arbilp3

Winning votes might be a better strategy than wining and dining the rich

The reality is that political donations from harmful industries are small relative to the payments parties receive from you, the voter.

Australia provides taxpayer funding to parties and candidates based on how many votes they receive. At the May 2025 federal election, each voter was worth around $6.80 in public funding, and that will rise to $10 at the next election – that’s $5 each for ballots for the House of Representatives and Senate.

Labor got $37 million in taxpayer funding after the 2025 election, the Liberal–National Coalition $33 million, the Greens $13 million and One Nation $6 million.

It pays to be popular. Winning the vote of an extra 1% of Australians (about 160,000 people) is worth $1.1 million, set to rise from next year to $1.6 million.

Learnt a lot I didn't know.

Australia is a global success story. The structural reforms in the 1980s and ‘90s of liberalising trade, floating the dollar and reducing government involvement in the economy ignited an unprecedented period of growth...

Crucially, this happened without a massive spike in inequality. A 2024 report from the Productivity Commission affirmed that our tax and transfer system played a significant role in redistributing income.

And while the size of government ballooned in Europe, with government expenditure soaring to around 50% of GDP (gross domestic product) in the EU, it has remained comparatively lean in Australia, staying around 24%.

Yet, unlike the US, Australia did not gut its social safety net. We deliver top-tier health outcomes, provide robust support to low-income earners and maintain a high-quality public education system.

How did we pull off this exceptional outcome? It’s largely because of something the current government seems to want to do less and less: means testing. We can see this in action with policies such as student debt cuts and electric vehicle tax concessions.

The shift towards universal policies may seem fair, but it’s creating a system that gives to the wealthy at the expense of the poor.

Oz came out on top, with Brisbane being No.1! And we complain in Australia. How difficult must it be elsewhere!

Only about 500 swifties left in the wild! The text will give you some background as to why. The usual suspects.

This video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9Jo8YTYxC8 will give you some idea of what people are trying to do to save this species and you'll meet a lovely, funny guy. You'll also get to see the introduced predators that are decimating this species and other endangered small birds. Should you want to help the fundraiser for special nestboxes you can go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/safe-nests-for-swift-parrots-25

Shoebridge said Australia should cancel Israeli arms contracts, in order to exert maximum pressure.

“Cancelling more than $1bn in Israeli arms contracts, that would not only respond to the moral situation of the appalling Israeli military attacks, it would also have the benefit of putting a very real material pressure on Israel to pull back from what is a disastrous, illegal, immoral war in Lebanon that is threatening the entire globe’s peace,” he said.

The federal government is monitoring the situation in Lebanon, where thousands of Australian citizens live and visit.

And can you believe on the same day David Shoebridge made the statement Tony Abbott would say Australia should send troops to fight alongside US, which is like saying fighting alongside Israel?!

Absolutely agree with bringing in better labelling and supporting local farmers. With the effects of the ME war just starting on food prices, our governments are going to have to have to find new ways to help not only farmers but consumers.

To corporates like this, cattle are just a commodity. There is so much callousness in the cattle industry and so much suffering by these sentient animals many think of as a steak on a plate.

cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/31454368

Interesting opinion piece. What is wrong with duck shooting?

It’s not just the noise and the dead and dying waterbirds though.

“Recreational” shooting has many impacts on people in regional Victoria. They have to deal with trespassers, thousands of non-biodegradable plastic shotgun cartridges and wads left littering their waterways and landscapes, pellets that land on rooves which collect water supplies, and distressed stock and horses that run through fences. Hunting season also impedes eco-tourism, with non-hunters banned from entering wetlands during specified periods.
https://thepoint.com.au/opinions/260408-victorias-duck-hunting-season-begins-amid-declining-support-and-compliance-concerns

But, amidst the carnage there's some hope. Duck shooting is declining.

If you want to be involved in bringing duck shooting season to an end check out Regional Victorians Opposed to Duck Shooting Inc. https://www.regionalvictoriansotds.com/

Interesting opinion piece. What is wrong with duck shooting?

It’s not just the noise and the dead and dying waterbirds though.

“Recreational” shooting has many impacts on people in regional Victoria. They have to deal with trespassers, thousands of non-biodegradable plastic shotgun cartridges and wads left littering their waterways and landscapes, pellets that land on rooves which collect water supplies, and distressed stock and horses that run through fences. Hunting season also impedes eco-tourism, with non-hunters banned from entering wetlands during specified periods.
https://thepoint.com.au/opinions/260408-victorias-duck-hunting-season-begins-amid-declining-support-and-compliance-concerns

But, amidst the carnage there's some hope. Duck shooting is declining.

If you want to be involved in bringing duck shooting season to an end check out Regional Victorians Opposed to Duck Shooting Inc. https://www.regionalvictoriansotds.com/

More positive news for a change! 🥰 💙 🐳 🐬 🐟

Australia is on the cusp of ratifying a landmark international oceans treaty that will pave the way for large-scale marine sanctuaries as threats from overfishing, pollution and climate change intensify. David Ritter, CEO of Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said it was a “genuinely historic” milestone for global ocean protection.

Federal Parliament has passed legislation marking the final step before the country can formally commit to the High Seas Biodiversity Treaty.

Australia joins more than 80 countries that have committed to the treaty, which grants them the legal authority to create highly protected ocean sanctuaries.

“The task now is to build the institutions and processes needed to turn ambition into action.”

https://thepoint.com.au/news/260407-genuinely-historic-australia-on-the-cusp-of-ratifying-high-seas-biodiversity-treaty

And to further celebrate, "Bunnings – which stocks the widest range of SGARs rodenticides of any major Australian retailer – has announced it will remove these products from its shelves... by 30 June 2026. This is 9 months ahead of the regulator deadline for a recommended full retail ban of the wildlife-killing poisons.  🦉 🦅 🥳