rehctub
The public service is always an easy target, sometimes it is valid and other times not.

We can all think of some public service (in the case you cited it I presume you were referring to Council workers) where there is perceived wastage.

For every one you can think of I can match it with a very real loss of public service - some more essential than others - where reduced staffing has caused great problems for the very public we are meant to serve.

I would worry more about the excessive salaries of some executives in the private sector whose bonuses and commissions are guaranteed despite failures, drops in share prices or bankruptcy. Or business people who took real advantage of workchoices to decrease real wages and living standards of the most vulnerable despite very real rises in the cost of living.

rechtub I have no wish to stray far from the threads intended direction.
But as you raise wages here are the facts, traffic controllers are casuals.
Most get work very randomly, sometimes every day, then one or two days a month.
Wages are $21.80 per hour with casual loading, no sick or holiday pay.
Are you aware child minders get much less?
Your idea that girls are going to leave work in massive numbers to have children is an over statement.
Some have had children for an income, stretching back to the 1970,s but while some will even those children will still need child minding centers.
We, think about it are in part socialist in this country, and better for it.
Compare our health struggling as it is with Americas, education, a host of things we subsidize.
We agree some government endeavors are full of waste, that too is often a form of social responsibility.
For all my life such as local government and once not now the RTA and many more employed the unemployable.
In Qld rain saw farmers get a part time job on the shire council.
Brothers uncles sons even daughters got a job.
Most, yes even farmers did not take the work ethic with them.
We are and we must continue, , moving away from that.
Most, not councils, are run very much better now.
Child minding centers are at least as important as education and health.
We simply can not tell parents male and female to stay home.
They must have two incomes to live the country needs them to work, even in this down turn you need them to buy ham instead of sausages with the generated income.

Pelican I can't argue with your point as I to am mystified by the payment these CEO's receive. It appear that the bigger the 'stuff up' the bigger the rewards! And yes I was referring to council workers. Interesting though is that if you talk to someone in the health system thay all say the same thing, there is plenty of money it's just that the system is 'top heavy' to many chiefs and not enough indians.

Lastly, I can assue you that I pay my staff well, if they work well. I pay bonusses, give time off with pay and often buy drinks if they do well. Just remember, all that a worker askes for is a fair days pay for a fair days work but unfortunately this is does not happen in the reverse at times where the employer receives a fair days work in return for that fair days pay. Do you think this is fair?

Belly
A casual butcher is paid less than $20 per hour. They to work a day here and a day there at times yet they have done an apprenticeship, learned a trade yet by your own assesment receive less! Why? becaue we work in retail where the public demand good service, high quality yet they don't wish to pay for it (I am generalising here)

As for the demise of working wemon, well let's just wait and see. I hope I am proven wrong!

*As for the child care problem, I think Mr rud has put the wheels in motion to ensure that the demand for CC services will decrease dramaticly with his introduction of the paid maternity leave,...*
Posted by rehctub,

As usual perfect.

Of Course Rudd has put that to play and dont forget the old unemployment figures...

We are in for a huge crash. Small business will be a thing of the past.

They have been leaving at the rate of around 700 per month since Rudd was elected.
How on earth can small business pay maternity leave. Why should they anyway. People are free to choose between having a family or working a while longer.
The butcher the baker or the candle stick maker should not be forced to pay for others people choices.
Anyway it was the death of small business as far as I am concerned. The last nail in the coffin to struggling hard working self motivated people.

I know you cant have your cake and eat it too but paying taxes to mind peoples kids has never done it for me tbo.

This country has got to get away from welfare payments or any payments that involve people not being made answerable for their own choices.

I just love the bit where Belly talks about our proud health system.

The fact is Rudd walked into a Government that had to learn up the mess Labour left us in with figures of huge amounts in the red.
Labour State Govs have made a complete mess of our health system.

Labours or Rudds Ms 'Wong' water Commissioner allowed OUR largest water supply to be sold off to an overseas company!

Still I suppose there must be some sort of a plan by the Rudd Gov. To close ABC might make way for jobs I suppose for the huge amount of increase in our migrant intake.
As they say Promises promises promises. Still that`s how they won the elections.

As I said on the other thread- Give me the butcher for PM anyday.

PALE - which water supply has been sold? to whom?

Most families need affordable childcare. Many young mothers rely on grandparents, and formal childcare because if a woman leaves the workforce for more than 2 years she is considered unskilled and has to retrain from scratch plus the family needs to incomes to service the mortgage on a modest house in an inner suburb with decent infrastructure or else live in the outer suburbs and face 2 hour car commute each way.

Howard supported the rise of ABC Learning through a number of initiatives
1. rebate to parents for costs of childcare
2. subsidised places for children of low income parents
3. removal of grants to build community child care centres
4. provision of grant to build for-profit child care centres

The state governments didn't help with the application of land taxes

Community child care is a partial solution that allows women to work part time close to home. It is not designed to provide long day care for full time working parents.

This is the perfect opportunity for the government to reorganise the sector into something better but I bet they won't do anything!