TOPIC:

Bazza: I would rather change the Federation, and actually distribute the GST more fairly as a way of fixing budget problems. The fundamental problem is that, the states, rightly deliver most of the services, but have lost most of their tax powers. In 1942, as you are aware, they gave income tax to Canberra, which, with the power of hindsight, was a tad rash of the electorate.
IN relation to Western Australia it is about time the liberal party in this state got serious about improving the amount of GST; there are about half a dozen West Australians in the commonwealth government and yet we receive less GST than the NT does.

Agree 100 per cent,,seriously time to reassert State rights, and up front is GST reform , actually more broadly it needs to go up, we have the lowest GST in the OECD , and far to many goods are exempt, it simply does not raise enough for what the demands on budget are.

WA wise, I'm sorry to say that unless we receive GST reprieve we will need to look at other revenues and like every other State that is gambling, VIc and NSW raise 2 billion a year which is exempt from GST calculations, while they get our share of GST. , it's time to introduce pokies.

Introducing pokies will do more damage than good.

yolo swaggins wrote: Introducing pokies will do more damage than good.

They seem to cope in every other state in Australia, bar us , as far as I can see the sky hasnt fallen in in Melbourne, Adelaide or even Hobart, unfortunatly the states revenue schemes are now very limited, if you have some more options I'd like to hear them.

Besides they would be a huge help for WAFL clubs.

yolo swaggins wrote: Introducing pokies will do more damage than good.

Agreed

Bazza wrote:

ArkRoyal wrote: Anchorman -- do everyone a favour and talk some sense: Sir John was an Australian, a lawyer, a former member of the ALP, a colleague of Whitlam, which, is why he made him the Governor-General in the bloody first-place.

Turning to the wider issue of Whitlham's legacy:

medibank was sort of the forerunner to Medicare
Medicare is inherently sustainable; we pay for it twice: income tax and the Medicare levy; and yet the present Tories wish to introduce a third tax on medicine; Hands up whom wants to pay for health three times? Whatever the costs of the socialist health system, it costs Australia less than the private system in the US.

welfare payments -- its called humanism or helping the poor; I like the idea

Foreign Policy

Whitlham changed the ALP's policy to support the war in Vietnam -- that is right, he supported the war; the war was actually popular in Australia; it was Arthur Calwell whom opposed the war, the previous ALP leader
Combat troops left Vietnam a year before Gough was elected, so he saved zero Australian soldiers; even the American combat troops left in September 1972, a full three months before Gough become Prime Minister.
it is often claimed Whitlham was the first Western leader to recognise China; this is a complete load of bull-dirt. The countries below recognised China as follows:

UK (1949)
France 1966
Italy and Canada around 1969
America 1972

all before Whitlham. IN truth, the government achieved little in foreign policy; but he was the only Western leader to recognise Stalin's aggression against the Baltic States in 1939 -- Gough was a good comrade to the Soviets and besides, in return Putinland agreed to buy some of our wheat.

The man should be remembered for his socialist reforms -- some of which are still with us, thankfully -- but one should avoid myth making; it, is only in this fashion that we can avoid putting forward historical untruths and attributing things to Whitlham that he just did not do.

Just about all true, yes the recognition of the Soviet takeover of the Baltic states was another Whitlam trophy, he can add that to Pol Pot in Cambodia.

Spot on re Vietnam, its all part of the BS Labor Myth, its amazing how many out there keep pushing this crap.

Medicare, - Got to take issue with that, it clearly is NOT sustainable in its current form, the Medicare levey only amounts to half the total cost of the health budget now, there is a massive blow iut in costs and our tax base now simpy isnt enough to get close to covering it, something has to change, before it falls over altogther, everytime I go to the doc it costs me 38 bucks anyway, so I dont see the big deal in charging $7 less than a pint off beer.

Welfare - that existed long before Gough, Old Age pensions, War pensions, Invalid pensions, Child Endowment etc had been around since before even Bob Menzies, and Menzies increased some of those, what Whitlam did was open the flood gates, turned the Welfare payments into one of need into one of expectation, we went from a nation of self reliance to one of entitled freeloaders, its now at the points that half the country pays no net tax at all, once pensions , family tax benefits and god knows what are forked out, hence we cant afford medicare, which btw everyone expects for SFA as well as education, a baby bonus, a first home buyers grant, a cheap HECS loan etc.. it goes on and on.

Other things Whitlam stuffed up.

The Australian Honours system , when he made Australians ineligable for the Victoria Cross despite it having been recognised as the No 1 military award for 100 or so years, it was later restored thank fully , but the Australian Honours System remains a total dogs breakfast ever since.

Remember that shifty crock Lionel Murphy , he was Attorney General, raided ASIO. He was facing re trial on Attempting to Pervert the Course of Justice when he died, have a read of some of his nutjob judgements when he was stuck on the bench of the High Court as a labor stooge. Complete joke.

You wouldnt be right wing by any chance would you Baz?

anchorman wrote: Have a listen to the Salvos, and all the other agencies who have to pick up the pieces from people using pokies and see if the heavens haven't fallen in.
The is no need for pokies here and neither political party will allow them to be used here.

Alright so whats your solution in the GST shortfall, while Vic and NSW walk away with our share and 2 Billion in Gambling revenue.

The Salvos can say whatever they like, but the world and state has to keep turning, Just becuase a few go over the top doesnt mean the rest of Australia grinds to a halt. ...if people cant punt on pokies they just find something else., everytime a person from WA goes to Vic or NSW they always comment of the cheap price of booze compared to here ala Pokies.

good old wait a while WA left broke and in the past once again. meanwhile bowling clubs, WAFL clubs are going to the wall. and we all pay more and more for rego, land tax etc and get less services.

joke

anchorman wrote: And I bet you are one of the first to go crook about the people who are bludging on the dole and single parents. Bring in pokies and see the number of people who will be putting their hands out for money because they can't eat.
There is more to it than Football clubs and other type clubs that pokies will affect. Yes they will have money in their coffers, but after a while there will be nobody to play them because they will all be bankrupt.
As I said before there is now way either your Liberal party or my Labor party will ever bring back pokies. It is a fantasy that some people have that pokies solve all sorts of problems. They cause more than they solve.

Who's fault is it if a single mum has a punt? Dont adult people have a brain and self responsibility? I guess we should make it illegal for them to have a smoke and drink as well, the nanny state alive and well.

All those problems must be why every other state and territory in australia - still has them!

go to a leagues club in NSW and then to a WAFL club in WA, The WAFL club is like stepping into a morgue.

proofs in the pudding.

in the mean time, WA coffers are draining.

the alternative is cranking up the GST, but even then the other states still win.

Pokie takings for Victorian AFL Clubs last financial year

Carlton $17.5m
Collingwood $12.7m
Essendon $11.9m
Geelong $8m
Hawthorn $18.6m
Melbourne $9.4m
North (none and struggling).
Richmond $4.1m
St. Kilda $2.2m
Footscray $4.3m

Footscray will apparently double as they have another 70 machines coming.

Remembering NSW and QLD and SA have pokies too.

Machines are geared for around 90c in $1 return (here in NSW anyway).

You'd think the Perth footy club would benefit most from having pokies.. you couldn't watch the crap they dish up week in week out..so just get stuck into the pokies!