Another broken promise

More changes to the GST

Abbot government breaks another election promise by applying more changes to the GST.
The GST was originally introduced in my understanding, as a replacement for all other taxes, while some taxes were abolished a lot still remained.  

Before the election Tony Abbot promised;

 "No cuts to education, no cuts to health, no change to pensions, no change to the GST and no cuts to the ABC or SBS,”

 If my memory is correct every one of those promises has now been broken.

Tony Abbot also said in relation to the GST;

"Let me be as categoric as I can. The GST won't change, full stop, end of story."

Recently the Abbot government announced it would remove the $1000 threshold for international GST charges and would like all purchases to include the GST. Though technically, only businesses with a $75,000 Australian turnover would need to comply.

This seems like another unfair attack on the poor, and I can only see this stifling Australia’s economy because it’s not just that we need to shop around in order to get the best price, but for us it is a matter of getting the item we need cheaply or simply not being able to afford it and having to go without.  Again the government’s policies show an uneven bias in favor of the rich. 

It also appears to be yet another backwards step, we had the delusion of the national broadband network, the mandatory retention of Meta data, the charging of GST on electronic purchases. It seems to show a government that is out of touch with current Australia’s needs and out of sync with the modern world.

And all those lies and broken promises, we seriously need a truth in election advertising law. I believe this behavior undermines the foundation of our democracy; we need to be able to trust our politicians won’t just say anything to get elected; they have to be legally held accountable to some extent.

Barnaby Joyce war on terriors and decency

Who let the dogs in?

Johnny Depp is currently in Australia filming the latest Pirates of the Caribbean move. It was discovered that he had brought his two little Yorkshire terriers, Pistol and Boo, in on his private plane, without proper authorisation. 

Barnaby Joyce National party minister, agriculture minister and popularly referred to as an all round asshat, commented to Australia’s media that;

“It’s time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the United States,”

and

“Now Mr Depp has to either take his dogs back to California or we’re going to have to euthanise them. He’s got about 50 hours left to remove the dogs.”

You might remember Barnaby Joyce from his bizarre behavior when PETA exposed cruelty in the Australian wool industry. 

He also attended another gay hate rally where he said he was opposed to marriage equality because;

“We know that the best protection for those girls (his daughters) is that they get themselves into a secure relationship with a loving husband and I want that to happen for them."

and 

"I don’t want any legislator to take that right away from me.”

No one is sure how giving equal rights to Australians would possibly prevent his daughters from marrying men. Ignoring the apparent misogyny of his comment, my best guess is that he has such a low opinion of women that he believes the majority of men will "jump ship" and stop pretending to be straight as soon as equality comes to Australia, leaving his daughters with few men to marry.  
If you have a better explanation please comment below.

 Barnaby Joyce outrageious attack on Australia tourism and its film industry has met with eye rolling and disgust within the sensible Australian community. People understand that Australia needs to keep animal diseases out, but we even today, expect our ministers to measure their words and not threaten to kill peoples pets. A few friends have suggested that Mr Joyce may be jealous of Johnny  Depp's looks as Barnaby oddly mentioned how attractive Depp was in his statement. 
Its strange behavior and bizarre behavior seems to be way to common with out politicians at the moment.

Clive Palmer billionaire and politician said;


"His actions could potentially put the movie project in jeopardy and damage our relationship with the US, costing thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in exports." 

 kyle Sandilands an Australian radio and TV personality said to Barnaby in an interview; 

 "You sound like an absolute clown telling the guy to bugger off to Hollywood or we'll kill his dogs," 

 and

 "You're a government minister, not some idiot off the street mouthing off to a news camera. Have some decency."

  

and    

“You’re an absolute joke, Barnaby ... I'm going off because you sound like an insensitive wanker. That's what you sound like, Barnaby. You're a joke, you're a disgrace and you should retract your statement and reword it properly,"

 I could not find a comment on Barnaby Joyce's continued inappropriate behavior by our Prime Minister and possible Reptilian Tony Abbot. 

While incredibly Barnaby Joyce still holds his position as agriculture minister, the story does have a happy ending as the two little dogs managed to flee his clutches and are safe from his nefarious attentions.

Stand up against bigotry and hate.

The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

                             

May 17

 

The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (TIDAHTB) was founded in 2004 to bring attention to the violence and discrimination experienced by LGBTI people internationally.

According to their website the TIDAHTB is now celebrated in more than 130 countries, including 37 where same-sex acts are illegal, with 1600 events reported from 1280 organizations in 2014. These mobilisations unite millions of people in support of the recognition of human rights for all, irrespective of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

The date of May 17^th was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organisation’s sensible decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.

The White House released an official statement on May 16^th 2015 Statement by the President on the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia

Michelle and I join our fellow Americans and others around the world in commemorating the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia tomorrow, May 17.  We take this opportunity to reaffirm that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are human rights, to celebrate the dignity of every person, and to underscore that all people deserve to live free from fear, violence, and discrimination, regardless of who they are or whom they love. 

We work toward this goal every day. Here at home, we are working to end bias-motivated violence, combat discrimination in the workplace, and address the specific needs of transgender persons.  Overseas, I am proud of the steps that the United States has taken to prioritize the protection and promotion of LGBT rights in our diplomacy and global outreach.

There is much more to do, and this fight for equality will not be won in a day.  But we will keep working, at home and abroad, and we will keep fighting, for however long it takes until we are all able to live free and equal in dignity and rights.

-------

I have not been able to find a statement from Australia's prime minister Tony Abbot. He has however expressed much homophobia in the past sating things like; Homosexuality challenges the
"right order of things", homosexuality makes him "feel a bit threatened", he is responsible for outlawing gay marriage in the ACT and was front and center at the gay hate anti-marriage equality rally.

Brisbane City Council however, announced that Story Bridge lights will be rainbow coloured tonight in support of IDAHOT.