Budget cu*ts

Lidia Thorpe rules

• Lidia Thorpe is the first Victorian Aboriginal Senator.
• She entered parliament carrying a message stick with 441 marks, representing the First Nations people who have died in custody since 1991.
• Former Victorian Premier reckons Lidia should “walk before you run”.

The Tudge Report

• Australia partner visas take years to complete and cost more than $7,000.
• Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge is forcing through new rules that will require people on parter Visa to prove English Aptitude or take 500 hours of English classes.
• Australia has a long history of using language tests to enforce a racist immigration policy.
• The NT Government is appealing a supreme court decision that Ltyentye Apurte community had to be humane as well as safe.
• General stores in these remote communities are a monopoly and charge exorbitant prices.
• The federal government declares that they have no duty of care for people on welfare payments either.
• JSON may only be used for Good, unless you are IBM or one of it’s customers, partners, and minions.

A Lambie in wolf’s clothing

• After public consultation, Jacquie Lambie voted against a bill to take mobile phones away from people in immigration detention.
• One Nation’s Mark Ellis never technically kidnapped anyone.
• She voted against the Government’s cuts to university education, and gave a great speech explaining her vote.
• She also has a history of racism.

Budget time

• Winners: Taxpayers. Losers: Economy?
• As Greg Jericho reports, the Government is assuming that not only will we get a vaccine, but that next Australia will have it’s best economic recovery this century.
• Lidia Thorpe points out that the AFP is receiving 6 times the funding of any efforts to closing the gap of Indigenous lifespans.
• This government really loves coal, even more than actual coal companies.
• National MP Matt Canavan drives a ute with “Back Coal Matters” to troll the greens.
• The government is offering “relocation assistance” to force job seekers into rural farm picking work.
• The budget is also the “most secretive ever produced”, with “Not for Publication” being listed 384 times.
• The budget is good for women, because women drive on roads.
• Anthony Albanese refuses to give a single detail.
• Correction: Mitch says that Albanese won’t give any details of Labor’s policy on nurse’s pay. Albanese was actually talking about childcare workers. I’m sure if pressed he would waffle on nurses too.
• Tony Abbott declared that he would make no cuts to the ABC and SBS (and promptly brought out the chainsaw after the election)
• Katharine Murphy grades the budget on a curve.

Royal petition commission!

• Kevin Rudd has a petition to have a royal commission into Murdoch media’s influence in Australia.
• Australia loves a good royal commission.
• Royal commission into banking corruptoon: Banks are still doing massive crimes.
• Royal commission into union corruption: not much found.
• Royal commission into indigenous deaths in custody: not going well.
• Royal commission into aged care: ignored.
• Royal commission into home insulation: fire incidence actually went down.

Actions

• Sign the petition, I guess.
• For better budget coverage, check out No Turning Back and Auspol Snackpod.