Nation has much to lose if panicky Labor lets Opposition run negative agenda

Sky News “journalist” asking a question and then interrupting the answer because it wasn’t what her boss wanted to hear. Nothing really jaw-dropping about that. Those of the Murdoch elite don’t like following the rule of law then that’s their problem not the the Government’s. It was good to hear the Attorney-General correcting what the journo had said.

We have an Attorney General?

Yes we do. Mark Dreyfus KC is the Attorney-General.

The KC stands for Keystone Cop

no, it stands for King’s Counsel. Attorney-general Dreyfus is a barrister. Peter Dutton is an ex-Cop so perhaps you were justing getting confused.

@Futureproof
. “proposed super taxes”: change the tax amount from 15% to 30%, on accumulation balances over $3m – a great idea, which they abandoned when the right hit them with a scare campaign … should have stuck to their guns
. “proposed misinformation laws”: oh preventing the dissemination of out and out lies on social media – what’s your problem with that? … go for it, I say
. “proposed industrial relations laws”: has ‘everyone’, who will actually have to pay people the same salary for the same work, offside … oh how unfair is that? Oh and the argument about experience being totally ignored, can easily be handled by an increment system – a la public service salary structure … not rocket science.
. “lack of leadership on attacks on people of Jewish faith”: you mean failing to control people who are criticising the Israeli leaders for killing innocent civilians? Right wing anti-semitism is abhorrent but so is condemning Palestinians because they are not of the Jewish faith.
. “cost of living, high electricity and gas prices, fuel prices”: huge issue, which the Coalition government was unable to prevent from taking off. No easy solution and will take time to resolve – especially given the huge debt they inherited from previous government.
. “blaming the Ukraine war for everything”: instead, let’s blame Labor (because their not Liberal) for everything, rather than work together to try to overcome many of the issues we are facing

JS – Superannuation:
The superannuation tax may not affect you, but it will affect young people in the future. Hopefully it gets rolled back or put into the dust bin of history. See:
https://www.accountantsdaily.com.au/super/18261-treasurer-defends-plans-to-tax-unrealised-gains-in-super
The misinformation laws – even leftists like yourself will be affected. We’re not at the “white van” outside the house stage yet, but you only have to look at that poor woman in Victoria that was carted away by jackbooted thugs for putting a post on Facebook. Yes that was a Labor state, in case you have forgotten.
The Israel conflict – don’t forget over 1200 non combatant civilians people were killed by Hamas on Oct 7, or is that easy for the left to forget.
The cost of living was inherited from the last government, but the national cabinet decisions were mostly at the behest of Labor controlled states. Don’t forget about Dan “I can’t find a golf course” Andrews
The Reserve Bank has stated that inflation in this country is predominantly from internal causes and not far away Ukraine. That’s 100% drunken sailor spending from your mates

@Futureproof
. Superannuation – Seriously, Fp? Approx. 4% of superannuation account holders would be affected. While the PAYG tax bracket thresholds are not indexed, which I think is wrong they should be – nevertheless, they are adjusted from time to time, so could the $3m backet for the higher tax rate on accumulation accounts.

. Misinformation laws – it’s not about one’s politics it’s about THE TRUTH. Whether they be left, centre or right then if they try to spread misinformation and/or lies it should be stopped. Freedom of speech is one thing but deliberately lying to foster a point of view is a totally different thing. Oh and that lady was arrested under existing laws – admittedly it was great ‘click bait’ for the press (and obviously you) but bottom line is you break the law you face the consequences. Don’t like the law – change the law makers or accept it.

. The Israel conflict – Not showing any bias there are you, Fp? It’s the Gaza Conflict.
“don’t forget over 1200 non combatant civilians people were killed by Hamas on Oct 7, or is that easy for the left to forget” Where did I say that the actions of Hamas were OK? Unlike you, I am trying to remain objective and I think there are wrongs being committed on both sides.

. Cost of living – “… was inherited from the last government, but the national cabinet decisions were mostly at the behest of Labor controlled states.” Gee – I thought the biggest criticism of ScoMo was that he acted independently and didn’t even consult/include his own cabinet. Now you are telling me that he danced to the tune of National Cabinet (i.e. the Labor state and territory leaders) and did exactly what they said? Yeah right!
“That’s 100% drunken sailor spending from your mates” I think the last reports I saw predicted a budget SURPLUS of $22 billion – first surplus since the 2007-08 budget. Nice throw away line, Fp. Proof please.

@nobody
“Already 2 of the 148 have been charges with offences …”
Oh and people who are sent to prison for crimes and then released on completion of their sentence never re-offend, do they?

“Ian’s rusted-on support for Labor has gone too far this time.”, yet he says “Why is the Albanese Government tying itself in knots to appease an Opposition and its media cheerleaders whipping up a frenzy over a High Court decision …”
Where’s the support in that statement.

So what are you suggesting, nobody, that the government should have just ignored the High Court ruling? It’s very easty to be wise after the event – especially when one is looking to push a specific political barrow.

The usual recidivism rate in Australia exceeds 30%, so you can look forward to another 40+ new offences at ordinary rates, nobody. What do you propose? Non-release for any crime? A good whipping? What improvements to rehabilitation services do you suggest?

JustSaying, yeah right, Ian’s opinion pieces are not biased, hahaha.
byline, another 40+ offenders, jeez I hope not.

@nobody
That’s the best you’ve got = nothing?

@Bob
Such a shame you can’t actually understand the words before you.

What Bushnell is correctly saying, is Albo has dropped the ball on focusing on “… cost of living, interest rates, and the awful state of housing …” because Dutton has changed the focus from these to asylum seekers.

As I see it, Bushnell is rightly giving the govt. a keep in the backside for its knee jerk reaction to the High Court decision – by reacting to Dutton’s grandstanding.

Or perhaps you would rather they continue to expend all this energy on ‘detention legislation’ rather than attending to the day-to-day issues facing most Australians?

Oh I can understand exactly what was written, I’m just waiting on Ian’s attempt to blame Albo’s neglect of these very same issues for the last year due to his obsession with the failed “voice to parliament” on the opposition as well.

Labour’s priorities since the election have been on anything BUT these core issues. Maybe if our illustrious leader deemed it important to remain in Australia for more than five minutes, it would help?

It’s funny how the left suddenly think these issues are important now, given they seemed to be last on the list of priorities until this point. How about we discuss the exacerbation of the inflation/interest rate and housing issue caused by Labour policies…? Yeah, didn’t think so.

@Bob
The referendum is over … move on.

“How about we discuss the exacerbation of the inflation/interest rate and housing issue caused by Labour (sic) policies…?”
Wow – thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond (“Yeah, didn’t think so”)!!!!.
Happy to discuss. You go first – how has the inflation/interest rate and housing issue been exacerbated by Labor policies in your opinion?

…and again, you redirect. You know very well that the Labor party has been neglecting the actual important issues to the electorate due to their obsession with race based politics that dominated their first year in power. But hey, let’s just completely forget that inconvenient fact and blame Dutton for distracting from these issues now. The one thing I find endlessly entertaining about the left is their ability to seamlessly shift their positions whenever it’s convenient to their arguments.

Anyone who knows even the first thing about economics, knows the primary cause of inflation is an excess of money being inserted into an economy… such as bringing in one and a half times the population of Canberra in a single year. I would love to see any attempt to argue that bringing in 600k people in one year is NOT highly inflationary.

The other part of the argument is the self evident fact that there was already a massive housing shortage BEFORE they decided to open the flood gates and bring all these people in. What effect do you think bring in multiples of the number of new residents than the housing being built? Will this help or hinder the chronic housing shortage in this country?

So there you go, we have both inflation and resulting interest rate rises as well as a massive housing shortage as a direct result of Labor policies.

@Bob
“I would love to see any attempt to argue that bringing in 600k people in one year is NOT highly inflationary.”
Yeah your right, I can’t argue that. However, RBA Governor, Michelle Bullock certainly did, when last month she said that the increase in the population was adding to the supply of labour but also demand and even though immigration was pressuring housing and rents, the overall effect on inflation was not clear cut. “We would argue that if you take into account what’s going on the supply side, it’s not clear that immigration is adding heaps to inflationary pressures.”

“… a massive housing shortage as a direct result of Labor policies”
Again I’ll defer to Ms Bullock when she said said there was no “easy answer” to fix the housing shortage and there was contention for resources as infrastructure projects ramp up.
“We do have a bit of an issue in Australia of being able to build housing, and certainly the targets set by the government described that they’re focusing on. They’re much higher targets than we’ve ever met.”

Australia’s inflation outbreak took off in mid-2021, ending a near-decade long period of low inflation and the housing crisis has been around for much longer than that … so not sure you can simply put it down to “… race based politics …” which you are so good at promoting.

Do you realise that inflation is wordwide? Interest rates have been rising everywhere. And the housing crisis is labor’s fault? Really?

Interesting that you don’t think much of the commentary on immigration is race based politics…. it doesnt take more than a casual conversation around migration to work that ou

Because (almost) everyone reacted to the pandemic in the same way. Artificially shutting down the economy and printing money was always going to cause inflationary pressures afterwards. Labor state governments were responsible for lockdowns, and the LNP Feds were responsible for printing money. I know from FOI requests that the ACT government did not consider any negative consequences of lockdowns. The pain were all feeling was entirely predicable. That it had no health benefit just compounds the disaster.

@Justsaying – And what exactly do you expect the person appointed by the government to say, the people that gave me this high profile, highly paid job are complete idiots and are throwing fuel on the fire of both massive housing shortages and inflation? The reserve governors don’t exactly make a habit of openly criticising government policy and for good reason. I however do not need to placate my bosses and can talk openly.

You bring in 600,000 people who all spend money buying clothes, cars, housing, furniture, food, use many different services etc but you think that somehow injecting all of this spending and demand into the economy isn’t adding to inflationary pressures? If so, I have a bridge I’d like to sell you.

Again, you attempt to dodge the point… If you intentionally bring in multiples times the number of people of the number of housing that is being created, does this help or hinder the current state of housing availability?

*sigh* OK, I’ll quote myself as you apparently have a short memory “…How about we discuss the exacerbation of the inflation/interest rate and housing issue caused by Labour policies…?” Did I say that it was the only cause or that the Labor party caused the issues in the first place? No, I said their policies were actively making it worse.

Edit: I should have proof read before hitting post, can you scrap that last comment please?

@dolphin – “Do you realise that inflation is wordwide? Interest rates have been rising everywhere.”

And yet, inflation is dropping in other countries such as the US and the market is already expecting four interest rate cuts in 2024. Here, the market is expecting maybe one by the end of 2025. The excuses of blaming everything but government policies are looking pretty weak at this point.

“Interesting that you don’t think much of the commentary on immigration is race based politics”

That says more about YOUR brain is at rather than anyone else’s. Everyone needs housing/medical care/schools/water/electricity/transport infrastructure/food etc and the list is a mile long but the first place your brain goes to when discussing the topic is race? wow…

@Bob
“The reserve governors don’t exactly make a habit of openly criticising government policy and for good reason. I however do not need to placate my bosses and can talk openly.”

The problem with that argument, the governor is putting her reputation on the line, as per former governor, Philip Lowe, who lost his job because of an error in his prediction on interest rates. Whereas you are an anonymous nobody posting on social media – so forgive me if I give more credence to Ms Bullock’s credentials than yours.

Nevertheless, I do understand basic Keynesian economics of the impact of supply v demand on commodity prices. Which is fine if you want to take a simplistic view of a very difficult issue.

“No, I said their policies were actively making it worse.”
On one hand, in January this year, you have the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) calling on ‘… Labor to increase the permanent migration intake amid evidence of a shortfall of hundreds of thousands of foreign workers.’ On the other you have the issues you identify as resulting from the increased demand propogated by the increase in migration.

Perhaps the issue lies with partisan politics rather than policy. As an example, IMHO, Labor, when in opposition, had a great idea on one way to address the housing crisis – do away with negative gearing. Instead of considering the proposal on its merits, the right side started a ‘mum and dad investor’ scare campaign. Admittedly, Labor has a history of being unable to sell its ideas because the are usually half baked, but if you take away the tax incentive, then investors have to compete with ordinary owner-occupier purchasers, which would mean the former would be less disposed to simply outbid the latter. The simple come back (which Labor should have thought when proposing the idea) was to grandfather the existing arrangement – I would have only done it on the first investment property, thus placating those mums and dads.

So, a starting point for resolving the issues you raise might be both sides (as they are equally to blame) working together and less jaundiced views from their supporters.

@JustSaying – Again, I discuss the reserve bank head openly criticising government policy and you try and twist the conversation to be about their call on rates which is an entirely different issue. You really can’t stick to any discussion without trying to move the goalposts mid conversation can you?

If you think that the only effect of supply and demand is on commodity prices, I would suggest you have a great deal more reading to do on the subject. That you honestly believe that it is just a “simplistic view” to state that massively increasing demand for finite resources has an inevitable flow on effect within an economy, speaks volumes.

…and again, the conversation is about the negative effects of such high levels of immigration on the housing market and you try and redirect it to “…But this industry group says we need MORE workers” What exactly were you expecting them to say? Of course, they want cheap labour to drive their costs down and more consumers to buy their products.

Yes, I was all for reforming negative gearing and was openly critical of the cynical attempts by vested interests to sabotage it. I agree, Labor did a terrible job of selling the idea to the electorate at the time. You seem to be making the assumption because certain people maintain their opinions down strict party lines, that I do also which is entirely incorrect.

A starting point would be massively decreasing immigration, letting housing supply catch up and investing in infrastructure like roads, schools and hospitals etc. It is entirely impossible to cool down rampant structural inflation when you are actively pouring fuel on the fire at a national and local level.

@Bob
“I discuss the reserve bank head openly criticising government policy …”
I’d hardly call you questionning the objectivity of the RBA Governor “discussing” – when you say “the person appointed by the government to say, the people that gave me this high profile, highly paid job are complete idiots”.
And I only used the interest rate call as an indication of how careful the RBA Governor has to be in the public statements they make. Twisting? Hmmm – a bit of pot and kettle there.

‘”But this industry group says we need MORE workers” What exactly were you expecting them to say? Of course, they want cheap labour to drive their costs down and more consumers to buy their products.”‘
Now you question the objectivity of the Chamber of Commerce because they have a different perspective on immigration. However, the unemployment rate is low, so obviously industry needs more workers – where do you propose they get the increase in workforce? Perhaps they could pay much higher wages to attract workers from other industries, but wait – that’s inflationary because the increased costs of production will be passed on. Yes – increased migration does impact supply for housing, goods & services, etc – but perhaps it’s a case of the benefits outweighing the costs.

“A starting point would be massively decreasing immigration”
So if that’s the answer how come the housing crisis did not abate during the Coalition’s 10 years in government, when the migration numbers were proportionately much lower.
They were supposedly ‘removing the fuel from the fire’ and the fire still got bigger.

@JustSaying – I never questioned their objectivity, I commented on their tact and sense of preservation by not openly criticising the people who put them into and are able to remove them from their highly paid roles. They’re not idiots… but again, you are just moving the goalposts mid conversation yet again. Notice that the topics of conversation have moved so much that they barely resemble the original topics?

“Now you question the objectivity of the Chamber of Commerce”

Are you kidding? Go to their website and in huge letters, it openly states “We are the voice of Australian business.” There was zero case for objectivity there in the first place. They are openly and unapologetically advocating for the interests of business, not people, not the best interests of the country, but business. The fact that you would even attempt to state otherwise is positively mystifying.

So again, you’re not arguing that I am not correct in my initial assertion on housing and inflation, your argument has changed to “but we needed mass immigration” with a business advocacy group as your supporting evidence. Thanks, you could have just saved hundreds of words to start with and just admitted that I was correct.

Have you looked at the rental vacancy rated and housing for sale in the last couple of years? It has gotten FAR worse. Is this something you would actually try to argue? The “blame the opposition for everything” playbook of Labor is getting ridiculous at this point.

“Yes – increased migration does impact supply for housing, goods & services, etc”

…so the end result of all these hundreds of words trying to move the goalposts and redirect arguments is you agree with my original statements? Thanks I guess?

@Bob
It’s fairly obvious that you don’t accept any opinion but your own … reminds me of another self-professed expert on here. Anything countering that opinion is ‘moving the goal posts’.
Obviously the Chamber of Commerce represents business … but the unemployment figures are factual and show industry needs more workers.
You conveniently avoided my question: WHERE DO YOU PROPOSE THEY GET THE INCREASED WORKFORCE?

“Yes – increased migration does impact supply for housing, goods & services, etc”
Nice cherry picking … the fact that I added “… but perhaps it’s a case of the benefits outweighing the costs.” again doesn’t suit your narrative.

Oh and the ‘“blame the opposition for everything” playbook of Labor.’ is straight from the Coalition playbook of the last 10 years, but I guess that’s OK because it suits your narrative.

So the end result is you don’t like a counter to your opinion – for the reality is it’s just your opinion, and I’m expressing mine.

@JustSaying – Seems like you’re projecting there my friend.

I’m glad you asked where we get the “increased workforce” There are really multiple answers here 1) increased efficiency, working smarter, not just throwing lowly skilled, cheap employees at it. 2) You don’t just look at the unemployment rate but the Under employment rate and under utilisation rate which are both far higher than the unemployment rate itself. There are still plenty of people out there looking for MORE work. 3) There’s this little thing that we used to do that has long since gone out of style, in preference to importing cheaper employees from other countries and that’s training… I know, crazy thought. 4) There has been talk of the disruptive effect of AI and the number of jobs and professions it will make obsolete and somehow the left wants to bring in MORE people?

Whether you believe the cost/benefit of mass immigration is worth the demonstrable negative effects to which you already conceded, is entirely irrelevant to the conversation. You can choose to believe it’s worth it or not but you can’t choose to ignore the REALITY of the effects on this country, none of us can.

Wow… you are attempting to counter my observation that the left is sitting there blaming the opposition with… again, blaming the opposition and accusing them of doing what Labor is already doing. Amazing.

There’s a difference between an opinion based on evidence, logic and statistics and someone who parrots talking points, strawmans and diverts when they realise they can’t argue the facts.

But hey, no problem – you already conceded that the comments that I made to start this were correct so I guess we’re done here?

@Bob
“ There are really multiple answers here …”
Great – you’ve come up with 5 answers … none of which is a quick fix to an immediate skills/labour shortage but still you are right and the government and its policies are wrong.

“… you are attempting to counter my observation that the left is sitting there blaming the opposition with“
Not at all – just saying that the blame game isn’t the exclusive domain of Labor … whereas you are laying all of the country’s woes at Labor’s feet. I’m saying they didn’t inherit an economy in a perfect state and that maybe there are two sides to the migration argument … sadly you can only see your own side.

“Whether you believe the cost/benefit of mass immigration is worth the demonstrable negative effects to which you already conceded, is entirely irrelevant to the conversation.”
Why is it irrelevant? Could that be because it’s viable means to an end? And it’s hardly a conversation – more like a lecture on your jaundiced views.

…and again, you have diverted the conversation away from what were the original points of the discussion. You really can’t help yourself can you?

Which part of under-employed and under-utilised do you not understand? There are already large numbers of people here that want MORE work and can’t find it, in addition to the unemployed. This has been an ongoing issue for decades in this country. Training is something that could and should be implemented as soon as possible to fill any gaps, not just bringing in hundreds of thousands of people to act as cheap labour.

“Not at all”

That is EXACTLY what you did.

“whereas you are laying all of the country’s woes at Labor’s feet”

Can you please quote where I said “all the country’s woes” were Labor’s fault? I’ll wait… I apportioned blame where it is warranted in exacerbating the stated negative effects with their policies which you already conceded so I don’t know why you’re now trying to backtrack on the completely obvious.

You know their policies are creating these negative effects on the country, you’ve admitted such but still attempt to find any justification to excuse your political tribe when what we need are open, honest discussions of the issues and how to fix them for the benefit of all Australians.

You’re just annoyed that I argue based on evidence, logic and keep pointing out your attempts to shift the discussion as you know that you can’t debate the facts.

@Bob
I totally understand “under-employed and under-utilised”. How come these people are not filling the gap for which industry is calling out? Are you suggesting that industry is crying wolf and they don’t need more labour? Or are they (the under-employed) applying for the vacancies and being denied the jobs because they are too expensive wage wise – as per your “they (industry) want cheap labour”? Given some of the very good salaries being offered in areas where there are skills and labour shortages, I don’t think the quest for cheap labour is really the issue. Perhaps the reality is that those who are seeking more work don’t have the skills or are not located where the work is.
Mind you – in that same sentence, you suggested industry wanted to use cheap labour to “drive their costs down and more consumers to buy their products.” Hmmm, so if production costs are cheaper – in order to attract more consumers, won’t they then drop their prices? And if prices drop, doesn’t that then have a flow on effect for inflation? Which is attacking one of the issues we face, isn’t it?

“Can you please quote where I said “all the country’s woes” were Labor’s fault?”
I challenged your very first comment: “Wow, who’d have thought, Ian writes an article, repeatedly blaming the opposition for the leftist governments failures… again.”
I countered by pointing out that Bushnell had actually given the government a kick – ‘Albo has dropped the ball on focusing on “… cost of living, interest rates, and the awful state of housing …” because Dutton has changed the focus from these to asylum seekers.’
But that wasn’t good enough for you and you refused to see that. Instead, you go off with expectations of ‘Ian’s attempt to blame Albo’s neglect of these very same issues for the last year due to his obsession with the failed “voice to parliament” on the opposition as well’. And you accuse me of shifting the discussion!

Then you pigeonhole me with “find any justification to excuse your political tribe”. As if the immigration question is about taking political sides rather than acknowledging that it is complicated and has both positives and negatives – as I’ve pointed out on many occasions, but you simply cannot accept this. Obviously your political tribe’s mantra on immigration is the only answer.

@JustSaying – Yes 100% industry are 100% self-interested and will absolutely lie to gain an advantage. Do you honestly believe they wouldn’t?

I used to contract through a large multinational company that gained the contract to manage the (…on second thought, removing identifiable information). Anyway, they slowly replaced most of the people working there with Indian employees here on short term contracts. They advertised in Australia for a short time, went through the exercise of “interviewing” potential employees, stated they couldn’t find anyone suitable and then repeatedly applied to bring more people in on 457 visas for half the price they would have to pay a local. Again, if you think this kind of thing doesn’t happen, and big business is beyond reproach, I have a bridge to sell you. When executive bonuses are tied to reducing costs and maximising profits, this kind of thing is the result.

“Given some of the very good salaries being offered in areas where there are skills and labour shortages, I don’t think the quest for cheap labour is really the issue.”

What constitutes “very good salaries” is a matter of opinion. When they can still pay far less for an overseas worker, they will.

“…who are seeking more work don’t have the skills or are not located where the work is.”

And now we go back to that thing we USED to do in this country called training. It’s still much cheaper and easier to get people from overseas that already have the training.

“Hmmm, so if production costs are cheaper – in order to attract more consumers, won’t they then drop their prices?”

Of course not, they’ll take more profits. You clearly know very little about how business operates if you think their costs dropping will result in them dropping their prices. It’s all about increasing profit margins and charging what the market is willing to pay.

I ask where I stated that “all the country’s woes” were Labor’s fault?” and you responded with something completely different. You can never admit you are wrong or answer a question directly, can you? It’s all about redirection and avoidance with you isn’t it?

You went from trying to deny the negative effects of Labor policies on this country to admitting, that there were and now moving to excusing them. You have done nothing but try and excuse every single policy of the left since the start. I however do not even have a political tribe and dislike both of the major parties for various reasons.

@Bob
“Yes 100% industry are 100% self-interested and will absolutely lie to gain an advantage. Do you honestly believe they wouldn’t?”
Do you have any facts to support your conspiracy theory, Bob? I’ve read a fair few reports on the labour shortage crisis – are the media in on the conspiracy too?
Oh wait, you “… used to contract through a large multinational company … they slowly replaced most of the people working there with Indian employees here on short term contracts.” So what, Bob? I expect this happened under the previous government – so it’s totally irrelevant to the current labour shortage … and you accuse me of deflecting LOL. Nevertheless, the company obviously broke the law? What did you do to alert the relevant authorities? Assuming it’s true, are you now using your one single experience to condemn industry in general. I too worked as a contractor (in IT) – in both public and private enterprises and never saw anything like what you described – i.e. using “cheap imported contractors”. In fact, the public service actually uses much more expensive local contractors to fictitiously reduce the number of public servants because it ‘looks good’. I do note that the Finance Minister has (pleasingly) flagged a clamp down on contractor engagements, especially IT, in an attempt to bring expertise back in-house.

“What constitutes “very good salaries” is a matter of opinion. When they can still pay far less for an overseas worker, they will.”
Yes it’s all opinion. Nevertheless, despite your obsession with “low paid overseas workers”, as reported in this HRD article (https://www.hcamag.com/au/specialisation/payroll/3-in-4-employers-offer-higher-than-planned-salaries-amid-skills-shortage/450100) three-quarters of organisations surveyed in the latest Hays Salary Guide said they have offered salaries higher than initially intended to attract skilled candidates. In that same article, 62% of organisations are also upskilling staff to overcome skills gaps (OMG – could that be training!), while 37% are considering employing or sponsoring overseas candidates. And what is important about those overseas workers, Bob? The immediacy of their ability to do the work because they are skilled and trained. Nobody would deny that in the LONGER TERM Australia needs to train/upskill its workforce but it takes time. The issue is that 88% of organisations surveyed admitted to actually experiencing a skills shortage now.

“Of course not, they’ll take more profits. You clearly know very little about how business operates if you think their costs dropping will result in them dropping their prices. It’s all about increasing profit margins and charging what the market is willing to pay.”
Really, Bob? How does that sit with your earlier comment “Of course, they want cheap labour to drive their costs down and more consumers to buy their products.”? Obviously you are the fountain of all knowledge when it comes to business, Bob, but I would have thought a very good way to make a profit is to increase your market share. Other than providing a better product, extremely difficult when trying to keep costs down, surely an effective way to increase sales is price reduction, isn’t it?

“You have done nothing but try and excuse every single policy of the left (I assume you mean the Labor government) since the start.”
Really? “Nice “redirection and avoidance”, Bob. This whole exchange has been about immigration, i.e. not every, but A single policy. And despite your inability to accept it, I have maintained the position that there are two sides to the immigration issue. As for defending the left? What a stupid generalisation, Bob. Yes, I’ll admit I have a tendency to lean to the left politically, but I’m far more interested in independents like Pocock – because they (independents) break the nexus of the major parties.

“I however do not even have a political tribe and dislike both of the major parties for various reasons.”
Seems like we agree on something about the major parties. However, I wasn’t thinking of a major party as ‘your tribe’, I think PHON or UAP are probably more aligned to your ideology.