Would provide enough for several series of Underbelly
That would be just W.A.
Bill Shorten - how long?
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That would be just W.A.
apparentlydead
Cancelled
No doubt.
The secrets within those walls would bring down every State, Territorial and Federal Govt in a heartbeat.
We get the politicians we deserve.
However, we also get the coppers the politicians need.
Not many mourned Don Hancock
apparentlydead
Cancelled
He certainly finished his career with a bang
The seamstress had long finished his police career before that happened
apparentlydead
Cancelled
Indeed, but you got my drift.
Even that conviction, with supergrass bikies, and all the rest of the crap, reeked of incompetence and corruption. Way, way, WAY more to that episode.
Shirley Finn was spinning in her grave.
The only one doing real time over that was the grass
Lets not get started on the vice and drug squads over the years
apparentlydead
Cancelled
The problem is that every state is the same.
I lived with police and political corruption in Asia and at least it is in your face and almost open.
Corruption here is shadowy, nasty and very, very dangerous.
Maybe this will brighten you up
Thought he was gonna rev the lawn mower to the 'wah wah wah wah wuh-wuh wah wah wah' bit at the start! That's brilliant, though
apparentlydead
Cancelled
That's all sorts of awesome!
Tulip
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However s**t the GST increase suggestion is, Shorten and Labor trying to convince us that we need to tax smokers an extra 36% to get the money is even worse. Tabacco costs how much to grow? They're already charging smokers (I'm not one) over $20 for a packet, and now they're telling us they'll make them up to $40 for a standard deck? If Labor wants to tell us that they're the ones with the good ideas, when will they come up with one?
Looks like I'm voting Sex Party again...
Looks like I'm voting Sex Party again...
Is this a Libertarian gripe?
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Cigs pretty well cost a dollar per cigarette. I would hate to think how big the black market is!
And the costs of increased cancers are?
Tulip
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Wouldn't call myself a libertarian, just think its a poorly-considered policy. People have the right to smoke; always have and always should.
Agreed. Shorten is relying on smokers to be desperate enough to pay $40 for a packet from their servo, under the guise of helping people quit. First of all, plenty of people that can't afford to smoke at that price will either give up (meaning they won't be making money for the deficit at all), or will fuel the black market demand where suppliers will still make an absolute killing at half what the government will charge considering the price of the ready-made product overseas and how cheap it is to produce. See that bloke who was caught with boxes full of them at the airport last week and made the news...do you reckon he's the first one to try, or just the first to fail in a while?
This is the closest I'll get to a libertarian argument, I think. People have the right to smoke and risk cancer if they want. Do you think they'll ever lower health care taxes, even if they criminalised smoking altogether and nobody was dying of lung cancer?
Cigarettes should be taxed to the extreme.
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Tulip
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No the cost of lung cancer is long term illness,COPD, pain, misery, surgery, radiation therapy, pain, O2 tanks & nasal prongs, immobility, PAIN & FEAR.
You dont often just drop dead. Most of them painfully rot from the inside. Trust me, I see enough of it.
The medical costs are also extreme. But if you're happy to pay the taxes that pay for the medical costs, then good luck to you. I just hope you dont suffer the other consequence, that of passive smoking.
Nice thought out, planned and well reasoned response.
Cigarettes are the only legal product that kill you if used as directed. It's a clearly undesirable behaviour and I support any effort to eradicate the behaviour.
But the black market argument is well taken.
But the black market argument is well taken.
smokingjacket
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Geez that's a bit hyperbolic. You could make the same argument for any product or drug with lethal possible side effects. The purpose of smoking isn't to kill yourself, it's the inhalation of nicotine and whatever mystery bag of chemicals the companies are putting in them these days.
It is interesting that the ALP are going down this line again though. They can make the argument that they're doing it because they care about their working class base but it does open themselves up to argument that they're taxing those who can least afford it, while they're arguing against a GST increase on the grounds that it taxes those who can least afford it.
I'm pretty sure those products won't kill you if you use them as directed. There's no safe way to smoke a cigarette.
Those who smoke can afford to give it up, regardless of socio-economic status.
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