53 replies to this topic

[skillionaire]

Hi,

 

Also, we can now boast the WORLD'S largest medical health research fund. 

 

So you'll still be fit and able well into your seventies. Haha. 

 

If every single person in Australia said they'll take a ten percent cut in their wages/entitlements - would cost of living go up? Or would it be exactly the same, just the numbers are smaller?

 

Cheers,

Nik

[simon]

Paid parental leave stayed. Missus was happy about that............Looks like im having a kid around July next year. 

[skillionaire]

Hi,

 

Also no parental leave levy for small business is a bonus and will work in both parties favour.

 

Just had the news flowing "this $7 increase for fees will hurt sick people" - not really. The most it will hurt is $70 as after the first ten visits it no longer applies. Also, to say it's an 'increase' is inherently incorrect - it's just making people who pay zero dollars, pay seven dollars.

 

Cheers,

Nik

[B4TT]

It boggles my mind that people are bitching over $7.. people saying it will cause the sick to go untreated are deluded, as if a genuinely sick person is going to not seek treatment over $7, and from what I have heard a Doctor has the discretion over whether or not to charge the patient the $7, the catch being if they don't they will lose an additional $5 or so for the consultation.

[Adam]

Short but simple. Is the economy in that good a shape? Manufacturing industry seems like it is failing hard. Or is that a different matter?

[CodeBurn3r]

The one thing i heard on the radio that i dont agree with...

 

6 month wait for under 30's if you loose your job...

 

What a stupid idea..

they better tweak that shit..

 

Having been made redundant in my early 20's and having to go on Job Search for a few months while I tried to find another job (no i wasn't picky.. i went from I.T. at $40ph to being paid $15ph working at a mech workshop part time)

if I had to wait 6 months before I was given any Assistance my family would have been living on the street..

 

I understand the idea behind it because i know too many people that quit their shit kicker jobs only to get paid more on benefits straight away.. but i can see this being a right mess.. Stupid bureaucracy crap will surely be a problem and It worries me..  

[Reevesy]

Budget didnt affect me at all really. So im glad

The pension age to 70 is stupid in my opinion. I can assure you theirs no way i'll be doing this job when im 60+ Hardly seems fair with the amount of tax i'll pay between now and then but we cant have everything our way.

By the time your 70 with the amount of money from super plus assets I doubt a lot of people will be eligible for a pension anyway

[Shaz]

Here's an internal release from NABs chief economist, Alan Oster

 

NAB Federal Budget 2014 – Budget Night Snapshot

Alan Oster, Group Chief Economist

National Australia Bank

 

WHAT ARE YOUR INITIAL THOUGHTS?

 

Well when we look at the budget, our sort of general reaction is: what the government is facing is a run of fairly large commitments,

 

things like Gonski, National Disability and Paid Parental Leave.

 

And what they’ve tried to do, is make room to put those in, and still maintain a budget.

 

So, the way you move forward, is basically everybody sort of shares some pain, in the short term,

 

and in the medium term you get back to something that looks sort of reasonably sustainable, getting fairly close to a budget surplus by about 2018.

 

When we look at it, at the end of the day, that sort of adjustment process, is quite strong, but it’s not the worst we’ve ever seen.

 

The Costello and Howard adjustments in the mid-90s were much more aggressive.

 

We look at their forecasts, they’ve actually got growth forecast a bit lower than us, they’ve got high levels of unemployment,

 

But generally what I’d say is their parameters, if you like, the effects in terms of the economy, they look pretty okay to us.

 

As we look forward, what we’d sort of say is, one of the risks will be whilst in itself the actual withdrawal of activities is probably not enough to actually crunch the economy, it may hurt confidence a bit and that makes life a bit tricky.

 

The government is actually forecasting 6.25% for unemployment for the next two years, so they’re actually a little bit more negative than we are.

 

I think the other big uncertainty is politics. We just don’t know how much of this budget is going to get through the Senate, and so that makes life difficult.

 

So if I had to sort of summarise, the summary is: making room for other commitments that they’ve signed up to, trying to repair the balance in a structural sense in the medium term, and sharing the pain around to just about everybody.

 

 

 

HOW DOES THE BUDGET IMPACT BUSINESS?

 

From a business point of view, the direct impact immediately is $850 million worth of reductions of industry assistance schemes.

 

So they will basically depend on which industry you’re in and what scheme you’re subject to.

 

To some extent offsetting that you get reductions in the company tax, for everyone other than the large corporates.

 

They’re also hoping to get through the Senate the end of the Mining Tax and also the Carbon Tax, so they’re the direct effects.

 

The indirect effects are coming to how the consumer might respond, particularly to less income in their households, as a result of tightening up of essentially the government transfers, and also the fact that some people will be paying high tax rates.

 

So I think there are those sort of retail effects, but the big ones tend to be the tax side and also the abolition of some of the industry assistance schemes.

 

IN WHAT WAYS WILL THE WIDER ECONOMY BE AFFECTED?

 

When we look at the overall effect of the budget on the economy, when we just sort of look at what’s called a structural surplus, or if you like, what is the budget doing to the economy? Our estimates would say that around about 0.5% off GDP per annum for the next 3 to 4 years, is really what the government is doing.

 

So it is actually acting as a break to the economy, to trade that off against a more sustained fiscal position in the medium term. 

[B4TT]

That is a lot of words to say 'I'm not really sure, depends on what happens in the future, depends on what passes and depends on what industry you work in'

[Morgan]

It boggles my mind that people are bitching over $7.. people saying it will cause the sick to go untreated are deluded, as if a genuinely sick person is going to not seek treatment over $7, and from what I have heard a Doctor has the discretion over whether or not to charge the patient the $7, the catch being if they don't they will lose an additional $5 or so for the consultation.

 

Concessional patients & children under 16 only pay the $7 for the first 10 visits a year, ie, after paying $70 it's back to being 100% bulk billed. Doesn't seem too unreasonable?

[B4TT]

 

Concessional patients & children under 16 only pay the $7 for the first 10 visits a year, ie, after paying $70 it's back to being 100% bulk billed. Doesn't seem too unreasonable?

Exactly!!!!!!!!!

[Morgan]

 

6 month wait for under 30's if you loose your job...

 

 

I'm trying to figure this one out...

 

Isn't it only for new jobseekers? Not if you've been made redundant...

 

This article seems to make it sound alright. Manditory job seeking programs if you apply for youth allowance, etc. Seems to be trying to cut down on bludgers. I'm ok with this!

 

http://www.theguardi...oyment-benefits

[CodeBurn3r]

yeah that clears it up Morgs.. 

job seekers applying for Newstart or Youth Allowance, who have not been previously employed, will face a six-month waiting period of no income support before they are eligible for payments by undertaking 25 hours a week in the Work for the Dole program."

 

Sometimes i wonder though.. can it really be that hard to sort this stuff out haha..

 

2 minute discussion at work brought this idea up..

 

make job search more like a HECS Debt..

6 month loan to get a job.. if you find a job in 6 months.. Bam debt wiped clean and a thank you for not being a bludger and contributing to our economy

 

dont find a job in 6 months and you have 50% of the loan to pay back when you get a job..
Then kick in same deal as above.. work for the dole.. but part of it goes back to paying your debt off..

12 months and Bam you are on a 100% repay rate once you get a job.

24 months and you are then placed on intense assisted living (you money if handled by a government body to ensure you are spending wisely (like when you bankrupt and they manage your money for 12 - 24 months after))

if that isnt motivation to get the bogans off of welfare and into a paying job.. Ship them to remote locations and have them work like slaves haha

[skillionaire]

Hi,

 

I agree with all the employment benefit decisions. Especially those targeted to mature age help.

 

@Adam: The point isn't so much how well are economy is doing, it's the comparative tax that other countries in our same bracket are paying. We are the 12th strongest economy in the world, but if you look at the countries around us, we as the people of the nation are paying fuckkall in taxes. We are literally copping it sweet.

 

There will be a lag period before the 'less in hand' correlates to lower prices for essentials, but it will happen, and sending increases to be directed by inflation rather than wages is just what the world should be doing anyway!

 

Cheers,

Nik

[JRod]

Disagree JRod, 
 
There is nothing wrong with our economy. I am certainly no expert in these matters, but considering we have 4 of the worlds 8 AAA+ rated banks, a national government debt GDP vs other countries rated one of the top 3 in the world, I don't think the cuts that have happened really need to happen. There is such a strong focus on bringing the budget back into surplus because its viewed as a wildly important factor, when realistically, its not as important as some of the things that have been cut. Putting the budget back into surplus will allow the RBA to cut rates, and keep inflation contained to a limit, but at what cost does it come?
 
Increasing the pension age to 70 is a joke. Sure, in my industry for example, you probably could work to the age of 70, but someone working in the blue collar industry, could you imagine lifting motors into cars at the age of 70, or laying bricks in the hot sun at age 70? I mean c'mon, its not possible. 
 
Allowing unis to set their own fees is dangerous. It will be interesting to see moving forward if there is any evidence of third line forcing.
 
2% increase in tax on those earning $180k+ isn't a bad thing IMO.
 
Cuts to Renewable Energy for the sake of $1.7 billion is ridiculous, so is the cuts to CSIRO and ANSTO to the tune of $146m.
 
Foreign aid cuts, while I can see that they are trying to look after our backyard first, $7.9B in cuts is HUGE.
 
A $12B purchase for new fighter jets is just a stupid move.
 
Making it harder to obtain unemployment benefits is a good move. It should hopefully push people into employment. 
 
Making it harder for people with a disability to claim is idiotic. How can you expect someone with a severe disability to work? That makes no sense to me, but alas, no cuts to the NDIS is a good thing. 
 
 
 
TL;DR - IMO, there has been cuts and tax hikes on things that shouldn't be cut, to improve an economy that is already in tip top shape compared to peers. 
 
Thumbs down from me, even though there isn't really many changes that affect me.

Hi Shaz,

Only the foreign aid is what i was talking about. The rest of it is a bit of give and take.

[Staxta]

The one thing i heard on the radio that i dont agree with...

 

6 month wait for under 30's if you loose your job...

 

What a stupid idea..

they better tweak that shit..

 

Having been made redundant in my early 20's and having to go on Job Search for a few months while I tried to find another job (no i wasn't picky.. i went from I.T. at $40ph to being paid $15ph working at a mech workshop part time)

if I had to wait 6 months before I was given any Assistance my family would have been living on the street..

 

I understand the idea behind it because i know too many people that quit their shit kicker jobs only to get paid more on benefits straight away.. but i can see this being a right mess.. Stupid bureaucracy crap will surely be a problem and It worries me..  

 

This is the worst one for me too, there are almost no jobs going in Wollongong because of the really high student population, even fast food joints won't take anyone on. I've had mates who were out of work for months before getting a job here.

[mark300]

personally, as a Student and working full time, previously i was under the Minimum earning amount to pay off HECS, so now ill be paying off my HECS debt even though im still learning. im not overly phased by it, less i have to pay off later i suppose 

im also not happy about the 6 months before any assistance. currently working in an industry with a high risk of redundancy and in a company that is facing problems and the threat of redundancies, so having that hanging in the back of my mind isnt great. 

[hoff]

I think most of it isn't too bad ie the co payments, 6 month wait for the dole, cut to foreign aid.

But cutting 16000 jobs is just ridiculous
That's 16000 more people that need to find work and potentially end up on the dole unnecessarily.

Letting unis set their own fees is a recipe for disaster.

Fuel excise increase is not need. The price of fuel is ridiculous enough already. Fuel is a necessity, tax something which isn't ( cigarettes, alcohol etc)

The biggest problem tho is cutting the family tax benefit part b threshold to 100k

I work my ass off for 95k a year which includes substantial overtime and my misses works one day a week our combined total is 108k. 8k over the new threshold which will cost us $100 a week.
With 2 kids under 5, a mortgage, day care, and every other bill under the sun that extra $100 goes along way.

[Liberty]

I found this to be a nice resource:

 

http://www.news.com....m-1226916437313

 

Now for my non-taxable two cents. They are my opinions only. Don't kill me if you don't like what you read. If it doesn't affect me, then I don't care basically. I am using this article as a template for my post.

• FOREIGN AID - I think Australia currently does too much for everyone else. We should definitely think about ourselves first. They are only keeping foreign assistance funding at its current level as mentioned in the article, not completely removing it or decreasing it significantly. It's just another way of going about things. Why is it our responsibility to fund other countries? I doubt all of the money goes towards what we are giving it to whoever for...
• DEFENCE - I don't see how we need to spend millions of dollars on new military aircraft. It's always good to be safe rather than sorry, but is this really a topic that is high on their priority list?
• FAMILIES - The Family Tax Benefit B doesn't affect me or my family to be quite honest (at least I don't think so yet). I'll have to speak to dad and get more details about it.
  Even though there is major news about how expensive $7 per GP visit is, well, are you forking kidding me? It's $7. How often do you have to be sick that prices start escalating well beyond your means? In my honest opinion I see this as a positive. I don't get sick often, and even less likely that I am that sick, I need to visit a GP. I'm happy to pay the $7 to be honest and this will hopefully deter people that abuse the system. That means less clogging up of GP's and less waiting time to see a doctor! A $5 fee to medicines on the Prescription Benefits Scheme, well, as I said before. I am not that sick that this becomes an expensive exercise.
  Newstart/Youth Allowance doesn't affect me. I've always had a job, and when I haven't, I'm not able to obtain either as my parents earn too much already.
• MEDICAL RESEARCH - I'm all for this. To my knowledge, Australia is highly regarded in medical research and it'd be a good thing for us to keep it that way. Although the cuts to the CSIRO and ANSTO is a bit sucky, but beggars can't be choosers. You've gotta take the good with the bad sometimes.
• PENSIONERS - I'm not one, so it is something I don't have to think about for another 45 years. As others have mentioned in the topic already, by the time that comes, we would have prepared for these changes anyway. We have more than enough time to do so, don't you think?
• EDUCATION - I'm not a university student at the moment, but it may be an option for me in the near future. The fact that universities will have uncapped university fees could be a bit daunting for many of us and may negatively affect those seeking to go down that path, not to mention those that are currently studying. A bit of a bummer however it could be good and/or bad depending on what course/s you want to do I guess.
• HEALTH - Reducing Medicare rebates is gonna suck big time. I was really gonna get into getting half-yearly check ups and maintain it. I haven't seen a dentist for over a year, an optometrist for many years before that, etc. Is private health insurance gonna be a better way to go now?
• THE PUBLIC SERVICE - So far the agencies listed do not include the one I work for now or my future career paths I'd like to take on. So long as it stays that way, it is something I don't mind happening.
• THE UNEMPLOYED - It seems as if the government is trying to promote companies to hire senior job seekers, which works in tandem with increasing the retiring age. As I stated earlier, I am not unemployed and when I am, I am ineligible for Youth Allowance or anything of the sort. I am indifferent.
• PEOPLE WILL A DISABILITY - To those that abuse the system, get forked. To those that need it, I support you wholeheartedly. It's the small percentage of fuckwits that abuse the system and cause things like this to occur. Fortunately decisions like these are made to filter that small percentage out. I just hope that the requirements aren't so high that those who legitimately need them do not qualify.
• HIGH INCOME EARNERS - I support this. I guess it's a guess of steal from the rich (people earning over $180,000), give to the poor (the government)?
• INFRASTRUCTURE - This is a boost for the career I want to undertake, so hopefully things go ahead. And even though the extra money you pay on fuel goes towards this, so long as it is actually being invested into infrastructure, I'm not really opposed.
• MINING - It isn't really something that directly has a positive or negative effect on me, however it is the biggest industry in Australia if I'm not mistaken so this getting a boost in whatever way is definitely a plus.
• INDIGENOUS PROGRAMS - Meh. I'm not against indigenous Australians in whatever way, but again, this doesn't phase me.
• PUBLIC BROADCASTING - ABC and SBS will lose 1% of their annual funding over the next four years, and ABC has lost the contract for Australia Network; does this mean ABC is goneskies? Also, so long as SBS continues to broadcast soccer matches and especially the World Cup, well, I've never watched a full program ever on either channel so I'm sad to say I don't care again.
• THE PRIVATE SECTOR - It sucks that our automotive sector has gone overseas. It was inevitable. I haven't got much else to say on this topic.
• THE ENVIRONMENT - I always thought that investing in renewable energy is a big thing... Why would they turn their backs on it? Bad move I reckon, sorry guys.

 

In conclusion, if all of this does go ahead it will not be impacting me as I initially thought. A lot of these things are blown way out of proportion by the media to make them money and get them hits, so please don't believe everything you see. Look at the facts and details and make your own judgement. I am sorry if I have offended anyone with something I have said, but I guess the truth hurts. I have only based things on whether it would affect me or my family. Getting Australia out of the red is not a bad thing I would have thought and for the government to be taking such drastic measures says something; they've finally grown the balls to do something not every Australian will like!

 

I have no extreme knowledge about the government and politics in general so please excuse me for any uneducated comments I have made. Just correct me and explain them to me so I am able to understand it better.

 

Sorry for the essay.

[mark300]

I think most of it isn't too bad ie the co payments, 6 month wait for the dole, cut to foreign aid.

But cutting 16000 jobs is just ridiculous
That's 16000 more people that need to find work and potentially end up on the dole unnecessarily.

Letting unis set their own fees is a recipe for disaster.

Fuel excise increase is not need. The price of fuel is ridiculous enough already. Fuel is a necessity, tax something which isn't ( cigarettes, alcohol etc)

The biggest problem tho is cutting the family tax benefit part b threshold to 100k

I work my ass off for 95k a year which includes substantial overtime and my misses works one day a week our combined total is 108k. 8k over the new threshold which will cost us $100 a week.
With 2 kids under 5, a mortgage, day care, and every other bill under the sun that extra $100 goes along way.

job market is already bad enough as it is, really not enough jobs out there, adding another 16000 in is not going to help things

im paying 40k as it is for my degree that i am doing, give or take depending on subjects. i dont want to know what Degrees are going to cost when unis start setting their own fees, but i agree it will be a disaster. minimum double what degrees are going for now