โEvery day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture, &, if possible, speak a few sensible words.โ Goethe : No DMโs
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซโ๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐. ๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฒโ๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐ก๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐. ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฌ.
Voters were warned. Many chose anger over scrutiny and slogans over substance. The result is a government increasingly concentrating power in the hands of ministers, with fewer checks, less accountability and more discretion.
Now even legal and accounting experts are sounding the alarm after Treasurer Jim Chalmers granted himself sweeping powers through the most consequential tax legislation in decades. Their criticism is simple: the changes were rushed, poorly thought through, and packed with unprecedented ministerial discretion.
This is what happens when governments are handed unchecked power. And those who voted for it canโt pretend they werenโt warned.
The people who enabled this donโt get to act surprised when the consequences arrive.
https://t.co/scYxwq8VZ5 via @australian
Here's the CEO of Snowy Hydro claiming that the Integrated System Plan (ISP) requires 649GWh of storage, which Snowy 2.0 provides half of.
Acutally, the ISP has always treated Snowy 2.0 as a committed project. i.e., a sunk cost.
It's presence is imposed, not required.
This is embarrassing for Chalmers.
In 2016, the Turnbull Government (with Scott Morrison as Treasurer) received Treasury advice outlining various options to reform negative gearing and capital gains tax, including limits on deductions and a reduction in the CGT discount. Turnbull reviewed the proposals and explicitly ruled them out before the election. The issue was taken off the table.
Fast forward to 2025: Albanese and @JEChalmers publicly denied (50times) any plans to touch negative gearing or CGT. But Chalmers and Treasury were quietly developing a secret reform package themselves. Far from taking it off the table, they broke a clear election promise and announced the changes in May 2025; just 12 months after the election.
The lesson? People in glass houses shouldnโt throw stones, because they have a habit of bouncing back and smashing you in the face.
The statistics suggest itโs not simply a case of these crimes being more visible because of online media or 24-hour news coverage. The evidence indicates the problem is actually getting worse. Greater awareness is important, but awareness alone does not explain the number of women continuing to lose their lives at the hands of current or former partners. Thatโs precisely why so many people believe stronger action is needed.
What is happening in this country? This is an utterly shameful statistic.
๐๐จ ๐๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ซ, ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐, ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ซ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ง๐๐ซ.
Their names sometimes make the headlines, but most often they donโt. And even when they do, the outrage is usually brief. People quickly move on to the next news cycle.
There are calls for a Royal Commission. I think itโs time because this canโt go on like this.
Another example of the bloody mindedness of Labor ..
They have vowed to stand firm on their tobacco excise policy despite extraordinary analysis showing Australians are consuming 40% more nicotine than in 2017 and 80% are choosing illicit cigarettes and vapes, in revelations critics say prove the govtโs โmisguided approach to illicit tobacco has failedโ.
In a new experimental method used to capture the countryโs total nicotine use along with trends in the illegal market, the ABS found the quantity of tobacco consumed per person had increased 22 per cent.
The figures follow Labor resisting any pause or decrease in the tobacco excise, defending its policy in the face of calls from premiers and economists raising alarm over the $8bn dive in projected revenue from tobacco tax collection over the next five years.
Despite the massive increase in nicotine use exposed by the ABS, which broke from historic analysis by combining all tobacco products and using wastewater data, the govt said its findings were line with latest advice and changed nothing.
Assistant Customs Minister Julian Hill doubled down on Laborโs view that enforcement was the solution to the black market trade, declaring a shift in policy on the excise would represent a โsurrenderโ to organised crime and Big Tobacco interests.
Meanwhile the legal trade continues the crimes war continues, and revenue declines. In what world does that make sense?
Greens, David Pocock demand Chalmers wind back tax bill powers.
In case people are not aware of this .. what this effectively means is that @JEChalmers would have the power to fundamentally alter the tax law changes AFTER it ยญbecameย law.
Given the government has already moved to minimise scrutiny of its tax bill by allowing just two days of public hearings into its overhaul of the CGT and negative gearing changes then handing Chalmers ministerial powers to change it again after itโs passed is outrageous.
https://t.co/6YakqE3LAE via @australian
There wonโt be a โrebellionโ. There will be elections, debates and policy arguments, which is how democratic societies resolve disagreements.
And the idea that people who have done well in Australia simply got lucky or somehow โsold outโ others ignores reality. Many Australians built businesses, worked long hours, studied, took risks, saved diligently and made significant sacrifices over decades to improve their circumstances. People are still doing that today.
Australia faces genuine challenges around housing affordability, migration levels, infrastructure and economic management. Those issues deserve serious debate. But blaming entire ethnic groups for complex economic problems isnโt a serious argument, itโs scapegoating.
If someone disagrees with government policy, criticise the policy. Thatโs far more persuasive than blaming people based on where they come from.
True to form @Albomp is telling bald faced lies about his abomination of a tax bill. This is what he claimed yesterday.
โThe three right-wing parties and their allies โ we saw some ofย the commentary of the ยญalliesย this morning โ want people to earn less, and they oppose ยญincome-tax cuts,โ Mr Albanese said on Wednesday. HE IS LYING.
The opposition has been clear from the start. SPLIT the bill to enable tax cuts to go through and allow CGT and negative gearing to be properly scrutinised.
Exactly @OwenRask ๐
What a disaster the Australian economy will be when the new governmentโs CGT and tax changes destroy the economyโฆโฆ
Private sector growth crushed, more taxes on everyone (especially low income and aspirational workers), housing even less affordable, and public sector bloat on steroids.
Brilliant strategy, comrades. ๐
We must stop the new CGT!
โBoomers badโ isnโt an argument.
Judith Sloan raised a legitimate question about the connection between housing affordability and a range of unrelated tax measures in the budget. If the criticism is wrong, explain why. Resorting to age-based insults suggests you canโt answer the point being made.
โSovereign powerโ:
Energy Minister Chris Bowen has left the door open to an audacious union proposal to create cheap subsidised power for Australiaโs struggling manufacturing and metals smelting businesses by nationalising a large chunk of the electricity grid.
The multibillion-dollar proposal by the Electrical Trades Union is designed to directly address the power cost pressures facing Australiaโs heavy industrial sector, which have forced governments into a series of ad hoc rescue packages over the past two years.
But under a plan floated on Wednesday by the ETU and the McKell Institute think tank, such deals would be shelved in favour of a new government agency called Sovereign Power, which would build, own and operate renewable power projects.
The agency would then provide the additional power at a low cost to energy-intensive heavy industries, which in turn would lower prices for all other power consumers and speed up Australiaโs transition to renewable electricity, the McKell report says.
https://t.co/jP4oeJzaFa
@jeff32567916 And Morrison had a justification; contingency planning in a crisis. Chalmers has zero justification..itโs nothing more than a massive power grab.
@GailClifford7 I could not agree more. Criminal acts are now encouraged and applauded. Breaching the law is seen as a badge on honour. And people on here claim itโs only the left doing it. Itโs not. Itโs equally bad on the right.
@Rexdinasaur@AslanTheCat44 Thank heavens you found him Rex. Aslan is a rescue he was a stray. Whilst I have owned many cats he is my first ginger. They are definitely characters.