8 October 2012

Katy's plan for a fair, just, and equitable society (via gift card reform)

| johnboy
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Ending poverty was something Jesus Christ thought was beyond his powers as the son of god.

But today Katy Gallagher has announced that after 12 years in Government she feels up to taking a crack at it if we give her another go:

If re-elected, ACT Labor will undertake a raft of legislative reform projects, including:

Reform arrangements for judicial officer complaints handling

Introduce unexplained wealth legislation into the Territory to ensure that people do not benefit from illegal and unlawful activities

Develop the ACT’s own privacy legislation, including examining the area of statutory cause of action for privacy

Expand the ACT’s human rights legislation to include the right to housing

Legislate to remove discrimination and improve recognition in the area of sex and gender identity

Introduce legislation to provide for an industrial magistrates court

Tightening up regulation around the use of gift cards

ACT Labor will also fund a dedicated legal position to research justice reinvestment initiatives and develop new opportunities to engage detainees in paid employment.

If you too are wondering how regulation of the use of cards is going to build a New Jerusalem you’re forgetting the ACT Labor way; which is to announce a bold aspirational vision with no real plan to achieve it and then dick around on the margins doing whatever they please.

Bring me my Bow of Burning Gold!

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Madam Cholet12:32 pm 11 Oct 12

Expand Human Rights legislation? Is that the legislation currently under the auspices of the HR Commission – who last week came out and said that due to being dudded in the budget they are shedding jobs and programs?

breda said :

Introduce unexplained wealth legislation into the Territory to ensure that people do not benefit from illegal and unlawful activities

Develop the ACT’s own privacy legislation, including examining the area of statutory cause of action for privacy

Hmm, aren’t these two mutually exclusive – how can I have privacy if I have to explain where I got my nice things from.

I promise to never vote for Labor, and I will keep my promise, “unlike others”

justin heywood9:20 pm 08 Oct 12

The Mother of all motherhood statements. Where are the policies to achieve world peace and universal happiness?

Beats me how they can make promises like those with a straight face, after more than a decade in power. Why don’t they just stand on their record and promise more of the same?

Tetranitrate8:55 pm 08 Oct 12

Micky_P said :

breda said :

Yep, poverty can be fixed by legislation. Isn’t it amazing that legislators in the world’s poorest countries haven’t cottoned on to this?

Mate, it sounds like you don’t think we should even try. I think we all have a responsibility to look after the needy and the most effective way to do this is through sensible policy. Good on ’em for thinking about those who are struggling when Liberals are just running around spreading nonsense.

My issue with this is that it’s all well and good to provide a safety net to keep people off the street, however that kind of tokenistic approach ignores the much greater number of people who could be considered ‘working poor’. You know, those who aren’t public servants – the people who work in retail, hospitality, security, in various private sector admin roles as well as in trades and whatnot.
The kind of people who’ve been gradually pushed out of the Canberra to Queanbeyan, Yass, Goulburn and even Cooma over the time that this government has been in office.

Lets not kid ourselves – they’ve had the reigns of power for over a decade. They’ve had control of planning, the public housing system, land releases, rates…. every tool in the box. The fact that Canberra has some of the highest rents in the country and prices comparable to cities 10 times its size has come about because ACT labor allowed it to come about (dare I say caused).
If it was seriously seen as an unacceptable state of affairs it would have been dealt with with real action as opposed to token rubbish like the land rent scheme and ‘affordable housing’ quotas that don’t actually address the supply/demand reality.

I think about the only thing Labor hasn’t promised ACT residents this year is an end to paper cuts – I mean, isn’t it a basic human right to be able to handle a ream of paper without worrying about cutting your fingers???

I wonder if all these election promises will go the same way that Labor’s promise of open government went?

breda said :

Yep, poverty can be fixed by legislation. Isn’t it amazing that legislators in the world’s poorest countries haven’t cottoned on to this?

Mate, it sounds like you don’t think we should even try. I think we all have a responsibility to look after the needy and the most effective way to do this is through sensible policy. Good on ’em for thinking about those who are struggling when Liberals are just running around spreading nonsense.

johnboy said :

Actually if you give everyone a house the cost to society goes down as they stop filling the hospitals.

The trick is to make it a not very nice house so they’ve got an incentive to aim for something better.

Don’t we already do this?? Guvvy housing?

The number of times I have read “if re-elected” is truly unprecedented. If re-elected you’ll get all this and more but if not you’ll get nothing and it’ll be all your fault – your choice. So there!!!

What a joke.

The public housing industry (read Marxists) will be over the moon to know Katy will give people a legal right, enforceable against the state, to get housing without working or paying for it. And every one else will have to pay higher taxes and higher house prices as a result.

Actually if you give everyone a house the cost to society goes down as they stop filling the hospitals.

The trick is to make it a not very nice house so they’ve got an incentive to aim for something better.

Bring me my card of burning gold;
Bring me my items of desire:
Bring me my bag: receipts unfold!
The chariot’s park will soon expire!

(Bulk apologies to W.Blake)

Wasn’t there a song about fair and just? It might be applicable to the current crop…

I am guessing that the gift card things relates to giving someone a gift card as payment for work done, which is basically tax free income. I can’t see this adding up to much in total dollars of lost tax though, as private citizens would just pay cash, so it is only going to be a small number of workplaces with large and cumbersome HR departments using the cards to pay people for very small one-off jobs where it just isn’t worth the time and effort to get them put on the payroll.

“Introduce unexplained wealth legislation into the Territory to ensure that people do not benefit from illegal and unlawful activities ”

are union rorts included in this legislative reform ?

Is it just me? Or is this succession of media releases from ACT Labor pitched as “like, really special and wonderful” election announcements, simply listing all the standard admin stuff they should have long achieved by now? I’m actually finding them to be a checklist of reminders NOT to vote Labor, thanks, because of their poor record. Katie Gallagher et al – your media advisers are cr*p!

Yep, poverty can be fixed by legislation. Isn’t it amazing that legislators in the world’s poorest countries haven’t cottoned on to this?

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