Editorial- Carbon Tax Roll Out

Editor-in-chief:  Paul S McAuley

SINCE the dawn of time, taxes have been a part of our life, and will no doubt be a part of our future. Taxes have been the very foundation for providing the revenue for governments to deliver the necessary services to the communities that make up the total boundaries within an electorate.

Of course, taxes have never been popular with tax payers, but no one could disagree that we need taxes to subsidise our hospitals, police, emergency services, infrastructure, and government services and departments. What tax payers will disagree with is the appropriateness of certain taxes and how these taxes are distributed and administered.

During Gough Whitlam's Prime Ministership, he introduced new government funded services such as social security and medicare, which meant new government departments had to be implemented, buildings and staff had to be acquired to facilitate the new government policies. Money doesn't suddenly fall from trees and it certainly didn't back in Gough's time, so taxes had to rise, cost of living had to rise, and therefore that put pressure on inflation.

In the Hawke/Keating years, new policies were introduced which actually relieved the government to some extent, of financial burden. Instead of automatically rising or adding taxes (which did eventually follow), the government made an unpopular decision to sell assets. The govt owned and operated the Commonwealth Bank (CBA),which was deregulated and partly sold off, as to was Qantas when the airline industry was also deregulated. 

The Howard/Costello era wasn't immune from unpopular policy change either. The highly unpopular GST (Goods and Services Tax) was introduced in John Howard's second term shortly after the referendum at the federal general election was held. This tax of course was a tax reform, and not a general new tax. Sales tax was abolished, and new discrepancies were later found in the first phase of the roll out.

This brings us to the current new tax implementation, the Gillard Govt's carbon tax. For years, the science of global warming has been widely debated, and still, scientists are split on whether or not humans are responsible for climate change. 

Professor David Archibald, a prominent climate scientist and former scientist at CSIRO has told Fine Line, that "humans are not responsible for climate change, but nature herself". He said, that in the life time of our planet Earth, millions of years from now, the percentage of carbon emissions contributed from human activity in its current form will be less than one fraction of one percent, or zero of one percent.

Predictions of rising tides, record high temps, and catastrophic weather, are just some of the things the govt. appointed chief climate change scientist- Professor Tim Flannery, is saying will happen. Now what strikes me as peculiar, is Tim Flannery, David Archibald, and scientists at the CSIRO, have all seen the same scientific evidence and data, and yet the govt. seem defiant on accepting the findings of the scientific data.

Now we all know what happened after the last federal general election back in 2010, after the ALP forged a relationship with the Greens to form govt! That's right! Julia Gillard told us she was going to introduce a carbon tax that she previously said she wasn't going to introduce under a govt. that she leads. Well arguably, Ms. Gillard doesn't lead this govt, and certainly not in the polls. The latest news poll figures suggest a total labor whitewash in QLD, due to the backlash of the carbon tax. 

Most of the mining jobs that have been sacrificed for cheaper offshore labour and operations, were from QLD. Treasurer Wayne Swan and former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd would be erased from political office, if an election were to be held this weekend. Tens of thousands of jobs have already been lost due to high Australian dollar for exporters, affects of GFC and Euro on ASX, rising costs > unsustainability. Tens of thousands of more jobs are expected to be lost or scaled down as a result of surging power and fuel costs not only from inflation, but a direct result of a carbon tax.

As I said in my intro. Taxes are relevant, and they're a part of life, so we have to live with it. That is part true. Like you, I am happy to part with my hard earned money with the knowledge that it is going to be put back into society responsibly, and that the tax was warranted in the first place. 

Not so with this tax. Kevin Rudd came to power with $26b in the bank, which his govt. inherited from John Howard and Peter Costello. While the mining boom helped finance the final term of Howard/Costello, a lot more has been contributed by the mining sector since then, and not a lot is being injected back into the economy now, and that is part due to the fact that Rudd and Gillard have squandered the $26b surplus, and borrow more than $133 million a day just on interest. That's $1billion every ten days just on interest. It's this great big black hole that has corrupted the govt. into record borrowing and spending, that has meant the govt. simply aren't generating enough revenue to meet their financial responsibilities and obligations. They (govt.) need this tax!

As a tax payer and a voter, I refuse to accept the science of global warming, (come climate change), and refuse to accept the financial obligation to pay for a tax, based on a lie, that is designed to destroy our economy, destroy our way of life, for the political agenda of a socialist govt, that has lost its way with the Australian people. I for one, do not appreciate being played for a fool, nor being patronised. Our fathers didn't die, fighting for the freedoms we take for granted today, to simply have them taken away out of selfishness. 

The person I feel sorry for is the small business owner who has to decide whether to close his door or continue to absorb rising costs for an inevitable closure. Or there's the farmer who has to decide whether to down size or rip the crop out of the ground, due to rising costs, he can't compete with other countries who don't have a carbon tax.

You see, it doesn't end there. It's one thing to wreck our place of employ, our livelihood, our food, our fuel.... Then when we get home, we're faced with the realisation of higher electricity bills, gas bills etc. Suddenly, we are with less money than before. Do I go out? I can see it now. Record number of rock bands performing "un-plugged" due to carbon tax. Silly you might say, and forgiven if you did say, but not as silly as the implementation of this ridiculous tax.

My plea to you the tax payer! Don't believe everything a politician, or scientist, or doctor, or whoever tells you, says! Get a second opinion, or third! My way of thinking, is to not only get another opinion, but to also do my own research, and draw my own conclusion. 

For too long, too many Australian's have been too busy, too tired,  too lazy or too trusting to fully understand or comprehend an important legislative change such as this one. What this country lacks is decent leadership. Without leadership, we all might as well be a herd of sheep.



 

Carbon Tax Rally 1st July

DAY ONE  OF GOVT's CARBON TAX



Coalition plan to rescind carbon tax when elected to office




Photo inset: Protestors gather at St James (City) before march to Central

Photo: Paul S McAuley

On a day where clouds loomed over the city, many more dark clouds loomed over Julia Gillard, as thousands of protestors in the two biggest capital cities in the country, Sydney and Melbourne, gathered to show their opposition to the world's biggest carbon tax in front of a packed international media contingent.

This is the third anti-carbon tax rally that I have covered, and this one had the biggest turn out by far. The timing of the roll out of the tax falling on a Sunday was a major contributing factor. Many of the other rallies such as the big one in Canberra, were held midweek which prevented many working people from attending.

As usual, the protestors were made up of small business people, farmers, workers, and senior citizens. I have a lot to do with small business owners, so I can understand where they're coming from. As many as up to eight thousand people made their way into the city for the rally down to Central. Many speakers including;- The Hon Bronwyn Bishop MP, Craig Kelly MP, David Archibald (climate scientist) and representatives from business, farming, and scientific studies, were present.

Photo left: The Hon Bronwyn Bishop MP
Photo by: Paul S McAuley

ALMOST 18 months on, since the Gillard led labor government announced its intention to introduce a carbon tax, the majority of Australian voters are still dissatisfied with the lie Julia Gillard told to the general electorate, and the roll out of the carbon tax.

In August last year, I interviewed the federal labor member for Banks - Daryl Melham, and quizzed him on the carbon tax, (among other things), and pointed out the key issues that were raised by people from his electorate, whom I had surveyed prior to my interview with him. Daryl watered down suggestion that the long term affects of the carbon tax would cripple small business, hurt pensioners, and already battling workers and struggling families. He claimed that, "these allegations were the work of the opposition and media, trying to score a headline".

Here are some recordings from the rally.

Right;- Craig Kelly MP

Below;- scenes from the march down Elizabeth St Sydney.

The general consensus from people at the march, was the uncertainty of commodity and utility prices, which is detrimental for business. The carbon price is expected to be around $23-$26 per tonne, compared to a world average of $15 per tonne. What we do know, is prices on electricity, gas and oil, will rise, and that price will be compounded, so consumers could end up paying their carbon price up to four times on a single item at the grocery store. The govt. has said they will compensate low income earners and legible households to cover the short fall of their carbon footprint, but this will only last one fiscal year, just enough time for people to get used to the carbon rebate by the time of the next federal general election.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott, has told the Australian media that "there will be no carbon tax under the govt. that I lead, except I mean it". Now whether you want to risk trusting another future leader is purely your own choice, but one thing is for sure, what one parliament can legislate is what another can de-legislate.

Only time will tell what the full impact of the carbon tax will be. For most of us, it won't really hit home until the bills start flowing in. In these already tough economic times, and with a second recession expected to hit Europe, everyone will be watching their money carefully in these tough times ahead. You know as they say;- "when the going gets tough, the tough get going".

Tim Flannery: Economist - Psychic

Economist Tim Flannery

Flannery Predicts Anarchy For Western Sydney With Fresh Climate Change Claims

I don't know about you, but when I get sick, I go to the doctor. If I need medicine, I go to a chemist. To service my car, I take it to a mechanic. So if you want to know what the weather is doing in 20 years time, you go to a meteorologist right... Wrong! Prime minister Julia Gillard it seems, prefers to get her climate advice from an economist. That's right, Professor Tim Flannery. And it's not surprising, I mean after all, when you run out of credible climate scientists it makes perfect sense to trumpet out a former Australian of the year, and climate spokesperson- Tim flannery. 

Flannery is the nation's leading climate change expert who advised Julia Gillard of the carbon tax, and has yet again warned of catastrophic weather events, only this time he seems to have mastered the art of psychic ability, by predicting mental health complaints brought on by severe heat waves, crime wave, and monumental deaths in the centre of western Sydney.

Professor Hughes, of the climate control commission said, "We know mortality goes up in heatwaves. If we get heat waves in western Sydney, yes, we would expect to see deaths". The deadly predictions come after the coolest summer in 15 years with the longest run of days under 30C.

Hard to imagine after two hard years of rain, and record low temps right around the world, that the same man that said we would be all dying from heat exhaustion and bearing brunt of a never ending drought, that he would expect us to believe in his new fear mongering findings. Sounds to me that a prime minister on the brink of her own disaster could be throwing more tax payer money at a man with as bout as much climate credentials as a cab driver doing my tax. It is on the public record that Flannery is being paid more than $220k a year by Julia Gillard, care of the tax payer. As a self acclaimed climate expert, Tim Flannery makes a good economist.

Below: Excerpt from The Telegraph

CLIMATE Commissioner Tim Flannery's work labelled "alarmist" by a renowned climate scientist who says his own predictions were "wrong".

Asked about mental health and other impacts raised in the report, she said heatwaves led to surges in violence.
"The police actually know, this was brought out in our previous report, when you get several days of extreme hot weather, they have more problems, there's more violence, people are cranky and prone to violent outbursts," she said.
Heat combined with poorer air quality could mean hospitals, which already experienced more emergency cases on hot days, recorded a 40 per cent jump in admissions from 2020-30 and a 200 per cent increase from 2050-60, the commission will claim, based on a report from 2008.
If extreme weather caused power outages, the climate scientists feared serious health impacts if blackouts caused "food to spoil due to improper refrigeration, or be contaminated due to inadequate cooking, leading to illness".
The report said hot days had already increased 60 per cent in western Sydney since 1970 and days in Sydney above 35C would balloon from 3.3 in 2008 to 14 in 2100.
From 1970 to 2011, the number of days over 35C in NSW jumped by up to 7.5 per decade.
Prof Hughes said the cooler, wetter summer was a case of day-to-day weather.
However she said the warnings were based on long term analysis of climate change.
But James Cook University Adjunct Professor Bob Carter, an environmental scientist, rubbished the predictions.
"So what. There is always going to be more or fewer hot days per decade," he said.
He claimed forecasting models to project warming, used by the UN, were wrong and that claims made about the start of this century had proven wrong.
"Those same computer models predicted there would be two-tenths of a degree of warming between the turn of the century and 2010 - in fact we had no warming at all.
"If you bring it out to 2012, we have had a slight cooling."
The Climate Commission report will be released today ahead of a forum with Prof Flannery, Prof Hughes and fellow Commissioner Will Steffen at Parramatta RSL club tomorrow night.

Costello row with Kroger

Michael Kroger Slams Peter Costello Over Nasty Rants:
 Costello Hits Back!

VICTORIAN Liberal Power broker Michael Kroger, has told media outlets his friend and political ally of 35 years Peter Costello, their friendship hangs in the balance, due to Costello's continuing rants over his party colleagues. 

In a blatant and staged attack on Costello, Kroger reveals his most private conversations with Costello. In an interview on ABC radio Melbourne, Michael Kroger says Peter Costello needs to make amends with all the former Liberal leaders he has maligned. Mr Costello has dismissed the story as a lie, calling his old friend "irrelevant".

This now public and bitter feud, has former high profile liberal leaders and front benchers in a media frenzy. The debate has taken to rumours of Costello asking Kroger for a support of a political comeback. Former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett, told Melbourne radio 3AW that he finds it hard to believe that Costello would mount a comeback, as he has never mentioned in any discussions that he would challenge, and that he can't as there is no opening for such a position.

Former Senator Nick Minchin, told ABC NEWS 24 Latika Bourke, his disappointment of Michael Kroger's report and timing of his report. Minchin says he denies Kroger's allegation of Costello's leadership rants. "The inner workings of the Victorian liberal party have been a mystery to me for the 30 years I've been a member of the Victorian liberal party", says Minchin. When asked if Kroger is making Costello claims up, Minchin replies that he doesn't know what the motives are for this bitter feud, but can only hope that this can be kept private and not battled in the public arena.

Craig Thomson claims he was set up

NSW Fraud Squad 
Likely To Charge 
Thomson With Fresh New Charges

Inspector Col Dyson who headed the NSW fraud squad, is said to have gathered enough evidence to prosecute Thomson with at least a dozen new charges relating to improper use of a credit card.

Thomson's lawyer Mr. McArdle is also under investigation for falsifying a statement which stated Mr. Thomson had no way of paying for his legal fees all while Thomson's lawyer Mr. McArdle, had forged an agreement with NSW Labor power brokers, to foot Thomson's legal bills in exchange for propping up Govt.

Below is a televised interview Thomson did with Laurie Oakes last year before his house was raided by Victoria Fraud and Extortion Squad Detectives.


Craig Thomson has today told Laurie Oakes, in an extraordinary Nine interview on weekend today, that he was set up by a current union official, in a very dysfunctional union at that stage. Thomson claims that a union official made threats against him,  in company of several people back in 2004, and made enemies because he told union officials that his "successor not being his successor". The threat according to Mr. Thomson was a fabricated story to implicate him to "hook up hookers". When asked to explain the credit card transactions made between 2004 and 2007, Mr. Thomson argued that all expenses were accounted for by himself, and that there wasn't any sufficient evidence that could be used in court. Mr. Navaros chief investigator, says police were also investigating several transactions that were made prior to 2004/2007, back in 2002. When asked to explain these transactions by Laurie Oakes, Mr. Thomson denied any wrong doing and said in 2002, it was a union that was bitterly divided, and closed down it's main office and opened HSU-east. However, Mr. Thomson notes, that there may have been fraudulent use of credit cards, but at the hands of disgruntled union officials.

Budget 2012 - Editorial's View

Editorial - editor-in-chief: Paul S McAuley
  

While I might lack the economic credentials to deliver a federal budget, let alone a surplus, I think it is clear that this year's budget is lacking its own true economic credentials. Now call me cynical, but with all the hysteria of leadership tension, bad polls, dismembered mp's, more bad polls, sex, lies now video tape, it strikes me it is more than coincidental that there were more pre-budget leaks than Rudd on a leaky boat. So why were the political journo's and economists forced in a budget lockout? Could it be for the same reason level 1 of members hall was off limits to former mp's and current presiding officers? I don't recall quarantining media at the galleries of parliament house a requirement of Finklestein's report. Was there something I missed?

This budget was never going to be a popular one for treasurer Wayne Swan. He committed his government to returning the economy to the black, by installing a surplus of less than $2b for 2012/2013 financial period. You see what's interesting is, anyone that's ever run a business or attempted book keeping, will know that in order to achieve a positive output, you simply jiggle the books. You just remove funding or negative output by copying and pasting selected entry fields from one area to another. In the case of this budget, re-allocating projected funds from 2011/2012 budget over to 2013-2016 budgets. 

I guess like many budgets, labor or liberal, there will always be areas that are sugar coated down to divert attention from black holes or budget cuts to critical govt departmental units. But unlike this one, there's more sugar than butter, so to speak. 

The part of the budget that I personally found disappointing and insulting was,  the announcement of $7b to IMF to help out Europe's spiraling debt problems at the detriment of our struggling economy. Since when was Australia part of the European Union, and multi- empires like France, GB, Germany, and Italy? While I sympathise with our European counterparts, I sympathise more with Australian people that are being dudded by our own govt, for the sake of their ego driven madness on the world scene. That $7b is instant, it's in their account right now, while Australians continue to borrow $133 million dollars everyday to pay for bad policies unfunded and unwarranted. 

Think about the pensioners and people in aged care who have to wait another year before they see any real funding. Then there's the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) that will have to wait four years to get their $1b funding off the backhand of nothing more than a disgraceful publicity stunt by prime minister Julia Gillard, who knows this money won't reach the accounts of the NDIS while her govt hold office.

The most unpredictable financial problem for this govt is the uncertainty of increasing numbers of illegal boat people. I refuse to refer to illegal boat people as refugees, as I have met genuine refugees who have come to our country to escape their war savaged countries, and one bloke in particular lost his whole family. The sorts of people that are arriving illegally by boat are nothing more than economic refugees. They pay smugglers the big money to travel to at least two countries before finally arriving in Australia. Indonesia or Malaysia is the first or second point of refuge, so that should be there place of asylum. While this govt sit on their hands and knees and blame the opposition for their own inaction, I mean, after all, they don't need the coalition's vote if they formed an unofficial coalition with the greens. This problem won't go away, and it's clear that given there is no funding allocation in the budget for the 2012/2013 period, just what is this government's expectation for their formulated budget costings? 

With the installation of Bob Brown's replacement, Christine Milne, it shall make for interesting times ahead for the business relationship between the greens and labor. The highly anticipated budget surplus divides these two mainstream players, where the only numbers that are concerned would seem to be more focused on that of the executive govt, as opposed to a balance sheet or budget white paper.

What this budget does prove is that where's there's smoke, there's fire. Strictly as a political observer, the govt's attack on the mining sector and its cashed up bosses, seems like a last minute cash grab from the govt's oldest enemies but newest political opponents. Hmmm, sounds like a defeatist attitude to me.  

Overall, this budget will affect different people in different ways. For good, for bad. Some will lose, some will pay. Although while I don't have a problem with cuts to some areas to make ways in others, it's the dishonesty and deceit that I can't handle. Just one day, it would be nice to see a politician that actually believes in what he or she is doing, and thinks of the people that put them there to represent us, not themselves. 

Time may not be on our side right now, but only time will tell what lie ahead, as only time may make the wounds heal in due time.

 

Budget 2012: Special Edition

This is treasurer Wayne Swan's fifth consecutive budget, and as expected, has proved to be a hit among struggling workers and families. With the troubling gloom of Slipper and Thomson dominating most of the headlines the past weeks, the budget wasn't going to be immune from such controversy.  Today in question time, speaker Peter Slipper formally stood down from the position of speaker, handing the speakership to his deputy Anna Burke until the surroundings of his allegations are wrapped up. The coalition failed in two attempts on standing orders for former speaker Harry Jenkins to take on the speakership, and for Thomson to withdraw his services from parliament for 14 days. All independent cross benchers sided whole heartedly with the government.


TREASURER Wayne Swan has used his 2012 budget as a platform to shut down his critics and challengers from the wealthy mining sector, by launching an all out assault on mining magnates, by taking from them and giving to the needy battlers.
 Up-to-date coverage of budget 2012

Exert from Herald Sun:- Upping the ante in his so-called class war with mining billionaires like Andrew Forrest, Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer, the federal treasurer announced a $3.6 billion "spreading the benefits of the boom" package to share the proceeds of the mining tax with low and middle-income earning families and small businesses.
The package's core measures are:

• $1.8 billion in extra family tax benefits, helping 1.5 million families, with more than half taking home an extra $600 a year;
• $1.1 billion in supplements of up to $210 a year for students, job seekers and parents with young children on income support. 

Savaging the Coalition and the Greens for rejecting Labor's proposed one per cent company tax cut, he said funds for the cut had instead been redirected to families.
Mr Swan, as expected, announced a small $1.5 billion surplus, Labor's first in 23 years.
Following last year's $44 billion deficit, this represents Australia's biggest fiscal turnaround in half a century - and more is on the way.
"The surplus years are here," Mr Swan declared.
The treasurer announced a bonus of $820 for secondary students and $410 for primary, a $1 billion disability insurance scheme, $515 million for dental care and a tripling of the tax-free threshold to $18,200 to help compensate for the new carbon tax.
To pay for it all he has taken the axe to cut $17 billion off government spending, with defence hit to the tune of $5.4 billion and 3000 public service jobs cut.
With GDP expected to grow at over three per cent, and unemployment remaining low at 5.5 per cent, he pronounced Australia's economy "streets ahead" of every other major developed country.

 Key independent MPs Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor say Labor's budget for 2012/13 should pass through parliament


The minority government led by Prime Minister Julia Gillard relies on the support of the two NSW country independents to help pass its legislation in the lower house.
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan handed down the budget on Tuesday, forecasting at least four years of surpluses with the first of $1.5 billion due in 2012/13.
Mr Oakeshott said it was a tight budget in a "tight parliament".
"Personally, I think it will pass," he told Sky News.
"I will be really interested to see the coalition's response to some of the measures in there."
Mr Windsor also said he believed the budget bills would progress through the parliament.
"I don't think there will be much risk in doing that - maybe some minor modifications," he said.

(source- Nine News)

Fair Work Australia: HSU Report

Police Raids. FWA investigation into HSU. What Next?

It would appear, not only the days of the HSU East branch, but Michael Williamson, and Craig Thomson's days, are numbered. Only four days ago, the offices of HSU East branch, on Pitt street Sydney, were the target of a police raid, by the NSW police fraud squad. Detective Superintendent Colin Dyson, of the fraud and cybercrime squad, told a packed media conference, that Mr. Williamson, had been caught removing documents from his HSU office, and into the building's carpark.

     Craig Thomson, however, still denies any wrong doing, and is now pointing the finger to Mr. Williamson, the man that only two weeks ago, was standing by. While Mr. Thomson proclaims his innocence, Fair Work Australia have filed their report to the federal court. The FWA investigation, which took longer than the Korean war, has taken a lot of people by surprise. The FWA report was quite damning, as it revealed many breaches of financial trust, and systemic failures in its organisational structure and business culture.  
     As the FWA report takes on a new chapter in the courts, the work of the NSW and Victorian police forces is still on going, with mountains of evidence to chew down, and almost certain arrests to follow. All while I'll put my money on charges being brought down on Thomson and Williamson, it probably won't come soon enough for an early election, although, stranger things have happened. Watch this space!

Prime Minister: Julia Gillard

Gillard Leadership Challenge

On the eve of the federal budget, the prime minister has yet another dark cloud hovering over her head, as the labor caucus go back to the battle room, for yet another leadership challenge. Supporters of the previous Gillard contention, have been given a battering in the polls, and by their future boss, Bill Shorten, who is rallying his troops behind a Rudd challenge. It is unclear if Rudd will have a third challenger, but what is certain, is he has the absolute and unconditional backing of the labor caucus. Even though many of his new supporters have previously publicly and viciously criticised him, the only thing on their minds is making sure their current leader, Julia Gillard, is not returned as their leader.  

Gillard Pushes Thomson

Craig Thomson no longer Gillard's problem
             Photo courtesy courier mail

Today disgraced labor MP, Craig Thomson withdrew his membership from the ALP, in a bid to avoid further distraction from the Government, in the lead up to budget week, in what is to be a testing time for the Gillard Government.

Last night, Prime Minister Julia Gillard, personally phoned Mr. Thomson, instructing him to resign from the ALP, and stand as an independent. Although Prime Minister Gillard has publicly said, standing down Mr. Thomson was the right thing to do morally, it still raises questions as to why the change of heart now all of a sudden, and why will Mr. Thomson be allowed to vote in the house of parliament? 

Of course, it wouldn't have anything to do with Bill Shorten bluing with the Prime Minister, in the quiet shadows of the PM's office, over the mishandling of Peter Slipper, and Thomson over such a long period of time. Shorten is furious at how long this "freak show" has been aloud to go on, under the leadership of Julia Gillard. In fact, the tension is so bad amongst labor MP's, Bill Shorten has called on his labor MP's, for a vote of no confidence in his leader. 

Only time will tell, if the fate of Craig Thomson, lies at the mercy of the two state police investigations into HSU credit card mishandlings, and the HSU all together.

As far as the numbers in the house of representatives, as it currently stands, it would appear unlikely that there would be any change, given that Mr. Thomson still holds a vote, and would support the Govt, and the independents have all but ruled out a vote of no confidence in the Govt. Before the Slipper affair, the Govt held 73 votes to 71, that number is now likely to be a level playing field, if no movement at the station.

The Government now finds itself in more hot water than ever before, with the latest newspoll elevating the coalition to 58.5%, on a two party preferred basis, with an increase of 1.5% since last survey. The next survey will include the 300th illegal boat arrival since labor tore up John Howard's "pacific solution" policy, the fresh Slipper allegations, and of course, the Govt's poor handling of the Craig Thomson affair.

What will be more damaging for the Gillard Govt, is today's latest attempt to shrug off any bad publicity hindering the Government's policy pushes. Again, a bad managerial decision by Gillard, which is so often dished out and publicly perceived as a political stunt, because that's exactly what it is.
 

One Direction Super Storm

UK Super Pop Sensation, One Direction, are currently 2012's most popular music act in the world. The group who are still on visit to Australia, have announced they are touring the land down under in 2013.

The all boy band, is the brainchild of Simon Cowell, the man who brought us;- American Idol, Britain's got talent, and X factor. Cowell told the boys, when they appeared on X factor as individuals , that each of them did not have what it takes as solo performers, but as a group, they would absolutely make a hard hitting impact on the pop scene. Boy was Cowell right. The boys are a goldmine for Cowell and anyone who cashes in on One Direction's popularity.

What is it about this five boy band that makes the girls crazy? Could it be their looks, stardom, energy, talent, all the above? Fans of this five boy line up, which have taken Australian teens by storm, tell us that they have the right sex appeal and music which they can sing and move to.

 Tickets for One Direction Australian tour sold out in three minutes. The tour dates for One Direction 2013 Australian tour are:

BRISBANE – WEDNESDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER 
BRISBANE - THURSDAY 12TH SEPTEMBER
 
SYDNEY – SATURDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER
SYDNEY - SUNDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER
 
MELBOURNE – THURSDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER
MELBOURNE - FRIDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER
 
ADELAIDE – TUESDAY 24TH SEPTEMBER
 
PERTH – SATURDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER
PERTH - SUNDAY 29TH SEPTEMBER

Check out their video interview courtesy of Telegraph
http://video.dailytelegraph.com.au/2221705557/One-day-with-One-Direction?area=videoindex1

SYDNEY ROYAL EASTER SHOW

This week I visited the Sydney Royal Easter Show. Apart from the airport prices, lines of people, and drowning of entertainers and vendors over public address announcements, the show offered the usual class vigour of displays in the exhibit hall, and various arenas. Surprisingly, the only huge lines experienced were in the dog pavilion. The lines to the amusement rides were long, but moved fairly quickly during the day, and increased heavily into the night, as people took advantage of the budget twilight entry passes.

The main food pavilion is always a crowd favourite, and sponsor Woolworths milked it for everything it was worth, by recreating its fresh food isle. Steggles, sole sponsor of poultry hall, spent all their money on self promotion rather than adequately caging the birds in decent sized pens. They obviously put all their eggs in one basket.

Full points to the organisation and logistics of the show, especially transport. Food, toilets and ATM's were easily locatable and in substantial supply. Police, security and emergency services were also highly visible and on hand to meet any incident. I personally gave the show an eight out of ten for overall satisfaction. However, I still think the show could be more affordable overall.

40 YEARS ON, STILL NO 2ND AIRPORT

For decades, pollies and Sydney residents have been debating whether and where a second airport should be built. Well for now it seems, this mundane white elephant has popped back in the headlines. 
Federal minister for transport and infrastructure Anthony Albanese, believes that Sydney does in deed, need a second airport, even though the state's top aviation experts are saying the current airport can facilitate its expected capacity until 2039. Former director of Civil Aviation Authority CAA (now CASA) and prominent Australian businessman Dick Smith, says that opening a second airport just opens the door for a second porthole for immigrants to further overpopulate an already crowded city struggling to cope with the current infrastructure. 

NSW premier Barry O'Farrell has categorically ruled out any possibility of a second airport under his watch. Mr. O'Farrell said that the state's infrastructure has been neglected for decades, illegal boat people are being sent to Sydney, and consequently the people of Sydney and those trying to get around the city, are paying the price. He said minister Albanese is headlining something his govt and the previous NSW state govt could have done, but his govt is looking for any headline that diverts from the ineptness of the federal govt. Mr. O'Farrell's preferred option is for a dedicated high speed rail network linking Canberra and Sydney.

CARBON TAX UNCONSTITUTIONAL: IPA REPORT

 Sydney Barrister and tax expert Bryan Pape, has described the federal government's carbon tax as "unconstitutional", and says the country's biggest states stand a significant chance of overturning the carbon tax in a high court challenge. 

The NSW premier Barry O'Farrell, has advised the media that his govt has received legal advice on this issue, and will be proceeding with a high court challenge. The other three liberal premiers are expected to follow their NSW counterpart.

Mr. Pape has said in his findings, the state owned power assets, emit greenhouse gases which are the property of the states. "It is impermissible for the commonwealth to impose any tax on any property of any kind belonging to a state".