yep, a very bad look that our politicians are not prepared to take a pay cut.

Disgraceful really.

some MP should raise the matter and call parliament to a vote, private member bill.

"I (individual) agree with Adern" good for you. Well I asked specifically why you wanted to reduce the pay of two public servants, Brendan Murphy and Paul Kelly, by 25-30%. two bureaucrats who in my opinion are doing an excellent service to their fellow Australians. Got anything to say on that? As for others, I'm not of one way or the other. For an appearance of sharing the pain, yep politicians and high paid bureaucrats could take a 20% paycut over six months like the Kiwi mob.

WHY DO YOU NEED TO TELL LIES TO COVER YOUR ARSE ON THE FORUM. You simply dropped off the $18,200 tax free threshold so it would appear a low paid worker on $38,000 p/a would pay less tax with your idea of a 15% flat income tax, which you know is untrue, so you doctor the tax scales to make yourself look good, WHAT A SHAMEFUL LIE. Just as you are happy to give a huge boost to the high income earners, something you can't defend. Then I never expect a lying weasel to respond anyway.

Got anything to say on that?
Paul1405,
Actually I do. They're paid too much for a start. just because a crisis forces them to put their fingers into gear does not warrant such high salaries for the easy years thus far & after this crisis.

...so you doctor the tax scales to make yourself look good,... If you don't agree with the figures you'd better complain to Wikipedia because that's where I found them.

....Just as you are happy to give a huge boost to the high income earners, something you can't defend..... How on Earth did you come to that conclusion ?? When I say senior Bureaucrats' salaries should be reduced should really be crystal clear to anyone, even you, Alas !

To Chris Lewis.

In regards to your questions, I have an observation you might want to consider.

Don't filter out angry complaints. Here's my reasoning. When someone is in a decent mood they often leave well enough alone, regardless if it is an ongoing issue. But when they get angry, then everything comes out. You find out issues you were never aware of when a family member gets angry with you. Things that could have bugged them for years but only comes out because they are in the heat of an argument.

The trade off is that often (but not always) an angry response is an unfair judgment, regardless if it is based on underlying truths. What you might pass off as an angry response could just be someone who's gotten fed up with the same crap they've seen before being done again. That's at least the measure I see ttbn's responses come from when he's said his complaints about people or politics. I have no idea what the source of Paul's outbursts are though. Just disagreements and unwilling to say he was wrong?

So take the thought with a measure that the rule doesn't always apply. But it is worth considering that someone's anger might be justified, even if it's not spelled out why. After that consideration to see if it's justified or not then you can look at the issues and problems a bit fuller.

To Individual

Good list of suggestions. But it seems only #1 and #2 are being talked about with Paul's focused outbursts. Here's the rest again because I think the others should be talked about also.

**
I only just saw your post so 'ere goes:
#1 Establish a 15 months National Service for any unemployed 18-22, Reduce senior Public Service Bureaucrat salaries by 25-30% starting @ 200,000/year incl. ABS & SBS & Judiciary,
#2 Introduce a 15 % Flat tax for wage earners,
#3 for standard traffic violation the penalty should reflect a percentage of the Driver's income rather than one fine for all,
#4 Drug abusers who receive Public Health treatment should be made to make small periodical payments,
#5 Foreign aid should only be in locally manufactured goods so as to provide an industry stimulus that actually works,
#6 Make criminals repay their victims as much as they can & the Govt should make up the balance by way of a Citizen Insurance.
# 7 Introduce a Govt Lottery in which people on basic wage can win a normal wage until retirement,
#8 Stipulate that Lotteries have more realistic & practical prizes such as ten family homes instead of one multi-million Dollar home.
# 9 Reintroduce a Pension Fund to which every salary & wage earner contributes ! No if's no but's !
#10 Start work on an on-going watering the interior project !
# 11 Make barbed fish hooks illegal !
# 12 Make the Judiciary accountable !
I'm certain that now is actually the best opportunity in our lifetime to effect such changes & a healthier mentality will be guaranteed !
**

(Continued)

(Continued)

#s 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 caught my attention, and I think they should be considered.

#3 might be ok, but it might be easily used to favor some people instead of having the same standards equally for traffic violations. (If wealthy people can cut loopholes in taxes so they don't pull their weight, then I'm sure they can do the same with a sliding rule for fines from violating the laws. All they would have to do is shelter their income into a seperate account like say a cooperation Inc, llc, charity, or other money management venues that allow the owner to say they have less income but still have the resources of their actual high income.

#7 has some concerns, I don't see how that is a manageable option. It sounds like high amounts of government spending to support it.

#11 has me curious. Is barbed hooks harming the fishing industry? Or what is the underlying issue?