UPDATE JUNE PART TWO

CHINA IMPORT CURBS

 

U.S. today on Saturday May 22, 2005 reported the United States Government has said it will impose new limits on imports of clothing from China.  The action follows complaints that a surge of Chinese apparel to the U.S. was hurting U.S companies.  Restricted items will include men’s and boy’s cotton and man made fibre shirts, man made fibre trousers, man made fibre knit shirts and blouses and combed cotton yarn.

 

ILL INFORMED AUSTRALIANS!

 

It is quite evident when you read the following letter to the editor of the Daily Telegraph, which was published on Thursday May 19, 2005 that many urban Australians are ill informed by courteous of the black out media, as is the letter writer Greg Graham, Artarmon.

 

UNGRATEFUL COUNTRY COUSINS

 

I am sick of hearing farmer’s whingeing about how they deserve even more handouts from tax payers.  Why is it their God given right to receive financial assistance from the rest of us?

 

I’m a Sydney based self employed person and the money only flows one way from me good times or bad, and that’s straight into the taxman’s pockets.  I don’t receive and never have received a cent of assistance from Government in the ten years I’ve been in business but I bet a lot of my hard earned has gone into the pockets of my ungrateful country cousins who, incidentally, go very quiet in the good times.

 

Farmers say they are indispensable, therefore we need to keep propping up their chronically failing businesses.  But there will always be people and organisations willing to step in and make a pretty penny from the land when family farms fail, without the need of government help.

 

 As for drought, it comes with the territory.  We are still here after 200 years, so get over it.  Save in the good times so that you’ll be able to ride out the bad.  I would cut all assistance to farmers forth with and offer them an allowance while they find new jobs.

 

One of our Colleagues Phil Tzavellas has been given permission to respond to the aforementioned letter.

 

Mr Greg Graham from Artarmon, is the perfect example of a “brain dead apathetic Australian” in failing to realise that the best city in the world is Sydney, in which he is a resident was built on the back of NSW farmers paying taxes since Federation, (1901).  Is Mr Graham holding the farmers responsible for the effects of global warning “which has only really been felt to this extent, in the past 20 years?  He is also guilty of putting money into the taxman’s pocket in good and bad times, seems to be his whinge.

 

Mr Graham instead of criticising those down on their luck, why don’t you get off your backside and do something useful like calling for a Transaction Tax.  We could reduce the GST from 10% to 1 ½% on every cash and electronic transaction.  Everyone will have to pay this Transaction Tax including those Foreign Multi- nationals who have paid little or no tax since 1953 under the Menzies “Dual Reciprocation Tax Agreement.” 

 

All Federal, State and Local Government Taxes, Levies and Excises would be abolished.  This would reduce fuel prices to less than 50 cents a litre.  The Federal Government would amass more than double their annual budget which will allow them to implement a better Health, Water, Education and Road infrastructure for our children and grand children.  This won’t be a case of the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, it will be a case that all Australians will improve their lot including Australian businesses as there will be no reason for pay rise disputes re: the Transaction Tax Benefits.

 

TURNING OUR BACKS ON FARMERS IN NEED

 

I cannot believe the arrogance of Greg Graham (“Ungrateful country cousins,” Letters May 19).  It’s bad enough now that we have food imports threatening our farmers taking over our supermarket shelves, let alone letting more go to the wall because their farms are turning into dustbowls. Perhaps past farming methods have made things worse, but farmers are changing.  What are we going to do let our country die because we’re too tight to help?  We should be doing more to encourage people back on the land so that we, as a nation, can become completely self- sufficient.

 

I live in the country, where we rely on rainwater for all of our domestic use and fortunately we do not have to earn a living from our bit of land.  We know what it’s like to see storm clouds build up and blow away to see our small property turn to dust.  Imagine what it’s like to see your livelihood blow away.  And really, when was the last time there were good times on the land?

 

Sydney is worried about its water supply and it has wasted water one way or another for years.  Nobody likes restrictions, but that’s how country people live all the time.  It is time for all Australians to have more compassion for others and give support, no matter what our lifestyles.

Daily Telegraph “Letter” Friday May 20, 2005 - Vena Moore, Keinbah

 

Greg Graham claims all he does is pay taxes out while receiving nothing in return, but does he have access to heavily subsidised public transport, water, medical facilities and entertainment venues, most of which the tax paying country cousins miss out on?

 

When the City needs help fighting fires or cleaning up after storms, where do the volunteers often come from?  I seem to hear a lot of whingeing from Sydneysiders about water, sewage pollution, motorway tolls and property taxes.  When the breeding stock is gone no crops are planted and food prices are creating inflation and higher wages, let’s see how you feel.  Droughts are planned for, but natural disasters (five years of drought) are not.  We all chip in to help where we can.

 

Daily Telegraph “Letters” Friday May 20, 2005 - Steve Bullock, Armidale.

 

FARMER’S PLIGHT IS NEVER ENDING

 

Greg Graham (Letters May 19) says farmers are ungrateful and should have all assistance cut.  I would like to inform him that most farmers have been suffering drought for four or five years, some seven.  When a farmer has a “good” year the first thing he does is replace some ageing machinery.  A new tractor costs about $200,000 and a new harvester $500,000.  Then he repays some of his overdraft.

 

If he is lucky enough to have a second “good” year, there are more machinery buildings and fences to maintain etc, and also keeping the bank manager happy.  It has been a very, very long time since anyone can remember a third “good” year in a row.

 

As a businessman who says he pays tax does Mr Graham know what it’s like to be a businessman who has nothing to sell?  Nothing to sell equals no income.  No income means no capital to invest in stock.

After five years the bank manager usually has had enough and won’t give any more.  After the sale and the bank is paid back there are not many pretty pennies left.  As for the drought, we know that greenhouse emissions, ozone depletion and climate change are resulting in southern Australia becoming warmer with decreasing and more variable rainfall.

 

The implications are higher evaporation rates, lower soil moisture reserves and increased frequency/severity of drought.  I can tell you this, it’s not the farmers’ tractors that make Australia the second highest carbon emitters in the world behind the U.S. Artarmon is such a beautiful smog free area, isn’t it?

 

Lastly Mr Graham, unless you don’t like milk, beer, wine and other foods, wool or cotton clothes, you better hope this drought ends fast.  When our reserves run out and there are no farmers left (because they went broke providing for you) we will import the lot.  “A loaf of bread $10, a litre of milk $12, a schooner of beer $8, a T-Shirt $120.

 

Daily Telegraph “Letters” Saturday May 21, 2005 - Warren Charlton, Narara.

RURAL REALITY

 

Greg Graham who wrote about “ungrateful country cousins “ (Letters may 19) clearly misunderstands the true meaning of the effect this seemingly never ending drought has on skilled, self employed rural businesses.  How long would he cope with going to work seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, paying all business running costs (plus additional costs created by the drought) and supporting his living expenses as normal, then collecting no pay?  Do this for a minimum of three consecutive years and then let us know how financially stable your business remains.

 

This is the reality of owning and running a business in rural Australia in the current drought and what farmers have achieved independently so far.  This is proof in itself.  We had prepared for more than one drought, but could not have anticipated needing reserves for four or more years.

 

Our land is normally highly productive and self sufficient, yet research on current weather conditions shows that our average rainfall during the productive season is the same as rainfall in the Sahara Desert.  What profit could a business make if it moved to the Sahara Desert?

 

Daily Telegraph “Letters” Monday May 23, 2005 - Carol Russell, Barellan.

 

Farmers are very much a part of the country lifestyle where I and many others choose to live.  They work long and hard, are tireless and committed and often live thankless lives.  How do I know this? It’s simple:  I take the time to meet and talk with these people:  I see their working hands, their tired and weathered faces, and hear the commitment in their voices.

 

Farmers aren’t looking for more handouts what they are seeking is support to allow them to put produce on Australians table and help the local and export economy.

 

All walks of life are linked to this industry produce fuel, manufacturers, machinery, clothing and of course food.  So if Government and we as the people do not support farmers then we will have nothing to whinge about when the cost of living increases.

 

Daily Telegraph “Letters” Monday May 23, 2005 - Fiona Rossiter, Orange.

 

THOUSANDS AFFECTED BY ERRORS IN POSTAL VOTING

 

By Mark Davis Political correspondent in the Australian Financial Review – Wednesday May 18, 2005.

 

Thousands of voters were affected by blunders by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) in the administration of postal voting in last years Federal election, according to evidence gathered by a parliamentary inquiry.

 

A confidential report by law firm Minter Ellison on the problems with postal voting is also believed to have identified a series of errors and management failures by the AEC and QM Technologies, the contractor used to print and distribute ballot papers to postal voters.

 

The emerging evidence of the extent of the failures in postal voting in the 2004 poll will increase political pressure on the AEC to reverse its recent policies of seeking efficiency gains by centralising operations previously carried out at the local electorate level, such as distribution of postal voting packages.

 

Members of Federal parliament’s joint standing committee on electoral matters have been surprised by widespread complaints from voters, especially in rural Queensland, about the AEC being slow to respond to evidence during the election that postal voting system had serious flaws.  In a series of public hearings last month the committee heard evidence that:

 

  • About 1830 ballot papers for general postal voters, people with a permanent entitlement to cast their votes by post, were spoiled in the production process.
  • Around 558 postal voting packages were sent to the wrong addresses in NSW.
  • There was a “deluge” of complaints from voters about postal voting packages arriving too late or not at all.
  • After the AEC obtained a proclamation from the Governor General extending the time for Queensland voters to lodge postal votes, around 100 of the affected voters were then mistakenly sent NSW Senate ballot papers.
  • Incorrect or misleading advice was given to postal voters by the AEC’s call centre.

 

Queensland Liberal Party Senator George Brandis told AEC officials during one of the Committee’s hearings that the evidence showed extensive systemic failure” in the administration of postal voting.

 

The AEC said in a written submission the delays in processing postal votes reflected problems with contract management.

 

It said it was implementing recommendations from Minter Ellison, which it called in to provide an independent report on the problems,

 

But the AEC asked the committee to treat the 139 page Minter Ellison report.  Inquiry into postal voting administration in the 2004 election, as confidential because it contained commercial material and material that might damage the reputation of the AEC’s contractor.

 

QM Technologies, a Brisbane based printing and mail house funded by local businessman Neville Morgan, had the main contract for preparing and distributing postal voting packages.

 

CMR CHAOS, MAYHAM AND RUIN MANAGEMENT’S WORK IS DONE! – NEXT!

 

What happens when a management team is responsible for massive losses and failed management systems?  Well if it is the NAB Bank the agency head and the chairman of the board do the right thing and resign.  They detected where the problem was and declared publicly that they were at fault.  That is credible and ethical conduct of agency governance.

 

In Customs the CMR project has been so mismanaged that no commencement date can be guessed at – let alone set.  Now it is revealed that the Australian Customs Service (ACS) is $100 million in the red and still counting.

 

This is public money.  CMR has had to have an extra $43 million injection and $30 million has been stripped from internal activities.  More costs are accumulating.

 

Senate Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee hearing on 16 February 2004 raised more questions than it provided answers.  It was revealed that Customs management don’t know where money is being spent.  They don’t seem to have a budget for the costs of various projects.  Unbelievable!

 

Mr Jeffrey – Senator, can I attempt to explain it this way.  When we went to government we estimated that we should have a short fall.  We sought and received a $43 million cash injection.  We also made undertakings to make internal savings, which we have already outlined.

 

At the end of the day we identified cost pressures, which are the ones we have explained to you, but we did not allocate the funds as such by saying, ‘this goes to that: this goes to that.’  What we were saying was, ‘As we get to the end of the year we will need funds of this order to pay the running costs of the organisation,’ but without allocating them.

 

We identified what the pressure points were but without saying.  ‘There is $2.3 million to go CCF and there is $1.2 million here.’  We were saying: ‘this is what it is going to cost us this year, we believe, on our best estimate.  This is, in a gross term within our budget, what our shortfall will be.  To meet these costs we need the figures that we have just outlined to you.’  We did not and have not split it up…..

 

Senator Mark Bishop – So the government has given you $43 million cash and you have got to save $27 million, and you only generally know that you are going to allocate it to particular pressure points. I  just do not accept that…..

 

This is an unacceptable management practice.  Clearly the Government now agrees.  Apparently the Government has required an unprecedented audit of ACS accounts.  It is inconceivable to have any budget that doesn’t allocate funds for each class of expenditure.  That is budgeting.  But not in Customs.  Yet despite this mess nobody is held to account.  How is that possible?

 

Another extract: Mr Woodward (to the Shadow Minister of Customs) – can we go back to where we started.  You added up $100 million worth of pressures and we said that we had $30 million roughly that we had funded internally.

 

But do management suffer?  No!  As usual it is the staff.  First there is the cut in overtime so officers have to work harder because any shortfall in staffing is not supplemented by staff on overtime.

 

Then management has a grand plan to save money.  Sack up to 300 officers.  The CEO has admitted that Customs has ‘downsized’ by about 150 up till January.  But they want to get rid of up to 300 officers before the end of the financial year.  This is not because there are surplus staff it is to make up for management bungling and mishandling.

 

Later in the hearing the CEO was asked questions about an officer passing important information to the CEO about another matter.  The CEO responded, I cannot recall who the officer was, but I can certainly recall that there was guidance that was provided to us.  I have said that I am perfectly happy to follow up with something in writing on that particular issue.

 

Senator Mark Bishop – So you had verbal advice from an officer of your department whose name you cannot recall, that you are not to give evidence to this committee on Customs matters that your own department acknowledges it was involved in, that is rules of origin and intellectual property… Followed shortly thereafter with, I have never heard a greater load of rubbish in my entire life, Mr Woodward.

 

What the Senators do not know is that keeping nothing on paper is standard operating practice – F01 enquiries indicate that Senior Officers keep no records of selective important matter/matters are only conducted “orally” even with the Minister and the AGS.  Why would they bother to keep records to report to the Shadow Minister?

 

This article appeared as item 4 in the Summer Edition of 2004, in the Customs Officers Journal.

 

AGEING AND LONGEVITY CONFERENCE ENVIRONMENT

‘HELD HOSTAGE’

 

Free Trade is a myth!

 

Globalisation is a confidence trick developed by the United States!

 

World Powers are treating the Earth like a toxic Dump!  Unless they’re prepared to save the environment, ageing issues will become irrelevant!

 

That’s the gospel according to Dr David Suzuki, guru of the world environmental movement and a world authority on ageing.

 

Dr Suzuki is no fan of U.S. President George Bush.  Nor does he call Australian Prime Minister John Howard a mate.

 

“Your Prime Minister and George Bush are holding the environment hostage,” he told me.

 

“They’re not better than terrorists.”

 

When I met Dr. Suzuki in Brisbane last month he was angry and disappointed.

 

Both Australia and the U.S. had declined to sign the Kyoto Protocol on Global Warning and Dr. Suzuki’s contempt was obvious.

 

After all he and his Suzuki foundation had spent years lobbying world powers to have it ratified.  He agreed to meet me for an exclusive interview hours before he gave the conference keynote address.  His message was simple: Unless we’re prepared to save the environment ageing issues will become irrelevant.

 

“How can we talk about a healthy body when we’re treating the earth as a toxic dump?” he asked.  He believes world leaders have their priorities wrong and claims they’re obsessed with the economics of an ageing world when they should be questioning the principles of globalisation.

 

“It’s being used to destroy Earth.”  We should remember global economies are first driven by profit.  They’re run for the good of private enterprise, not for the good of the people.

 

“No one ever asks what is a Nations economy for?  If they did they’d have to answer:” ‘for the good of the local people.’

 

“We should be protecting local industries and agriculture.”  Let me give you an example, when George Bush became U.S. President he imposed tariffs on imports of Canadian timber imports of Canadian agricultural products.

 

He wanted to safeguard American industries.  The principles of globalisation and the concept of Free Trade went down the drain.  There was no level playing field any more.  It didn’t suit the USA.

 

Dr Suzuki was animated preaching his favourite sermon.  He advocates old style protectionism and believes nations should protect their local industries, their local agriculture and close their economies to imports.  “Each nation should be looking after its own interests and its own people first,” he said.

 

He maintains globalisation is driven by western demand.  “Second and third world countries wouldn’t be raping natural resources if the advanced world didn’t demand the products,” he said.  Western demand is driving development and it can’t continue.  We are the model the developing world uses to keep its economies growing.

 

If India and China continue to follow the same path as us, we are coal on toast.  They are dumping high levels of carbon monoxide into the environment.  That can only be disastrous.  The advanced world is the role model and the world follow us.  It’s as though we know the way and we don’t.  Ten years ago the fish called the orange roughie became popular.  We wiped them out.  The Chilean sea bass suffered a similar fate.

 

Your Barrier Reef is in deep trouble.  The World is on a merry go round of madness.  Remember when we used to be able to swim in our rivers?  These days they are nothing more than cesspools.  Dr Suzuki paused, but only momentarily.

 

Australia is the driest continent in the world, a water poor country.  But you’ve developed water intensive agriculture.  You irrigate crops like cotton, fruit, rice, grains.  It’s madness.”  ‘Australians like their fresh fruit, fresh vegetables,” I told him.

 

“In future they’ll just have to do without,” came the reply.  “Australians should take a leaf out of the Aborigines ‘book and eat bush tucker.  You’ve got to get back into balance with the world.  You’ve got to get back into balance with nature.  Minders moved to wind up the interview…but Dr Suzuki wasn’t finished yet.  He blasted western world leaders for being obsessed with the economics of an ageing world.  He slammed people obsessed with living longer.  He also criticised scientists obsessed with the search for a key to longevity.

 

“The real question we should be asking ourselves is why we want to extend human life when we don’t have a useful role for our older citizens.

 

Dr Suzuki said the world’s real obsession should be finding a useful role for older citizens in a new world order.

 

“We must give them a meaningful place in the 21st Century,” he said.

 

“The world hasn’t come to terms with that proposition yet.”

 

Dr David Suzuki is a world renowned geneticist, academic and broadcaster.

 

He is a geneticist who graduated with a BA Honours in biology and a PhD in Biology.

 

He is Emeritus Professor University of British Columbia, sustainable Development Research Institute.

 

Recognised as a world leader in sustainable ecology, he has received the UNESCO Kalinga Prize for Science, the United Nations Environment Program Medal and the Global 500.

 

Dr Suzuki has hosted the program The Nature of Things in Canada for several decades and has written more than 30 books.

 

He now dedicates himself to crusades selling the importance of the natural world and heads the David Suzuki Foundation.

 

Source: THE AUSTRALIAN SENIOR – MAY 2005.

 

U.S. GETS TOUGH WITH CHINA ON TRADE IMBALANCE

 

By Michael Gawenda in Washington May 21, 2005.

 

Twice in the past week, the Bush administration has announced quotas on some Chinese textiles, bowing to claims from Congress and US manufacturers that tens of thousands of jobs are at risk from a flood of Chinese imports since global quotes expired in January under WTO agreements.

 

And for the first time this week, the Administration publicly argued China’s currency policies were distorting world trade and were a serious threat not only to China’s economy but too much of the rest of the world.

 

Treasury Secretary John Snow on Thursday named a new special envoy, Olin Wethington, to lead the drive for the Chinese Yuan to rise in value against the dollar, saying it was “critical” for Beijing to act.

 

“Sentiment in congress is decidedly anti-China, decidedly,” Mr Snow told a steelmakers conference in Washington this week.

 

“We wanted to give them some time on the currency issue.  In the next few months, we will be at the beginning of a process toward a floating currency exchange rate like we have in the U.S.

 

the reimposition of quotas on Chinese clothing imports and the tough and threatening currency talk reflect the growing pressure on the Administration from Congress to “do something” about the growing trade imbalance between the two countries.

 

It also reflects deep concern among some members of Congress about China’s growing influence in the Asia Pacific region and the strategic threat it might pose to the U.S. in the foreseeable future.

 

Record U.S. trade deficits in recent months, with Chinese textile imports surging – up 10 per cent in February and up about 7 per cent in March – have resulted in resolutions being passed unanimously in the Senate calling on the Administration to impose steep tariffs on Chinese imports.

 

China’s trade surplus with the U.S. is about $US16 billion ($21 billion) a month.  Last year, its trade surplus with the U.S. was $US160 billion, about a quarter of the overall U.S. trade deficit of $US671 billion.

 

And as long as the Chinese peg the Yuan to the U.S. dollar, any decline in the dollar devalues the Yuan and adds to the flood of cheap Chinese textiles.

 

The Administration has been quietly negotiating for several years on currency, with China saying it will move towards a floating currency.  Just not yet.

 

But the pressure on the Bush Administration in recent months has been intense, and this week it has taken the significant steps of both imposing quotas on some imports and warning China that it is in danger of being formally accused of being a “Currency manipulator”.

 

The Administration stopped short of such a move, which would have made it easier for Congress to impose sanctions of China, but warned that it could happen soon.

 

“Failure to act will be looked upon as justification for labelling them as a manipulator,” Mr Snow said.  “We don’t want that to happen because the furies of Congress will be visited upon them.”

 

But he did not support moves by Congress for trade sanctions, saying: “I shudder to think how markets would react if they saw the United States turning its back on markets.”

 

Chinese officials reacted to the quota announcements by saying that the U.S. had double standards, imposing quotas and at the same time, calling for free trade.

 

As for its currency, a spokesman said China “understood its responsibilities in the world economy” and would move to a more flexible exchange rate in its own time.

 

Sources: Weekend Edition Sydney Morning Herald – May 21-22, 2005.

 

UNQUALIFIED AND OVER – PAID

 

We are amazed that the majority of Australians believe their elected member, whether it be Federal, State or Local Government is qualified to control our Country, our State or Shire.

 

It amazes us that the highest proportion of elected members served their apprenticeship through their local kindergarten, Local Government, (Councils or Shires).

 

A good example of a National sell out is the manner in which the Australian Labor Party (ALP) betrayed their rank and file by allowing professionals such as Lawyers and Doctors to infiltrate their party ranks.  In fact over the years many of these elected representatives were sympathetic to Liberal Party Policy but were astute enough to realise that being elected into Federal or State Parliament was more expedient via the ALP.

 

Three good examples of unqualified leaders include NSW Labor Premier Bob Carr who was an average journalist who knew the history of the American Civil War. 

 

It was reported that a long time John Howard adviser who was being lauded with a retirement party by his colleagues when, making his farewell thank you speech, reflected that the Prime Minister admitted to him when he first entered the political scene that he had a better chance of success in this field of activity then as a legal man.

 

Last, but not least Liberal Senator Amanda Vanstone when Minister of Justice and Customs 21 months prior to September 11,  successfully moved an Amendment to prevent Federal Custom Officers from intercepting unidentified aircraft or suspicious boats over or in Australian waters for the purpose of searching for illegally imported goods, i.e. Drugs, Guns, Flora, Fauna or People.  To this day the black out press have failed to avail this information to the Australian public.

 

It has just been brought to our attention that the Howard Government surreptitiously slipped through Parliament a deletion of section 232 (a) of the Customs Act, “Collusive Seizures.”  It read, who ever: being an officer of Customs or Police makes any agreement not to seize goods liable to forfeiture shall be guilty of an indictable offence and shall be liable to imprisonment with or without hard labour for any term not exceeding 5 years.

 

This section was amended by deletion through the Criminal Code Amendment Act 2000, and came into force on May 24, 2001.  The net result of this amendment means that a Police or Customs Officer can turn a blind eye to the presence of, for example a ton of heroin and not guilty of any offence.  We would hope that this amendment wasn’t implemented to protect Federal and NSW Ministers and their Bureaucrats from the relevant agencies who were guilty of allowing breaches to the Australian Constitution Section 109: “Inconsistency of Law:” and the indictable offences committed under the Federal Customs Act re: the Carr NSW Labor Governments invalid and illegal legislation to license the Kings Cross Trial Injecting Centre allowing registered addicts to inject Heroin and Cocaine which are illegal imported substances.  Link >>>> Invalid Drug Laws.

 

AUSTRALIANS BETRAYED!

 

Australians have been betrayed by successive Governments regardless of their political persuasion.  Post Second World War it began with the Menzies’ “Dual Reciprocation Tax Agreement,” which was implemented in 1953 to encourage Foreign Multi-Nationals to invest in Australia allowing them to pay tax on their profits to their Country of Origin in lieu of paying taxes to us.  52 years later in 2005, and the Australian tax payer is still subsidising the foreign Multi – Nationals.

 

The following links will expose the political white-anting of Australia for the past 30 years.

 

Link >>>> “Lima declaration

Link >>>> Update June 2004

Link >>>> Update July 2004 – B1-Partisan

 

POLITICAL AGENDA INTRODUCED NEO – LIBERALISM TO AUSTRALIA

 

The greatest betrayal of the Australian Public was the sale of our Airlines and the “Peoples Bank” the Commonwealth by Messrs Hawke and Keating which added to the burden when they deregulated the Banks in 1985-86.  Not to be outdone, the Howard Liberal – National Coalition after defeating Keating went on to partially privatise Telstra (49%) sold the entire Sydney Airport and introduced the Grab and Snatch Tax (GST).  This was supposed to bring a halt to the black economy but instead it is flourishing “bigger, better then ever.”

 

If this is not enough we’ve had successive State Government privatising our tollways in exchange for road infrastructure.  The NSW Carr Labor Government Cabinet is exploring the idea of offering several retail partnerships agreements in a predominantly Government owned NSW electrical industry.  They are hoping to entice investors such as Origin Energy Power, AGL and American Power Companies into NSW to fund new power infrastructure.

 

Deregulation and the full sale of Government utilities by both Federal and State bodies is stripping Australians of profitable assets. At such an extent that as our National Debt blows out alarmingly to immense proportions, we are placing ourselves into the impossible position of ever repaying the debt.  It is worth noting up to May 2005, Australia has recorded 41 consecutive Trade Deficits and now that our last line of defence the Federal Labor Party crossed the floor of both Houses of Parliament and supported the Howard-Anderson Coalitions U.S. – Australia Free Trade Agreement which is very lopsided in favour of the Americans, re: the concessions we’ve conceded to them.

 

Australia is fast becoming a candidate to be the world’s next third world nation.  Besides pointing the blame on the Federal Labor Party we mustn’t forget our Prime Minister his Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile and the First Assistant Secretary, Trade Division Stephen Deady who brokered the FTA with the United States.

 

There are two avenues we can take to avoid our country becoming a third world nation.

 

  1. That all concerned Australians lobby their Federal member demanding they protest to the Howard Government that you want them to give the U.S. 6 months notice that we want the FTA rescinded lock, stock and barrel.
  2. That the Howard Government reduce the GST from 10% to 1 ½% Transaction Tax on all cash transactions and abolish all Federal, State and Local Government taxes, Levies and excises.  Every one will be liable to the 1 ½% tax including Foreign Multi-Nationals who Australian tax payers have been subsidising since 1953.  The Federal Government will more than double their annual budget allowing them to implement Water, Health, Education and Roads infrastructure, sooner rather than later.  (Within 3 years of implementing the new Transaction Tax System).  Abolishing excises will reduce the price of fuel to below 50 cents a litre.  This will benefit small business as cost of living will be reduced, so workers won’t want a pay rise.

 

 

 

SAVING TELSTRA

 

No #

Question

Answer

1

Why does the Government insist on selling the goose that lays the golden income egg?

They need money urgently.

2

What For?

They have an un-funded $90,000,000 superannuation payout to make to themselves.

3

Why Un-funded?

They have fully indexed their pensions to be inflation proof.  The money has devalued so  rapidly over the years that any contributions they made are valueless and the golden handshakes are so huge that their contributions (even with interest) could not make much of a contribution to their retirement.

4

Where were they getting the money prior to the first partial sale of Telstra?

The ALP put a referendum question to all Australians asking whether we would accept a 7.5 % tax levy to fill a Trust Fund that would pay all Australians a liveable age pension.  They calculated how much each Baby Boomer needed to put away and it was put away.  The people voted YES.  The levy was introduced and we paid, and still pay, in general tax.  A referendum is binding on government and can only be rescinded by referendum if Politicians Obey the Law.  They don’t.

5

Where did the money go?

The Liberals took the contents of the Age Pension Trust Fund and transferred that money to Consolidated Revenue and the ALP quietly removed the legislation.

6

What happened to Age Pensioners?

Many were means tested into becoming Self Funded Retirees.  The age for women to get the pension was pushed up so there were fewer eligible.

7

Will the Sale of the rest of Telstra get them out?

Not for long.  It will only pay half of the shortfall.

8

Who will buy Telstra?

Only foreign financiers have that sort of money and the government will not allow Australians to buy all the shares.

9

Why Not?

The major parties have all agreed to Globalisation, Free Trade, and Open Borders through United Nations Treaties.

10

What will happen to Age Pensioners if the government cannot pay the pension?

The government has put into place a scheme where you must sell your home to the banks (all pre-dominantly foreign owned) because only foreign banks and finances will have the amount of money needed to buy so many homes.  You will be allowed to lease it back (until you die) using the money from the sale.

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Is this what you want?

If the answer is NO, will you take some small part in making sure all Australians are warned of this impending disaster?

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What can you do as a lone and powerless voter?

You can get a small group of friends to copy this paper and send it to as many pensioners as they can, asking them to form a small group of friends who are asked to copy it to create a wave of information to all aging Australians.

 

 

 

We would appreciate you sending us a copy to let us know that our plea to save the welfare of all aging Australians has not fallen on deaf ears.

 

Contact:               Fax:       9591 5208

Attention:           Email:   votpp@yahoo.com.au

Phil:                       Email:   annapaulfoley@optusnet.com.au

 

THIRTEEN STEPS TO AUSTRALIA’S DESTRUCTION

 

  1. Abolishing Tariffs on imports as required by the “Lima Declaration.”
  2. Bob Hawke’s implementation of New-Liberalism Policy (AKA-Globalisation) Tariff Classification Orders (TCO) in 1984 which was originally the “Brain child” of Malcolm Fraser the Coalitions Prime Minister from 1975 – 1983.
  3. The Deregulation of Banks by Labors Hawke and Keating in 1985-86.
  4. The full sale of our Airlines by Hawke and Keating.
  5. The full sale of the “Peoples Bank” the Commonwealth.
  6. Weakening our Border Security in 1993 by the Keating Labor Government when they abolished Law Enforcement training for our Customs Officers and replaced it with clerical training.
  7. The Howard Government’s partial sale of Telstra and the full sale of Sydney Airport.
  8. The Destruction of Australia’s small business owners by enforcing the National Competition Policy which favours Multi-Nationals such as Woolworths, Coles and Aldi.
  9. Through the NCP the Howard Government in tandem with many of the State Labor Governments forced the Deregulation of the Dairy, Egg and Pork industries to name a few.
  10. Treasurer Costello’s failed implementation of the grab and snatch tax (GST) to kill off the black economy.
  11. The failure to Messrs Howard and Costello to introduce a Transaction Tax (which would be a fairer tax for all Australians).
  12. John Howard, Mark Vaile Federal Trade Minister and their Bureaucrat Stephen Deady’s signing off on the massively lopsided (in favour of the U.S.) U.S.Australia Free Trade Agreement.
  13. The failure of Federal and State Governments and their Bureaucrats for more than 30 years to implement Health Education, Water and Power infrastructure which have been more than affordable if in lieu of a GST we had a Transaction Tax System.

 

CARR AND BROGDEN – TWEEDLE DEE AND TWEEDLE DUMBER

 

Fully aware that regardless of what he does, NSW Premier Carr will lose the next election.  He is going to ensure the incoming party inherits a Government deep in debt and will continue to borrow until the next election.  It must be some kind of game politicians and their parties play on one another at the expense of Constituents.  It’s a disgrace they never give a thought to the poor suffering NSW tax payer who are gullible enough to keep voting them into power when you consider the Brogden – Stoner – Liberal – National coalition are non entities who like their Federal counter parts have no answers to Health, Education and Water Infrastructure.

 

FEDERAL TAX CUT REWARD THE RICH AND PUNISH THE WORKER

 

While Australian workers battle to survive on the minimum wage an article hidden away on page 10 of the Daily Telegraph, Saturday May 28, 2005 – “Pay rise for Politicians.”

 

Federal MP’s will get a basic pay rise of $4,380 a year from July, with John Howard’s salary jumping by more than $11,000.

 

The base salary for MP’s will go from $106,770 to $111,150 a year – a 4.1 per cent jump.  Rates set by the independent Remuneration Tribunal automatically moved pollies’ pay up in line with other public salary increases.

 

The increases are still below the average rise of 5 per cent in general workers’ pay recorded for the 12 months to February.

 

The Prime Minister’s pay cheque will increase from $277,608 to $288,990.  Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson’s salary goes up by $8979 a year to $227,857.50.  The salary of Treasurer Peter Costello will rise from $206,193.75 to $208,406.25.

 

What has been hidden from the Australian Public is that the Independent Remuneration Tribunal is a Government appointed agency.

 

Meanwhile the Federal Government is in the process of abolishing the Industrial Relations Commission so they can decrease minimum wages for both able and disabled Australians.

 

WHAT A BLOODY DISGRACE!