Hasbeen,
Who's talking about extra costs ? Councils have more than enoght, all they have to do is waste less !

Foxy,

" As yet we don't even have
an agreed national definition of poverty"

So how do we know who is in poverty?

As I said earlier; Australians, as a whole, don't know what poverty is.

Indy mate, now I'm sure you've lost it. Councils waste less, a wonderful dream, but to believe it could happen requires a total loss of reality.

Same here Belly, for my almost $4000 a year I get 3 hours of library truck during working hours, so of no use to anyone earning a living, & a garbage collection we voted not to have, as it allowed them to close our tip & charge more rates.

Yes Is Mise I wonder what some of my old New Guinea tribesmen mates living in villages would think of our poverty. Most of them were lucky to earn much more that 50 kina, [about A$22] a year, & had to pay a 14 kina head tax out of it.

When you anchored off a village, [or up to a few kilometres away], they would be out in their canoes trying to sell you drinking nuts, fish, chickens or carvings. What they wanted was trade tobacco & fishing gear. What they needed was money to pay their head tax.

If we have poverty here it is mostly caused by the ridiculous costs & charges of local & state government, & the equally ridiculous cost of electricity today, caused by fool federal government laws pushing alternate power on us.

Every time Shorten speaks I'm reminded of my old uncle who loved to recite Banjo Patterson whenever he was pissed. It's worn me thin already and three years of it in prospect is making me contemplate touring the world with a backpack.

Oh well, roll on tomorrow I suppose.

...Paterson

Luciferase, when you are used to supporting a bunch of reprobates who have been looking after themselves and their mates for almost six years, it will be difficult to adjust to a PM and a party that is out for the betterment of all Australians, not just the big end of town. No more doggy deals and handouts to cronies, no more concentrating on ones own position and power, no more of that. No you are going to be very disappointed when Labor wins tomorrow.