@Yabby: Indeed rstuart, I have given away a truckload of 400 sheep. ... No wonder that two thirds of the farmers in my area have left the land since I've been here.

Both you and I know it's "no wonder" because they are sheep farmers. It's cruel I know, but this oversupply of sheep was a mess of the sheep industries own making. The AWB was one big ponzi scheme.

@Yabby: Yes, commodity prices have picked up over the last 4-5 years.

Enough for Australia to be earn 8% for its food exports while in a sever drought along the eastern seaboard, and in the face of a 25% currency rise. Geezz, I wish my businesses had faced market conditions that tough. Price takers indeed. This rise and rise of the good times for farmers is probably going to continue until the world can no longer afford to feed itself. At this rate you'd better watch out - it won't be long before some galah suggests a super profits tax on farmers.

@Yabby: Ah, ya poor thing, rstuart :) You of course are compensated or simply pass on your costs. Not so for farmers, which was my point.

Sold my businesses and I am on a salary now Yabby, so sadly I don't get to pass the additional costs on. (I can just picture you wiping a tear from you face at the thought of this.) The extra costs aren't even a tax deduction, which it will be for you farmers.

And to cap it all off, should you be as hard up as you are making out, some of my carbon taxes will be paid as carbon tax relief to you.

*this oversupply of sheep was a mess of the sheep industries own making. The AWB was one big ponzi scheme.*

Sheesh rstuart, agriculture is clearly not your forte. AWB sold
wheat and had little to do with sheep. The fact remains however
that farmers largely sell on global markets and have input costs
loaded with extra Australian charges. When we try and ship our
produce out of the country as fast as possible to avoid some of
these charges, many city slickers try to ban us from doing so.

Most Australian simply put their hand out and pass on their costs.
Not so for farmers.

*I wish my businesses had faced market conditions that tough*

So what was your actual return on capital, rstuart? In farming the
only really profitable thing is owning land over time. Producing from
it averages around 1%. For exactly this reason, I rely on off farm
investments, not on agriculture for a living. I do it for the lifestyle.
Australia treats its farmers like mugs, so it would be
foolish to invest more in the industry.

*I don't get to pass the additional costs on.*

You certainly do, rstuart. Julia, to gain your vote, will compensate
you for your increased costs. Not so for farmers facing the real world
out there.

So there we have it, rstuart. Meat exports taxed, grain exports taxed,
rstuart and co compensated to gain their vote.

All for what? So that city slickers can feel better about seemingly
saving the planet, when you and I know that China, India and others
will take no notice at all, just continue as they were.

The Greens preach little but Kumbaya politics, its sad that Julia
had to kowtow to them to gain office. Its the price we are all paying,
especially farmers, who are once again losers in the whole
scheme

Shadow Minister
Correction I responded to yours. I told you these are my policy’s to which you couldn’t grasp. I am not caking ALP SM so i dont know where you got that from.

I am on neither side & i will post below some info you will like. I suggest you read things properly before jumping in.
http://www.oziz4oziz.com/restoring-prosperity---details.html

The ultimate union traitor was Australian Council of Trade Unions President Bob Hawke, who arranged disastrous union amalgamations that weakened the position of workers and delivered union leadership into the hands of ambitious academics and opportunists. Eventually, as Prime Minister, an ambition he achieved through media ownership deals with Kerry Packer and Rupert Murdoch, he destroyed an already useless Australian Constitution and made assuming the copulatory position before American Presidents a cornerstone of defence and economic policy. If journalist/authors such as John Pilger are to be believed, and there is ample reason to believe him, Hawke was at best a CIA and MI6-approved stooge.

No doubt, Kerry Packer and Rupert Murdoch smirked while Paul Keating cheerfully betrayed his old pal and mentor Bob Hawke,

In an event of hilarious political irony, John Howard, never known for originality, made a follow-up media ownership deal with Murdoch upon which both his predecessors slithered to power, evoking on-camera rage from Paul Keating. Howard went on to set industrial legislation that would eventually eliminate all meaningful worker’s rights (including the SC457 provision, the import of a suspected half a million foreign scabs).

Australia’s worst kept secret is that Kevin Rudd assured Rupert Murdoch and Dick Cheney that his grasp of Mandarin and experience as a diplomat in China qualified him to deliver Australia to China as its newest colony (the first conquest being NZ, and its handover being...& your always in such a hurry to get back into the forum and swipe at people I am sure you again won’t read it right through. I wont bother replying to you in future because i value my time.
http://www.oziz4oziz.com/how-australia-was-globalised.html

Hasbeen,
I am not writing the policy on that. If think it would involved many experts- however I am saying it must be addressed.

rehctub, said
Kanne you have my interest. What policies?

*I have always though along the same lines, your kids, you pay for them.*

Perhaps yourself and hasbeen could suggest some policy’s. I raised it because i think welfare for this is becoming a serious issue for not only tax payers but the kids.

It won’t be Tony Abbotts policy’s that for sure. I would be interested to see what you both come up with cheers.

Yabby said-
AWB sold
wheat and had little to do with sheep. That Yabby is simply untrue. While they did wheat they were up to their necks in live exports after buying from westfarmers on October 23 2003
People should have been jailed over that – and now AWB have done what wesfarmers did- thinking they can remove the eye of the storm..

*many city slickers try to ban us from doing so.*
The only thing the public protest is live exports because its barbaric and takes jobs out of the country.

WA Government are of the opinion once its banned WA and NT will do very well.


rstuart,
*Sold my businesses and I am on a salary now Yabby, so sadly I don't get to pass the additional costs on.*

Hello rstuart,

Its clear you have little understand but may i ask you this. Your working how many hours a day in your paid job?
I don’t see why farmers cannot expect some compensation for the hours they work-- Would you care to take a guess maybe.
Also everything is more expensive. They have long distances to travel unlike us for shopping Drs and don’t forget the toothpaste whatever you do.
If you were working those hours something tells me we would have another union strike no food.
Try being a bit fair. Its is a much harder life than working 9 to 5.
Cheers

Kanne, my welfare policy would be something like this.

Firstly, I would stop the cash. Instead I would provide special debit style cards that exclude the purchase of certain items.

Then I would provide direct funding for kids, like school needs and meals.

Tax

I would phase out the unfair GST and replace it with a transaction tax that can't be avoided by anyone. The gst is unfair as I get mine back whereas
the non ABN holder does not.

I would revamp the judicial system and have more appropriate sentencing. Gorden nuttle got 14 years for taking bribes, while killers get as little as 5 or 6 years simply because they were drunk or on drugs.

Tabbacco
I would not provide subsidized healthcare for smokers or excessive drinkers. Self inflicted harm should not cost the general public.

Seniors
I would provide all benefits to all retired persons regardless of their wealth.

Farmers support
I would divvy up the purse and support those who rely on effected farmers for their incomes. At present everyone else missed out.

Wages
I would link wage rises to productivity and where possible, profits. Simply increasing wages because times are tough is wrong in my view.

The last PR was granted yet most businesses went backwards.

There,s a start.

@Yabby: AWB sold wheat and had little to do with sheep

I was referring to the Australian Wool Board. There was one, but maybe I have their name wrong. Anyway they were the mob that the sheep farmers sold their wool to, and who accumulated a veritable mountain of unsold wool.

@Yabby: You certainly do, rstuart. Julia, to gain your vote, will compensate you for your increased costs. Not so for farmers facing the real world out there.

I must not have explained myself well. I plugged in my figures to http://www.cleanenergyfuture.gov.au and I loose money as a result of the carbon tax.

@Yabby: All for what? So that city slickers can feel better about seemingly saving the planet, when you and I know that China, India and others will take no notice at all, just continue as they were.

No Yabby, China is most definitely are not "continuing as they were". It always struck me as odd when supposedly well informed people claim this. China implemented their one child policy to control population. They are building all sorts of water infrastructure, fast train networks, massive water pollution cleanup programs, cleaning up their coal fired plants and planning to replace them with nuclear in the long term. They are buying up mines, fertile land all around the world, including here. China knows what is coming, and are doing their damnedest to prepare for it.

@Kerryanne: Your working how many hours a day in your paid job?

Whatever I choose really, but typically somewhere between 60 to 80 hours a week. I come from a rural background, Kerryanne. I know what farming life is like. Sometimes you have to pull personal heroics, sometimes you are looking around to find things to be do, sometimes the weather is kind and you make a mint, sometimes it's the reverse. As Yabby said, people choose it because they like the lifestyle. It is different from the constant, but certain grind of city life.