National Australian politics
The source and date for each idea read or heard are listed below.
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It seems that many elements in our population are not happy with the treasurer or PM due to the costs they have imposed on them in the May 12th budget. Being strongly incentivised to move out of trust structures and into a company structures has meant that they would have to sell assets (including property) and then buy them back in their new company structure. This repurchase, however, means that they will have to pay stamp duty again (a state tax). The state treasurers are telling Canberra that they should pay that because the budget was their idea. Furthermore, the states are angry at the federal government for putting a larger burden of ex NDIS patients onto their budgets.
The Australian, June 19 2026, title not shown
Senator Pauline Hanson claimed that Australia should be a monoculture. She vowed to take a heavy handed approach to AI regulatio, overhaul the tax and & industrial relations systems, abolish the SBS, end free ABC in the cities, audit spendind in the childcare sector, dismantle all spending on climate change programs and to end aid to vital Pacific nations that accepted money from China, arguing that the funds should be redirected to help the Aussie homeless. She backed spending cuts to overhaul a tax overhault. She will rein in government spending and not tax overtime to the hilt. She said that it was too hard for bosses to sack workers. Industrial relations is not working she said.She talked up a proposal to allow students and pensioners to work longer without losing benefits.The transgender movement must be confronted. Islamic hate preachers were a social cancer. She will restrict immigration from places immersed in radical extremism. She plans to ban abortings after 20 weeks. Paid parental leave should be scaled back or scrapped. Albinese expanded the childcare subsidy to families earning up to $535k. The alp government has pushed to tighten restrictions on how many days absent a child should be absent. They are putting ideology over practicality. Senator O'Sullivan, a Lib, believes that income splitting for parents should be allowed, along with cash vouchers to enlist carers outside the childcare system.At Senator Hansen's address, a yellow banner appeared criticising her attitude to pay rises for workers when she took a $100k pay rise herself.
The Australian, July 5 2026, Same profit, different tax.
If a share has increased in value, tax payers will be able to increase the cost base by an inflation index BUT if the share has gone down, investors cannot adjust the cost price upwards. If two investors make the same capital gain but one has four losses and one gain, she will end up paying more tax. How is that fair? The wider the spread between your best and worst performing shares, the higher your tax bill. Conclusion? Don't invest in shares that have high capital growth? This will reduce productivity in Australia. The ATO wins either way. Furthermore, anyone holding collectables, private business shares, commercial property or units in unlisted trusts will need formal valuations completed before 30 June 2027 or risk being caught out by a system not yet understood. The new budget rules will land hardest on the kind of low-income, asset-light households that the ALP is meant to represent. France's president Hollande implemented a similar CGT tax to Chalmers and France is now feeling the economic pain, having experienced slow, grinding stagnation. Canberra has done a little bit of a walk back, redefining what constitutes a small business (from $2m in annual revenue to $10m). Government policy that was designed to promote equity can crash economies, hurting those it's intended to help the most.(Article written by Claire Lehmann of Quillette.
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Eastern politics
The source and date for each idea read or heard are listed below.
The Australian, 160825, Ms Lovell was murdered in her home on 26/12/22 and the murderer caught on cctv. The appeal judges (John Bond, David Boddice and Paul Freeburn) overturned the original finding, stating that the original sentence was misclassified. Consequently, the murderer will be eligible for supervised release of serving 60% of the his sentence (8 years and 5 months). QUESTION ??? This woman was deprived of her life but the murderer only got 8.5 years. Is that fair to the victim? Should appeal judges be allowed to reduce a sentence just because it doesn't meet their technical definitions? Perhaps the murderer, upon release, can live in the judges' houses (half way house)??
The Austrlain, 280126, Migrant holiday workers are stripped of 65% of their super when they leave the country.
The Australian, July 9 2026, Wilson pledges to halt Labor IR laws/
Victorian Liberal leader, Jess Wilson, has vowed to defy the Albinese government's new laws favouring union backed contractors. The government last week rammed the legislation through parliament. The laws give the commonwealth the power to ... disadvantage companies without union negotiated agreements.
The AFR podcast, September 2 2026, Too big to cancel.
The Dan Andrews government, quick to cancel two contracts ($1b and $800m) was not want to cancel the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) in Melbourne. It was planned in secret and was not subject to the usual cost benefit analyses that government projects are meant to have before decisions are made. Furthermore, the Victorian public were paying a secret tax whenever they boarded a train, tram or bus in the whole state. This was meant to contribute to paying off the $34b cost of the SLR. The cost is expected to double (owing to increased cost of construction after covid). Tax payers outside of Melbourne have been contributing to its payment, as have Australian tax payers at large because albo had contributed $6b to it. The tunnel boring machines have been ordered and only the first section of the tunnel (Cheltenham to Box Hill) has been initiated.Some argue that it would be cheaper to cancel the whole contract and fill in any existing holes. The ALP government, having already cancelled two contracts before, is loathe to cancel another one just before the November elections.
The Victorian state government has a debt of $161b and this forms about 22% of Victoria's gdp. Note that Victoria does not have any mineral resources and derives its revenue from taxes (income tax, business taxes, stamp duties and other taxes). Its crime rate is terrible and pot holes in the roads need attention.
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Central politics
The source and date for each idea read or heard are listed below.
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Western politics
The source and date for each idea read or heard are listed below.
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Miscellaneous.
The source and date for each idea read or heard are listed below.
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