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Australian government faces budget dilemma
The Australian government faces some hard choices when Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey prepares his second budget.
Australian public rejected 2014 budget， which aimed to slash education funding， increase health care costs and strip benefits from young， unemployed Australians.
In 2015， voters remain skeptical of the need to cut government expenditure.
Because of a weakening economy， Australia’s traditional sources of revenue， such as personal and corporate income tax have increased slowly.
And much worse is the hole ripped out of budget finances by a slump in mining royalties.
In April， Mr Hockey warned he was preparing to write off up to AUD 25 billion （USD 20 billion， ￡13billion） in budget revenue over the next four years due to the slump in the price of iron ore.
The other problem is that the Australian government has already promised that it would not increase taxes， which leaves it few options if it wants to control its ballooning deficit.
Experts have given a variety of suggestions， including：
Having fewer and lower direct taxes， such as lower personal income and corporate taxes but a higher Goods and Services （GST） tax
There have been a variety of suggestions from experts， including： Having fewer and lower direct taxes， such as lower personal income and corporate taxes but a higher Goods and Services （GST） tax； winding back property tax concessions. Australia’s 1.3 million landlords claim about AUD 14 billion in tax losses a year； applying the current 10% GST to goods worth less than AUD 1，000 bought online from overseas； reducing generous superannuation （retirement pension） tax concessions.
The Australian government was forced to abandon its proposal for an AUD 7 payment to visit a GP because of fierce public opposition.
A tax on mining profits imposed by the previous Labor government when a mining boom underpinned the economy， it was quickly abandoned by the Coalition after it won office in 2013.
A tax on carbon emissions imposed by the previous Labor government， it was but abandoned by the Coalition because of the costs to industry.
Mr Abbott was forced to abandon his signature policy because it could have cost as much as AUD 5.5 billion a year.
The budget’s centrepiece will likely be a package that leaves subsidies for wealthy families intact and offers more to poorer families. Lower income families who don’t work could be the “losers”， they will be entitled to fewer hours of subsidized childcare， and single-income families will lose family tax benefits.
And at the same time， small business will likely enjoy a 1.5% tax cut.
Australian adviser says climate change a UN hoax
A senior Australian government business adviser has said climate change is a hoax by the United Nations.
According to him， most climate models were wrong and there was little evidence of climate change.
And he believes the UN had used climate change as a “hook” to establish and control a new world order.
His comments were rejected by climate scientists， while Environment Minister Greg Hunt said it was “not something I would express”.
Australia is one of the world’s big- gest emitters of greenhouse gases on a per capita basis，
Coalition governments in Australia have a history of climate change skepticism. One of the current government’s first actions when it won power in 2013 was to abandon the previous Labor government’s tax on carbon emissions because of the cost to industry.
The UN says that it is known to all that the global climate is changing， and it mainly attributes to human activity.
A former chairperson of the Australian Stock Exchange wrote in an opinion article for The Australian newspaper：“It’s a well-kept secret， but 95% of the climate models we are told prove the link between human CO2 emissions and catastrophic global warming have been found， after nearly two decades of temperature stasis， to be in error.”
The article said the public had been“subjected to extravagance from climate catastrophists for nearly 50 years”， and swallowed “dud predictions” from weather bureaus who presented “homogenised” data to suit narratives.
And the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change， which reviews and assesses scientific work related to climate change for the UN， had been exposed“repeatedly for misrepresentation and shoddy methods”.
The article also said that the UN has spending hundreds of billions of dollars a year on “futile climate change policies”.
“This is not about facts. It’s about a new world order under the control of the UN. It is opposed to capitalism and freedom and has made environmental catastrophism a household topic to achieve its objective.” the article said.
Climate change expert Professor David Karoly from the University of Melbourne， said this article did not represent any peer reviewed study or assessment of climate change. “It is clear the author has deliberately tried to mislead the Australian public，”said Professor Karoly， who is considering making a complaint to the Australian Press Council about the article.
Australian budget to overhaul aged pension
According to Australia’s new budget plan， it will give more money to pensioners living on modest incomes.
Meanwhile， wealthier retirees who own a home and other assets will lose some of their government benefits.
The Australian government said that the changes would give more assistance to those people who are mostly in need of financial support.
The government is now finding a method to cut public spending to make up a rapid fall in revenue.
The new budget plan is expected to show a massive blow-out in the government’s deficit mainly due to lower royalty payments from commodities such as iron ore.
According to Social Services Minister Scott Morrison， the changes would save the government about AUD 2.4 billion （USD 2 billion； ￡1.3 billion） annually.
One government official said， “ We want the welfare system to be focused on those in greatest need and in the pension system， that’s those with low or modest assets.”
The government estimates that under the changes， about 172，000 pensioners would be AUD 30 better off a fortnight.
However， about 91，000 retirees who own their own homes and have other assets worth more than AUD 823，000 would no longer get a part-pension from the government.
Combined Pensioners and Superannuates’ Association （CPSA） spokesperson Amelia Christie said， “The changes were definitely fairer than the government’s previous proposal to change pension indexation.”
““Tightening the pension asset test makes more sense both from a financial and fairness perspective if you compare it with the 2014 budget proposal to cut pension indexation and reduce the value of the pension over time，” she added.
The Australia government has now abandoned last year’s unpopular policy of linking pensions to inflation rather than average wages.
Seniors’ lobby group said it would have left pensioners worse off since inflation was rising more slowly than average wages.
“Yet it should be noted that this policy still goes against the government’s pre-election promise to not touch pensions，” Ms Christie pointed out.
The Australian government faces some hard choices when Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey prepares his second budget.
Australian public rejected 2014 budget， which aimed to slash education funding， increase health care costs and strip benefits from young， unemployed Australians.
In 2015， voters remain skeptical of the need to cut government expenditure.
Because of a weakening economy， Australia’s traditional sources of revenue， such as personal and corporate income tax have increased slowly.
And much worse is the hole ripped out of budget finances by a slump in mining royalties.
In April， Mr Hockey warned he was preparing to write off up to AUD 25 billion （USD 20 billion， ￡13billion） in budget revenue over the next four years due to the slump in the price of iron ore.
The other problem is that the Australian government has already promised that it would not increase taxes， which leaves it few options if it wants to control its ballooning deficit.
Experts have given a variety of suggestions， including：
Having fewer and lower direct taxes， such as lower personal income and corporate taxes but a higher Goods and Services （GST） tax
There have been a variety of suggestions from experts， including： Having fewer and lower direct taxes， such as lower personal income and corporate taxes but a higher Goods and Services （GST） tax； winding back property tax concessions. Australia’s 1.3 million landlords claim about AUD 14 billion in tax losses a year； applying the current 10% GST to goods worth less than AUD 1，000 bought online from overseas； reducing generous superannuation （retirement pension） tax concessions.
The Australian government was forced to abandon its proposal for an AUD 7 payment to visit a GP because of fierce public opposition.
A tax on mining profits imposed by the previous Labor government when a mining boom underpinned the economy， it was quickly abandoned by the Coalition after it won office in 2013.
A tax on carbon emissions imposed by the previous Labor government， it was but abandoned by the Coalition because of the costs to industry.
Mr Abbott was forced to abandon his signature policy because it could have cost as much as AUD 5.5 billion a year.
The budget’s centrepiece will likely be a package that leaves subsidies for wealthy families intact and offers more to poorer families. Lower income families who don’t work could be the “losers”， they will be entitled to fewer hours of subsidized childcare， and single-income families will lose family tax benefits.
And at the same time， small business will likely enjoy a 1.5% tax cut.
Australian adviser says climate change a UN hoax
A senior Australian government business adviser has said climate change is a hoax by the United Nations.
According to him， most climate models were wrong and there was little evidence of climate change.
And he believes the UN had used climate change as a “hook” to establish and control a new world order.
His comments were rejected by climate scientists， while Environment Minister Greg Hunt said it was “not something I would express”.
Australia is one of the world’s big- gest emitters of greenhouse gases on a per capita basis，
Coalition governments in Australia have a history of climate change skepticism. One of the current government’s first actions when it won power in 2013 was to abandon the previous Labor government’s tax on carbon emissions because of the cost to industry.
The UN says that it is known to all that the global climate is changing， and it mainly attributes to human activity.
A former chairperson of the Australian Stock Exchange wrote in an opinion article for The Australian newspaper：“It’s a well-kept secret， but 95% of the climate models we are told prove the link between human CO2 emissions and catastrophic global warming have been found， after nearly two decades of temperature stasis， to be in error.”
The article said the public had been“subjected to extravagance from climate catastrophists for nearly 50 years”， and swallowed “dud predictions” from weather bureaus who presented “homogenised” data to suit narratives.
And the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change， which reviews and assesses scientific work related to climate change for the UN， had been exposed“repeatedly for misrepresentation and shoddy methods”.
The article also said that the UN has spending hundreds of billions of dollars a year on “futile climate change policies”.
“This is not about facts. It’s about a new world order under the control of the UN. It is opposed to capitalism and freedom and has made environmental catastrophism a household topic to achieve its objective.” the article said.
Climate change expert Professor David Karoly from the University of Melbourne， said this article did not represent any peer reviewed study or assessment of climate change. “It is clear the author has deliberately tried to mislead the Australian public，”said Professor Karoly， who is considering making a complaint to the Australian Press Council about the article.
Australian budget to overhaul aged pension
According to Australia’s new budget plan， it will give more money to pensioners living on modest incomes.
Meanwhile， wealthier retirees who own a home and other assets will lose some of their government benefits.
The Australian government said that the changes would give more assistance to those people who are mostly in need of financial support.
The government is now finding a method to cut public spending to make up a rapid fall in revenue.
The new budget plan is expected to show a massive blow-out in the government’s deficit mainly due to lower royalty payments from commodities such as iron ore.
According to Social Services Minister Scott Morrison， the changes would save the government about AUD 2.4 billion （USD 2 billion； ￡1.3 billion） annually.
One government official said， “ We want the welfare system to be focused on those in greatest need and in the pension system， that’s those with low or modest assets.”
The government estimates that under the changes， about 172，000 pensioners would be AUD 30 better off a fortnight.
However， about 91，000 retirees who own their own homes and have other assets worth more than AUD 823，000 would no longer get a part-pension from the government.
Combined Pensioners and Superannuates’ Association （CPSA） spokesperson Amelia Christie said， “The changes were definitely fairer than the government’s previous proposal to change pension indexation.”
““Tightening the pension asset test makes more sense both from a financial and fairness perspective if you compare it with the 2014 budget proposal to cut pension indexation and reduce the value of the pension over time，” she added.
The Australia government has now abandoned last year’s unpopular policy of linking pensions to inflation rather than average wages.
Seniors’ lobby group said it would have left pensioners worse off since inflation was rising more slowly than average wages.
“Yet it should be noted that this policy still goes against the government’s pre-election promise to not touch pensions，” Ms Christie pointed out.