Merged Australian Politics / Australian election

Howard the ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊.

He knew housing was becoming dysfunctional but kept it secret for political advantage.

It was the year 2004. The median nominal capital city house price in Australia was just short of $400,000 — or the equivalent of 6.5 years of annual family income.

That might seem a bargain by today's standards, but housing affordability was firmly in the sights of the Howard government.

In June, the Howard cabinet considered its response to a Productivity Commission's report on first home ownership.

That report made a series of findings, including that negative gearing rules and capital gains tax concessions combined to make investing in residential property more attractive, adding to demand and therefore prices in the process.

It recommended a review of those tax settings as soon as practicable:
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www.abc.net.au

We pored over the newly unsealed 2004 cabinet files. Here's what stood out

Hundreds of previously secret cabinet records have been made public in the National Archives' annual release.
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au

He wasn't there to help the average Australian get a fair go, he was there to win the next election and help his rich mates.
 
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psionl0 said:
TBF his predecessor was exactly the same and no PM since Howard has lifted a finger to tackle negative gearing or capital gains on houses.
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Oh I agree with this. The issue is too polarising. What is required is a majority of Labor, Greens and Teals need to legislate of get rid of negative gearing and tax capital gains on housing fully. This will not happen as the Murdoch media behemoth will whip up such frenzy that the coalition will win in a landslide and will simply reverse the legislation.
 
People were complaining about 17% interest rates but if made people mindful of the risks of speculation at low interest rates. Now interest rates are very low historically and people are suffering inert the mountain of debt they have taken on.
 
psionl0 said:
Keating did the exact opposite. His banking "reforms" saw an explosion in house prices which has never been reversed.
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Nope. Keating’s economic reforms made Australia the powerhouse (given its population) it is.
 
lionking said:
Nope. Keating’s economic reforms made Australia the powerhouse (given its population) it is.
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If you had to pay rent or buy a house today you would not be anywhere near as grateful for Keating's "powerhouse" economics. If it wasn't for mining, Australia would be little more than a 3rd world country trying to service a massive foreign debt. And the battlers have all gone backwards since Keating's time.
 
psionl0 said:
If you had to pay rent or buy a house today you would not be anywhere near as grateful for Keating's "powerhouse" economics. If it wasn't for mining, Australia would be little more than a 3rd world country trying to service a massive foreign debt. And the battlers have all gone backwards since Keating's time.
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Utter nonsense. I know you don’t like Keating, but he opened up Australia’s economy, got rid of inefficient, tariff protected industries, introduced superannuation, floated the dollar and set up systems which allowed growth. The figures don’t lie.
 
lionking said:
Utter nonsense. I know you don’t like Keating, but he opened up Australia’s economy, got rid of inefficient, tariff protected industries, introduced superannuation, floated the dollar and set up systems which allowed growth. The figures don’t lie.
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"Growth" means nothing if living standards for the majority of Australians is going backwards. Keating's policies benefited the elite, not the working class.
 
Sweet Jesus.
Former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison and his wife have spent New Year’s Eve at US President-elect Donald Trump’s exclusive members-only club Mar-a-Lago.

Morrison posted a photo of himself and Jenny, dressed in formal evening wear, alongside Trump and his wife, Melania, on social media with the message “HNY 2025 from Mar-a-Lago”.
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www.theage.com.au

Scott Morrison spends New Year’s Eve with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago

The former Australian prime minister and his wife partied their way into 2025 at the president-elect’s Florida estate.
www.theage.com.au www.theage.com.au
 
It's a sign of the MAGA infiltration into Australian politics. I don't care about Scomo himself, I care that an ex-PM is proud to be associated with Trump like this and the other like minded Australian politicians.
 
lionking said:
Meanwhile Dutton’s nuclear energy policy might well be his downfall. Already Liberal led Queensland and NT have rejected the policy.

I am not opposed to nuclear energy per se, but it’s time was 30 years ago, not now, when renewables and batteries can do the job.
The general public is opposed to nuclear, often for the wrong reasons, but I think Dutton is in trouble. As bad as Albo is, the Greens and Teals will back him.
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Agreed. We still need a nuclear facility or two in Australia, but not for power or weapons. Nuclear energy is used all the time for medicine and science.

In reality, nuclear reactors for power are quite inefficient. They are just tea-kettles, a substitute for burning something, to make steam. The process of heating water to make steam to spin a turbine to drive a generator to make electrical power is not efficient at all. So many losses of energy along the way.
 
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