Australian Politics
Life will be cheaper under me: Albanese vow for better future
Where is he going to get the money to pay for all this?? We are not told. Empty promises
Anthony Albanese has promised to change Australia “for the better” and deliver reforms that play to traditional Labor strengths, providing cheaper childcare, power bills, electric vehicles, medicines and mortgages if he wins the May 21 election.
At the ALP campaign launch in Perth on Sunday, the Opposition Leader claimed Labor was the only party that could deliver significant reform and set up a three-week fight with Scott Morrison over cheaper housing, higher wages, cost-of-living pressures, integrity and health.
Mr Albanese, who was introduced by West Australian Premier Mark McGowan as the “next Prime Minister of Australia”, told 600 supporters including former prime ministers Paul Keating and Kevin Rudd that “only Labor has a plan for a better future”.
He used Labor’s new Help to Buy housing policy, in which the federal government provides up to 40 per cent of the purchase price of new homes for 10,000 low-and-middle income earners, to claim that an Albanese government would help renters “achieve the great Australian dream of home ownership”.
The housing policy, allowing low-income earners to buy a house with a 2 per cent deposit, was attacked by the Prime Minister for putting home ownership into the hands of the government and potentially ripping equity away from homeowners.
Speaking in the marginal Liberal-held seat of Swan, Mr Albanese rolled out a series of new policies focused on wooing swing voters ahead of the election, including plans to close the gender pay gap, build more electric vehicle charging stations, provide cheaper medicines and set up a $1bn fund for developing critical minerals into batteries. “Labor has real, lasting plans for cheaper ¬electricity, cheaper childcare, cheaper mortgages, cheaper medicines and Medicare (and) better pay,” Mr Albanese said.
The Labor leader’s cheaper electricity claim is based on ¬medium-to-long-term renewable energy projections in Labor’s Powering Australia plan, while costings for his $5.4bn plan to make childcare more affordable for 96 per cent of families has been questioned by the Coalition.
Labor’s cheaper medicines pledge came after Mr Albanese trumped Mr Morrison’s promise to slash the price of prescription drugs by $10. Labor says it will cut drug prices by $12.50.
With Labor maintaining its small-target strategy and election-winning lead over the Coalition in Newspoll, Mr Albanese recycled Labor’s personal attacks on the Prime Minister and urged Australians to “vote for hope and optimism over fear and division”.
“Are we going to stride forward – or instead are we going to slide back? Are we going to risk three more wasted years? Scott Morrison says you don’t have to like him, but it’s better the devil you know,” he said.
“Well here’s what Australians do know … they know he failed on bushfires and they know he then failed on floods. They know he didn’t order enough vaccines and then didn’t order enough rapid antigen tests.
“They know it’s harder to see a doctor. It’s harder to buy a home and the cost of everything is going up but their wages aren’t. They know aged care is in crisis … that’s the devil you know.”
Mr Morrison will take the cost-of-living fight to Labor on Monday and pledge to make 50,000 older Australians eligible for seniors’ health cards, giving them access to more affordable health care and medicines.
Under a $70m investment over four years, the Coalition will ¬increase the singles income test threshold from $57,761 to $90,000 from July 1. The couple’s threshold will rise from $92,416 to $144,000.
“This means more senior Australians could save hundreds of dollars, including up to $428 a year for access to a monthly script for vital medicines and a refund for medical costs if you reach the Medicare safety net,” Mr Morrison said.
“This is the first major change, outside of indexation, to the ¬income threshold of the commonwealth seniors’ health card in over 20 years. Every dollar counts, especially for older Australians who are no longer working.”
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Censored, but not forgotten
Late last week, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation dropped another election cartoon. The series has gained both notoriety and infamy for its cutting political commentary that (in a rarity for this hypersensitive world) is genuinely funny. Social media collapsed when the series first aired, as leftwing commentators were left horrified by their reaction – apologising profusely to their followers for the crime of laughing.
Yes. In the modern era you have to apologise for finding something funny.
Very few political figures have escaped the wrath of the cartoonist’s pen, with some of the best depictions being made at the expense of fellow ‘freedom friendly’ party candidates – whether it’s Bob Katter’s perfect cackle, the Clive Palmer Star Wars reference, or Barnaby Joyce looking as though he’s been pulled out of the nearest patch of dirt.
The series has gotten away with harsh truths – remarkable in a world where editors have to self-censor every breath in case they get dragged before a bureaucratic committee. The cartoons have also been educational, letting voters in on a few nasty tricks that politicians would rather be kept a secret.
Now, the cartoon has managed to offend the fragile feelings of the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). They issued a complaint that saw the cartoon either removed or censored across various social media platforms.
Twitter originally left the video up, but wouldn’t allow anyone to like, comment, or retweet.
https://www.spectator.com.au/2022/05/censored-but-not-forgotten/
******************************************Jewish leaders condemn antisemitic Melbourne student union
A group of prominent Jewish leaders have condemned a motion passed by the University of Melbourne’s student union after it pledged support for the anti-Israeli Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, sparking fears it could have a flow-on effect across university campuses.
The student union passed a wide-ranging motion on Friday condemning Zionism as a “racist colonial ideology” and pledging its support for the BDS movement, urging the university leadership to endorse an academic boycott that would cut ties with Israeli institutions, researchers, and academics that support the “Israeli oppression of Palestinians”.
The Australian understands the union is the first student representative body to pass a motion formally supporting the BDS movement in the country.
The motion, which was passed 10-8 by the student council on Friday, stated the union’s endorsement of the BDS movement had been “long overdue” and would encourage other student bodies to adopt similar resolutions in solidarity with Palestinians.
“Students in Palestine and around the world have been key participants in the fight against the illegal occupation of Palestine, protesting, organising, and creating a discussion on respective campuses … it’s long overdue for a clear and firm stance by UMSU on these crimes,” the motion read.
Jewish leaders blasted the union for creating a “fictitious” and “one-sided narrative” of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, describing the resolution as “perverse” and “blatantly anti-Semitic”.
Jewish Affairs Council director Colin Rubinstein said on Sunday that the language of the motion was something that could have been expected from “Hamas or Hezbollah … not from the student union of an esteemed centre of learning here in Australia”.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry chief executive Peter Wertheim said it was possible other university student councils “would follow suit” and adopt a similar “anti-Semitic” motion, but added that it would be a mistake to conclude there was a “broad student consensus behind these views”.
Adelaide University’s student representative council is considering a similar motion to UMSU, while the University of Western Australia’s student guild last year altered its support of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, suspending its clause condemning calls for the destruction of the state of Israel.
In February, Sydney University’s student body passed a motion supporting the boycott of the Sydney Festival but has not passed a formal motion supporting the BDS movement.
Mr Wertheim said the ability of a handful of student activists to pass through “propagandistic and racist resolutions” highlighted the urgent need for universities to adopt and apply the remembrance alliance’s working definition of anti-Semitism.
The Australian sought comment from the universities of Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide student unions, who were unavailable to reply.
The Anti-Defamation Commission says acts of anti-Semitism in Australia have reached “pitch fever” following reports vandals had defaced the Lilydale Eagles Soccer Club in Melbourne, drawing Nazi swastikas on the club’s oval.
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Children told to stop eating HAM SANDWICHES in ridiculous 'warning' note sent home to parents in school newsletters
Primary school students have been urged to 'ditch the ham sandwich' in leaflets inserted in their newsletters and send home to parents.
Leaflets from the Cancer Council telling kids to stop eating ham sandwiches have been put into public school newsletters by teachers in NSW.
'Ditch the ham sandwich' is the Cancer Council's latest anti-meat edict and follows on from a previous leaflet telling children to have a 'meat-free Monday'.
But both parents and pork producers have defended the humble ham sandwich and railed against the 'politically correct message'.
However, Channel Nine's U.S. correspondent, Amelia Adams, admitted she 'wasn't surprised'. 'It's such a nanny state back there,' she told Karl Stefanovic during a Today show cross on Tuesday morning.
A pork company owner said the Cancer Council leaflets go 'too far'.
'Ham is actually a product which has been developed over the last 5,000 years and people have eaten it through the ages without any problems,' David Bligh of Bringelly Pork and Bacon told News Corp.
'I think sometimes these politically correct messages can go a little bit too far and not be as practical as they should be.'
A Cancer Council spokeswoman said the leaflets are part of a health campaign to get children eating better food.
'Because there is strong evidence that eating processed meats and too much red meat is associated with increased risk of bowel cancer, our cancer prevention messages advise everyone to limit their processed meat consumption and cut down on red meat,' she said.
She added that schools sent the messages to include with material sent home with pupils, were not under any obligation to do so.
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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
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Evelyn Rae, a conservative Australian political commentator
Margo Robbie -- a beautiful australian
My son Joe at ANU
One of the happiest pictures ever -- Cleo Smith, aged 4
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