Crackcup,
I'd have thought that this topic would have brought many out of the woods either being for/against the pay rise. I find the lack of participation extremely disconcerting. Would it be a reflection of our society as a whole now ? Do people support greed now to such an extent that they even accept an insanely criminal misuse of our taxes ? Are they somehow hoping to get more out of it themselves ?
I'm totally with you in fearing for the future of Australia. Are Australians really that stupid to accept this misuse of taxes without even airing their views ?
Can I get off at the next stop please, I don't want to go as far as Moronia.

Indy:
You and I seem to be fairly well aligned in our general thoughts and opinions, thus you may have noticed that I have been relatively "quiet" during recent occurrences that have been "grabbing the headlines". My silence has been due in part to my utter frustration in trying to effectively stir people into some form of action, by at least voicing their opinions in regard to this rapidly degenerating political structure that is condemning us and our children to many years of indebtdness, simply because Gillard and the Travelling Circus want to make a big name for themselves by handing out Millions of Dollars of Taxpayer`s money to every "bleeding heart"
cause that sticks it`s head up!.....I may caution that they will not win any friends on the home front, in fact their names will be held in contempt by the committed generations to come, as we follow the rest of the greed ridden nations towards the coming apocalypse that awaits every Soddom and Gomorrah type society that thrives on the principles of "Greed is Good!"

I have watched this country decline since the 1950`s, as each successive Government has introduced it`s own particular raft of insane policies, and I have noticed that some particular occurrences
are commomplace to all Governments, regardless of leaning, and that is the passage of Bills through the Parliament that COST the people dearly in some shape or form, followed by a Parliamentary pay rise!

This country cannot afford these ridiculous Parliamentary pay increases, especially at this time when we have a National Debt that is fast reaching Bankruptcy, we are now drowning in Asylum Seekers that are costing this country dearly, and at the same time handing out Billions of Dollars to foreign countries that DO NOT need this Foreign Aid, which is some cases is being used to purchase weapons of war, or being misappropriated by persons well positioned in the appropriate government!
(continued)

Indy: (continued):
I have simple desires in life, ....I want to restore this country to a country where each and every individual has to work during his or her lifetime to provide for the future, to restore the lost values of respecting our elders, and treating each and every individual as we would like to be treated, and try to irradicate the principle of greed and profit being tantamount to everything in life!....unfortunately I believe I am urinating into the wind and am wasting my time and energy,...however it needs to be said, and whether it is distasteful or not, we have to grab reality and stop cow-towing to the UN, which is indirectly bleeding this country dry!!

I can see 3 separate concepts here:
Representatives,
Leaders,
Bosses.
Can our parliamentarians truly be called 'Representatives'? While the 'average' wage continues to soar in this country (driven from the top), the median wage -that which 50% of Australians make less than- remains stubbornly below $40k.
Our primary representative now makes about 12 times more than the people she is supposed to represent.
The theory is, we elect one of our peers to represent our wishes, our desires and our goals, both for ourselves and for our children, in the national forum.
Our parliamentarians are no longer our peers, they show no interest in our wishes, and they show far more concern for their own children than ours.
Does your representative's child go to a public school, or a private one?
Does your representative have to wait years for a hospital bed, or an operation?
And does your representative have to worry about job security, on a day to day basis?
So, not representatives, but Leaders?
Apparently not. Our pollies do not set their own wage levels (directly), and they certainly don't ask us, their putative employers, how much we think they should be paid.
Instead of leading, they follow the marketplace, and the standard prices for 'similar positions', despite the fact there are no similar positions in the private sector.
This strategy can have only one conclusion: a ever widening gap between rich and poor; between haves and have nots.
Is this where we want to be led? Is this the result we are paying our representatives to achieve?
So, rather than representatives or leaders, our parliamentarians have placed themselves squarely in the position of Bosses. They want, not only to act like bosses, but be paid like bosses. They already socialise mostly with bosses, now they want to be peers with bosses. They already share the bosses' lifestyle and better; now they want to share the bosses' tax bracket.
Who do our representatives represent?
Must working class Australians now form a union, to represent us against our representatives?

Another $250 Million to be thrown at the Afghanistan fiasco!

The so-called war in Afghanistan was a lost cause, long before "Silly Old Uncle Sam" decided to become involved. The British, Russia and many other nations have realised the folly of involvement in hostilities in this Godforsaken piece of desolation.

Our involvement and presence in Afghanistan was engineered by the US elite, sanctioned by the UN to supposedly free the Afghanis from the shackles of the Taliban, as so-called pay-back for their (Osama Bin Laden`s) allegedely masterminding the Manhattan Twin Towers destruction.

We should NOT be their regardless of petty politics, but because we are, it is now costing us valuable lives and millions of dollars that we can no longer afford, whilst at the same time creating more Asylum Seekers who use the opportunity to seek solace in the arms of the ever-welcoming do-gooders and bleeding hearts, who seem intent upon creating a chronic state of divisiveness across the whole country, as we ricochet from one contraversial issue to another, whilst pandering to the whims of these "insurrectionists"!

Enough is enough, let us have a Referendum on these issues now. before we sink any further into the morass of insanity!

I think an extremely saddening & sobering fact is that none of the Government opposing parties have reject the pay rise. I have always believed the Conservatives would somehow be conservative but my believe has been shattered. There is no doubt that it was Labor who got us into this & the Coalition will get us out of it again but deep down they're brushed with the same tar. They still have a chance to show themselves as better before the next election, let's pray they wake up their last ounce of integrity for the Nation's sake.