All the talk of double dissolution is beginning to show the Abbott budget less as an actual proposal, and more of an ambit claim.

Which - if I am correct - makes him a more astute politician than I personally had given him credit for.

He has dangled a few, relatively inexpensive, carrots in front of Labour, so that they can whinge, moan and carry on about cruelty and unfairness for a while. He is then in an excellent position to "back down" on a couple of these before putting the revised package in front of the Senate.

Why?

Because as Paul1405 earlier pointed out, Abbott knows, and we know, and Labour knows, and the States know, that the only significant reform will come from increasing the rate of GST. In exchange for a level (not too much, of course) of bipartisan support for the more egregious anti-poor, anti-aged elements of the present batch of ideas, Tony'n'Joe'n'Matthias will subsequently get the GST ball a-rolling.

Unfinished business, you see.

Not to mention the fact that New Zealand is now looking forward to a surplus, after a) experiencing a massive deficit b) a change of government, then c) uplifting their GST.

Expect 12.5% on everything, after an initial proposal of 15% on the currently covered elements.

Ain't this fun?

money desperately need for hospitals, transport and education.
Paul1405,
There's ample funding for the above, it's just the professionals & bureaucrats wasting it & lining their own pockets.

*Do you want a Labor government again? After the fiasco of the last 6 years ;*

Can anyone honestly say that they are worse off in any way after the last six years?

*You should give them credit for stopping the boats, a huge saving.*
At only about $10 billion for the offshore camps, plus payment to PNG to take the refugees, plus god knows how many billions for the ADF and Customs to man the fleet maintained off the North Coast.
Come on it would be cheaper to put them all in hotels on the mainland for five years. At least Australians would have work looking after them.

*I wonder if there'd be a way to explain this to the morons ?*

And the Morons being?

There is no financial crisis, Period ! Australia has a triple A rating.never in the history has a Liberal government ever managed to get a triple A rating even during the Howard and Costello years ! Its a con based on upon dishonest forward projections ! You would have to be very naive to believe that with our triple a status we are in dire straits ! we rate among the worlds to ten financially secure countries! The rating was given with how we were at the time and REALISTIC forward projections of our future economic stability ! Your kids were safe but now there not all the safety nets are being pulled from under them, some of your children might end up penniless living on the streets if they should loose their jobs ! And what about the kids of today ? They are going to find it hard if they haven't got a mummy and daddy who can cater to their needs and feed them with a silver spoon . The G.S.T is about to rise because the states have been lumbered with the costs of running the Hospitals and schools,That is going to hurt you and your kids big-time now and not into the future meanwhile the government is busy saving for a health research fund , what about our health at this moment in time ? its a good idea but once your health system is up to par . Understand this you can balance your family budget two ways economize on what you spend and buy as long as you have the necessities or you can do what Abbott has done by starving half your family to balance your budget, both have the same result but one is more HUMANE than the other, the choice is up to your conscience or lack of !

The "financial crisis" is a political LIE, and the lie was constructed for 2 purposes ...(1) to get reelected (2) to facilitate an "ideologically" based financial change.

Indy: YES ! A flat tax.

Yes. 10% on all Personal Wages & Salaries, Bonuses, Gifts, or other remunerations like houses & cars, etc. 15% on all Business Profits of any description.

No offsets, depreciation, deductions for anything what-so-ever.

If someone tells me they have a right to reduce their Tax then they have not being paying their fair share of Tax.