One week in and Gillard’s looking giddy

Alex says:

08:38am | 03/07/10

Sorry, Bob but Rudd is the schoolyard bully. He wouldn’t listen to Peter Garrett and Environment Department’s advice on the home insulation scheme and then he wouldn’t even let Garrett defend himself. Why? because it would have shown that it was Rudd’s own office to blame. Even before becoming PM, Rudd trashed one of his own - Kelvin Thomson’s reputation -  so as to extricate himself from his own grubby meetings with Brian Burke (whilst he was in the process of ‘working up the numbers’ to assasinate Kim Beasley). Rudd had totally lost the plot - and he was only ever good at playing shadow to and getting rid of Howard. Julia Gillard promises much better things, is believeable and can deliver.

Dave says:

12:42am | 04/07/10

You do realise that the superannuation industry itself supported the RSPT from the get go? You also realise that while some Australians hold shares either directly or through a super-fund, BHP is 40% foregin owned and Rio Tinto is 70% foreign owned. Xstrata isn’t even listed on the ASX. Billions of dollars earned on the back of non-renewable resources were going to foreigners. It is really infuriating that some people choose not to consider this out of their blind hatred for anything to do with the Labor party.

The mining industry didn’t save Australia from recession. It was the first industry to go into recession (shedding 15% of its workers, you know, the one they apparently cares about so much). Before the stimulus package Australia was forecast to go into recession and unemployment was forecast to reach 8.5%. After the stimulus package was introduced we didn’t go into recession, ended up with an unemployment rate of only 5.2%, and was the first country in the world to raise interest rates. The stimulus was so successful that the RBA has had to raise interest rates by 1.5% since it reached its all time low of 3% during the GFC. Under Julie “wait and see” Bishop Australia would have gone into recession and there would be hundreds of thousands more people out of work.

You say that Aussies aren’t that dumb, but considering how easily they swallowed up the lies and misinformation I would have to question that claim. You know how those mining ads said that Australia’s mining tax rate would become 58% if the tax was introduced? That would only apply if the mine was earning a rate of return on investment of over 50% (or in other words falling over a high quality mine next to a port with road and rail facilities already built).

But don’t let the facts get in the way of your partisanship.

Not buying Labor,no warranty! says:

07:34am | 04/07/10

Its a union thing Eric, work on the popular theory that you steal from someone and then when caught give back a small portion,celebrate yourself in your media darling format and move on to your next victim,and unfortunately alot of oz is dumb,because they accept it and live the same way

Gregg says:

01:45pm | 04/07/10

Davey, me thinks you’ve got a particular twist on the situation for first of all one spokesman for the superannuation industry even if it was that does not necessarily know the view of all superannuation funds and most financial people anywhere would have had a view of well lets see what the end result is and that we hardly know even now.
It will be interesting to see how real analysis backs up the figurative claims that have been made.
You might also find that many resources companies arevery globalised and in deed Australian companies, superannuation funds and direct shareholders have interests outside of Australia as well as there being international ownership of Australian listed companies.
There are stock exchanges in just about every developed country on the planet and who shareholders are is a very fluid situation and it is nothing to do with dislike or not of Labor policies.
You mention the word blind hatred but you might just find many voters have a much more open mind and will appreciate good policy and governance no matter what the party is.
Sure, some mines shed workers as financial crunches occurred with the GFC and that is just indicative of how fragile the international financing scene can be but if you’ve been around along enough you might remember what were once a considerable component of the Labor movement and that was the Shearers, guys who do know what work is all about and in an industry that had an associated saying of ” Australia rode on the sheeps back ” meaning wool and agriculture in general was once one of our larger export earners.
Likewise the mining industry and relative to capitalisation it is a low employer in terms of numbers, there usually being far more employed in the infrastructure and plant development stages which is no small tickler for the economy but the income through state royalties [ for that material in the ground ] and existing company tax is considerable and it was that income that helped Australia to date in the GFC.
But is it over?
Also used to be a saying of the US sneezes and we’ll get a cold and there’s a little more to it thses days and something of a domino effect for if the US/Europe aren’t consuming, China’s factories slow and eventually they’ll need less raw material.
We’ve not quite got there yet!
So the government splashed out with a heap of cash that wasn’t theirs, it all being borrowed [ once the Surplus that had been left them was gone] and sure as hell we’ll have to pay it back with interest and yes, one reason why interest rates went up.
You have had your cake if you have eaten it but expect to pay more again for the next one if you’re still paying for the last one for yep continued partying will just add to that debt and the interest bill.
It’s a mega version of all those teeny boppers racking up credit card debt and mobile phone bills.
And no Dave, the 57% does not occur just when a company was to earn over 50% but the RSPT was to have been on anything over whatever the government ten year bond rate was, currently near 6%
For example, say for instance you had a mine that had cost a billion to set up and after operating costs and depreciation etc. [ as occurs with accounting for all businesses ] are deducted from income, take a round figure of $100M profit over the 6% and so 40% is 40M
. The company already pays state royalty of 5% on total income as it is measured on sale of the material, so lets say the income was $300M
That’s 15M., deducted from the 40M
There’s company tax of 28-30% to be paid on what’s left, roughly another 17M.
So yeah on 100M profit, the company after paying tax/royalty is left with 43M or 57% gone into government coffers on that example.
And yes, just an example and figures can be rubbery and that’s where we’re at right now with the Gillard/Swan/Ferguson claims.
So I’m not too sure where you get your 50% from and who do you think has developed and/or financially contributed to a lot of those port, rail and road facilities?
What you may well see is that if on one hand demand drops and the government here taxes companies more they’ll be relatively less competitive with offshore companies in competing for a diminishing market share.
Eventual end result will be less developments/expansions and revenue for government coffers to offset all the spending and getting more unemployed as part of the bargain.

Steve says:

09:51pm | 04/07/10

Oh wayne you jester you…. it’s just an AWB thing!!!!!

Bruce says:

12:33pm | 03/07/10

The mining negotiations are far from over. There is a fellow named Don Argus involved with the mining companies. He is a very smart operator, for that matter, much smarter than our PM and the rest of our politicians. Don Argus is about getting things done his way. The game has only just begun !!

Northern Steve says:

07:18pm | 03/07/10

Who said the miners support the arrangement?  More likely the miners are just keen to get this thing done and off the front page so that their investors and financiers are no longer spooked.  The compromises by the government were substantial enough for them to decide that it was better to cop a significantly smaller tax (which it is) than keep the fight going - they would have lost more in the long run.  In any case, the tax is almost certainly not going to see parliament or the senate before an election, which labor is not guaranteed to win.

I imagine that rather than happy miners, it would be severly-pissed-off miners, just happy to have the mess quieten down so they can get on with business.

Rosie says:

10:31pm | 03/07/10

Neville Davidson

One question if Gillard is ballsy & honest enough to declare to the 65% of Australians who have some kind of reglious faith that she doesn’t believe in God why isn’t she supporting “gay marriages?” Should it matter to an atheist whether it is Adam & Eve or Adam & Steve?

Maybe it is all about the ballot boxes and the fact that our atheist PM knows that christians out number atheists in this wonderful land of ours!

Sadly you have no imagination to enjoy and figure out the moral of the stories like Noah’s Ark. As for the millions exploited and starving around the world have you stopped to think that it maybe the atheists that is preventing the manna from Heaven. God is there for those that help themselves! Good, honest folks never ask God for anything only thank him because they realize how blessed they are.

Thanks be to God!

steve parker says:

11:08pm | 03/07/10

It’s important because God knows we will need all the help we can get with these buffoons in control.

BobM says:

12:04pm | 04/07/10

But Neville, what about Easter Eggs and Christmas presents - what will we tell the kids?

If you look at all ancient cultures, they all had a belief system - even the dreamtime for the aborigines. Humans have an innate need to believe in something bigger than themselves and to use ‘gods’ to explain something that they don’t understand. I am also not a fan or organised religion, but I think it’s basic role is to provide guidelines for ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ - some people need/want ‘rules’ to follow. Not everyone is as enlightened as you.

I think Jesus may have been a real person, but his message of ‘do unto others as you would like them to do unto you’ (and this was during a bloody, violent and inhuman time in history - Roman occupation) has been hijacked by religions who are mostly in it for the power and money. 

And PS - it was Jonah and the whale, not Samuel.