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Post by Banjo on Feb 10, 2018 8:44:46 GMT 7
I get around it by avoiding reading them.
The comments contribute nothing, they are repetitive, ignorant and almost always meant to offend.
I'll admit that I enjoy deleting them when ever one (very rarely) bobs up here.
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Post by Banjo on Feb 9, 2018 7:32:10 GMT 7
Connect with Senator Andrew Bartlett
Email senator.bartlett@aph.gov.au
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Post by Banjo on Feb 8, 2018 14:42:56 GMT 7
One long neck bottle of 5% Thai beer would knock me for 6 now.
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Post by Banjo on Feb 8, 2018 7:20:16 GMT 7
Political alignmentThe AMA is conservative in orientation. Two of its former presidents entered party politics as Liberals: Bill Glasson ran twice for the Liberals in Queensland and Brendan Nelson was a one-time leader of the Liberal Party. This does not mean the AMA always gives Coalition governments a free ride. The immediate past president of the AMA, Brian Owler was vociferous in leading AMA opposition to the 2014 budget cuts to health care, the proposed introduction of a co-payment, and funding cuts to Indigenous health care. He also voiced concerns about the medical treatment of asylum seekers. These “progressive views” were cited as an issue by newly elected AMA President Michael Gannon, who is looking to “build bridges” with what he expects will be a returned Turnbull government. If Labor were to win the election, an AMA president who proudly proclaimed his friendship with Liberal politicians may not find building bridges so easy. theconversation.com/patient-advocate-or-doctors-union-how-the-ama-flexes-its-political-muscle-60444
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Post by Banjo on Feb 8, 2018 6:58:35 GMT 7
I suppose that Centrelink likes to have assessment decisions made by their employees, they're easier to pressure than a GP.
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Post by Banjo on Feb 6, 2018 20:29:44 GMT 7
NAB launches its answer to the payday loan problemSpeckle will provide loans of up to $2,000 at around half the cost of payday loan competitors.NAB has today announced the launch of a new loan service called Speckle, designed to provide a low-cost alternative to those in need of a payday loan. The bank has worked with not-for-profit Good Shepherd Microfinance since 2003, providing no- and low-interest loans for essential items to financially vulnerable people, and Speckle will "extend this partnership". In the announcement, CEO of NAB Andrew Thorburn and CEO of Good Shepherd Microfinance Adam Mooney noted that the current program has helped "more than 500,000 people on low incomes", but that there is a growing gap in the market that requires assistance. Speckle has borrowed many of the trademarks payday lenders have used to establish themselves, such as fast turnaround times and easy online applications. The Speckle website notes that most loans are approved within two hours and funds are usually transferred within two business days (a slight extension on the typical one business day offered by most payday lenders). However, the costs are where Speckle stands out. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has heavily regulated the small amount credit contract (SACC) market; lenders offering loans up to $2,000 cannot charge more than a 20% establishment fee and a 4% monthly fee. While there is no requirement for them to charge these fees exactly, most do. Speckle has cut the fees in half. Borrowers can apply for between $200 and $2,000 and pay an establishment fee of 10% and a monthly fee of 2%. Dishonour fees of $5 apply and a daily fee of $1 applies for defaults over 30 days. Repayment terms can be between 3 and 12 months. To be eligible for a loan, borrowers must be 18 or over, earn over $30,000 p.a. (not inclusive of Centrelink) and no more than 50% of their income should come from Centrelink. They also can't have had more than two or more small loans in the previous 90 days. Speckle, like other payday lenders, will use technology to offer a quick and online approval process to cover "necessary things like car repairs, children's needs and other household expenses". If required, the service can also provide customers with access to financial counselling and other social services. It is a move away from the Good Shepherd Microfinance store model, even though it did prove to be a successful one. 2017 was the busiest year on record for the non-profit with more than 27,300 loans provided to financially vulnerable people. However, Thorburn and Mooney note that there is still a way to go. "We are making progress, but we have so much more to do to reach our goal. And the entire banking sector has a role to play in ensuring that no one gets left behind." "Together, we are backing borrowers to move ahead – a vote of confidence in their future." www.finder.com.au/nab-launches-speckle
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Post by Banjo on Feb 5, 2018 17:35:49 GMT 7
Howard days? I'm old enough to remember Fraser.
Bloody hell, I can remember Menzies.
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Post by Banjo on Feb 5, 2018 11:35:50 GMT 7
I'll say this again, I think that they're pretty happy with the way that the system set up by Macklin/Gillard is reducing DSP numbers. It makes the DSP a lot harder for people to achieve, the Libs take all the credit and if there's a problem, blame Labor.
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Post by Banjo on Feb 3, 2018 15:54:43 GMT 7
It always surprised me that the AMA didn't have something to say about the contempt that Centrelink treats their members with. Fancy having a highly qualified surgeon overruled by psychologist or former nurse.
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Post by Banjo on Feb 3, 2018 14:08:01 GMT 7
Welcome to the forum Tom, I cannot see any major issues with your review if you qualified under the new post 2012 impairment tables.
I'm a bit surprised they called you in at 58, your disabilities are only going to deteriorate at that age.
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Post by Banjo on Feb 3, 2018 10:41:04 GMT 7
When you start humming along you really know you're in trouble.
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Post by Banjo on Feb 3, 2018 7:26:57 GMT 7
Paying $430,000 for advice on Centrelink call centre ‘outrageous’ Unions say the government won’t learn anything it does not already know, and should employ more staff insteadThe Australian government is giving $430,000 to an American consultancy to tell it how to improve Centrelink’s call centre, a move unions describe as an “absolutely outrageous” waste. The Centrelink call centre has come in for intense criticism over the wait times in recent years. In the last financial year, customers were met with 55m busy signals, up from 29m in the previous year, and the wait times are a cause of constant frustration to welfare recipients. The pressure on the call centre, which the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) attributes to job cuts, led the government to announce this year that it would bring in multinational outsourcing group Serco to help operate the service. It also announced last month that it was bringing in a foreign consultant to advise it on how to resolve the call centre’s problems. The contract was awarded on a limited tender to Brad Cleveland Company LLC, a US-based consultancy, for $430,000. The CPSU national secretary, Nadine Flood, said the money was being wasted and the government would learn nothing it did not already know. The call centre was the subject of an exhaustive audit by the Australian National Audit Office in 2015 and a commonwealth ombudsman inquiry in 2014, and has been scrutinised in Senate inquiries, including in budget estimates, on a frequent basis. “This is an absolutely outrageous amount to spend for this American consultant to tell us what any Centrelink call centre worker or customer already knows,” Flood said. “[The Department of Human Services] desperately needs more permanent staff to provide the service standards that Australians need and deserve. “The Australian National Audit Office also knows what the real problem is here, which is why it recommended the addition of 1,000 staff in DHS. “That’s not going to fix the 55m calls that went unanswered last financial year.” But the human services minister, Michael Keenan, said the government was cleaning up a mess created by Labor. He said it was Labor that had cut jobs in the department. “The previous Labor government slashed the department’s average staffing level and caused call-wait times to balloon,” he said. Keenan said the Coalition was investing in projects that modernised services and made it easier for customers to interact with the department. That included the $51.7m over three years to provide additional call-centre capacity. The opposition spokeswoman for human services minister, Linda Burney, said throwing money at consultants and outsourcing services would not fix the problems with Centrelink, and called for an increase in staffing levels instead. “Turnbull cut 1,200 jobs from Centrelink at last year’s budget, and unanswered calls doubled to 55m,” Burney said. “Centrelink needs permanent, full-time staff, who are qualified and familiar with the often complex issues facing Australians who require income support.” The Department of Human Services’ most recent annual report showed the average caller to Centrelink waited 15 minutes and 44 seconds to speak to someone, while people phoning about disability, sickness or carers’ payments, or unemployment waited close to half an hour on the phone. It was the worst result since 2014, when the department overhauled its reporting regime. In 2015-16, about 42% of the 68m calls made to Centrelink were blocked. Another 7.12m calls were abandoned. www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/feb/03/paying-430000-for-advice-on-centrelink-call-centre-outrageous
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Post by Banjo on Feb 2, 2018 16:59:07 GMT 7
An email from a friend to me www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/centrelink-payment-summaryPayments shown on your payment summaryTaxable payments that will be displayed on your payment summary are: · ABSTUDY · Age Pension · Australian Government Emergency Payment · Austudy Payment · Bereavement · BSWAT lump sum in arrears · Carer Payment · CDEP Participant Supplement · Dad and Partner Pay · Disability Support Pension · Disaster Recovery Allowance · Drought Relief Payment · Education Entry Payment · Emergency and General Assistance Payment · Emergency Recovery Payment · Exceptional Circumstances Relief Payment · Farm Household Allowance · Newstart Allowance · North Western Queensland Floods · Parental Leave Pay · Parenting Payment Partnered · Parenting Payment Single · Partner Allowance · Pensioner Partner Allowance · Pensions Mature Age Allowance · Sickness Allowance · Special Benefit · Widow Allowance · Widow B Pension · Widow Person Allowance · Wife Pension Age · Wife Pension Disability · Youth Allowance You will also receive a payment summary if you receive any of the non-taxable payments of: · Carer Payment · Disability Support Pension · Wife Pension Age · Wife Pension Disability Typical Centrelink being bloody confusing and ambiguous. DSP is shown as TAXABLE then in the second category as NON TAXABLE. In practice I THINK what this means is the income statement shows all income as TAXABLE debit then on the next line is shown as, in DSP case, as a NON TAXABLE CREDIT. So, one cancels the other out................... With the low income allowance by the ATO for those on OAP and with extra income, the threshold is much higher for net income to attract any tax. Those on DSP don't have their DSP amount counted and in theory could therefore have much more income to stay below the tax free threshold, BUT CL would penalize anyone on DSP who has income. So, it makes sense to remain on DSP UP rather than convert to OAP as in most peoples case with no extra income to stay below the CL threshold and well below the ATO income threshold, a DSP can stay exempt from having to submit a tax return
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Post by Banjo on Feb 2, 2018 14:08:04 GMT 7
The reason I have not opened one of these MyGov accounts is that I am sometimes a little paranoid. Online stuff makes me rather uncomfortable, especially with personal information and centrelink. I know people who wont pay for stuff online because of this but I suspect it's about as safe/unsafe as putting your card into an ATM. Centrelink's computer is outdated so it's probably easier to hack than anywhere the MyGov info goes. I just use my fallback safety device... my bank account details would not be worth the time taken to hack them.
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Post by Banjo on Feb 2, 2018 8:01:23 GMT 7
With their Tony Abbott appointed leadership? I think you're a bit behind the times. There's a difference between bias and the reporting of genuine news in the public interest.
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