Summary: THE FOCUS GROUP CAN SOMEONE PLEASE START TALKING ABOUT REVENUE? Costello tax cuts still costing us $40bn a year. Let’s call bullshit on the debt lie Storming down the US path more likely to create a recession than avoid one. It’s just an issue with the selling of it Have voters figured out the budget is profoundly inequitable? News Corp and other supporters of the budget, start running the line that the problem is just how it’s being sold The Finance Minister hints that the Libs will commence a publicly-funded advertising campaign to support the budget; Tony promises they won’t; Australian voters relax because they know they can take Tony at his word. Education Hey, 1.5 million Australians? Surprise! Now that HECS debt is suddenly an interest-accumulating loan! Note: CPI is NOT interest - this isn’t “raising” interest, SMH and other journos, it’s charging interest where students were promised before incurring the debt that none would be charged. Abbott tells parliament at least students will be going in “with their eyes open”. (Unlike former students who are having the deal changed afterwards.) Students in debt for the rest of their lives: A student with a $50k HECS debt (if they were lucky!) would need to earn $80k for 43 years to pay off their debt before retirement. CORRECTION - THIS FIGURE TURNS OUT TO BE AN ERROR. Should be 22 years to repay a $100,000 HECS debt. Pyne suggests collecting HECS debts from dead students. (A kind of “death tax” that’s okay because the rich will have paid back their HECS debts already.) Young Joe on video in the 1980s objecting to uni fees. Now says “yeah, that was different, they were upfront”. And $250, not a bloody mortgage. Annabel Crabb tsks at students for protesting like “Stalinists” of old rather than waiting for the media to engage them in debate, because that was totally about to happen any day now, and objecting to bullying poor people from going to university is just like sending someone to a gulag. John Birmingham: If someone richer than you accuses you of threatening civilisation, you’re probably only threatening their free ride and you should just keep right on doing it. Meanwhile that $60,000 scholarship for Tony Abbott’s daughter? Came with some political demands from Whitehouse, which conveniently were subsequently met! Meanwhile, nobody can quite figure out what exactly Tony Abbott’s daughter’s “job” is at the institute that was lobbying him for favours. (Tony belatedly adds some other things to the pecuniary interests register, but not his daughter’s secret scholarship.) Or Starve Actually we might cut people off for even more than six months WorkChoices in deed, if not in name Oh, and we’ll be taking your house if you strike. Greens put up an explanation of how to “bust the budget” without “blocking supply” Bill Heffernan suddenly realises that budget cuts are putting his personal safety at risk, so smuggles fake bomb into parliament. Oh South Australia Former state Liberal leader defects to the ALP to become Minister; threatens to spill dirt if the “personal attacks” continue. Oh Victoria Federal Libs find an extra billion to help out their state colleagues before the election. Napthine’s government concealing ambulance response times Clown Counsel Finally something that brings Jews and Arabs together: opposing George Brandis loony changes to 18C. So is George finally backing down? IPA still not happy if he is. Or maybe we should reform Defamation law instead George redirects money from child abuse inquiry to home insulation inquiry. Grilled by Senator Ludlum (AUDIO ON LINK), Brandis admits that he’s meeting regularly with the “rights” industry, but refuses to identify anyone on the other side of the argument he’s talked to. Department admits it’s looking int
