The Queensland premier has thrown his support behind setting aside a portion of income tax for the states and territories, arguing that too much federal funding for local services “comes through the Canberra mix master” with strings attached.

Campbell Newman outlined his ideas for an overhaul of responsibilities and funding as the federal government launched the next stage of its review to transform the federation.

The prime minister, Tony Abbott, said the white paper on the reform of the federation would aim to reduce duplication and inform the Coalition’s policies for the next election, due in 2016 – a sign that major reforms could form the basis of an agenda for a second term of office.

Terms of reference released on Saturday showed the review would consider the practicalities of limiting commonwealth policies and funding “to core, national interest matters” and striking a deal between state and federal governments “about their distinct and mutually exclusive responsibilities and subsequent funding sources”.

read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/28/states-deserve-slice-of-income-tax-to-run-essential-services-campbell-newman

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Be prepared, as your "electricity bill" might or might not come down, your tax, especially hidden taxes will increase...

 

NOMENCLATURE to explain the map in the picture at top:

Ginapatra's Queendom: For years the Queen of Rust (called "iron ore" for marketing reasons) has been discreetly pushing for Western Australia "secession" from the Federated motherland.

Aboland: the place where most aborigines will be herded into — unless they accept to be diluted by "assimilation" and paint their faces white.

Pyne's Fiefdom: Christopher Pyne, aka the annoying Lord of the Whine, Gripes and Complaints, wants to rule something. May as well give him South Australia, figuratively speaking of course.

JO's chookyard: Queensland has long been an enigma. Perfect one day, completely troppo the next. Joh's ghost still haunts the space. Sir Johannes "Joh" Bjelke-Petersen used to rule this large space by feeding the chooks (press conference) at 5:00 PM everyday... Queensland is also where Clive Palmer operates his deception headquarters from — especially about being a conservationista who "believes" in climate change, while being a big investor into what could be the largest coal mine in the world, a mine that could add more CO2 into the atmosphere than all other Aussie coal mines combined.

Victoria has long been a place where Libs have held and developed conservative views at the same time as acquiring tennis elbows. Melbourne is a conservative thick walled-city where the masses in colourful scarves are entertained by competitive dancing footballers.

Canberra — judged by some people who never went there as the best city on earth — is a wasteland of hot air, cold miserable winters and the suppository of ugly politics.

New South Wales (slaves and serfs enclave) was the first convict state — all sent from mother England for stealing a loaf of bread or convicts coming from Ireland for being Irish.

The North Shore is Australia's new capital city. Most of the glorious chief warriors under the Turd Tsar, and the Turd Tsar himself, come from this enchanting part of beautiful Sydney, where the zoo is located. Their true motto is: Veni, Vidi, Porki, Fibi, dishonesti, punchi, pinchi, which accurately translated in pure English means: Rob the poor to feed the rich...

 

 

Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz is on a media blitz to decisively warn against Hockey and Abbott's woefully misguided economic plan for Australia, writes Alan Austin.

TONY ABBOTT AND JOE HOCKEY have just received three pieces of strategic advice from one of the sharpest tools in the global economics shed. For free.

Professor Joseph Stiglitz from New York City'sColumbia University is in Australia. Stiglitz’s razor edge in global economics was honed teaching at Yale, Princeton and Oxford, and then as chief economist and vice-president of the World Bank in the late 1990s.

He won the 2001 Nobel Prize in economics for researching how markets are distorted by bad information. He shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on climate change.

Messages Stiglitz delivered forcefully this week on ABC Lateline and PM, as well as elsewhere, include:

1. Australia’s economy has been travelling extremely well and needs no major shift in policy settings.
2. Welfare spending must be increased rather than reduced for sound long-term outcomes.
3. Now is the time for assets to be built and bought — not sold off.

His timing is fortuitous, with the new Senate about to convene, and several Budget bills up for debate.

On Australia’s progress through the global financial crisis (GFC), Stiglitz was emphatic:

“You have actually had until now remarkably good economic performance. I think Australians may not fully appreciate that you are one of the economies that have actually delivered — that most citizens’ incomes have increased year after year. You have a minimum wage that is twice that of the United States.”

On welfare spending, Stiglitz challenged the recent Federal Budget cuts social services:

“A country’s most important resources are its people. If you don't invest in your children – if you don't invest – make sure they have adequate nutrition, education, health, it will jeopardise your future.”

Stiglitz’s third message confronted head on Abbott’s U-turn since the September election on building Australia’s assets.

In Opposition, Abbott and Hockey hailed their plans to increase the nation’s assets for future prosperity:

“We will build the roads of the 21st century because I hope to be an infrastructure prime minister who puts bulldozers on the ground and cranes into our skies,”Abbott told the 2013 Federal Coalition campaign launch last August.

Now in office, however, Abbott wants to flog off – that is, privatise, or what they now call the Orwellian sounding "asset recycling" – enterprises and infrastructurebuilt by previous generations — assets which, before the election, he claimed

“... determine our quality of life as well as our country’s productivity and prosperity.”

 

read more: http://www.independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/abbott-and-hockeys-shocking-sell-off-stupidity-exposed,6634