Howard is another delusional wanker. I wish he would tell us the reason that housing prices are endemic to Australia. I don't understand this guy but I'm getting a really bad vibe from the political leaders in Australia. Its the same here in the States. The political leaders don't do anything here either except argue about abortions or LGBT crap. The Senators & Congresscritters in the US spend most of their time campaigning for their reelection.
That is accurate. Think of the corrupt Oligarchs of Malaysia or even Russia. Instead of taking their money and building infrastructure people can use they buy yachts & $100M penthouses. I guess the question is who benefits from all that resource money that Aussies make? I can only assume the resource companies must be extreme wealthy. Chavez's daughter fled Venezuela and took her $4 Billion wealth to Paris even before her dad died.
I would guess, Australia hold the largest private marine holdings in the world. Go to any city (majority are on the coast) the mariners are chok a blok loaded down with large pleasure craft. I frequently walk around mariners, the amount of large watercraft is staggering.
Opinion Coalition served its dream campaign issues - and fails to deliver Peter Hartcher Political and international editor April 30, 2022 https://www.smh.com.au/national/i-w...ese-eyes-political-prize-20220428-p5ah05.html Reality has knocked on the door of the federal election campaign. The big, dangerous reality beyond the tiny homes occupied by the political campaigns and their tiny plans. But who’s answered the door? First came China’s hard knock on Australia’s security. Then came the knock of raging inflation, which must lead to rising interest rates, the rising cost of living rampant. Illustration: John ShakespeareCredit: Neither was a complete surprise. Both pose serious challenges to the country. How did the Coalition and Labor, the two parties of government, respond? The twin themes of national security and the economy are heaven-sent for the Coalition, nominally. These are the Liberal Party’s two great brand strengths and Labor’s brand weaknesses. These are the themes that Scott Morrison wanted to campaign on. Morrison and his ministers had rhetoric at the ready. Morrison said that a Chinese military base on Solomon Islands would be a “red line”. He returned to his theme that Labor was “soft on China”. He’s earlier accused Labor leader Anthony Albanese of being “on China’s side” and its deputy leader, Richard Marles, of being a “Manchurian candidate”. Defence Minister Peter Dutton won attention for saying on Anzac Day that “the only way you can preserve peace is to prepare for war”. But that was about it. They produced no policy response. Morrison’s “red line” might have been a marker of a new policy, but, when pressed, he had nothing to add. Likewise with the news that inflation had surged at an exceptionally fast rate. There was rhetoric but no policy response. Sure, Morrison immediately pointed out that the government was giving some temporary relief for the rising cost of living. The government announced in the budget that it was halving petrol tax for six months, giving pensioners and other concession cardholders one-off cash payments of $250 each, and giving a one-off tax offset of $420 for low- and middle-income earners. But this doesn’t constitute a policy response to rising prices. These measures are gimmicks. The cost of living will keep rising. These supposed offsets will all be gone and forgotten by September. Worse, the combined cost to the taxpayer is $8.6 billion. That goes straight onto the national debt. And adds to inflationary pressures in the economy. It’s junk policy. It actually aggravates the problem. Prime Minister Scott Morrison visits Mersey Yacht Club in the seat of Braddon.Credit:James Brickwood A reporter asked Morrison on Wednesday: “On the rising cost of living. Australians will say $250 today, that’s going to be spent pretty quickly. So in six months’ time when that cash is gone and the fuel excise has gone back. What will you be doing then to help with cost of living?” Morrison replied: “Making sure that our economy is strong, that we continue to manage our finances well because that’s what puts downward pressure on inflation.” Which is, of course, nonsense. This government is hopeless with budget management. The pandemic emergency has passed but the spending continues to grow, deficits continue to run and the national debt heads towards $1 trillion. The national debt hasn’t been this big since 1956, as a proportion to the economy. In other words, the government has no policy response. So the task of responding in the real world falls to the Reserve Bank, which must now raise official interest rates to contain inflation. It’s had zero help from the Morrison-Frydenberg budget. On the contrary. Reality knocked, and Morrison had no answer......
Coalition promises cheaper prescriptions as cost-of-living pressures bite By Rachel Clun Common prescription medicines including asthma preventers and many contraceptive pills would be $10 cheaper per script from next year under a Coalition election promise to tackle cost-of-living pressure for millions of Australians. In a pitch to middle Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison will say on Saturday that 19 million Australians who do not have concession cards will benefit from cheaper subsidised medications if his government wins the May 21 election. Scott Morrison says the Coalition is winding back the clock on the cost of medications, reducing the cost per script to 2008 prices.Credit:James Brickwood https://www.smh.com.au/national/ele...paigns-across-the-nation-20220430-p5ahde.html My opinion, It's easier for the man from marketing to blather on about this than the cost of housing.
The high cost of housing is a very serious problem which this dumb government wish to sweep under the carpet. High housing costs lead to less savings, more slavery, financial stress, increased marriage breakdowns, increased violence, higher delingencies, homelessness, more substance abuse, more crime and corruption. It's a death spiral as the standard of living falls. The rich think they are immune, think again. Houses are for living in, not speculation!
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-...ction-decries-chinas-interference-2022-04-30/ Australian leader, facing election, decries China's interference Reuters Man from marketing SYDNEY, April 30 (Reuters) - Australia's prime minister accused China on Saturday of "form", or a record, on interference in foreign politics, after his home minister said Beijing's unveiling of a security deal with the nearby Solomon Islands was timed to influence an election. With most polls showing Scott Morrison's conservative coalition headed for a loss in the May 21 election, it has sought to highlight its national security credentials, such as a tough approach to China. "We are very aware of the influence the Chinese government seeks to have in this country," Morrison told reporters in Tasmania. "There is form on foreign interference in Australia.".....
Here's what Australians know about Morrison. Scott Morrison says you do not have to like him and it's better the devil you know. (...the devil, got that part right....or wolf in sheeps clothing pandering to his rich mates). Here is what Australians do know.... They know that he failed in the bushfires, and they know he then failed on the floods. "They know he did not order enough vaccines, and that they did not order enough rapid antigen test. They know it is harder to see a doctor. They know aged care is in a crisis. They know it is harder to buy a home, and the cost of everything is going up while their wages are not. They know homelessness is increasing. "That is the devil you know. These problems did not happen overnight, the Government has had a decade in office, and in another three years the problem being, what we need to fix will be even bigger. We can do better, but this is as good as it gets from this current mob.....
The financial quagmire Australia (the lucky country) is in, is typically the fiasco results you get when you let a religous idiot run the show.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-...t-australia-pms-election-campaign-2022-04-28/ April 28, 2022 Inflation shock, rate rise risk jolt Australia PM's election campaign Reuters Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison REUTERS/File Photo SYDNEY, April 28 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday blamed the war in Ukraine and COVID-related supply chain disruptions for a record rise in living costs which could jeopardise his chances of winning a national election to be held within weeks. Australian consumer prices surged at the fastest annual pace in two decades last quarter, data out on Wednesday showed, as petrol, home-building and food costs rose, fueling speculation interest rates could rise from record lows as soon as next week. read more "We are still feeling the effects of the rather extraordinary economic times that we are living in," Morrison said during a media briefing, adding the COVID-19 lockdown in China had strained supply chains along with the Ukraine conflict. Any rise in rates at the Reserve Bank of Australia's next policy meeting on May 3 will result in millions of homeowners paying more money on their mortgage for the first time in a decade, just as the campaign for the May 21 election heats up. Two of Australia's big four banks expect the benchmark cash rate will rise next week and a third sees increased chances of a hike. read more The last time the central bank raised rates in the middle of an election campaign was in 2007, and then Prime Minister John Howard went on to lose both the vote and his seat. Morrison said he does not see suffering a similar fate. "We are in the middle of a global pandemic with a war in Europe, those situations were not in place in 2007 ... Australians understand that," he said. Morrison's Liberal-National Party coalition, with a one-seat majority in the lower house of parliament, is trailing the centre-left Labor, polls showed, in a campaign fought over climate change, national security and cost-of-living pressures. Morrison has been touting his conservative government's handling of the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic and a faster rebound. However, with inflation rising twice as fast as wages, real incomes are in the red. ...................... Morrison would never admit the obvious, that it was because interest rates were artificially suppressed to minimums for so long which allowed rich investors to buy up housing like there was no tomorrow at rock bottom rates. Money in the bank gave a worthless return, therefore housing was the next best investment. But why admit the obvious to the dumb public, they wouldn't know any different, besides, honesty is only any good on Sunday mornings while in church.