Would that Paul be like when as a union boss he negotiated a penalty rate reduction for his union members, in exchange for a cash injection into the union head office?

Hasbeen in union negotiations [enterprise bargaining] everything is on the table
Sitting around that table are workers as well as union representatives
I have taken part in tomorrow's deals
That is an annualized salary no penalty rates
But very big increase in pay/time off on pay, the future is such mutually benefit agreements
If you try hard enough you will find some way to blacken me for such a deal

If you examine how poverty is measured in Australia (and most other western nations for that matter) you'll see that we will never solve it and nor are we meant to.

The poverty line is designed to move only slightly and to always have around 10-20% of the population sitting below it.

We must remember that there are many people who have jobs (high paying jobs), careers and reputations all based on there being poor people who they can purport to fret over. Fret without actually doing anything useful.

Nowhere will you here that this generations poor are actually 30% better off in real terms that the previous generation. Why won't you hear that? Because (see above) there are many people who have jobs (high paying jobs), careers and reputations all based on there being poor people. Ditto the 'close the gap' industry.

How to solve poverty? Well stop basing it on a comparison between rich and poor. Instead set minimum standards and work to get all people there.

For example, set the standard that you are poor if you can't find a roof to live under somewhere (ie not necessarily in your preferred neighbourhood), can't afford to buy 8000 kj in food per day and can't clothe yourself. If your funds provide that, then you're not poor. On that basis, poverty will be resolved in a decade and then all those in the poverty industry can go and find some useful work.

But poverty is described differently. I've been working in a new locale recently and lunching in a park frequented by the so-called homeless.They congregate there for friendship, I guess, and assail all passers-by for some money. When not doing that, they are sharing selfies on their mobiles or texting other 'homeless'. If you can afford a mobile phone, you aren't poor. But the social justice warriors won't agree with that.

Paul,

Firstly I believe that politicians and parties are in politics to improve the nation. Accusations fly each way, some with substance and others without, about corruption. How far do you want to go back?

I have been a Labor supporter all my life, until Shorten arrived on the scene. He's a hypocritical, inconsistent chameleon harnessing the politics of jealousy and envy, as I have railed against elsewhere on OLO. You're another of his useful idiots unwilling to get into policy detail because partisan rhetoric and buzzwords cut through sufficiently to meet your objectives.

The LNP has failed to analytically exploit the fairness claims of Labor's positions on NG, CGT, dividend imputation and energy policy, focusing on political responses. Labor has successfully characterized as gifts, loopholes and rorts things that require deeper analysis than the LNP brought to bear.

National debt is substantially baked in through Labor initiatives that have been maintained while efforts to reduce debt have been opposed by them. Let's be sure to have the facts right on debt level, too http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-18/fact-check-did-the-govt-triple-the-deficit/7407538

The investment climate in Australia will be detrimentally changed after today, if the polls have got it right, so I painfully await Shorten waxing lyrical in his acceptance.

Talking to one of our ex Councillors the other day, I brought up the subject of a recent fiasco that cost reportedly, 10 million more than it should have cost had it been completed to its original design which it wasn't.
I asked how many unemployed around the district could have been employed with that money.
"that's water under the bridge" she said "we need to move on".
Ah well, that's alright then eh ? Never mind that the guilty CEO, Chief Engineer etc all received very handsome departing money as a reward for their stuff-ups !
LGQ instead ensures that Councils are toeing the line no matter what !
I hope the new federal outfit does a bit of spring cleaning around the joint !

If Govts see it warranted to offer welfare to the established then I see no reason why they can't give the victims of their policies a head-up also !