The Turnbull Government

[Tisme]

LOL, seems like I touched a raw nerve there.

I'm not sure if you are seeing the irony of Fontenelle's idiom being used against you.

 

[SirRumpole]

I'm not sure if you are seeing the irony of Fontenelle's idiom being used against you.

I expected no less from our old mate.

 

[Logique]

The biggest winner from the Budget is Bill Shorten. Because a lot of Coalition voters will think, why bother to vote Coalition when we just get Labor policies anyway?

 

[SirRumpole]

The biggest winner from the Budget is Bill Shorten. Because a lot of Coalition voters will think, why bother to vote Coalition when we just get Labor policies anyway?

Exactly.

 

[PZ.]

But.... Coalition voters won't vote Labor. They'll vote for the Coalition - even if it's by proxy through One Nation/Conservatives. Same way Labor voters go for the Greens. More to the point - people don't want Bill Shorten as PM. They prefer Malcolm Turnbull and have done since the election. Labor's vote in that election was the second lowest on record.

Howard battlers Swinging voters like myself aren't going to vote Labor unless their policies are better than the Govt's. However, Labor's gaffes over the last week have been real doozies

 

[Tisme]

LNP leaving the incoming Labor govt with a big black hole.

Govt has effectively admitted defeat and turned from projecting A. Pope's parsimonious Cotta persona to celebrating debt loving Champagne Charlies.

 

[SirRumpole]

But.... Coalition voters won't vote Labor. They'll vote for the Coalition - even if it's by proxy through One Nation/Conservatives. Same way Labor voters go for the Greens. More to the point - people don't want Bill Shorten as PM. They prefer Malcolm Turnbull and have done since the election. Labor's vote in that election was the second lowest on record.

Howard battlers Swinging voters like myself aren't going to vote Labor unless their policies are better than the Govt's. However, Labor's gaffes over the last week have been real doozies

The only Labor gaffe has been that silly ad, which will privately appeal to a lot of people anyway.

The LNP implements a housing plan that most experts think is a stupid idea, putting super towards a house deposit, and ignore a plan that most experts think is a good idea, reforming negative gearing and CGT. So in that respect Labor's policies ARE better.

The business tax cut is a joke, giving money to companies whose profits have increased. That money should go to consumers who will spend it in the economy, give income to business and everyone will be better off.

 

[boofhead]

I am not a fan of previously flagged use of super for purchasing a house but the way this policy is setup for saving a deposit has some merit. Deposit accounts in a low interest environment is sometimes less than inflation. Super has better earnings and better taxation. As long as there is a way to differentiate it from regular super. Maybe in time govts encourage more money to be saved via using super and a push to use more super savings for national public/private infrastructure.

 

[PZ.]

When banks are passing on taxes and increasing interest rates unilaterally I think it's better to allow minimal access to super for the purpose of assisting with weekly repayments because it's that money that dictates whether you keep your house or not.

 

[Junior]

A few thoughts.

• For first home buyers, the strategy can be valuable....you will get decent tax savings by salary sacrificing for a few years and then pulling the money back out.

• The vast majority of young people will have their super in a default investment option....likely in a growth strategy. So if you pump extra cash into super for 2 or 3 years, and this happens to be during a time of poor market performance, your tax breaks will be eroded by capital losses, thereby offsetting any benefits.

• Of course, if markets move higher over this period, the benefits will be amplified.

• You will pay buy/sell costs on the way into super, and on the way out. The super fund will often charge you a withdrawal fee as well (I can see some funds increasing this to try and profit).

• There will be an additional compliance burden where the ATO has to calculate out how much you can withdraw, and enforce that the funds are used for a first home purchase.

Simply scaling back Neg gearing/CGT discount would be far more effective, and would raise government revenue rather than being an expense. Nevertheless, FHB should take advantage of this offer, if it becomes legislated.

 

[Gringotts Bank]

Mal needs to cut back on the earnest emphasis on every other word. It's almost like he's trying to convince himself. Belies a lack of faith.

 

[SirRumpole]

Mal needs to cut back on the earnest emphasis on every other word. It's almost like he's trying to convince himself. Belies a lack of faith.

He thinks he's back in court trying to convince the jury that his guilty as sin client is an angel.

 

[Tisme]

QANDA 8th May 2017 :

DAN TEHAN (Minister for Veterans' Affairs):

"So, Virginia, the first thing you have to do to start repaying the debt is to get your budget back in surplus. That is the first thing you need to do. And so, what you will see in tomorrow night’s Budget is us showing the path for our budget back to surplus. And once you can do that, then you can start paying back the debt. We’ve already paid off $22 billion of debt, we’re $22 billions of savings since the last election. And you will see us deliver a pathway back to surplus. Then we can start addressing the debt. But until you can get your balance sheet right, you won’t be able to do that. And as we’ve seen, previously, it’s always been a Coalition Government which is able to balance the budget and repay the debt."

Of course Scott Morrison (treasurer) is going to have a surplus within the perpetual 4 years (tomorrow never comes adage).

This is the first thing Dan didn't know when he acted like he did:

http://www.budget.gov.au/2016-17/content/bp1/html/bp1_bs6.htm

 

[moXJO]

Negative gearing tinkering won't do jack. We need investors to develop and build as much as possible. Foreign investment changes will have a bigger impact to price.
The budget is very socialist flavored. But probably what we need for right now. Its the most sensible in a long time. Libs are as far center as the have been for a while

 

[drsmith]

The government's big bank levy will apply to deposits over $250k according to the following AFR article.

http://www.afr.com/business/banking...-to-consumers-market-analysts-20170509-gw124y

If the government guarantee is just fattening bank profits, then to the extent it overcomes that, fair enough. Anything beyond that stinks.

 

[Knobby22]

The government's big bank levy will apply to deposits over $250k according to the following AFR article.

http://www.afr.com/business/banking...-to-consumers-market-analysts-20170509-gw124y

If the government guarantee is just fattening bank profits, then to the extent it overcomes that, fair enough. Anything beyond that stinks.

Yes, but also evens up the banking landscape. I bet the big banks wish they had Labor with a Royal commission now. They would rather be embarrassed than have the effect on the bottom line. I think it is a clever tax, the danger is that future governments will increase it as a politician cannot help but love new revenue streams. Overall the government tax hikes were very clever. I am more worried with what they do with the money. Wasting it like giving FOXTEL money to show unwatched sports is one bad idea. ( I wonder what Rupert said to Malcolm when he was with him recently at the Trump meeting).

 

[McLovin]

Simply scaling back Neg gearing/CGT discount would be far more effective, and would raise government revenue rather than being an expense. Nevertheless, FHB should take advantage of this offer, if it becomes legislated.

But that would upset the golden generation. The bank tax will probably end up being a tax on mortgages so I can't see how it will improve affordability, and allowing access to a tax concessionary environment to save for a deposit seems like it will have similar consequences to FHBG that just pushed up prices. Wealthy retirees are being given a carrot to downsize ($300k can be tipped into a tax free environment) rather than a stick – downsize or we will treat $x value of your home as reducing pension payments or increasing tax on super in pension phase. That seems to be the trend though, can't upset the baby boomers they've had it tough all their life!

The Medicare levy doesn't come close to paying for Medicare, so why the pretence that you can fund the NDIS using that tax?

High speed rail along the corridors of the major capitals (not linking them) would do more to improve affordability than all these piecemeal ideas, but that requires vision beyond the forward estimates.

 

[Junior]

High speed rail along the corridors of the major capitals (not linking them) would do more to improve affordability than all these piecemeal ideas, but that requires vision beyond the forward estimates.

Agreed. The benefits to something like this would be huge. Anyone who has travelled Japan by train can see this. Wherever a new stop is built....a city develops around the train station. In Australia we could ease the burden on Melbourne/Sydney/Brisbane by creating new cities along a high speed network linking the 3. It won't happen anytime soon under our current style of leadership, it's nice to dream though.

 

[PZ.]

That rail line has been a dream for 30+ years. Land in far west NSW was sold and subdivided in anticipation of the line around 15 years ago. Another dream was a super highway linking the Badgerys Creek airport to this line around Parkes or Dubbo off memory.

 

[Tisme]

So I made a joke about 457s in the armed forces and now the govt is going to employ 457s to build the new navy ships !!!!

Apparently we don't have workers who can ply their trade.