land.

bell jar posted:

JBP advocating literal crimes in response to possible crimes? Where is the old JBP?!

NAP

# ? Jul 25, 2018 08:24

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

Doctor Spaceman posted:

Why is that?

Too busy buying avocado

# ? Jul 25, 2018 08:27

Dude McAwesome: Sep 30, 2004; Still better than a Ponytar

I want to shank every loving boomer that complains about young people with their iPhones and holidays.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 09:58

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

...holiday? what is that?

# ? Jul 25, 2018 09:59

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

I spend all my money on rent

# ? Jul 25, 2018 10:01

Starshark: Dec 22, 2005; Doctor Rope

Pfft bunch of fuckin' losers in this thread. I just married someone who had a house. Simple! Of course we have to pay it off and we seem to be going backwards rather than forwards, but whatever. I'm sure we'll pull through.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 10:07

kirbysuperstar: Nov 11, 2012; Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess.

The Before Times posted:

...holiday? what is that?

The Before Times posted:

I spend all my money on rent

Hmmmmmmm...have you considered just trying harder...?

# ? Jul 25, 2018 10:12

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

Just work hard and watch your income never change.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 10:17

JBP: Feb 16, 2017; You've got to know, to understand,
Baby, take me by my hand,
I'll lead you to the promised land.

hooman posted:

Just work hard and watch your income never change.

Well ackshually your income is going down.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 10:51

bowmore: Oct 6, 2008; Lipstick Apathy

The Before Times posted:

...holiday? what is that?

well you see it�s the boomer on holidays

# ? Jul 25, 2018 11:27

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

JBP posted:

Well ackshually your income is going down.

=*(

Please don't remind me.

EDIT: Guardian top article relevant:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jul/25/most-australians-wages-have-declined-but-ceo-pay-is-better-than-ever

"Most Australians' wages have declined but CEO pay is better than ever
Workers in private sector, who are 85% of the workforce, are experiencing wages growth well below inflation"

hooman fucked around with this message at 11:49 on Jul 25, 2018

# ? Jul 25, 2018 11:46

birdstrike: Oct 30, 2008; i;m gay

https://twitter.com/jurassic_snark_/status/1021537414924328960?s=21

# ? Jul 25, 2018 13:19

Jonah Galtberg: Feb 11, 2009

Birdstrike posted:

https://twitter.com/jurassic_snark_/status/1021537414924328960?s=21

modigliana is a class traitor

# ? Jul 25, 2018 13:24

kirbysuperstar: Nov 11, 2012; Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess.

Birdstrike posted:

https://twitter.com/jurassic_snark_/status/1021537414924328960?s=21

# ? Jul 25, 2018 13:30

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 31, 2024 13:25

Periphery: Jul 27, 2003; ...

Everything is hosed*: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-25/ndis-poster-boy-has-own-application-rejected/10034228

quote:

A man living with a disability who featured in ads across the country for the National Disability Insurance Scheme when it launched has had his own NDIS application rejected.

*Working as intended.

# ? Jul 25, 2018 13:48

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > AusPol July - Due to penalty cuts and tax hikes all wit is suspended

«‹›68 »