Some early budget reactions - saving us one Panadol box at a time

From YourLifeChoices email this morning:

Treasurer Joe Hockey gave his Budget Speech to Parliament last night and for those who missed, it, you can watch what he had to say here. While Mr Hockey was clearly happy with his ‘glass half full’ Budget, the reality is that there’s little there to make anyone smile.

It’s often said that the devil is in the detail, however, with the announcement of the 2015/16 Federal Budget, it seems that the devil may be in the lack of detail. Even with the benefit of being in the Budget Lock Up and having department staff on hand to answer questions, uncovering the necessary information wasn’t easy.

Retirees may rejoice that the proposed changes to the indexation of pension payments is off the table, but the new, restrictive asset cut-off thresholds for part Age Pensions will hurt many – as will the doubling of the pension taper rate. And while you will be expected to work to 70 before you can claim your Age Pension, those who have benefited from generous super tax concessions will be sipping cocktails in retirement long before any changes to the superannuation systems are made.

From Unions Australia: 

From Karl Stefanovic on the Today show this morning:

Stefanovic said Mr Abbott had performed a "hell of a turnaround" on paid parental leave, saying he would face the next election "having broken a significant promise to the women of Australia". 

"You promised them the world in regards to paid parental leave and you have delivered nothing for them," the Today host said. 

"At the very least you probably owe them an apology, don't you?" Despite Stefanovic's push for an apology, Mr Abbott said his government had done the best they could. more

Definitely another flop. With all the community discussion about the big end of town paying fuck all for doing business in Australia whilst retirees, the ill, the unemployed, the vulnerable are all targeted in some way, business gets off virtually Scott free. The public wanted action on superanuation welfare for the very rich, and multinational corporate welfare sucking the gov teat. Virtually nothing. Barely a tinker at the edges.

This on top of the grossly unfair budget last year that crashed and burned it's way into the senate and the public psyche. The gov continues to target the most vulnerable in Australia, insinuating the prevalence of massive welfare fraud (there isn't) by bludging leaner sick type people facing unfortunate circumstances. Or people who dare to have a child in a single income household. This budget is simply more of the same from last year, right down to cutting support for single income parents that didn't get through the senate last year.

It may be the 2014 budget lite, but it has the same morality flaws as the 2014 one. Why can't they just leave people who are doing it tough alone? Why can't they truly make the corporations pay their way? Apparently us pensioners are going to help pay the national debt off one Panadol box at a time FFS. Talk about a grotesque perversion of priorities. Nit picking our prescriptions instead slashing super welfare for the top 10% of income earners; they completely left that alone.

This budget is as un-Australian as the last one.

Update: 11 Things you didn't expect in the budget. 
              Abbott will never pay off the debt.
               Under 25's to wait 4 weeks for dole.




...................................................................................................................................