Apparently a plebiscite is non-binding and I quote from the Parliament of Australia Carbon Tax Plebiscite Bill 2011 [No. 2] Second Reading :
It is a government-sponsored and paid for national opinion poll whose authority derives from that fact. If parliament passed Abbott's bill then Gillard would be obliged to hold the plebiscite that Labor voted against. But Gillard would have no legal obligation to implement the outcome of the vote.
The last time that Australia held a referendum to increase the power of the federal Parliament to make laws with respect to rents and prices was in 1948, it was NOT carried. If we can hold a referendum on insignificant subjects, such as whether or not to have daylight savings, surely we as a people can demand something be done so our voices be heard over the Carbon Tax issue, especially since it is going to adversely affect pensioners and low income earners? Please, don't believe the hype that pensioners are going to be better off! As soon as the government hands them $10 per week carbon tax compensation, they will immediately raise government housing rents and rental properties in general will rise! Perhaps we should be calling for a referendum with respect to rents and prices to protect pensioners and low income earners from greedy landlords who will adopt a 'well they're getting more from the government now, so we will raise their rents' attitude! And whilst I'm on my soap box, the proposed carbon tax compensation to low income individual and families is already inciting hatred from many who already believe that people who receive government benefits are 'slags' and 'bludgers'. I tire of the absolute greed of people in our society, I tire of a government whose short and curlys are held firmly in the grip of the powerful Green monsters and I'm weary of those who can't tolerate the minority in Australia receiving a little bit of financial help from the government!
It is a government-sponsored and paid for national opinion poll whose authority derives from that fact. If parliament passed Abbott's bill then Gillard would be obliged to hold the plebiscite that Labor voted against. But Gillard would have no legal obligation to implement the outcome of the vote.
The last time that Australia held a referendum to increase the power of the federal Parliament to make laws with respect to rents and prices was in 1948, it was NOT carried. If we can hold a referendum on insignificant subjects, such as whether or not to have daylight savings, surely we as a people can demand something be done so our voices be heard over the Carbon Tax issue, especially since it is going to adversely affect pensioners and low income earners? Please, don't believe the hype that pensioners are going to be better off! As soon as the government hands them $10 per week carbon tax compensation, they will immediately raise government housing rents and rental properties in general will rise! Perhaps we should be calling for a referendum with respect to rents and prices to protect pensioners and low income earners from greedy landlords who will adopt a 'well they're getting more from the government now, so we will raise their rents' attitude! And whilst I'm on my soap box, the proposed carbon tax compensation to low income individual and families is already inciting hatred from many who already believe that people who receive government benefits are 'slags' and 'bludgers'. I tire of the absolute greed of people in our society, I tire of a government whose short and curlys are held firmly in the grip of the powerful Green monsters and I'm weary of those who can't tolerate the minority in Australia receiving a little bit of financial help from the government!
There are no rent controls but the Australian Commonwealth funds payments for rent assistance and low cost housing. There are 767 000 odd payments for rent assistance every week Australia wide, 170 000 odd in Victoria averaging $95 - $100 each (productivity commission report on government services 2011) Seems to be a non controversial policy, so I wouldn't worry about what people say, that's what is done and it seems to be supported by all sides of politics because it more or less doubles housing affordability by doubling the capacity of low income households to pay (HURI research and policy bulletin 59: aug 2005 Housing affordability and Commonwealth rent assistance)
ReplyDeleteI think you will find that rent assistance is $116.40 per fortnight ($58 per week) - you couldn't even live in a caravan for that price:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/payments/rent_rates.htm
So, most people living off government services are dipping into remainder of the money to pay high rentals, utilities, food, clothing, transport, entertainment, medical expenses. Which is the POINT I was making!
Mistake, the numbers are for fortnightly entitlements, but the principle is the same, there are no price controls - which might be equally unsatisfactory - but there are Commonwealth supplementary payments of all kinds instead. Don't think rent/price control would make things cheaper for most, in the cities where there have been rent control, like NYC, it didn't work too well to keep rents down in general. But perhaps that scheme was flawed. Conventional wisdom is that supplementary payments target individual circumstances, where price control is a blunt instrument which affects everyone.If there are any doubts about the long term futility of price control ask the governments in Egypt, Syria and Libya how it all turned out for them. Libya in particular was spending a staggering amount on public housing and subsidies of all kinds, but seems that isn't what their people wanted, on the whole.
ReplyDeleteWell, isn't the carbon tax a 'blunt instrument' that will affect everyone?! And rent control would not affect everyone, it would affect the 25$ of people in Australian who don't own their own houses. It would only affect owners who are renting out properties, by limiting how much they can rip off 25% of the population.
ReplyDeleteI'm saying that is the conventional wisdom. The rent controls which exist with respect to publicly owned public housing are often labeled unfair because they are "fixed" as a proportion of income, and when Commonwealth pensions rise, for whatever reason, so do the State Government controlled rents. HURI says the Commonwealth rent subsidies double the capacity of low income earners to rent privately. For myself, I wonder whether the subsidies don't simply mask structural weaknesses in our economy; intuitively, housing should not be as expensive as it is. But I wonder how I would feel having the government fix the price of my assets? Would I still be interested in the assets? Don't know. The average return on investment for a rental property is around the same as keeping the the money in the bank, around 5% give or take a percent or so. But owners get a tax break on 50% of profit from capital growth. I wonder if a tax break instead on 50% of the income would stack up to lowering rents? Don't really know what the answer is.
ReplyDeleteChris Barron put this response on face book at 2.34 pm Tuesday.
ReplyDelete"Having personally invested thousands in solar in the 80's, and lived off grid for 10 years as virtual guinea pigs, I'm all for furthering alternatives. It's been said that more are employed in Europe in alternative energy industries than i...n fossils & nuclear put together, so Australia is lagging way behind. The opposition dabbles in nuclear and for that reason alone they should be kept from power @ all costs. At least Julia has entertained the Greens, unlike Rudd, and some good points have been struck by Adam Bandt, even the independents (such as need for fast rail on east coast for transport of food to cities instead of trucking). Living on the pension, I do have anxiety re. costs of living, but over-all any moves made away from fossils and nuclear are good ones. I'll be pleased if the law passes".
Chris, I am also concerned about the possible move to nuclear power, how can anyone say nuclear power plant and climate change in the one breath. Look at the near disaster (well it was a disaster) with the Tsunami in Japan and the way it affected their nuclear power plants. Are we somewhere between 'the devil and the deep blue sea' in this carbon tax/clean energy debacle?
ReplyDeleteCHRIS BARRON also wrote this on face book in response to this post:
ReplyDelete"Milne says whereas it has been chop and change before - "they (those interested in alternatives) can be sure now that the funding will be secure - that the rules will not be chopped and changed". $10 billion to be invested in clean tech enterprises - ARENA (Australian Renewable Energy Agency) and the $200 million Clean Technology Innovation Program. It was hairy under Garrett, but this is solid investment. We've lost many of our "boffins" to overseas, but with the dollar where it is, science will hopefully flood back and things will pick up for oz. It's the best reason for hope we've been given for years.
We were in the Sudan the day after sharia was brought in with Omar Bashir leaving shortly before the arrival of bin Laden and it was obvious that the country was not divided by race/religion so much as who was going to draw benefit from the rich oil deposits in the south that Chevron etc. were already preparing to extract. The CIA was very active then in the country, George Bush senior visited, and Iraq/Iran was already figuring in the war between north and south. 9/11 came as absolutely no surprise. Oil was already what war was about".
Hi Julie,
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if you remember me? We met at the Kodak Salon(Photography). I am going to have my first solo exhibit at the end of July. Please see my website www.andrewcpotter.com for full details. It would be great to see you there on opening night. Please invite as many friends as you like. I will be displaying around 50 works. Kind regards, Andrew
I like the bananas and wallace paddock :)
ReplyDeleteYes Andrew, I remember you, if you are the young man that I walked around with on the day after the opening, discussing the photographs together? I will look at your website.
ReplyDeleteSteve - what are you referring to?
Andrew, you were a US Marine? OMG what you must have seen? Puts some of our concerns about the carbon tax into a whole other perspective!
ReplyDeletelooks like you got your wish
ReplyDeleteSteve - that's great news. Finally a watch dog worth funding!
ReplyDeleteHi Julie and Steve,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words. I've recently updated my website. There are some pics from the opening night.
From Andrew (www.andrewcpotter.com)