Tag: auspol

COVID19, health, politics, Sport, Tennis, Vaccines

The Djokovic Saga

I have to weigh in on the Djokovic saga.

“Please don’t” I hear you say.

Tough!

So the initial decision to allow him to enter Australia unvaccinated was a slap in the face to millions of Australians who can’t go interstate either because they are unvaccinated or because of over zealous governments exercising their tyrannical strength.

But then less than 24 hours the Federal Government intervenes and cancels his Visa.

This is embarrassing!

Why is the Federal Government picking on Djokovic? The Government has easily provided exemptions to other celebrities during peak Covid so why cracking down on Djokovic?

The fact he is unvaccinated should not be a reason.

Initially, rushing him in and granting him a Visa exemption is not the answer either as it is a slap in the face to many Aussies.

But there is a solution….

The Government could ensure that he (and all unvaccinated persons) takes a PCR test upon arrival and quarantine for 14 days and if still negative then proceed to grant him his Visa. The fact he is unvaccinated is a scapegoat for the Government to act discriminately.

COVID19, health, politics, Vaccines

So you are a COVID-19 antivaxxer, then why did you get it? You are a sellout!

This comment is said to me by many people – both pro covid vaxxers and anti covid vaxxers.

Paul Joseph Watson calls me a sheep.
“Keep complying sheep”

‘Friends’ call me a sellout!
“So much for your principles, sellout!”

The fact is, I do have questions about the COVID-19 Vaccine. The safety and long term effects of this mRNA technology needs to be explored more before Governments mandates it.

But thats a story for another day.

The fact I did get the COVID-19 Pfizer Vaccine does not make me a sell out.

As a condition of my employment I had no choice but to get the COVID-19 Vaccine otherwise my employment would be terminated.

“So why didn’t you stand your ground?”

Good question. When you are married, have a mortgage, a child, two dogs, two cars and have to find money to put a meal on the table to live, giving up your job is not something that can be decided on a whim.

“Well why don’t you look for another job?”

Another great question. I didn’t spend over $35,000 on a degree to work in a sector that would make me earn significantly less than what I am already earning. Also, most employers request their staff to be double vaccinated so finding another job would be difficult

“But don’t you have questions about the safety of the Vaccine so why did you get it?”

I do have questions about the safety and long term effects of mRNA Vaccines. Many scientists have raised these concerns and have been shut down by mainstream media and big tech. The fact that anyone who questions COVID-19 Vaccine is shut down, should raise more questions. Now, at the end of the day it is a toss up between…

Losing your livelihood, potentially facing bankruptcy
or
risk any adverse effects from the COVID-19 Vaccine.

It is like choosing which cancer would you prefer to have..
Prostate Cancer or Bone Cancer?

“It is people like you is the reason why we have vaccine mandates because you don’t stand up”

I don’t buy that.

There are other methods to stand up for what you believe in. Being involve in protests, supporting a freedom movement and voting for a political party that promotes freedom and prosperity has a larger impact.

What are you thoughts? Am I a sellout? if so, why? Happy to hear your thoughts.

politics

Winning in 2019 and Winning in 2020

It has been awhile since my last post.

12 months I think.

2019 for me has been busy with going back Uni to do post grad studies as well as furthering my career, oh and getting married.

But lets reflect on the world of politics in 2019 and go forward on bold predictions in 2020.

At the beginning of 2019 we saw the Liberal Nationals in NSW win comfortable in a State Election. This is because Labor was dogged with scandals, racism and lack of policy foresight. What we did see in this election was the rise of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers. They took 2 seats off the National Party in the seats of Murray and Barwon and they were able to retain Orange. This is amazing considering One Nation failed to pick up  any lower house seats and the media were portraying them as the Goliath of minor party’s, nevertheless, the honeymoon period of the Government was short lived after the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers have been hounding them over the lack of support of regional NSW. And rightly so!!

The other election to mention was the Federal one – you know the one where Bill Shorten was going to win in a landslide – yeeeaaaaah! Labor lost the un-loseable election but surely even blind Freddy could have seen that? Labor’s vision was to tax everyone and subsidise every green initiative you can think of including to ensure that by 2030 all cars sold in Australia must be electric. Rightio champ! I think the icing on the cake for Labor was that they were flirting with the idea of shutting down the coal industry, they failed to define what their policy is on the matter and hard working Australians who work in the coal industry especially in Queensland voted with their livelihoods. And rightly so!!

Overseas we have seen the UK Labour Party being destroyed by the working class. Thats right, the working class voted Conservative. UK Labour promised free everything and of course the way to pay for that was through taxes. The working class have woken up, they’ve become WOKE and realise that if the Government is giving away free stuff someone has to pay for it ….. and….. oh shit, that’s us the working class!
To be fair though, Boris Johnson ran a simple campaign; “Lets get Brexit done!” – whereas Labour complicated things and wanted to make this election less about Brexit and more about giving away free stuff. I am no marketing genius but keep it simple seems to work well in politics because majority of people are not interested in politics or the political spin but do take note of simple messages.
The other loser in this election – sadly – is Nigel Farage and his Brexit Party. They failed to win a seat and struggled to even reach 20% in seats that they stood candidates. A reason for this is because people wanted Brexit and the best way of getting this done was voting Conservative. Unfortunately in some seats the Brexit Party vote split the “Brexit” vote and cost the Conservatives seats.
Overall though, the UK people have rejected extreme socialism and antisemitism, good luck to Boris Johnson and the Conservatives.

I have to mention Donald Trump – he is still winning even though we have seen these baseless impeachment proceedings clouding him. Thats all I am going to say about that.

2020 BOLD PREDICTIONS

I am going to say that left wing party’s around the world will learn from 2019 and realise that playing identity politics and flirting with the Green-left agenda has failed them miserably. The Australian Labor Party have already criticised identity politics and they are moving away from their old Green-left approach and they are starting to embrace coal again. Well done!

The UK Labour Party are in shock and I think we will see a more moderate leader over there. The issue with UK politics is that the grassroots have a say on who they want to lead them and if they manage to get a more moderate leader in, the progressives will go elsewhere, such as the Greens.

Australia and the UK will negotiate a great deal of trade and immigration. Boris Johnson is big on promoting good relations between these two countries, this will be great news for Australians who want to travel or work in the UK.

Hillary Clinton will return. At the last minute she will stand for President and will win the Democrat nomination. She will denounce identity politics and be a voice of reason for the moderates within the Democrats. This will piss off the progressives and they will vote for someone else such as the rising Greens and will split that left vote meaning Trump will win the 2020 Presidential Election.

And finally!!!

I won’t win the lottery!!

Merry Christmas everyone, including the extreme left – actually – especially the extreme left and hope you all have a Happy New Year.

australian politics, politics

NSW Labor has a new tax scam. If you want a new car, I suggest you buy one now!

It’s been awhile since I have posted anything. The reason for that is because nothing exciting is happening despite that in NSW we are expecting to have two elections this year. A State election in March and a Federal election, possibly in May, depending on the shit storm in Canberra.

This morning I was reading the Daily Telegraph sipping my Nespresso latte’ with two sugars when I almost spat it out in shock and awe over NSW Labor’s new tax grab. I mean these cretins are not even in Government yet, and as my previous prediction still stands, they won’t win Government, but in order for them to fund more nurses and midwives – 5500 exact – they intend on increasing stamp duty on boats and cars. Now I don’t own a boat. Probably never will. However I do own a car and I think most Australians do. Now at the moment according to the Daily Telegraph, in NSW we pay $3 for every $100 in stamp duty for vehicles over $45,000. Under Labor’s new scam, they want to increase that to $5. Now, I am no socialist but pretend I am a left wing socialist luvvie, this is great news because it gets to fund for an extra 5500 nurses and midwives YAY!!!

Hold on!

Labor’s new scam will only generate $240million over three years yet it’s going to cost the Government about $500million to fund this policy. Shit! I am not that good at maths but isn’t that $260million short of $500million??

Hmmm.

So where will the other $260million come from? Even the NSW Labor Leader Michael Daley admits there is a shortfall but has declined to mention how they will fund for it.
Mr Daley goes on to say that the top end of town needs to pay their fair share, so is he suggesting that people in rural areas who are already struggling with farming costs, with the drought and lack of COAL power, that they are the top end of town? Many farmers own vehicles which often cost more than $45,000 to be able to perform their duties as farmers. This will just add further heartache for hurting farmers in the bush.

This scam by NSW Labor is just policy on the run. It is a feel good initiative for Labor to try and win votes from the apathetic voter. This is what Labor does best, they hide tax grabs by covering it up with feel good emotive populist policies. No Australian would say no to more nurses and midwives however it does come at a cost.

 

 

fake news, media, politics

The perils of mainstream media and their love affair with FAKE NEWS!

OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN ‘HAS WEEKS TO LIVE’

OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN REPORTED WITH ONLY ‘WEEKS’ TO LIVE

The new year of 2019 we were greeted with news reports that Olivia Newtown-John only has weeks to live post battling cancer.
Many people took to social media to post messages of sadness and well thoughts to Olivia.
A couple of days later, Olivia Newton-John herself came out and said this is untrue saying that she is alive and well.

Hmmmm

Is this the work of FAKE NEWS?

Mainstream media across Australia all reported that Olivia Newton-John was on death’s door and everyone who read that believed this was the case and reacted on social media.  One cannot blame people for believing such fake news as Olivia has been tackling cancer for some time and when it is constantly in your face that she is knocking on deaths door, you start to believe it.

The big question that needs to be asked is, if mainstream media can produce this fake news and people fall for it, what other fake news is being produced that people are believing in?

The US economy? I mean we are getting conflicting reports on the US economy, one report saying the economy is booming with increased economic growth and jobs the next minute we are seeing stocks plummet and business struggling due to tariffs and trade wars between China and US. 
There is no doubt about it, when it comes to Trump, the media goes into a frenzy and misreports Trumps agenda.

Closer to home, the St Kilda Beach rally was portrayed by the media as a neo nazi love fest. The mainstream media posted photo’s of angry white men with tattoo’s performing the Nazi Salute. What they did not report was that there were many Vietnamese protesters at this rally as well as ordinary men and women and families who are concerned about the rising crime rate caused by Sudanese migrants.
All mainstream media outlets portrayed this rally in a negative way which of course will result in majority of people condemning the meeting without really knowing the full facts.

There is a simple rule when reading or watching the news. Don’t believe it. You got to remember that the media is always owned by someone (including the Government ie ABC & BBC). The media are a powerful tool to control the masses. Sure, if you read something or watch something, take it on board but then do your own research into it. Otherwise, like most people who reacted to Olivia Newton-Johns reports, you’ll look like a dickhead!

australian politics, christmas, politics

Merry Christmas and have a Fantastic New Year!!

Merry Christmas Everyone – and hope you all have a fantastic New Year.

Before I leave it at that here are some of my predictions for 2019.

TRUMP

Nothing will happen in this respect. Trump will still be President and will remain the most vilified President the US has ever seen. We will see more Trump Rallies as he gears up for primaries and 2020 Election.

NSW STATE ELECTION

NSW State Election is due in March of 2019. I don’t believe the Coalition will lose Government but I do think they will lose seats. You got to remember in 2015 the Liberal and National Parties (more so the Libs) gained popularity because of the charisma of Mike Baird therefore they have a fair amount of capital to lose without costing them Government (Admittedly they have almost maxed out their political capital card). I think the biggest losers at this State Election will be the National Party. The seat of Barwon is the one to watch. The Nationals are only polling at 33% – the Shooters who are the next favourites have a good chance of winning this seat after preferences.

The NSW Legislative Council will be interesting. We will see One Nation pick up a seat with Mark Latham re-entering politics and potentially picking up a second seat.
As One Nation and the Shooters indicating preference deals we will see more seats go to the Shooters in the Upper House.
I don’t believe the Australian Conservatives will do well unless they pick up votes from Fred Niles Christian Democrats.
The Liberal Democrats will only pick up seats if they work with Glenn Druery the preference whisperer (why? Thats a story for another day).
As for the Greens, their votes will be down, they will lose some upper house seats. The Green vote will go to either Labor or some other left leaning micro party.

AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLITICS

2019 will bring us a Federal Election around May. Given Labor has just given the Coalition a wonderful Christmas present by softening their policies on border protection, increase funding to the United Nations and wanting to increase the Foreign Aid budget, the Coalition has a chance of redemption. I do believe the Coalition will lose Government but I do think Parliament will be a hung one with potentially Labor forming an alliance with the left leaning cross-bench to form Government. In other words the dynamics of the House of Representatives will be a similar make up to what we see now. I don’t think there will be a Labor landslide, they may pick up a hand few of seats but ultimately the kingmakers will be the cross-bench.

As for the Senate, minor parties will continue to dominate. I think the Green vote will go down and will come across to Labor similar to what we saw in Victoria or other micro party. One Nation will retain WA and pick up another seat in QLD (remember Hanson is in for 6 years). Depending on how well they perform in NSW State Election they could pick up a seat in NSW. Brian Burston the former One Nation NSW Senator – now Palmer’s Puppet – will lose his seat. Palmer will struggle to win a seat despite all the money he has invested in political adverts.
The Liberal Democrats will struggle to retain their only Senate seat unless they have an effective campaign strategy and speak to the ‘preference whisperer’ as mentioned earlier.
Cory Bernardi will retain his Senate spot but just by a whisker and The Australian Conservatives will fail to get anyone else elected.
As for the other micro parties, we will see a mixed bag, I don’t want to predict who or what else may gain seats.

AFL

The mighty West Coast Eagles winning the Premiership again! (This is more wishful thinking than a prediction)

 

Im hoping to expand on The Weekly Seed in 2019 with having more writers, more opinions on different subjects (other than politics) and potential investigative reporting. If you want to contribute please get in contact.

Once again MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone.

 

 

Animal Welfare, australian politics, politics, Regulation

It is time to regulate the Pet Food industry in Australia!

It burns me to write this post.

It is at odds with my belief of limited government interference. I admit I will sound hypocritical but I will justify my position.

According to the RSPCA approximately 62% of Australian households have pets and it is expected that in the next 12 months a further 13% of Australian households will make a pet part of their family. Long are the days where we see a pet as just a pet, now they are seen as loved family members. Australians are spending approximately $12 billion a year on our pets and this proves that we want the best for our furry friends, in fact we are seeing a trend especially amongst millennials that they are opting to have pets rather than children.

 

If we are to adopt Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs on our pets, you’ll see that both human’s and pets need basic (and psychological) needs.

maslow-5

Billy – the Golden Retriever – still needs food, water, warmth and rest just like his Masters. Billy also needs security and safety and of course interaction with his Masters and other dogs (which can lead to self-fulfilment needs). Unfortunately Billy cannot provide food or water for himself, he relies on his Masters to do this. It is important that pet owners have a full understanding on what they are feeding their pets. This can be rather difficult given that there are many products available and given our busy lifestyles we tend to be lazy, humans are like that when it comes to their own choices. (It’s easier to go to McDonald’s than to cook a meal).
The difference between humans making a choice about their own food options and that of their furry friend is that human food is regulated. There are many regulations on food for humans and often can be punishable under law. For example in Queensland, a local Government shut down a Chinese Restaurant after finding rat urine and droppings in its kitchen. Another example of how food regulation (for humans) has worked well is Heinz ordered to pay $2.25 million after misleading consumers that their product was healthy but in fact contained 60% sugar.

In Australia, pet food is self-regulated through the Pet Food Industry Association of Australia (PFIAA). Pet food companies are not obliged to stick to these standards as they are voluntary. These standards are not made public unless you want to pay $128.19.
Currently there is a parliamentary inquiry into regulatory approaches to ensure safety of pet food. The terms of reference of this inquiry is;

  1. the uptake, compliance and efficacy of the Australian Standard for the Manufacturing & Marketing of Pet Food (AS5812:2017);
  2. the labelling and nutritional requirements for domestically manufactured pet food;
  3. the management, efficacy and promotion of the AVA-PFIAA administered PetFAST tracking system;
  4. the feasibility of an independent body to regulate pet food standards, or an extension of Food Standards Australia New Zealand’s remit;
  5. the voluntary and/or mandatory recall framework of pet food products;
  6. the interaction of state, territory and federal legislation;
  7. comparisons with international approaches to the regulation of pet food; and
  8. any other related matters

As a free market, free enterprise kind of guy I should be against these regulations because it will put a burden on business, rise up the cost of the product and possibly cost jobs.

Wrong!

In 2008-2009 only 4,543 people were employed in Australia within the Animal and Bird food manufacturing industry. This would hardly make a blip in the economy if regulation were to be implemented and jobs were lost.
As already mentioned earlier, households are choosing to spend more on their furry friend, therefore if the cost of the product increases most households would accommodate this as Billy – the Golden Retriever – is a family member.
Even under a regulatory framework, competition would still be available and it will provide the consumer greater options when deciding what food to buy for their pet therefore pet food companies would be forced by the free market to be better than their competitors.

It’s a win-win!

Overall I generally do not support regulation but when it comes to pets that’s a different story. Pets trust us to make sure we make the right choice when it comes to feeding time. The pet food industry is a self-regulated industry which have standards that are only made available if you pay money to receive it. This alone is ludicrous and proves that the industry is a closed shop. By regulating this industry, you open it up to scrutiny, it provides greater choice to consumers, increases competition, which in return makes the product better. Whilst I sound hypocritical when it comes to regulation the difference here is that animals don’t have a choice when it comes to food. We do!

 

 

 

politics

Why is Leyonhjelm wrong on mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients?

As an individual who supports freedom, liberty and minimum government interference I have to disagree with the good Liberal Democrat Senator, David Leyonhjelm.

Welfare is not a right.

It never was a right.

It is a privilege.

I could end this post with just that, that’s all that needs to be said.

But…..

Welfare is a privilege that is provided by the taxpayer to assist people through hard times. Government – who in theory represents the people – tax hard working people in order to provide this privilege. Government – who represent hard working taxpayers (in theory) – have every right to impose whatever criteria they want on welfare recipients.

As the good Senator prides himself on being a libertarian, I understand how confused he must be in regards to this issue. On one hand, it is taxpayers money that fuels welfare and that must be respected but on the other hand, being a libertarian means minimal government interference in the lives of human life, therefore is it right for government to implement mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients?

The answer is yes.

Senator Leyonhjelm needs to understand that individuals have a choice. To receive welfare or not to receive welfare. Because they have this choice and because welfare is a privilege then individual rights have not been violated with mandatory drug testing.

 

 

 

 

 

australian politics, free speech, politics

Why I decided to join the Liberal Democrats!

The Liberal Party in Australia is imploding! One Nation is controlled by Pauline Hanson! The Australian Conservatives have taken on the religious right! Who the heck do I support? Australian Liberty Alliance? Well they are too focused on kicking out all muslims to care about other important issues that affect many Australians. Help!

I have been involved in politics one way or another since 1998. I have been a member of both a minor and major political party, most recently the Liberal Party. I supported the Liberal Party because I believe in small government, low taxes, low spending, individual responsibility and strong border protection policies. I left the Liberal Party for several reasons. In 2015 when they knifed a first term Prime Minister I felt that the Liberal Party was no different to the Labor Party when it came to revolving door of leaders. In the 2013 Federal Election we campaigned strongly that under a Liberal Government you would see stability – well that didn’t work out. This issue alone wasn’t the only reason why I left the Liberals. I felt that Malcolm Turnbull – despite my disliking of the fella – deserved to be given a chance. The catalyst of me leaving the Liberal Party is the ever growing factional warfare, especially within the NSW Division. Seeing potential new members being rejected on the basis that it would weaken a certain faction, or candidates pre-selected on the basis of which faction they belong to rather than on merit made me think about my future within the Party. Liberal Party members are treated as political pawns, they are just there to campaign, hand out how to votes and be potential donors. It was time to find a new home.

Admittedly I was flirting with the idea of One Nation but their instability and policy flip flops turned me off. Then there was the new kid on the block, the Australian Conservatives led by former Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi. The problem with this party is that it prides itself on religious values, as I am not religious I believe I would clash on some social issues. The only other party that is worthy of a choice is the Liberal Democratic Party. This party is based on Libertarianism and looking at their history it has been slowly gaining political momentum. At the time of writing this blog the party only has two parliamentarians: One federal Senator in NSW, David Leyonhjelm and one Member of the Legislative Council in WA, Aaron Stonehouse. There could be one more in the Victorian Upper House as voting continues post the Victorian State election held on the 24th November 2018.

On further investigation of the Liberal Democrats I am finding myself more in tuned to their philosophies:

The Liberal Democrats stand for greater freedom, smaller government and personal responsibility. We promote the following principles:

 

1. Economic Principles

  • Free markets and freedom of choice
  • Low tax, limited public spending and minimal regulation
  • Widespread ownership of private property

2. Social Principles

  • Civil society and volunteerism
  • Civil liberties and individual freedom
  • Individual liberty and personal responsibility under the rule of law

3. Government Principles

  • Constitutional liberal democracy
  • Ethical and impartial government under the rule of law
  • Devolution of power including decentralised government and competitive federalism

4. International Principles

  • Free trade in goods, services and capital
  • Free trade in ideas and culture
  • Freedom and human rights

Whilst political parties often do have feel good philosophies or objectives which are often outlined within their constitutions, what really matters is their policies. The Liberal Party of Australia have similar philosophies to the Liberal Democrats but their actual policies or direction is completely opposite. Here is an example of the philosophies of the Liberal Party and compare this to what they actually deliver in Parliament.

Liberal Party of Australia

We Believe:

In the inalienable rights and freedoms of all peoples; and we work towards a lean government that minimises interference in our daily lives; and maximises individual and private sector initiative

In government that nurtures and encourages its citizens through incentive, rather than putting limits on people through the punishing disincentives of burdensome taxes and the stifling structures of Labor’s corporate state and bureaucratic red tape.

In those most basic freedoms of parliamentary democracy – the freedom of thought, worship, speech and association.

In a just and humane society in which the importance of the family and the role of law and justice is maintained.

In equal opportunity for all Australians; and the encouragement and facilitation of wealth so that all may enjoy the highest possible standards of living, health, education and social justice.

That, wherever possible, government should not compete with an efficient private sector; and that businesses and individuals – not government – are the true creators of wealth and employment.

In preserving Australia’s natural beauty and the environment for future generations.

That our nation has a constructive role to play in maintaining world peace and democracy through alliance with other free nations.

In short, we simply believe in individual freedom and free enterprise; and if you share this belief, then ours is the Party for you.

As you can see these philosophies are very similar to the Liberal Democrats and I guess this is why I was a member of the Liberal Party.

As stated philosophies alone do not make or break a political party. So I examined the Liberal Democrats policies. Given that there are so many policies on their website I will only outline a few which I think are prudent to what my own philosophies are. The first policy is Immigration. I am a firm believer that all sovereign nations should have strong border protection policies. As former Prime Minister John Howard once said;

“….we decide who comes into our country and the circumstance in which they come”

Most minor political party’s have developed a discriminatory policy or a knee jerk approach such as banning certain religions from entering the country or only accepting migrants from certain countries. Most Australians accept that migrants, regardless where they are from – can and have – contributed positively to Australian society. The Liberal Democrats take a pragmatic approach to immigration. Reading their policies they appear to support good quality migration by implementing a fee for those who wish to become permanent residents. New migrants will not be eligible to receive welfare but they will be able to contribute to society by working. As for illegal immigration they support the closure to offshore detention but support the idea of detention for health and security assessments. The following is a summary of their policies from their website.

Policy

  • Negotiate Free Immigration Agreements (FIAs) with compatible countries to allow unrestricted movement of citizens between those countries.
  • Replace the current points-based quota system with a tariff system where immigrants pay for the right to become a permanent resident (PR) in Australia.
  • No eligibility for welfare for PRs except where reciprocal arrangements have been established through a FIA.
  • Increase barriers to citizenship so Australia can sustain a high level of immigration and relatively free movement of people without the risk that new immigrants will undermine our democracy or social harmony.
  • Adopt a liberal approach to temporary residency for workers and tourists.
  • Detain unauthorized arrivals for security and health checks, after which they can be temporarily released on payment of bail equivalent to the immigration tariff while their application to stay (as asylum or other) is processed.

This approach to immigration is sensible. It provides opportunities for good people to enter the country and enjoy what Australia has to offer. It also offers illegal immigrants an opportunity to escape their woes and allow them to work. The idea of stopping welfare to all migrants including illegal immigrants will reduce people entering Australia purely because of our generous welfare system. Whilst it is unclear whether or not refugees will receive welfare under their policies it would be fair to say if they did include this, then who needs a discriminatory immigration policy?

Low taxes, low spending and less regulation is one of my own philosophies. When you look at the Liberal Democrats taxation policy they certainly follow through on this. The Liberal Democrats believe that taxation should be cut so that there is more money in our pockets to be able to spend things on what we want to spend it on. If we had more money in our pockets then we can spend more on things like health insurance or on goods and services, this in return will benefit the economy because consumer confidence will be higher and if we spend money on good health insurance we are less likely to rely on medicare. Here is an example of the Liberal Democrats taxation policy.

Policy

  • Limit the federal government to defence, immigration, basic public services (e.g passport services, regulation of hazardous materials, air and sea transport regulation), and assistance to the least well off.
  • Stop all transfers from the federal government to other levels of government, including grants from the pool of GST revenues.
  • With the associated savings, cut federal taxes by more than half, through:
    • lifting the tax free threshold to $40,000, cutting personal tax rates to a flat 20%, and cutting the company tax rate to 20%; and
    • abolishing tobacco, alcohol and fuel taxes, import tariffs, carbon pricing and mineral resource rent taxation.
  • Limit state governments to the provision of: police, courts and prisons; fire services; animal control; roads and other transport services; libraries; local amenities; basic public services (eg consumer protection, building standards), means-tested vouchers for health and schooling, and welfare services.
  • Replace insurance taxes, taxes on vehicles, stamp duties on property transfers, along with various other nuisance taxes collected at the state level with less inefficient taxes, while ensuring that the overall level of a state or territory’s taxes as a proportion of state GDP declines over time.

I hear some people say “well if we cut taxes what expenditure will need to be cut?” As you can see from their policy, the Liberal Democrats want to decentralised Government. At the moment the Federal Government is funding for schools, education, hospitals and roads. Under the Australian Constitution these issues are all the responsibility of State Governments, somehow the Federal Government has decided to stick their noses into it. We do not need a Federal Department of Education, we do not need a Federal Department of Health, having these departments federally just doubles the amount of bureaucracy adding cost to the taxpayer. The Federal Government only needs to tax to be able to fund for defence, immigration, welfare and medicare. The Liberal Democrats also want to cease Foreign Aid. The idea of the Government borrowing money just to give it away in foreign aid does not make sense. It would be like you having a mortgage, struggling to live day to day paying bills, raising children and buying food but then going to the bank and asking for a credit card of $10,000 just to give that money to Amnesty Australia. It does not make sense at all.

The last example I am going to discuss is Freedom of Speech. One Nation and Australian Conservatives claim they believe in freedom of speech yet they want to ban organisations such as Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Hizb- ut-Tahrir have been known to express extreme islamic beliefs and some would argue it is a terror organisation. One Nation wishes to ban this organisation, given their strong views on Islam I understand their point of view however banning such organisation – like most extreme groups – it would go under ground. Allowing them a platform provides you and me an opportunity to critisise them and to point out their fundamental flaws. The other issue is if you ban one organisation you will need to ban all organisations that cause offence, and given that being offended is subjective, where will it end? The Liberal Democrats policy on freedom of speech does not wish to ban these organisations because one is allowed to hold these views despite how distasteful they may seem. We do not want to go down the same path of the United Kingdom whereby the Government prosecutes people who posts an offensive video.
The Liberal Democrats policy on Freedom of Speech is as follows:

Free Speech

The Liberal Democrats believe that freedom is precious, that our freedom is not conferred by government, that government poses great risks to our freedom, and that the role of government is the defence of freedom.

Policy

  • Freedom of speech and expression.
  • A free media.
  • Freedom of association, assembly and movement.
  • Freedom over one’s own body, beliefs, privacy and property.

Discussion

Freedom of speech is fundamental in a democratic society.  The free exchange of ideas and opinions allows these ideas and opinions to be tested, with the more robust being accepted and the less robust being rejected.

Freedom of speech and expression should not be limited because the speech or expression is defamatory, offends, insults, humiliates or intimidates, because it is thought to be wrong, or because it is immoral, indecent, or contrary to community expectations.  Freedom of speech and expression should only be limited under long-standing laws against aiding or inciting a crime or disturbing the peace.

There should be no government filtering of the internet, and there should be no bans on movies (except where depicting an actual crime), books or games for adults.

A free media

Along with free speech, a free press is particularly important for constraining government.  There should be no constraint on owning any media organisation, radio spectrum should be auctioned without conditions, and no one should be required to reveal one’s sources.

Freedom of association, assembly and movement

Restrictions on freedom of association, assembly and movement represent government over‑reach.  Freedom of association should not be limited by bans on membership of bikie gangs or groups deemed to be terrorist organisations. Long-standing laws against conspiring to carry out a crime are sufficient.  Freedom of association should not be limited by prohibitions on joining a trade union,  nor on requirements to join one.  Freedom to gather in public places without hindering the movement and peace of others should not be limited by curfews, ‘move along’ powers, or laws against loitering and peaceful protests.

Freedom over one’s own body, beliefs, privacy and property

Freedom over one’s body includes freedom to take one’s own life (and to assist others to do so), to control one’s own fertility and to have children, to refuse medical treatment, to obtain one’s own medical records, and to give binding health directions in case of subsequent incompetence.  We should be free from harassment, from physical harm, and we have a right to privacy, to our own thoughts, opinions and religion, and to our own property.

I have only touched on three policies of the Liberal Democrats however there are plenty more that could be discussed. You can access their policies here https://www.ldp.org.au/

After examining their policies and studying their actions in both the Senate and WA Legislative Council, I believe the Liberal Democrats are a viable option for those Liberals who want to find a new home. Having a sensible approach to issues is what Australia needs right now given that we are lacking leadership. After 12 months of contemplation I decided to join the Liberal Democrats and one can only hope they can move forward and build upon their organisational structure to provide hope to hard working Australians who want to see more money in their pocket; freedom and less government interference.

*Editors note: This blog is my interpretation of Liberal Democrats policy, at no stage am I writing on behalf of the Liberal Democrats. I welcome any comments or criticisms.

politics

The Greens and their virtue signalling hypocrisy.

The Australian Greens are at it again with their fake virtue signalling outrage. There have been discussions to make sydney’s eyesore Opera House into a billboard. The Greens and other lunatics on that bizare side of the political spectrum don’t believe in improving the magnitude of shitness the Opera House provides instead they want to leave it as is.

Greens leader – Richard Di Natale – isn’t even a Senator for NSW and has decided to draw himself into this virtue signalling brigade saying that the Opera House isn’t a billboard and not everything is about making a buck.

This hypocrisy from the Greens and the far left is as disgusting as Hillary Clinton naked. Lets go back a few years, 2003. Far left protesters climbed the sydney opera house and painted in red paint “NO WAR.”

In 2009, Five Greenpeace activists scaled one of the sails of the Sydney Opera house with a banner demanding a climate treaty.

Most recently in 2017, lgbtiqweoufhwroufgh3rgou3rghf people were given the right to marry and the Sydney Opera house was lit up in rainbow colours to celebrate this victory. (Look at the pretty lights)

So why is it all of a sudden the idea of utilising the Sydney Opera House as an advertising tool a damn outrage? The Greens didn’t have a problem when people used it to push their political propaganda but to advertise horse racing – no thats bad.

It is mind boggling that these dickheads continue to poll around 10% – but I guess we need them in parliament otherwise who else would we take the piss out of?