Indy,

Get rid of old age welfare for the totally non productive, and introduce a productive Seniors National Service. Save $25 billion in payments to start with. There are plenty of people 70 and over capable of breaking rocks! What are you like on a sledge hammer?

Paul1405,
Just because you're incapable of pulling your weight you now expect those who paid for your upbringing to do what you should be engaged in ?
I'll never forgive the Goaf for building the nest that breeds the likes of you !

individual,
When I was last in Britain it still had dinosaur unions, wanting to be paid according to the damage they could do rather than the productivity they could bring. And I've heard it said that many Australian unions were like that before the accord.

But I'm puzzled as to why you think they're still like that. Wasn't the BLF our last true dinosaur union? Dare to struggle, dare to win, but eventually they lost everything - and it was a Labor government that forced them to disband!

Since the early '90s the emphasis has been very much on productivity improvements, and that higher pay is the reward for delivering those improvements. Australia is a high pay, high productivity country. Our businesses are, in general, highly profitable. We shouldn't resort to protectionism to save the ones that aren't, and nor should we resort to failing to pay good wages.

If ever we become uncompetitive as a nation, the markets will adjust the value of our dollar down until we are competitive again. But there's little danger of that at the moment. Yes, some businesses will fail because of high costs,, but that's necessary to make room for more.

Hi there Individual...

Do you recall what the unions 'proudly' did during the war in South Vietnam - They wouldn't load the supply Ship, HMAS Jeparit that was scheduled to convey parcels of food, gifts and other personal mail to the diggers fighting in Country?

For every honest and virtuous member of a union, there are those among them who would seek to cause industrial mayhem, fear and enmity amongst the rank and file. It's for this reason, some unions possess too much industrial muscle, accordingly, they can never be trusted.

Wasn't the BLF our last true dinosaur union?
Aidan,
These terrorists are out of the picture now but we have a very selfish Public Service union denying this nation's coffers to be refilled. Already they're on about pay rises right in the middle of the great difficulties of the pandemic, fires & floods.
Yes, aged care needs more funding but not for higher pay, for more people working in that sector.
I can't help thinking that senior bureaucrat salaries are simply excessive in the extreme & should be reduced & have the lower wage earners get a little more & it would be their spending power that would boost the local economy because they'd spend their money here instead of spending it on frivolous overseas holidays & overseas goods etc. as is the habit of the generous Govt superannuation recipients.

o sung wu,
When that happened I didn't understand English & probably wasn't even in the country or only just.
I remember when the Goaf (a portmanteau word as you'd have gathered by now) wormed his way in by abolishing the one opportunity to retain discipline, respect & general decency among future generations.
We're now experiencing his & his outfit's legacy !
The unions would have had to play a part in this but I'd like someone to tell us if this was or wasn't the case.
Those pro "Democracy" minorities who are not happy with majority vote are a direct result of these policies !