<Aren't those convinced opportunity and a fair go are somehow contingent on obligatory <income redistribution and free health care, part of the problem?

Gee there are some real haters of our health care system out there.

Our health care system is not "free" and any one who says that is a liar. It is in part funded through taxation and there is already a co-payment system in place for many health care services.

Bleating hearts about 'income redistribution', they are the ones who avoid paying taxes and leave the heavy lifting to the wage and salary earner.

Well, given we currently shell out around 70 billions per as middle class welfare, rolling all that back would make all the current cuts to REAL welfare unnecessary.
With limited and shrinking funds, we really do need to fund real need, rather than real greed!
Current welfare is around 50 billions, the structural deficit is around 40 billions, and welfare for the rich; negative gearing, tax breaks on super super, family trusts, and health care insurance rebates, etc/etc, before the PM's PPL, is around 70 billions!
Do the sums, it's not rocket science!
Welfare for the rich, 70 billions more or less, structural deficit, 40 billions more or less.
End all forms of (vote buying) middle class welfare, and hey presto, no more structural deficit, and a 30 billion annual surplus!
What did we say we needed for a fully funded NDIS? 11 billion PA?
How can that be more important than entirely unearned and undeserved, middle class welfare?
I don't know who are the real leaners here, except, I just don't think it's disabled people, who'd give up all their entitlements tomorrow, for a real job and the self esteem of being able to pay their own way!
In almost all cases, only employer disability discrimination prevents that! Can there be another reason?
I mean and for heaven's sake, even a blind person, or someone permanently incarcerated in a wheel chair, could answer a phone, or man a computer terminal/call centre?
Ditto most young folk or retirees?
And given the pension is little more than $5-6.00 an hour, be pleased to do it for $15-20.00 an hour!?
Outsourcing may save a few dollars, but I'll warrant being spoken to in your own language, and with an Aussie accent, would produce more than enough additional custom, to offset, any minor additional cost!?
As would being able to access a PR service, out of normal business hours!
Rhrosty.

Rhosty,
The current single pension with various allowances is now 840 odd dollars per fortnight. This equates to something over %10 per hour.

David.

Mr Abbott does himself no favours by encouraging women to offload their kids into factories and paying the mothers top dollar to return to work. Far better to get them to stay and home and take up mothering responsibilities for a few years. It also seems crazy that the only ones not getting free health care are those who already pay medicare and private insurance. Populace policies ruining an already me me me generation.

Yes, it certainly is the Age of Entitlement.

I could add a few more 'entitlement whiners' to the list;

Those politicians who expect workers to negotiate one to one with their employers but are quite happy to have their salaries determined by a tribunal, the parents who send their children to taxpayer-subsidised private schools, the farmers who are exempt from the laissez-faire policies and budget cuts of the current government, the rentier class, the media oligarchs, the corporations and plutocrats who pay little or no tax because they're able to use techniques unavailable to other taxpayers, and finally, the parasitic religious institutions which, scandalously, are still tax-exempt.

mac

' the parents who send their children to taxpayer-subsidised private schools'

your bigotry is showing. It costs far more of the tax payers money for state schools which produce worse results.