Posts Tagged ‘
family first ’
Sep 23rd, 2008 |
By David Harper |
Category: Australia, Lead Stories
The Rudd Government has bowed to pressure from the Greens and Independent Senator Nick Xenophon and slashed the proposed income thresholds for the Medicare surcharge to $75,000 for singles, although Health Minister Nicola Roxon wants to leave the proposed new threshold for couples unchanged at $150,000.
Tags: 2008 federal budget, australian labor party, family first, fielding, health, medicare, roxon, rudd, senate, taxation, the greens, xenophon
Posted in Australia, Lead Stories |
64 comments
Sep 8th, 2008 |
By David Harper |
Category: Opinion
Amid the train wreck that the Senate became last week there was one consistency - everybody concerned claimed they had a mandate. The highlight was when the Coalition and Family First’s Steve Fielding knocked off the increase to the luxury car tax, worth $555 million over four years.
Tags: brandis, family first, fielding, hockey, liberal party, Opinion, senate, taxation, the greens, xenophon
Posted in Opinion |
No Comments »
Sep 7th, 2008 |
By David Harper |
Category: Opinion
This week saw big problems emerge for the Labor Party in New South Wales and Western Australia, while federally the Nationals shrank even further with the loss of Lyne. In the Senate, Steve Fielding voted down the luxury car tax increase, while in the United States, Sarah Palin has garnered an immediate and positive reaction.
Tags: 2008 federal budget, 2008 presidential election, 2008 republican national convention, 2008 wa state election, australian labor party, barnett, by-elections, carpenter, costa, della bosca, family first, fielding, gryll, hung parliament, iemma, katter, liberal party, lyne, mccain, new south wales, o'farrell, oakeshott, obama, Opinion, opinion polls, palin, power industry, privatisation, rees, republican party, senate, swan, taxation, the nationals, week in review, western australia, windsor, xenophon
Posted in Opinion |
41 comments
Sep 7th, 2008 |
By David Harper |
Category: Opinion
There are several things lacking in the man who holds the balance of power in the Senate, Family First Senator Steve Fielding. The main problem is that Fielding has spent three years being a stuntmeister instead of honing his negotiating skills, focusing on policy and developing the strategic side of his brain.
Tags: family first, fielding, media, Opinion, senate, victoria
Posted in Opinion |
No Comments »
Sep 7th, 2008 |
By David Harper |
Category: Australia
After the resignation of popular local member and former foreign minister Alexander Downer, the Liberals suffered a 10 per cent swing on the primary vote. Family First candidate Bob Day, who stood as a Liberal in last year’s general election, picked up most of the Liberal vote while the Greens vote was up by more than 11 per cent.
Tags: briggs, by-elections, day, downer, family first, liberal party, south australia, the greens, vonow
Posted in Australia |
No Comments »
Sep 5th, 2008 |
By David Harper |
Category: Opinion
For the first time in months, the Prime Minister spoke on budget measures without referring to a “cheat sheet” of budget facts and delivered telling political lines without bureaucratic jargon. Instead of “prosecuting a process of economic responsibility”, Rudd whacked the Coalition for backing “Porsche drivers” instead of working families.
Tags: australian labor party, family first, fielding, liberal party, Opinion, rudd, senate, taxation
Posted in Opinion |
No Comments »
Sep 4th, 2008 |
By David Harper |
Category: Australia, Lead Stories
Family First senator Steve Fielding sided with the Coalition this morning to vote down the increase in the luxury car tax at the second reading, 34 votes to 33. Senator Fielding had wanted to exempt farmers and those in the tourism industry who use cars, worth more than the tax threshold of $57,180, as tools of trade.
Tags: 2008 federal budget, australian labor party, boyce, family first, fielding, liberal party, nelson, senate, swan, taxation
Posted in Australia, Lead Stories |
No Comments »
Aug 24th, 2008 |
By David Harper |
Category: Opinion, Science Fiction
This week was a week of number twos on a variety of fronts. In the US, Joe Biden became Barack Obama’s new sidekick, while in Australia, the minor parties in the Senate geared up to take on their new roles as second fiddles. Meanwhile, in the entertainment world, ‘Stargate Atlantis’ was cancelled and replaced by ‘Stargate Universe’.
Tags: 2004 federal election, 2007 federal election, 2008 presidential election, australian democrats, australian labor party, berman, biden, brown, clinton, family first, fielding, fuelwatch, howard government, joyce, latham, liberal national party, liberal party, national party, obama, Opinion, rudd, Science Fiction, senate, south australia, star trek, star trek enterprise, stargate, stargate atlantis, stargate the ark of truth, stargate universe, the greens, us senate, vice president, week in review, xenophon
Posted in Opinion, Science Fiction |
No Comments »
Aug 24th, 2008 |
By David Harper |
Category: Opinion
f there was a large swing against Labor in Western Australia, let alone a loss, it would send a jolt right across a continent papered with wall-to-wall Labor governments. Inevitably, federal Labor would feel a touch nervous. This would affect the mood for the busy spring parliamentary session and Labor’s work on its extensive agenda.
Tags: 2008 nt election, 2008 wa state election, australian labor party, by-elections, carpenter, family first, liberal party, Opinion, opinion polls, rudd, senate, the greens, xenophon
Posted in Opinion |
No Comments »
Aug 19th, 2008 |
By David Harper |
Category: Australia, Lead Stories
The Coalition will vote against a number of budget measures when they go before the Senate later this year. The Government will then need the votes of five Greens senators, Independent Senator Nick Xenophon and Family First Senator Steve Fielding to pass its legislation.
Tags: 2008 federal budget, alcopops, ciobo, family first, fielding, health, liberal party, medicare, nelson, roxon, rudd, senate, swan, taxation, the greens, the nationals, xenophon
Posted in Australia, Lead Stories |
38 comments