Rehctub, Celivia
There is a big problem with the pension of the seniors and this problem will become even bigger if we do not solve it.
While in the past every pensioner was supported from 5 0r 6 employees now we have 1 employee for each pensioner. This happened for the following reasons:
1. After the 2nd world war we had a big number of childbirths, all these people are pensioners or close to become pensioners.
2. Last decades the childbirths reduced in high degree and we are lucky because we have the migrants and the system continue without big problems, BUT ONLY OF CAUSE THE MIGRANTS.
3. In our days people live much longer, now every employee NOT ONLY must work for a pensioner, but he/she must work for him/her for 20-30 years! As the medicine and conditions improved the people will live more years. that mean each future employee will have to work for longer time for the pensioners!
THIS PROBLEM APPEARS MAINLY IN THE DEVELOPED WORLD, INCLUDING AUSTRALIA, BECAUSE WE HAVE LIMITED NUMBER OF CHILDBIRTHS AND WE LIVE MUCH LONGER COMPARING WITH PEOPLE IN NON DEVELOPED COUNTRIES.
Australia and other developed countries MUST continue to increase their population if they want to keep their basic life standards, if they want to avoid big problems in their societies.

Celivia,
Thank you for all, you are very good! square brain, practical mind, moderate person. At begin I thought you was working around the Human Rights Commission but they have no idea from Health and Safety Committees, later that you had a connection with the Union Movement but you had no idea about the Unions position for the maternity leave. May be you have same relations with the Industrial relations, I do not know BUT I KNOW VERY WELL THAT YOU ARE A VERY POSITIVE PERSON AND I HOPE YOU WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT ME, (MY IDEAS) IN THE FUTURE!
Thank you.

continue
Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaide

continue

Rehctub,
It is true that I did not agree with you because you wrote mainly if not all times for money and always you took employers site. BUT I found that you wrote twice or more times for pensioners problems and I think your interest for pensioners is genuine. If you have any thoughts, any ideas about pensioners problems, open a thread or ask me what ever you want from me and probably I will support you.
About the PML THE RIGHT THING IS THE GOVERNMENT TO PAY THE BASICS, EMPLOYERS TO THE AVERAGE AND EMPLOYEES VOLUNTARY. If every where employers can pay for the PML then you can pay too.
The truth is that in Australia the corporations belong to foreigners in higher degree than in any other country and the Multinational companies do not pay taxes at all or they pay very little, that mean:
1. Employees and small-medium size businesses pay the taxes in Australia and
2. Small-medium size businesses have bigger problems of cause multinational company's than in other countries.

instead to turn your arrow against your employees try to see what you can do, (I think you will have your employee's support) to minimize the problems of cause the multinationals companies. Your problems caused from them and not from your employees.

I agree with you for more skilled migrant workers but not with temporary visa of cause the huge discrimination against them.

Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaid

Thank you, Antonios, you are too kind.
I only wish I had the skills to work for the Human Rights Commission but I’m simply a mother working from our home office in our own company. My background is in the Netherlands where I taught Dutch as a second language to immigrant and refugee children at a primary school in a disadvantaged area of Amsterdam.
I have also worked part time in aged care and have much respect and affection for the elderly.
Unfortunately, I’m only a Jack of some trades and master of none, but I do care about people especially children, pensioners, and about animal rights, too.

Thank you for outlining the problems with pensions. Although I knew that the greying of the population is a big problem, I didn’t know that the proportion of seniors : taxpayers is 1 : 1, the problem is more serious than I guessed.
I’m glad that the govt introduced superannuation when it did, and I believe that something similar needs to be done for people’s other life changes.

The govt often fails to anticipate long-term consequences. How are they going to solve the problem we are facing in the near future about attracting enough staff to physically care for the elderly? It will be difficult; especially on the low wages they’re willing to pay carers.
Children and grandchildren will have to take on the care for their elderly parents/grandparents when professional carers will be scarce. That’s why the government needs to organise generous savings incentives similar to superannuation funds so that working people can get some paid time out to look after their elderly family members and/or to take time out to have a baby.

And yes, Antonios, I’m in favour of inviting skilled immigrants as well as refugees into Australia rather than bribe women to have more children because it is the world population that needs to be reduced, not merely the population in Australia

Antonius and Cevilia

I apologise for my few posts on this topic, but due to the nature of my illness I am frequently unable to respond to OLO as much as I would like.

You have both made important points regarding the need to care for all people in our community, irrespective of their status, be it child, immigrant or elderly.

The strength of any nation, local community or even a single family is always greater than the sum of its parts. The better we care for our children and enable them to grow and contribute in their turn benefits us all.

I am gobsmacked, that so many people will use government funding or rebates for themselves, but deny it to others. We all pay taxes and I would rather mine go towards people less fortunate than myself than to people who are already financially secure; the current Baby Bonus makes no distinction and really needs to be replaced by assistance when and for whom it is truly needed.

I am confident that Australia will become a more holistic nation than it has been for the past 11 years and realise that a healthy nation is inclusive of all its members, not just a privileged few.

Celivia “But I don’t see why individuals (and corporations) have no problem accepting government subsidies to benefit their own desires, e.g. as drivers, when they are against introducing help for others, e.g. for working mothers.”

You need to familiarize yourself with the judgments of Lord Chief Justice Denning, for matters of taxation and acceptance of grants.

Denning’s observation is that tax is an impost by the state against the individual.

Dennings declared a person has a right to minimize their liability using all legal means available to them.

Hence when a direct grant is offered for which I qualify, being a proper and responsible tax payer, I am legally entitled to miminise my net tax contribution under the law.

I did not make LPG grants legal, I was not asked if I wanted them or not, same way I have not been asked if I want solar panel rebates and grants but I might be entitled to apply for them too.

That LPG conversion grants exist and that I am entitled to take advantage of them is all the justification I need.

As for “paid maternity leave”

LPG grants are paid regardless of gender.

LPG grants are a reimbursement of the capital costs of conversion, paid maternity leave is being sought as a right, not a reimbursment.

“the govt is still serving the corporate world”
See my comments on corporate grants on article “The case for an Australian-made small second car” by Valerie Yule.

Personal Choice “coercion by corporations and pressure by the media to buy certain products.”

Ha… only the feeble minded would use that excuse. I have never followed the flock to buy anything because the media told me. I buy on the basis of value and exercise my choice based upon multiple competitive considerations which contribute to my definition of “value”

Fractelle “I am gobsmacked, that so many people will use government funding or rebates for themselves, but deny it to others.”

You are entitled to get your car converted too, so stop whining. I refer you to Denning too.

Fractelle,

' the current Baby Bonus makes no distinction and really needs to be replaced by assistance when and for whom it is truly needed.
'

Exactly, and paid maternity leave has the potential to be much, much worse! Once they get to full pay maternity leave (which is the final goal here), you'll end up with my example of the woman on $150k being paid full pay for six months to a year, when this money could be much better used for the genuinely needy.

All that really needs to be done is that a couple with children should be able to split their income for tax purposes, and encourage the working partner to pay into super for the non-working partner.

It will never happen though as the feminists really don't want to have any families deciding that it's best for them to have the man working full time and the mother at home full time. That would be a nightmare to them.