SA pays for QLD's floods

[Portia]

Hooray to the PM's press office - Rebuild after the flood - the factsheets are particularly interesting.

The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) is a one-off Australian Government payment........the AGDRP provides short-term, non-means tested financial assistance of $1000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child to those adversely affected by a major disaster, either in Australia or overseas. The number of claimants is estimated at 490,000

I am completely blank on why this is not a means-tested allowance, but it gets better.

Those people who receive an Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment for a flood event in 2010-11 will be exempt from the levy.

So, you can be fully insured and earning a good income, and lodge for a government payment which will be given without means testing, and additionally gain immunity from a levy that every other earner in the country must pay. What? Why does this exist?

I should point out that these AGDRP payments are completely separate from payments for those genuinely in need, who can apply for a means-tested Disaster Income Recovery Subsidy equal to maximum Newstart allowance.

The Australian Government with withdraw its funding to the O-Bahn City Access project in Adelaide. This is the result of a significant scope reduction of the original project, resulting in only limited transport benefits. The project will not proceed at this point in time

Interestingly, this is the only state specific project that is listed as being cut in Attachment 2 - everything else is genuinely a federal scheme, and in Attachment 4 it makes explicit mention that the O-Bahn project is not `delayed' - it has been cut completely.

Additionally, of the $1 billion dollars of infrastructure projects to be delayed, only $325 million of them are for Queensland's projects, and it is uncertain as to whether or not the O-Bahn cut counts towards SA's `contribution', given it is listed separately from other delayed projects.

 

[FishingRick04]

It's all fooked.

I don't know much about it tbh but part of the problem with Qld and NSW is they were hoarding water wasn't it? Yes they would have still flooded but not as bad?

Also, I love how all this excess water is flowing down the murray but they won't allow the irrigators to go back to 100% allocation, sort of a told you so mentality for pressuring for more water.

As long as my money goes to the people who need it I'll pay the levy without whinging, ok, I'll just pay the levy lol

 

[*PAF]

United we stand divided we fall.
Without the assistance that we received from the rest of Australia in 74 we would have been stuffed. Now it's our turn to help the Queenslanders.
Simple as that.

 

[Quadzilla]

At present we should just hold our thoughts and prayers towards the people in qld, nsw and vic that are/will be affected by floods, cyclones etc.

So, we miss out on a few projects from the govt ... rebuild is more important than a bit of squabbling ... IMO.

Once the dust settles if there is a way to get other projects built fine, if not fine ... life goes on!

 

[Pinepower]

http://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6038/newsid/107223/default.aspx

Play with Wangas against the Crows

http://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6038/newsid/107223/default.aspx

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

The levy is bloody semantics.

Since 2005-06 year we have received tax cuts ever year. If we stick up taxes when unemployment is pretty low it isn't going to hurt the economy especially given the economy's current capacity constraints. That's when you want to put taxes up - when things are going well not when the economy is in a trough. In the good old days the government wouldn't cut taxes/change the brackets for 3, 4 or 5 year and let bracket creep do the work for the government to help raise revenues.

The levy is justifable and reasonable especially once Cyclone Yasi does further damage. It's really all political BS about needing to be seen to balance the budget by a set date. If there wasn't clear waste on the pink bats and education stuff, there wouldn't be much of a debate around this.

 

[Steve Dore]

United we stand divided we fall.
Without the assistance that we received from the rest of Australia in 74 we would have been stuffed. Now it's our turn to help the Queenslanders.
Simple as that.

Can't disagree with your sentiment but I can't help but think that you are going to miss the O-Bahn project even less than me.

I have no problems with paying the flood levy but I admit to having held off on donating to flood relief charities to see how much I would have to pay via any government enforced scheme.

What really annoys me is seeing my hard earned taxes wasted on smokers with the addition yesterday of nicotine patches to the PBS. If people can afford to smoke they can afford to give up at their own expense. I would much rather see that money go to flood relief.

 

[*PAF]

Can't disagree with your sentiment but I can't help but think that you are going to miss the O-Bahn project even less than me.

I have no problems with paying the flood levy but I admit to having held off on donating to flood relief charities to see how much I would have to pay via any government enforced scheme.

What really annoys me is seeing my hard earned taxes wasted on smokers with the addition yesterday of nicotine patches to the PBS. If people can afford to smoke they can afford to give up at their own expense. I would much rather see that money go to flood relief.

Too true, however had Don Dunstan (and his surfboard) ended up on a tree in Mt Bonython back in 76, I am sure there would have been plenty of help coming in from the other states.

On another I was living in Adelaide when the Oh Bah first started out. Good to see it's only taken 30 or so years for part 2 to go ahead, must be an all time SA record.

 

[Portology]

The levy is bloody semantics.

Since 2005-06 year we have received tax cuts ever year. If we stick up taxes when unemployment is pretty low it isn't going to hurt the economy especially given the economy's current capacity constraints. That's when you want to put taxes up - when things are going well not when the economy is in a trough. In the good old days the government wouldn't cut taxes/change the brackets for 3, 4 or 5 year and let bracket creep do the work for the government to help raise revenues.

The levy is justifable and reasonable especially once Cyclone Yasi does further damage. It's really all political BS about needing to be seen to balance the budget by a set date. If there wasn't clear waste on the pink bats and education stuff, there wouldn't be much of a debate around this.

Yeah even that Left wing rag the Fin the other day pointed out the tax take as a % of GDP of the 2 Labor governments has stayed lower than it was in the latter Howard years, regardless of "the waste" and that this levy makes a pooofteenths worth of difference.

It ought to be pretty much end of story there, but for Tony Abbot cynically using the waste in the insulation and education schemes to try to change our political dialogue to an American style - where any government run initiative is viewed with mistrust & through the lens of 'personal greed first'. So you get the dopey reaction we've seen.

 

[Steve Dore]

....... for Tony Abbot cynically using the waste in the insulation and education schemes to try to change our political dialogue to an American style - where any government run initiative is viewed with mistrust & through the lens of 'personal greed first'. So you get the dopey reaction we've seen.

Abbott puts foot in mouth over levy

TONY Abbott does not want you to pay to rebuild Queensland but thinks you may want to help the Liberals.

In an insensitive move as flood victims continue the long painful process of recovery, Mr Abbott yesterday sent out an online letter to subscribers, slamming the Government's proposed levy - even though 60 per cent of taxpayers would pay less than a dollar a week for the 12 months of its operation - but inviting donations to the Liberal Party. ......

Link

Oh dear.

 

[Quadzilla]

Abbott puts foot in mouth over levyLink

Oh dear.

Tony Abbott's office tried to downplay this by saying his email invited donations but it was Lib HQ who actually added a link into his email to the web page to donate from ????

 

[Malibu#27]

The levy is bloody semantics.

Since 2005-06 year we have received tax cuts ever year. If we stick up taxes when unemployment is pretty low it isn't going to hurt the economy especially given the economy's current capacity constraints. That's when you want to put taxes up - when things are going well not when the economy is in a trough. In the good old days the government wouldn't cut taxes/change the brackets for 3, 4 or 5 year and let bracket creep do the work for the government to help raise revenues.

The levy is justifable and reasonable especially once Cyclone Yasi does further damage. It's really all political BS about needing to be seen to balance the budget by a set date. If there wasn't clear waste on the pink bats and education stuff, there wouldn't be much of a debate around this.

I gotta say that todays apparent revelation that Queensland is the only state in the Country that refuses to take out insurance on their infrastructure, a bit of news that makes me think about this levy somewhat. Its suggesting Qld decided to rely on the nation in case of issues in their state, rather than doing something about it themselves.

State goes it alone in shunning insurance

QUEENSLAND is the only major state economy in Australia without a comprehensive insurance policy, leaving the government's assets exposed in the face of natural disasters.

Unlike NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia - whose governments pay millions of dollars in premiums a year to international insurance companies to protect their infrastructure - Queensland relies on a deal struck with the commonwealth to pick up 75 per cent of the recovery costs after a catastrophe.

As north Queensland braced for another battering, this time from Tropical Cyclone Yasi, The Australian confirmed that the state government has previously been approached to take out catastrophe insurance on the private market but declined to on the basis it was not "value for money".

State goes it alone in shunning insurance

I have made private donations to the fund - so I'm not against giving, but if the QLD government has been negligent in this area, while the levy will still be needed, someform of backlash should be directed in their direction.