Politics is a dirty word

Compulsory Superannuation has been a crock for baby-boomers. It's OK for the high flying GenYers and subsequent generations with its generous tax breaks. But for those about to retire it has been useless. After a lifetime working and paying taxes those around 65 and 70 get little more than the prudent savings accumulated over the years. One 70 year old has just cashed- out his super – the princely sum of $18,500. For most of the working life of people that age, superannuation contributions from employers were not available. Following the introduction of compulsory super, many only had limited part time employment and may have been largely self-employed. - taking meager living expenses out of business income. With a low level of disposable income, there was no opportunity to take advantage of tax breaks and shovel tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars into a super fund. It would have been far more beneficial for them if they had been given the opportunity to personally invest t...

The United States is flexing its muscles by sending a guided missile destroyer to cruise through the South China Sea. So far the Chinese have only responded with words. It would be interesting if they used their electronic capabilities to disable the ship's defence and navigation systems - as the Russians did with a US warship in the Black Sea. The Chinese have now deployed naval vessels to protect their interests as a result of the US aggression.

Australian politicians won't have the guts to follow the lead of the Philippines and cut military ties with the United States. President Duterte's decision to engage with China rather than continue to support US aggression is a game changer in the region. the US/Philippines' Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement is likely to be revoked and that move will bar the US from rotating ships, aircraft and troops through five Philippines bases. That probably means that our Government will allow more military use of our ports and other facilities by the Americans.

Politicians can't help themselves – they just have to play silly buggers!! The coalition Government claims that it has a mandate for everything it wants to do – when the election clearly demonstrated widespread dissatisfaction with Government. It ended up with a one seat majority in the House of Reps and less senators than previously. - Hardly a ringing endorsement of its policies and certainly not enough to claim a mandate for its every move. The Government is reintroducing the union-bashing bill which was the excuse for a double dissolution but, to succeed, it needs the support of nine cross bench senators. David Leyonhjelm has seized the opportunity to force an amendment to gun laws to allow the importation of seven-shot Adler lever action shotguns. Hard to understand the fuss really as the five shot lever-action shotgun is already available here. If that's the price the Prime Minister pays for Senator Leyonhjelm's support for the building industry legislation, there...

Most taxpayers don't realise how much our politicians cost us. It's not just the salaries and perks they take while sitting in Parliament. Even when they are kicked out at an election (or they choose to retire). They still have both hands firmly in our pockets. After the latest Federal election, former deputy prime minister Warren Truss is now getting a pension of more than $300,000 a year. Other MPs who are no longer in Parliament are also enjoying a golden handshake which currently adds up to over $40 million every year for ex politicians.

Claims that the introduction of a back a backer tax will have a major negative impact on rural businesses and could boost Government revenue are both rubbish. The reality is that most seasonal roles picking fruit or vegetables are on a 'cash-only" basis and no tax is collected or benefits paid such as holiday pay and superannuation. The workers want it that way and so do the employers.

Politicians and fat cat public servants will get a pay rise from January, taking the annual salary of a federal backbencher from about $195,130 a year to $199,030. Some State politicians will be rewarded with rises of up to $30,000. Not only are they all grossly overpaid, they also collect massive retirement benefits enabling them to live in luxury for the rest of their lives at our expense.

Australian politicians are back in Canberra but are they concentrating on running the country? Hell No, they are bickering over a plebiscite on same sex marriage. Get real! Thankfully the plebiscite which would have cost a couplwe of hhas been knocked on the head by the Senate - which demonstrates why we need a senate which is a genuine house of review rather than just a rubber stamp for inept Govewrnment policies.

The Australian Government is showing no signs of reigning-in its spending on military hardware. It clearly believes that spending on military assets is exempt from any form of real scrutiny. Over the next decade it has earmarked $5 billion for maritime Anti-Ship Missiles,$4 billion for Offshore Patrol Vessels and another $4 billion on weapons for the future frigate program.

Politicians here need to start addressing the problem of violence in the community. The first step should be to limit parole opportunities for convicted violent offenders. Murderers and rapists are routinely paroled to continue their predatory behaviour. There may be some cases where parole may be appropriate but the parole board should be held liable for any offences during the parole period

Australia’s debt is still spiralling out of control and will blow out by more than $100 billion unless the Government takes serious steps to cut spending. The Government is almost certainly wrong in its claims that the economy will return to growth. Government figures suggest that debt will be down to $335billion by 2020-21. But a more realistic figure is $440 billion as a result of unfettered spending - particularly on military equipment.

Inefficiency and wasted time are major problems throughout Australia – and particularly in our capital cities. Time taken in travelling to and from work amounts to billions of dollars a year. Assuming melbourne is typical, peak hour traffic is a nightmare and there are just as many vehicles travelling from the west as there are from the east. Why can't our politicians encourage those people living to the west of Melbourne to work on that side of the city and give the same treatment to those in the east. While some people, tradesmen and salespersons may need to have a vehicle with them – most office workers do not. They drive into work, park the car and only pick it up to drive home – or visit a favourite hotel for lunch so why should such a vehicle be tax deductible? Many vehicles are provided to staff on tax-effective arrangement such as novated leases which simply encourages the use of cars. Removing such arrangements would help to limit vehicle use and encourage people to live c...

There's no doubt that Australia is over-governed - we have three tiers of Government - Local, State and Federal.The Federal Government's lunatic fiscal policies over the past few years has just about guaranteed that we will slide into recession. It's likely that the Australian dollar will slip to 55c US. At least the Federal Treasurer is making noises about cutting the excessive level of spending – but we are yet to see any action. In many opinions, Western society has been in decline for decades (if not centuries) but we do seem to be heading towards the abyss at an ever increasing speed. Australia is probably a reasonable reflection of what is happening elsewhere (at least if the drivel in newspapers and on television is any guide. There is little real political choice when it comes to elections as all party hacks scramble for the 'middle ground' In Australia there is virtually nothing to choose on economic policies between the Liberal/National co...

The Australian Defence Force is stepping up its demands for more spending on missiles which will allow it to launch attacks almost anywhere. It has recognised that powerful ships are unlikely to win decisive victories in modern warfare. The giant American aircraft carriers which form the basis of US battle fleets around the world are likely to be easy targets for precision missile strikes and electronic attack. Advanced missile systems have already been designed specifically to destroy the aircraft carrier battle groups that the US uses to demonstrate its might.Both Russia and China appear to have recognised the vulnerability of carriers and have limited their interest in building more. No doubt Australian politicians will give the military everything they want even though they say they are trying to fix a " debt and deficit disaster ."

Electronic warfare is now part of Australia's war machine. The Government is spending $3.7 billion on Twelve Boeing “Growler” Super Hornet electronic attack jets. They carry a variety of electronic jamming systems as well as missiles designed to inflict maximum damage on an enemy’s radar and communications systems - to limit their capacity to respond to an attack.The US, UK, Russia, China and North Korea are reported to be working on non-explosive electro magnetic devices which can be inserted into artilliary shells.