JC Political Thread - For All Things Political Part 2

[Rajesh Koothrappali]

It's in the news, people just don't care.

Where is the corruption reported "in the news" specifically? I am certain people would care significantly about corruption. Please be specific.

On the local level quirk kept selling public land to donors below value without public tender.

I assume you have evidence of this so could you please share it? Or the source of the information.

For state government newman snuck in a last minute change in a water bill to retroactively legalise quarrying activities of a major donor who was being charged. His illegal activities eroded a lot of land from other people. SEQ water also said it washed tonnes of sediment into Wivenhoe dam which increased water treatment costs by over 1 million a year and reduced the capacity of the dam. They also over wrote the local council to let the same donor expand a quarry in mt cotton where evidence of intentional waterway contamination was presented but they chose not to investigate it. They also renewed the lease on a controversial sand mine against the wishes of the local custodians after receiving a large political donation. So yeah, for me lnp is summed up by nepotism, bullying and corruption.

Once again, I assume you have evidence of this so could you please share it? Or the source of the information. I would be interested to read the evidence as I am sure would a LOT of other people, including the authorities who take significant interest in illegal activities regardless of people's positions or status.

Unfortunately I haven't seen any evidence of anything you've mentioned that would be illegal activity. Just because something might be morally questionable doesn't make it illegal or corruption. People like that don't last long anyway. I

In terms of alp i liked gonski, FTTP and negative gearing changes although i think foreign investment is a bigger cause of housing inflation.

Gonski is a person. You like him? Cool. I'm sure a lot of people do. He isn't a policy however. He did head a review into taxation that included a lot of recommendations, none of which form any policy for either party. FTTP is cool technology - I know as I have it connected to my house. However it's a technology and not a policy. What do you like about negative gearing changes? Do you mean you like a policy that would essentially mean the rental property market all but dries up? Where do you suppose renters live? Why do you think housing is inflated beyond regular economic supply and demand? I still don't get why people think there is some sort of "bubble". It's economics 101... When there isn't enough supply to meet demand, prices go up. When demand is equal to supply, prices stabilise. When supply outstrips demand, prices fall. The fact there are more people wanting property than there is property means prices are high. But not everywhere. The thing all commentators fail to include in their sensationalist "journalism" is that there is plenty of very affordable property when you go out of the cities. Head out to the suburbs or rural and you'll find countless choices. Trouble is, everyone wants to be within spitting distance of the CBDs. I just don't understand that. I'll take my semi-rural (with a view to 10+ acres withi 5 years even further out) and a commute of up to an hour ANY DAY over living in a shoe box in an overcrowded, noisy, dirty high density area.

 

[CoffeeMonster]

I posted a link to the water thing already. Here's one for the property sold under market value to donor
Another sale of Brisbane City Council property to an LNP donor uncovered
If you were informed you'd know about it anyway. Then i wouldn't have to go into detail about the policies. Obviously gonski refers to education reforms and fttp the nbn plan. Re: housing the house prices have risen very sharply in comparison to income. Gov should have regulated this and not let it come this far. The growth is unnatural due to a number of factors and can expose the economy. Just look at gfc where house prices were inflated due to sub prime loans and there was huge fallout. In aus we've had strong foreign investment, not in new properties so much but also heavily in existing structures. Home loan debt to income ratio has sky rocketed and we're one of the most indebted countries in the world. We're massively exposed to interest rate increases and any economic turn down. This also means people are spending a higher % of income servicing the loans which leads to a reduction in consumption. Higher house prices also means higher rental costs as investors are going to be looking for ROI. People who cannot afford to buy a house are forced to pay them as the alternative is homelessness. This is why now more than ever we have adults sharing accommodation with room mates, something which in the past was associated with students and young people.

 

[Rajesh Koothrappali]

Errrrrr, the sub-prime lending was an issue in America. Australian lenders are actually some of the most robust and profitable lenders in the world.

 

[Skydrol]

Just making a slight deviation; check this video out. Is from the movie The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996).

Is just too creepy to pass; just sharing.

Carry on with the previous discussion....

 

[Rajesh Koothrappali]

Oh ffs.... Keep loony toon conspiracy theories out of this thread please.

 

[Skydrol]

Sure Raj... just a weird thing that I came across. Is one of those, check this crap out, made in 1996 and happen few years later, coincidence? Anyway, that is why I said, carry on with the conversation.

 

[Calaber]

Back on home soil.....

Will we or won't we have a DD?

My money is on the election being held because Turnbull has finally shown some real mettle in getting the Senate voting reforms through and recalling the Senate for three weeks to enable adequate time for the ABCC bill to be properly considered and discussed in time for a DD to be called if necessary. Both pretty ballsy acts from a bloke who was starting to look like Negative Ned and was losing popularity very quickly. The next polls will be interesting - will they show a sudden turn-around for Turnbull and the government?

I'm hoping the DD goes ahead because I want to see the end of idiots like Lambie, Muir, et al. (I'd love to think that Hansen-Young joined them but that's a lot less likely, unfortunately).

Roll on the 2nd July.

 

[Rajesh Koothrappali]

My money is on no DD election. It's a constitutional problem I don't think Turnbull has really considered. We all know Section 5 but have they kept reading to Section 57 of the constitution?

“...The Governor-General may dissolve the Senate and the House of Representatives simultaneously. But such dissolution shall not take place within six months before the date of the expiry of the House of Representatives by effluxion of time.”

Section 28 of the Constitution states...

“Every House of Representatives shall continue for three years from the first meeting of the House, and no longer....”

The Senators can easily stall long enough to eat into the six month minimum that would be the 3rd anniversary of the first sitting of the current House. Filibusters, High Court applications, etc...

Do nothing Turnbull is going to continue to do nothing. And the main reason he'll be elected (whenever the election is) is because the majority simply don't trust Labor any more and the thought of Bill Shorten as PM is nothing short of cringe-worthy. Kevin Rudd was bad. Julia Gillard was a complete disaster. If it was Bill Shorten, then we aint seen nothing yet!

 

[XUV]

nah, the sooner the better, then he , Turnbull , can get on governing unopposed with mandate and can tell abbott to p1ss off

plus a real senate of the people, not these 200k arse clowns that no one knew would get a gig with 0.5 of a percent vote

 

[Rajesh Koothrappali]

nah, the sooner the better, then he , Turnbull , can get on governing unopposed with mandate and can tell abbott to p1ss off

Yeah I agree, but you miss the point, constitutionally he may not be able to ask the Governor General for a DD.