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Category: General news

Managing director of Ebono Institute and major sponsor of The Generator, Geoff Ebbs, is running against Kevin Rudd in the seat of Griffith at the next Federal election. By the expression on their faces in this candid shot it looks like a pretty dull campaign. Read on

  • NSW Labor supporting renewable energy Inbox x

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    NSW Labor supporting renewable energy

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    Leader Opposition <Leader.Opposition@parliament.nsw.gov.au>
    		12:48 PM (2 hours ago)

    Thank you for your email regarding renewable energy in NSW. There can be no new approach for New South Wales without a bold agenda for environmental protection and climate change. That is why I recently announced the most comprehensive environment plan ever presented to the people of NSW. A plan that a Foley Labor Government would implement to protect our environment. On page 21 of the Environment Policy document attached, you will find information on my commitment to renewable energy.  Other  highlights include:  $150 million to create new national parks including the Great Koala National Park and a series of conservation reserves in Northern NSW to save the koala from extinction;  Creation of a Sydney Marine Park – the final piece in the jigsaw of the state’s marine protected areas running from Pittwater to Port Hacking and restoring sanctuary zones in existing marine parks;  A statewide moratorium on coal seam gas activity, and a permanent ban in the Northern Rivers region and the core drinking water catchments. 2 km buffer zones will operate around National Parks and RAMSAR listed wetlands and a 2 km buffer zone, above and below ground around residential areas;  A Healthy Rivers Commission to improve the health of NSW’s rivers. NSW has the most degraded rivers in the country with only 3% considered healthy; and  $4 million to support voluntary wildlife carers, the unsung heroes of wildlife protection. They care for injured wildlife in their homes and voluntary hospitals across the state.  I have also committed to installing solar panels in all public schools in NSW, reducing their power bills, supporting the renewable energy sector and teaching kids about environmental sustainability. This $70 million investment will help our schools become more energy efficient and generate clean, renewable solar power. I have attached the Solar for Schools policy for your interest. If you are interested in finding out more about Labor’s new approach for NSW, please visit: http://act.nswlabor.org.au/policy Kind regards  Luke FoleyNSW Labor LeaderShadow Minister for InfrastructureShadow Minister for the EnvironmentShadow Minister for Western Sydney 2 Attachments

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    Preview attachment Solar for Schools.pdf

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  • Black Communities Matter Larissa & Brooke – Common Grace

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    Black Communities Matter

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    Larissa & Brooke – Common Grace <info@commongrace.org.au>
    5:23 PM (12 minutes ago)
    to me
    Dear Neville,

    Are you horrified to hear of the WA Premier’s plan to close 150 Aboriginal communities?The church cannot repeat the sins of the past, and be silent and complicit in the forced removal of Aboriginal people from their spiritual homelands.

    Act now to ask the WA Premier to cease any decisions on the funding or closures of 150 Indigenous homeland communities.

    WA Premier Colin Barnett plans to force the closure of 150 Aboriginal communities, and has made this decision without consulting those who call these communities home.

    Before making decisions with such huge impacts for Aboriginal people, a full impact assessment and public consultation process must be engaged in. The voices of those for whom these communities are their homes, their traditional lands and their history must be heard. If this goes ahead a dangerous precedent would be set for all of Australia. (Here’s the best summary we’ve seen so far.)

    UncleRex.jpg

    We believe that as Christians we must ACT in solidarity with our Aboriginal brothers and sisters.

    So in PRAYER we ask for your ACTION today! Add your name to ask the WA Premier to cease any decisions on the funding or closures of 150 Indigenous homeland communities.

    Blessings,

    Larissa Minniecon, Brooke Prentis and the Common Grace Team
    Common Grace
    http://www.commongrace.org.au/

  • Save our SBS Margaret Pomeranz and Quentin Dempster – GetUp!

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    Save our SBS

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    Margaret Pomeranz and Quentin Dempster – GetUp!
    3:20 PM (25 minutes ago)
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    The government is proposing major changes to SBS’s advertising arrangements – which, if passed, would see primetime broadcasting interrupted with more ads, more frequently, than ever seen in Australia’s public broadcasting history. SBS will look no different from commercial TV.

    Read on for a message from former SBS and ABC TV presenter Margaret Pomeranz, and public broadcasting advocate and journalist Quentin Dempster, on what you can do to stop this proposal in its tracks – and click here to sign the petition: www.getup.org.au/saveoursbs

    NEVILLE –

    The SBS amendment bill was just introduced in Parliament today. This is the bill that, if passed, will see the doubling of ads and commercials breaks on our SBS, effectively turning it into Australia’s fourth fully commercial TV channel.

    Why’s this bad? Because the SBS was never intended to be a fully commercial TV channel. Increased advertising will restrict the broadcaster from meeting its Charter obligations. The late Malcolm Fraser and his Coalition Government established the SBS on the back of the Whitlam Labor Government’s initiative, to address a gap in services for an increasingly diverse community. Further commercialisation of our SBS will see the needs of the advertiser put before the needs of the community.

    Since putting the call out, more than 47,000 Australians have joined the campaign to protect the integrity of our SBS. Will you add your name to our petition urging the Federal Parliament to reject the further
    commercialisation of our SBS? www.getup.org.au/saveoursbs

    The introduction of product placement will remove the independence of probing journalism and restrict what presenters may say. Having a product placed on set, within programs will severely diminish the integrity of the SBS, as presenters would be gagged from making any comment that could be perceived to negatively portray the product or associated companies being advertised.

    SBS has been home to some of the best Australian content, from quality dramas to world-class movies and documentaries. SBS Radio connects newcomers in an inclusive way, while SBS World News Australia brings us world news that is often neglected by other broadcasters. This is what we love most about our SBS. Sadly, this will all be put at risk if this bill passes.

    Putting more advertising on SBS is the Government’s way of removing public funding from its budget. It’s a cut.

    Before the last federal election, Prime Minister Abbott went on SBS and promised there would be “no cuts to the ABC or SBS”. Having already broken one of those promises, we’re certainly not going to let him break another and ruin our SBS forever.

    We’ll be doing everything we can to get the word out about the damage these changes will cause. However, we’re going to need your help if we’re to demonstrate we have the support of the Australian public. Let our politicians know that we want a strong and robust public broadcaster.

    Join us and the Save Our SBS campaign to fight for a non-commercial future for our multicultural broadcaster: www.getup.org.au/saveoursbs

    With every good wish,

    Margaret Pomeranz and Quentin Dempster

    GetUp is an independent, not-for-profit community campaigning group. We use new technology to empower Australians to have their say on important national issues. We receive no political party or government funding, and every campaign we run is entirely supported by voluntary donations. If you’d like to contribute to help fund GetUp’s work, please donate now! To unsubscribe from GetUp, please click here. Our team acknowledges that we meet and work on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We wish to pay respect to their Elders – past, present and future – and acknowledge the important role all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play within Australia and the GetUp community.

  • Lump sum superannuation to end REPORT

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    Main | News > Lump sum superannuation to end
    25th Mar 2015
    Lump sum superannuation to end
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    Leon Della Bosca

    According to recommendations made by the Treasury’s Financial System Inquiry, Australians entering retirement are likely to be prevented from taking their superannuation in one lump sum and will instead have it made available to them in a self-funded ‘pension’ styled income stream.

    And Treasury Chief Operating Officer John Lonsdale believes that the inquiry’s plans to overhaul the current system of superannuation are more than likely to proceed.

    “Superannuation trustees should be cautiously optimistic that the framework will go towards something like what is outlined by the inquiry. That said there are still a lot of details that need to be understood,” said Mr Lonsdale.

    The inquiry, designed to lay out a blueprint for the financial system over the next decade, was given to government for consideration in December, and proposed that retirees, once they’ve reach the age of retirement, should not be given unbridled access to their superannuation savings in one lump sum.

    Instead, the inquiry suggests that superannuation savings should be transferred to a managed fund, with the purpose of providing a more lasting stream of income throughout retirees’ later years.

    The proposed change would better align the default fund allocation and settings which are applied to compulsory super contributions during the accumulation phase.

    The inquiry’s recommendations to strengthen the superannuation system aim to:

    Set a clear objective for the superannuation system to provide income in retirement.
    Improve long-term net returns for members by introducing a formal competitive process to allocate new workforce entrants to high-performing superannuation funds, unless the Stronger Super reforms prove effective.
    Meet the needs of retirees better by requiring superannuation trustees to pre-select a comprehensive income product in retirement for members to receive their benefits, unless members choose to take their benefits in another way.
    These recommendations seek to improve the outcomes for superannuation fund members and help Australia to manage the challenges of an ageing population.

    The findings of the report highlight increasing pressure on the government to fund an aged pension system along with other costs required to support an ageing population.

    The inquiry’s suggestions have been backed by many investment and superannuation specialists, most of whom feel that a default option for managing the retirement phase of superannuation is truly in the best interest of consumers. It is hoped that a default pension fund would provide a better outcome for people who don’t have access to good quality financial advice.

    “Expecting a 65-year-old who has never managed a bucket of money before to suddenly know how to do so is exposing them to too much risk,” says Superannuation Consumers Centre Chairwoman Jenni Mack.

    How do you feel about such a move? Would you be happy receiving your superannuation as a managed income stream, rather then risking your hard-earned savings on investments that may not deliver? Or are you happy with the current lump sum situation? Why not tell us what you think?

    Read more about this at The Age.

    Read the Financial System Inquiry report.
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  • You can’t handle the data ALYCIA GET UP
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    You can’t handle the data

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    Alycia – GetUp!
    6:43 PM (1 hour ago)
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    Go dark

    NEVILLE –

    It’s happening. The Government’s data retention scheme looks set to pass the Senate tonight, with Labor’s support. If this happens, it’s a terrible outcome for Australians, and the media and whistleblowers who keep us informed.

    This scheme is rushed, costly, ineffective, and against the public interest. A lazy amendment from the ALP – purportedly to prevent this dodgy data bill from having a freezing effect on the media – has as many holes in it as a slice of Swiss cheese. It leaves journalists and whistleblowers largely unprotected,1 and will see every one of us treated as a potential suspect. Essentially, it punishes the wrong people. But as the Government and Labor team up to rush the legislation through the Senate, we have a way of getting their attention by illustrating just how problematic this bill really is.

    Can you join us in ‘going dark’ against data retention tomorrow to protest the Government’s dangerous and ineffective scheme?

    The message we’re sending is clear. In its haste to rush these broad sweeping laws, the Government’s costly scheme has targeted all of us while ignoring just how easy it is to circumvent data retention. The truth is, anyone who wants to protect their privacy (yes, this includes people with something to hide) has a huge range of perfectly legal options to do so, including simply avoiding Australian service providers. Now that’s just bad for business!

    The impact of this is that Australians familiar with technology will easily be able to protect their data, while those that aren’t as comfortable with newer technology will bear the brunt of the risks associated with data retention.

    Across Australia tomorrow, citizens will be showing the government and Labor that this law will be another costly white elephant that doesn’t make us any safer.

    Click here to sign up and learn how to go dark: http://www.getup.org.au/dark

    Alycia, for the GetUp team.

    PS: If you’ve just got a moment, change your Facebook and Twitter profile picture to this image to help spread the word.

    PPS: Even the Government’s Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull understands how important metadata is and how easy it is to avoid scrutiny. He has fessed up to using an instant messaging app which avoids retention, and joked last year that private networks (VPNs) could be used to circumvent data retention laws. By contrast, our Prime Minister recalls never being that worried about metadata back when he was a journalist in the 1980’s… at a time that pre-dated widespread internet and mobile phone use.2 Go figure!

    References

    [1] Data retention plan amended for journalists, but is it enough? The Conversation, 20th March 2015.
    [2] Data retention: Journalists’ union labels Tony Abbott’s defence of metadata protections ‘ludicrous’, ABC News, Wednesday 18th March 2015.

  • Abbott’s cutting pensions Jenny Macklin LABOR

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    Abbott’s cutting pensions

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    Jenny Macklin via sendgrid.info 
    5:08 PM (48 minutes ago)
    to me
    .
    Neville,

    If Tony Abbott gets his way, the indexation of the pension will be slashed and Australia will have the highest retirement age in the world.

    Tony Abbott’s cuts risk pushing millions of pensioners into poverty.

    According to the Australian Council of Social Services, Tony Abbott’s changes to indexation alone will mean pensioners will be as much as $80 a week worse off within ten years.

    We need to make it clear to Tony Abbott and the Liberals that we won’t stand by while they launch a full scale attack on pensions.

    Can you sign our petition and tell Tony Abbott don’t pocket our pension? 

    Tony Abbott promised before the election “no changes to pensions” – the facts show that this is just not true.

    At the same time, Tony Abbott is imposing new taxes on fuel and medicine that will drive up the cost of living for Australian pensioners.

    It’s just not good enough. You and I need to make it clear to the Government – Australians won’t take these unfair cuts lying down. 

    Sign our petition today and add your name to the list of Australians standing up for pensioners.

    We know when we stand together that we can make a difference and that means every single signature counts. Join me and add yours today.

    Thanks for your support,

    Jenny Macklin
    Shadow Minister for Families and Payments